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HORNING EXERCISES 



FOR THE 



CLOSET 



EVERY DAY IN THE YEAR 



— -^ MTT — 

BY WILLIAM JAY. 



Never b« wiiliout a Book, -in daily rending, of a direct scriptural and devotioo<il 
tendency.- Hale, 

The testimonies of tliy grace. 

I sot before mine eyes: 

Thence I derive my daily strength, 

And there my comfort lies.— Watts. 



VOL, I. 



PUBLISHED BY THE 

AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY, 

150 N.ASSAU-STREET, NE\V-YORK. 



D. Fansfiaw, Printer. 



CONTENTS OF VOLUME I. 



I. Heflections for the New Year Exod. xl. 2. 



The Divine Assurance - Gen. xxxii. 12. 

The cessation of the Manna Josh. v. 12. 
.Seasonable Strength - - Deut. ixxiii. 25. 
f^clf-ReMiincialion - - Rf. iv.lO. 
The Heart united to Religion Pe. Ixixvi. II. 
Epenetus . - - - Rom. xvi. 5. 
John's Friendship for Gaius - 3Epi«.John2. 
The .'erpetual Guide - Ps. xlviii. 14. 

The Character of Cornelius - Acts x. 2. 
The Dwellins-place of Jesus John I. 36. 
God's regardloIsraeraweakncssExod. xiii. 17. 13 
Repentance flowing from MercvRom.ii. 4. 
The Birth-day • - - 'Gen.xl. 20. 
.Spiritual devotion - - Ps. xxv..l 

God's Thoughts - - Jer. xxix. H. 



The Use of the Las- 
Hope Exceeded 
Noah's Walk 
The Descending Dove 
Moses apprised of his Death 
The Scriptures opened 
The Scriptural Beggar - 
The Blc-sed People - 
Joseph with liis sick Father 
Heavenly Preparation 
The Healthful Inhabitant ' 
The Tenderness of God's Gi 
The Unlonely Solitude 
The Lovelv Household • 
TheBiiler Waters healed. 



- Gftl.iii.24. 
Gen. xlriit. 11, 

. Gen. vi. 9. 
Lukeiii.22. 

- Num. xxvii. 12,13 
Lukexxiv.S. 

- Lukexi.?. 
Ps. ill. 8. 

- Gen. xlviii. 1,2. 
2 Cor. V. 5. 

- Is. xxxiiv.24. 
ace Dent. i.Sl. 

. Johnxiv.32. 
Acisx. 7, 8. 

- Exod. XV. 25 



Faith Q.>jestioned 

Creatiire-Discatisfactioii • 

Important Recollection 

Jacob's Prayer . . - 

Union with Christ 

The Unlocked for companion 

The Impotent Man Tried 

Joseph in Prison 

Ezu!lalion in God 

Sobriety 

Children of the Day 

Mutual Aid 

The Plaintive Prayer • 

The importance of Obedience 



Desirable Fellowship 
Peter following tifar off 
God only true ... 
The Sai'uig in the Lord'sHand 
Flesh and Spirit 
Tlie Heavenly Proposal 
The Friends of Jesus 
Union of Hope and Fear 
Strength in the Lord 
Robbery of God 
Loving Kindnesses 
Mutual Service ... 
Fear Forbidden 
f aul's Desire 
The Highest Prize 
The Two Births - 



FEBRUARY. 

Johnxvi. 31. 15. TheRealM'.iacle - . Acts iii 9, 10. 

Fs.lv. 6. i 16. The Three Heroes - - Dan. iii. 12. 

Deut. xxiv. 18. 17. The Joyful Servant - • Ps.Ixxxvi.S. 

Gen. xxxii. 9-12. 18. Paul wishing to see Rome - Rom. i. 10. II. 

IThess.v.lO. 19. Peter weeping . - • Mark xiv. 72. 

Lukexxiv. 13-15. 20. Religious Growth - - Ma;.iv.2. 

John V. 8. 21. The Discouraged Pilgrim - Num. xxi. iv. 

Gen. xxxix. 20. | 22. Earthly Comforts blessed - Exod. xxiii. '2? 

P8.xxxiv.2. 23 Conversion of a Sinner - Jame3v.20. 

IThess. V.8. I 24. God's People glorified - - Zech.ix.15. 

IThess. v.5. (25. Paul's Salutation of theRomsnsRom. xvi. 15. 

Num. x. 31. i 26. Jesus weeping over Jerusalem Lukoxix.4I. 

Ps. XXV. 16, 17. ' 27. Divine Knowledge - - Col. i. 10. 

John iv. 14. 23. The Love of Jesus to his own John xiii. 1. 

MARCH. 

Num. X 32. 1 17. Power and Goodness - riom. x. 13. 

Mat. XKvi.58. j 18. Peter and John - - - Acts iii. 1. 

Rom. i.i.4. 19. Advantages of Inquiry . Deut. xxxii. 7 

Deut.xxxiii. 3. 20. Daily Mercy - - - I's. lxxxvi.3 

Kom. vii.25. ! 21. God's Joy in his People - Zcph iii. 17. 

Deut. i. 21. ! 22. Trials not strange - - I Pet. iv. 12. 

John XV.-15. 1 23. Confidence from Knowledge 2 Tim. i. 12. 

Fs.xxxiii.lS. 24. Walking in God's Truth - I's. Ixxxvi. II . 

Eph.vi.lO. [25. The Privileges of the Upright Ps. xxxvii. 13. 

Mai. iii. 8. |26. God's word and works connparedJohn xiv. 29. 

li. Ixiii. 7. 27. The Savior's Agency - Mark vii. 37. 

Gal. V. 13. 28. Satan disappointed . John xiv. 30. 

Deut. XX. 1. 29. The Gracious Purpose - - IThess. v. 8. 

Phil. iii. 8. 30. Departure of Christ Desired ■ Matt. viii. 34. 

Phil. iii. 8. 31. The Savior's Obedience . Joliu xiv. 31 

Gal. 1.15. 



1. The bloody sweat 

2. The Savior'a Apprehensions 

3. The Savior's Stipulation 

4. The Death of Christ . 

5. The Burial of Christ 

6. Christ seen of numbers 

7. The Holy Oneincorruptible 

8. The Grand Attainment 

9. Death and Life with Chiist 

10. The Glory that followed 

11. Character of Gospel times 
13 Justification free 

13 The Savior's Attraction 
1* Creature-Dependence vain 
15. The SaJ Defection 



Luke xxii. 44. 
John xviii- 7. 
John xviii. b. 
Rom. v. 8. 
1 Cor. XV. 4. 
1 Cor. XV. 6. 
Ps. xvi. 10. 11. 
Fhil.iii.ll. 
Rom. vi. 8. 
1 Pet. i. 11. 
Zech. iii. 10. 
Rom. iii. 24. 
Zech. 3.9. 
Lam. iv. 20. 
Matt. xxvi. 56. 



Christians not Com'brllejs - 

The Divine Engraving 

The Leaven in the Meal 

Love to the Brethren 

Christ Praying in his agony - 

Seeking Christ Crucified - 

The Rising and Resting Prayer 

David's Resolution 

Too Late .... 

Early Rising 

The Learner 

Members one of another 

Christ leaving this world • 

Angelic Succor 

Peter remembered 



Johnx'y. 13. 
Zech. iii. 9. 
Matt. xiii. 23 
IJi.hniii. 16. 
Luke xxii. 44. 
Matt, xxviii. 5, 
Num. 1. 35,36. 
Ps.lxi. 2. 3. 
Luke xix.42, 
Mark i. 35. 
Luke viii. 3S. 
lCor.xi.20. 
John xiii. 1. 
Luke xxii. 43 
ftlaik xvi. 7. 



1. Vineyards in the Wilderness - Ilos.ii.lo. 

2. Dedication to David's house Ps.xxx. 

3. The Divine Revelation - - Gal. i. 6. 

4. Self-pleasing renounced - Rom.XT. 3. 

5. The One Thing Needful - John iv. 10. 

6. The Seat of Pmyer - 2 Sum. v.i. 27 



17. The Sun of Righteousness - Mal.iv.2. 
8. Looking for God - . Is.!, viii. 17. 

9 Daniel Deliver-d - - . Dan. vi.23. 
10. 1'heDepartuie from Egypt Exod. xiii. 18, 10 
II. The Cripple hcldsPelerandJohnActs ill. 13. 
!12. The angry Dricip!g3 r^jtovtd Luke ir. 58-56 



CONTENTS. 



13. Dirine Relief 



Jl. ras8ing>inderlhe Uod • ' Erek. xx. 37. 

15. Theboiifls ot Iho Cotenanl - Kick. xx. 37. 

13. Cliriel going up *.o Jerusilcm Luke ix. 51.' 

17. Suoiig Faith - - Dan. iii. 17,18, 

13. Good 10 be heie - - - Malt, xxvii. 4. 

13. AVa3hingihedi«jip'.e"»fcet. Jo(mxiii.4,5. 
-20. An interest iiiChrietasccrtaiiied2 Cor ix. 15. 

2K The D«y of rejoicing - Phil. ii. 16. 

,'ii. Justification by Faith - - Gal. ii. 16. 



- Rom.rii.25. |23. The only Master 



24. Wisliing to go over Jordan 
I 25. Oiieving the Spirit 

26. Christ's Inheritance 

27. The Tongue loosed 

28. Knowledge increased - 

29. God's ofTBpring 

30. IVayer indispensable 

31. Blisbiiig the food 



Matt. xxhLS, 
Dcut. iii. 23, 
Eph. iv. 30. 
Ps.ii.S. 
Matt. ix. 33. 
2 Pet. lii. IS. 
Deut. xiv, I. 
P8.ii.l8. 
Lul<e XKiv.3tf. 



The Vine 

The Branches - 

Our Hope 

The VValerpol left 

The morning Arm 

H'jsmble Walking 

The Lord our Judge 

Gi-sce in Christ - 

rtsty and Charily - 

Dehghling in mercy - 

U'.oc ofU ftiid dim - 

'i'he fiery cloudy pillar 

Sin* pvinis'aed andimprored 

Ircoranc^ tjf Christ • 

Th« Nfttlgnsairitied 



John XT. 5 
John XV. 5. 
ITim.i. 1. 
John iv. 28. 
Isa. xKxiii. 2. 
Micah vi, 8.- 
Ua. xxxii.22. 
2 Tim.ii. 1. 
Acts iii. 2. 
Micah vii. 18. 
G«!n. xxvii. 1-4 
Exod xiii.21, 22 
Num. xvi. S3. 
John II V. 9. 
Deut. xzxti.8 



JUNE 
15. 
17. 
18. 
19. 



29. 
i30. 



God'o lovingkindn.contempUtedPa. xxxvi. J, 
The value of the Savior - Lam.Tv. 29. 
Paul employed at tent-makiug Acts xviii.1-3. 
The strength of grace - 2Tim.ii.l. 
The blessed heritage V. - - Fs.lxi.S. 
Satan resisted .x^.-^.^- EpU.iv.27, 
(conversion o! the SavnariianessJohn iv. 34. 
The God of imtnre and grace Pa. xxix. \l, 
Theconversionof theCorinthiar.B Acts xvii>. 7 3. 
God choosing our resting place Nrm. x. 32. 
Christ talking with tlie woman J,lin iv. 27. 
A shadow from the heat - Ua. xit.4. 
The Divine inquiry • 1 Kiogs xix, S. 

Paul encouraged at Cc-ristk AiU ivlii. t, Id., 
Tin 'ladiisniag rivar - - P«. «M. <L 



PREFACE, 



A PUBLICATION is not rendered improper or needless, because works of a 
Bimilar nature have preceded it. Little would ever issue fi-om the press, if 
such a principle were admitted. For what new thing is there under the sun ? 
Neither is an author in this case supposed to undervalue the labors of those 
who have gone before him. He only adds to their number, witli his own pro- 
babilities of excitement. And he may awaken fresh attention in the minds 
even of those who have made use of his predecessors: while he may fall 
into the hands of some Avho have to begin this kind of reading, livery 
author, too, has not only his own connexions, but his own manner; and thus, 
as the taste of readers vary, all can be gratified. 

The following pages, it is believed, will be found to differ a little from 
works of the same species: especially in making the exercises always express 
more fully the import ot the textual motto at the head of them ; in the 
arrangement of a greater diversity of subjects ; in the selection of more pas 
sages from the less observed and improved parts of Scripture; and in the 
seizure of hints of instruction from the more indirect and incidental strokes 
of the sacred jienraen. 

The work has, in some measure, been its own reward : But it required the 
author to sacrifice almost needful repose and relaxation, in seizing every 
cpare moment from the engrossing duties of a large and important station. 
And the work was, he confesses, much more arduous in the execution than he 
had apprehended in the prospect. The cAie/' difficulty arose from the neces- 
sity of so much compression and brevity. It was found no easy thing, in two 
or three pages, not only to secure the spirit of the passage, but to give it 
?ome illustration and etlect, by glimpses of scenery, and glances of historical 
facts and traits of character — where diffusion and particularity were forbidden. 
While he makes no scruple to avow that this was his wish and design, he 
laments sincerely that he has not more perfectly succeeded in accomplishing 
them. Leisure, and an exclusive dedication of himself to the plan, for some 
months, or even weeks, might have yielded something more satisfactory'. 
But complaint is useless ; and apology vain. He has done, in his circumstance?, 
what he could. And it yields Iiim pleasure to think, that besides some other 
works of a general nature for the religious public, and especially several for 
the use of families, he has now done something more particularly for the 
Closet. 

The writer has always been attached to publications of this kind, and, 
from his own experience, and observation, he is convinced of their adaptation 
to usefulness. He cannot but wish that Christians would read the Scripture 
itself more ; and endeavor to rejicct themselves on the passages, which, either 
in continued course, or in selections at the time, come before them. The 
power of doing this would improve by the use; and the pleasure and ad- 
vantage resulting from the facility would amply reward any difiiculty in the 
acquisition. But it is to be lamented, many do not reflect : and so the custo- 
mary and cursory perusal for icant of thought produces little impression , 
and the paragraph or chapter — or it may be even chapters — are immediately 
forgotten. But a verse or sentence, separately placed before the eye, is more 
distinctly remarked; and being illustrated in a brief and lively comment, is 
more easily remembered. To supply such assistance caiuiot be reckoned 
iin attempt to lead people from the word of God, but to it : and it may teach 



6 PREFACE. 

ihoi-r- who use it, In time, to do for themselves what it may be necessary at 
first in another to do for them. 

As to the subjects of tiiese Exercises, the author has aimed to blend doc 
trine, experience, and practice together. There is daiiger of Antmomianisra 
when the attention is too exclusively called to doctrinal pomts • of enthusi- 
asm, when it is too exclusively attached to experimental ; ana of legality, 
when it is too exclusively drawn to ])ractical. It is the proportionate ad- 
!nixture of sentiment, feeling, and duty, that qualifies each ; and renders 
them all, not only safe, but profitable. The writer, also, has not confined 
himself to the usual mode of making the subjects of such meditations always 
of t?*e coHSolaioj-y kind. Christians, ui the divine life, want something besides, 
comfort. They are to have their pure minds stirred up, by way of remem- 
brance : to suffer the word of exhortation : to hear the reproofs of wisdom ; 
to walk humbly with God; and wisely with men. Indeed, the best way to 
gain comfort is not always to seek it directly; but mediately; and the 
medium may require self-denial and patience. It is the same with comfort, 
as with reputation: it is more certainly secured as a consequence, than by 
making it a mere design. 

The writer has not often ]Hit the exercise into the form of a soliloquy, or 
generally expressed himself in the language of the first person. lie found 
the common mode of address better suited, especially to the explanatory and 
hortative parts of his design. Why should not the reader consider himself 
the addressed, rather than the speaker? and, by immediate application, make, 
as much as possible, the reflections his own ? 

As to the style itself, what was principally designed for pious use in retire- 
ment could not be too clear, and easy, and forcible, and pointed ; too much 
abounding with terse briskness, naivete of expression ; too free from the 
lameness and smoothness by which common, but important truths, are aided 
to slide down from the memory into oblivion. 

In three hundred and sixty-five exercises, there may be some coincidences' 
and the same thought, image, or example, may occur more than once — It was 
hardly possible to prevent it, as the whole series could not be kept in memory, 
or be continually compared. As the work advanced, the subjects too fre- 
quently increased in length, beyond the bounds he had prescribed himself— 
The case was ; the printer pressed upon him — and he had not time to be short. 
He could have introduced more of the exercises, in verse. If there be any 
blame arising from the few he has admitted, some friends ought to bear it, 
instead of himself. 

But enough of this. The author commends the work to that part of the 
pious public who love and practice retreat; who wish not only to read the 
Scriptures alone, but to observe their beauties, and advantages; who, while 
they neglect not their own meditations, are thankful to derive help from 
others — and often exclaim, "A word fitly s])oken, how good is it!" who wish 
to be in the fear of the Lord all the day long , who would not have their reli- 
gion a visiter, but an inmate; who would speak of divine things, not bj a kunl 
of artificial effort, but out of the abundnnce of the heart; and Avho know 
how much it conduces to our sanctification to keep the mind filled with good 
things, not only as these will exclude base intrusions, but v.ill be sure to leave 
somewhat of their own tinge and likeness behind. 

As to the readers of this character, the author trusts the materials here 
furnished will not be unacceptable, of whatever religious denomination they 
may be found. He considers the community in which, by the providence of 
God, he himself labors — not as a party — but only as apart; and he is not an 
enemy to the whole army, because he is attached to his own regiment. 
He does not oppose, but co-operate. He has not attempted in these volumes 
to conceal tlie leading sentiments which he holds ; but he has not oft'ensively 
obtruded them : nor has he availed himself of opportunities to bring forward 
those peculiar views, in subordinate matters, in which he may differ from 
others. He readily allows that every man has a right to state and defend 
the opinions Avhich he has derived from conviction: but his love should 
abound in knowledge and in all judgment : and he should regulate the degree 
of his zeal by the importance of the subject. He is also persuaded that the 
statement and defence should be effected in a work avowedly for the pur- 
pose ; and not be iiitroduced into a publication adapted to general edification. 



PREFACE. 7 

How much less circulation and usefulness would Doddridge's Rise and Pro- 
gress of Religion, and AUeine's Alarm, and other good books, have obtained, 
had their authors mserted their own minor partialities, and attacked those 
of others ' In reading a valuable volume where such things are found, we 
should resemble the ox in the meadow, who, when he comes to a tuft of grass 
he dislikes, does not grow angry and attempt to tear it up with his hoofs 
and horns, but placidly leaves it, and feeds on in the large and rich pasturage. 
But all have not this " meekness of wisdom." The prejudices of many are 
powerful, and quickly excited, and meeting with a passage in the beginnLug 
of a work— by no means essential to its design— they throw it instantly aside, 
and lose all the pleasure and benefit it would otherwise have afforded them. 
The work will meet the wishes of those who have not the command of 
much time for private engagements. And this is the case with many in our 
day, not only from the avocations of civil life, but even from the calls of re- 
liajioijs beneficence. More leisure, indeed, in many instances, may be secu- 
red, by earlier rising, and by more skill, and order, and dihgence, in the 
management of all our affairs : yet the period in which we live is peculiar; 
and the calls of God to labor in doing good, in so many civil and sacred chari- 
tie<;, leave it not our duty, to retire and read by tlie hour as our forefathers did. 
He hopes a book of this nature will be a suitable companion to those whose 
advanced years and infirmities will not allow of deep, and laborious, and 
lengthened perusals. What is preferable for them, is something easy, and 
*;hort, and veri/ Scriptural. It is observable how much more aged believers 
delight m God's Avord, than in reading any other works. It is their " necessa- 
ry food," and their " dainty meat," when their appetite for other thuigs fails. 
It is their solace, when the evil days are come in which they have no pleasure. 
It is their support, and their reliance in weakness and weariness; and they 
use it, not for amusement, but for relief only. Thus we have seen a man 
walking forth gayly in the morning, carrying his staff under his arm, or twirl- 
ing it in his hand— but, worn with the toils and fatigues of the day, we have 
seen him returning home in the evening, leaning and pressing it, at every 
weary step. , , 

The work also, will suit the afflicted. Retirement and devotion seem con- 
genial with trouble; and the sufferer naturally turns to them for succor and 
comfort. But many of the distresses of life prevent or abridge the resources 
they render so desirable and needful. What changes have many experienced, 
bv losses and reductions i They are called from freedom and ease to the care 
o? thought, the shiftings of contrivance, and the exertion of labor. Where 
no wis the leisure they once enjoyed, for their secluded emplovments of piety? 
Their hours of composure are fled, and have only left them hurried and bro- 
ken moments. They can only sip of the brook m the way. 

May the author presume that he may be of some little service to some of 
his brethren in the ministry : not only by aiding their retirement, as Chris- 
tians—and they to save themselves, as well as those that hear them— but 
by throwing out hints that may lead them to think for the pulpit, and furnish- 
ing, occasionally, outlines of discourses, vdiich they can have the merit of 
filling up ? . , , 

He cannot also but wish to be useful to another interesting class— the 
sources of our future families, and the hopes of our churches. Here he is 
tempted to uisert an extract from one of the letters he received, stimulating 
him to this undertaking. The name of the writer would add weight to his 
remarks ; but it is suppressed, because he is not apprised of the liberty now 
taken— and his hints were notlntended to meet the public eye. This ex- 
cellent, .'ind learned, and judicious friend thus expresses hunself— " I have 
ventured to put upon paper the idea I have conceived of a series of daily 
contemplations or reflections, which, among others, shall be adapted to be 
nut into the hands of intelligent and educated youth. I have a smcere vene- 
ration for the intentions of Bogatzky, and other similar authors : but there 
is such a paucity of thought, such a poverty of expression, such a narrowed 
range of ideas, such a ringing of changes incessantly, on a few topics, without 
gracefulness or variety, as to render the books exceedingly unattractive to 
the present rising generation. In these cases, I conceive we are bound to 
provide, as far as we can, that the food presented to their mmds may not 
db-Tust, by the manner in which it is served up; and that, when we put ira- 



8 PREFACE. 

portant truth in their way, it should be encumbered with as few external 
obstacles as the case will admit. Good sense you have lately told us, is good 
tafciie ; and that, I consider, is both good sense and good taste, in devotion, 
which would present to every mind, without the sacrifice of a particle of di- 
vine truth, such an exterior as may invite, rather than repulse. He who has 
once been effectually gained over to the love of the Gospel, will retain his 
affection for it under a very homely form ; but he who has yet to be won, 
will require of us some attention, as to our first addresses, to his understand- 
ing and his heart. RIy view, then, my dear sir, is, that the selection of texts 
should involve the whole range of revealed truth ; and should present it in 
that combined form in which the Scripture exhibits it; where doctrine, and 
duty, and privilege, blend like the colors that form the pure brightness of 
light: where religion is never exposed to view, as a bare skeleton, but as 
endued with all the properties of life, and in actual existence. Pithy sayings, 
wise experiences, urgent examples, faithful warnings, should revolve daily 
beneath the eye, and show the reader all that religion has done for others, 
all it aims to do for him, and all the evils that result from the absence of 
her beneficence. Testimonies, also, such as that of Chesterfield to the Vanity 
of the World, which he had so fully tried; dying experiences such as that 
of Rochester; confessions of the value of religion, such as are found in the 
Letters of Burns; and passages from eminent and striking lives, might be 
introduced in your own way, briefly prefaced or commented upon. Thus 
the whole might allure, by its variety; interest, by the reach of thought to 
which it leads ; and profitably keep before the mind of youth, amidst daily 
temptations, what religion can do for them, and what the world and other 
things never can do." 

Perhaps, however, if I am not accused of vanity, in making this extract 
from my correspondent, I shall be chargeable with imprudence, in publishing 
a recommendation, which, though I admire, I have so much Called in following. 

Percy Place, Dec. 2^th, 1828, 



MOBNIJVO EXERCISES 

FOR THE CLOSET. 



January 1.—'' On the first day of the first menth shalt thou set up the 
tabernacle."— Exodus, xl 2 

And why was tliis period chosen for the erection ? God has always 
reasons for his conduct; but He does not always " give account of 
any of his matters." We may, however, make two remarks here. 
First. Things that are the same to God, are not the same to ns. Our 
goodness extendeth not to Him : rehgion regards the exigencies of 
man ; and when these are subserved, its provisions will be needless. 
John saw no temple in the New Jerusalem. All places are alike to 
Grod ; yet we never feel, in a common dwelling, the solemnity that 
seizes us in the sanctuary. The first day of the year was no mere 
to God than any other ; but it would render the service more memo- 
rable and impressive to the people ; therefore, says He, " On the first 
day of the first month shalt thou set up the tabernacle." Secondly. 
It is well to begin a new year with some good work ; and to com- 
mence serving God after a new manner. And have we no tabernacle 
to set up on this firr^t day of this first month? 

Let us begin the year with solemn reflection — and say, with Job, 
" When a tew years are come, I shall go the way whence I shall not 
return." Let me not only believe this ; but think of it, and feel the 
importance of the sentiment. Yes, in a little time 1 shall be no more 
seen. How — where — shall I be disposed of? The seasons will return 
as beiore, but the places that now know me, will know me no more 
for ever. Will this be a curse ? or a blessing? If I die in my sms, I 
shall return no more to my possessions and enjoyments; to the calls 
of mercy ; to the throne of grace ; to the house of prayer! If I die 
in the Lord, I shall (O blessed impossibility!) return no m^ore to these 
thorns and briers; to this vain and wicked world; to this aching 
liead ; to this tlirobbing heart ; to these temptations, and troubles, anrl 
goiTOws, and sins. 

Let us begin the year with self-inspection — and say, with the chief 
butler, " I do remember my faults this day." We are prone to think 
of the failings of our fellow^reatures, and often imagine, because v>ro 
are free from their faults, that we are faultless ; but we may havs 
others ; we may have worse ; and while a mote is in our brother's 
eye, a beam may be in our own. Let us be open to conviction. Let 
us deal faithOjUy with our own hearts. Let us not compare ourselves 
with others, and especially the more vile; but with our advantages j 
with our knowledn^e ; with our professions; vv'ilh the law of God. 



10 JANUARY 1. 

Let us begin the year with a determination to abandon whatever 
appears sinful — and say, with Elihu, " If I have done iniquity, I will 
do no more." If the evil course, or the evil passion solicits, let it plead 
in vain, while the Savior Judge says — " If thy right eye ofiendthee, 
pluck it out, and cast it from thee ; for it is profitable lor thee that one 
of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should 
be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and 
cast it from thee : for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members 
should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell." 

Begin the year with pious and personal dedication — and say, with 
David, " Lord, I am thine, save me." Through Him, who is the way, 
yield yourselves unto God. It is your reasonable service. He has 
infinite claims to you ; and you will never be truly your own til! you 
are his. 

Begin the year with relative religion ; and if the worship of God 
lias never been established in your own family, now commence it — 
and say, wMth Joshua, " As for me, and my house, we will serve the 
Lord." A family without prayer is like a house without a roof. It is 
uncovered and exposed ; and we know who lias threatened to pour 
out his tury upon the families that call not upon his name. 

Begin the year with fresh concern to be useful — and ask, with Saul 
of Tarsus, " Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" Let me look at 
my condition, my resources, my opportunities. How can I glorify 
God, and promote the welfare of my fellow creatures ? Is there not 
a bible to spread ? Arc there not missionaries to support ? Are there 
none perishing for lack of knowledge that I can instruct? Have I no 
irreligious neighbors to reclaim ? Are there no poor to relieve ? No 
widows and fatherless to visit? 

Begin the year w^ith more conduct in the arrangement of your 
affairs— and resemble Ezra and his brethren, who " did according to 
the custom, as the duty of every day required." God has said, let 
every thing be done decently, and in order. Much of your comfort 
will arise from regularity in your meals, in your devotions, in your 
callings, and your piety will be aided by it. Have a place to receive 
everything; an end to simplify it; a rule to arrange it. Leave nothing 
for the morrow that ought to be discharged to-day ; sufficient for each 
peiiod will be its own claims^ and your mind ought to be always at 
liberty to attend to fresh engagements. 

Finally. Time, this short, this uncertain, this all-impovtant time, 
upon every instant of which eternity depends, will not allow of our 
trifling away any of its moments. Resolve, therefore, to redeem it. 
Gather up its fragments, that nothing be lost. Especially rescue it 
iroin needless sleep ; and if you have hitherto accustomed yourself 
to the shameilil indulgence of lying late in bed, begin the new year 
with the habit of early rising ; by which you will promote your health, 
u.id improvement of every kind, and live m.uch longer than others in 
the same number of days— and say, with David, " My voice shall 
thou hear in the morning, O Lord ; in the morning will I direct my 
prayef unto thee, and will look up." 

And if this be your determination, the season Avill be the date of 
your happiness; and God himself says, "From th=s day will I bless 
you." 



JANUARY 2. 11 

January 2.— "I will surely do thee good."— Gen. xxxii. 12. 
This is a blessed assurance with wliich to enter a new yeai not 
knowing what a day may bring Ibrth. But what have ue to do'with 
this promise? It was mdeed given immediately to Jacob: but it 
equally^ belongs to every Israelite indeed ; for he never said to the 
need ot Jacob, Seek ye me in vain. Promises made on particular 
occasions are intended for general use and advantage. Paul refer- 
nng to the words with which God had encouraged Joshua, applies 
them to the believing Hebrews: "Let your conversation be without 
covetousness, and be content with such things as ye have : for he hath 
said I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." So that we may 
bold y say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man 
shall do unto me." And Hosea, alluding to God's intercourse with 
Jacob, even at Bethel, says, "And there he talked with W5." 

The very brevity of the promise is a recommendation. We com- 
plain of our memories ; but surely we can retain these six golden 
words, "I WILL SURELY DO THEE GOOD." It is also the better for being 
mdefinite. Some promises en&nire an individual blessing : but we are 
a mass of wants; and this assurance is a comforter that meets every 
fear, every anxiety, every wish. It sets the mind completely at rest 
Witt regard to any possible contingencies. It teife us to be " careful 
for nothing ;" '' casting all our care upon Him, for He careth for us " 
But though specifying nothing in particular, it leaves our hope to 
range at large— yet it is within the compass of our welfare. " They 
that seek the Lord shall not want any good thino-." « i -will surely 
do thee good." ° ^ 

Now the meaning of this promise must be understood, or else wc 
shall hnd it impossible to harmonize it with experience. The people 
of the world have often reproached those who profess to be the blessed 
f^Tru^ ^•^^'^' ^^^^^^ ^^^®^^ poverty and distress; and have asked, 

Where is now your God ?" And they themselves have sometimes 
been perplexed and dismayed. Gideon said, " If God be with us 
why then is all this evil beflillen us?" And Jacob said, " All these 
things are against me." In an agreeable mansion, and enjoyino- all 
the eomtoits of life, no difficulty may be felt from the lanoria^e of 
God : but what is Joseph in prison ; what is Job amono- the ashes : 
\ynat is he who says, " All the day long have I been plao^ed, and 
cnastened every morning?" what is he to make of the premise, '' I 
will surely do thee good?" We must confide in the judmnent of 
Cod, and distrust our own. We are short-sighted ; and easily im- 
posed ui)on by appearances ; and know not what is good for us in this 
vain life which we spend as a shadow. But He cannot be mistaken. 
A wise father will choose far better for his infant, than the infant can 
choose for himself We must always distinguish between vWiat is 
pleasmg and what is profitable. Correction is not agreeable to the 
child ; yet it is so good for him, that he who spareth the rod, hateth 
his son. Medicine is unpalatable ; but it is good for the patient 
and renewed health will more than reconcile him even to pay for U. 
The vine-dresser does the tree good, not by sufiering the wanton 
shoots to grow on, draining the sap, but by pnmmg it, that it may 
bring foith more fruit. What said David ? " It is good for me"-. 



12 JANUARY 3. 

that I liave pix)spered 7 that I have risen from obscurity 1 that I con- 
quered Gohah? that I got such a victory in the Valley of Salt? 
No J but, It is good for me that Doeg impeached me, that Saul 
hunted me like a partridge on the mountains, that Absalom drove me 
from my palace, that Shimei cursed me on the hill, that sickness 
brought down my life to the ground: "it is good for me that 1 have 
been afflicted." We must also look to the conclusion of evente. 
Things good in themselves, with regard to us, may result in evil ; 
and things evil in themselves, may issue in good. Abraham spake 
according to our present estimations, when he said to the rich man, 
" Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, 
and Lazarus evil things." But had we known them both before death, 
and been assured that soon would the one have been comforted, and 
tlie other tormented, w^e should have judged the poverty and dis- 
tresses of Lazarus to have been the "good things," and the wealth 
and luxury of the rich man the "evil things." All is ill that ends 
ill ; and all is well that ends well. 

But let us believe the truth of this declaration. There are four 
steps by which we may reach the conclusion. The tirst regards his 
sufficiency. He is able to do us good. Nothing is too hard for the 
Lord. In the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength: there is no 
enemy but he can conquer ; no exigency but he can relieve. He is 
able to do exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think. 
The second regards his inclination. He is disposed to do us good. 
His love is not only real, but passing knowledge. He feels toward 
us as his jewels, his friends, his children, his bride : he rests in his 
love, and joys over us w^ith singing. The third regards his engage- 
ment.. He is bound to do us good. We have not only his word, but 
his oath ; an oath sworn by himself, because he could sw^ear by no 
greater; and confirmed by the blood of an infinite sacrifice. The 
fourth regards his conduct. He has done us good. We have had 
complaints enough to make of others ; but of Him we are compelled 
to say, " Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O Lord." His 
goodness and mercy have followed us all the days of our lives. How 
often has he turned the shadow of death into the morning ! But 
when I look at the cross, I see that he has done already far more 
than remains to be done. " He that spared not his own Son, but de- 
livered him up for us all ; how shall he not with him also freely give 
us all things ?» ;, 

: - -^^ -- U U^*^ 

January 3. — "And the manna ceased on the morrow after tfeey had 
eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna 
any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year." 

Josh. V. 12. 

Tms cessation of the manna is one of the several remarkable oc- 
currences at the crossing of the river Jordan. God is every thing to 
his people. In the wilderness they had no pathway ; but he led thorn 
m a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night. They were 
in danger ; but he was their defence. They had no abode ; but he 
was their dwelling-place. They had no water ; but he gave them 
etreams in the desert. They had no provision: but he lained down 



JANUARY 3. 13 

manna around ilieir tents. So that what nature relused, Proviuence 
furnished ; and what could not be derived t'l-om the ground, came 
from the clouds. 

WJien the supplies they brought with tiicai tYom Egypt were 
spent, they feared they were going to perish. They forgot the hand 
that had dried up the sea ; and said, Can God furnish a table in the 
wilderness? But he gave them bread from heaven, and for forty 
years they did eat angels' food. What an abundance was necessary 
ibr such a multitude ! And what a display of divine power was here 
witnessed ! Nor less was it a proof of divine mercy. Had he dealt 
with them after their desert, fire would have come down from heaven, 
instead of food : but as the mother silences the fretful, angry child, by 
giving it, not the rod, but the breast, so did his gentlene^'s indulge 
them. Hence, when they despised the manna as light food, it might 
have been suspended, and they might have been left to learn the w^orth 
of it by the want : but day alter day, year after year, it continued to 
attend them, and ceased not till the day after they had taken possession 
of their inhei'itance, and they had eaten of the old corn of the land. 

At length it did cease ; and wisely too. What was necessary be- 
fore, became needless now : and what want had endeared, abundance 
would have despised. This teaches us not to look for extraordinary 
supplies, when relief is to be had in an ordinary way. He who sus- 
tained Israel is as almighty as ever ; but we must plough, and sow, 
and gather into barns. He who fed Elijah with ravens, commands us 
to labor, working with our ow^n hand the thing that is good. If a man 
neglects the means of subsistence, he is not ti-usting Providence, but 
tempting it ; and is likely to be reminded by something more than 
Scripture, that if any man will not work, neither shall he eat. Even 
in miraculous achievements, w^hat human agency coidd do, was not 
done supernaturally. When Peter was in prison, the angel of the 
Lord opened the door, and broke off his fetters — for this Peter could 
not have done ; but he did not take him up in his arms, and carry 
him out ; but said unto him, " Follow me." Miracles were never 
needlessly employed ; and had they been common, they would have 
ceased to be marvellous : the exceptions would have become a gene- 
ral rule; and the whole system of Nature and Providence have been 
deranged. 

The manna was typical. " / am," said Jesus, " that bread of life." 
As the manna came down from heaven, and preserved the Israelites 
from famine, '' God so loved the world, that he gave his only begot- 
ten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have 
everlcisling life." And the Savior surpasses the emblem. The manna 
was for the body ; he saves the soul. The manna could not preserve 
from death always; but they w'ho partake of him, live for ever. The 
manna was confined to one people ; he gave his flesh for the life of 
the world. He, therefore, is the true bread. 

And shall this cease 7 Far from it. You shall live by hhn, as well 
as with him, for ever. 

Yet there will be a great difference between 3'our present and your 
future experience in reference to him. Many things now necessary, 
wdl then be done away. Conjecture, opinion, reasoning, will give 
place to knowledge. Now we walk by fciith, then we shall walk by 



14 JANUARY 4. 

eight. Now we are saved by hope ; then hope will cease in fruition. 
Love will continue for ever; but charity and mercy can have no ob- 
ject, no exercise there. We shall be still praising him ; but prayer, 
and preaching, and baptism, and the Lord's supper, will have no 
place. We can dispense with the channels, wdien we are at the 
ibuntain head ; and with the types, when we have the reality. We 
are now glad when they say unto us, " Let us go into the house of 
the Lord ;" but says John, " I saw no temple thei-e ; but the glory of 
God and of the Lamb were the light thereof." When that which is 
perfect is come, that which is in part will be done away ; and the fare 
of the wilderness will be superseded by the produce oi' Canaan. 



January 4. — " As thy days, so shall thy strength be." — Deut. xxxiii, 25. 

Dr. Doddridge was one day walking, much depressed, liis vevy 
heart desolate within him. " But," says he, " passing a cottage door 
open, I happened at that moment to hear a child reading, ' As thy days, 
so shall thy strength be.' The effect on my mind was indescribable. 
It was like life from the dead." Much is often done by a word ; and 
many can say, with Watts, 

*' And when my spirit lakes her 611 " Not warriors, who divide the spoil, 

" At some good word of thine, " Have joys compared with mine." 

And what does this word say to i(s7 " As thy days, so shall thy 
strength be." There is strength bodily. The continuance of this la 
a mercy. How soon, how easily may it be crushed or reduced, so 
that we may be made to possess months of vanity ; and endure weari- 
.«;ome nights ; and feel every exertion a difficulty, and every duty a 
burden. But there is strength spiritual. This is very distinguishable 
from the former, and often found separate from it. The Lord doea 
not always give his people a giant's arm, or an iron sinew ; but His 
strength is made perfect in weakness. This is the strength here spoken 
of, and for two purposes his people will find it necessary : service and 
£i(ffe}'ivo'. 

Every Christian has a course of duty common to him as a man ; 
which is to provide for his outward wants, and the support of his 
family. And this is done by labor, in which he is required not to be 
slothful. But there is a series of duties pertaining more immediately 
to him in his religious character ; to believe, to pray, to deny ungodli- 
ness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly, in 
the present evil world. The discharge of this high calling is some- 
times expressed by a race, which he is to run with patience. Some- 
times, also, by the life of a soldier. A soldier must not be cfTeminate, 
but endure hardness and fatigue. Even his preparations and exer- 
cises are often trying — how much more his actual services! And the 
Christian's enemies possess ever}^ thing that can render them formi- 
dable ; and so fights he, not as one thatbeateth the air. 

Suffering is commonly connected with service in the divine life. 

It was so invariably in the beginning of the gospel. Then it was 
deemed impossible for any one to live godly in Christ Jesus, and not 
suifcr persecution. Therefore, no sooner was Paul converted, than he 
was told how great things he h.ad to suffer. As real religion is always 
the same, some degree of the same opposition may be always loolced 



JAA'UARY 4. 15 

loj- ; and the hatred of the world will be shown, as lar as they have 
hberty to express it, and are not restrained by law, or the usages of 
civihzed hfe. But when the Christian has rest I'rom such trials ad 
tliese, God can subserve their purpose, by personal and relative afflic- 
tions, which are often severer, all things considered, than the endu 
rings of a martyr. They are called chastenings and rebukes, w^hich 
he is neither to despise, or faint under. They have been the expe- 
rience of all his children from age to age. I'hey are not wantonly 
inflicted; but there is a needs be for them, of wiiich their heavenly 
Father is the unerring judge; and who, as far as their education and 
welfare w411 allow, will spare them as a man spareth his own son that 
serveth him. 

Now, the prospect of all tliis, when he looks forward hito hfe, is 
enough to awaken the Christian's anxiety ; and nothing can effectu- 
ally encourage him, but the discovery of strength equal to liis exi- 
gencies. And this he finds not in himself. The natural man has no 
sensibihty of his weakness, because he is not earnestly engaged in 
those applications which require divme strength. But the Christian 
is. He knoAvs that he is as destitute of strength, 8is he is of righteous- 
ness. He feels himself entirely insufficient for all the duties and trials 
of tlie divine hfe. And the consciousness, instead of diminishmg, 
grows w^ith the experience of every day. And he need not be afraid 
of this — rather let him cherish it; for when he is weak, then he is 
strong. What he wants is provided and ensured by the promise of 
a God who cannot lie. " As thy days, so shall thy strength be."' And 
as we have heard, so have we seen in the city of our God. His vera- 
city has been attested by all his people, not one failing. And what 
says our own experience ? Year after year I h-ave been travelling in 
an enemy's country, and carrying w^th me an evil heart, prone to 
depart from the living God. I have often said, I shall one day perish. 
But where am I this morning ! Following hard after God, his right 
hand upholding me. My prayers have not been always hvely and 
delightful; but I have looked again tow^ard his holy temple; and, 
through many a benighted hour I have waited for the Lord, more 
than they that w^atch for the morning. I have had no might of my 
own, and have been often faint; but he giveth power to the faint, and 
to them that have no might he increaseth strength. This is my.tes 
timony to the praise of the glory of his gruce — and, at the beginning 
of another year I thank God. and take courage. 

" Here I raise mine Ebenezer, " And I hope, by tliy good pleasure 

" Hither, by thy help, I'm come, " Safely to arrive at home." 



January 5. — " And they cast their crowns before the throne." — Rev. iv, 10. 

PwELiGiON distinguishes and elevates. The possessors of it begin 
to rise on earth ; but their dignity is perlected and displayed in heaven. 

There they are crowned. Racers were crowned. Conquerors were 
crowned, Benefactors, who had saved tlie life of a fellow citizen, 
were crowned. Bridegrooms were crowned, Solomon's mother 
crowned him in the day of his espousals. Princes, on their ascension, 
were crowned. The saints on high are everyone of these, in them- 
fcelves; and the crown each wears is called " a crown of righteous- 



16 JANUARY 5. 

nessi" " a crown of life;" " a crown of glory that fadctli not away;'* 
a crown divinely superior to the prize of mortal ambition. " Now 
they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but avc an incorruptible." 

But if they are thus honored. " they cast their crowns before the 
throne," tliey approach; testifying, by this action, from whom they 
have received them, and conlessing that they deem themselves un- 
worthy to wear the honor " before the presence of his glory ;" all. all 
in conformity with the peculiar design of the gospel constitution 
" that no flesh should glory in his presence,^^ but " according as it is 
written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." 

It is no easy thing to bring a man to this temper of mind ; for it is 
not natural to him. Naturally, he is as proud as he is poor. Tlicre- 
fore, he would be v/ise, tliough born as a wild ass's colt. Therefore, 
though poverty itself, he says, I am rich, and increased with goods, 
and have need of nothing. Therefore, though without strength, he 
trusts hi his own heart ; and, though guilty betbre God, he goes about 
to establish his ow^n righteousness. Therefore, he is impatient under 
his affliction, as if he had a right to complain, and unthankful under 
his mercies, as if he deserved them. 

The day of conviction is a day of self-abasement ; and in that day 
the lofty looks of man are brought low. Then he submits himself to 
God. and begins to walk humbly with him ; he admires the patience 
that was borne with him, and adores the abundant mercy that has 
saved and called him. The more he advances in the divine life, the 
more h-e sinks in his own estimation. " I, who am but dust and ashes." 
" Behold, I am vile." " Who am I, and what is my fither's house?" 
" I am not Vvorthy of the least of all thy mxrcies." " I am not worthy 
that thou shouldst come under ray roof" The " latcliet of whose 
shoes I am not woithy to stoop down and unloose." '• I am not worthy 
to be called an apostle." " 1 am less than the least of all saints." 
These have been the self-annihilations of men Avho were all great in 
the sight of the Lord ; and these must be the best proofs, as they Avill 
])e the certain effects, of our growing in grace, and in the knowledge 
of our Lord and Savior. 

Ignorance is the pedestal of pride : throw down the basis, and the 
figure falls. But here our knowledge is not complete ; hereafter we 
shall see things in God's own light. Then we shall have other views 
than we nowMiave, of the exceeding sinfulness of sin; of the num- 
ber and aggravations of our offences ; of the greatness of our guilt 
and desert: of the vastness of our obhgations ; of the wonders of 
that love that passeth knowledge in every part of our salvation. 
Thence Avill result that fine ingenuous leeling that shrinlcs bade, and 
is ready to decline a distinguished privilege, not from dislike, or un- 
willingness to be under obligation, but from a sense of unworihincss, 
increased by immediate contrast with the object. Did Peter wish 
to be abandoned of Christ ? Yea, he placed all his happiness in his 

{)resence : but it ^v•as under this feeling, on the sight of the miracle, 
le exclaimed, " Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." 

Some would not think of such abdications, were they to entei 
heaven with their present principles and dispositions; they would 
rtither view their crowns as of their own deserving, and their own 
procuring: and feel the spirit of a late emperor, who, t(jo nroud to 



JANUARY 6. 17 

receive his diadem from any other hand than his own, piaced him- 
self the crovvn upon his head. But that world is a world of humility 
and gratitude. All the dignitaries there cast their crowns before the 
throne of the Savoir, in whose righteousness they are exalted — still 
praising him, and saying, " Not unto u.s, O Lord, not unto its, but 
unto thy Name give glory, for thy mercy and thy truth's sake." 

But whatever heaven is, we must be disposed and prepared for it 
before we can enter it. Has then God wrought us for the self-same 
thing ? Has he brought down the pride of our nature, and made U3 
vviUing to " submit ourselves unto the righteousness of God ?" Are 
we saying, " Blessed be the Grod and Father of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly 

f>laces in Christ ?" Is the leading sentiment of the blessed, now 
iving in our hearts, and reigning in our lives ? " By the grace op 
God I AM WHAT I A3r. Not I but the grace of God which was 

WIIH ME." 



January 6. — "Unite my heart to fear thy name."— Ps. Ixxxvi, ]1. 

The fear of Grod does not here mean a particular grace of the 
Spirit, but religion at large. It is common to all writers to express the 
whole of a thing by a part; but then it ought to be an essential and 
a distinguishing part; and "the fear of the Lord is the beginning oi 
wisdom;" and "we perfect holiness, in the fear of God." 

ReUgion is nothing without the heart ; yet naturally the heart is 
alienated from the life of God, and hangs off loosely and carelessly 
from all the spirituaUties of his service. But it must be drawn and 
attached to divine things ; and God alone can accomplish this union. 
Without his agency, indeed, there may be an outward and profes- 
sional union; but the ligatures of faith and love which are in Christ 
Jesus, will be wanting. To him, therefore, must we give the glory 
of the w^ork, if it has been effected, and to him we must repair, 
if we desire to experience it ; encouraged by the assurance that he 
will not fail to give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Mm. 

But how may I know that he has united my heart to his fear? 
When we are attached to a thing, we love to hear of it ; w^e think 
much of it ; speak much of it ; we delight to remember it. If we 
are cordially united to an individual, he shares our sympathy ; we 
feel his interests to be our own : we weep when he weeps, and re- 
joice when he rejoices. It is the same with a man that is cordially 
attached to religion ; he feels himself to be one with it : when it is 
assailed, he will endeavor to defend it : when it is wounded in the 
house of his friends, he will feel the pain : the reproach of it will 
be his burden ; he will pray for its success, and exult in its pros- 
perity. Are we cordially united to any one ? In the same degree 
we dislike absence, and dread separation. Thus the attached Ruth 
said to Naomi, " Entreat me not to leave thee, nor return from fol- 
lowing after thee ; for whither thou goest, I will go ; and where thou 
lodgest, I will lodge : thy people shall be my people, and thy God, 
my God. Where thou diest, I will die, and there will I be buried." 
And what is the language of a soul under this divine influence? 
" Why shouldst thou be a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring 



18 JANUARY 7. 

man that turneth aside to tarry for a night?" "Hide not thy 
face from me ; put not thy servant away in anger ; thou hast been 
my help ; leave me not, neither Ibrsake me, O God of my salva- 
tion." " Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy 
Holy Spirit from me." 

But was not David's heart united to the fear of God before ? It 
was. But he who has the dawn, wishes for the day. He in whom 
the good work is begun, will always pray, " Perfect that which con- 
cerneth me." And who can say here, I have attained, I am al- 
ready perfect ? David, as a backslider, prayed, " Create in me a 
clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me :" but there 
was no period in his life, or advancement in his religion, at which 
he would not have used the very same prayer. 

Whoever says, " I want 7io more," 
Confesses he has none. 

The Christian, as long as he feels any reluctance to duty ; any 
dullness in his work j any distraction in his worship ; any law in the 
members warring against the law of his mind ; any reason to sigh, 
" When I would do good, evil is present with me, and how to per- 
form that which is good, I find not," will not cease to pray, " Unite 
my heart to fear thy name." 

" Weak is the effort of my heart, " But when I see Thee as thou art, 

•* And cold my warmest thought ; " I'll praise Thee as I ought " 



January 7. — " Salute my well-beloved Epenetus, who is the first-fruits 
of Achaia unto Christ." — Rom. xvi, 5. 

Paul here remembers many, and speaks of them all with aifection 
but he salutes Epenetus as liis WELL-beloved. We are not bound to 
love all in the same manner, or in the same degree. 

The Apostle calls this convert, " fi-uits unto Chrisi,^^ not unto 
himself. Yet he had been the means of bringing him to the know- 
ledge of the truth. But Paul knew that he had not redeemed him ; 
justified him ; called him by his grace. And as to liis conversion, he 
had only been the instrument, the Lord workmg with him, and con- 
firming his word with signs following. In another place he says, 
" Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom je 
believed, even as the Lord gave to every man ?" If converted sinners 
are the seal, and reward, and glory, and joy of the preacher, they are 
infinitely more so of the Savior himself He sees in them his agency; 
his image ; the travail of his soul ; the recompense of his sufferings. 
He will enjoy their blessedness, and receive their praises for ever. 

Epenetus is here said to be the "^rsi-fruits unto Christ in Achaia.^ 
Yet he says to the Corinthians, " Ye know the house of Stephanas, 
that it is the first-fraits of Achaia." The apparent difficulty is easily 
solved by the fact, that the house of Stephanas was the first family 
that was converted, but that Epenetus was the first conven in the 
family. Christians at first were few in number, and driven together 
by persecution. They were, therefore, well known to each other, and 
to their ministers. They were marked characters. The conversion 
of a man to Christianity in a heathen place, must have been pecu- 
liarly Ghservahle. It was the production of a " new creature," which 



JANUARY 7. 19 

would of course be greatly v.'ondered at. It was displaylug the " hea- 
venly" where all was " earthly, and sensual, and devilish" bclbre. 
xVnd we see it, was uorihy of attention. Eartlily minds are most in- 
terested by the events of this life : by the poUcy of statesmen, the ex- 
ploits of heroes, the discoveries of philosophers — but what Paul noticed 
in Achaia, was the first man that was called there out of darkness into 
the kingdom of God's dear Son. He knew that the conversion of one 
soul far transcended in importance the deliverance of a whole king- 
dom from civil bondage. Kingdoms w^ill soon be no more ; but such 
a soul will shine a monument of grace and glory for ever and ever. 
" There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner 
that repenteth." 

How^ long Epenetus, in the place and in the family, stood alone as 
a professed Christian, we know not ; but it is no uncommon thing for 
an individual to be similarly situated. We have often seen single 
converts seeking and serving Christ, as the first-fi-uits of the neigh- 
borhood, or tlie household, wherein they lived. The way in which, 
and the means by vv^hich these persons are brought forward before 
others, would, if stated, be found to be various, and ot'ten remarkable. 
Hearing the Gospel while from home ; visiting in a family where the 
worship of God is maintained ; meeting with a good book ; a letter 
from a Iriend ; a conversation with a stranger ; an affliction that made 
the heart bleed, and laid bare the prospects of life — where shall we 
end ? " Lo I all these worketh God oftentimes with man, to brmg 
back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the 
living." For though the incidents upon v/hich this mighty event 
lunged seemed perfectly casual, they were all arranged by his own 
purpose and grace. 

And the circumstances in which these Jirst converts are placed, 
are a post of trial ; and sometimes the tiial is very severe. They 
have to take up their cross daily, and hourly too ; and a cross too 
heavy to be borne without divine aid. Little do many who have been 
religiously brought up, and whose relations and friends, if not decid- 
edly pious, are not hostile ; little do they know what some have to 
endure, especially at the commencement of their religious course ; 
when, instead of assistance and countenance, (so much needed,) they 
meet with neglect, and opposition, and sneers, and reproach, from all 
around them — and from all that are dear to them. 

— They are also in a post of duty ; and are required to be not only 
harmless and blameless, but most exemplary in their language, tem- 
per, and conduct. The reason is, that they will attract peculiar notice. 
Every thing they do will be canvassed by a shrewdness sharpened by 
enmity, and ready to magnify every failing. They will be judged 
by their profession ; and their religion will be judged by them. And 
they are to put gainsayers to silence, and constrain them, by their 
good works which they behold, to glorify God in the day of visitation. 
They are to adorn the doctrine of Gi3d our Savior in all tilings; and 
by v.'alking in wisdom, to win those who are without. They are not 
to repulse by rudeness, or chill by disdain. They are never to betray 
a feeling that says, Stand by thyself; come not near to me — I am 
holier than tliou. * They arc not, by stiffness, and affectation in little 
and lawful things, to lead people to suppose that their religion is made 



20 JANUARY 8. 

up of oddities and perverseness. Yet, in things ofniiquerstionable obli- 
gations and real importance, iliey must be firm and immoveable, al- 
\va3's abounding in the work of the Lord : for not only will conscience 
require this, in the testimony they are always to bear for God, but 
euch consistency alone will enthrone them in the convictions and es- 
teem of others. 

— For they are also in a post of honor. They have a peculiar 
opportunity of showing their principles. Later converts ma}' be 
equally conscientious, l)ut these coming after, -when they have the 
sanction and co-operation of others, cannot so obviously appear 'o be 
on the Lord's side, nor so fully evince the pui-ity and power of rheir 
motives, as those Avho come forward alone, and say to all others, 
hoA'ever numerous, however influential, however endeared — choose 
you this day whom you will serve ; but as for me, I will serve the 
Lord. They have, therefore, the privilege of taking the lead, and of 
being examples, instead of tbllowers. And they may be, and are 
likely to be, the means of prevailing upon othei-s. We have seldom 
seen an instance of failure. The effect has not always immediately 
appeared ; but where they have been enabled to walk worthy of 
God unto all pleasing, after a while they have no longer gone alone 
to the cross of Christ, to the throne of grace, to the house of God, 
but in company — in company with those who once stood aloof, or 
before even opposed. And " he that converteth a sinner from the 
eiTor of his ways, shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a mul- 
titude of sins." 



January 8. — " Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper 
and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth." — 3d Epis. John, 2. 

It has been supposed from hence, that Gaius had an infirm and 
sickly constitution. This is probable, but it does not necessarily fol- 
low; for John might have wislied him the continuance and increase 
of health, as well as the restoration of it. 

However this m.ay be, we learn from his language, that it is allow- 
able for us to pray for temporal blessings, and that, of all these bless- 
ings, health is the most valuable and necessary. 

But is outward prosperity — is even health itself the chief good — 
that " above all things" he wishes his friend to enjoy it? Some, there- 
fore, have rendered it, " I wish above all persons ;" others, " I wish 
ni all respects ;" that thou mayest prosper and be in health. But there 
is no need of criticism here. Gaius had grace already, and a higli 
degree of it ; and this one thing needful being secured, it was then 
supremely desirable that he should have health to enjoy and nnprove 
it — " even as liis soul prospered." 

John makes, also, his soul-prosperity the standard and rule of his 
pra5'er lor other things. This would be a dreadiul rule with regard 
to many. Such praying, if answered, would ruin them. Yes, if they 
were to prosper in temporal things as they prosper in spiritual, they 
would become the poorest, meanest wretches on earth ; for they are 
Btrangers to every thing like the true riches. And if their bodies were 
to be as healthful as their souls, their dwellings would become an hos- 
pital — their bed of ease a bed of languishing; they wculd be blind, 



JANUARY 9. 21 

for they have no spiritual understanding — deat^, for they never hear 
the voice of God — dead, for the Spirit of God is not in them. 

Yet this seems to be the only safe rule. For unless religion keeps 
pace with our outward good, our safety and welfare would be endan- 
gered by it. We are not afraid when we see Christians succeeding 
in life, it] at the same time, they grow in grace. But the peril is, when 
there is so much sail, and so little ballast. What can be more awful 
than to see those who too much mind earthly things, gaining abun- 
dantly ; to see those who have a relish for the pride of life, enabled 
to be splendid ; to see those much indulged, who cannot put a knife 
to their throat. If our plenty and dainties awaken in us no moral 
apprehensions, and if we can feast ourselves v\^ithout fear, surely our 
table is likely to become a snare, and that which should have been for 
our welfare to become a trap. The prosperity of fools destroys them, 
and the prosperity of those who have not much wisdom injures them. 

Let us, therefore, examine our wishes. Let us regulate them 

Eiously. Let us seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness. 
iCt us ask for no more of other things than we can bear — ever pray- 
ing for our friends and oursehes, that we may prosper and be in 
health even as oar souls prosper. 



Jandary 9. — " He will be our guide even unto death. — Psalm xlviii, 14. 

This assurance comes home to our case and feelings. We are 
strangers and pilgrims upon earth. We resemble the Jews in the 
wilderness; we are not in Egypt, and we are not in Canaan, but 
journeying from one to the other. We are delivered from our natural 
state, but before we can enter glor}-, 

" We have this desert world to pass ; " A dangerous aud a tiresome place." 

And as the Jews w^ere not left to themselves, but had a conductor, so 
have we — " This God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our 
guide even unto death." How perfectly, how infinitely qualified is 
he for this office! In a journey it is unnecessary for the traveller to 
know the road, but the guide ought to know it ; and when Jie is well 
acquainted with it, and we have full confidence in him, we shall feel 
satisfaction, notwithstanding our own ignorance. Abraham went out, 
not knowing whither he went, but he knew with whom ; and Job, 
after expressing his perplexities, apd the successlessness of his efforts 
to explore the dispensation he was under, relieves himself with this 
thought : " But he knoweth the way that I take." 

•• Oh, who so fit to choose our lot, " And regulate our ways," 

as he who sees the end from the beginning ; who knows all our walk 
ing through this great wilderness ; who cannot mistake as to what is 
good or evil for us, and who has said, " I w^U bring the blind by a 
way that they know not, I will lead them in paths that they have not 
known ; I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things 
straight ; these things will I do unto them, and not forsake them." If 
we had a wise and sure, but a sullen and silent leader, it would deduct 
much from the pleasure of the journey. But our guide indulges us 
with constant intercourse. He allows us to address 1dm whenever we 
please, and in eveiy thing by prayer and supplication to make known 



22 JANUARY 10. 

our requests ; while he condescendingly addresses us, talking with U3 
by the way, and opening to us the scripture.?. He is also equil to all 
our exigencies. Do we want food, refreshment, rest? He car* supply 
all our need, according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Have 
we storms? " He is our refuge and strength, a very present help in 
trouble." Are we exposed to enemies? "What David said to Abiathar 
who had fled to him in his jeopardy, he says to us, " Abide with me, 
for he that seeketh thy life secketh my life, but with me thou slialt be 
in safeguard." I should not be afraid of the sights and bowlings ol" 
the wood, if I had a lion at my right hand every step, and could de- 
pend upon his fidelity ; a lion is the strongest among beasts, and 
turneth not aAvay for any. More than this is our privilege. 

• A thousand savage beasts of prey " But Juduh's Lion guards tlie way, 

" Around the forest roam ; " And guides the traveller home." 

What human patience could bear with our manners and provoca- 
tions? What creature conductor is there but would throw up Jiis 
charge long before the journey's end ? But he does not cast away his 
people. He iiever leaves nor forsakes them. This is their comfort; 
this is their hope ; this is their security: the long-suffering of our God 
is salvation. " I, the Lord, change not ; therefore yc sons of Jacob 
are not consumed." 

Yes, he will be our guide " even unto death;'" that is, till the jour- 
ney is over, and all its cares cease. But is nothing more neccssaiy ? 
TO death is much, but through death seems better. When we coins 
to the entrance of the gloomy passage, it is pleasing to think that he 
is at the other side, and Avill receive us to himself; that Avhere he is, 
there we may be also. But how am I to get through? " My flesh 
and my heart failcth," 

" Oh, if my Lord would come and meet — " Fly fearless through Dcalli'siroii gat?, 
" My soul would stretch her wings in haste, " Nor feel the terrors as she pass'd."' 

Well, this case is provided for — all is insured. He will be v^-ith us 
THROUGH. " Yea, though I wall< ihrougji the valley of the shadow ol 
death, I will fear no evil, for thou art vAth me: thy rod and tliy staif 
they comfort me," — Amen. 



January 10. — " A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, 
nrhich gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway," — Acts, x, 'J. 

We should beware of general and indiscriminate reflections upon 
communities and professions. They are injurious, and tend to make 
and keep the parties what they find they are generally supposed to be 
They are unjust; for there are always exceptions. And they are ui> 
genercus; for the more temptations men have to resist, the move evils 
they have to subdue, the more difficulties they have to struggle vrith — ■ 
the more deserving and commendable is the individual that succeeds ; 
or rather, the more is the grace of God glorified in him. Can theie 
be no excellency connected with arms ? In tJie New^ Testament we 
meet with no less than four centurions, and all are spoken of wiiii 
approbation — the centurion who came to our Lord on thf, bchali' ol 
his servant — the centurion (hat watched and confessed at the cross — 
the centurion that behaved so courteously to Paul in his voyage, end 
Cornelius, here spoken of. 



JANUARY 11. 23 

He is supposed to have been a proselyte, but he was not. Yet he 
"worshipped God, the knowledge of whom he probably obtained by 
residing with his men in Judea. He was a " devout man," and three 
fine unions are mentioned in his character and conduct. 

A union o^ personal and relative duty: " He feared God with 
all his house." This was like Joshua, who said, " As for me and 
my house, we will serve the Lord :" not my house without myself, 
nor myself without my house ; but I, and my house. If we are godly 
ourselves, we shall surely give evidence of it by instructing, and ad- 
monishing, and impressing those who are placed under our care. 
And in vain shall we use the means, if we counteract them by our 
own example. We must do, as well as teach. 

A union o? piety and morality ; gave alms and prayed. Piety 
is more than prayer, and morality is more than alms ; yet alms and 
prayer are not only parts, but essential parts of them, and they can 
never be separated. Some talk of their lov^e to the gospel, and their 
communion with God, who are hard-hearted, and close-handed. 
" But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, 
and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth 
the love of God in him ?" Others stand fair with their fellow crea- 
tures, and are distinguished by liberality and kindness, yet they have 
no fellowship with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ ; they live 
without God; they indulge their sensual passions, and imagine that 
charity covers a multitude of sins ; " But pure religion, and undefiled 
before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows 
in their affliction, and to keep themselves unspotted from the vrorld." 

A union of the real and eminent in religion: " He gave much 
alms to the people, and prayed to God alwayP There cannot be 
the eminence of grace ^vithout the reality ; but there may be the 
reality without the eminence. We should be thankful for a day of 
small things, but we should seek after a day of great ones. We 
should add to the essentials of religion, its excellencies too. We 
should not only have life, but have it more abundantly. 

As to our temporal condition, we should be content with such things 
as we have ; but contentment does not become us in divine things. 
There we should be ambitious. There we should be covetous. We need 
more. And more is attainable. Let us, therefore, enlarge our desirea 
and our hopes, and seek to be filled with all the fullness of God. 

January 11.— "Where dwellest thou?"— John i, 38. 

This question was addressed to our Lord by two of John's disciples. 
One of them was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother — of the other we 
are ignorant; but they w^ere both following Jesus. Then Jesus turn- 
ed, and saw them following, and saith unto them, " What seek ye ?" 
They said unto him, "Rabbi, where dwellest thou ?" 

Let us consider the principle of tlie inquiry. It was not curiosity, 
but regard. It was as much as to say, We wish to be better acquaint- 
ed. John had spoken of him highly, and they had just seen him ; 
but this, instead of satisfying them, drew forth 'their desire after more 
intimacy. Now this is common to all the subjects of divine grace, 
and arises from their love to Mm. For love longs to be near the ob- 



24 JANUARY 11. 

ject of attachment; separation is painful; distance is intolerable; 
while intercourse yields a pleasure words can no more describe than 
paint can express light or heat. Hence the believer longs to be with 
the Savior. " Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou 
feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon ; for why should 
I be as one that turneth aside from the paths of thy companions ?" 
The desire ariseth also from the want of Mm. What can I do, sayg 
the Christian, without him ? he is my deliverer, my helper, my guide, 
my comforter. The earth can do better without the sun than I can 
do without him, the sun of righteousness. The body does not depend so 
much upon the soul as I do upon him, the quickening Spirit. Who 
can screen me from the condemnation of the law 1 Who can re- 
Heve my burdened conscience ? Whose grace is sufficient for me, to 
sanctify me in prosperity, to sustain me in adversity, to crown me in 
death ? " Oh, cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy 
Holy Spirit from me." I must live in the same place, the same house, 
the same room, where thou dwellest — " Where dwellest tliou ?" 

But let us find, if we can, an answer to this question. "He saith 
unto them. Come and see ;" and they went, and " saw where he 
dwelt." In a general way, he had not where to lay his head. It is 
not probable he had now a house to himself, but only an apartment 
hired or borrowed. But how was that lodging sanctified and honor- 
ed ! They showed Alexander, when in Holland, a house where Peter 
the Great resided, and which is preserved in memory of him. Many 
have seen at Olney the alcove where Cowper wrote his " Task." 
Oh, to have seen a dwelling where Jesus resided ! But where dwells 
he now ? He is every where, but he is not said to dwell every where. 
Dwelling, with regard to him, implies preference, and abiding with 
him, delight. First, then, he dwells in heaven ; and this marks the 
place, yea — this makes it. " Where I am, there shall my servants 
be *' " Absent from the bod)', and present with the Lord." Secondly, 
he dwells in his Church. " This." says he, " is my rest for ever ; here 
will I dwell, for I have desired it." Thirdly, he dwells in the sanc- 
tuary. " In all places where I record my name, I will come unto 
thee, and I will bless thee." " Where two or three are gathered to- 
gether in my name, there am I in the midst of them." And there 
his people have found him, and exclaimed, "Surely, God is in this 
place." Fourthly, He dwells in the heart. He will reject every 
other residence you may offer him. "My son," says he, "give me 
thine heart ;" and from every believer he obtains what he demands. 
Christ dwells in his " heart by faith." 

This may be called enthusiasm by some ; but it is the language of 
Inspiration. " Hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit 
which he hath given us." Let me forbear to injure and insult a 
Christian. Let me revere and honor him : he is a palace of the 
Prince of Peace; a temple of the Lord of all. Let me admire the 
condescension and kindness of Immanuel, God with us ; and if I am 
the subject of this residence, let me not only rejoice in the dignity 
and privilege, but be concerned to discharge every duty I owe to such 
a distmguished guest, to such a divine inhabitant ! " Let the words 
of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy 
sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer." 



JANUARY 12. 25 

JANUARY 12. — "And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people »o, 
that God led them not through the way of the land of the rhilistines, al- 
though that was near; for God s^aid, L-est peradventure the people repent 
when they see war, and they return to Egypt; but God led the people about, 
through the way of the wilderness of the lied Sea." — Exod. xiii, 17, 18. 

There were two ways wliich they might have taken to their des- 
tination. One was fiorn the north of Egypt to the south of Canaan 
This was short and direct, and would have taken but a few days as 
we see in the case of Jacob's sons, vv hen tliey fetched corn, and in 
the rapid incursion of Bonaparte.. The other was very much far- 
ther, and very indirect, and yet God took this; and instead of leading 
them to the Isthmus of Suez, he conducted them to the border of the 
Red Sea. He therefore declined the common road which the people 
would have chosen, and which every one else might have reconi 
mended, and selected the most unhkely. 

For his thoughts are not our thoughts; neither are liis ways our 
ways. And the promise is, " I Avill bring the blind by a way that 
they know not ; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: 
I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight." 
It is well that we are under his guidance, for the way of man is not 
in himself; it is not in man that waiketh to direct his steps. We 
know not what is good for us ; and, like childrcni left to themselves, 
we should soon run into mischief. We are too ignorant, too selfish, 
too carnally minded, to choose for ourselves safely. How was it witii 
the Jews in the time of Moses 7 They must have flesh; and he gave 
them their hearts' desire, but sent leanness into their souls. And was 
it not the same in the days of Samuel ? They would have a king, 
and he gave them a king in his anger, and took him away in hts 
wrath. And how has it been with ourselves ? Have we not often 
been imposed upon both by our hopes and fears? Have we not 
anxiously desired what we now see would have proved injurious? 
And have we not been eager to escape what we now know has proved 
a blessing ? If our bones have not been broken, have we not been 
bruised by the falls of our own rashness and folly ? If we have not 
been thrown out of the vehicle, have we not endangered it enousrh to 
mduce us to give back the reins into the proper hands ? Surely we 
are not yet leaning to our own understanding, but committing our 
way unto the Lord. Surely vre are now saying, the Lord shall choose 
our inheritance for us. 

" Since all the (iownward tracks of time, " O who so fit to choose our let, 

" His watchful eye surveys ; « And regulate our ways." 

It is acknowledged that the course deciined " was near." But, God 
being the judge, the nearest way is not always the best. Jacob, in 
obtammg the blessing, went the nearest way to work in imposing 
upon his blind father; but God's way would have been better, though 
it would have taken more time. Joseph's dreams might have been 
fulfilled by constraining his brethren to pay him immediate obeisance. 
But more than twenty years must previously elapse, and he must be 
sold into Egypt as a slave, and be imprisoned as a criminal, and be 
released as an interpreter, and possess all the store of the land aa a 
deliverer. The thing was true ; but tlie time appointed was lonff. 

Vol, L 2 



26 JANUARY 12. 

Yet the Lord's time is the best ; and the fmit we covet will be much 
more rich and wholesome when ripe, than if seized and devoured 
while green. He that believeth, therefore, maketh not haste. " This 
world IS a Mesech, and my soul is vexed with the conversation of the 
wicked. Why is not my taste gratified ? and why am I not allowed 
to enter the region of purity and peace?" Because your principles 
are to be tried and exem.plified. Because you are to serve your gene- 
ration by the will of God. " How long have I waited for an answer 
to prayer, for a dehverance from affliction, for a sense of divine favor?" 
And are ye not told that " it is good for a man not only to hope, but 
quietly to wait for the salvation of God ?" and that " Blessed are all 
tlv^y that wait for him ?" The order of nature is not to reap as soon 
as the seed is sown — Aveeks and months of varied weather, and some 
of .t dreary and chilling^ are introductory and preparatory to the 
harvest. It is the same with the order of grace. " Be ye also patient." 
God doth all things well ; and if he led them the longest way, it 
was the right way. He did not choose it arbitrarily, but lor reasons 
founded in his wisdom and kindness. Some of these reasons are not 
mentioned, but they were afterward developed ; and the motive here 
assigned is well worthy of our attention. It was to keep them from 
" seeing war" — especially " vmh the Phihstincs," into contact with 
whom they would have immediately come the other way. At pre- 
sent they were not fitted for serious conflict. Their spirits had been 
broken by oppression, and they partook of the timidity, as well as 
meanness of slaves. They were raw recruits, shepherds, brickmakers. 
It was better for them not to fight for awhile, or to have only a dis- 
tant brush with Amalek, rather than be plunged at once into a san- 
guinary contest with veteran foes, inured to battle, and rendered 
courageous by victory. How instructive is this! What is the coun- 
terpart of it? He knows our frame ; he remembers that we are dust. 
A bruised reed will he not break, and the smoking flax will he not 
quench. He gathers the lambs with his arm, and carries them in his 
bosom. He affords to young converts some peculiar encouragements 
to allure them on, till they have advanced too far to think of going 
back, whatever they meet with. From a regard to their weakness, 
and want of experience, for a time he hides or restrains many of their 
enemies, and thus secures them from encounters with Avhich more 
aged Christians are familiar. When will ministers and Christians 
learn to be followers of God ? Under their guidance, persons wlio 
have but just left Egypt are often involved in controversies even witli 
Philistines. They have scarcely entered the grammar school of re- 
pentance, before they are sent to the university of predestination. 
Babes, instead of being fed with milk, have strong meat given them, 
and even bones. Their hope is shaken, and their comfort destroyed, 
because they have not the confidence and assurance required of them. 
But if we turn to the conduct of our Lord, we shall see that every 
thing is not to be advanced at once — every thing is not to be exacted 
of afl, and in all circunistances. Hear Jiim. " I have yet many 
things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them novv^." " And they 
said unto him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make 
prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees, but thine eat and 
drinit? And he sad unto them, Can ye make the cliildren of the 



JANUARY 13. 27 

bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them ? But tlie days 
will come when the bridegroom sirall be taken away from them, and 
then shall they fast in those days. And he spake also a parable unto 
them: No man putteth a piece' of a new garment upon an old: if 
otherwise, tlien both the new maketh a rent, and the piece that was 
taken out of the new agreeth not with the old. And no man putteth 
new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, 
and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. But new wine must be 
put into new bottles, and both are preserved." 

January 13. — " The goodcess of God leadeth thee to repentance. — Rom. ii, 4. 

Repentance is indispensable to fallen creatures. And though it be 
from God, as well as all the blessings annexed to it, yet there is an 
order in his operations, and he must do some things for us before he 
can do others. He must give grace, before he can give glory ; and 
before he makes us happy wiih himself, he must make us holy like 
himself Hence we read of " repentance unto life." 

But let us observe the manner of his producing this repentance. 
We are led to it hy his goodness — not driven by the terrors of the 
Ahnighty. Cain, Pharaoh, Judas, were all terrified into repentance : 
and there was nothing in their experience ingenuous or saving. 
Peter was led to repentance. He had sadly sinned, and denied his 
Lord with cursings. But the Lord turned and looked upon Peter ; 
and the look broke his heart, and " he went out and wept bitterly." 
And. says God, " thou shalt 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." 

In the Gospel he draws with the bands of a man and with the cords 
of love. And the repentance here spoken of is the tender mother 
pulling her infant to her knee, while chiding him, and constraining 
the little offender to hide his blushing face, and to sob out his heart 
into her bosom — not the stern father, drivmg the transgressor from his 
face into distance, and concealment, and dislike, and falsehood, Or, 
if it be the father, it is the father of the prodigal. Impatient of pa- 
ternal restraint, he asked for his portion of goods, and went away into 
a very far country. Soon all he had was spent : and there arose a 
famine in the land, and he began to be in want; and he went and 
hired himself to keep swine — and oft he looked at his grovelling 
charge, and said, '• O that I was one of you, and could eat and die, 
and be no more." He even fed upon their vile fare, for no man gave 
unto him. At length he came to himself, and the thought of home 
struck liim. " There is bread enougli in my father's house, and I 
here perish with hunger. I will arise and go unto my father." While 
he was yet a great way off, hovering about, and afraid to draw nigh, 
his father saw him, and had compassion on him, and ran and fell on 
his neck and kissed him. He had prepared a confesgion, acknowledg- 
ing the vilest guilt, and a petition, imploring the meanest favor; but. 
forgiving, overflowing love prevented the expression of either. " Bring 
forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hani 
and shoes on his feet ; and bring forth the fatted calf, and kill it, and 
let us eat and be merry ; for this my son was dead, and is alive again | 
he was lost, and is found." 



28 JANUARY 14. 

He felt his unworthiness before, but he was a thousand times more 
penitent now. " What a father have I sinned against ! What ex- 
cellence have I contemned! Wliat love have I abused!" How 
would he blush and weep, as he was not only clothed, but adorned; 
and not only fed, but feasted. How, as the ring touched his finger, 
and he was conducted into the room of mirth, prepared for him! 
how, almost sinking under the weight of obligation^ would he bii 
ready to say, " How can I bear all this ?" And would not the lather 
be more endeared to him by forgiveness than by birth? And after 
all this, would he be able to stab his father to the heart ? To ofiend 
him? To grieve hira ? Must he not delight to obey him ? and ever}' 
moment ask. What wilt thou have me to do ? 

Despair hardens; but vvc are saved by hope. Threatenings may 
make us afraid to go on ; but goodness maizes us unwilling. Terrors 
may wrest the weapons of rebellion out of our hand; but goodness 
induces us to hate them, and throw them down — and weep over 
them — and return and vow, " O Lord, other lords beside thee have 
had dominion over us ; henceforth by thee only will we make men- 
tion of thy name." 

How mistaken then are many with regard to Christian repentance. 
It is not legal, but evangelical. It is not slavish, but filial. It is not 
degrading, but connected with the noblest feelings of the heart. It is 
not desponding and miserable, but lives in the comforts of the Holy 
Ghost. And " bieased are they that mourn, for they shall be com- 
forted." 



January 14. — " And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh's 
birth-day, that he made a feast unto all his servants; and he lifted up the 
head of the chief butler, and of tiie chief baker, among his servants. — Gen. 
xl, 20. 

If the chief butler had been falsely, and the chief baker had been 
justly accused, the providence of God was now seen in the clearing 
of the one, and the punishment of the other. If both were either 
equally innocent or guilty, here was an instance of the arbitrariness 
of a prince, who probably prided himself in his absolute authority, 
and in having it said, " Whom he would he slew, and v.'hom he 
would he kept alive." Or, perhaps, he designed to show his subjects 
that he would be known both in the exercise of mercy and judg- 
ment. And hence, the season was his birth-day. 

The birth-day of princes has been anciently and generally soicm- 
nized aa a token of the respect due to their sovereignty : but it has often 
been abused, and given rise to wickedness and mischief We see this 
in the case of Jeroboam. At the commemoration of his birth, intem- 
perance rioted; and the intoxication of the king himself injured his 
health, and made him forgot his dignity in his joining familiarly with 
low buffoons and jesters : " In the day of our king the princes have 
made him sick with bottles of wine : he stretched out his hand with 
ecorners." And how was it on a similar occasion with Herod ? " Herod 
on his birth-day made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief 
estates in Galilee" — the daughter of Herodias danced— the king was 
excited — and John was beheaded I 

But, in almost every rank of life, the usage prevails, of persons ob- 



JANUARY 14. 29 

eemng with some, degree of festivity tlie day of their birth. The 
Ihino- is lawful in itself, if it be ueed liiwfully. It might be ueed pro- 
fitahTy. But our pious forefathers made it a day of relative iiitei?- 
cour.-?e and congratulations, yet a day also of pious feeling and regard. 
And surely it should be made 

A day of ihanU'sgiving to the Author and Giver of hie— For our 

{jeing— for the rank we occupy in the scale of creation— for the counr 
try and family in which we were brought forth— for our civil and re- 
ligious advantages— and lor our preservation through so many perils 
— anu when so many have been cut off. 

—A day of humiliation— That we were shapcn in iniquity, and in 
ein did our mother conceive us— that we went astray from tlie womb 
—that our transgressions are innumerable, and our trespass is gone 
up into the verylieavens- and that we have not improved, as we 
oiight to have done, any of our privileges—" I do remember my 
faults this day." 

A day of reflection — That as there is a time to be born, so there 

is a time to die— that so much of life is already passed av/ay as a 
shadovv'— that when a few years come, we shall go the way \yhencc 
we shall not return — that our continuance here is as uncertain as it 
is short— that we may never see this day again— and if we do not— 
where shall we be when it returns ? 

—A day of prayer— That we may so number our days as to ap- 
ply our hearts unto wisdom— that we may obtain pardoning mercy 
and renewino- grace — that we may be prepared for all the duties and 
trials that lie%etbre us— that vdiether we live we may live unio the 
Lord, or whether w^e die we may die unto the Lord ; bo that living 
and dying we may be the Lord's. ^ 

Happy they w^ho, Vithout complaining of their lot, or being im- 
patient' to be irone, yet know that the day of their death is better than 
the day of their birth. Though for them to live is Christ, to die is 
gain ; and every returning birth-day tells them, " So much nearer 
your lieaveniy home," , ./. , 

But how dreadful the state of tho::-e who know, and if tney ccn- 
Pilder, they must know^— that every year advances them so much 
away from all they love ; and brings them so much nearer a world 
in wiiicli, as they have no hope, so after which they can have no de- 
sire. If conscience be not stupified, and all thought banished by com- 
pany and gayety— a birth-day to them is far from enviable. Verses 
may be wntten; addresses may be received ; smiles may be put on: 
but even in laughter the heart is sorrowful, and the end of that 
mirth is heaviness. i i- i * 

What a diifcrence in the twc following references to the birtli ot 

the individuals. . •, i v i 

"Who," says Voltaire, "can, without horror, consider the whole 
world as 'the empire of destruction ? It abounds with wonders ; it 
also abounds with victims. It is a vast field of carnage and contagion. 
Every e])ec!es is without pity pursued and torn io pieces, through the 
earlh and air, and water. In man there is more wretcheJnessthan in 
all the other animals put together. He loves life, and yet he knows 
that he must die. If he en]oys a transient good, he suffers var-ous 
cvil^ and is at last devoured by worms. This knowledge is his fatal 



so JANUARY 15. 

prerogative : other animals have it not. He spends the transient mo 
ments of his existence in diffusing the miseries which he suffers ; in 
cutting the throats of his fellow creatures for pay; in cheating and 
being cheated; in robbing and being robbed; in serving, that he 
might command ; and in repenting of all he does. The bulk of man- 
kind are nothing more than a crowd of wretches, equally criminal 
and unfortunate ; and the globe contains rather carcasses than men. 
I tremble at the review of this dreadful picture to find that it con- 
tains a complaint against Providence itself; and I wish I had never 

BEEN BORN." 

Now let us hear the language of the excellent Hallyburton, who 
died as he lived, full of confidence in God. "I shall shortly get a 
very different sight of God from what I have ever had, and shall be 
made meet to praise him for ever and ever. O the thoughts of an 
incarnate Deity are sweet and ravishing. O how I wonder at mysell 
that I do not love him more, and that I do not admire him more. 
What a wonder that I enjoy such composure under all my bodily 
pains, and in the view of death itself. What a mercy that-, having 
the use of my reason, I can declare his goodness to my soul. I long 
ibr his salvation ; I bless his name I have found him, and die rejoic- 
ing in him. O blessed be God that I was born ! O that I was 
where he is. I have a father and mother, and ten brothers and sis- 
ters, in heaven, and I shall be the eleventh. O there is a telling in 
this Providence, and I shall be telling it for ever. If there be such a 
glory in his conduct toward me now, what will it be to see the Lamb 
in the midst of the throne ? Blessed be God that — ever I was born." 



January 15. — "Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul." — T&. xxv, I. 

It is not easy to do this. We are naturally sluggish and grovel- 
ling. Who has not reason to acknowledge, with shame and sorrow, 
" My soul cleaveth unto the dust V It is easy enough, in duly, to 
lift up our hands, and our eyes, and our voices ; but it is another thing 
to come even to his seat, to enter into the secret of his tabernacle, 
and to hold intercourse with the God of heaven. And yet, without 
this, v>^hat is devotion ? And how unanswerable will our services be 
to the requisition of Him wdio is a Spirit, and seeketh sucli to worsliip 
him as w^orship him in spirit and in truth? 

And without this a real Christian is no more satisfied than God 
He will not. indeed, from a principle of duty, undervalue the means 
of orace, and neglect private and public devotion ; but he is disa])- 
pointcd unless he can lift up his soul unto God. And this marks the 
spiritual worshipper. He is not distinguished by always enjoj^ing 
liberty and fervor in his holy exercises, but he mourns the want of 
them; while the formalist looks no further than the performance 
itself, and returns from the House and Throne of God, without ever 
inquiring whether he has had communion with Him. 

It is the spirituality of religion that befriends enjoyment. Nothing 
yields us pleasure but in proportion as the heart is engaged in the 
pursuit. How dull, how tiresome are those tasks, in which, 

" In vain to heaven wc lift our cries, " And leave our fouls beliind." 



JA.^UARYI6. 81 

But it is good to draw near to God. Then there is a sacred charm 
that keeps our thoughts frorn wandering, and we attend on the Lord 
witiiout distraction. Then we feel no weariness of spirit. We call 
ihe Sabbath a deUght. We find his words, and eat them. And our 
meditation of Him is sweet. 

And when such a worshipper comes forth, he will be ready to say- 
to aU he meets, " That which we have seen and heard declare we 
unto you; that' ye may have fellowship with us; and truly our fel- 
lowship is Avith the Father, and wnth his Son Jesus Christ. And His 
recommendations are likely to have some effect. For his profit will 
apfiear unto all men. His face shines. His heart speaks. His life 
speaks. His character speaks. He must be impressive and influen- 
tial. He will be felt — in the family — in the church — and in the world. 
He cannot but do good, even without pretension — without efibrt. 

" When such a man familiar with tlie skies, 

" Has fiJled his urn wliere those pure waters rise; 

" And once more mingles with us, meaner things, 

" 'Tis e'en as if an angel shook iiis wings— 

" Iinmorial fragrance fills the circuit svide, 

" Which tells us whence hii treasures are supplied." 



January 15. — " I know the thor.ffbts that I think to'.vard you, saith the 
Lord; thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." 

Jer. xxix, 11. 

What can the people of God desire more ? They are here assured 
by Himself that he thinks of them ; that he knows his thoughts 
toward them; that they are kind in their nature, thoughts oi^ peace, 
and not of evil; and that they regard an end, allowing and requiring 
cvpectation^ to bring them to an eccpccted end. 

He designed and procured the Jews good in Babylon ; but the ran- 
somed of the Lord were to return, and come to Zion. " After seventy 
years be accomplished at Babylon, I will visit you, and perform my 
good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place." Here 
we see what was their expected end. And what did it prefigure but 
'• the end of our laith, even the salvation of our souls" — "the end, 
everlasting life," The Christian is now on the sea, encountering 
many a wind, and feeling many a fear; but the voyage will end, and 
he will be brought into the desired haven. He is now on a journey, 
and he is often discouraged because of the way ; but it will end in a 
better country, and at his Father's liouse, where are many mansions. 
He is now in a warfare; and though it be a good one, it is trying 
and painlul. But the strife will soon end, and the head exchange 
the lieimet for " the crown of glory that fadeth not away." 

But what characterizes the posture of the believer's mind with re- 
gard to this ? Expectation. He is looking for that blessed hope. He 
is waiting for the Savior from hea\'en. For he is now saved by hope. 
Every thing now leads him forward Creatures, ordinances, his 
connexions, his experience, every thing in his painful and in his plea- 
sant feelings ; all, all says, " Arise, and depart hence, for this is not 
your rest." Human expectation is seldom justified by the event. If 
the votary do not miss his aim, he is disappointed in his object^ his 
heart siglu in the midst of his success. But let the Christian's ex- 



32 • JANUARY 16. 

pectation l)e as great as even the Scripture can make it, the Blessed- 
ness ilsfilf will be much greater, and the fruition will induce the ac- 
knowledgment, " The half was not told nie." Yet the expectation 
IS very distinguishable from the confidence of the presumptuous. 
Natural men find it a very easy thing to hope, because they hope 
without any proper sense of their unworihiness and guilt ; they hope 
without examination, without evidence, uninformed and unauthoiizcd. 
It is one of the first works of the Spirit of God to break up this state 
of mind J and then the man can say with Paul, " I was alive without, 
the law once ; but when the commxandment came, sin revived, and I 
died." Yet, while he for ever shuts this door of hope, he opens ano- 
ther; he turns him from the law to the gospel ; from self to the Savior; 
from going about to establish his own righteousness, to submit himself 
to the righteousness which is of God. Hence arises what the apostle 
calls " a good hope through grace f and the goodness consists not 
so much in the strength of the confidence, as in the solidity of the 
foundation, and the clearness and fullness of the warrant. Our Lord 
speaks of two builders, the one he calls a fool, and the other a wise 
man. But the difference between them was not so much in the edifices 
vhemselves, as in the ground-work. Both structures looked fair enough 
to the passenger, but the house of the former v*'as built upon the sand, 
and the storm carried it away, while that of the latter stood every 
assault, for it was founded on a rock. What a sandy base has the 
hope of many. Kow certainly and easily will it be overthrown — the 
expectation of the sinner, the worldling, the hypocrite, and the Pha- 
risee. But the Christian's hope maketh not ashamed ; it rests on the 
foundation laid in Zion, and the possesvsor cannot be confounded, unless 
God can become a liar, and be chargeable with perjury ; for he has 
not only promised, but sworn ; and " because he could swear by no 
greater, he swore by himself." 

Keep much alive this expectation. Let nothing shake its confi- 
dence. Let nothing obscure the object, or the ground of it. It can 
do wonders, and will produce a thousand advantages in proportion as 
it is realized. 

I repair to the believer who is fully exemplifying it ; and I find him 
dead to the world, and " all that earth calls good and great." And 
what is the cause? " An expected end." He has looked within tlie 
vail, and seen the glory that excel leth. The sun has rendered invisi- 
ble the glow-worms, and the stars too. 

I find him satisfied with an inferior condition in life, and thougii 
denied many indulgences with which the children of tins generation 
abound. And what is the reason? '• An expected end." They are 
at home, says he, but I am not. 

" Their hope and portion lie below, " 'Ti? all the hnppincss they know." 

Cut I am a stranger and pilgrim, T am at an inn ; it yields me but 
few entertainments, or even acconmiodations — so much the better. It 
might otherwise tempt and detain me : but now it urges me on. 
And what makes him so cheerful in his trials ? " An expected end." 

" A hopo so much diviuc, " May trials well endure." 

And this hope, says he, I have as anchor of the soul, both sure and 
Bteadfast : and " I reckon that the sufferings of the present time are 



JANUARY 17. 33 

not rvorthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed." 
This expected end, also, pays he, animates me in all the difficulties 
attending a coarse of obedience. If hope actuates to sucli exertions, 
hard.shi|S, and eacrifices, the Bons of learning, fame, and wealth, 
should /ever be cold, or discouraged, with the certainty before me 
of an eternity, an infinity of all good? This too, says he, composes 
me in the pi-ospect, and reconciles me to the approach of death. _ In 
itself, it is far t>om pleasant, but it is the right way to a city of habita- 
tion; a departure to be with Christ, which is tar better. He also can 
make the exit as gentle as the issue is glorious. However this may be, 

" 'Tis there for ever I shall dwell, " Jesus, on thee our hope depend^-, 
" With Jesus ill the realms of day ; *' To lead us ou to thine abode; 

«' Then I shall bid tliesc fears iirewell, " Assured our hope will make anienda 
«• And he will wipe my tears away. " For all our toil upon tiie road." 



Jajtoary 17. — * The law was our schoolmaster, to bring us unto Christ. ' 

Gal. iii, 14. 

What law ? Three kinds of law were given to the Jews. It is not 
necessary to exclude either, though the last is principally intended. 

The judicial. This regarded their policy as a nation; regulated 
their conduct toward each other ; and determined their civil crimes 
and penalties. Even this led to Christ; especially the right of re- 
demption, which lay with the nearest of kin ; and the provision of the 
cities of refuge. Happy they who have fled for reliel' to him that 
was prefigured by them. 

The ceremonial. Tliis prescribed their worship, and enjoined a 
multitude of services and sacrifices which were all shadows of good 
things to come, but the body was Christ. It would be endless to par- 
ticularize. The tabernacle, the mercy-seat, the altar, the table of 
ehew-bread, the paschal lamb— all these led to him, and derived 
their importance from the relation. And hence those who deny their 
typical use have always spoken depreciatingly of them. The Jews 
were in the infancy of the Church ; and these ceremonies were like 
pictures placed over the child's lessons : or the vv-hole economy may 
be considered as a star to the travellers in search of the Consolation 
of Israel, going before them tdl it stood over where the young child 
was — and then disappearing. 

The nwral. This was of universal and perpetual obligation; being 
founded not on any positive appointment or authority, but in the na- 
ture of man, and Vac relations between him and God; and between 
him and his fellow creatures. The substance of it is, to love God pu- 
premely, and our neighbor as ourselves. Is this unreasonable ? Can 
God himself dispense with it ? Can he require less? 

Now this leads us to Christ, first, by convincing us of sin; for hy 
the law is the knowledge of sin. It is owing to men's ignorance of 
this law they think so well of themselves. ^ Did they know that it 
ranks all omissions of duty in the number of sins; that it extends to 
the state of the heart, as well as of the life ; and to our motives anc 
principles, as well as our actions, selt-abased they would cry out, 
" Enter not into judgment with thy servant, for in thy sight shall no 
man living be justified." 

Becondly. by showing us our danerer. This results from trans- 

2* " 



34 JANUARY 18. 

gression : for the curse enters with all sin. " Cursed is every one 
that continueth not in all things written in the book of the law to do 
them." If you were in a room, whei'e there was a dead lion, you 
need not be afraid. But if while you were walking by, he should 
come to life, and rise upon his feet, and glare his eye-balJs, and begin 
to roar, as he revived, you would die with fear. So it was with 
Paul — " I was alive," says he, " without the law, but when the com- 
mandment came, sin revived, and I died." 

Thirdly, by gendering despair of life by it. Here again the Apostle 
tells us, that his death to the law was also by it. " I throvgh the law 
am dead unto the law, that I might live unto God." Thus the ex- 
tremity of the danger makes us call out for a deliverer. Famine lec- 
tured back the Prodigal to his father's house; and disease drives the 
patient to apply to a physician, which he w^ould otherwise neglect, 
and submit to a remedy which he would otherwise reject. " The 
law is our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ." 

The law, therefore, is good if it be used lawfully, and ministers 
ought to preach it. Some pass under a greater law work than others ; 
but let none question the genuineness of the relief they have obtained, 
because they have not experienced much terror and distress. This 
terror and distress are b\it in the order of means; and the design of 
them is answered if we are brought to Christ, and acquiesce in his 
Ralvation. 

— Every one, therefore, that hath heard and learned of the Father 
Cometh unto him, and can find encouragement no where else. And 
him that cometh unto me, says the Savior, I will in no wise cast out. 



January 18. — " I had not thought to see thy face ; and lo, God hath shewed 
me also thy seed." — Gen. xlviii, 11. 

This was the language of the dying Jacob, when Joseph presented 
to him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 

We behold in it his piety. He owns God in his indulgences — He 
has shown me. Our comforts are sanctified and rendered doubly sweet 
when we receive them all from his hand. Let others live without 
God with them in the world; I would acknowledge him in all my 
ways. Let them ascribe their successes and enjoyments to chance, 
or to the power of their friends, or to their own diligence and skill; I 
would give him the glory that is due only to Ids name ; and remem- 
ber that whatever be the medium of my comfort, he is the source ; 
that whatever be the instrument, he is the author. " The blessing of 
the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it." 

Observe, also, his language ; his expectation was more than ex- 
ceeded. We remember the sad relation of Joseph's loss, and the gai • 
ment dipped in blood, by which his grief was deluded, though not 
relieved. " And he kncAV it, and said, It is my son's coat; an evil 
beast hath devoured him : Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces. And 
Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned 
for his son many days. And all his sons and all his daughters rose up 
to comfort liim ; but he refused to be comforted ; and he said. For I 
will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father 
wept lor him." For many years he never dreamed of his survival: 



J 



JANUARY 18. 35 

bet aJded, "Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and will ye take Ben- 
amin airay ? All these tilings arc against me." In process of time, 
lo-A-ever, all this gloomy couclasion was contradicted: "And they 
told him, saying. Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the 
land of Egypt. And Jacob's heart fainted, for he believed tiiem not. 
And they told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said unto 
tiiem : and when he saw the waggons which Joseph had sent to carry 
him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived : and Israel said, It is 
enough ; Joseph my son is yet alive : I will go and see him before I 
die." By and by this was fulfilled ; " And Joseph made ready his 
chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and pre- 
sented himself unto him ; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his 
neck a good while. And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, 
since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive." 

Something, however, was still wanting. Joseph had sons ; and 
these would be peculiarly endeared to Jacob. At length he embraces 
them^ as well as the father — "I had not thought to see thy face; and 
lo, God hath shewed me also thy seedy 

Is this the only instance in which God has not only fnistrated the 
fears, but surpassed the hopes of his people ? When Moses was in 
the ark of bulrushes, all his parents could have hoped for would have 
been his preservation, or faUing into the hands of some kind individ- 
ual, who, affected with his infancy and suffering, would have taken 
care of him — though they should never have seen him more. But 
Pharaoh's daughter finds him, and adopts him ; and his mother be- 
comes his nurse, and he is educated in all tjie learning of Eg}'pt ; 
and he appears the deliverer and leader of Israel! David said, 1 
shall one day perish by the hand of Saul : but after a number ot 
hairbreadth escapes, he was saved from all his enemies, and sat 
down upon the throne, '* a wonder unto many." 

How many are there in whose experience this remark has been 
exemplified, as to temporal things. They once had no inheritance, 
not so much as to set their foot on : and all they hoped to gain by 
their humble effors, was only bread to eat and raiment to put on ; and 
lo ! he has given them not only subsistence, but competency and af- 
fluence. And as to spiritual things — the penitent remembers how, 
wlien awakened out of his sleep, and he gazed on the horrors of his 
state, there seemed nothing left but a certain fearful looking for of 
judgment and fiery indignation. How hard did he find it to hope even 
for deliverance ! But the Lord appeared to his joy ; and not only 
spared and pardoned him., but enriched and ennobled him : and took 
him not only into his service, but into his house and into his bosom. 
But in nothing has this observation been more frequently verified 
than in the dj-ing experience of believers. They had all their life- 
time been subject to bondage through fear of death ; a thousand com-^ 
forts had been imbittered by the apprehension — but this did not affect 
their safety then; and when their departure was at hand, they were 
filled with peace and joy ; and had an abundant entrance ministered 
unto them into the Savior's everlasting kingdom. Some who had 
trembled at the shaking of a leaf before, have then displayed a cour- 
age amounting to more than heroism ; and those who had shrunk 
back from speaking, especially concerning themselves, had shouted 



r^G JANUARY 19. 

aloud upon their bedp, and sung of His righteousness. " Ah !" says 
Dr. Goodwin, "Is this dying ? How have 1 dreaded as an enemy thia 
emihng friend 1" To die is gain. 

When the Glucen of Sheba, though accustomed to royal magnifi- 
cence, witnessed the glory of Solomon, she exclaimed, The half was 
not toid me. So the believer, after all the reports of the Scripture, 
all the earnests and foretastes of Heaven, finds it to be a glory yet 
to be revealed ; and Avhen he arrives at the possession, he will ac- 
Iniowiedge that eye had not seen, nor ear heard, nor had entered 
into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for them 
that love him. 

I^et all this scatter our doubts, and lead us to say, "Why art thou 
cast down, O my soul ? and Avhy art thou disquieted within me? 
Hope thou in God: fori shall yet praise him." Especially Ictus 
view, through the force of this truth, all our future duties and difficul- 
ties. We are not to limit the Holy One of Israel. What is impossible 
to us, is easy to him. His thoughts and ways are as far abo\e ours 
as the heavens are higher than the earth ; and he is able to do for 
us exceeding abundantly above all we can ask or think. We have 
read of an Emperor, who said, he delighted to undertalce enter 
prises deemed by his counsellors and captains impracticable; and he 
seldom fiiiled in them. God cannot fail; but he loves to surprise. 
He, therefore, turneth the shadow of death into the morning. At 
eventide, says He, it shall be light. 



January 19. — "And Noah walked with God." — Gen. vi, 9. 

The Apostle gives us a fine representation of religion, when speak- 
mg of God, he says, "with whom w^e have to do." We have to do 
with our fellow creatures in various relations: but morality must be 
supported by piety, and flow from it. It is with God we have prin- 
cipally to do. Oar connexions with him, our expectations from him, 
our obligations to him, are infinitely supreme. 

Three expressions are observable ns to our walking with regard to 
God. First, we read of "walking after the Lord." This supposes 
him to be our leader and example ; and requires us to be followers of 
him as dear children. " Tliey shall walk after the Lord," says Hosoa. 
Secondly, we read of wali<ing before God. This supposes him to be 
our observer and witness — we are thus always in his sight. " Walk 
before me," said God to A.braham. " I will walk before the Lord," 
says David, "in the land of the living." We also read of "walking 
with God." So did Noah ; so did Enoch ; so does every partaker of 
divine grace. But this seem.s to hold him forth as our companion 
and friend. This is surprising; but so it is. There is an intercourse 
between us — we have lellowsliip one with another. In order to this, 
reconciliation is necessary : for "how can two vralk together except 
they be agreed ?" And this reconciliation nuis^t be mutual. It is not 
eaough tliat God is reconciled to us through the blood of the cross — 
we must be also reconciled to God, and love his presence, and choose 
his way. 

For walking witJi God implies a oneness of course ; and supposes 
thai we advance together toward the same end. God's aim is hia 



JANUARY 20. 37 

own glory ; and -vve are enjoined, " whether we eat or drink, or what- 
ever we do, to do all to the glory oi: God." As far as we obser\'e this 
rule, we walk with God ; as liir as we neglect it, we leave God, and 
go in another direction. 

If we are familiar and conversant with any one, we unavoidably 
catch something of his spirit and manners, tience it is said, " He 
that wallccth w^ith wise men shall be wise ; but a companion of fool;! 
sliail be destroyed."' If I walk with God I shall resemble him, and all 
will take knowledge of me that I have been with Jesus. 

Hov/ envied would the man be that was allowed to walk with the 
king. But I walk with the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. 
" Such honor have all the saints.'' What security have I in nearness 
1o Him ? '• He is at my right hand ; I shall not be moved." What 
can I want ii' I have Him ? " My presence sliall go with thee ; and 
1 will give thee rest." 

" Were T in heaven without my God, " And while this earth is my abode, 

" "I'wouid be CO joy to me : " I long for noae but Thee." 

^ January 20.—" Aud prayino;, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Ghost 
descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him." — Luke, iii, 22. 

We may consider this descent three ways : as an answer to prayer, 
as a miraculous testimony, and as a significant emblem. 

He had just been baptized, and was now going to enter on his pub- 
lic office, and we are told he prayed. Whether he prayed vocally, 
or only mentally, we know not; but he prayed really. And if prayer 
was necessary for him, can it be needless for us? And he prayed ex- 
emplarily ; and has taught us to pray after w^e have been engaged 
in any ordinance, and before we enter on any undertaking. He also 
prayed successfully. Indeed, the Father heard him always, because 
he always prayed according to the will of God. But how promnt 
w^as the answer ! It reached him in the very act of devotion. " And 
rsraijing; the heaven was opened, and the Holy Ghost descended in a 
Dodily shape like a dove upon him." It was the same in the transfigu- 
i-H'jon. " As he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was alter'ed, 
and his raiment was white and glistening." The prayer of faith is 
always immediately heard, and if it be not always immediately an- 
swerer!, it is not from a want of disposition in God to bless us, but be- 
cause he is a God of judgment, and w^aits to be gracious. But if we 
consult^ the Scripture, and appeal to our own experience, and espe- 
cially observe, not only the benefit w^e have derived/rom praver, but 
in it, we shall know that he is a God at hand, and not afar off; and 
verify the truth of his ovrn word : " It shall come to pass, that before 
they call. I will ansv/er ; and while they are yet speaking, I will 
hear." 

It is to be viev/ed also as a miracle ; and so it was an authentication 
of his divine mission. Hence the voice that accompanied it — " Thou 
art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased." Hence John was 
previously informed of this confirmation. For though his relation, 
vet (to preclude all collusion and management) John had not seen 
Jesus before this event ; but was tauglit, when they met, to recognise 
him by it. " And Jolm bare record saying, I saw the Spirit descend- 



38 JANUARY 20. 

ing from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. And I knew 
him not ; but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said 
unto mc, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and 
remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy 
Ghost." John, therefore, could not but be instantly and perfectly con- 
vinced : " And I saw," says he, " and bare record, that this is the Son 
of God." Nothing, therelbre, could have been more unsuspicious and 
decisive. The sign was foretold — its brilliancy, form, and descent, 
were obvious to sense — it remained on him for a considerable time — 
and all was in the presence of a midtitude of spectators ! How dif- 
ferent arc the miracles of the gospel from the prodigies of heathenism, 
and the lying wonders of the church of Rome ! 

But in whatever visible form the Holy Ghost had alighted upon the 
Savior's head, the miracle would have been the same. But the sym- 
bol would not have been the same. His descending in " a bodily 
siiape lihea dove,^^ was intended to be an emblem. First, an emblem 
of ttie dispensation he had to announce. The law is called a fiery 
law, and it worketh wrath to every transgressor. The nature of it 
was intimated even in the very manner of its promulgation. The 
mount shook, and burned with fire. There was blackness, and dark- 
ness, and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words. 
The people could not endure that which Avas commanded. And so 
terrible was the sight, tliat Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake. 
But grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. And how ? The mo- 
ment he is inaugurated, and is stepping forth to preach the kingdom 
of heaven, the heaven opens — not for the thunder to roll, and the 
lightnings to flash, but for the Holy Ghost to descend in a bodily shape 
like a dove upon him ! 

Did the dove return into the ark with an olive branch, thereby an- 
nouncing that tlie flood had subsided ? And has he, with a leaf in 
his mouth, ever since been viewed as the image of a messenger of 
peace? Who came and attested deliverance from the wrath to 
come ? Who came and preaclied peace to them that were far off, 
and to them that were nigh? What says the Church ? " Rise up, 
my love, my fair one, and come away: for lo, the winter is past, the 
rain is over and gone ; the flowers appear on the earth, the time of 
the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in 
our land?" But who was the harbinger of another spring — of a 
nobler renovation ? Who cries, " Come, for all things are now 
ready?" 

Secondly, an emblem of his personal character. All the love, ten- 
derness, gentleness, mildness, for which the dove seems always to 
have been considered as a kind of representative, were to be found 
m him. So the prophecies going before had described him. And if 
ivc observe his miracles, if we enter into his hfe. his whole life on 
enrth; we shall see him going about doing good. How kind tc 
friends! How merciful to the distressed! How gracious to the 
miilly! How ready to forgive! How patient under provocation! 
He was compassion, alive and embodied. 

Thirdly, an emblem of the temper of his disciples. For there must 
\)c a conformity between him and them. In all things he has the 
pre-emhience ; but if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is 



JANUARY 21. 89 

none of hi.«. He that is joined to the Lord is of one spirit — and how 
did the Holy Ghost descend u\>on him ? As a dove. 

Estimate, therefore, your leUgion by your resemblance ■ to this 
mmge. Do not judge of your having the Spirit by opinions, but 
principles ; by impressions, but dispositions ; by gifts, but grace. 
Some fear they are strangers to the Spirit, because they have not re- 
ceived it in a particular way ; that is, after great terror and anguish 
of soul. This is, indeed, sometimes the case; but it is not always 
so. In this manner the jailer's religion commenced ; but it was not 
thus with Cornelius, nor Lydia. 

Whatever distress or horror of conviction we have felt, they are 
nothing, if they have not brought us to Christ ; and if we have been 
brought, let us be thankful and rejoice, " if by any means." The 
best thing is to judge, not by the manner of the operation, but the 
influence itself, and its effects, or by the fruit of the Spirit ; and 
" the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, 
goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. Against such there is no 
law." And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, 
and mercy, and upon the Israel of God." 



January 21. — " And the Lord said unto Closes, Get thee up into this mount 
Abarim, and see the land which I have given unto the children of Israel. 
And when thou- hast seen it, thou also shalt be gathered unto thy people, as 
Aaron thy brother was gathered." — Numb, xxvii, 12, 13. 

Reflections on death can never be unseasonable Avhile we are in 
a dying world, and a dying church, and are conscious that we our- 
selves are dying creatures. It is said, God sees no iniquity in his 
people. But he has threatened to visit their transgressions with a 
rod. Some tell us, that sin never hurts a believer. But it hurt David 
and Eli. Moses was also severely chastised. He was very dear to 
God, and could plead great provocation ; but because he rebelled 
against his commandment in the desert of Zin, in the strife of the 
congregation, he was excluded the land of Canaan ; and though he 
was ver}^ importunate, he could not obtain a repeal of the trying 
sentenee. But in judgment God remembers mercy. He here orders 
liim to die ; but the order is attended with three softenings to recon 
cile him to it. 

First. He must die — but he shall previouslj^ go up, and " see the 
land which the Lord has given to the children of Israel." Some 
might suppose that this would tantalize him, and add to his affliction 
at the loss ; but it was designed as an alleviation, and it was accepted 
by Moses as a favor. For this purpose his natural sight continued 
uninjured; and his extent of vision Avas perhaps also enlarged. Thus 
not only was his curiosity gratified, but he saw, with gladness and 
praise, the goodness and truth of God's promise to his people ; while, 
in type, he hailed the prospect of a better country, even a heavenly, 
and which he was going to enter. O, say many, apprehensive now 
of the solemn event, 

" O ! could we make our douTlts remove, " Could ice but climb where Mosea stood, 
" These gloomy doubts that rise, " And view the landscape oVj ; 

" And view the Can?.an that we love, " Nor Jordan's stream, nordeath's cold flooi, 
*• With unbeclouded eyes! " Should fright us from the shore. " 



40 JANUARY 22. 

And they are generally indulged. And often those have Keen pecu- 
liarly favored, who all their life-time have been subject lo bondage 
through lear of death. 

Secondly. He mut3t die — but this will be ^' a gathering unto his 
people." To Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and Josejjh, and the 
Israel of God. These lie so prized on earth, that he chose rather 
to suffer artliction with the people of God, tlian to enjoy the pleasures 
of sin for a season. Some had departed that he had known, and 
numbei-s that he had not known : but he vvas to join them — not in the 
Kime grave, for he was buried alone, and no one knov/s of his sepul- 
chre unto tliis day ; but in heaven — not as to his body, but as to his 
soul, whicii was to be united with the spirits of just men made per- 
fect. The believer expects a family meeting. There, says he, 

" There my best friends, my kindred dwell, "There God my Savior reigns." 

Thirdly. He must die — but " only as Aaron his brother was ga- 
thered." And are we better than those who have gone before us ? 
And is there any reason wdiy we should be exempted from their loti 
The previous removal of the pious, especially those of our own rela- 
tions, tends to render death more familiar. It comes near enough for 
us to view it. It enters our very apartments. It also tends to dimJnish 
our forebodings and despondency. We have seen that God was bet- 
ter to them than their fears. He was with them in the valley. Their 
end was peace. They were supported ; they v/cre comforted — and 
we thank God, and take courage. Why should it not be so with us? 
It also weakens our attachment to life. We have fewer attractions 
below, and so many more above. Who has not felt the sentiment. 
" Let us also go away, that we may die with him." 

Surely the bitterness of death is past. 

" I could renounce my all below, " And run, if I were called to go, 

" If iny Creator bid ; " And die as Moses did." 



Jaxuaky 22.~" And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn 
within us, while he talked with us hy the way, and while he opened to us 
the Scriptures ?"— Luke, xxiv 32. 

That it^, we have noiP discovered him. How is it that Vv-e did not 
discover him earlier ? and find him out upon the road ! Why dia 
we not dir^tinguish him by his very speaking — the manner of it — tlie 
eflect of it — in touching and animating the heart ? 

Ah ! my soul, it is thus his teaching is to be known — it is alwaj-g 
FEiT. And while otiier teachers reach only the ear, he penetrates 
the heart, and causes it to burn with ingenuous shame, with abhor- 
rence of sin, with holy revenge, Avith love to his name, with zeal for 
his glory, and earnestr.css to save sinners. 

He iihw converses with us by tlie way, and he opens to us the 
Scripture-, and he docs it in three ways. 

First, by his dis;)ensations. As the word explains Providence, so 
Providence illustrates the word How many passages are there in 
the Bible, the beauty of which we should never have seen, the sweet- 
ness of which we siinull never have tasted, the force of which we 
^should never have felt, had it not been for ce-'-ain events, and those 
chiefly of an afflictive kind. These drive cs lo the book, never so 



JANUARY 23. 41 

valued as in the day of trouble, and enable us to read with other cye^, 
and with other light, than before. 

Secondly, by the labors ot^ his serv'ants. He replenishes his minis- 
ters tJiat they may dispense to others; he gives them the tongue ot" 
the learned, that they sliould know how to speak a word in season to 
him that is Aveary. It was in the temple David wished to inquire; 
it was when he went into the sanctuary of God, that he seized a 
clue which enabled him to unravel a mystery which had so con- 
foundcd'and distressed him before. And wiiile hearing the word 
preacheJ, have not our doubts been often solved, our fears dispelled, 
our fliith and hope strengthened ? That vrhich was general before, 
has been particularized ; that which was distant, has been brought 
home to our appreheiisions ; that which was read without impression 
or notice, has become significant and interesting. How often has the 
Angel ol'the Church, like Hagar's angel, openeTi our eyes, and shown 
us the well. 

Thirdly, by the agency of his Holy Spirit. " He shall lead you 
mto all truth." Means do not render his influence needless— revela- 
tion itself does not. David had the word of God, but he kneeled and 
prayed, " Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold vrondrous thinga 
out of thy law." The dial tells us the time, but the sun must shine 
upon it ; the compass enables the mariner to steer, but i:ot if it be 
placed in the dark. " In thy light v.-e shall see light." Here is the 
promise at once to d.-rect and encourage. " If any man lack wisdom, 
let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth 
not. and it shall be given him." What is the reason why many, in 
the greatness of their folly, for ever go astray ? They do not trust 
in the Lord v\ath all their heart, but lean to their own understand- 
ings; while the Avay-faring man, though a fool, errs not therein; 
because, made sensible of his ignorance and insufRciency, he in all 
his ways acknowledges God, and God himself directs his'paths. 



Ja-n-uaky 23.—" Knock, and it shall be opened unto you."— Luke, xi, 9. 

It is needless to prove, tliat by this action our Savior intends 
prayer. But see the simplicity and fimiliaritv of his comparisons, 
and wonder not that the common people heard him gladly. Volumes 
have been written upon the subject of prayer; but he who spake as 
never man spalce, comprises every thing in one word— knock. The 
allusion is to a person who wishes to excite attention, in order to 
obtain relief— he knoclrs. 

Where are we to knock ? '' I am," says the Savior, " the door.*' 
I am the way, the tmth. and the life : no man cometh to the Father 
but by me." 

When are we to knock ? " :\,Iorning, and evening, and noon," savs 
David, " will I piay and cry aloud." '" Prav without ceasing." says 
Paul. And, says our Lord, " ^len ought always to pray, and not 
to tamt." ' A - ' 

For what are we to Icnock? AVe may in every thing, by prayer 
and Fupplication, make known our requests unto God. °But we are 
supremely to implore all spiritual blessings, because these are bless- 



42 JANUARY 23. 

ings for the soul and eternity. Seek ye first the kirgtlom of GoJ ana 
his rif]^hteousness. 

How are we to knock ? Lvporiunatchj — we cannot knock too loud. 
Prayer is nothing, unless it be sincere and earnest. God -will not re- 
gard the address we ourselves do not feel. Jacob said, " I will not 
let thee go, except thou bless me:" and he prevailed. How? Per- 
severingbj. The Lord does not alway immediately appear to our 
joy. '' I waited patiently lor the Lord," says David, " and at last he 
inclined his ear unto me, and heard my cry." And, " blessed," it is 
paid, " are all they that wait for him." But though it be a good 
tiling for a man not only to hope, but quietly to wait for the salvation 
of God, it is often no easy thing. The delay is trying in itself; but 
circumstances may render it more so. While standing at the door, 
the weather may be foul ; or those passing by may laugh and insult, 
for they are full, and have need of nothing : or, he may be weak, and 
ready to faint. And what, while thus exercised, can keep the man 
knocking and waiting ? Kothing but a sense of his wants. They 
are so pressing that he must succeed or perish. Nothing, but hope, 
This hope may be sometmies very weak. But a degree of it, if it only 
amounts to a mere possibility, is necessary to preserve him from aban- 
doning his suit, and saying, " What, should I wait for the Lord any 
longer?" More, however^ is desirable and attainable: and here is 
enough to say to him, " Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and 
he shall strengthen thy heart : wait, I say, on the Lord." Here is the 
command — " Knock." Here is the promise — " It shall be opened." 

But how shall I plead? I knock and long for audience — and yet I 
draw back, and seem afraid to be seen. For, wliat can I say ? What 
does the beggar sa}^? He is not at a loss. He knows a fine dress is 
not necessary — it would be contemned. Yet he can express his mean- 
ing, and his wants and feelings make him eloquent. Begin, then, 
and say — 

" Eiicourag'd by thy word I " Waits at thy mercy's door ' 

" Of promise to the poor, " No hand, no heart, O Lord, but thine, 

" Behold, a begg-ar, Lord, | " Can help or pity wants like miue." 

Yet add— 

" The begi^ar's usual plea, I " I know thou wou! J.'t disdain ; 

*' Relief from men to gain, | " And pleas whicli move thy gracious ear, 

" If offered unto thee, " Are such as men would scorn to hear." 

There are five of these pleas urged by others, whicli you must 
completely reverse. 

How often does the beggar plead his former condition — '•' He ha? 
seen better days : and once had a sufficiency for himself and others." 
But this must be your language — 

« I have no right to say, I " When I possessed more : 

" Tliat thouffh I now am poor, " 'I'hou kuow'st that from my very birth 

** Yet onre there was a day 1 " I've been t!ie poorest wretch on earth." 

How often does the beggar plead his innocency or goodness — " 1 
liave been reduced, not by my fault, but by misfortune; and deservi 
pity rather than censure." But your language must be — 

'■ Not can I dare profess, I " My faults have been but few 

'• As beg^jars often do, " If ihou shouldst leave my soul to starve, 

• Thoiig'ii^great is my distress, | " It would be \\ hat i well deserve," 



JANUARY 2i. 43 

How often does the beggar plead the unusualness of his applica- 
tion — " This is not my practice : it is the first, and shall be the last 
time of my importuning you." But your language must be — 

" 'Twere follv to pretend I " I'll trouble tliee no more ; 

" I never beirg'tl before ; " Tliou often hast reliev'd my pain. 

" Or if thou now befriend, 1 " And often I must come again." 

How often does the beggar plead the smallness of the boon — " A 
very little will suffice me : I ask only a trifie." But your language 
must be — 

" Tlioufrh crumbs are much too good I " ily soul can satUfy. 

'• For such a dog as 1, * O do not frowu and bid mc go, 

" No less than children's food | " I miKst have all tliou canst bestow.' 

Men, so limited are their resources, are afraid of more applications 
than they can relieve : and, therefore enjoin the suppliant secrecy ; 
and he promises concealment. But your language must be — 

" Nor can I willing be I " Their wants and hunger feel ; 

" Thy bounty to conceal " I'll tell lliem of thy mercy's store, 

" From others who, like me, | " And try to send a thousaud more." 

And he will be delighted with this. He commands you to spread his 
goodness, and to invite all the ends of the earth ! ! 

" Thy thoughts, thou only wise ! I " Above the earth extend ; 

" Oar thoughts and ways transcend, " Such pleas as mine men would not bear, 

" Far as the arched skies | " But God receives a beggar's prayer." 



Ja.vuary 24. — " Thy blessing is upon thy people." — Psalm iii, S. 

— He has a people, and we need not ascend into heaven and ex- 
amine the decrees of God to know who they are. The Bible is our 
book of life ; there the hsirs of glory are written, if not by name, yet 
by character; and " we are tiie circumcision," says the apostle— 
" who worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have 
no confidence in the flesh." By the Scripture let us judge ourselves, 
and be anxious to ascertain whether we are in the number of his 
people, for they are the most important and enviable people upon 
earth. They are not commonly distinguished by any worldly great- 
ness, and they have many enemies who consult their injury j but the 
blessing of God is upon them. 

— Upon their mercies. This takes the curse out of them, anil 
gives them a relish never tasted in the comforts of others. " 1 will 
bless thy bread and thy water." 

— Upon their trials. And they as much need a blessing upon 
their daily rod, as upon their daily bread. Without this ou^ afflic- 
tions will do us no good, yea, they will prove injurious, and leave us 
more careless and impenitent ; but by means of this they will turn to 
our salvation, and yield the peaceable fruits of righteousness to them 
that are exercised therewith. 

— Upon their labors. " Thou slialt eat the labor of thy hands; 
happy shalt thou be, and it shall be Avell Vv'ith thee." Without this, 
in vain we rise up early, and sit up late, and eat the bread of sor- 
rows ; it is he that giveth his beloved sleep. It matters not what we 
sow, if he does not give the increase ; or what we bring home, if he 
blows upon it ; or "what we gain, if Ave " put it into a bag with 



44 JANUARY 25. 

holes," " Tlie blessing of the Lord, it mal.eth rich ; and he addeth 
no sorrow with it." 

—Upon thcir/aj/n7ie5. The house of Obed Edom was blessed for 
the sake of tiie ark, and the thing was publicly known. " 1 have 
been young," says David, "and now am old, yet I have never seen 
the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." The genefation 
of the upright shall be blessed. 

— Upon their souls. Thus they are blessed with light, and liberty, 
and strength, and peace, and joy ; yea, they are blessed with all 
spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ." 

O, Christian, is this thy experience and portion ? Rejoice and be 
gi-ateful. What can equal the blessing of God ! 

But remember how it comes upon you. The source is his free and 
boundless grace. The medium is the Lord Jesus ; he is the w^ay 
from God to us, as well as from us to God. 

Remember liow it is insured — by the truth of Hie promise and 
His oath. Of this, reminding him, you may plead as Jacob did, 
" And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good." 

Rem(^mher, also, how it is to be enjoyed — in the use of means, and 
in obedience to his will. " Blessed are they that do judgment, and 



.-. " 



keep his commandments at all timei 

O my soul, put in ibr a share, and pray, " Bless me, even me also, 
O my Father." He will not, cannot refuse. " Their hearts shall 
live that seek God." 



January 25. — ''And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, 
Behold, thy father is sick : and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh 
and Ephraim. And one told Jacob, and said. Behold, thy son Josejjh cometh 
unto thee : and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed." — Gen. 
xlviii,l,2. 

After a very cloudy day, Jacob has a clear and calm evening, 
and it is but an evening. He is now called to go the way of all the 
earth: but his end is peace. Some die sudden]}^ But the more 
common road to the house appointed for all living, is down the nar- 
row, miry, da.rk, dismal lane of sickness. The former is a privilege 
to the individual him.self, saving him from " the pains, the groans, 
the dying strife:" but the latter befriends more his ui-xllilness by 
affording him opportunities to exercise the graces of the Holy Spirit, 
and shov;ing how religion ca:i sustain when every other supj)ly fails, 
and refresh when every other spring of comfort is dried up. But 
we are not to choose for ourselves; and if we can hope that the 
Savior Avill receive us to himself, we may well leave the when, the 
where, and the how, to his wise and kind care. 

When sickness seizes persons in early life, and rem.oves them in 
the midst of their days and usefulness, we seem surprised. Yet 
v/hercfore? Are not all our days vanity? And if, by reason of 
strength, they be fourscore years, is not their strength labor and sor- 
row? What, then, can we expect at one hundred and forty-seven? 

Jacob had some time before kept his bed, and Joseph had visited 
him; but seeing no immediate danger of death, he had returned. 
Now the case assumes a more threatening character, and he is re- 
culled. Doubtless thcv had sent to another being, saying, " Lord 



JANUARY 25. 43 

behold he wliom thou love^t is sick ;" but they cio well to infcrm 
Joseph ; and Josejh immediately leaves his public aftairs, and has- 
tens to visit him. To visit the sick is a duty. If it affords the sufferer 
no effectual relief, it is soothing to show our regard, our sympathy, 
and our readiness to help. It is ahvay profitable to ourselves, and tar 
better than it' going to the house of mirth. For here the heart is made 
betfe-, more serious, and more soft. Hence the dying bed is shunned 
by infidel and worldly companions, who love not to be reminded how 
soon the condition of others may be their own. 

How affecting is it to visit a fellow creature, the progress of whose 
disorder is saying to corruption, thou art my father, and to the worm, 
thou art my motlier and my sister. But O ! to see a dear friend, a 
beloved relation, a revered parent, sinking under the decays of na- 
ture, and the violence of disease ! It is a sick, dying Jather, who had 
trained him up under an affection too partial, that Joseph visits. 
Though death does not follow the order of nature, but the ap-point 
ment oi' GoJ ; }et, while parents are living, there seems to be some- 
thing between us and death ; but when they are removed, his course 
seems opens to us ; and we naturally deem ourselves the next objects 
of assault. 

Joseph goes not alone, but takes his two sons, Manasseh and 
Ephraim, with him. It was wise and well in Joseph to take these 
youths away from the splendor of a court, to see the end of all men; 
to view a dying bed dignified with more than a palace could bestow; 
to show them, at their entering the world, a servant of God departing 
out of it; to enable them to receive his admonition and blessing; and 
to be reminded, that though born in Egypt, Egypt was not to be their 
home, but while incorporated with strangers, they were to seek the 
heritage of Jacob, God's chosen. 

How much wiser and better was this, than the conduct of many 
parents, who, instead of bringing them up in the nurture and admo- 
nition of the Lord, conduct their children into scenes of gayety and 
dissipaticn, exciting and feeding the pride of life, and making provi- 
sion for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof. We mourn over children 
that are bereaved of their parents: yet one is sometimes tempted to 
wish the removal of some wretched fathers and mothers — hoping, 
that if these examples and teachers of evil were withdrawn, their 
children would find it good to bear the yoke in their youth, and that 
the Lord may take them up. The worst orphans are those who have 
wicked parents alive ! What a dreadful meeting will there be here- 
after between their offspring, and those fathers and mothers who not 
only neglected their souls, but taught and encouraged them to go 
astray ! Not that we would have children confined to religious pri- 
sons, or even cells. Hinder them not from seeing and enjoying what- 
ever is pleasing and instructive in the ^vorld of nature, and the won- 
ders of art. Keep them not in a frozen region, that shall chill and 
check every harmless budding of mind and affection. Let your piety 
itself be inviting, not rebuking and repulsive. But, O ye parents, 
keep them from infidel books; from vicious associates; from every 
path of the destroyer. Allure them to the Bible, to the Throne of 
Grace, to the grave of friendship, to the chamber where a dying Jacob 
is wailing ibr Gobi's salvation — to every place where they are hkely 



46 JANUARY 20. 

to meet Him, who says, " I love them that love mc, and they that 
seek me early shall find me." 



January 26. — "He that hath wrought us for the self-same thing is God, 
who hath also given unto us the earnest of the Spirit." — 2 Cor. v, 5. 

This self-same thing is nothing less than the final blessedness of 
the righteous, which, though it dotli not yet fully appear, is expressed 
in the Scripture by various names and images. It is called in the 
preceding verses, " A building of God, a house not made with hands, 
eternal in the heaveiijij" and also " hie." " Mortahty shall be sAval 
lowed up of lifeP 

With regard to this, the apostle reminds us of God's work, in our 
preparation for the whole ; and of God's gift, in our possession of a part. 

The preparation is not natural to us. We are not born Christians, 
but made such ; and the operation is no less than di\'ine. Creatures 
have not done it, nor have we done it ourselves. It is above the poAver 
of education, example, and moral suasion. He that hath wrought us 
for the self-same thing is God. But the work is as necessary as it is 
divine. In vain should we have a title to glory, without a meetness 
for it. Every office, every state, requires a qualification for it ; and 
the higher the state and the office, the more important and difficult 
the qualification becomes. Happiness is not derivable from any thing, 
without a suitableness to it. It does not depend upon the excellency 
of the object, but the conformity of the disposition. The acquisition 
must be icanted, desired^ hoped fov^ before it can gratify and con- 
tent. Have I, then, any thing in me that could find happiness in the 
heaven of the Scriptures? 

If He has wrought us for the Avliole, he has bestowed upon us a 
part. He has given us^ also, the earnest of the Spirit. The earnest 
is not only to insure — it is a portion of the payment ; and so is distin- 
guishable from a pledge, w^hich is returned at the completion of the 
agreement ; for the earnest remains, and goes on as a part of the bar- 
gain. This is very instructive. It tells us that what the believer has 
here, in the possession and influence of the Spirit, is not only indica- 
tive of heaven, but like it, and a degree of it. 

Is heaven perfect knowledge ? The eyes of his understanding are 
now opened ; already he spiritually discerns, and in God's light sees 
light. 

Is it perfect holiness ? He is already delivered from the power and 
love of every sin ; he is renewed in the spirit of his mind ; he delights 
in the law of God after the inward man. 

Is it perfect happiness? exceeding joy ? fulness of joy ? pleasures 
for ever more ? But even now, blessed are the people that know the 
joyful sound. There remaineth a rest for the people of God— but 
" we which have believed do enter into rest." They shall enter into 
peace — but now they have a " peace which passeth all understand- 
ing." They shall enter the joy of their Lord— but now, " believing, 
they rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glory." They will 
then join the spirits of just men made perfect — but the saints are now 
their companions and their delight. They will then dwell in his 
house, and be still praising Him— but they are already attempt 



JANUARY 27. 47 

ing and commencing this work. '• I will blesg the Lord at all times, 
his praise shall continually be in my mouth." 

Such experience is it that weans them from the world, and makea 
them willing to depart. Heaven is not a distant, unknown good. 
They are come to the city of the living God. They are partakers 
of the glory that shall be revealed. They have everlasting life. 



jAXfARY 27. — " Aud the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick." — Isaiah 
jucxiii. 24. 

Who can say so here? How many of our fellow creatures, the 
subjects of infirmity, languor, and nervous apprehension, are saying, 
" I am made lo possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are 
appointed to me. When I lie down, I say. When shall I arise, and 
the night be gone ? I am full of tossings to and fro until the dawn- 
ing of the day." Another is " chastened, also, with pain upon his 
bed, and the multitude of his bones with strong pain ; his flesh is 
consumed away that it cannot be seen, and his bones that were not 
seen, stick out ; yea, his soul draweth nigh mito the grave, and hia 
life to the destroyer." There are few, perhaps none, who never feel 
indisposition or siclmess. 

Sickness is the effect of sin, which brought death into the world, 
and all our wo. It now (under the providence of God, which is not 
only punitive, but salutary) subserves various purposes. It is taken 
into covenant, so to speak, with the godly, and is one of the paths ot 
the Lord, which to them are all mercy and truth. It checks them in 
going astray. It frees them from many a temptation arising from 
more intercourse with the world. It gives them the most sensible 
proofs of the care, and kindness, and fidelity of their Lord and Savior. 
He knows their frame, and has promised to be with them in trouble, 
and to comfort them on the bed of languishing — yea, to comfort them 
as one whom his mother comforteth ; and she, while none of her chil- 
dren are neglected by her, will be sure to pay the most tender atten- 
tions to the poor little aching invalid. 

Yet sickness is an evil in itself, and it is trying to flesh and blood. 
It not only deducts from the relish of all, and prevents entirely the 
enjoyment of some of our outward comforts ; but it injures, it hinders 
the performance of a thousand duties, relative, civil, and religious. 
It also often brings a gloom over the mind, and genders unworthy 
apprehensions of God, and misgivings of our spiritual condition. It 
not only shuts us out from the loveliness of nature, but from the public 
means of grace, and fiHs us with a mournful pleasure at the thought 
of seasons when we went in company to the house of God, with the 
voice of joy and gladness to keep holy day. Hence Hezekiah, 
anxious to ascertain his recovery, asked, " What is the sign that L 
shall go up to the house of the Lord ?" How feelingly has Walts 
described the Lord's prisoner when the Sabbath comes. 

** Lo' the sweet day of sacred rest returns, 

" — — But not to me returns 

* Rest with the day. Tea thousand hurrj'ing thoughts 
»' Bear me away tumultuous, far from heaveu 
" And heavenly work; alas! ficsli drags me down 
" From things celestiaJ,aud confines my sense 



48 JANUARY 28. 

" To present maladies. Unhappy state! 

" Where the poor sj)irit is siihdued t" endure 

" Unholy idloness; and painful absence 

" From God and hcav'n, and angels' blessed work; 

" And bound lo hear the agonies and woes, 

*' That sicklj' flesh, and shutler'd nerves impose." 

Well, soon the warfare with the body w^ill be accomplished, and 
we shall put ofl^ the flesh, and be in joy and felicity. And as tliere 
will be no more sin, neither will there be any more pain ; for the 
former things are all passed away, 

A union with the body, were it to rise as it now is, would be 
dreaded, rather than desirable. But the body will not only be raised, 
but improved; improved beyond all our present coii.nrehension, but 
not beyond our present belief. For we can trust Him who has 
assured us, that though it be sown in weakness, it shall be raised in 
power ; though it be sow^n a natural body, it shall be raised a spiritual 
body; and that this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and this 
mortal shall put on immortality. We shall bear, not the image of 
the earthly, but of the heavenly. Our bodies will not be made like 
the body of Adam in Paradise, but like the Savior's own glorioug 
body, according ^o the working whereby he is able even to subdue all 
things unto himself. No burdens, no depressions then ! No clogs, no 
confinements ! No animal wants ! No debasing appetites ! No 
unruly passions ! No flattering heart! No aching head! "The 
inhabitant shall no more say, I am sick." 

" These lively liopes we owe I " We would adore his g^race below 

" To Je«us' dying love : | " And sing his power above." 



January 23. — " In the wilderness thou hast seen how the Lord thy God 
bare thee, as a maa doth bear his son, iu all the way that ye went,'' 

Deut. i, 3i. 

The image is parental. In another part of this book the reference 
is to a parent bird; " As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth 
over her young, spreadet.h abroad her wings, taketh tliem, beaicth 
them on her wings, so the Lord alone did lead him." Here the allu- 
sion is to a human parent, and it is worthy of remark how often the 
allusion is made in the Scriptures. Thus to mention a few of them: 
" Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that 
fear him." " I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that 
servetb him." " If ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto 
yom children, how much more shall j^our Father, who is in heaven, 
give good gifts to them that ask him ?" The softer sex is also adduced, 
and matei^nal tenderness supplies feeling, as well as thought. " As 
one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you." " Can a 
woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion 
on the son of her womb ? Yea. she may forget, yet will not I forget 
thee." 

Observ^e the image which ISToses here employs. It regards a child, 
a young child; for it is too weak to go alone — it is borne. The 
fattier is here mentioned, not the motlier ; for the action of bearing 
requires strength, rather than tenderness. The mother may have 
been dead. When one parent is called to supply the place of both, 
an increase of care and kindness becomes necessaiy, and is socn fc!t. 



JANUARY 28. 49 

Imagine, therefore, an Israelite — deprived in his journey through tlie 
wilderness of the companion of his life — perhaps as soon as she had 
brought him forth a sen — perhaps in consequence of it. The child, 
thus bereaved, is endeared by the decease of the mother, and he takes 
it and bears it. How ? Sometimes in his arras, and often in his 
bosom. How? Tenderly, softly — now pressing it to his hps, now 
soothing its cries, now lulling it to repose — feeding it, defending it 
supplying all its wants ! 

All this God does in reality, and infinitely more. What is the 
goodness, the gentleness, the care of the tenderest being on earth, 
compared with the disposition and kindness of God toward his poo- 
pie ! When an image is applied to God, v%^e m.ust separate from it 
all its imperfections. A father may be unable to defend a child ; he 
is som.etimes absent from it; he cannot alwa^^s be awake and in- 
specting it ; he may be ignorant of the cause" of its complaint ; he 
may not know what is good for it ; he may decline in affection, and 
become heedless and negligent; he may become cruel, and abandon 
his charge. But nothing of all this can apply to Him, who bears us 
in all the way that we go. 

Yea, we must not only strip the image of imperfection, wlien we 
apply it to God, but we must attach tifit divinity. Every human 
relation, however complete, is yet finite in its exercise and excel- 
lence ; but his attributes arc injiniie. His love passeth linowledge. 
" He is able to do tor us exceeding abmidantly above all that we 
can ask or think." 

Weir, hast thou seen in the wilderness how the Lord thy God 
bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went? 
Let the sight affect your admiration, and induce you to exclaim, 
" Lord, v.'hat is man, that thou art mindfol of him, or the son of man, 
that thou visitest him ?" We talk of condescension ; but what is 
the difference between one creature and another— one worm and 
another ? But what is God ! what are we ! how mean, unworthy, 
guilty ! Let it draw forth 

Your gratitude, and call upon your soul, and all that is within you, 
to bless his holy name. •' To him that led his people in the wilder- 
ness; for his mercy endureth for ever." 

— Let it encourage you. 

You are not yet come to the rest and the inheritance which tJie 
Lord your God giveth you ; but he is with you in the way, and with 
you as your father ; engaged to do all that such a relation requires. 
He has said, " I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." Reason 
from the past to the future, and " because he has been your help, 
therefore under the shadow of his wings rejoice." Let him be 

Your example. Job was a father to the poor, not a tyrant, or an 
overseer. Be hind^ as well as bountiful. Be ye followers of God. 
In him the fatherless findeth mercy ; let him find it in you also. " Be 
ye merciful, even as your father in heaven is merciful." Recommend 
him to others, and say to them, " Come with us, and we will do you 
good, for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel." Oh thai 
the young who are entering this wilderness world would place them- 
selves under his care, and beseech him to be the guide of their youth. 
Oh that the bereaved would think of Him who can more than repair 

Vol. I. 3 



50 JANUARY 29. 

the losses which make them bleed. " When my father ana my mothei 
forsake me, the Lord will take me up." 



January Ji9.— " And shall leave me alone; and yet I am not alone, because 
the Father is with me." — John, xiv, 32. 

There is a relation between Christ and Christians, and a conformity 
founded upon it; so that what He says, they may subordinately adopt 
as their own language. 

There are cases in which they may be alone — and there are cases 
in which they ought to be alone — and there is one case in which they 
must be alone ; and yet they are not alone, because the Father ls 
with them. 

They may be alone by the dispensations of Providence. By death, 
lover and friend may be put far from them, and their acquaintance 
into darkness; and bereavements may force from solitude the sigh, 
" I watch, and am as a sparrow upon the house-top." They have 
often been driven out of society by the wickedness of power. ' Their 
connexions have abandoned them through falseness, or deserted them 
through infirmity. And this is no inconsiderable trial. Our Savior 
felt the desertion of his disciples, and said, " I looked for some to 
take pity, and there was none, and for comforter, and found none;'- 
but looking upward, he said, " 1 am not alone, for the Fatlier is with 
me." Joseph was separated from his family, and sold into Egypt; 
but the Lord was with Joseph. John was banished into the isle of 
Patmos; but there he had the visions of the Almighty, and was in 
the Spirit on the Lord's day. " At my first answer," says Paul, 
" no man stood by me, but all men forsook me ; notwithstanding the 
Lo7'd stood by me, and strengthened me." Yes, whoever dies, the 
Lord liveth. ^Whoever fails us, He is firm. " He is faithful that 
hath promised. He hath said, / will never leave thee nor forsake 
ihee." 

They ought to be alone by voluntary solitude. Not that "hey are 
to become recluses by abandoning their stations, and shunning inter- 
course with their fellow creatures. The Christian life is a candle ; 
but a candle is not to be placed under a bushel, but on a candlestick, 
that it may give light to all that are in the house ; and our light ia 
to shine before men ; and they are to see our good worl\!=, and glorify 
our Father who is in heaven. But occasional and Ji^equent retire- 
ment for religious purposes is a duty, and it will be found our privi- 
lege. We shall never be less alone than when alone. " Go forth," 
saith God to Ezekiel, " into the field, and there will I talk with thee." 
Isaac, at eventide, was meditating in the field wlicn the Lord brougl.t 
him Rebckah. Jacob was left alone when he " obtained power with 
(iod," and with man, and prevailed. Nathanael was seen and en- 
couraged under the fig tree. Peter was by himself praying upon the 
house-top when he received the Divine manifestation. If the twelve 
patriarchs, or the twelve apostles, lived near us, and their presence 
drew us off from our closets, their neighborhood would be a serious 
injury to us. No creature can be a substitute for God. And it is 
alone we hold the freest and fullest communion with him. It is there 
tJie secret of the Lord is with as, and he shows us his covenant. 



JANUARY 30. 51 

There we become acquainted with ourselves. There we shake off 
the influences of the world. It is good to be there. 

" Be earth with all her scenes vvithdrawu ; 

•' Let noise and vanity be gone ; 

" In secret silence of the miud, 

" My heaven, and the,re my God, I find." 

— Men may hve in a crowd, but they must die alone. Friends and 
ministers can only accompany us to the entrance of the pass. None 
of them can speak from experience, and tell us what it is to die. And 
it is a way we have not gone ourselves heretofore. But the Chiistian 
he/'e, though alone, is not alone. " Yea," says David, " though 1 
Avalk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, 
for thou art with me : thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me." 

" Death is a melancholy day •' To those that have uo God." '■ 

But how must it be softened and cheered to those that havfi ? to 
have a God, the God of all grace, at hand, a very present help in that 
time cf trouble ; laying underneath his everlasting arms ; shedding 
around the light ol' his countenance ; communicating the joy of hi.s 
salvation ; and insuring the glory to be revealed — in ways beyond all 
our present experience and thought ! 

" O my God, what time I am afraid. I will trust in thee. Thou 
hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy 
counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in hea- 
ven but thee, and there is none upon the earth I desire beside thee. 
My flesh arid my heart faileth, but Goa is the strength of my heart, 
and my portion for ever." 



January 30. — " And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was de- 
parted, he called two of his household servant;', and a devout soldier of them 
that waited on him continually; and when he had declared all these things 
to them, he sent them to Joppa." — Acts, x, 7, 8. 

Such was his obedience to the heavenly vision. It was immediate, 
and well executed. 

He did not himself go for Peter. This he would have readily 
done, but was ordered by the angel to send; and his presence w^aa 
proper and necessary at home. He was a man in office : and in com 
mand. He had a weighty trust reposed in him j and we are to abide 
with God in our callings. 

The messengers he employed were two of his household servants, 
which shows him to have been a man of some estate, beside his pro- 
fession, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually. 
Observe here — the officer himself was a devout man, and he has not 
only devoted, but devout soldiers. The master was godly, and the 
Bervants are the same : for it is said, Cornelius feared God with all his 
house ; like Joshua, who said, " As for me, and my house, we will 
serve the Lord." This correspondence between the head and the 
members of the family, may be accounted for in two ways. First, such 
a man will choose, as far as he can, those that are religious to attend 
him— saying, with David, " Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of 
the land, that they may dwell with me : he that walketh in a perfect 
way, he shall serve me. He that worketh deceit shall not dwell 
within my house : he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight.'* 



52 JANUARY 31. 

And secondly, he will be likely to render them such, if they are not 
Buch when he engages them. For he will be sure to use all the meana 
in his power : and his own temper and example will harmonize with 
his efforts : and the grace of God, which he will never fail to implore, 
will honor him. Tims, they who are blessed, are also blessings, and 
for them the desert rejoices as a rose. Some are favored by their op- 
portunities and talents, to cultivate a large expanse of barrenness : 
but let us see, let us all see, whether we cannot convert a small spot 
at least, from waste, to smiling verdure : cultivate, if not the neigh- 
boring moor, yet a cottage garden, and let the traveller say, " The 
blessing of the Lord be upon thee." Many a domestic has been thank- 
ful that he ever entered a pious family : there he has been made wise 
unto salvation, and has become a child of God, by iaith in Christ 
Jesus. What a disgrace is it for a Christian master and mistress to 
let a servant leave their family unable to read the Bible ! 

" So, having declared these things to them, lie sent them to Joppa." 
Here we have, not a harsh injunction to a trembling slave ; not a bare 
order, couched in a few unexplained terms ; not the sealed instruc- 
tions, the orders of a tyrant, who is to be implicitly obeyed, and is 
afraid to trust. Here is intercourse, openness ; here is confidence in 
the master, reposing on principle in the servants. How happy, where 
the distinctions of life are preserved — and they are to be preserved ; 
and yet there is union and harmony, and condescension, and kind- 
ness ; and unreserve on the one side, and respect and obedience, with- 
out encroachment, on the other. How happy where authority is 
softened by gentleness, and submission by love: where indulgence 
breeds nothing like irreverence, and goodness is rewaided by dili- 
gence and fidelity. And in what connexions, in what families, is all 
this most hkely to be found? "Men do not gather grapes fiom 
thorns, nor figs from thistles." Piety is the spring, the guard, th^ 
refinement, the glory of morality. 



January 31. — " And he cried unto the Lord; and the Lord showed him a 
tree, which, ^Yhen he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet." 

Exodus, XV, 25. 

It is useless to inquire what kind of tree this was, and whether the 
effect was produced by a quality inherent in the wood, or by a miracu- 
lous application— the latter is far the most likely. But it has been 
disputed whether this transaction was designed to be an evangelical 
type. Perhaps it is impossible to determine this, and it is unneces- 
sary. We shall only derive from it an illustration of a very interest- 
ing subject, in which we are fully justified by the words of the apos- 
tle^to the suffering Hebrews: " Consider him that endured such con- 
tradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in 
your minds." 

We, like these Jews, are travelling through a wilderness. In our 
journey we meet with bitter waters. These are the troubles of life, 
personal and relative. These are very distasteful and offensive to 
flesh and blood. But they maybe rendered drinkable. In other words, 
we may be able to endure the afflictions of life— yea, we may even 



JANUARY 31. 53 

acquiesce in them ; and not only so, but glory in tribulation also. 
But how can this be clone ? Here is the secret — 



" The cross on which the Savior died, 
" And conquered for his saints; 

«■ This is the tree by faith applied, 
*' That sweetens all compluiuts. 

'• Thousands have proved the bless'd effect, 
♦' No longer nioura their lot; 



Wiiileon his sorrows they reflect, 
" Their own are all forgot. 

While they by faith behold the Crose, 
" Though many griefs they meet, 
They draw a gain from every loss, 
" And find the bitter sweet." 



Let US see how the Savior's sufferings will alleviate ours. It is 
some relief, in distiess, that others are exercised in the same way. 
Individuality of wo looks ominous; it is appalling to be singled out 
lilve a victim deer from the whole herd, and suffer alone. Thus the 
apostle tells the Corinthians that no temptation had taken them but 
such as is common to man ; and Peter also tells the sufferers he ad- 
dressed, that the same afflictions were accomplished in their brethren 
that were in the ^vorld. So it is — whom the Lord loveth. he chas- 
teneth. This has been the case with even his most eminent servants. 
And even his " dear Son," in whom his soul delighted — he, even he, 
did not escape. And shall we dread the fellowship of his sufferings ? 

But if there is something to affect the mind, even in the reality of 
his passion, there is much more in the greatness of it. In general, 
our groaning is heavier than our complaint; and we are prone, f-oni 
our selfishness and ignorance, to imagine our trials pre-eminent. He 
could say, Behold, and see if ever there was sorrow like unto my 
sorrow. In our sorrows w^e have alleviations. Ours are not per- 
petual, but his continued through life. Ours are not universal ; but he 
suffered in every part that was capable of suffering — he was a man 
of sorrovrs. Ours are not forelcnown ; but his were all laid out in 
prospect, and he suffered in apprehension, as well as reality. No 
tongue can express, no understanding conceive, what he bore when 
his soul was exceeding sorrowful, even unto death ; and his sweat 
was, as it were, great drops of blood falling to the ground ! 

" Now let our paius be all forgot, j " Our sufferings are not worth a thought, 

" Our hearts no more repine ; | " When, Lord, compared with thine." 

We must also think of the dignity of this sufferer. We commonly 
and properly feel more for those wdio are reduced in life, than for 
those who have never enjoyed a better estate, becau-se the penury is 
imbittered by previous affluence. Job considers his former greatness 
as an enhancement of his fall, and contrasts, with the honors shown 
him in his prosperity, the insults now offered him by those whose 
fathers he would not have set with the dogs of his flock, " Thev 
were children of fools, yea, children of base men ; they v.^ere viler 
than the earth. And now I am their song ; vea, I am their by- word. 
They abhor me ; they flee far from me, anci spare net to spit in my 
face." Jesus was tlie Lord of all ; and all the angels of God wor- 
shipped him. Yet was He despised and rejected of men ; he was 
buffeted, scourged, spit upon ; and not only the scribes and elders, 
but the soldiers, the common rabble, and the ^•ery thieves, set him at 
nought, and vilified him. But who and what are we? Our foun- 
dation is in the dust. Man is a worm, and the son of man is a 
worm ; and it is condescension in Grod to have any thing to do vv^ith 
him, or to deign even to chastise liim. '• What is man that thou 



54 FEBRUARY 1. 

sliouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon 
him ? And that thou shouldest visit him every morning, and try him 
every moment ?" 

But the great may render themselves i^orthy of their humihations, 
and often have been righteously punished. We sufi(3r justly, be- 
cause we sufier the due reward of our deeds. Good men themselves 
cannot complain, or even wonder, at their afilictions, when they con- 
sider their years of irrehgion, and their sins, since they have known 
God, or rather have been known of him — for who can understand his 
errors? In the sudden and awful death of his two sons, Aaron he.d 
his peace ; he had just before been aiding to make the golden calf. 
David had been recently guilty of adultery and murder ; when, 
vnerefore, Absalom, his own son, as well as subject, rose against him, 
what could he but say of his offended God, Here 1 am ; let him d& 
to me what seemeth good unto him. This consciousness also induced 
him to say, Let him alone, for the Lord hath bidden him, when 
Shimei cursed him, and Joab offered to go and slay him. I will bear 
the indignation of the Lord, because, says the Church, I have sinned 
against him. But this man did nothing amiss ; he was harmless, 
holy, separate from sinners. He could make the appeal to all his 
adversaries. Which of you convinceth me of sin ? Yet he suffered — 
suffered, though innocent ; and was led as a lamb to the slaughter. 

His sufferings, therefore, were for us. only and entirely for us — 
and what can be more relieving in our sorrows, than to consider the 
benefits we derive from his? Such is the benefit of an atoning Sacri- 
fice, by which we are delivered from all condemnation, and have 
peace with God, and access to him. What are trials ? when there 
is no wrath in tliem ; when they are only the effects of a father's 
care — the bitterness of death is past. Such is the benefit of a sympa- 
thizing Friend, Avho, from his own experience, can be touched with 
the feelings of our infirmities — for in that he himself hath saffered, 
being tempted, he is able also to succor them that are tempted. Such 
is the benefit of an Example, which shows us how to act and h':^w to 
feel in the hour of trial — for he also suffered for us, leaving us an 
example, that we should follow his steps. Such is the benefit of 
Divine Influence ; for by dying, he obtained for us tlie dispensation of 
the Spirit, which is therefore called his Spirit, and without the sup- 
ply of which, we must fail and sink — but his grace is sufficient for us. 

How encouraging, too, is it to think of the issue of his sufferings. 
For the joy that was set before him, he endured the Cross, despising 
the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the Throne of God 
Your sorrows also will have an end — and the same end. It is a faith- 
ful saying: for if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him ; 
If we suffer widi him, we shall also be glorified together. 



February 1. — "Do ye now believe?" — John, xvi, 31. 

Tms was in reply to the profession of his disciples. They had 
said unto him, "Now speakest thou plainly; now we are sure that 
thou knowest all things — by this we believe that thou earnest forth 
from God." 

It is not easy to lay the emphasis with perfect certainty ; and yet 



FEBRUARY 1. 85 

according as k is laid, tlie language will strike us with some shades 
of difference. j. t n 

We may consider the words as an inquiry. Do ye now beiievel 
1 have a ri^ht to ask, and 1 do ask." He is not inattentive to our 
condition, and experience ; our deficiencies, and improvements. And 
thoucrh he needeth not that any should testify of man, because he 
know'eth what is in man, yet lie will know these things Irom ourselves; 
that we may be urged to consider— and be affected with our own 
communications. 

We may consider them as a censure. " Do ye now believe i You 
ought to have believed long— yet, hitherto it would seem, according 
to your own avowal, you have not: that is, as you ought to have 
done, and as you might have done. How strange and blamable, 
that, with all your advantages, vou have been, even down to this 
hour, filled with hesitation and doubts." For he can reprove, as well 
as encourage. Do ye not yet remember ? Do ye not yet understand j 
After his resurrection, he upbraided them with their unbeliet, and 
hardness of heart. . 

We may consider them as a clieck to presumption. Do ye now 
believe ? You think so ; but have you not expressed yourselves with 
too much confidence ? You now consider yourselves confirrned be- 
lievers : and you suppose that you shall never err again ; fail again. 
I know you better than you know yourselves. Imagination is not 
reality : and events will prove, that you have much less faith than 
you now suppose— Behold the hour cometh and is now come, that 
ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me 
alone." 

There is a difference between hypocrisy and instability. VVe may 
feel what we utter at the time : but emotions are not principles, im- 
pulses are not dispositions. There may be goodness ; but it is like 
the morning cloud and early dew, that soon passeth away. How 
often do we become a wonder, as well as a grief, to oureelves. How 
little do we know of our owii hearts, till we are tried. The little 
ants disappear in the cloudy and rainy day ; and the observer might 
suppose that they were all dead. But let the sun shine forth ; and 
they are again all alive, and in motion. There is the same mud at 
the bottom°of the water when cahn; but the waves thereof cast up 
the mire and dirt. 

Let us not therefore make too much of frames and feehngs ; nor 
imagine, because we are now walking in the light of C4od's counte- 
nance, that we shall never again mourn his absence. Behold, the 
hour cometh when v/e may consider all our present joy as only a de- 
lusion. Do we now believe? A change in the weather, a depression 
of animal spirits, may renew all our doubts and fears ; and make us 
shiver airain. 

Therefore let us rejoice with trembling. Let us remember our own 
weakness ; and instead of depending on the grace that is in us, br. 
strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 

•' Beware of Peter's word, I " Man's wisdom is to seek 

"Nor confidently say, I "In God his strength a one; 

" I never unil deny thee. Lord ; * And e'en an angel would be weat 

" But, grant I uever may. I " That trusted in his own. 



56 FEBRUARY 2. 

Fkbruary 2. — " O that I had wings like a dove ? for then would I % away 
and be at rest." — Psalm Iv, 6. 

Whose exclamation is this? It is obviously the language of a man 
not at rest. And il' we read the preceding and following verses we 
shall find that the complainant was, indeed, really in trouble. And 
so are many. It seems inseparable from humanity. Man that is born 
of a woman is of a {q\y days and foil of trouble. 

But who was this man ? One of those deemed the darlings of Pro- 
vidence: a man who had experienced one of the most marvellous 
revolutions recorded in history. For he was originally nothmg more 
than a shepherd ; but rose from obscurity, and became a hero, a re- 
nowned conqueror, a powerful monarch. He had given him, the necks 
of his enemies and the hearts of his subjects; and we might have 
supposed him sated with victory, and glory, and dominion, and riches. 
But from the midst of all this he sighs " O that I had \7ings like a 
dove, for then would I fly away, and be at rest I" For, with all hie 
aggrandizements, how much did he suffer from implacable malevo- 
lence ! How much also from some of his own officers, and especially 
his nephew, Joab, the commander-in-chief After rearing his fine 
palace of cedar, he could not for a length of time take possession of 
it, for he was sick, nigh unto death, and week after week saw the 
grave ready for him. And suppose they had brought out his crown 
and imposed it upon him, would this have eased an aching head, or 
have relieved the anguish of a disordered body? What is an orna- 
mented room in the rage of a fever ? Then his own house was not 
so with God. What a distracted and wretched family ! His daugh- 
ter is humbled. The incestuous brother is murdered. The murderer 
becomes a traitor, and drives his father, as well as king, into exile. 
In his flight he is told that Ahithophel, his bosom friend and counsel- 
ler, is among the conspirators with Absalom. Who can tell what 
other sorrows corroded him ! The heart knowcth his own bitterness. 
There are griefs that wc cannot pour even into the bosom of intimacy. 
There are thorns in the nest that pierce through the down that lines 
it, but are known and felt only by the occupier. Did David never 
regret the loss of the privacy of Bethlehem ? 

The spirit that is in us lusteth to envy. We are prone to think 
that, though generally men are born to trouble, there are some ex- 
empted individuals; and that though, commonly considered, this earth 
is a vale of tears, there are some privileged spots. And it is worthy 
our observation, that these exceptions always belong to others, and 
always to those who are above us. Is the servant happy ? He will 
when he is master. Is the master happy ? He will when he is rich. 
la the rich man happy? He will when he is ennobled, and has dis- 
tinction as well as gold. Is the nobleman happy ? He will when he 
IS king. Is the king — the king happy ? Oh, says he, that I had 
wings'like a dove, for then would I fly away and be at rest. 

Let us remember this, and not be at>aid when one is made rich, 
and the glory of his house is increased. Let us check the risings of 
ambition, and not seek great things to ourselves. Let us learn, in 
whatsoever state we are, to be content ; and follow the moderation 
of the patriarch, who asked only for bread to eat, and raiment to put 
on, and a safe return to his father's house in peace. 



FEBRUARY 2. 57 

Felicity depends not upon external condition, but the slate of the 
mind. Paul was happy in prison, while Nero was miserable in a pa- 
lace. Haman, after teUing his wife and his friends all his promotion 
and glory, adds, Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see 
Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate. On that night could 
not the king sleep. 

" Tired Nature's sweet restorer, balmy sleep — 
" He, like the world, his ready visit pays 
" Where fortuue smiles." 

But is this true ? No. Sleep, sound, wholesome, refreshing sleep, hag 
least to do where fortune smiles. His ready visits are paid to the 
early rising, tlie temperate, the diligent: the sleep of a laboring man 
is sweet. '' The wretched," indeed, " he forsakes." But where does 
he find them? Here is one of them — the ruler of one hundred and 
twenty-seven provinces — on that night could not the king sleep. 
Ahab, the monarch of Israel, is melancholy, and sick, and cannot eat, 
because he cannot obtain Naboth's little parcel of ground for a garden 
of herbs; and neither his happiness nor health could go on till his 
worthy helpmate taught him to gratify his wish by the destruction 
of the noble-minded peasant. How wise w^as the answer of the Shu- 
namite, when Ehsha offered to speak for her to the king, " I dwell 
among my own people." If we are not content w^th such things as 
we have, we shall never be satisfied with such things as we desire. 
If there is a difference in outward conditions, it lies against those who 
fill the higher ones. Their want of occupation — the listlessness, far 
worse than any labor, they feel — the little relish they have of natural 
refreshments — their sufferings from weak nerves and timid spirits — 
their squeamish anxieties about their health — the softening of their 
disposition by indulgence and ease, so that they are unable to en- 
dure — their sensibihty under trifling vexations, wiiich others des- 
pise — their leisure to brood over and hatch a progeny of dangers — the 
envies to which they are liable — their cares, fears, responsibilities, and 
dependence — the unreasonable things expected from them, and their 
inabihty to give satisfaction to expectants. Where shall I end? 
These, and a thousand other things, are enough to show the poor and 
the busy that those who are placed above them are pro])ortionably 
taxed. 

Neither, how^ever, is the opposite state the most desirable. As far 
as happiness depends on any outw^ard condition, there lies between 
the extremes of prosperity and adversity, penury and ailluence, the 
most eligible choice. If life be a pilgrimage, man, the traveller, is 
best prepared for advancing, not when the shoe pinches, or when it ig 
large and loose, but when it fits ; not when he is destitute of a s+afT, 
or when he has a large bundle of staves to carry, but when he has 
one which affords him assistance without incumbrance. Pray we, 
therefore, " Remove far from me vanity and lies ; give me neither 
poverty nor riches ; feed me with food convenient for me : lest I be 
full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord ? or lest I be poor, and 
Bieal, and take the name of my God in vain." 

3* 



58 FEBRUARY 3. 

February 3. — " Thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in 
Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee thence." — Deut. xxiv, 18. 

The bondage of Egypt, under Pharaoh's tyranny and task-mas- 
ters, was nothing to the bondage of corruption in which sinners are 
naturally held, and tlie power of darkness, from which we are trans- 
lated into the kingdom of God's dear Son. And the freedom the Jews 
obtained, when they were delivered by a strong hand and a stretched- 
out arm, was not to be compared with the glorious liberty of the sons 
ol'God — for if the Son makes us free, we are free indeed. 

And this redemption is what we are called to remember. The ad- 
monition may seem needless. For can such a deliverance be ever 
forgotten? We should once have deemed it impossible ; but we are 
prone to forget his w^orks, and the wonders which he has shown us. 
The event, indeed, can never be completely forgotten. But we 
need to liave our minds stirred up by w^ay of remembrance. And for 
four purposes, " Thou slialt remember that thou wast a bondman in 
the land of Egypt, but the Lord thy God redeemed thee thence." 

First, for the purpose of humility. We are prone to think more 
highly of ourselves than we ought to think ; but with the lowly is 
wisdom. God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the hum- 
ble ; and surely we have enough to hide pride from us, if we reflect 
properly. If we are now wise, we were once foolish : if we are now 
justified, we were once condemned; if we are now the sons of God, 
we were once the servants of sin. Let us look to the rock whence 
we were hewn, and to the hole of the pit ^vhence we were digged. 

Secondly, we should remember it for the purpose of gratitude. If 
we are affected vrith the kindness shown us by our fellow creatures, 
shall we overlook our infinite Benefactor? Were tliey under no obli- 
gation to relieve us? Had we forfeited our lives to them? Did they 
deliver us from the lowest hell ? Did they become poor to enrich us, 
and die that we rnny live? We have no claims upon Hwi for the 
least of all his mercies ; and, therefore, should be thankful for all his 
benefits. But herein is love. Thanks be unto God lor his unspeak- 
able gift. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he hath visited 
and redeemed his people. 

Tliirdh'-, we should remember it for the purpose of confidence. 
David argued fiom the past to the future, and said, Because thou 
hast been m}^ help, therefore, under the shadow of thy wings will I 
rejoice. But here we have a peculiar reason for encouragement. 
For what were we when he first took knowledge of us ? Was he 
not found of them that sought him not ? Was the want of woilhi- 
ness a bar to his goodness then? And will it be so now? Is there 
with him any variableness or shadow of turning ? Is there not the 
same power in his arm, and the same love in his heart? Did he 
pardon me when a rebel, and will he cast me off now he has made 
me a friend? " If, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to 
God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, Ave shall 
be saved by his life." " He that spared not his own Son, but de- 
livered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give 
us all things?" 

FourtlUv, we should remember it for the pnrposc of piety and zeal. 
How many are there all around you in the gall of bitterness, and the 



FEBRUARY 4. 59 

bon.l of iniiinlty, ready to perish! You know the state they are in, 
and yoa know the blessedness of a deliverance from it. You are 
witnesses for God of what lie is able and willing to do. Invite the 
prisoners of hope to turn to him — you can speak from experience. 
Say to others, That which we have seen and heard, declare we unto 
you, that ye also may have fellowship with us. O taste and see that 
the Lord is o-ood : blessed is the man that trusteth in him. 



Febihury 4. — " And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God 
of my father Isaac, the Lord, which saidst unto me, Return unto thy coun- 
try, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee ; I am not worthy of 
the least of all thy mercies, and of all the truth which thou hast showed 
unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I 
am become two bands. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my bro- 
ther, from the hand of Esau ; for J fear him, lest he will come and smite me, 
and the mother with the children. And thou saidst, I will surely do thee 
good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered 
for niultitude." — Gen. xxxii, 9 — 12. 

We cannot too much admire the conduct of Jacob on this trymg 
occasion, when he had to meet his enraged brother Esau. The reli- 
gion that, aiming at something uncommon and preternatural, disre- 
gards the plain dictates of reason and revelation, is always to be 
suspected ; and, on the other hand, caution and exertion, unaccom- 
panied with a devout dependence upon God, is the wisdom of the 
world, which is foohshness with him ; and he will take the wise in 
their own craftiness. Therefore prudence and piety should always 
be connected together. Accordingly, Jacob sends forw^ard a deputa- 
tion A\'ith a soft answer, that turneth away wrath, and arranges his com- 
pany and cattle in the wisest order. But what does he then ? When v/e 
have done all that we can do, to what does it amount ? " Except the 
Lord build the liousc, they labor in vain that build it; except the Lord 
keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain ;" and unless he 
gives his beloved sleep, '• in vain Ave rise early, and sit up late, and 
eat the bread of sorrows." When we have planned, and are seUing 
all our measures in motion, then is the time to take hold of God, and 
to say, " O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity." Jacob, there- 
fore, now prays; and as this prayer was heard, and" he who teachea 
us how to pray is our best Iriend, let us glance at the particulars 
which God has here noticed. 

Observe the relation under wiiich he addresses the Supreme Being: 
" O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac." Ag 
much as to say, my family God, and my God in covenant. This 
was laying hold of his faithfulness, as well as goodness, and asking 
in faith. We have another title under which to bespeak attention— 
the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ. This inspires more 
abundant hope, and involves more exceeding great and precious pro- 
mises, and reminds us of a covenant made with him, and so with us, 
everlasting, ordered in all things and sure. 

He appeals to the will of God in his present difficulty : " Thou 
Eaidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I 
will deal well with thee ;" I am now in a strait, but I have been 
brought into it by following thee. This was wise. They that suffer 
according to the will of God, may commit the keeping of their souls 



60 FEBRUARY 4. 

to him in well doing ; and it affords great relief to the mind, and 
much aids our confidence, when we are conscious that the embar- 
rassments we feel liave not been brought upon ourselves, but have be- 
flillen us in the path of duty. And how does it add to the pressure of 
tlie burden, and the bitterness of the cup, when God asks, " What 
dost thou here, Elijah ?" and conscience cries, " Hast thou not pro- 
cured this unto thyself?" I^et no man, therefore, suffer as a murderer, 
as a thief, or as a busy-body in other men's matters. We complain 
of the world; and there are many unavoidable evils in life ; but there 
is a large multitude entirely of our own producing, and God is no 
otherwise accessary to them, than as he has, in the nature of things, 
and the course of providence, established a connexion between folly 
and misery. 

He shows his humility. " I am not worthy of the least of all thy 
mercies, and of all the trath which thou hast showed unto thy ser- 
vant." This temper is not natural to us ; but grace brings us down, 
and keeps us from thinking more higlily of ourselves than we ought 
to think. And we cannot have too much of this self-abasing disposi- 
tion ; it will keep us from exercising ourselves in great matters, and 
in things too high for us; it will keep us from murmuring under our 
trials; it will teach us, in v>^hatever state we are, therewith to be con- 
tent; and it will dispose us in every thing to give thanks — for only in 
proportion as we are humble can we be tliankful. 

Jacob, therefore, acknowledges tlie kindness of God toward him. 
More than twenty years before, he had crossed the same river where 
he now was. At that time he liad no inheritance; no, not so much 
as to set his foot on. He was going forth, a poor pilg.-im, in search 
of subsistence ; and all that he ever stipulated for vras bread to eat, 
and raiment to put on, and a return to his father's house in peace. 
From this condition he had been raised to affiuence, and liis family 
and his flock had equally multiplied. Therefore says he, "For with 
my stain passed over this Jordan, and now I am become two bands;" 
alluding to the division Avliich he had just made of his household 
and his substance. We should do well often to review life, and to 
mark the changes which have taken place in our stations and circum- 
stances. Have not many attained conditions, which would once 
have appeared the most iinprobable? Yet the Lord has made 
windows in heaven— and such things have been. Yet he has brought 
the blind by a way that they knew not, and made darkness light 
before them.. Those born in the lap of ease, and whose course has 
been always even, cannot enter into the feelings of those Avho have 
found themselves advanced, without any designs formed b}^ their 
friends, or expectations indulged by themselves. But how sad will 
it be, if they want the disposition of .Tacob, and, forgetting that the 
blessing of the Lord maketh rich, sacrifice to their own net. 

Observe his petition. ''Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of 
my brother, from the hand of Esau ; for I foar him, lest he will come 
and smite me, and the mother with the children." Here nature 
speaks; and we are allowed to feel, and even to desire the cup may 
pass from ns, with submission to the will of God. Hoav much was 
there here to awaken anxiety and dread ! Not only his own deatli^ 
but the destruction of each of bis wives— ap,d each a mother too — 



FEBRUARY 5. 61 

and of his childrtin also — and of the mother ivilli tlic cliildren ; or, ag 
it is in the margin, the mother upon the children. So it would have 
been. On the. approach ol" the executioner she would have thrown 
herself upon them, to cover and defend them, and in vain would he 
have endeavored to pull her away ; she Avould have been slaughtered 
upon their bodies. 

Finally, his argument. " And thou saidst, I will surely do thee 
good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be 
numbered for multitude." He had mentioned this before — Thou 
saidst, I will deal well with thee ; and now he repeats it. It was a 
sAveet morsel, and he rolls it under liis tongue. It was a breast of 
consolation, and he sucks till he is satisfied. It shows us that pi-o- 
mises do not supersede prayer. If God has engaged to do a thing, 
it will indeed be accomplished, but in his own way ; and he has or- 
dained the means as well as the end. The promises furnish us both 
with matter and encouragement when we pray ; and we cannot do 
better than to pray them over, and to plead them with God. This, 
says an old writer, is sueing God upon his own bond. " Remember 
thy word unto thy servant, on which thou hast caused me to hope." 



February 5. — "That, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together 
with him."— 1 Thess. v, 10. 

How well does tlie Apostle call the Redeemer " our life." There 
are three modes of expression by which our relation to him under 
this character is held forth ; and they all furnish matter for the most 
important meditation. We are said to live by Him — " He that loveth 
me, even he, shall live by me." We are said to live to Him — " They 
that live, should not live unto themselves, but unto Him that died for 
them, and rose again." And we are said to live with Him — " That 
whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him." 

To judge of this state, vre must consider where he lives ; and how 
he lives; and what he is; and how far he is able by his presence, to 
bless us, and make us happy. For though our happiness, with such 
a nature as ours, must be social, it is not a privilege to live with 
every one. With some, it would be a misery to dwell even here ; 
and to have our '^ portion with the hypocrites and unbelievei-s ;" and 
to be with " the devil and his angels ;" this will be hell hereafter. 
But O, to unite with those who will be all lovehness ; to embrace, 
without any fear of separation, those who were endeared to us on 
earth ; to sit down with Abraliam, Isaac and Jacob, in the kingdom 
of God; to join the innumerable company of angels! But, above all, 
to h ve with Jesus ! To be with him, where lie is, to behold his glory ! 
To walk- with him in while ! To reign with him ! — for ever and 
ever ! — this is far better. 

The season for enjoying it ii^, " whether we wake," i. e. live, or 
" whether we sleep," i. e. die. It takes in, therefore, time and eter- 
nity ; our living with him in earth and in heaven ; in the communiona 
ot' grace, and the fellowshi]3s of glory. These are inseparably con- 
nected, and are essentially one and the same condition with regard 
to him ; but they dilTer in degree as the bud and the floAver. the 
dawn and the day, the child and the man, differ. His people live 



62 FEBRUARY 6. 

with him now, but not as they will live with him hereafter. Now 
he is invisible — then they will see him as he is. Noav their inter- 
course with him is mediate, and often interrupted — then it will be 
immediate, and free fiom any aniioyance. Now they are with him 
in the wdtlerness — then they will be with him in the land flowing 
with milk and honey. Now they groan, being burdened with infir- 
mities, and cares, and troubles — then they will be presented faultless 
before the presence of his glory, with exceeding joy. Yet, whetlier 
tJiey wake or sleep, they live together with him. 

And does not this more than indicate his divinity ? How else can 
they live with him 71010? He is no more here, as to his bodily pre- 
sence, for the heavens have received him. Yet, where two or three 
are gathered together in his name, he is in the midst of them. Yet 
he said, Lo ! I am Avith you always, even unto the end of the world. 
Yet, says the apostle. We live with him even while we wake ! Yet, 
at the same time, others live Avith him Avhen they sleep — The dead 
are Avith him above, Avhile the living are with him beloAV ! Hoav ? 
unless he pervades all periods, and occupies all places'? Hoav? 
unless he can say, " Do not I fill heaven and earth ?" It is obvious 
the psalmist viewed him as omnipresent, and could say, "Whom 
have I in heaven but Thee ? and there is none upon earth I desire 
beside Thee.-' 

Here is your happiness Christians ; it is your union with Christ. 
This prepares you for all seasons, and all conditions. Do you think 
of life? This is sometimes discouraging ; especially Avhen you con- 
template the prospect in a moment of gloom. But why should you 
be dismayed? If you wake you Avill live together Avith him. If 
your continuance here be prolonged, you Avill not be alone ; He will 
always be Avithin call, and within reach. He Avill render every duty 
practicable, and every trial supportable, and every event profitable. 
And, therefore, AA^hatever be your circumstances, you may boldly 
say, " Nevertheless I am continually Avith thee ; thou hast holden 
me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me Avith iliy counsel, and 
afterAvard receive me to glory." Do you think of death? This is 
often distressing, and there is much in it to dismay — if viewed sepa- 
rate from Him. But if you sleep, you Avill live together with him. 
Death, that severs every other bond, cannot touch the ligatures that 
unite you to him. As you leave others^ you approach nearer to him ; 
you get more perfectly into his presence — you are for ever with the 
Lord. 

Voltaire more than once says, in his Letters to Madame Duffand, 
'* I hate life, and yet I am afraid to die." A Christian fears neither 
of these. He is willing to abide, and he is ready to go. Life is his. 
Death is his. Whether AA^e Avake or sleep, Ave shall live together 
with him. ______^_______ 

Fkbruary 6. — " And, behold, two of them Avent that same day to a village 
fulled Emmaiis, which was from Jerusalem about three score furlongs. 
And they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it 
came to pass, that Avhile they communed together and reasoned, Jesus him- 
self drew near, and Avent with them." — Luke, xxiv, 13 — 15. 

The name of the one Avas Cleopas; of the other Ave are ignorant 
We are also unacquainted Avith the design of this journey; but it 



FEBRUARY 7. 63 

betrayed the imperfection of these disciples. For is it not astonish- 
ing that they could leave Jerusalem before they had ascertained an 
event so interesting as his resurrection : especially as he had more 
than once assured them that he should rise again the third day ; and 
certain women, early at the sepulchre, had reported that the body 
was missing, and that they were informed by a vision of angels that 
he was alive ; and, also, some from among themselves had gone to 
the grave, and found it even as they had said ; yet they walk off into 
the country in the midst of all this perplexity 1 Such is our impa- 
tience ! Such is our fear ! Such is our despondency! But he that 
believeth maketh not haste. 

Yet a drop is water, and a spark is fire, and a little grace is grace, 
and perfectly distinguishable from mere nature. And we have here, 
not only infirmity, but excellency. Their minds cleave unto him 
still, and they can talk about nothing else — and he joins them. Let 



me not pass over this without remark. 

It shows the Savior's kindness and tenderness. 



He does not despise 



the day of small things, nor cast off those who have a little strength. 
I know not what kind of person he had. But if he had not bodily 
beauty, in his mind he was fairer than the children of men. I am 
sure of his temper; 1 can look into his heart, and see that it is made 
of love : " A bruised reed will he not break ; and the smoking flax 
will he not quench ; but will bring forth judgment unto victory." 

It shows me the truth of the promise. " Where''' — let it be where it 
will, in the temple, the private dwelling, the field, the road : " where 
two or three" (if there are no more ; tor, as he is not confined to 
place, so neither to number) " are gathered together in my name, 
there am I in the midst of them." 

I also leam, that the way to have him for our companion, is to 
make him our theme. No theme ought to be so dear — no theme can 
be so excellent, so profitable. 

Let worldly minds pursue the things of the world. But let Chris- 
tians abundantly utter the memory of his great goodness, and men- 
tion the loving kindnesses of the Lord. And then he will be present. 
He 16' there. 



' We'll talk of all he did and said, 
" And sufter'd for us here below ; 

' The path he mark'd for us to tread, 
" And what he's doing for us now. 



Thus, as the moments pass away 

" We'll love, aud wonder, and adore; 

And hasten on the glorious day, 

" When we shall meet to part no more. 



February 7.—" Take up thy bed and walk."— John, v, 8. 

We are too prone to overlook the circumstantial and incidental in- 
etruction of the sacred writers — forgetful that every word of God ia 
pure, and tliat whatsoever things were written aforetime, were writ- 
ten for our learning. Let us not lose any of this hid treasure lor wa nt 
of observing and applying what v/e read. 

Our Savior met with this man at the pool of Bethesda ; but no 
sooner had he pronounced the word of healing, than he orders him to 
take up his bed and walk. He has always reasons lor his conduct, 
though they are not always perceptible. But I think w^e can see 
Ibiir reasons for this command. 

First, it was to evince the perfection of the cure. His walking, 



64 FEBRUARY 7. 

indeed, would prove this ; but his taking up his bed, and being able to 
CJirry that in which he had been carried, w^ould display it still more, 
as it showed his strength, as well as health. We olten refer to mira- 
cles, and they are the witness of the Spirit. Bat the question is, were 
tiiey true ? Never could any tiling have been more remote from im- 
{•osition than the miracles recorded in the Gospel. Examine them. 
They wcr« many — they were public — they were performed before 
witnesses interested in their detection, had they been false. The cir- 
cumstances, too, were always corroborative. Does he raise the dead ? 
The young man was carrying to his burial, attended with much 
people. Lazai-us was in liis grave, and had been dead four days. 
Does he recover the infirm and the diseased ? The man whose eyes 
he opened was born blind. And this paralytic had been afflicted 
thirty-eight years ; and in a moment he was made whole, and was 
seen by all going home with his bed upon his shoulders. 

Secondly, it was to teach him to be careful, and to waste nothing. 
The bed probably was not very valuable, but he was not to throw it 
away. In correspondence Avith this, after the miracle of the loaves 
and fishes, even then, when he had shown with what ease he could 
multiply resources, and support his creatures, he said, " Gather up 
the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost." Christians should 
avoid closeness and meanness, lest their good be evil spoken of; but 
there is another extreme they should be anxious to avoid : it is pro- 
fusion — yea, negligence and carelessness. They ought not to love 
money; but they should know the use and worth of it, and remember 
that they are responsible for all they have. How needy are many, 
and how ready would they be to call down the blessing of heaven 
upon you for a few pence, ibr the remnants of your wardrobe, for the 
refuse of your garden, for the crumbs that fall from your table. Be 
examples of economy yourselves. Teach your children to be pro- 
digal of nothing. You would dismiss a servant that purloined ; keep 
no one that wastes. How unfrugal, often, are the poor. How few 
of them seem to know how to make the most of any of their pittances. 
Let them be instructed personally, and by tracts. 

Thirdly, as a memento of his deliverance and duty. When at 
home, and looking on this bed, he would say, " Ah ! there I lay, a 
poor enfeebled creature; and said. My strengthand my hope is pe- 
rished from the Lord, remembering mine affliction and my misery, 
the wormwood and the gall : my soul hath them still in remem- 
brance, and is humbled within me. This I call to mind ; therefore 
have 1 hope." It is a sad charge against Israel, that they soo?i forgar. 
His works, and the wonders that he had shown them. We are prone 
to the same evil, and need every assistance to aid recollection.- Joseph 
and Moses made the very names of their children remembrances. 
Samuel set up a stone, and called it Ebenezer. Some have set apart 
particular days. Some have kept diaries. 

" Why should tlie woiulers He has wrought, 
" Be lost ill silence, aud forgot ?" 

Fourthly, to try his obedience. Carrying his bed was a servile 
work ; and it was now the Sabbath, on which day no burden was to 
be borne. He seemed, therefore, to oppose the law of Moses, and ac- 



FEBRUARY 8. 65 

cordiiigly the Pharisees were offended, and murmured. But works 
of necessity and mercy were always proper, and the Sabbath was 
made for man, and the Son of Man was Lord even of the Sabbath 
day. And it is pleasing to find that the man's mind was informed, 
as well as his body cured, and to hear him reasoning with the ob- 
jectors as he docs. '• He answered them, He that made me whole, 
the same said unto me, Take up thy bed and walk." How fine,.hosv 
instructive is this. We are not to judge the Lord's commands, but 
to follow them. His orders may be trying, and in obeying them we 
may give oiience ; but we need not mind the revilings of men, while 
we can plead his authority. It is our Deliverer, our Benefactor, who 
enjoins, and what has He said unto us ? He that died for us, and saA ed 
us from the wrath to come, what v/iil He have me to do? He that 
made me whole, the same says unto me, " If ye love me, keep my 
commandments." 



February 8. — "And he was there in the prison." — Genesis, xxxix, 20. 

— But he was not there criminally^ but under an imputation as 
false as it was infamous. How little can we judge of character from 
outward condition. At one time the best people in the country were 
to be found at the stake or in prison. But it is the cause, and not the 
cross, that makes the martyr. Let us see, that, like Daniel, we are 
accused only in the law of our God, and resemble Paul, who suffered 
cw an evil doer, even unto bonds, but was not one. Let us beware of 
drawing upon ourselves deserved reproach or persecution, by im- 
prudent or immoral conduct. 

" For what glory is it, if, when ye are buffeted for your faults, ye 
take it patiently ?" 

" And he Avas there in prison ;" but he was not alone there. But 
the Lord was \vith Joseph — no doubt of it ; for he hath said, " I will 
never leave thee, nor forsake thee." No situation can exclude God 
from access to his people, or keep them from intercourse with God. 
Jeremiah found him in the deep dungeon ; John in the isle of Pat- 
m.os, and Paul on tlie sea. His people sometimes wonder at this ; 
the experience is beyond their expectation ; and they say with Jacob, 
" Surely God is in this place, and I knew it not." But they might 
know it ; especially if it be a scene of distress j for has He not said, 
■'' I will be with thee in trouble 1" 

" And he was there in the prison j" but he was not miserable there. 
All was peace within. His rejoicing was thus the testimony of his 
conscience. How much happier was he in this respect than his vile 
mistress, who had knowingly belied him; and his brethren who had 
cruelly sold him ; how galled often would they be by reflection and 
self-reproach. How much happier was he, the suffering slave, than 
Potiphar, his prosperous master — yea, than Pharaoh upon the throne I 
Strange as it may seem, this prisoner, in this wretched confinement, 
was by far the happiest man in Egypt. But he had the presence of 
God. This presence makes the fullness of joy above, and this pre- 
sence here, turns a prison into a palace — into a temple. The world 
marvels to see how Christians are sustained and consoled in their 
afflictions j but the reason is, they cannot see all j thej^ can see tJieir 



66 FEBRUARY 9. 

burdens, but not the everlasting arms underneath them ; they can 
see their sorrows, but not the comforts of the Holy Gho.st shed abroad 
in their hearts ; but they themselves know, that as the sufferings of 
Christ abound in them, tJie consolation also aboundeth by Christ. 

" And he was there in the prison ;" but he was not there in vain. 
He was a witness for the God of Israel : and tlie very manner of his 
suffering, his temper, his carriage, if he had said nothing, would have 
impressed all that beheld him. But he would also speak a word in 
season, and his addresses, enforced by his example, would carry 
■weight with them. He taught the master of the prison, and his 
fellow sufferers, and explained the dreams of the chief baker and 
butler, and thus raised w^onder and gained confidence, which he 
failed not to turn to advantage. There, also, he was himself at 
school, and gained much useful knowledge, while " the word of the 
Lord tried him." His tribulation wrought patience, and patience ex- 
perience, and experience hope. In the prison he was prepared for 
the palace, and by his adversity he was made meet for prosperity 
He could well say, " It is good for me that I have been afflicted." 

^' And he was there in the prison ;" but he was not there always. 
Nothing could detain him when the word of the Lord came and 
commanded his deliverance. Till then he relied on God's promise ; 
but his confidence was sorely exercised; the event was not only de- 
layed, but seemed to grow less probable, and the gloom thickened. 
But he found that it is good for a man not only to hope, but quietly 
wait for the salvation ot' the Lord. At length, and not a moment 
beyond his own appointed time, and not a moment beyond the best 
time, the Lord appeared, and from the prison he steps into the second 
chariot in Egypt. 

Christians, the God you serve is continually able to deliver you. 
If you have his word, lay hold of it, and let it keep your mind in 
perfect peace, being stayed on Him. You have nothing to do with 
difficulties; indeed there are none where the truth of God is con- 
cerned. You believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven 
and earth ; He turneth the shadow of death into the morning. At 
eveninor tide it shall be light. 



February 9. — " 3Iy soul shall make her boast ia the Lord; the humble 
shall hear thereof, and be glad."— Psalm xxxiv, 2. 

We are prone to boast, and there is scarcely any thing that does 
not often call forth the tendency. Some boast of their beauty — some 
of the multitude of their riches — some of their pedigree and rank — 
Bome of their genius, and learning, and knowledge. Some boast of 
their wickedness, which is glorying in their shame. Some boast of 
their goodness, when, too, they have none ; for there is a generation 
who are pure in their own eyes, and are not washed from their filthi- 
ness. But they who have " the root of the matter" in them — have 
they any right to boast ? Is their religion derived from themselves? 
Is it self-sLfstained ? Is it perfect? Where is boasting then ? It irf 
excluded. By what law ? The law of faith, for " it is of flaith, 
that it might be of grace." And this is its language: " God hath 
chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God 



FEBRUARY 9. 67 

hfith chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things 
which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which 
are despised hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to 
bring to nought things that are, that no flesh should glory in his 
presence. But of Him are ye in Clirist Jesus, who of God is made 
unto us Avisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemp- 
tion ; that according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory 
in the Lord." 

But here we see that we may glory in Him, though we are forbid- 
den to glory in creatures, or in ourselves. Accordingly, David says, 
'' My soul shall make her boast in the Lord." And so ought we to 
resolve. And there are moments and frames when, surveying Him 
in his works, and perfections, and promises, tlie believer can exult 
with joy unspeakable and full of glory. 

" All my capacious powers cau boast, I " Nor to my eyes is light so dear, 
" In ihce most nclily meet ; | " Nor friendship half so sweet." 

" What a Friend have I— a tried, kind, almighty, everlasting 
Friend— a Friend who loveth at all tim.es, and has sworn that he will 
never leave me nor forsake me. ' This is my Beloved, and this is 
my Friend, O ye dauirhters of Jerusalem.' ^Vhat a Shepherd have 
I ! The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to 
lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters. 
He restoreth my soul; he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness, 
for his name's sake. Yea, though T walk through the valley of tlie 
ehadow of death, I will fear no evil ; for thou art with me ; thy rod 
and thy staff, they comfort me. What a God is mine ! The God of 
ti-uth ; the God of all grace ; a God in covenant ; a God in Christ — 
this God is my God, lor ever and ever: he will be my guide even 
imto death. AVhat a portion is mine ! The Lord is the portion of 
mine inheritance, and of my cup ; thou maintainest my lot. The 
lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places ; yea, I have a goodly 
heritage." 

But not only is included here the elevation of joyous feeling, arising 
from the view and possession of magnificent good, but also the break- 
ing forth of gratitude and praise. ^The selfish and the proud dishke 
the thought of dependence, and wish every acquisition to be con- 
sidered as of their own procuring : " therefore they sacrifice unto their 
net, and burn incense unto their drag." But pious minds ever delight 
to own that they have nothing but what they have received. It is 
very painful to be under obligations to an enemy, but how pleasant 
h is to be indebted to one we admire and love ! They who, therefore, 
Rupremely love their God and Savior, make their boast in the Lord. 
They will hereafter cast their crowns before the throne, and their 
language now is, " By the grace of God I am what I am." "In the 
Lord have I righteousness and strength." " I will greatly rejoice in 
the Lord ; my soul shall be joyful in my God ; for he hath clothed 
me with the garments of salvation ; he hath covered me with the robe 
of righteousness, as a bridegroom declceth himself with ornaments, and 
as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels." 

David supposes that his doing this would be known. " The hura< 
ble shall hear thereof." They would possibly hear it from others, 
for the godly have their obsen'cr?; and " are m.en wondered at." 



68 FEBRUARY 10. 

They were likely to hear it from himself. Therefore, says he, "O 
magnify the Lord witti me, and let us exalt his name together. I 
Bouglit the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my 
fears;" "Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare 
what he hath done for my soul. I cried unto him with my mwith, 
and he was extolled with my tongue." Spiritual sadness seeks 
seclusion and conceahnent. Then, as the stricken deer leaves 
the herd, the man sitteth alone and keeps silence, hecause he has 
borne it upon him. Peter went out and wept bitterly. But spiritual 
freedom and joy soon discover themselves. Like the return of health, 
aid of day, it says to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in 
darkness, Show yourselves. When Hannah was in bitterness of soul, 
and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore, it is said she prayed in 
her heart, only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. But 
w^hen she had succeeded, she broke forth into a song, and said, " My 
heart rejoiceth in the Lord, mine horn is exalted in the Lord ; my 
mouth is enlarged over mine enemies, because I rejoice in tliy sal- 
vation." 

David also inferred the effect this knowledge would produce in 
them — " The humble shall hear thereof, and be glad?'' He could 
reckon upon this from his own disposition, and from the connexion 
there is between all the subjects of Divine grace. They are all one 
in Christ Jesus. Thev belong to the same family ; they are parts of 
the same body ; and il" one member suffers, all the members suffer 
with it: and if one member be honored, all the members rejoice. 
They who have prayed for me, will not refuse to praise. " Bring 
my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name ; the righteous 
shall compass me about, for thou shalt deal bountifully with me." 
What sight can be so gratifying to a good man, as to see a convert 
leaving the world and entering die Church; a backslider returning 
into the path of peace ; a believer walking worthy ihe vocation 
wherewith he is called ; a dying saint joyful in glory, and shouting 
aloud upon his bed ? They that fear tliee will be glad when they 
eee me, because I have hoped in thy truth. 

— The Lord's followers are supposed to be mopish and melancholy, 
but they have a thousand sources of joy which others know not of. 
How great is the pleasure tliey derive even from ethers. Indeed they 
can often rejoice on the behalf of their brethren, when they fear things 
are not going on well with themselves. But what a proof is this 
feeling that their heart is right with God ! 

— Envy is the rottenness of the bones, and the temper of the devil. 
To rejoice in another's good is Christian — angelica! — divine. God 
IS love: and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in 
him. 



February 10. — "Be sober." — 1 Thess. v, 8. 
Thi3 stands opposed to bodily excess, and especially to drunken- 
ness. It is painful to think that it should be ever necessary even to 
montitin such a subject among those who ever profess to be Chris- 
tians. The Spartans presented to their children intoxicated slaves, 
that, seeing their beastly demeanor, they might detest the vice. 



FEBRUARY 10. 69 

Some pao-an legislators inflicted a double punialiment upon crimes 
committed in a state of drunkenness. Christian lawgivers and judges 
are not equally wise and just ; for bow scandalous is it to hear men, 
in a court of justice, allege their intoxication to extenuate, if not to 
justify their conduct. Drunkenness takes away the man, and leaves 
the brute. It dethrones reason from its seat. It covers the wretch 
with rags, and reduces his wife and children to want and beggary. It 
impairs" appetite, produces trembhng of limbs, and such sinking of 
spirits as almost compels to the repetition of the offence— so that, 
physicallv, as well as morally, it is next to impossible to cure it. 

Let me therefore jruard against it, and not only in the grossnes.% 
but tlie guilt. Some professors of religion seem to think they are 
7mi cliargeable with the sin, if they can keep their eyes open, and 
i walk from the dining-room to the tea-table, not considering that every 
I indulo'ence beyond natural relief and refreshment is vicious; and 
i that the Scripture peculiarly condemns those who, by gradual train- 
! ing, have made themselves strong to drink wine, and to mingle 
i etroijg drink. Let me therefore beware of the encroaching degree^ 
\ and put a knife to my throat, \{^ gUen to appetite. And instead of be- 
I ing filled with wine, wherein is excess, let me be filled with the Spirit. 
I But the pure and holy religion of Jesus, when it says, " Be sober," 
forbids much more than this vile and oiTensive practice. It enjoins 
temperance in all our appetites, desires and afiections. It extends 
|i even to business. As a man may be entangled, so he moy be in- 
toxicated with the affairs of this life ; and how often do the cares of 
tliis life, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and it be- 
ocmeth unfruitful. A Christian may be too mindful of earthly things, 
too ahve to fame, too anxious to join house to house, and add field to 
field, and to load himself with thick clay. As a man inebriated is 
unfit for the duties of his station, and is obhged to be confined, so it is 
with those v,7ho set thei r affection on things below. They are unqual i- 
fied for their high calling, and cannot walk as becometh the Gospel. 
" Seekest thou great things to thyself?" says Jeremiah to Barucli, 
" seek them not." Let me reflect, in the light of Scripture and obser- 
vation, on the vanity of worldly things ; their unsatisfactoriness in 
possession; their perishing in the using; and the many and hurtful 
lusts to which they expose ; and let my conversation be without cnvet- 
ousness, and let me be content with such things as I have, for He 
hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 

Sleep is a natural and necessary refreshment. But we may be ex- 
cessive in this, as well as in any other indulgence. And, alas ! how 
often are we, even to the injury of our health, as well as the waste 
of our time. 

Recreation is allowable and salutary ; but we may exceed the 
bounds which the redemption of time, and the repairing and refitting 
us for duty can only allow. 

Paul exhorts Timothy to be " sober-minded." How intemperate 
are some in their opinions ; and opinions, especially in religion, that 
regard inferior truths, and subjects concerning which the understand- 
ing meets with the greatest difficulties. Some are eager, and rash, 
and positive in all their judgments, and nothing is too absurd or ridi- 
culous for their adoption. 



70 FEBRUARY 11. 

Again, let me hear the apostle ; " I ^ay to every man that is 
amongst you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to 
think, but to think soberly;" i. e. not overrating his station, his corf- 
nections, his abilities, his usefulness, his performances. " For if a 
man think himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceiveth 
himself" 

Finally, let me not forget how ohviously^ as well as extensively, I 
am to discharge this obligation; nor lose sight for a moment, oftlic 
argument^ by which it is enforced — " Let your moderation be 

KNOWN UNTO ALL MEN — THE LORD IS AT HAND." 



February 11.—" The children of the day."— 1 Thess. v, 5. 

Three distinctions may be here made. The first, regards heathens. 
The second, the Jews. The third. Christians. 

Heathens are the children of night. With regard to them, dark- 
ness covered the earth, and gross darkness the people. What did 
they know of God ; of themselves ; of their origin ; their fall ; their re- 
covery ; their duty ? What did they know of a future state ? A few 
of their philosophers spoke of the immortality of the soul ; but none of 
them thought of tlie resurrection of the body, unless to turn it into 
ridicule. And wdiat they expressed, they did but conjecture : they 
could prove and establish nothing. And they held it in unrighteous- 
ness; it had no influence over them as a motive; for wantmg the cer- 
tainty of a principle, it w^anted the efficacy. And they kept it from 
the people at large, and employed no means to inform the multitude, 
who, as quite sufficient for them, were abandoned to every kind of 
Euperstition. 

The Jews were all children of the dawn; an intermediate state 
between night and day; better than the former, and very inferior to 
the latter. Hence the Savior alluding, not to the state of pagans, but 
to tiie disadvantages of Judaism, said to his disciples, " Many pro- 
phets and righteous men have desired to see the things that ye see, 
and have net seen them." They had the law, which was given by 
Moses; but we have grace and truth that came by Jesus Christ. They 
had the shadows, we have the substance. They had the types, and 
the promises ; we, the realizations, and the accomplishment. To them, 
the Sun of Righteousness was below the horizon ; on us, he has risen 
with healing under his wings— God having provided some better thing 
for us, that they, without us, should not be made perfect. For 

ChTistians are the children of the day. It is their privilege to 
have the system of Revelation complete; and to be blessed with the 
full dispensation of the glorious Gospel. They have the servants of 
tiie Must High God, which show unto men the way of salvation. 

Every thing with us is made clear, in proportion as it is important. 
And with regard to the acceptance of our persons with God, the re- 
novation of our nature, our title to eternal life, our meetness for glory, 
our supplies of grace, and all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in 
Christ ; the darkness is entirely past, and the true light now shineth, 
and we are the children of the day. 

Therefore let us hail it with gratitude. And what thanks can ever 
equal the benefit? A mud cottage with the Scriptures in it, is more 



FEBRUARY 12. 71 

ennobled in the view of an angel, than the palace of the richest em- 
peror upon earth. David would have descended from his throne, and 
have passed his days in a poor-house, to have enjoyed our advantages. 
Abraham, at the distance of near two thousand years, rejoiced to see 
our day, saw it, and was glad. 

Therefore let us receive it with joy. Nature shows off her beauties : 
the lambs play ; the birds carol their notes; every thing seems to wel- 
come the approach of day. Truly light is sweet, and a pleasant 
thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun. And shall the Gospel, this 
day of good tidings, inspire us with dread and gloom ? Is it not in- 
tended, is it not adapted to make even our spirits rejoice in God our 
:Savior? And was it not thus always originally regarded? 

Therefore we should improve it with diligence. The sun ariseth, 

and man goeth forth to his work and to his labor until evening — the 

night is for inaction. They that sleep, sleep in the night ; and they 

; that are drunken, are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of 

; the day, be sober. And knowing the time, let us cast off the works 

i of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Advantages infer 

i obligations, and produce responsibility. Where much is given, much 

I will be required. What do ye more than others? asks the Savior. 

And he has a right to ask. *He also says. Yet a little while is the 

light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come 

I upon you. Blessed Jesus! possess me with thy own Spirit; and, 

1 henceforth repelling every interruption, and crushing every indeci- 

j sion and delay, may I make thy purpose and zeal my own : " I must 

I work the w^orks of Him that sent me while it is day — the night 

cometh wdierein no man can work." 



February 12. — " And he said, Leave us not, I pray thee ; forasmuch a3 
thou knowest how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and thou mayest be 
to us instead of eyes." — Numbers, x, 31. 

Such Avas the language of the Jewish leader to Hobab, the son of 
Raguel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law. How numerous are 
our wants, in whatever condition we are found. We need not food 
to nourish us, apparel to cover us, sleep to refresh us, friendship to 
succor us. We need the heart of one of our fellow creatures, and 
the hand of another. One must be feet to us, another eyes. Wlio 
is self-sufficient? Who, but under the delusion of pride and vanity, 
would ever affect independence? The eye cannot say unto the 
hand, 1 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 are feeble, are necessary. Above others in circumstances, we 
may be inferior to therr. in grace or experience, or some particular 
attainment. David was superior to Jonathan in divine things; yet 
" Jonathan went to David in the Avood, and strengthened his hands 
in God." I long to see you, says Paul to the Romans, that I may 
impart unto you some spiritual gift, that ye may be established ; but 
they aided and confirmed him first ; for they came down to meet him 
as far as Appii Foium and the Three Taverns; and when he saw 
them he thanked Grod, and took courage. 

Here we see the advantages of society. A God of knowledge and 



72 FEBRUARY 13. 

tnith has said, It is not good for man to be alone ; and if it was 9,0 
with regard to Paradise, how much more with regard to a wilderness. 
Half the pleasure of solitude, it has been remarked, arises from our 
having a friend at hand to whom we can say, How delightful this 
retirement is ! Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart, so doth a 
man his friend by hearty counsel. Why, but to encourage social 
devotion, did our Savior say to his disciples, " If two of you shall 
agree on earth as touching any one thing that they shall ask, it shall 
be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or 
three are gathered together in my name, there am I in tlie midst cf 
them." Why did he send forth the seventy, two by two, m their 
mifjsion through Judea. but to comfort each other in distress; to 
confer with each other in cases of perplexity ; to stimulate each other 
in cases of languor ; to check each other in cases of temptation." 
" Two are better far than one, because they have good reward for 
their labor. For if they fall, the one will life up his fellow ; but v;o 
to him that is alone when he falleth ; for he hath not another to help 
him up." 

Let none despond. As all are required to be useful, so all may be 
serviceable, if they will ; and often, far, beyond tlie probability of 
their condition, or their own hopefulness ; for humility makes a good 
man modest in his expectations, as well as in his pretensions. 

We also see here, that confidence in God is not to lead us to disre- 
gard any advantages we can derive from ordinary resources. Moses 
had the engagement of God, and was even under a miraculous gui- 
dance ; yet he does not overlook the assistance he could derive fiom 
his father-in-law, as to his advice in difficulties, and those instractions 
which, from his knowledge of the Wilderness, he could give him, 
with regard to particular situations, and their conveniencies or incon- 
veniencies. Tlie religion of tlie Bible is ahvays a reasonable service. 
It does not keep a man's eyes upon the stars, while befalls over every 
stumbling block in his way, but says to him, " Let thine eyes look 
right on, and thy eyelids straight before thee ; ponder the path of 
tliy feet, that thy goings may be established." It places our depen- 
dence upon God, but that reliance is favorable to activity — it is the 
spring of it. In Him we live, move, and have our being ; but this 
does not supersede eating and drinking. He teaches us ; but we are 
to read and hear his word. He promises, but he will be inquired of 
for the performance. And none of the aids he affords us render need- 
less the exercise of prudence, the exertion of our faculties, the offices 
of friendship, or the means of grace. " Draw nigh to God, and he 
will draw nigh to you." 



FtBRUARY 13. — " Turn thee unto me, and have mere)' upon me; for T am 
desolate and afflicted. Tlie troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring 
thou me out of my distresses." — Psalm xxv, 16, 17. 

Surely this book is addressed to the heart ? and requires sensibility 
rather than talent to understand and explain it. How tender here is 
the language of David, and how instructive too. He was a sufferer, 
though a kmg, and a man eminently godly. And his sorrows were 
not superficial, but deep and depressing, " the sorrows of the heart." 



FEBRUARY lA. 73 

And while hoping for their diminution they were '• enlarged." Bui 
he is a petitioner, as well as a suflferer, and those sorrows wdl never 
injure us that bring us to God. Thfde things he prays for. 

First. Deliverance. This we are allowed to desire consistently 
with reeifTuation to the divine will. But we must seek it, not IVom 
rreaturcsTbut from God, vv'ho has said, " Call upon me in the day ot 
trouble, and I will deliver thee." Nothing is too hard for Him ; He 
can turn the shadow of death into the morning— Therefore, saye 
David. '' O bring thou me out of my distresses." 

Secondly. Notice. A kind look fron: God is desirable at any time, 
in any circumstances; but in aflliction and pain, it is like hfe from 
the dead. Nothing cuts like the neglect of a friend in distress; 
nothinfT soothes like his calls, and inquiries, and sympathy, and tears, 
then. '^Bui to say. Thou, God, seest me ; thou knowest all my walk- 
ino" through this great wilderness— to be assured that he is attentive 
to^my conditioiij'and is smiling through the cloud; fills the heart, 
even in tribulation, with a peace that passeth all understanding— 
Therefore, says David, " Look upon mine affliction and pain." 

Thirdly. Pardon. He does not think himself sinless : and trials 
aie apt to revive a sense of guilt, and to make the suflerer fearful, 
and to induce the prayer, " Do not condemn me." We will also 
venture to say, that however a Christian may feel his sorrows, he 
will feel his sins much more : these, these are the burden and the 
gvief— Therefore, David says, " Forgive all my sins." 

This was his meaning, and I hope I can make it my own. If it 
be thy pleasure, release me from my complaint. If not, and the dis- 
tress is continued to try me, be near to aMcrd me a sensible manifes- 
tation of thy favor ; let me see thy countenance ; let me hear thy 
voice, saying, " I rem.em.ber thee still." Or, if this be denied, and I 
have no claim upon thee for such an indulgence, let me, for tlie 
Redeemer's sake, be absolved and justified. Remove my guilt, 
whatever becomes of my grief— grief tlien cannot be penal— cannot 
be injurious — 

" If Pin be pardon'd. I'm secure ; " The law pivos sin its «kmniiig pow'r •, 

" Dtath hath uo sting beside : " But Christ, iiiy ransom, died 



February 14.—" Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever 1 command you. * 

John, XV, 14. 

He does not say, ye are the subjects of my love ; but, " Ye are 
my friends," if ye do whatsoever t command you. You may love 
an animal, a slave, an enemy ; but neither of these can be your 
friend; for friendship implies and requires what their condition does 
not admit. It is a remarkable expression that Moses employs when 
he says, " If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy 
daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or ihy friend who is as thine 
owN^souL." It seems to place a friend above all the relations of 
kindred, and Solomon docs not scruple to say, " There is a friend 
that sticketh closer than a brother." Friendship has always been 
deemed essential to the happiness of human beings, and, indeed, to 
their very honor; for it would be thought as disgiaceful as it is dis- 
consolate to have no friend. No peculiarity of condition, nor eleva 

Vol. I. 4 



74 FEBRUARY 14. 

tion of rank, sete a man above the attraction and utility of friendship. 
Kings have laid aside their royalties to indulge in it, and Alexander 
would have found a conquered world a kind of desert, without an 
Ephestion. 

But it is needless to enlarge on the excellency and value of this 
blessing. Who is not ready to acknowledge that friendship is the 
delight of youth, the pillar of age, the bloom of prosperity, the charm 
of solitude, the solace of adversity, the best benefactor and comforter 
m this vale of tears. But the question is, where a friend is to be 
found? It will be allowed that many who wear the name are un- 
worthy of the title, and that even those who are sincere in profes- 
sions may be chargeable with infirmities. Yet even human friend- 
ship is not a Utopian good. He who says all men are liars, says it in 
his haste, or from a heart that judges of others by itself They who 
complain most are commonly the most to be complained of; for there 
i? reaZ friendship to be found on earth. But there is better in 
heaven J and in our text we have the advantage in the highest of 
all examples. In others we may have the reality, and even the 
eminency of friendship, but in Him we have the perfection, the 
divinity of it. 

But what is necessary to our claiming it ? Ye are my friends, 
says He, " If ye do whatsoever I command you." But this he shows 
us, that though he is the friend, he is also the lawgiver. Under 
whatever character he reveals himself, we are never to lose sight of 
the Sovereign. His goodness is to display his g'-eatness, not to 
weaken it. He is the Prince as well as the Savior ; He " comniands" 
his friends. And nothing less than obedience to his will is required 
of us. It is not enough to read it, and hear ii, and know it, and talk 
of it, and profess it; we must " do" it. And our obedience must be 
impartial ; we must do " whatsoever" he commands us. Obedience 
may be sincere without being perfect in the degree; but it cannot 
be sincere without being universal in its principle and disposition. 
For if I do some things which he enjoins me, and not others, it fol- 
lows, that what I do, I do from some other motive than liis authority; 
for this would lead me to observe all he enjoins. True obedience 
will not suffer me to select, any more than to dictate; its only inquiry 
is, " Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" He who commands me 
to enter his gates with thanksgiving, tells me also to enter my closet. 
He who forbids me to steal, tells me to speak evil of no man. Can I 
say with David, " I esteem all thy commandments concerning all 
ijiings to be right, and I hate every Mse way ?" 

With regard to the connexion, however, between this friendship 
and this obedience, let it not be supposed that it is a meritorious one, 
as if the practice deserved the privilege. This is impossible, and 
would subvert the gospel of Christ. Yet it is a certain connexion, 
and as certain, both in its exclusion and inclusion, as tlie nature of 
things, and the word of truth, can make it. And it is an encouraging 
coni^xion. Had the requisition turned on worldly honor, or wealth, or 
genms, or science, many must have despaired. But the essential is not 
derived from condition, but conduct. It is, therefore, within the reach 
of the poor, as well as of the rich, and of the illiterate, as well as the 
learned. All may be great in the sight of the Lord, and he is the 



FEBRUARY 15. 75 

oTc?atcst, whatever be his circumstances in hfe, who best obeys his 
Lord and Savior. Mary was blessed in being his mother ; but this 
was a privilege necessarily confined to one individual. He, there- 
lore wJien he' heard the exclamation of the woman, Blessed be the 
womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked! in- 
stantly mentions a way to a h-gher pri\-ilege, and which lies open to 
every one : •' Yea, rather, bless, d are they that hear the word of God, 
and keep it." , , , 

Pray, therefore, " O that my feet were directed to keep thy pre- 
cepts!"' ''Many will entreat the favor of the prince, and every one 
is a iriend to him that giveth gills.'' But when you seek tlie regards 
of the trreat, what base compliances are often necessary to please 
tlicm— and then you are never sure of succeeding— and when you 
succeed, what have you gained? But his work is honorable and 
glorious. If vou seek* you are sure to find. And whoso findeth Him, 
findeth life, and shall obtain favor of the Lord. However unobserved 
or neglected among men you may be, no one can pass your door and 
say, ^"^There dwehs a friendless person." 

Lord Brook was so charmed with that rare and accomplished per- 
sonage. Sir Philip Sidney, that he would have no other inscription on 
his tomb than this, "Here hes the friend of Sir Philip Sidney." 

Ah ! says the Christian, I envy not those whose sepulchre will be 
adorned with the trophies of war, the pride of heraldry, or the renown 
of science, if my hanible grave can tell, and tell truly, " Here lies the 
friend of Christ." 

Febrcary lo. — '-And all the people sa^r hira M-alking and praising God, 
and they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful Gate of 
the temple ; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which 
had happened unto him." — Acts, iii, 9, 10. 

His walking was a proof of the reality and perfection of the cure. 
His praising God was the proper improvement of it. 

But what an attestation was here to the divine mission of the apos- 
tles, and so to the.tmtii of Christianity itself! We speak, said they, 
in His name who was crucified — and if you ask for a proof of it, we 
will act in His name. Bring forth your dumb, and we will give 
them speech ; your blind, and Ave will open their eyes; your sick, and 
we will heal them ; your lame, and Ave will make them leap as a hart. 
This w^as evidence adapted to persons of every rank and capacity; 
it required no labored process of reasoning and eloquence — it was the 
broad seal of heaven, which all could see and understand. 

And there was nothing like artifice or collusion in these miracles. 
Take the case before us. The patient resided, not in a remote place, 
but in Jerusalem, that is, in the midst of their enemies. He had been 
lame from his mother's womb, and was now upward of forty years 
old. He was well knoAvn ; he was a beggar. Multitudes had seen 
him ; many had relieved him ; and many had handled him — for he 
was carried daily to the place of begging. And this was not an ob- 
scure corner, but tlie entrance into the temple. And the thing was 
not done in the night, but at nine o'clock in the morning, when there 
was a concourse of people. 
' Put all this together, and then ask whether any thing could have 



76 FEBRUARY 16. 

been fairer. Could any thing have been more open to detection, had 
tliere been any imposture? Compare such an achievement with the 
prodigies of heathenism, and the miracles of the Romish church. 

And 8ce, also, what can equal the credulity of unbelievers ! What 
is the faith of a Christian to their behef? Christians believe difficul- 
ties. boc;iusc they are abundantly confirmed; but /At?/ swallow im- 
probabilities, and impos.sibilities. Tiinr rejection of the Gospel can- 
not arise from an intellectual, but a moral cause. They do not want 
evidence, but disposition — they receive not the love of the truth, tliat 
tliey might be saved. Therefore, How can they escape, if they 
neglect so great salvation ; wdiich at the first began to be spoken by 
♦he I^ord, and was confirmed unto them by those that heard him : 
God al;;0 bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and 
with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according lo hifl 
own will ? 

Need I tremble for the cause of Christianity ? Need my reason be 
ashamed of my faith ? 

"Heuco, and for ever from my heart, I "And to those hards my soul rstiprn, 
" I bid my doubts and fears depart; | " Thai bear credculials so divine " 



February 1G. — "They serve not thy gods, nor -ivorship the golden image 
which thou hast set up." — Daniel, iii, 12. 

The refusal of these three 3^oung men v;-as as trying as it was 
noble. The resolution has immortalized them. But let us observe 
how much they had to ove-rcome in adhering to it. 

They could plead authority. Here was the command of their 
sovereign ; and good men are to be good subjects, to honor princi- 
palities and powers, to obey magistrates, and to be ready to every 
Avoik But there is a diflerence between civil and spiritual claims. 
V/e arq, indeed, to render unto Cscsar the tilings that arc Caesar's ; 
but we must also render unto God the things that are God's. If any 
being reijuires us to do what is opposed to the revealed will of God, 
vvc are prevented by an authority from which there can lie no appeal, 
and vv<i ought to obey God rather than mun. Thus the midwivca 
did not as the king of Egypt commanded tliem, but.savo.d the men- 
children aiivc. " And it came to pass, because the midwives feared 
God, that He made them houses." 

This conscientiousness, however, has often given t];e conduct of 
Gou's servants an appearance of insubordination and levolt; and 
their enemies have not failed to seize it, and turn it to their discredit 
Jesus was not Caesar's friend ; and stirred up the people. The Apos-- 
tiOs turned the world upside down. And, doubtless, Shadrach, Mc- 
shach, and Abednego, were censured and vilified for their disloyalty. 

They could plead ohligalion. Nebuchadnezzar v/as not only their 
Rovereign, but their friend and benefactor. He had educated them 
in a princely manner, and advanced them to the most honorable 
charges. And nothing tries like tendernes;,. Benefits attract and 
attacTr the heart, and good men are the most susceptible of grateful 
impressions. One of the most painful things in the world, to an in- 
genuous mind, is to refuse the wishes of one who has done nmch for 
liim ; for there is nothing in which he wouhl more delight, were he 
DOt restrained by pnnciple. Suppose a dutiful child. He loves aiid 



FEBRUARY 16. T7 

hcnoD' ills parents ; and he onght to honor theip. Thcrje parents, in 
other respects, are kind and good, bat the) are worldly, and require 
him to cri into the dissipations oflife; they are irrehgious, and forbid 
him to attend what, according to his conviction, is the truth ol God ; 
and, instead of threatening, they weep over him, and beseech him by 
every tender motive, not to break their hearts, nor bring down their 
gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. Now to loosen from such em- 
braces and entreaties, and act a part that looks hl-e disrespect ; at the 
hearin«T of a voice that cries, " He that ioveth father or mother more 
than nTe, is not worthy of mer' here is a trial liardly supportable. 
And much of this, these young men Avould feel, at the thought ol the 
favors wiiich had been hea[)ed upon tliem. .„,,., , 

They could plead wiiversaUty of compliance. All besides obey, 
and why should they stand alone, and affect to be better than any 
one else ? How often is this objection thrown out ? Singularity, for 
Its own sake, argues a little and vain mind : vain, because i*. seeks 
notice : and little, because it can attain it in no better way. In things 
harmless and indifferent, we may lawfully conform to the usages of 
the dav and place wherein we live; but where truth, and duty, and 
conscience are concerned, we must be steadiast and immovable, 
though deserted, opposed, ridiculed by all, and by unsought, but in- 
dit-pensable singularity, evince the purity of our motives, and the 
dignity of our principles. So did Abdiel. 

" Faithful four.fl 

" Among the faitliless, faithful only he 
" Among innuraeraljle false, unmov'J, 
" Uiisliakeii, unseduced, unteriiiied : 
" His loj-uUy ho kept, his love, his zeal. 
. " Nor number, nor example with him wrought 

" To snerve from truth, or ciiaiige his constant mind, 
" Though single." 

So did Joshua, and Caleb, and Lot, and Xoah. And all Christians 
arc required not to be conformed to the world. And Jesus died to re- 
deem and purify unto himself a peculiar people— and peculiar they 
must be while the multitu.le do evil. Well, said these sufferers, if all 
yield, v^'e must not— will not— whatever be the consequence. 
* And they could plead the dreadfidness of the penathj. We arc 
often ready to justify or excuse our conduct by thej, pressure of cir- 
cumstances; and to allege, that the trial is too great for our virtue. 
And what is the trial? ^What are our difficulties and perils in the 
path of duty ? If we follow such a course— Well, shall we be bound 
to the staVve? or thrown into a lion's den? or a fiery furnace? J^<\ 
Shall we then be deprived of our liberty ? and confiiied in prison ? or 
he stripped of our prooerty, and reduced to beggary ? No such thing. 
Blessed be the laws of tliis happy land. Behold our jeopardies and 
eacrifices ! We may lose a trifle oi'our profit by not selling or work- 
ing on the Sabbath. We may have less to hoard by giving alms to 
the needy. If we follow our convictions, we may lose the smile of a 
friend, or incur the sneer of a fool. Bv the redeeming our time, wc 
may even be constrained to leave the bed of sloth a httle earlier in 
the moniinsr. , 

These afe our tribulations because of the Word 1 These are the 
martyrs of our day ! Ye professors of religion, who can exercise w 



78 FEBRUARY 17. 

Belf-denial, who can take vip no cross; " If thou hast run witli the foot- 
men, and they have wearied thee, then how canst ihou contend with 
horses ? And if, in the land of peace, wherein thou tmstest they 
wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swellings of Jordan !" 
Lool< at these youths. What had they to lose ! What to suffer ! A 
fiery furnancc before their eyes, into which they were to be instantly 
thrown ! 

February 17. — " Rejoice the soul of thy servant." — Psahti, Ixxxvi, 4. 

The Queen of Shcba not only admired Solomon, but hailed his at- 
tendants. " Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy servanig 
that stand continually before thee." What then is it to be a servant 
cf the King of kings and Lord of lords ! 

A servant of God, however, is not one that only subserves his de- 
signs. This, by an over-ruling Providence, all do, even the wicked 
themselves. But one, who, from conviction and disposition, resigns 
himself to his will, and holds himself at his disposal, always asking, 
" Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" always praying, " Let the 
words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable 
in thy sight, O Lord, rny strength, and my redeemer." 

And can such a man as this want spiritual joy ? Yes. Even David 
himself, that eminent servant of God, does; and therefore prays, 
" Rejoice the soul of thy servant." We ask, if I am his, why I am 
thus ? We think our course of experience singular ; but while we 
complain, we are passing by the very landmarks which those who 
have gone before us have set up to tell us that we are right. Our 
state is one thing, our joy is another : the former remains always the 
same, the latter often varies. Our safety does not depend upon our 
knowledge, but our comfort is much affected by it ; and sometimes a 
servant of God has but very imperfect views of those glorious truths 
which make U3 " free indeed." Sometimes he may be depressed by 
his bodily frame and infirmities. Sometimes, too, he is under Divine 
rebuke for sin — for this it is that separates between God and the soul. 
We should therefo're search and try our ways. Is there not a cause ? 
If the consolations of God are small with us, is there no secret thing 
with us? Is there no worm at the root of our withering gourd? No 
Achan in the cajnp, the troubler of Israel ? Joab besieges Abel, and 
threatens to destroy it. A Avoman cries out tj3him to know the cause. 
He answers, there is one Sheba, the son of Bichri, a traitor to the 
king. Cast him over the wall, and I will withdraw. And so it was. 
And thus, if we would have peace with God, we must sacrifice every 
usurper, saying, 

" The dearest idol I have known, I " Help me to tear it from thy throne, 
" Whate'er that idol be, 1 " And worship only thee." 

But a servant of God will value what he may want. He prizes it 
not only because God has commanded and promised it, but because 
he knows, from experience, that the joy of the Lord is his strength. 
He has seen how it emboldened his profession, and enlivened his zeal, 
and weaned his heart from the world, and revived him in the midst 
of trouble. He has tasted its sweetness; this he can never lose the 
relish of, and this excites him to pray, " Restore unto me the joy of 
thy salvation." 



FEBRUARY 18. 79 

For he is sure that God is alone the source and giver of it, and 
therefore to Him he nroes. " Rejoice the soul of thy servant." It is 
very desirable to seeUie morning after a darj< night, and the spnng 
after a cold barren winter. But what makes the mornmg and the 
sprincr^ Not all the lamps or fires in the Avorld, but the siin. And 
the Lord God is the Sun, as well as the Shield of his people. All our 
Ijo-ht and heat, and bloom, are from Him, and m Hmi is our truit 
found. He is the God, not only of all grace, but of all comfort. 

It i^ He that comforts us in any of our common mercies ; other- 
wise our sleep would not refresh us, nor our food nourish us, nor 
friends cheer us. And what would the means of grac^e be, it He 
was not in them 1 God, says the apostle, comforted us by the corn- 
no- of Titus— not Titus, but God hy Titus, Who, then, is Paul, and 
who is ApoUos, but ministers hy whom he believed, even as God gave 
to every man ? Luther says, it is as easy to make a world, as to ease 
a troubled conscience. Bat, 

The troubled conscience knows thy voice •, I T!iy wonls allay the stormy win<l, 
Thy cheering words awake our joys ; | And calm the surges of the miud. 

February 18.—" Making request, if by any means now at length 1 might 
have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto vou. For I long 
to see 3 ou, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the ena ye 
may be established."— Romans, i, 10, 11, 

At this time Paul had not seen Rome. But how natural was it 
in a man of his taste and intelligence to Avish to see it. Nothing had 
made such a ficrure in history as this imperial city. From a kind of 
village It extended, in a course of year.?, till it had become the mis- 
tress'oi' the nation?, and tlie metrcpolis of the world. Hoav power- 
fully must curiosity have been awakened by its extent, its majesty, 
its edifices, its institutions, laws, and customs. Paul was also a citi- 
zen, and while some, \\\\\\ a great ransom, purchased this privilege, 
he was free-born. Yet his longing to see it was not to indulge the 
man and the Roman, but the Christian and the apostle. He longed to 
impart to the beloved and called of God there, " some spiritual benefit." 
But see the order of divine grace. Before he was useful to them., 
they imparted some spiritual benefit to him, and established his 
wavering confidence. For when he had landed at Puteoii, and 
advanced towards Rome, the brethren came to meet him as far as 
Appii Forum and the Three Taverns, " whom, when Paul saw, he 
thanked God, and took courage." Here we see that the most eminent 
servants of God may be depressed and desponding, and that it is 
possible for them to derive assistance and comfort from those who ars 
much inferior to them in office, condition, abilities, and grace. There 
is no such thinsr as independence. Let none be proud. Let none 
despair. The Christian church is a body, and the body is not one 
member, but many. " If the foot shall say. Because I am not ot the 
hand, I am not of the body, is it therefore not of the body?" The 
eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of thee ; nor the head to 
the feet, I have no need of )'ou. 

But how was this prosperous journey, according to the will of God, 
for which he made so many requests, accompli.shed ? How little did 
ii« imagine the v/ay in which he was to visit this lam.ous city. He 



80 FEBRUARY 19. 

cnlera it, indeed, but in the character of a prisoner, driven thither by 
persecution, and after being shipwrecked upon a certain island. So 
high above ours are God's thoughts and ways ! So little do we know 
what we pray for ! So often by strange, and sometimes by terrible 
things in righteousness, does He answer us as the God of our salva- 
tion. So fulfils He the promise, " I will bring the blind by a way 
that they knew not ; I will lead tb.em in paths that they have not 
known j I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things 
straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them." 



FjlBRUary 19. — " And when he thought thereon he wept." — Mark, xiv, 7)i. 

Doddridge supposes that this is intended to express, not only the 
immediate sensibility of Peter, but his feeling through life, and that 
he aKvays wept at the thought of his vile and ungratetul conduct. 
His sin was certainly very aggravated; and, with all his failings, he 
was a man of very tender affections and great ingenuousness. 

But sorrow arising from such a source is not peculiar to our apos- 
tle ; all the people of God should feel a penitent disposition at the re- 
view of their sin. 

And who, when they look back, can be at a loss for materials of 
accusation and contrition ? There are the sins of our unregenerate 
condition. There are the sins we have been capable of since Ave 
have been called to the knowledge of the truth. All these w^e are to 
judge of, not by their grossness, but by their guilt. In the number of 
our sins we are to rank our omissions of duty ; our non-improvement 
cf our time and talents; the defectiveness of our aims and motives; 
and the departures of our heart, in love and confklence, from the 
blessed God. 

Some would prevent the effect of such self-inspections, by the no- 
tion that there is no evil in the sins of God's people. But their sins 
are worse than those of others, by reason of the nearer relations in 
which, and the greater obligations under which, they are committed. 
They have, also, in sinning, greater difficulties to overcome. They 
have not only to sin against greatei- love, but greater light ; and they 
have been convinced of the evil and bitterness of sin ; and have had 
a wounded spirit, which they could not bear. Their sins, also, are 
more injurious with regard to others: distressing the strong; stum- 
bhng the weak ; confirming the prejudiced ; hardening the wicked; 
causing the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, and the way of truth 
to be evil spoken of. And is all this nothing ? Micah did not think 
GO. Who, says he, is a God like unto him, who passes by the trari&. 
gression of th i remnant ol' his heritage ? 

But suppose the Christian is led to see that his standing is secure, 
and that God is pacified toward him. Will he weep then? Yes; 
lie will weep the more. The goodness of God will lead him to re- 
pentance ; and he ^vl\\ sorrow after a Godly sort— like a dying saint, 
who, being asked why he so wept? answered, I weep not that my 
eins may be pirdoned, but because I hope they are pardoned. 

Let us then never be ashamed or afraid of such tears as Peter shed. 
Nothing is so becoming and reasonable. Other grief may be ex- 
cused ; but this can be justified. Other sorrov/ may render us amiable 



FEBRTJAPvY 23. 81 

m tlie eyes of our fellow creatures ; but this is cxtollcJ of God. " The 
sacrifices of God are a brolcen spirit ; a broken and a contnle heart, 
O God, thou wilt not despise." This brings us within the reach of 
the promises. '' They that sow in tears, shall reap in joy." " Elesscd 
are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.'- It is not easy, 
or perhaps possible, to make others comprehend this— but there is a 
pleasure even in the frame itself; and they who are the subjects of it 
well know that their happiest moments are their most tender ; and, 
with Au:^ustine, they can bless God for " the grace of tears." Here 
is a proof of our being under the renewing of the Holy Ghost. If the 
heart of stone was not taken away, how could 1 feel and grieve ? And 
if there was notliing in me but nature, how could I feel and grieve 
for sin? There is nothing more useful in the divine life than this di^ 
position. It endears the Savior, and his atonement, and his righteous- 
ness, and his intercession, and his grace. It makes me cautious and 
circumspect-, in this temper of mind I cannot expose myself to tempta- 
tion, or trifle with sin, but be always watchful and prayerful. Blessed 
is the man that feareth always. 

•"Tis joy enough my all in all, I Thou wilt not let me lower fall, 

'• Al Ihy dear icet to he ; I " Aiid none cuti higlwr fly." 



F£BRUA-!Y 20.— "Ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. ' 

Malachi, iv, 2 

They were before in darhiess and disease, both of which conjine. 
But the Sun of Righteousne&s arises, and with healing under his 
wings; and thus, the true light now shining, and health being re- 
stored, they become free and active. They go forth and grov/ up as 
calves of tlie stall. 

For even now they have not attained, they arc not already perfect. 
Nor are they to remain v/hat they are, but to increase with all the 
increase of God. Some tell u.^, there is no growth in grace— as if 
Christians could not be more wise, more humble, more patient, more 
zealous, than they are— as if Paul's commendation of th.e TJicssa- 
lonians was a falsehood, when he told them, tliat their faith grew ex- 
ceedingly, and the charity of every one of them toward each other 
abounded— as if Peter enjoined an absurdity, when he admonished 
Christians to grow in grace, and in the knowledge oi* their Lord and 
Savior — as if God himself mocked or trifled, when he said, " The 
righteous shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall 
wax stronger and stronger !" 

We are not to deny what God has done for our souls; yea, we ought 
to be thankful, if we have only light enough to see our darkness, and 
feeling enough to be sensible of our hardness. 

♦Colli as 1 feci this heart of iiiiiiR, I "It yields some hopi^ of life divine 

"Yet BJtice I feel it so, | " VViihia, however low." 

But though we must rot despise the day of small things, we arc not 
to be satisfied with it. .A day of greater things is attainable ; and if 
we do not aspire after it, we have reason to suspect even the reahty 
of our religion. Spiritual principles may be weak, but if they are 
divine, they will evince it by a tendency to growth. 

The sacred writere express this progression by every kUid of 

4* 



S2 FEBRUARY 21. 

growth. By human— we read of babes, httle children, young men, 
and those of full age, who have their senses exercised, by reason of 
use, to discern both good and evil. By vegetable growth — Thus we 
read, first the blade, then the ear, and after that the fidl corn in tlie 
ear; they shall spring as among the grass, as willows by the v/ater- 
courses; they shall grow as the lily, they shall grow as the vine. 
Here we have animal growt^i. They shall grow up as calves of the 
stall. No creatures perhaps increase so rapuily and observably as 
these, especially when, as here, they are well attended and fed, and 
for the very purpose of growth. 

We have sometimes been reminded of the truth of this image by 
the spiritual reality. We have seen those, who, in a little time, have 
surprised all around them by their piogress in the divine life. So 
clear and fall have been iheir views of the things of God. So esta- 
blished have their hearts been with grace. So simply and entirely 
have they depended upon the Savior. So decided have they been in 
their sepaiation from the spirit of the world ; and yet so concerned to 
be useful in it. So spiritual have they been in their conversation ; and 
yet so free from- all rehgious grimace and aflectation. So ready have 
they been to do good and communicate, m the cause of the poor, and 
the cause of Christ. Such a living sacrifice have they presented in 
their bodies and spirits. So have they adorned the doctrine of God 
our Savior, in all things. 

But alas ! as to many of us, we have reason to exclaim, " My lean- 
ness, my leantiess !" How little progress have we made in religious 
knowledge, experience, practice, and usefulness, though we have 
possessed every advantage, and long enjoyed tlie means of grace. 
After all the discipline of his family, the mstruciions of his word, the 
ordinances of his house, how dull are our ears of hearing: how slow 
of heart are we to believe ; how much do our souls cleave unto tlie 
tlust ; how affected are we with the things of time and sense ; and how 
little actuated by the powers of a world to come. Ai. present, the 
comparison reproves us. 

— But let it also excite and encourage. It not only reminds us cf 
our duty, but of our privilege This growth is not only commanded, 
but promised. It is, therefore, attainable — and we know the way to 
our resources. He came, not only that we might, have hfe, but have 
it more abundantly. *' He giveth power to the faint; and to them 
that have no might he incieaseth strength. Even the j-ouths shall 
faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly I'all ; but they 
that wait upon the Lord shall renew tiieir strength ; they shall mount 
up with winirs as eagles ; they shall run and not be weary, and thev 
shall walk and not faint."" 



February 21. — "And the soul of the people was much discouiaged be- 
cause of the way." — IN umbers, xxi, 4. 

The people of God are held forth under various characters in the 
Scriptures; and no one of them all is more common, more just, more 
pleasing, more instructive, than tlie image of strangers and pilgrims 
upon earth. And who knows not what a beautiiu! use Bunyan has 
made of it. 



FEBRUARY 21. 



Ingenious dreamer, in whose well-told tale, 
' Sweet fiction and sweet truth alike prevail. 
wliose PILGRIM marks the rorul, 



" Aud guides the progress of the soul to God."' 

But what is there in the way to discourage the souls of the travellers 
heaven-ward '? Much. Sometimes they are affected by the length, 
of the way. For hope deferred maketh tlie heart sick. This was the 
case with Israel at this time ; for instead of passing through the land 
of Edom, they had to fetch a compass all around the borders ; and all 
this in a wilderness too, and under a burning sky. If a traveller, after 
supposing he "was near his journey's end, was to learn that it was yet 
many miles off, all worn and weary, his heart would be ready to 
fdint, and utter the sigh of despondence, " Oh, I shall never reach it !"' 
What Isaiah says, " They shall behold the land that is very far off," 
may be applied to the experience of Christians with regard to heaven. 
It is often remote in fact; that is, it is frequently long before they ar- 
rive there. For they are not removed hence as soon as they are con- 
verted ; but detained here to be made meet for their destination, and 
to honor their Redeemer, and to serve their generation. Hence many 
of them are longer on earth after they are called by grace, than the 
Jews wandered in the wilderness after leaving Egypt. But we reler 
to th3 slowness of their progress, the smallness of their attainments, 
and the nature of their apprehensions. " Once," says the soul, " I was 
ready to receive the blessing ; but now it seems to recede as I advance ; 
yea, the distance between me and the attainment seems to increase 
daily." " How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord ? for ever ? How 
long wnlt thou hide thy flice from me ? How long shall I take counsel 
in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily ?" '* My soul waiteth 
for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning." " O, when 
will it dawn ? When w- ilt thou come unto me ?" 

Sometimes they are discouraged because of the way, owing to the 
enemies that infest it. In the re-building of the second temple, we 
are told, that every man with one hand wrought in the work, and 
with the other held a weapon — this w^as sore labor. But the Chris- 
tian's life is a warfare as w^ell as a pilgrimage ; he moves on, bearing 
his sword, as w^ell as his staff— now to walk and fight too — and to cxDn- 
tend every step of the way — and with adversaries possessing every 
thing to render them formidable — and as soon as one is vanquished to 
see another rising up — this is arduous and trying. And w'hat wonder, 
wdien, if, without are fightings, within are fears? 

Then the Avay shows many that are turning back in it ; and this is 
oflen discouraging. We had heard of their setting off. Some of them 
had passed us near enough to be observed. They soon left us, seem- 
ing to surpass us, not only in gifts, but grace — and we not only hailed, 
but envied them. How wonderful and grievous to see them return- 
ing vicious, or infidel, or lovers of this present world. We instantly 
remember, and apply to tliein the awful declaration, " If any man 
draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him." But who can 
help thinking of himself? And w^hat am I ? And may not I also 
prove a cast-away. 

Besides, these revolters never come back silent. They solicit us 
to return too. They assure us the way is impassible. They have 



84 



FEBRUARY 21. 



tried it ; and hope tlieir experience will make us witse. Once they 
tliought certain notions to be erroneous; and certain indulgences 
to be sinful ; but they are more enljfrhtencd and liberal now. Such 
persons, too, never subside into neutrals. From friends, they neces- 
sarily become enemies. They persecute, if it lie in their power. 
They always reproach and villify — even in their own defence, de- 
faming the party and the cause, to justify their secession from them. 

It is often discouraging, also, to find the way so narrow " Narrow 
is the way that leadeth unto life." The difficulty, therelbre, of get- 
ting on is great. A way is made narrow by the near approximatitri 
of the sides, whether walls, ditches, or hedges ; so that we have to 
press through, and can hardl}^ do it without some injury on the right 
hand or on the left. In tlie exercise of every grace, and the per- 
formance of every duty, a Christian has to keep between two ex- 
tremes. As to the use of the means of grace, he must neither neglect 
them nor idolize them. As to connexions and relations in life, we 
may sin by not loving them enough, or by loving them toe mu.'.h. 
Courage lies between rashness and fear, and frugality between pro- 
fusion and niggardliness, and confidence between presumption and 
despondency, and patience, between despising the chastening of the 
Lord, and tahiting when we are rebuked of him. And is it easy 
always to go, not only in the way of righteousness, but in the mid^-t 
of the path^ of judgment ? 

So far generally of the road. But there are particular parts that 
are peculiarly trying; sHch as the Slough of Despond, the Valley 
of Humiliation, the Hill Difficulty with the lions, and the deep cold 
River to be waded through before the Shining City can be entered. 
A Christian knows what all this means, and sometimes finds it hard 
to believe that the way to glory lies through it all. 

Am I then setting oat for the heavenly v*"orld '? Let me not pre- 
pare myself tor surprise and disappointment, by expecting that every 
thing Avill be smooth, and flowery, and delightful. I cannot, indeed, 
look for too nmcli from the promises of God, they are so exceeding 
great and precious ; but I must look for it in God's own order. I 
must deny myself and take up my cross, and not be slothful ; but be 
a follower of them who through faith and patience have reached tlie 
prize of their high calling. 

Have I professed, and hoped that I am a Christian ? Let me not 
conclude that I have no part nor lot in the matter, because my soul 
is sometimes cast down and disquieted within me. Have not those 
who have gone before me wept and groaned also ? Are not the sub- 
jects of divine grace represented by their fear, as well as their confi- 
dence? by their sorrow, as well as their joy? 

Yet let' me endeavor to go on my way rejoicing. Let me remem- 
ber that there is much to encourage me, because of the way. An 
»]nerring guide — an almiglUy guard — companions — strength to hold 
on — refl-eshmcnts along the road — and the end of it perfect rest, and 
peace, and glory, and joy. 



Our journey is a lliorny maze, 
" Bui we niarcli upwaril slill! 
Forget lliese troubles of the, \Vi 
" Aad reach at Zion'£ hill. 



" See tlie kind antrels at the gates 

" liiviliii? u.s lo come: 
" There Jesus, the forerunner, waits 

' To welcome trusTllcrs home. 



FEBRUARY 22. 85 

There, on s green and flowery mount, I " And vviiJi transporlinp joys rcco-.mt 

'• Our woary souls sliall sit, j " The labors of our feet." 



FEBr.UARY 22.— " Ye shall serve the Lord j'our GoJ, and he shall bless 
thy bread, and thy water." — Exodus, xxiii, 25. 

Our chief concern should be to secure those blessings which will 
Fuppiy the soul, and endure for ever. He only is truly blessed v.'ho 
is blcr.sed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. 
Our Savior therefore says, " Seek ye first the kingdom of God and 
his righteousness ;" yet he does not scruple to say, •' And all these 
things shall be added unto you." Temporal benefits are not beneath 
the attention of our kind Father. He knoweth that v.'e have need 
of these things before we ask him. He knoweth our frame, and he 
knoweth our fears. And not only under the law, but under the gos- 
pel, godliness is profitable unto all things, and has promise of the life 
that now is, as well as that which is to come. 

The promise belbre us extends to all the temporal support of his 
people : but there is wisdom in the language. In another place it is 
also said, " Thy bread shall be given thee, and thy water shall be 
sure." Is not the specification designed to check not only anxiety, 
but ambition ? Does it not say, " Seekest thou great things for 
thyself? Seek them not." " Let your conversation be without covet- 
ousness, and be content with such things as ye have." 

Nothing can do us good without the blessing of God ; but his 
blessing commands what it announces; and what He blesses is 
blessed. Hence a little that a righteous man hath, is better than the 
riches of many wicked. It is more efficient. It goes further ; as 
Philip Henry was wont to say to his family, " My dear children, the 
grace of God will make a little go a greai way." It is surprising 
to see with what a slender income many Christians keep up a decent 
appearance, and owe no man any thing, and even give to him that 
noedeth. The thing is, " The secret of the Lord is upon their taber- 
nacle." But Avliile he blesses the habitation of the just, his curse is 
in the house of the wicked. And then nothing prospers, and they 
seem a wonder to themselves and others ; they get much, and gain 
nothing. So it was with the selfish and illiberal Jews when they 
came back from Babylon, and built their own ceiled houses, while 
the house of God lay waste. Had they minded his affairs, He would 
have minded theirs, and have proved that we cannot serve God for 
nought But now, says God, " Ye have soAvn much, and bring in 
little ; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled 
wuh drink ; ye clothe you, but there is none warm : and he that 
carncth wages, earneth wages to put into a bag with holes." 

It is also more satisfyinff. For the state of the mind conduces to 
the relish of every outward comfort; and in the Christian tliis state 
of mind is grateful, and peaceful, and cheerful, arising from a hope 
g\' reconciliation with God. His frown would darken a thousand 
Buns. But every thing smiles when He smiles. 

" How sweet our daily comforts prove, j " When they are seasoned with his love." 

And -when we sec the dear medium through which they come as 
covenant blessing?. 



8G FEBRUARY 23. 

" He sunk beneath our heavy woes, I " There's not a gift his hand bestows, 

" To raise us to his throne ; | " But cost his heart a groan." 

— The wicked feast without fear ; but there is reason enough why 
they should fear. Neglecting his service, they are strangers to his 
blessing, and, left to themselves, every advantage and indulgence, 
operating upon their depravity, contributes to their guilt and misery. 
Their table becomes a snare before them, and that which should 
liave proved for their Avelfare becomes a trap. The prosperity of 
fools destroys them. Now consider this ye that forget God, and, 
without delay, seek to be numbered with the seed which the Lord 
liath blessed. 



February 23. — " Let liim know, that he which converteth a sinner from 
the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude 
of sins." — James, v, 20. 

And can we convert the sinner from the error of his way ? Yes, 
or the language would be futile. But T^oiy can we do this? Not 
meritoriously ; this would invade the office and glory of the Lord 
Jesus; for He only delivers us from the wrath to come; He only 
saves his people from their sins. Not efficiently ; this would invade 
the work and honor of the Holy Spirit ; for we are saved by the 
Avashing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. 
There is, therefore, only one way in which we can convert a sinner, 
and that is instrumentally. But this docs not detract from divine 
agency; there is no inconsistency between agency and instrumen- 
tality. A pen is nothing without a hand to use it. An instrument 
alwaj's supposes and requires an agent. But is the converse of this 
proposition true? Does an agent always require an instrument? It 
is so with us, but not v/ith a Being whose will is efficienc}'-, and who 
said. Let there be light, and there was light. Yet what God is not 
compelled to do from weakness, he chooses to do from wisdom. He, 
therefore, works by means. We know of nothing tliat he does imme- 
diately. He fans us by the breeze, and warms us by the sun, and 
relreshes us by sleep, and sustains us by food. And as it is in nature, 
so it is in grace. Among tlie Corinthians. God gave the increase, 
but Paul planted, and Apollos watered. Their faith came uoi from 
them; but Paul and Apollos were ministers 6y whom they believed. 
We mean not, however, by this reference, to confine this work to 
ministers. James alludes not only or chiefly to them, but to Chris- 
tians at large. All may be useful here, and in a thousand ways 
exert themselves to accomplish this blessed and glorious design. 

For he who effects it is the greatest of all benefactors, for ''He 
saves a soul from death, and hides a multitude of sins!" And what 
is every other achievement corn-pared with this? Nothing, less than 
nothing, and vanity. So will all those judge who walk by faith, and 
believe the testimony of God concerning the value of a soul ; the 
dreadfuhicss of eternal death, and the absolute necessity of forgive- 
ness, in order to the n'.an's escape from the damnation of hell. 

The '.H-Ji!;, therefore, is its own reward. Spurious beneficence 
always vvi.Oin^s to e:;citc notice ; and the man, in some way or other, 
aims (or he will do nothing) to make it conducive to his own interest. 
But true chaijty seeketh not its own, but the welfare of the object , 



FEBRUARY 24. 87 

and if that eaJ be answered, the benefactor is satisfied. James knew 
this, and mentions nothing else, by way of motive, but the thing 
itsch". He does not tell his brethren, that if they convert a sinner they 
sliaU be applauded here, or recompensed at the resurrection of the 
just. It is trae that they xcill derive honor and advantage from their 
usefulness. They that water shall be watered also. The sinners 
they save will pray for them; and if they die first, when they fail, 
will receive them into everlasting habitations ; and in the day of the 
Ijord Jesus they will be their joy and crown. But this is the effect, 
and net the principle of their zeal. It is enough if they succeed — 
enough if they can save a soul from death, and hide a multituco 
of sins. 

And the prospect of success in such a case, however limited, should 
be sufficient to animate. Some may be privileged to bless numbers. 
But James speaks of '' the sinner," and " a soul." This agrees with 
the language of our Lord, who tells us, "There is joy in the pre- 
sence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." This 
brings the encouragement home to all. All cannot be Luthers, to 
reform countries ; or Whitfields, to preach to thousands ; or Careys, 
to translate the Scriptures into other tongues. But can we do nothing? 
Surely some one soul is thrown in our way to whom we may be 
useful ; a child, a servant, a relative, a neighbor. 

James Avould have us tJdnk of this, and think much of it. " Let 
him know that he which converteth the sinner fiom the error of his 
way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins." 
And who does not know this ? Yea, were we to judge from their 
practice, we should be ready to ask, Who does know ft? What is 
the knowledge that answers no end ? It is not enough to believe — 
we must remember, and reflect; we must follow out our convictions. 
This fine sentiment must be present to the mind at all times, and in 
all conditions — when v/e are alone, and when we are in company — 
when we pray, and when Ave speak — when we sit in our house, and 
when we walk by the way — and when we lie down, and when we 
rise up — we must bind it as a sign upon our hand, and wear it as a 
frontlet between our eyes, and write it upon the posts of our door, and 
upon our gates. " Let him know that he which converteth a sinner 
from the error of his ways shall save a soul from death, and shall 
hide a multitude of sins." 



February 24. — " They shall be as the stones of a crown. lifted up as an 
eusigu upon his land." — Zech. ix, 16. 

Here we see the dignity of the Lord's people. They are " stones," 
precious stones, set in the •" crown" of the King of kings. For such 
i.i tlie infinite goodness of God, that he not only spares, but pardons 
and justifies. In his righteousness they are exalted. They are not 
only saved, but ennobled. With kings are they upon the throne. 
They are naturally in a low estate, and are viler than the earth ; but 
h3 raiseth the poor out of the dust, and liftetli up the beggar from 
the dunghill. And though the world knov>-eih them not, and they 
<irc little and low in their ov/n eyes, and it doth not yet appear what 
they shall be ; yet now are they the sons of God ;' and since they 



68 FEBRUARY 25. 

iiave been precious in his sight, they have been honorable, and he 
has loved them, and calls them his jewels, and a peculiai treasure 
unto him. And all those ivho in his light see liglit, view them in the 
same way. They remember the time when "they began to honor 
tiicm that fear the Lord; when they took hold of the skirt of him 
that is a Jew. and prayed to see tlie good of his chosen. Then they 
Bcemcd to regard them as more than human beings; and while above 
all things they desired conmmnion with them, they felt unwortliy of 
their presence and notice. And though, since then, they have found 
that tliey are not already perfect, yet they know they are the excel- 
lent of tl\e earth, and that they arc more excellent than their neigh- 
bors. There is often more real virtue in their failings than in the 
^x^ry devotions of others, and " the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim 
is better tlian the vintage of Abiezer." 

Here is also their exhibition ; these stones of a crown are " lifted 
up." They are not to be concealed. Our Savior compares them 
to a city set, not in the valley, but on a hill, which cannot be hid, 
and to a candle placed, not under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that 
it may give liglit to all that are in the house. And Avhen he calls 
them by his grace, he says to the " prisoners. Go forth ; and to them 
that are in darkness, Sliov/ yourselves; they shall feed in the icays, 
and their pastures shall be on all high places." Christians need not 
be concealed ; everjMhing in their religion will bear examination, 
and challenges the eyes of all, v/hether infidels, or philosophers, or 
politicians, or moralists. They ought not to be concealed ; every 
thing in their religion is adapted to do good; but for this purpose it 
must be known. They cannot be concealed ; their principles must 
operate, and the sun cannot shine without showing itself. 

Here is also their utility ; these stones of a crown are to be lifted 
up " as an ensign upon his land." An oriflamme suspended over tlie 
royal tent, and designed to attract and aggregate followers to the 
cause in Avhich he is engaged. Thus the Savior himself is spoken 
of: " And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand 
for an ensign of the people ; to it shall the Gentiles seek, and his rest 
shall be glorious." But what Christ is, Christians are — subordinately, 
indeed, yet really. Hence their calling to hold forth the word ot 
lile. They are })laccd and displayed to reprove, and convince, and 
excite, and encourage others, to seek and serve God. They are wir- 
nesses for him. They are trophies of the povver, and greatness, and 
riches of his grace. They proclaim what he is able and willing to 
do ; and saved by him, they are all employed for him. " Instead of 
the thorn shall come up the fir-tree, and instead of tlie 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." 



FKBRtARY 25. — " Salute Philnlogus, and Julia, Nercus, and his sister, and 
Olympus, and all the saints which arc Avith them." — Romans, xvi, 15. 

Admitting tliat the Bible be the word of God, we nn'ght have in- 
ferred, from his wisdom and goodness, that no part of it can be use- 
lei?s; iDut we are expressly as-sured, that " All Scripture is profitable 
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." 



FEBRUARY 25. 89 

Tl.crefore this long postscript, this catalogue of particular salutatior.f, 
has its uses. It certainly shows us the principle that actuated the 
first Christians— all men were to Imow that tlicy were the tlisciplea 
of Christ by their loving one another. It shows, also, ho\y mistaken 
they are, who think the New Testament does not saiiction private 
friendship. It also proves how impossible it was to forge this epistle, 
aboanding, as it does, with so many specific allusions ; for these not 
only rtncfer detection possible, but easy. Hence Paley much avails 
liimseH'of this chapter, in his Horse Paulinae, a work of uncommon 
excellence, and which deals only in the argument derivable from in- 
cidental evidence. 

— Neither is it improper to observe from it the error of Popery 
Papists say that Peter was the Bisiiop of Rome, but had he been there, 
is it credible, for a momenf, that lie would have been overlooked by 
an apostle? The probability indeed is, that he never was there. 
There is no evidence of it in' the Scripture, and we know for what 
purposes of delusion it has been pretended, viz. to prove the Roman 
succession of bishops from him. 

— But who can help observing how many females are mentioned 
here? Phebe, Priscilla, Mary, Junia, Tryphena, Tr3'phosa, Persis, 
the mother of Rufus, Julia, the sister of Nereus. All these, with the 
exception of two, are not only mentioned, but commended ; and these 
two would not have been saluted by name, unless they had been per- 
sons of religious excellence ; for Paul valued no other qualities com- 
pared with iliis. But all the rest of these worthies have ascribed to 
them some attainment or service, " in the Lord." 

Let not, therefore, females suppose that tliey are cut off from use- 
fulness, anil usefulness eveji in the cause of Christ. The most eminent 
servants of God have acknowledged their obligations to them, and 
ascribed no little of their success to their care and kindness. The 
public ministry, is not, indeed, open to them — neither is the army or 
navy, or the senate; and good sense will acquiesce in the distinctions 
and determmations of heaven, especially vv'hen it is seen that they 
are not founded on any prniciple of degradation, but in the obvious 
proprieties of life. If they have not authority, they have influence, 
which is far better, and more deeply effective. Servants htive blessed 
God for pious mistresses. Children have been prepared for the preach- 
ing of the woid, and the devotion of the sanctuary, by the earlier but 
important efforts of a mother. How much does even the religious 
public owe to a Mrs. Newton, a Airs. Cecil, and a thousand more, 
from whom the churches have derived such able ministers. To 
Hannah we owe a Samuel ; and to Lois and Eunice, his mother and 
grandmother, v/e owe a Timothy. 

They are at home in ahnsdeeds, like Dorcas, who made garments 
for the poor; and are peculiarly adapted to visit the sick and tlie 
afflicted. The v;ife may win the irreligious husband without the 
word ; and fan his devotion, and give speed to his zeal, when he is in 
the way everlasting. Who would kec]) them from tliose public meet- 
ings v/here feelings are to be excited, vvhich they will be sure to carry 
away, and improve at home? In a word, women have the finest 
heads, and hearts, and tongues, and hands, for usefulness, in the 
world. Who does not v/ish to see them always under a religio'Oi 



90 FEBRUARY 26. 

principle? Wlio would not have them appropriately more encou- 
rajred and employed as workers to<Tether with the servants of Christ 7 
" Help,-' therefore, says the apostle, " those women that labored with 
me in the Gospel, whose names are in the book of life." 



Febuuary 26. — "When he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept 
over it." — Luke, xix, 41. 

An ordinary mind Avotdd have been engrossed and elated by the 
actions and acclamations of the multitude, who cut down brandies 
from the trees, and strewed them in the way; and spread their gar- 
ments on the ground for him to ride upon, and filled th6 air with ho- 
sannas, crying. Bleared is he that ccmeth in the name of the Lord ! 
But he Avept — wept at the sight of Jerusalem, whose visitation Avas 
noAV closing, and whose judgment was hastening on, saying, " O that 
thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things that 
belong to thy peace ; but now are they hid from thine eyes." 

Surely these tears teach us, that there is nothing degrading in sen- 
sibihty. Indeed, all true greatness is tender and sympathetic. Jona- 
than and David, the heroes of the age, one of whom had slain a whole 
garrison, and the other killed Goliath, both wept, till each exceeded. 
Homer, that exquisite painter of nature, consider Ulysses as excel- 
ling all men in wisdom, yet represents him as weeping three times in 
six lines. Achilles, too, so extraordinary in courage, he describes as 
weeping often and plentifully. Let not, therefore, the unfeeling pride 
themselves as superior in iortitnde and philosophy. _ Feeling is the 
noblest distinction a,nd ornament of humanity, and in proportion as 
we lose it, we cease to be men. There is a moral ossification of the 
heart as well as a physical ; and the one is as pitiable as the other. 
He who w^as fairer than the children of men was often known to weep. 

As these tears were honorable, so they are exemplary. For whom 
did he shed them? The inhabitants of Jerusalem, who, after every 
kind of insult, were going to put him to death. At the grave of La- 
zarus he wept for friends; here, for adversaries. And does he not, by 
this, tell us to be tender-hearted ? to weep with them that weep ? 
That we should bewail the miseries of others, and not confine our 
compassion to our own connexions, but love our enemies, bless them 
that curse us, and do good to them that persecute us ? Does he net 
enforce this, not only by precept, but example ? And can we be his 
disciples, unless we follow him ? " He that saith he abideth in Him, 
ought himself so to walk even as He walked." " If any man have 
iiofthe spirit of Christ, he is none of his." 

These tears are encouraging. Tears are generally considered 
proofs of concern. Human tears, indeed, it will be allowed, are not 
infallible tokens ; but the tears of Christ may be safely trusted. They 
show his compassion, the sincerity, the greatness of liis compassion. 
They tell us that his love passeth knowleTdoe, and therefore they call 
upon us to repair to Him, telling us that He is not willing that any 
fehould perish ; that, as He lives. He has no pleasure in the death o( 
him that dieth. 

" ' Give me thine heatt, my Fon,' he eric?, I " With love nnd pity in his eyes 

" And kindly waits to tatie thee in : 1 " He weeps to s?ve thee from thy ein.' 



FEBRUARY 27. 91 

Finally, they are awful and foreboding; adniouisliing us of the 
dreadiuhiess of their doom on whose behah' they are shed, it is affect- 
ing to see a man weep, and especially a great man. You would 
naturally suppose that something vast and momentous was necessary 
to move to tears such mighty minds as those of a Bacon or a Newton. 
And coald a trifle move the Son of God to weep? And if the tem- 
poral calamities coming on the Jews affected him, how much more 
would their eternal perdition I What were the Roman eagles, com- 
pared with the wrath to come ! O, these tears say plain enough, 
" There is something divinely, infinitely pitiable in the loss of a soul ! 
It is a feartul thing to fall into the hands of the living God ! Who 
knoweth the power of his anger !" 

May we not fairly infer from hence, what his feeling is in the re- 
covery of a sinner? If he weeps over those who are ready to perish, 
surely he will rejoice over those that are saved. " He will rejoice 
over them with joy; he will rest in his love; he will rejoice over 
them with singing." 



February 27.— " Increasing in the knowledge of God."— Col. i, 10. 

Does this mean the knowledge of w^hich God is the author, or the 
knowledge of which he is the subject? In reality, this is the same 
thing. The Gospel contains the knowledge which God has commu- 
nicated to the children of men ; and this principally discovers him- 
self; so that it is at once a revelation from God, and a revelation 
of him. All his works, the largest and the least, praise him. If we 
take up the telescope, or the microscope, we alike exclaim, " This is 
the finger of God;" but we take up the Gospel, and say, "No man 
hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, Avhich is in the 
bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." Here we look into his 
very heart, and see that i^ is the dwelling-place of pity — Here we 
know the thoughts he tliinks toward us, and find that they are 
thoughts of peace, and not of evil. 

With regard to this knowledge, we may make out four classes. 

— Some are destitute of this knov^ledge of God. Some! There 
are at present more than five hundred millions lying in darkness, and 
the shadow of death ! These have never heard of Sie name of Je.^us, 
and know not that there is such a being in the universe. Yet Chris- 
tians have it in their power to intbrm them ; and a few are exerting 
themselves. Prosper, O God, their endeavors — that thy way may 
be known on earth, thy saving health among all nations. 

— Some reject it. This is one of the thmgs we should deem m- 
credible ; but we have undeniable, as well as mortifying evidence 
Hovv many refuse to hear! How many never read the word of God! 
Others even sneer at its inspiration, and ridicule its contents! What- 
ever difficulties may attend the doom of the former class, justice ad- 
mits of none with regard to this; "Hovv can we escape if we neglect 
60 great salvation ?" 

— Some hold it in iinrig-hteoKsness. They profess to know God ; 
but in works deny iiim. Some of these have clear views of the wny 
of salvation; and even contend for the faith once delivered to the 
Kaints. The Gospel has taught them every thing — except to deny 



1)2 FEBRUARY 28. 

tlicmselveS; and take up their cross, and follow the Savior in the re- 
generation. They would be otlcnded to be placed near the rorn>er 
class. "We are not unbelievers." No — you have denied, and Mre 
•* worse than an Infidel." 

— Some receive it in the love and the infiience of it. Thf ir faith 
'm more than notion ; their worship is not lormulity ; their hope is not 
delusion — they live in the Spirit, and walk in the Spirit. Though 
these are still comparatively few, yet, blessed be God, their number 
is daily and greatly enlarging ; and the Lord add to his people, how 
many soever they be, a hundi(\l told! 

Art thou, my reader, one of them? Remem.ber four things. 

First. Tliat thou hast any of this knowledge — should make thee 
than ki 111. 

Secondly. That thou hast so little — should make thee humble. 

Thirdly. That more is attainable — should make thee hopeful. 

Fourthly. That it is attainable only in the use of means — should 
make thee diligent. 

Consider what I say ; and the Lord give thee understanding in all 
things. 



February 28. — " Having Idved his own which were in the world, he loved 
them unto the end." — John, xiii, 1. 

These words refer immediately to tlie twelve disciples of our Lord. 
Bat what said he in his intercessory prayer? "Neither pray I for 
these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me, through 
their word." And what part of the statement here will not extend 
beyond his first followers ? 

Is \i '&^e relation? These are called "His own;" and they vi-ere 
indeed his own, by extraordinary office ; but they were far more im- 
portantly his own, by saving grace. And thus he has a propriety in 
all Christians. If ye are Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed. They 
that are Christ's have crucified the flesh. He has a peculiar right 
to them, from covenant donation, and the execution of his trust. 
They were given him as so many sheep to feed ; as so many Bcholai-s 
to teach; as so many patients to heal; as so many captives to re- 
deem. They are therefore, not their own, but bought with a price ; 
and the ransom was no less than his own blood. The connexion be- 
tween Him and them is so intimate and entire, that tiiey are called 
his heritage, his children, his bride; the members of his body, of his 
flesh, and of his bones; yea, they are joined to the Lord, and of one 
ppirit with him. 

Is it the comJitiun ? They '"'were in the world.' He was leaving 
it, and they were to be left in it; and from what it had been to him, 
they could judge what it Avould be to them ; according to his own inti- 
mation, " The servant is not greater than his Lord. If they have 
persecuted me, they will also persecute you." They found them- 
selves, therefore, as lilies among tliorns; as sheep among wolves. 
And he prayed not to have them taken out of the v.'ori!i,but only kept 
from the evil. And thus it is vAxh his people now. They are in the 
world; and this is their field of action, and this is their sphere o* 
duty and trial fir a seas/ni. There they are to serve their gone.-a- 
tion ; there ihey are to glorify God, by doin.g and sufiering iiis \s'A\. 



FEBRUARY 29. 93 

"But the world is much improved." It has advanced much in sci- 
ence and civihzation; but it retains the same disposition toward real 
godhness as formerly, and is more perilous in its smiles than in its 
hvwns, m its treacherous embraces than in its avowed hostilities. But 
if^ou are "His own" while you are "in the world," you will not be 
of it ; and He, whose you are, will not only keep you from falling, but 
render you useful in it, and bring you honorably out of it. Be of 
good cheer, says He, I have overcome the world. 

Is it the realiUj of his regard? "He had loved his own which 
were in the world." What other principle could have actuated him 
in selecting them, calling them, informing them, employing tliem, 
adopting tliem. honoring them, blessing them with his constant inti- 
macy? They had not chosen Him but he had chosen them, and or- 
dained them, that they should go and bring forth fruit. He treated 
them not as servants, but as friends: and all things that he had heard 
of the Father, lie made known unto them. He could say. As the Fa- 
ther hath loved me, so have I loved you. And is not this true of all 
his people? Who said, Deliver them from going down into the pit? 
Who bore their sins in his own body on the tree? Who shut the 
mouth of hell? Who opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers? 
O Christian, who sought — and who saved thee? Whatever you are, 
whatever you have, is the effect of the love of Christ, that passeth 
knowledge. 

Is it the fermanennj of this affection? Having loved his own 
wiiich were in the worUl, he loved them unto the end. They tried 
him, and proved themselves very unworthy of his continued attach- 
ment. But he bore with their dullness and imperfections. He chided 
and reproved them ; but this was not only compatible with his con- 
stancy, but resulted from it ; for as many as he loves he rebukes and 
chastens, and faithful are tlie wounds of this Friend. And now we 
see him at the last all idive to their welfare, teaching and comforting 
them, washing their feet, and praying for them. In the garden, 
when he found them sleeping, he extenuated the infirmity. The 
spiiit, indeed, is willing, but the flesh is weak. When he surrendered 
hiiTiself to his enemies, he stipulated for their exemption. Let these 
go their way. He died with them in his heart. He arose and ap- 
peared to them ; and though they had all foisalvcn him, and fled in 
tlie hour of trial, he said. Be not afraid ; ])eace be to you. He laid 
his hands upon them, and wliile he blessed them he was taken up 
into heaven. And did he forget them then ? He sent them another 
Comforter, that should abide with them for ever. And was this pecu- 
liar to them ? He is tlie same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. He 
rests in his love. He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake 
thee. A true friend loveth at all times. But there are few such 
friends to be found. But He abideth faithful. Job's brethren proved 
like a summer's brook. One told David in his distress, Ahithophel 
ie among the conspirators with Absalom. At my first ansvv'er, no 
one, says Paul, stood by me, but all n en forsook me ; but he adds, 
Nevertheless, the Lord stood by me, and strengthened me. So will 
it be with all those who trust in'Him. " They shall not be ashamed 
or confounded, world witiiout end." 



94 MARCH 1. 

•' This God is tlie God we adore, I " 'Tis Jesus, the First ar/i the Last, 

" Our faithful uncliangeable Friend ; j " Whose S^jirit shiill guide us safe hoiiie 

• Whose love is as great as his power, I " Wu'll praise him for all that is past, 
" Aad neither knows measure nor end. | " And trust liini for all that's to come." 



March 1. — " And it shall be, if thou go with us, yea, it shall be that what 
goodness the Lord shall do unto us, the same will we do unto thee." — ISurn- 
bers, X, 32. 

While this invitation is founded in benevolence, it also displays 
humility. Christians are convinced that they can only give acconling 
as they have received. But, from God's communications to them, 
they know that they can be useful, and that they oi'ghi to be useful 
to others. They never receive grace for themselves only. If the 
glory of the Lord has risen upon them, they are to arise and shine. 
If they are converted, they are to strengthen their brethren. If they 
are comforted, they are to comfort with the same comforts those who 
are in any trouble. If they are rich in this world, they are to do 
good, and be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to com- 
municate. " As every man hath received the gift, even so minister 
the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of 
God." Hence says Moses to Hobab, " If thou go with us, what 
goodness the Lord shall do unto us, the same will we do unto tliee." 

— And he repeats the assurance : " It shall be — yea, it shall be." 
And was it not so ? Did he repent of his adhering to Israel ? See 
what is said in Judges, and in Samuel, of liis descendants. And was 
Obed-Edom a loser by the ark ? Did not the sacred guest more than 
pay for its entertainment ? " It was told David, saying, The Lord 
iiath blessed the house of Obed-Edom, and all that pertaineth unto 
him, because of the ark of God." Who is likely to be injured by 
casting in his lot with the followers of the Lamb ? Will his family 
suffer '? Many a wretch has reduced his wife and children to penury 
and ruin by his vices, but every principle of a good man will lead 
him to provide for his own, and the generation of the upright shall be 
blessed. Will his substance? The play-house, the ale-house, the 

Saming-house, the house of her who lives in the way to hell, going 
own to the chambers of death, will injure a man much more than 
the house of God. Will his health? Is iJiis likely to be injured, or 
benefited, by temperance, and calm temper, and cheerful confidence, 
and benevolent feelings? Religion must befriend reputation, as it 
produces and guards all the elements from Avhich it is derived, while 
the name of the wicked shall rot. 

Therelbre come with us, and we will do yon good ; for the Lord 
hath spoken good concerning Israel. We cannot promise you great 
things in the world, but the Lord will bless your bread and your 
water; and a little that a righteous man hath, is better than the 
riches of many wicked. We cannot promise you exemptions from 
affliction, but nothing shall befall you but what is common to man ; 
and God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that 
ye are able, and will, with the temptation, also make a way for your 
escape. We cannot secure you from privations and sacrifices, but 
we can promise, that you shall be more than indemnified for every 
thing you do or suffer, or lose, for the cause of God. He will not b« 



MARCH 2. C5 

unrighteous to forget your work of faith, and labor of love. A cup 
of cold water, given to a disciple in the name of a disciple, shall not 
lo.se its reward. " There is no man," saith the Savior, '" that hath 
left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the king- 
dom of God's salve, who shall not receive manifold more in this present 
time, and in the world to come life everlasting." We can assure 
you, that if you travel with us, you shall feed on the manna, and 
drink of the rock, and be guided by the cloud, and behold the glory 
of the Lord, in the wilderness; and then you shall share with us, 
beyond Jordan, the land flo^ving with milk and honey. How blessed 
are they whose transgressions are forgiven, who have peace with 
God, who are delivered trom the sting of a guilty conscience, and the 
torment of tear, who walk in the comforts of the Holy Ghost, who 
rejoice in hope, who know that death is their friend, and heaven their 
home, Vvdio have their fruit unto hohness, and the end everlasting 
life ! •' Lo, this, we have searched it, so it is, hear it, and know thou 
it for thy good." 

Lord ! 1 have often heard this invitation; I now accept it. I am 
a companion of them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy pre- 
cepts. " Remember me, O Lord, with the favor that thou bearesl 
unto thy people; O visit me with thy salvation, that I may see the 
good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, 
that 1 may glory with thine inheritance." 



March 2.—" But Peter followed him afar off."— 3Iatt. xxvi, 58. 

This, too, was better than forsaking him and fleeing, as the rest 
did. Here was the working of some degree of principle. Here was 
some love to the Savior, or he would not have tbllowed him at all — 
the lingering of that affection which may be seemingly smothered in 
the Christian, but can never be extinguished, and will soon be blown 
again into a flame. 

But he was overcome by fear. His Lord was apprehended, and 
going to be tried and cracified. What if I, said Peter, should be 
found in the same doom as one of them ! The fear of man bringeth 
a snare. Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath, will he give for 
his life. 

Yet this was very unbelieving in him. He had seen his Lord's 
miracles, and knew what he could do. He knew that he had ac- 
tually stipulated for their release in the garden, as the condition of 
his own surrender. He knew that he had assured them, that after 
he was risen from the dead he Avould appear to them, and employ 
tliem as his witnesses, which involved their preservation. What a 
diflference between Peter and Paul — Paul, who said, " None of these 
things move me ; neither count I my hfe dear unto myself, so that I 
may finish my course with joy." And between Peter"^and Luther — 
Luther, who, when informed of his dangers, said. If there were as 
many devils in Worms as there are tiles upon tlie houses, I would 
go. But Peter followed him afar off! 

This was also very ungrateful. The Savior had done much for 
jiim. He had healed, by a miracle, his wife's mother ; he had called 
him to the apostleship, the highest honor on earth ; He had singularly 



m MARCH 2. 

digtitiguifc^hed him with James and Jolrn on gcrcral occasions; He 
had saved him by his grace, and enlightciicd him from above, and 
was now going to suffer and die for him. And a friend is born for 
adversity. Then, instead of keeping at a distance from us, we look 
for his attendance and sympatliy. Peter could have miequivccally 
testified in favor of suflering innocence ; but he hiangs ofi'I And 
Patience itself complains, " I looked for some to take pity, and there 
was none ! and for comforters, but I found none !" 

All this, too, was in violation of his own profession and vows — that 
he was willing to follow liim to prison and to death — that he would 
die with him rather than deny liim ; and all tin's had scarcely left 
his lips, and was uttered just after our Savior had lo solemnly fore- 
warned him. Yet Peter Ibllowed him afiir off. 

This led to something worse, and I wonder not at the sequel. His 
after conduct in denying him, and thrice; and swearing with oaths 
and curses, was only the continuance and the increase of his present 
reluctance. So it is, the way of error and sin is always downhill; 
and, once in motion, who can tell when and where he wih stop ? You 
follow him afar off this hour, the next j^ou are ashamed of him. You 
trifle with the sabbath to-day, to-morrow you prcfiu:ie it. You now 
endure evil comj:)any ; you will soon choose it ; so true is it, " They 
proceed from evil to evil." 

And yet who of us can cast a stone at him? Are not we verily 
guilty, as well as Peter? Let us see whether, though as yet we l;ave 
not begun to curse and to swear, saying, T know not the man, we 
have not been foliovring him afar off. Here let us not depend upon 
the opinion of our fellow creatures — we may stand fair with them. 
But what do they know of us? of our inward state? of our princi- 
ples and motives? What says the JieatH ? " If our heait condemn 
us not, then have we confidence toward God." Yet even on this 
testimony we must not absolutely rely. " God is greater tlian the 
heart, and knovv'eth all things." "The Laodiceans were satisfied with 
themselves at the very time when He charged them with every one 
of the evils from which they supposed themselves fvee. Has He not 
somewhat against us? May we not continue to read and hear his 
word, and keep our places in the sanctuary, and even at his table ; 
and yet feel very little of that sacred fervor and delight that once 
accompanied our devotions? Attendance upon the Savior in the 
means of grace, is very distinguishable from spiritual worship. We 
may draw nigh to him with our mouth, and honor him with our lipp, 
while the heart is far from him. Does the hea)'i lag behind? Then 
are we following him afar off. 

Hi^ people are himself. He that recei veth them, receiveth him ; and 
wliat we do not, to the least of one of all his brethren, we do not to him. 
In tiie distance of our regard to them, and especially our backwaid- 
TiCss to notice, and relieve, and visit tlie poor and afflicted, are we not 
following him afar off7 

Above all, does not the evil appear in the remoteness of our rc- 
eemblance ? We are commanded to follow him, and our conformity 
to him is essential to all religion, and we may always judge of the 
degree, as well as the reality of our religion by it. How far short of 
the model do we come? How distantly do we resemble that conde- 



MARCH 3. 97 

scension, which washed the disciples' feet; that self-denial, which 
pleased not himself; that fervor, which led him to say, The zeal ol 
thine House hath eaten me up ; that delight in obedience, which led 
him to say, My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to 
finish his worlv — 

And thus, by our negligence and indifference, we grieve his Holy 
Spirit, and rob oar own souls; for he is all in all ; he is the fountain 
of lile, and it is good for us to draw near- to Him. But when we fol- 
low him afar oflj we cannot see him, and hear him, and converse with 
him. And wo unto us if trouble befalls us, or the enemy meets with 
us. and he is most likely to do so then, when we are absent from him. 

Let me sig-Ji — 

" Prone to waudcr, LorJ, 1 feel it ; | " Prone to leave the God I love " 

And let me shig- — 

" Thou Shepherd of Israel divine, I " 'Tis there I would always abide, 

" The joy of the u|>ri'rht in heart, | " Nor ever a moment depart; 

" For closer conimuiiioii I pine, " Preserved evermore by tliy side 

" Still, still to reside where Thou art. [ " Eternally hid in thy heart," 



March 3. — " Yea, let God be true, but every man a liar." — Rom. iii, 4. 

But cannot God be true, and man be true also ? Does the veracity 
of the one infer the falsehood of the other ? Not absolutely, but in 
particular instances. There may be, and there olten is, an opposition 
between their testimony ; and when this is the case we are not to 
hesitate a moment by whose claims we shall be decided. If the whole 
world was on one side and He on the other, Let God be true, but 
every man a bar. And, comparatively, the credibility of the one, 
must always be nothing to that of the other. If we receive the wit- 
ness of men, the witness of God is greater. And this will appear un- 
deniable from four admissions. 

The first regards the ignorance of man and the wisdom of God. 
Man is fallible. He not only may err, but he is likely to err. He 
may be deceived by outward appearances; by the reports of others; 
by his own reasonings. His poweis are limited; his researches m 
every direction are soon checked ; there are depths which he cannot 
fathom, heights Avhich he cannot scale, complications which he can- 
not unravel. Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom. How much 
ofitismere opinion and conjecture! With what follies have the 
greatest minds been charged! Where is the wise? Where is the 
scribe ? Where is the disputer of this world ? Hath not God made 
foo!Ishne.ss the wisdom of the world ? But His understanding is in- 
finite. He knows all things. He cannot be mistaken. 

The second regards the mutability of man, and the unchangeable- 
ness of God. Creatures, Irom their very being are mutable. Many 
of the angels kept not their first estate. Adam fell from his original 
condition. Who needs to be told that man never continues in one 
stay? New views gender new feelings, and these new pursuits. 
What pleases to-day may ofl'end to-morrow. Many are unstable as 
vs^ater-, and no one is immutable. But God changes not; what he 
thinks now of any subject he always thought, and always will think, 
for with Him there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. 

Vol. I. 6 



OS MARCH 3. 

The third regards the weciknei?s of man, and the all-fiuflicionoy of 
God. Man may threaten in lury, but be unable to execute. He may 
promise sincerely, and his promises be vain words ; he cannot fulfill 
them. In this respect he is not always to be judged ol" by his conduct. 
There are capct' in which we censure, when, ii" we knew all, we 
should only pity. The man struggles with ditncultica which have 
unexi>cctedly come upon him ; and yields to dire necessity, and pro- 
vides things honest in the sight of the Lord, who has seen all his heart 
and his hardships, though not in the sight of men. But God is al- 
mighty. He who made and upholds all things by the word of his 
power, speaks every thing in the Scriptures. 

The fourth regards the depravity of man, and the rectitude of God. 
Man goes astray from the womb, speaking lies. He often inten- 
tionally deceives; it is his aim and study; and he rejoic&s in h'.s suc- 
cess. Even men who are influenced by religious principles may be 
overcome by evil, and occasion our saying, Lord, what is man ! How 
far from truth was the sentiment of Jonah, " I do well to be angry, 
even unto death." How lamentable was the falsehood of Abiaham, 
when he said of his wife, She is my sister. How dreadful was the 
perjury of Peter, when he swore, " I know not the man." But God 
is holiness itselt". He is incapable of a wrong bias, he cannot be 
tempted to deceive. 

When, therefore, we look at man, ignorant and faniblc, varying 
according to his excitements, often unable to make good his engage- 
ments; yea, accessible to the influence of evil m.otivcs: and then con- 
template God, in all the glories of his wi&;dom, inimutability, almighti- 
ness, and rectitude ; each being an everlastiiig and infinite presei-va- 
tive of tnjth — who can view these competitors for onr belief, and p,ot 
join with the apostle, '• Yea, let God be true, but every man a liar." 

And the use to which this fact should be applied, is to reduce our 
confidence in man, and increase our confidence in God — 

" Then let us trust the Lord alone, I " Sure as on <:roaturps we <!epen»l, 

•' And creature-confidcnco disown : 1 " Our hopes iu ditr.ppoinlinent eod." 

And yet the reverse of this is our practice. We yield where we 
should be cautious, and Vv'e hesitate where it is iii-ipossible for us to 
err. We turn from the Rock of Ages, and lean on tlie brolven roed. 
And what is the consequence? " Thus saith tlie Lord, Cursed be 
the man that tmsteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose 
heart departeth from the Lord ; for he shall be like the heath in the 
desert and shall not see when good cometh ; but shall inhabit the 
parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land, and not inhabitetl. 
Blessed is the man that ti-usteth in the Lord, and whose hope the 
Lord is; for he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and tliat 
epreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat 
cometh, but her leaf shall be green, and shall not be careful in the 
year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit." 

Let us cease then from man. Not that we are to become univer- 
sally suspicious, and suppose there is no sincerity in the world. It 
was David's error to say in his haste. All men are liars. Arid when 
the Scripture says, " There is no faithfulness in them ; men of low 
degree are vanity, and raeu of high degree are a lie ; it must be taken 



MARCH 4. 99 

with qualification. Yet instances of inflexible integrity are not 
abundant. And we should not implicitly rely upon any one, especially 
in divine things. Let us respect great and good men, but not be en- 
slaved by them. Let us not pin our faith to tlie sleeve of any au- 
thority merely human. Let us suffer no man to have dominion over 
our conscience ; always searching the Scriptures to see whether tliese 
things are so there. 

For God is entitled to our absolute confidence. " God is not a man, 
that he should lie ; neither the son of man, that he should repent ; 
hath he said, and sliall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall 
he not mal;e it good?" Let us trust him as he deserves. Let us al- 
ways place a ready and unshaken reliance on hi« word. Let God be 
true, in its doctrines, and let us receive them, however mysterious. 
Let God be true, in its predictions; and whatevcj;- difficulties stand in 
the way, believe that the whole earth shall be filled with his glory. 
Let Goil be true, in its ^hreatenings; and let us flee from the wratii 
to come. Let. God be true, in its promises: and let us be strong in 
faith, giving glory to God. 

"O for a strot!<j and Instiujr faitli I "T' embrace the message of his Son, 

"T'» credit what th' Ahiiiglit}- saithl | "And cull the joys of heaven cur own." 



March 4. — " All Lis saiats are in thy hand." — Deut. xxxiii, 3. 

These holy ones are distinguished by many things from each other. 
Some of them arc in public life, and some in private. Some are rich 
and 6-ome poor. Some are young and some old. But all are equally 
dear to Gxl ; and partakers of the common salvation ; in which there 
is neither Jew nor Greek, neither bond nor free, neither male nor 
female, for we are all one in Christ Jesus. They' pass under various 
denominations among men; and these too often keep them at a dis- 
tance from each otiier, and lead them to mistake and censure each 
other; and often they wou'd seem to wish to draw Him along with 
them, and confine his influences within their respective exclusive- 
nesses. But no. He owns them all: and they are all children of the 
sJime family, and going to the same temple to worship ; and however 
they may differ in dress, or age, or stature, they all stand in the same 
relation to each other, and to himself. Some of them are strong, 
and others are weak in fiiith: he has in his fold lambs as well as 
sheep, and in his family babes as well as young men — but a bruised 
reed will he not break, and the smoking flax will he not quench, but 
will bring forth judgment unto victory. This honor have all his 
saints. "^4.// his saints are in thy hand." 

— In his fashioning hand. They are the clay, and he is the potter 
and he makes them vessels of honor, prepared unto every good woik. 
He fearfully and wontlerfully made them as creatures. But they are 
his workmansliip by another and a nobler creation. " This people 
have I formed for myself— they shall show forth my praise." 

— In his preserving hand. For now they are precious, they are 
the more exposed. They are called a crown and a diadem ; and the 
powers of darkness would gladj-y seize it; but observe where it is 
placed for security — " Thou shalt be a crown of glory in the hand of 
the Lord, and a royal diadem in the liand of thy Godj" and there 



100 MARCH 5. 

they are safe, perfectly safe ; safe, not owing to their strength, but 
to their situation. By another image the Savior establishes the same 
confidence. " My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they 
follow me ; and 1 give unto them eternal life ; and they shall never 
perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Fa- 
ther which gave them me, is greater than all ; and no man is able 
to pluck them out of my Father's hand." 

— In his guiding hand. To lead a blind man, you talce him in 
your hand. Thus the Lord leads his people. lie knov>?^eth the way 
that they take, but they do not. I will bring the blind by a v/ay 
that they know not; I will lead them in paths that they have not 
known. You take a little child in your hand to lead him. Thcugi) 
God, says Bishop Hail, has a large family, none cf his children are 
able to go alone ; they are too weak, as well as loo ignorant. But 
fear not, says God ; 1 will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee, }ea, 
I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. 

— In his chastening hand. They are sometimes alarmed at their 
afflictions, and cry. Do not condemn me — as if they were in tlie hand 
of an enemy. But he is their Father; and not like fathers of our 
flesh; for they verily, for a few days, chastened us after their own 
pleasure, but he for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holi- 
ness. Luther therefore said. Strike on, Lord, strike on; for now I 
know I am thy child. We deserve to lose the rod, and by our im- 
proper behavior we forfeit all claim to his correction ; a::d we may 
well wonder, and exclaim, Lord, what is man, that thou shouldest 
magnify him, that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him, that thou 
shouldest visit him every morning, and try him every nionient ? But 
60 it is; for he does not deal with us according to our desert. And 
therefore, rather than leave us to make flesh our arm, or the world 
our portion, he \vill remove every prop of support, and dry up every 
spring of comfort. But he does not afllict willingly. If needs be 
only, we are in heaviness ; and when we mourn our faults, the rod 
drops upon the ground, and he hastens to wipe away our tears. 

" Is Ephraim my dear son ? Is he a pleasant child ? For since 1 
spake again^t him, I do earnestly remember him still; therefore my 
bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith 
the Lord." 

— Whatever, therefore, Christians have to distress and perplex, 
here is enough to comfort and to satisfy tliem. " For all this I consider- 
ed in my heart, even to declare all this, that the righteous and the 
wise, and their works, are in the hand of God." 



March 5. — " So then, with the mind I my?e'f serve the law of God; but 
with the flesh, the law of sin." — Romans, vii, 25. 

So ends this chapter, concerning which there has been much dis- 
pute. For some have contended, that the apostle does not here speak 
of himself, but personates another. They suppose that he refers to 
a Jew — under the law, but not under grace — awakened, but not re- 
newed — convinced, but not converted. But can any unregenerate 
person, with truth say, not only, " I consent to the law^, that it is 
/.rood," but " with my mind I serve the law of God," and " I delight 



MARCH 5. 101 

m the law of God after the inward man ?" an expression of godli- 
ness that characterized the temper of the Messiah himself, //e could 
say nothing more than, '* I delight to do thy will, O my God; yea, 
thy law is within my heart." 

At first view the language of complaint may seem much too 
strong to apply to the experience of a real Christian. But whr.t 
real Christian v.'ould find it too much to utter when placed in the 
same state, and occupied in the same way, with the apostle? That 
is, viewing himself belbre that Gud in whose sight the very heavens 
are not clean, and who charges his angels with folly, and who sees 
more pollution in our duties tlian we ever see in our sins — that is, 
comparing himself wiih :he rule of all rectitude, the divine law, 
whose spirituality is such as to extend to the thoughts and the desires 
of the mind, as well as the actions of the life, and which considers 
anger as murder, and the lusts of the eye as adultery. What must 
the highest attainments of mortals be, compai'cd with this absolutely 
perfect standard of holiness ; yea, or even with the elevated and vast 
desires of a renewed soul ! 

We need not wonder that many are astonished and perplexed liere. 
*' The spiritual judgeth all things, but he himself is judged of no 
man." They who are strangers to the warfare in which he is en- 
gaged, can never clearly comprehend his language, or enter into 
those feelings which produce such a depth of confession and abase- 
ment. Those who have never been in the field may be surprised at 
niany things related by a veteran in describing the campaigns he has 
passed through, but his old scar-v/orn comrade can attest the truth of 
them. In religious matters, more than in any other, the heart know- 
eth his owm bitterness, and a stranger intcrmeddleth not with his 
joy. But the secret of the Lord is with them that fear him. 

We allow that this chapter has been much perverted. There is 
no part of the Bible that Antinomians so much delight in, or which 
ungodly men, who turn the grace of God into lasciviousness, so ofien 
quote. Such persons wrest, also, the other Scriptures to their own 
destriiction. And are we to argue against the use of a thing, from 
the abuse of it? What good thing is not abused? Yet we'^do net 
refuse raiment to the naked, because there are some who glory in 
what ought to remind us of our shame ; or food to the hungry, be- 
cause some make a god of their belly. And sliall we refuse to ein- 
cerc_ and humble souls, mourning over the evils of tJieir own heart 
the instruction and consolation here provided for them, for fear the 
interpretation should be applied to an improper purpose ? No one 
really taught of God will abuse it; nor can he be more reconciled to 
his corruptions, or more satisfied with his deficiencies, in consequence 
of being able to adopt the language as his own. For shall they 
continue in sin thai grace may abound ? God foi-bid. How can 
they, who are dead to sin, live any longer therein? We are not to 
make sad the hearts of God's people, but to comfort them ; for the 
joy of the Lord is their strength. And only the last day will show 
how much this section of Scripture has strengthened the weak hands, 
and confirmed the feeble knees of those who were deeming their ex- 
perience peculiar, and concluding that they had no part with the 
Israel of God, till they had heard Paul bewailing and encouraging 



i02 MARCH 6. 

himself thus : For to will is present with me, but how to perform that 
which is good I find not. 1 find then a law, that when I would do 
good evil is present with me. O wretched man that 1 am ! who shall 
deliver me from the body of this death ? I thank God, through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. So, then, with the mind I myself serve the law of 
God, but with the flesh the law of sin. 



March 6. — " Behold, the Lord thy God hath set the land before thee . go 
np and possess it, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath said unto thee: fear 
not, neither be discouraged." — Deut. i, 2L 

' We may, Ave ought to transfer what is here said to the Jews con- 
cerning Canaan, to ourselves with regard to a better country, that 
is, a heavenly ; for the one was designed to be typical of the other. 

Observe the exhibition: "Behold, the Lord thy God hath set the 
land before thee." Where? In the Scriptures: not in its full de- 
velopement, for so it is a glory to be revealed, for it doth not yet 
appear what we shall be ; but in its general nature, and in a way 
adapted to our present apprehensions, and lii<ely to take hold of our 
mind. Hence so many figures are employed, all of which aid our 
conceptions, while they fall short of the subject. 

But does he place it before our eyes to tantalize us, by awakening 
our notice, and drawing forth our admiration, and exciting our desire, 
when the boon is not within our reach ? 

■ Observe the command : " Go up and possess it, as the I^ord God of 
thy fathers hath said unto thee." This supposes it to be attainable: 
yea, it makes the attainment our duty. Our missing it is not only 
our misery, but our crime. We shall be punished for neglecting so 
great salvation. It is our guilt — the guilt of the vilest disobedience 
to the most gracious authority : for he not only allows, but he enjoins 
us to seek fii-st his kingdom and righteousness, and commands us to 
believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ. Are we doing this 7 
For He is the way ; and we come 7into God by him. 

Observe the encouragement : " Fear not, neither be discouraged." 
To this we are liable on two accounts. First. By a sense of ojr 
unworthiness. The greatness of the blessedness, when combined 
with a sense of our desert, astonishes the mind inloakindofincredu- 
hty, and makes hope seem no better than presumption. But every 
thing here is free, and designed to show the exceeding riches of his 
grace in his kindness toward us. We are as welcome as we are 
unworthy. Why then should we refuse to be comforted? Secondly. 
By a sense of our weakness. Who is sufficient for the distance, the 
difficulties, and the dangers? The Jews were dismayed by the 
report of the spies. The towns, said they, are Availed up toHeaA-en. 
There are the Anakims, in whose sight we were but as grasshoppei-s. 
The people were disheartened. But said Caleb, " Let us go up at 
once, and possess it, for we are able." Hoav did he mean ? Without 
God? No. But Avith him, as their leader and keeper — and this he 
had promised. And is he not Avith you? Has he not said, " Fear 
not, for I am Avith thee ; be not dismayed, for I am thy God : I wlW 
strengthen thee, yea, I will keep thee ; yea, I Avill uphold thee with 
the right hand of my righteousness !" Wc cannot be too sensible of 



MARCH 7. 103 

cur weakness; but let us remember that his grace is sulficient for us 
lias it not been sufficient for all those who have gone before us? 

** Once ihey were mourning here below, I " They wrestled hard, as we do now, 
" AuU wel their coucli wiili tears ; | " With sins, and doubts, and feari." 

But their fears were vain. They overcame, and now are more than 
conquerors through Jiim who loved them. But Jordan rolls between. 
So it v/as with the Jews, and it w;\3 even overflowing its bank.s at 
the time. But the ark divided the waters ; they went through dry- 
ehod, and their enemies were as still as a etonc — till they were clean 
passed over. 

March 7. — " I Jiave called you friends." — John, xv, 15. 

Wn-ir condescension, and kindness, and grace are here! For 
these must be the principle of this friendship, whether we consider 
Hie greatness, or our meanness and unworthiness. Lord, what is 
riian, that ihoii art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thoit 
visitesthira? Yet he is mindful of us; he does visit us — yea, he 
calls us his friends. And names and things, professions and reali- 
ties, are the same with Him. If he calls us friends, he will treat us 
accordingly, and we may expect fi'om him whatever the most per- 
fect friendship can ensure. 

For instance. He will honor us with his confidence ; the very 
thing he here mentions, " Henceforth I call you not servants ; for the 
servant knoweth not what hk Lord doeth ; but I have called you 
friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father Ihave made 
«{nown unto you." A servant is intrusted, not with secrets, but 
orders, and he is seldom informed of the reasons, even of these. 
Turning him into a confidant, is one of the ways to exemplify Solo- 
mon's observation : " He that delicately bringeth up a servant, shall 
liave him for his son at length ;" and he will take greater liberties 
than a child. There is, indeed, respect due to a servant; but it is 
respect of another kind. We do not like a master or mistress, who is 
above speaking to a domestic, unless in the language of menace or 
authority. Good sense will find out a happy medium between dis- 
tance and fondness; between haughtiness, and a lamiliarity that 
inspires no deference. But unreserved confidence is for friends. 
Nothing is concealed between them. Abraham is called the friend 
of God : and, says God, " Shall I hide from Abraham the thing that 
I shall do?" How did our Lord unbosom him.self to his disciples? 
To you, said he, is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of 
heaven. When he was alone he expounded all things unto them ; 
he manifested himself to them, and not unto the world. And eo 
now ; the secret of the Lord is with them that fear him, and he will 
show tlicm his covenant. 

If he calls us friends, he will give us freedom of access to him. The 
distance and ceremonies wdiicli may be necessary to regulate the 
approach of others, are laid aside with a friend ; the heart, tlie arms, 
the house, are all open to him. And docs the Lord keep us at a 
distance? His language is invitation. " Come unto me." He allovvg 
us to come even to his seat, and to enter the secret of his pavilion. 
He permits ua, at all times, to spread our rac-st minute affairs before 



104 MARCH 7. 

him ; yea, he indulges us to live in his house, to sit at liis table, to 
walk with him, to lean upon his bosom. Such honor have all his saints. 

— If he calls us friciids he will reprove us. Whenever friendship 
is founded on proper principle, reproof will be found one of its chief 
duties, and privileges too. Faithful are the wounds of a friend ; and 
so David valued them. " Let the righteous smite me, it shall be a 
kindness ; and let him reprove me, it shall be an excellent oil v»-hich 
shall not break my head ; for yet my prayer also shall be in their 
calamities." Moses makes the omission the proof of hatred, " Then 
shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart ; thou shalt in any wise rebuke 
thy neighbor, and not sufTei sin upon him." But the Savior will never 
mcur this reproach: As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. 

— If he calls us friends he will counsel us. There are passages 
in the life of every man sufficient to confound a smgle understand- 
ing. But how pleasing is it, in doubts and perplexities, to fetch in 
aid from the judgment or experience of another, and who we know is 
concerned for our welfare? But He is " The Counsellor." " Coun- 
sel," sa3^s he, " is nww, and sound wisdom." He is a light to them 
that sit in darkness ; a dissolver of doubts. The meek will he guide 
in judgment, and the meek will he teach his way, and they that 
follow it will find it to be pleasantness and peace. 

— If he calls us friends he will sympathise with us. There is no 
true friendship, unless we make the pleasures and the pains of our 
connections our own, rejoicing when they rejoice, and weeping when 
tiiey ween. To him that is afflicted, pity should be showed from his 
friend. The natural language of the sufferer is, " Pity me, pity me, 
O ye my friends, for the hand of God hath touched me !" Hence the 
complaint of the Savior, " I looked for some to take pity, and there 
was none ; and for comforters, but I found none," for even all the dis- 
ciples forsook him and fled. But he will never inflict what he endured. 
In all our affliction he is afflicted. To exemplify this he assumed our 
nature. He became a man to be a friend. For in that he himself 
hath suffered, being tempted, he is able also to succor those that are 
tempted ; and, therefore, though he is passed into the heavens, we 
have not a High Priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our 
infirmity. Yea, " He that toucheth them, toucheth the apple of 
his eye." 

— If he calls "us friends he will afford us assistance and succor. 
And this is the grand test of friendship. A friend loveth at all times j 
but is born for adversity; and he has forfeited all claim to the charac- 
ter, Avho says, m the hour of application. Go in peace; be ye warmed, 
and be ye filled, while he gives not the things that are needful ! Yet, 
how often is this the case ; and the words of Solomon veiified, " Con- 
fidence in an unfaithful man in the time of trouble, is like a broken 
looth, or a foot out of joint." Many are very friendly when you v.-ant 
not their aid, especially whde you are imparting instead of receiving. 
You are their garden; they walk in you in sununer, but abandon you 
in winter — then you have no flowers or fruits. You are their scaffold ; 
they build with you, but the work done, they take you down, and lay 
you aside. But though the Savior will never leave us nor forsake us, 
he has emphatically said, I will be with you in trouble. And his 
people have always found him a present help, when every other re- 



MARCH a 105 

source has failed. Some may really feel for us, but be unable to help 
us. But nothing is too hard tor the Lord. Even in death he will be 
the strength of our heart, and our portion for ever. 

Thus he treats his friends. How do they treat him ? Have we 
never given him cause to say, " Is this thy kindness to thy friend?" 
Have we never betrayed a want of confidence in him ? Have we 
never been ashamed of him ? Never denied him before men ? Have 
we not often preferred our own ease and honor to his cause and glory ? 
We can never make him adequate returns for his goodness, but have 
we made him suitable returns? Rather will not an honest review of 
our temper and conduct constrain us to blush and say, 

*' O were not I so vile and bas«, 

" I could not thus my friend requite; 
** And were not he the God of grace, 

*' He'd frown and spuru me from his sight." 



March 8. — ^" Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, 
uoon them that hope in his mercy." — Psalm xxxiii, 18. 

This is a very encouraging character. They who cannot claim 
the higher distinctions of religion, may surely know that they " fear 
God, and hope in his mercy." 

Srme may wonder at the combination, and suppose that the quali- 
ties are incompatible with each other. But the first Christians 
" walked in the fear of the Lord, and in the comforts of the Holy 
Ghost," They may think that tlie fear will injure the hope, or the 
hope the fear. But they are even mutually helpful, and they are not 
only never so beautiful, but never so influential as when they are 
blended. The. fear promotes hope by the evidence it affords; and by 
keeping us from loose and careless walking, which must affect our 
peace and pleasure. And hope no less befriends this fear. For never 
is God seen so glorious, so worthy of all our devotedness to him, as 
when Ave hope in his mercy ; and even the more assured we are of 
his regard, the more we shall inquire. Lord, what wilt thou have me 
to do? The more we shall tremble at the thought of offending and 
grieving him, the more we shall continue upon our knees, praying, 
Let the word of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be ac- 
ceptable in thy sight, O Lord, mij strength, and my redeemer. It is 
called ••' a lively hope ;" and Christians know, by experience, that 
upon all their principles and duties, it has the same influence as the 
spring has upon the fields and the gardens. 

Despondence of mind has the same effect upon our feelings and 
obedience as frost upon the stream ; it chills, hardens, and stagnates. 
But divine love dissolves the ice, and the waters flow. ' 

God is a Spirit, and has none of our senses and members; but la 
speaking to us, he makes use of language that we can understand. 
His epes are upon them that fear him, and hope in his mercy. The 
eyes of his /cuotc^d(/^e are upon them. Every thing in their afl^aire 
comes under his notice. He knows all their walking through this 
great wilderness, and nothing befalls them without their heavenly 
Father. Parents cannot always have their eye upon a child. They 
may be engaged, or be afar ofij or asleep. But He is always at hand ; 
He is never diverted or perplexed : He never slumbers or deeps. 



106 MARCH 9. 

The eyes of his affection are upon them. The eye not only affectetli 
the heart, but follows it. It turns with the object of attachment; it 
sparkles with delight while dwelling upon it; and when deprived of 
the sight, continues looking in the direction of departure, as the di.-j- 
ciples stood gazing up toward heaven after their blessed Savior. Oh ! 
to be the object oi God's love ! To be precious in his sight, and ho- 
norable . But he " takes pleasure in them that fear him, in those 
that hope in his mercy." " He will rest in his love ; He will joy ovei 
them with singing." The eyes of his providence are upon them. 
Therefore it is added, " To dehver their soul from death, and to keep 
them alive in famine." That is, for a part is put for the whole, to 
secure them from all danger, and to supjjly all their wants. In cases 
the most perilous and extreme. He is able to do for them exceeding 
abundantly above all they can ask or think. We are not to look for 
miracles ; but it is only because the power and truth of God can do 
without them. 



'For sooner all Nature shall clianpe, 
'• Than one of God's promises fail. 

'How safe a;-;! liow happy are they, 
" Who on their good Shepherd rely ! 

' He gives them out btrougth for their day, 



" Their wants he will surely supply. 
"He ravens and lioue can tame: 

"All creatures obey his command ; 
" Then let me rejoice in his name, 

"And leave all my cares in his hand. 



March 9. — "Ee strong in the Lord, and in the power of hia might." 

Ephesians, vi, 10. 

To this we must be brought. Nature can never do the work of 
grace. Reason cannot be a substitute for faith. Education cannot 
render needless the teaching of the Spirit. Vain must all our exer- 
tions be, without his agency. AVithout his influence, we may have 
the form of godliness, but not the powder; we may be reformed, but 
not renewed ; we may become other creatures, but not new ones. 

What is the u^e we are to make of this admission? Are we to 
derive from it ease in sin? self-justification? excuses for indolence ? 
reasons for despair? Self-despair, indeed, grows out of it; but no 
other. There is a hope in Israel concerning this thing. W^e liave a 
resource, and it is accessible ; and we are conuTianded to "be strong 
in the Lord, and in the power of his might." 

When we plead for this doctrine, we are often charged witli enthu- 
siasm. But the Scripture asserts, that we are his workmanship, 
created in Christ Jesus ; that it is God who worketh in us to will and 
to do of his good pleasure ; that hereby we know that he abideth in 
us by the Spirit which he hath given us. And we retort the charge 
upon those that would exclude this influence. For what is enthusi- 
asm, but visionary hope, groundless expectation? And what can be 
more delusive, than looking for an end, without suitable and adequate 
jneans? a mighty effect, without a more powerful cause? a prac- 
tice, the most alien from our depraved nature, without a divine prin- 
ciple? a gathering of grapes from thorns, and figs from thistles? 
And this i-rthe case with those who deny the operations of tliat grace 
which is alone sufllcient lor us. We allow that we draw the charac- 
ter of the Christian high, and expect from him great things; that he 
Khould be renewed in the Ri)irit of his mind ; that he should walk by 
faith, and not by siglit ; that he siiould overcome the world, and have 
his conversation m heaven. But then we have means answerable to 



MARCH 10. 107 

ail tills ; we have a principle adequate to the practice ; and wc have 
a cause far superior to all these grand results. - We allow that the 
TSp'ork of a Christian, as it is described in the Bible, looks fitter for an 
angel than for a fallen, weak man ; but this fallen, weak rnan has 
rnorc than the sufficiency of an angel for the discharge of it — his suf- 
llcicncy is of God ! ^ 

"■ Such a discovery, such an assurance is necessary. We are de- 
praved creatures, and must be conscious of it ; we have inward re- 
pugnancies to spiritual duties; we are surrounded with outward dif 
liculties; on the side of sin there is number, example, constant soli- 
citation ; our slothful heart cries, " There is a lion in the way : I shall 
be slain in the streets," With all this known and felt, who could 
enter a religious course with pleasure or vigor, without the certainty 
of effectual aid ? Possibility, probability, is not enough ; mere hope 
is not enough ; our hands hang down, our knees tremble, our very 
souls are chilled, unless we have a full and express persuasion that 
God will be witli us and bear us through. And here, therefore, he 
meets us, and says, " Fear not, for 1 am with thee; be not tlismayed, 
for I am thy God ; I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee, yea, 
I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Rely on 
me. Nothing is too hard for the Lord. I can enlighten the darkest 
undrrstanding. I can turn the heart of stone to flesh. Take hold of 
my fr-trength, and be more than a conqueror. I will never leave thee, 
nor forsake thee.'' ^'"■"^ -- .— - — 

At the sound of this animation, every thing revives in me, like ve- 
getation at the call of spring. 1 am filled with confidence and cou- 
rage — weak in myself^, I am strong in another^ and almighty in the 
God of my salvation. 

And is it not better for me that I should be a constant suppliant at 
the mercy-seat, than have no reasons for calling upon God, being able 
to do witliout him ? Is it not better lor me to depend upon the God of 
all grace for the continual supplies of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, than 
to have a fund of my own ? The sufficiency lodged in me must have 
been limited and fLiite: but in the Lord, Jehovah I have everlasting 
strength. I can rely upon his word — I could not trust in my own 
heart. I can never be so willing to supply my.self, as he is ready to 
euc^^or me. 

"Though in ourselves we have no stock, | " The door flies open when we knock, 
'• The L^rd is uigh to save ; , " And 'tis but iuk, and have." 



March 10.— « Will a man rob God ?"— Malachi, iil, 8. 

— Is It probable? Is it possible? 

Can he be so disingenuous ? What ! rob a flither, a friend a bone- 
factor! The best of all fathers! The kindest of all friends! The man 
generous of all benefactors! 

Can he bo so daring? To rob a Being so high and sacred, and 
whose glory so enhances the offence? To injure a fellow-subject if» 
felony; but to injure the king is treason. To steal from a man is 
injustice ; but to steal from God is sacrilege : and the Avretch add* 
profaneness to violence, when he breaks, not into a house, but a tem» 
pie, and takes off tilings dedicated to the service of the Deity. 



108 MARCH 10. 

Can he be so irrational ? To rob a Being — not absent, for he never 
is absent, but in his presence — not in the night, but in the day ; for 
darkness and hght are both ahke to him — not when he sees not, 
observes not, but while he is looking on, and must look on — for his 
eyes are upon the ways of man, and he pondereth all his goings ! 

Can he be so desperate? To rob One who can, who will punish ; 
and whose punishment is not only unavoidable, but intolerable ? It 
is a fearful thing to lall into the hands of the living God. 

Yet, says God, and he cannot be mistaken, or accuse unrighteously, 
" Ye have robbed vie." But on whom falls the charge ? A Pharaoh 
only, who would not let the people go? A Nebuchadnezzar, who 
carried away the vessels of the sanctuary ? A Belshazzar who pro- 
faned them ? An Ananias and a Sapphira, who kept back part of 
the property they had sold ? A Herod, who beheaded John? Or a 
Nero, who slew Paul ? Alas ! the criminals were less obvious cha- 
racters, and are found much nearer home ; they are to be found in 
our own houses — they are to be found in the house of God. 

Who has not robbed God oi^ property 7 Our wealth is not our 
own. We are only stewards. It looks suspicious when a gentle- 
man's steward becomes very rich, and dies affluent. It is even so 
with professors of religion. It would be better for them to die com- 
paratively poor ; it would be better for their reputation, and for their 
relations; a little would be more efficient than a large accumulation 
embezzled from God. Substance is intrusted to its occupiers for cer- 
tain purposes plainly laid down in the Scripture ; and the providence 
of God is perpetually calling upon you for it. Do you discharge 
these claims ? or do you alienate from them by hoarding or extrava- 
gance ? How much do some unjustly expend in table luxuries, in 
costly dress, in magnificent furniture ? And they are fond of dis- 
playing these. They have little reason. They glory in their shame— 
for Ihese are all robberies. They are purloined from God's cause, or 
God's poor. 

Who has not robbed God of tune? The Sabbath he expressly 
claims forhimself, and it is called the Lord's day. Have we not often 
robbed him of much of this — perhaps of all — by worldly accounts, 
by evil company, by idle visits, by doing our own ways, and finding 
our own pleasures?" Youth is the morning, the spring of life ; it is 
our best season, and, therefore, God has a right to it, and calls upon 
us to remember his demands. But have we not partially or whollj^ 
robbed him of these days, squandeiing them away in vanity, folly, 
and vice ? All our moments and opportunities are his, and lie com- 
mands us to redeem the time ; but who lays to heart the brevity and 
uncertainty of life? Who values it as "the day of salvation ?" 
Who seizes it as the only season of usefulness ? Who rises early ? 

" Where is that thrift, that avarice of time, 

" (O glorious avarice !) tliought of deatii inspires?" 

Where is lie in all our ways, who said, " I must work the work of 
Him that sent me while it is day ; the night cometh wherein no man 
can work." 

Who has not robbed him of the heart ? This was made for him, 
and he demands it: " My son, give me thine heart." But the fear 
of the heart, the confidence of the heart, the gratitude of the heart, 



MARCH 11. 109 

ilie attachment of the heart, we have transferred to the creature from 
tlie Creator, God over all, blessed for evermore. , , , 

And may not the same be said of our talents— whether learnmg, 
or the powers of conversation, or the retentiveness of memory, or our 
infiaence over others ? Let us not affect to deny the charge, and ask 
wherein have we robbed thee ? But let us repair to the lootstool ol 
Mercy, and cry, " If thon, Lord, shouldest mark miquity, O Lord, 
who shall stand ?" ^ ^ , „ , j -.u 

But there is forgiveness with Him that he may be {eared, and with 
him there is plenfeous redemption. Tliere is. And we may, and we 
ouo-ht to approach him with the encouragement ot hope. But thi3 
hope must be founded on his own invitations and promises. It must 
brino- us " unto God by Him,'' who said, " No man cometh unto the 
Father but by me." To pray to God to save such creatures ni any 
other way, is to disobey his dearest command, and to affront and 
msult him, by beseeching him to be untrue and unrighteous; to frus- 
trate his grace, and to make Jesus Christ to be dead in vain. But in 
him he can be just, and yet the justifier. He can redeem Jacob, and 
gloritv himself in Israel. 

We shall also be turned away from all iniquity ; for he that con- 
fesseth and forsaketh his sin, shall find mercy. We shall also sor- 
row after a godly sort ; and instead of complaining of any of them, 
we shall acquiesce in all the methods of his grace and providence— 
and remember, and be confounded, and never open our mouth more, 
because of our shame, when He is pacified toward us for all that we 
have done. 



March 11.—" I will mention the loving kindnesses of the Lord."— Isaiah, 
Ixiii. 7. 

There are three ways in which we should resolve to do this. To 
others. To ourselves. And to God. ^ , t j • 

To others we should mention the loving kindnesses of the Lord in 
the way of conversation, " Let no corrupt communication," says 
tlie apostle, " proceed out of your mouth ;" but where there is nothing 
immoral or indecent, there may yet be much that is trifling and vain; 
he therefore adds, " But that which is goo-J, to the use of edifying, 
that it may minister grace unto the hearers." And here is a subject 
for discourse, not only innocent, but profitable. A saying, not only 
faithful, but\vorthy of all acceptation, and such as Moses and Elias 
would delight to join in were they in company with us. We should 
ajso mention them to others, in a way of recommendation. Some 
are convinced of sin, and ready to despair, and nothing but the ex- 
ceeding riches of this grace can keep them from it. And some are 
seeking happiness wiiere we know they can never find it. Let us, 
therefore, say to them, " Wherefore do ye spend money for that 
which is not bread, and your labor for that which satisfieth not ? 
Hearken diligently unto mc^, and eat ye that which is good, and let 
your soul delight itself in fatness." "O taste and see that the Lord 
is good ; blessed is the man that trusteth in him." This coming from 
our own experience, and enforced by our own example, may save a 
soul from death. Especially, too, if we can bear a final testimony 



110 MARCH 11. 

to the truth, and say, with the departing Henry, "' You have heard 
the dying words of many — These are mine : 1 have found a hfe ol 
communion with Christ the happiest hfe in the world." 

— We sliould also mention the loving kindnesses of God to our- 
selves. There is such a thing as self-converse ; and we wish it were 
more common. It is said, fools taliv much to themselves — but wise 
men wiU talk more. David enjoins this : '' Commune with your own 
heart upon your bed, and be still :" and he also was an example of it; 
" I commune with my own heart, and my spirit made diligent search." 
Yet the Lord will command his loving kindness in the day-time, and 
in the night his song shall be with me. Hence he chides his own 
soul : " Why art thou cast dowm, O my soul ? and why art thou dis- 
quieted within me? Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise him who 
Is the health of my countenance, and my God." Are you discouraged 
by your unworthiness, and thegreatnessof your guilt? Bring bctbre 
your minds the freeness and fullness of his mercy and his loving kind- 
nesses to others, who had no more claim upon him than yourselvea 
Are you in trouble? Recal nis goodness in former difficulties; and say, 
O my desponding soul ! 

"Did ever trouble yet befall, I " And'^ias lie not his promise pass'd, 

"And he refuse to hoar thy call? | "Tliat thou shalt overcome at last? " 

Mention them also to yourselves, to excite you to imitation. Has he 
been so ready to forgive, and daily loaded me with his benefits? and 
shall I, O my soul, be implacable and uncharitable ? Let me be a 
follower of God. Let me be merciful, even as my Father who is in 
heaven is merciful. 

— We should mention his loving kindnesses to God himself, in the 
various exercises of devotion. In expostulating with him: "Look 
down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness 
and of tliy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of 
thy bowels, antl of thy mercies toward me ? are they restrained ?•' 
In pleading with him: If we fill our mouth with arguments, they 
must be fetched from his own goodness; "For thy name's sake, O 
Lord, pardon mine iniquity, for it is great." In praying for our- 
selves: "I stretch forth my liands unto thee: my soul -thirsteth after 
thee, as a thirsty land. Hear me speedily, O Lord ; my spirit faileth ; 
hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into 
the pit. Cause me to hear thy loving kindness in the morning; for 
in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should Avalk ; 
for I lift up my soul unto thee. Deliver me, O Lord, from mine ene- 
mies; I flee unto thee to hide me. Teach me to do thy will; lor 
thou ail my God : thy Spirit is good ; lead me into the land of up- 
rightness, duicken me, O Lord, for thy name's sake : for thy rigb.t- 
eousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble." In interceding for 
others — the conversion of our kindred, the salvation of sinners, the 
prosperity of the Church : " Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion ; 
build thou the walls of Jerusalem." In thanksgiving: "O Lord, I 
will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger ia 
turned away, and thou comfortest me.'^ 

Alas! how seldom does God hear this from us! There was a time 
wlicn this heavenly exej-ciee commenced — and O that it had been 



MARCH 12. Ill 

earlier 1 But it will never end. They that dwell in his house will 
be still praising Him. 

Because my finite capacit}^ will not admit of blessedness infinite in 
the degree, it shall be infinite in the duration ; and, by happy reviews oi' 
the past, and unbounded prospects of the future, I shall feel perpetually 
growing beatitudes, and shall be always singing a new song. My 
mourning days, and my warring days, and my watchiiig days, and 
my praymg days, will soon be past. But, 

"My days of praise shall ne'er be past, 
" While life, or breath, or being last, 
" Or imniortality eudures." 



March 12. — " By love serve one another." — Galatiaus v, 13. 

This admonition implies our connexion with, our dependence upon, 
and our obligation to, each other. The service it enjoins is levied 
upon all, without exception, and is to be displayed in every way in 
which we can afford each other assistance. 

But let me observe what it requires as the principle of the practice. 
Love. " By love serve one another." 

The principle may be wanting, where the service is not. And this 
may be easil}^ proved and exemplified. A man has a sum of money 
to dispose of. He hears of a person by whom it is desired, and to 
whom it will be useful, and he advances it on proper security. But is 
the borrower's need, or his own gain the motive? A hospital is built 
tor the reception of poor patients. A rich man in the neighborhood 
becomes a subscriber and a patron. •' He is so charitable !" Nay ; he 
wishes to maintain the character of a man of liberality ; and he fears 
appearing to disadvantage when compared Avith the 'Squire, or Sir 
Thomas. Hence some who ^ive, give in a way that will be sure to 
make it known ; they therefore impart it through the medium of 
some other — in spite of the admonition, not to let the left hand know 
what the right hand doeth. Some would never give, if the name 
was not printed Some connect themselves with public institutions, 
and labor to establish and enlarge them, who would individually do 
nothing — but here they are put upon the committee, and gain dis- 
tinction. But love seeketh not her own. It regards only the good of 
tiie recipient. There are four reasons why we should serve from this 
principle. 

First. Without it, the service has no value or excellency in the 
sight of God. It may be useful to the beneficiary; but it will be 
nothing to the benefactor. Though I speak with the tongue of men 
and of angels, and give all my goods to feed the poor, and even give 
my body to be burnt, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing. 
The Lord looketh to the heart ; if this be right, the least service is 
regarded by him; and where it is not, the most costly sacrifices ara 
disdained. " For if ye love them which love you, what thank have 
ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good 
to them which do good to 5^ou, what thank have ye? for siimers also 
do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to n> 
ceive, what thank have ye ? for sinners also lend to sinnei-s, to re- 
ceive as much again. But love yc your enemies, and do good, and 
lend, hoping for nothing again ; and your reward shall be great, and 



112 MARCH 12. 

ye shall be the children of the Highest, for he ie kind unto the un- 
thankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father 
also is merciful." 

Secondly. This will render the service pleasing to the performer. 
It is the nuture of love to make even difficult things easy, and bitter 
ones sweet. This made the seven years of hard labor, which Jacob 
served for Rachel, seem to him as so many days. Every thing fol- 
lows the heart, not only really, but cheerfully. 

Thirdly. What is done Irom love will excel in the manner. Being 
done willingly and pleasantly, it will be done more gracelully and 
welcomely. What a man does gmdgingly he does disagreeably, 
liarshly, repulsively. He puts on a norUieast face, turns himself half 
round, muruiurs and complains; perhaps reproaclies too ; and if he 
3'icld3 at last, you feel no more obliged than if he refused. The un- 
gracious, unfeeling mode, spoils the thing. Men may act the hy- 
pocrite, but it is almost impossible, without love, to act courteously 
and kindly. Btit where love actuates, tlie sufferer is not insulted 
while he is relieved. Alms are not flung at him instead of being 
given. The w^ound of distress is not torn open, but gently touched 
with an angel-hand. Oh, I have seen, I have heard some, refuse en- 
tirely, or in a degree, in a way that has soothed, and even satisfied 
the unsuccessful petitioner — " I wish it was in my power — I lament 
my inability — I wish this trifle was ten times more — such as it is, the 
blessing of God go with it, and with thee," I Avonder not that love 
is called a grace^ I am sure it deserves the name, not only for its 
origin, but for its carriage and behavior. 

Lastly. This will make the service /nore efficient. It will con- 
stantly excite us, and we shall think Ave have done nothing Avhile 
any thing remains to be done. For love is generous ; it does not stand 
conditioning. It Avill iwt be stinted by iTiles and set measures, it does 
not Avant urgings and excitements, like reluctance and taskings. The 
])erson influenced by love cannot, Avithout shame, sit and enjoy the 
luxuries of his table Avhile penury and distress are his next door neigh- 
bors. He .cannot go out of his road to preserve his sensibility from 
being shocked at the sight of a bleeding traveller. He will let his 
eye affect his heart. He Avill not say to the hungry and naked, Be 
ye Avarmed, and be ye fed, while he giA-es them not such things as 
are needful. He Avill give to his poAver, yea, and beyond his poAA'er, 
if some AA-ere to judge. He Avill not incapacitate himself for benefi- 
cence, by indulging extravagance of any kind. He Avill labor Avith 
his oAA^n hands, and guide his affairs with discretion, to mcrease his 
means. He Avill not grow AA^eary in AA^ell-doing. and Avhen he meets 
with instances of ingratitude, though he Avill lament the depravity, 
he Avill not suffer them to justify illiberality. 

'* All this is trying and difficult." It is. And therefore love is ne- 
cessary. " By love serA'e one another." 

This sweet little A-erse, if univ^ersally acted upon, would imme- 
diately turn this earth into a paradise. " Oavc no man," therefore, 
" any thing, but to love one another ; for he that loveth another, hath 
fulfilled the laAA\" And the Gospel too; for "the end of the com- 
mandment is charity, out of a pure heart and a good conscience, and 
faitli unfeigned." 



MARCH 13. 113 

— You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Chritt. How did he, in 
the face of our un worthiness, and Ibreseeing our sad returns, how 
did he look at Betiilehcm and Calvary ; how did he, by love, serve 
us? Be ye, therefore, followers of God, as dear children: and walk in 
love, as Christ also loved us, and gave himself for us, an offering and 
a sacrifice to God of a sweet-smell iiig savor. 



Makch 13. — "When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and 
eeest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of 
them; for the Lord thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of tlie 
land of Egypt." — Deut. xx, 1. 

Israel was now a camp, rather than a nation. Though Canaan 
was given them, they were to take and defend it by force of arms. 
Hitherto they had seen little of war, having had only a few brushes 
in their journey with inferior adversaries. But things would soon be- 
come more serious ; and they would see horses and chariots, and a peo- 
ple more than themselves. Hence they would be liable to alarm ; and it 
was necessary for them to know what they had to embolden them. 
Moses therefore admonishes and encourages them, and both tlie ad- 
monition and encouragement will apply to ourselves. 

Religion is a state of conflict. All Christians are soldiers. They 
wage, indeed, a good warfare. It will bear examination. Every thing 
commends it, and every thing requires it ; it is not only a just, but a 
necessary war ; all that is valuable is at stake ; and we must conquer 
or die. But it is a trying warfare. It continues through every season, 
and in every condition. It is here admitted, that the forces of their 
enemies may be very superior to their own, in number, wisdom, vigi- 
lance, and might. 

Hence the danger of apprehension and alarm. And fortitude is 
the virtue of a warrior, and none needs it more than the man who 
wrestles with all the powers of darkness. And none has more grounds 
for courageousness than he. If he considers his foes and himself only, 
his confidence must fail him ; but he has something else to consider. 

First, The Divine presence : " For the Lord thy God is with thee." 
And, " How many," said Antigonas to his troops, dismayed at the 
numbers of the foe, " How many do you reckon me for ?" But God is 
all-wise, and almighty. Nothing is too hard for the Lord ; and if 
He be with us, " they that be with us are more than they that be 
with them." " Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the 
world." 

Secondly, His agency : " Who brought thee up out of the land of 
Egypt." This, to the Jew, was not only a proof, but a pledge ; it 
not only showed wdiat he could do, but was a voucher of what he 
would do. For He is always the same, and will not suffer what he 
has done to be undone. It would have been strange, after opening 
them a passage through the sea, to have drowned them in Jonian. 
What v.'Ould he have done for his great Name, after placing himseli 
at their head to lead them to the Land of Promise, if he had suffered 
tliem to be overcome by the way? He who begins tlie good work, 
is not only able to finish, but begins it for the very purpose. " He 
that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall 
he not with him also freely give us all things ?" '■ For if, when we 



114 MARCH 14. 

were, enemies, we v-ere rcccncile'l to God by the dcatli of his Son ; 
much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." 

*' Grace will complete wliat grace begins, I " The work that Wisdom undnrtakos, 
" To save from sorrows or from sins ; j " Eternal Mercy ne'er forsakes." 



March 14. — " That I may Avin Christ." — Philippians, iii, 8. 

Is this the language of Paul ? Is he the candidate for Christ •^ 
How well might he say, that in the subjects of Divine Grace old 
things are ])assed away, and all things are become new. What a 
change must have taken place in his own experience! Compare 
the man with himself. Now a blasphemer of the name of Jesus, 
and now asking, at his feet, " Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?" 
Now persecuting his followers, and now preaching the faith that 
once he destroyed. Now living a Pharisee, and boasting of his 
Jewish privileges and attainments; now saying, AVhat things were 
gain to me, these I count loss for Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I 
count all things but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of 
Christ Jesus my Lord ; for whom I hav. suffered the loss of all 
things, and do count them but dung, that I may icin Christ. 

But had he not won him already 7 Yes, for many years he had 
known, and served, and enjoyed him. But intense affection makes us 
think that we are never sure enough of the object. Intense delight 
in any good, makes us long after more fruition. There is this diffe- 
rence between a convinced sinner and an experienced believer in 
Christ ; the former desires only from a sense of want ; the latter de- 
sires also from the relish of the enjoyment; for/te has tasted that the 
Lord is gracious, and hence he the more earnestly cries, Lord, ever- 
more give me this bread, for taste provokes appetite. Advancement, 
by increasing knowledge, and improving skill, produces humility and 
dissatisfaction. Hence the nearer any one approaches completeness 
in any thing, the more easily he discerns, and the more mortify ingly 
he teels his remaining deficiencies. And no wonder, therefore, the 
apostle should here say, " I have not attained, I am not already per- 
fect ;" for here, so immense is the blessing, that wdiat is possessed 
will never bear a comparison with what remains ; and as the object 
is infinite, and the faculty finite, there will always be a possibility of 
addition, and the happiness derivable from the Savior will not only 
be eternal, but eternally increasing. 

But is this prize attainable by us ? How is He placed before us In 
the Scripture ? Is He exhibited only to our view, or proposed to our 
hope ? Are not all allowed, invited, commanded to seek him ? And 
all without e.Tcepiion ? And could anij be condemned for rejecting 
him, if he was not placed within their reach ? 

But what is necessary to make him our own ? Not clcsa't. Wit- 
ness the characters of those who are encouraged to hope in him ; he 
came to seek and to save that which was lost ; He died for the 
ungodly. Indeed, if any meritorious qualifications were to be pos- 
fcessed. or conditions to be performed, in order to our obtaining him, 
our case would be desperate. 

But desire is necessary. Ask, and ye shall have ; seek, and ye 
ehall find. Warrant is one thing, disposition is another : unless we 
are convinced of our need of him, we cannot long after him j and 



MARCH IG. 115 

unlets we value liim, the blcs-sing could not gratify and content us if 
ac^^juired. 

Sacrifice is, tlieref»)re, needful ; and when the desire is supremely 
nrgent and active, and nothing can be a substitute for the object we 
ehull be readv to part with whatever stands in competition with him. 
Hence we read in the Scripture of seHing all to buy the pearl of great 
price. Buying, here, does not signify giving an equivalent for him— 
who could think of this ? But, as in buying, something is parted 
with for the purpose, so it is here. And whether it be the pride ot 
reason, or selt-righteousness, or our worldly connexions and interest^, 
or our sins, that°keep us back from him, Ave must forsake them all 
and follow him. And shall we not be more, infinitely more than 
indemnified, if we xcin Christ ? 



March 15.—" That I may win Christ."— Fhilippians, iii, 8. 

— A^-D what a prize is He ! The tongue of men and of angels 
would infinitely fiiil to do i///??. justice. The sacred writers, though 
inspired, labor lor lansruage and imagery to aid us to conceive a little 
of his worth. He islhe hone, the Savior, the consolation, the glory 
of his people Israel. He is Lord of all. In Him all fullness dwells. 
In winning Him we gain all pure, spiritual, durable, satisfying good ; 
a way to God ; a justifying righteousness; a sanctifying Spirit; a 
sufficiency of grace to help in time of need ; a peace that passeth all 
understanding ; a joy that is unspeakable and full of glory ; we are 
blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. 

If an ancient philosopher had been asked, what one thing would 
entirely have met all his wants, and satisfied all his hopes and de- 
sires? he w^ould have been at a loss for an answer. But ask a 
Christian this question, and, without a moment's hesitation, he replies, 
" All I need, all I wish, is to win Christ." Let me attain Him, and 
I shall — I can look no further. 

How blessed, then, is the whinner I He is happy now. Happy 
alone. Happy in trouble Happy in death. How much more happy 
Avill he be hereafter ! By this acquisi'^on he is raised above the con- 
dition of Adam in Paradise— above the estate of angels in heaven. 
His portion is to be judged of by what Christ is, and has — ibr he 
has gained Him — he has won Christ ! ! 

But how foolish the despiser! How poor! How wretched! How 
miserable in time ! How much more miserable in eternity ! How 
can we escape, if we neglect so great salvation ? O my soul, hear 
him and live—" He that findeth me, findeth life : and shall obtain 
favor of the Lord ; but be that sinneth against me, wrongeth his own 
Boul ; all they that hate me, love death." 



March 16. — " When it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's 
womb, and called me by his grace." — Galatians, i, 15. 

Paul is here referring to two events— his natural birth, and his 
spiritual birth ; the one connecting him with the world, the other 
with the church. The former of these is common to all men ; the 
latter is confined to a few. The former affords us no security from 



il6 MARCH 16. 

the wrath to come, " Because they are a people of no nnderstandiiig, 
therefore he that made them will not have inercy on them, and he 
that formed them will show them no favor." Tlie latter makes us 
heirs according to the hope of eternal liie. 

Both these, therefore, are important ; hut the one is far more 
momentous than the other. The multitude do not think so. They 
keep the day of their birth, and are thankful for the continuance of 
Jile ; but never inquire, Has He, who separated me from my mother's 
womb, called me by his grace ? Has He made me not only a crea- 
ture, but a new creature ? Am I not only a partaker ol that life 
whose days are few and evil, hut the life which the just live by faith, 
and which shall endure for ever 1 

Yes, this is the main thing. And you will deem it so when con- 
science shall be awakened ; when heart and flesh shall fail, and the 
cold hand of deatli lays hold of you, to bring you into the presence 
of the Judge of all. To this, tlierefore, attend, and regard it without 
delay. We would not have you indifferent to the beauties of Nature, 
and the bounties of Providence ; but let it be your chief concern to 
be blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. 
Say, with David, " I will praise thee ; for 1 am fearfully and won- 
derfully made ; marvellous are thy worKs ; and that my soul know 
eth right well." But O, rest not satisfied till you can say, with Paul, 
" He called me by his grace." 

Regeneration is necessary. The nature of religion demands it. 
The nature of God demands it. The nature of heaven demands it. 
Ye mitst be born again. Observe again. Paul, you see, had been 
born twice ; and if you are not born twice before you die once, it had 
been good for you if you had never been born. Those born once 
only, die twice — they die a temporal, and they die an eternal death. 
But those who are born twice, die only once — for on them the second 
death hath no power. 

Paul was as fully persuaded of his being called by grace, as he 
was of his having been separated from his mother's womb. What a 
satisfaction must this be to the assured individual! All are not 
equally privileged. Some have fears concerning their conversion. 
But even this anxiety is a token for good. And let them remember, 
that there is a certainty attainable not only in Christian doctrine, 
but in Christian experience; and give all diligence to the full assu- 
rance of hope unto the end. Let them wait on the Lord and keep 
his way, and read the things that are written unto them that believe 
en the name of the Son of God, tliat they may know that they have 
eternal life. 

— Little, when Paul v/as born, did any know what he was destined 
to be. The father embraced him, the mother forgot her anguish, for 
joy that a man was born into the world. His birth was no way dis- 
tinguished from any other. His religious friends could not look into 
the future, nor conjecture the powei's he was to develope, the space 
he v;as to occupy in history, the labors he was to perform, the advan- 
tages he was to render the human race to the end of time ; nothing 
of all this could they foresee in this helpless babe. But here was the 
acorn of the oak. God sees the end from the beginning. Gamaliel's 
pupil, the zealous Pharisee, the bloody persecutor, the praying peni- 



MARCH 17. 



117 



t.eut, the Christian disciple, the inspired apostle — all, all were presem 
to His view when He separated him from his mother's womb. And 
even then He had done virtually what He did actually in the jour- 
ney to Damascus — call him by liis grace. Time is nothing wiih 
Him. Design is accomplishment. Every thing has its season. All 
the circumstances of life, and godliness; of our birth, and our con- 
version, are arranged by Infinite Wisdom and Goodness. Just and 
true are all thy ways, O thou King of saints. He hath done all 
tliinsrs well. 



Heaven, earth, and sea, and fire, and wiud, 
" Show me thy v/onderous skill; 
But I review mysell', and find 
•' Piviuer wonders still. 



Tliy awful glories round me shine ; 
" My flesh proclaims thy prai.-c: 
Lord, to thy works of Nature join 
" Thy miracles of grace." 



i\Iarch 17. — " The same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon 
hiin." — Romans, x, 12. 

Power and benevolence are rarely united in our fellow creatures. 
Here is one who has abundance, but he has no disposition to do good ; 
he turns away his ear from hearing the poor, and seems to live as if 
he was born ibr himself only. Yea, the disposition often decreases 
as the capacity increases; so that there are some who not only give 
less comparatively, but less really, than they did v.hen they were 
poorer. Then it hard'y seemed worth their while to be covetous and 
to hoard, but now they have the means, and the temptation conquers 
them ; and in their commerce of charity, silver is used instead of geld, 
and co[)per instead of silver. On the other hand, there is many u 
one who has bowels of mercies, but he can only pity and shed una- 
vailing tears over victims of distress. He is compelled to say only. 
Be ye warmed and be ye filled, for he has it not in his hand to give 
such things as are needful for our body — his hand is shortened that 
it cannot save, though his ear is not heavy that it ca.nnot hear. But 
some few there are, in whom the means, and the mind to use them, 
are found united. The Lord increase their number ! These are little 
images of Himself, in whom we equally find greatness and goodness, 
the resources and the readiness of compassion. " He is over all, and 
he is rich unto all that call upon him." 

Let me look at his greatness. He is over all. All beings of every 
rank are under his absolute control. He rules over all material 
agents; over all a ?i//7?aZ agents; over all human agents ; over the 
best of men ; the greatest of men ; the worst of men : over all invisible 
agents; over devils; over angels; over departed spirits. He is Lord 
both of the dead and the living. How astonishing tlien are his pos- 
sessions and his dominions ! A nation seems a great thing to us. But 
what is the greatest nation to our earth? And what is our earth to 
t;he luminaries of heaven? Many of these are discernible by the 
naked eye. When this fails, art assists nature ; and Herschel seems 
innumerably more. When the telescope {'m\s, the imagination plunges 
into the immensity beyond, and we exclaim, Lo ! these are parts' of 
his wa3-s. But how small a portion is known of Him. 



" And will this miglity Lord 
" Of glorv condescmul ; 



And will he write my name. 
" My Father and my Fnead ?" 



118 MARCH 17. 

Yes, for his mercy equals his majesty — and the same Lord who m 
over all, " is rich unto all that call upon him." His goodness has 
three characters. 

First. It is plenteous. '' He is rich unto all that call upon him." 
Some, if they are bountiful, are poor in bounty. And this appeara 
not only in the smallness of their gifts, but in the mode of giving. It 
seems do.ie by constraint, not willingly and of a ready mind. It does 
not drop iiom them as honey from the comb, or flow like water from 
a spring — it seems an unnatural cfibrt. You feel no more rejpect 
v.hen they give much, than when they give little; every thing like 
nobleness is destroyed by the manner ; the meanne.-^s of the diFposition 
is betrayed, and the poor spirited mortal can no more give kindly 
and generously than a clown caji dance gracefully. But the Lord 
God is a sun ; He gives grace and glory ; and no good thing will he 
withhold. He is abundant in goodness and in truth. He abundantly 
pardons. And while he gives liberally he upbraideth not. 

Secondly. It is impartial. He is rich 2mio all that call upon him. 
For there is no difTerence between Jew and Greek. And the same 
v/ill appl}' to sex, and age, and calling, and condition, and character. 
The proclamations of divine grace exclude none, whatever be their 
circumstances — and it is well they do not. If any were excluded, 
awakened souls would be sure to find themselves among the excep- 
tions. But what exceptions can any find when they read, " Preach 
the Gospel to every creature;" " Whosoever will, let him take of the 
water of life freely." Evangelical mercy is like Noah's ark; that 
took in the clean and the unclean, only with this difference in tavor 
of the truth of the above type: there all the beasts came out as they 
went in; whereas, if a man be in Christ, he is a new creature. He 
changes all he receives, and sanctifies all he saves. 

Thirdly. It is wise. He is rich unto all that call upon him. This 
is required, and cannot be dispensed with. Not because God wills it; 
hut because it seemeth good in his sight. He knows that we should 
never praise him lor blessings Avhich we do not value; and that we 
never could be made happy by them ; for that which gratifies is some- 
tliing that relieves our want, fulfils our desire, accomplishes our hope, 
and crowns our endeavors. God's Ava}-, therefore, is to make us sen- 
sible of our state, and to cause us to hunger and thirst after righteous- 
ness; and then we shall be filled: for whoso a-^keth receiveth;and he 
that seeketh, findeth ; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. 

God reveals himself, not only for our encouragement, but imitation ; 
and vain is our confidence in him without conformitj^ to him. There- 
fore, says the apostle. Be ye followers of God, as dear children. How ? 
In what? and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and given 
himseli'for us, an oflering and a sacrifice to God lor a swcet-srneliing 
sa/or. Men would be like God, as the greatest of beings; but we are 
to be like him, as the best of beings. They vcould resemble him in 
his natural perfections; but we are to resemble him in his moral. 
They would, as He is, be over all, and gladly have every thing at 
their own disposal ; but we are to be holy, and true, a. id patient, and 
forgiving, and tender, as He is; and, according to our resources, to he 
rich unto all that call ujxtn us. 



MARCH 18. 119 

March 18.— " Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at 
the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour." — Acts, iii, 1. 

TiiK a&sociatea here were Peter and John. We should not have 
noticed this paiticulaily, did we not find them so frequently and con- 
stantly together in the Scripture. The instances wdl readily occur 
to all atte7itive readers of the New Testament. But the reasons ol 
this peculiar intimacy are not mentioned. Each of the two had a 
brotlier among the Apostles. But there is an amity superior to rela- 
tionship; there is a Iriend that sticketh closer than a brother. It ia 
commonly supjosed, that those who attract each other and unite, 
very much resemble ea h other: whereas, Peter and John seem to 
have been more dissimilar than any other two of the Apostles that 
could have been selected. But may not the unlikeness be considered 
as me of the causes of this friendship? Peter knew the excellencies 
of John were the opposites to his imperfections, and would tend to 
rectify them. Peter was eager and severe. John was more patient 
and affectionate. Peter was the hand, John the eye — but they were 
the more mutually necessary to each other. 

Peter had denied his Lord, and rendered his attachment to him 
quei^lionable. Perhaps John had been m.ore compassionate toward 
him after his fall, and more ready to restore him in the spirit of meek- 
ness. David, after his backsliding, prayed, " Let them that fear Thee 
turn unto me" — and some do this much more freely than others. 

But connexions and intimacies are not always accountable: they 
often depend on things impossible for us to describe ; they come from 
God, who has peculiar purposes to answer, and link us together by 
invisible chains. See an instance of this. "It came to pass, when 
he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul ol Jonathan 
v/as knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own 
soul. Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved 
him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himseli of the robe that 
was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his 
sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle." Though an heir apparent, 
Jonathan was at once attached to a man who was to exclude him 
fi-oni the succession: but the thing vv'as of the Lord. How often do 
we read of God's giving a man favor in the eyes of another. 

We have here a word in recommendation of friendship. It ia 
sanctioned by Scripture and example. It is not good for man to bo 
adone ; but we are not required to put even every one we love into our 
bosom. Peter had many colleagues, but one companion, one friend. 

The'r friendship was religious; and instead of leading them to 
walk in the counsel of the ungodly, or stand in the way of sinners, 
or sit in the seat of the scorniul ; it took them to the House of God iii 
company. Those connexions are the most valuab'e in which the 
Bible IS a witness between us ; in which another world is not forgot- 
ten ; in which we are bound by faith and love which are in Christ 
Jesus; in which we walk together as heiis of the grace of life, that 
our prayers are not hindered. 

We see that public devotion has claims upon us. God has com- 
manded us not to '•forsake the assemblmg of ourselves together, a;s 
the manner of some is;" and he has said, " In all places where I re- 
cord my name, I will come unto thcej and I will bless thee." The 



120 MARCH 19. 

worship of ilie Sanctuar}'- enlivens our feelings;' endears us to each 
other; and keeps the distinctions cf life fiCm beccniiiig excc&sive. 
There the rich and the poor meet together; and seek and serve a Be 
ing with whom there is no respect of persons. Happy they who 
Jove the place where his honor dwelleth ! Let me always avail my- 
self of the duty; the privilege: and be glad when they say unto mo 
Let us go up mto the House of the Lord. 



March 19. — " Ask thy father, and he will show thee ; thy elders, and tuey 
will tell thee." — Deut. xxxii, 7. 

There is much truth in the proverb, he that v.ill learn of none but 
himself, is sure to have a fool tor his master. The way to advance 
in knowledge is to be sensible of our own deficiencies, and willing to 
avail ourselves of assistance. The cause of aU errors is pride ; for 
though we are ignorant, and unable to guide ourselves, there is an 
infallible Instructor, under whose teachings we may place ourselves. 
"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all 
men liberally, and upbraideth not ; and it shall be given h;m." 

And there are others that may be subordinately consiated : tliey 
possess, and can impart a little ol' His judgment: lor in his light they 
see light. The priests' lips should keep knowledge ; and they should 
seek the law at his mouth : lor he is the mestenger of the Lord of 
Hosts. And not only ministers, but — common Christians may le 
useful — yea, and unlearned Christians, and poor and afflicted Chiis- 
tians, who walk m.-ich with God, and draw in their irradiations im- 
mediately from the Scriptures. Indeed, there is hardly a being, how- 
ever inferior to ourselves in some respects, but being versed in others, 
can teach us something. A wise man can learn more from a foul 
than a fool will learn from a thousand wise men. The Scripture 
sends us even to the brute creation: " Ask now the beasts, and they 
shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee." 
"Go to the ant, thou sluggard ; consider her ways, and be wise." 

But I said, days should s])eak, and multitude of years should teach 
wisdom. It is true, great men are not always wise, neither do the 
aged understand judgment : yet tliey must have had many more op- 
portunities for observation and decision than ethers; and Gcd obvi- 
ously intended to place some under the tuition of others. We were 
designed to live in a state of connexion v.'ith, and dependence upon 
each other : and while the old need the strength and activeness of the 
young, the young need the prudence and counsel of the old. There- 
lore says Peter, " Ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder." 
Nothing can be more oflensive in them than sell-sufficiency. Surely 
Tney must acknowledge, that those vvho are much older than iliem- 
eelves, have at least the advantage o^ c.rpe)-ience, which is ccnmionly 
the slow growth of time, and is the most valuable of all knowledge. 
And when young people so often err in the connexions tliey form, 
and the steps they take, and the hazards they run, is it not from that 
eelf-confidence which deems advice vain ? They are not sober-mind^ 
ed: but think more highly of themselves than they ought to think. 
But what advantage do avc derive from writing and printing? The 
birds ana beasts are no wiser now than when they went to Ncah ibr 



MARCH 20. 121 

shelter, and to Adam for names. It is nearly the same with savage 
lite ; knowledge is not preserved, transmitted, and increased, for want 
of boolfs. But in consequence of them the improvements of one age 
flow into another, and the stream is continually enlarging by the 
influx of additional discoveries. By means of them we can consult 
the dead, as well as the living ; for though dead, they yet speak. 
And we can hold converse with Bacon and Boyle, with Luther and 
Leighton, and can be alone with them, and in their best m.oments, 
and wlion they are most ready to communicate. Yea, by the Scrip- 
tures we can associate Avith Paul and Isaiah, with Moses and the 
patriarchs; and can sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, 
in tlie kinordom of God. 



March 20.—" Be merciful unto me, O Lord; for I cry unto thee daily ' 

Psalra Ixxxvi,3. 

So David, though a man after God's own heart, and perhaps the 
greatest proficient in experimental and devotional piety before the 
coming of Christ, felt Ms need of mercy, and sought it daily, or every 
day, as it is in the margin. Let us follow his example, and cry daily. 

— For pardoning mercy. He is ready to forgive, and it is well for 
us he is. Who can understand his errors ? In many things we offend 
all. What omissions of duty are we chargeable with ! If our actions 
are materially good, how defective are their principle and motive! 
The sins of our holy things would condemn us. Usher, one of the 
best, as well one of the greatest of men, therefore said, He hoped to 
die with the words of the publican in his mouth, God be merciful to 
me a sinner ; and he died pronouncing them. And Paul, after eulo- 
gizing Onesiphorus so highly for his good works, adds, " The Lord 
grant that he may find me'^rcy of the Lord in that day" — he, even he, 
would need mercy — to the last, and, above all, at the last. And 
where is the man who, in prospect of that day, must not fall upon 
his knees and pray, " Enter not into judgm.ent with thy servant, O 
Lord, for in thy sight shall no flesh living be justified !" 

— Let us cry daily for sanctifying mercy. "We cannot be in a 
proper state of mind if we only see the guilt of sin, and not the pol- 
lution also ; if our fear only be excited, and not our aversion ; if we 
are concerned to be delivered from the wrath to come, but not to be 
" saved by the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the 
Holy Ghost." " I want," says the Christian, " true holiness. I want 
to bear more of the image of the heavenly. I want to be purified 
even as he is pure." 

—Let us cry daily for assisting mercy. What can we do alone in 
these trials and these duties ; in our calling as men, and our vocation 
as Christians ? W^e carmot see to-morrow with the light of to-day ; 
nor will our present food yield us future support ; we must have fresh 
supplies of light and of food. And we must have fresh supplies of 
the Spirit of Jesus Christ, to help our infirmities, to renew our strength, 
and to enable us to adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things. 
We must live in the Spirit, that we may walk in the Spirit. 

— Let us cry daily for preserving mercy. Our reputation, our sub- 
Btancc, our business, our health — every thing is exposed ; anii He is 

Vol. L 6 



122 MARCH 21. 

>^l the preserver of men. But the great thing is the eoul. To what 
dangers is not this hable ? And he who knows not only his perils, 
but himself, will not only watch, but pray, lest he enter into tempta- 
tion. He knows that God alone can keep him from failing, and that 
i without Him he can no more stand than a staff when the hand is 
\ withdrawn. And, therefore, his language will be, " Hold thou me 
' up, and I shall be sale." 

— Let us cry daily for providing mercy. He has taught us this. 
When ye pray, say, Give us day by day our daily bread. Bread 
eignifies sustenance at large ; but the word employed is wisely chosen 
to teach us moderation, and not to pray for dainties, but to be fed 
with food convenient for us. Our necessity, as well as safety, if pro- 
perly consulted, will keep us from seeking great things to ourselves. 
Nature wants but little, and grace less. 

— Let us cry daily for guiding mercy. How much depends, not 
only upon a wrong course, but even a wrong step ! It may give a 
new cast to my condition, and quarter upon me repentance for life. 
And the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man that walltcth 
to direct his steps. What a privilege that He who cannot err is as 
willing as He is able to lead me. To Him alone let me repair, and 
on him alone depend, saying, as the language both of choice and of 
confidence, TIwu shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward 
receive me to glory. Then prayer will be turned into praise, and I 
eh all sing of the mercy of the Lord for ever. 



March 21. — "The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will 
save, He will rejoice over thee with joy."— Zeph. iii, 17. 

It is obvious He can save, for He is in the midst of them, and 
mighty. Here is nearness and power ; He :s; therefore, r.ble to save 
to the uttermost — whatever be the heinousness of guilt, or the de- 
pravity of nature, or the extremity of danger, or the depth, cf distress. 
— But He ivili save — He is inclined, He is engaged. He is bound 
by promise, oath, and blood — 

— Neither docs He repent of the obligation under which He has 
been pleased to bring Himself— neither does He perf'irin the work 
with reluctance. He will save, He will rejoice over (hem with joy. 
— Are they his vineyard ? I the Lord do keep it ; I will water it 
every moment ; lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day. Are 
they his sheep ? " The Lord shall save them in that day as the flock 
of his people ; neither shall the beast of the field devour them ; but 
they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods." 

But what is this salvation? It does not exclude temporal preser- 
vation and deliverance. He knows how to deliver the godly out of 
temptation; so that if he does not find a way, he can easily make 
one. Thus he saved Joseph from prison, and David from the paw 
of the lion and the hear, and the uncircumcised Philistine, and Elijah 
from famine, and Jonah from the belly of hell. 

•• Blest proofs of power and love divine, j '' May every deep felt care of mine 
" That meet us in his word ; j " Be trusted with the l.ord." 

We are not to look for miracles, but we may look for Him who per- 
formed them; who has said, I will be with thee in trouble j and who 



MARCH 22. 123 

has all events at his control. He is always the same. His hand is 
not shortened that it cannot save ; neither is his ear heavy that it can- 
not hear. Here, however, a distinction is to he observed. Temporal 
deliverances are promised conditionally. He could not have pro- 
mised them otherwise— it would be rather a threatening than a pro- 
mise, were He to engage to relieve and indulge you, whether it be 
good for you or evil. And it mig-ht be evil ; and though you may 
not be aware of it. He can foresee it, and will prevent it ; and, there- 
fore. He has said. They that seek the Lord shall not want any good 
thing. As to your property, He can make a hedge about all that 
youliave. As to your reputation, He can hide you in the secret of 
his pavilion from the strife of tongues. As to your body, He can 
keep all your bones, so that not one of them shall be broken ; and if 
it be good lor you, He will. He must do it ; but if it would be other- 
wise, He will disappoint your wishes and hopes, and make the priva- 
tion — the privilege. 

But as to the soul! Ah ! what did you mean when you first asked, 
" What shall I do to be saved ?" When you first prayed, " Save me 
and I shall be saved ?" You thought of nothing earthly then, but of 
redemption from the curse of the law ; of deliverance from the powers 
of darkness ; of freedom from the sting of death; of release from the 
dominion and being of sin ; and it was said unto you, " Believe on 
the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." And this salvation 
is insured ; this salvation is begun. You are already justified by his 
blood, and saved from Avrath through Him. You are already renewed 
in the spirit of your mind. You have already the earnest of your 
inheritance, and taste some of the grapes of Eshcol. And as to the 
completion, now is your salvation nearer than when you believed ; 
the night is far spent; the day is at hand. And what is a^. bobide ! 
well with the soul ! well for eternity I a smiling God ! an opening 
heaven. 

" A hope to much divine, | " May trials well endure " 



Makch ^?. — " Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to 
try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you." — 1 Peter, iv. 12. 

Are we, then, before we really suffer, to suffer in imagination ; 
tormenting ourselves with gloomy fears, and embittering present 
comfort with future apprehension? No. But neither are we to in- 
dulge presumption. We are to consider difficulties, as well as advan- 
tages ; and though light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the 
eyes to behold the sun, yet we are to remember also the days of dark- 
ness, for they shall be many. If we do not admit the possibility of 
disappointment and distress, we shall, when they occur, be dismayed 
and confounded, and say, If I am his, why am I thus? What is unex- 
pected is overpowering ; it does not leave us, for the time, the use 
either of reason or religion ; and we resemble a soldier, who, while 
seeking his weapons, gives the enemy an advantage against him. 
But to be forewarned is to be forearmed ; and what we reckon upon 
in the course of an enterprise, confirms, by the event, the reasonable- 
ness of our scheme. The apostle wouUl not have us to be surprised^ 
or deem it a strange thing, even if our trial should be fiery. A strange 



124 MARCH 22. 

tiling is a thing uiilool^ed for, and which we had no rea«on to expect. 
But is this the case with our afflictions ? 

— Think of the ordinary slate of humanit5\ Man is born to trouble 
as tlic sparks fly upward ; and is it strange that he should inherit? 
How numerous and how delicate are the organs of the body, yet 
they are constantly in use, and in danger. To how many accidents 
are we exposed i How many seeds of disorder arc lodged within us ! 
Every possession makes us capable of loss ; every connexion, of be- 
reavement ; every enjoyment, of grief; every hope, of fear ; the won- 
der is, that we are ever free. 

— Hear the declaration of Scripture : " Many aro the afflictions of 
the righteous." "In the world ye shall have tribulation." " Through 
much tribulation you must enter the kingdom." Are these the true 
«?ayings of God ? 

— Trace the history of His people. However dear to God. or emi- 
nent in grace, which of them escaped ? 

" The path of sorroW; and that patli alone, 
" Leads to the land where sorrow is unknown ; 
" No traveller e'er reached that bless'd abode, 
" Who found not thorns and briers on the road." 

Is this only the language of poetry ? " What son is lie," asks the 
apostle, " whom the father chasteneth not ?" '' As many as I love," 
says God, " I rebuke and chasten." 

Consider the disposition of the world ; '• Marvel not if the world 
hate you." If they hate the light, they are not likely to love those 
who diffuse it. The principles and walk of the Christian reproach 
and condemn not only the profane, but many who would pass for re- 
ligious, but who deny the power of godliness, while they have the 
form. The mere moral and pharisaical are often the bitterest ene- 
mies of evangelical piety. The rule was onca deemed w^ithout ex- 
ception : " Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suf- 
fer persecution." The absence of it now is owing, not to the want 3I 
disposition, but power. Many things restrain it; yet it is restmined 
only in the degree. The hand is tied, but the tongue is free ; and 
how does it deal with the decided followers of the Lamb ? And what 
is the carnal mind, but enmity against God? 

— Survey the Christian's spiritual imperfections and necessities. 
Without suffering how can they resemble the Savior ? and be weaned 
from the world ? and be witnesses for God ? and be prepared for use- 
fulness? Can the welfare of the year dispense with winter? Is it a 
strange thing for the husbandman to plough up the fallow ground to 
receive the seed ? or for the vine dresser to prune the vine ? or for the 
refiner to put his gold into the furnace ? Such a needs be is there for 
all our afflictions, and he only who is ignorant of it can wonder at 
the fiery trial. 

But, Christians, while you look for it, so as not to be astonished at 
ihe experience, remember, you have enough in encourage you. He 
who died for you, and rose again, and rules over all, has made pro- 
vision for every condition in which you shall be found. As the suffer- 
ings abound, the consolation shall abound also. If the way be rough, 
Ihy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy day, so shall thy 
strength be. Till the last tear is wiped away, and all shall be peace, 
and quietness, and assurance for ever. 



1,: 
MARCH 23. 125 ^' - 

March 23.—" I kuow whom I have believed."— 2 Timothy, i, 12, j - ^ ^ 
Or trusted, as it is in the margin. And this is better, for the apostlo ; ■- - 
's referrincr to an act of confidence rather tlian behef ; and which wa^j ^ , ...^ 
expressedly his intrusting the Savior with a deposit, or committing^^^ ^^ 
his soul into his hands. • • u +1.^ 

The l<nowledo-e of which he speaks is not only, or principally, the 
knowledge he had of the Lord Jesus before he believed on him. He 
had indeed such a knowledge, and he mitst have had, for how can 
we believe on him of whom we have not heard ? Who would com- [ 
mit a iewel to a stranger ? Who would walk over a deep abyss with- 
out inquiring whether the plank was sound or rotten? Ignorance, in 
such a caserwould render confidence the act of a fool ; whereas laith 
in Christ is wisdom ; and when a man commits his etenial all to Him, 
he has the highest reason in the world for so doing. This previous 
knowledcTG, Iwwever, is derived entirely from testimony. 

But there is also a subsequent knowledge derived from experience, 
and he that believeth hath the witness in himself He knows the 
bitterness of gall, and the sweetne^^Thoney, not froni report, but 
from taste. My conscience, says he, wa^ bmthened, and 1 lound no 
relief till I applied to the Blood of Sprinkhng. Without Him I can 
do nothincr • but I know that His grace is sufficient for me ; lor 1 have 
made triaTof it, both in duty and in distress. I have read and heard 
much of His excellency ; and I have put it to the proof; He is now a 
tr'cd friend and benefactor. I have tried, much, and often. Ins power, 
faithfulness, and care, and have found them trust- worthy. 1 there- 
fore feel satisfaction in reviewing what I have done. 1 have olten 
been imposed upon, and have played the fool ; but not here. Of many 
thino-s I have repented, but the longer I live, the less I am disposed 
to repent of this. I have examined it in the retirement of the closet; 
in the lio-ht of Scripture ; in the view of death and eternity ; and the 
more I consider it, the more I approve and glory in the deed And 1 
wdl recommend the same to others; and I can speak with the bola- 
ness and earnestness of conviction, for I know whom I have believed. 
And here we see the value of this knowledge. It increases reliance 
and confidence. Hence, says David, " They that know thy name 
will put their trust in thee: i. e. they will trust with more ease and 
more firmness. Whence arise many of the doubts and fears oi Chris- 
f'an^ but from their living more upon their frames and leehngs than 
upon' the clear and full views of the truth as it is in Jesus? As soon 
as ever you have committed a valuable treasure to any one you be- 
come alive to his character, and unless you are well acquainted with 
it, every surmising, every loose report, every dark and unexplained 
ci^rcumstance, ma^ trouble and terrify the heart, even though die 
deposit may be secure. For though the safety of the deposit depends 
on the goodness of his character, your satisfaction depends upon yov.r 

knowledge of it. . i i „ , i c. 

Let me therefore be concerned to grow in grace ; and also, and lor 
this very purpose, in the knowledge of my Lord and Savior Jesus 
Christ. Let me search the Scriptures, for they are they that testify 
of him. Let me attend his house, and the preachm^ of his word. Let 
me converse much with th6se who have been much with him. Let 
me earnestly implore the influence of the Holy Spirit, who, says the 



126 MARCH 24. 

Savior, sliall glorify me, for he shall take of mine, and shall show it 
unto you. Paul, after such a length of acquaintance, and such a 
depth of intimacy, not only said, I count all things but loss for the ex- 
cellency of the knowledge of Christ my Lord, but that I may know 
him and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his suf- 
ferings, being made conformable unto his death. 



March 24. — " I will walk in thy truth." — Psalm Ixxxvi, 11. 

Every resolution expressed by a good man, in a proper frame of 
mind, will be founded, not in self-confidence, but in dependence on 
divine grace. Then it will be use&l ; it will tend to stimulate, and 
to humble; to bring to remembrance, and to bind; it will be like a 
hedge that defends the field ; or like the hemming that keeps the robe 
from ravelling out. " I will walk in thy truth," is a noble resolution, 
and worthy of our imitation. 

Walkings in the Scripture, takes in the whole of our conversation 
or conduct; and to walk in any thing, intends a fullness of it. For a 
man to malk in pride, is somethmg more than to be proud ; it says, 
that pride is his way, his element — that he is wholly under the influ- 
ence of it. So we say, a man is in love, or in liquor. Four ways we 
should thus walk in God's truth. 

— We should walk in the belief of his truth. It deserves our cre- 
dence. It is a faithful saying, as well as worthy of all acceptation. 
If we receive the witness of man, the witness of God is greater. Men 
are very tenacious of the honor of their word. If their veracity be 
denied, they instantly demand satisfaction for the insult. How often 
is God made a liar ! How slow of heart are we to beheve all that the 
prophets have spoken ! Lord increase our faith. 

— We should walk in the practice of his truth. This is as necessary 
as the former, and the evidence of it — for we are to show our faith 
by our works. Faith without v/orks is as the body without the soul; 
there is nothing vital, or operative in it. The Gospel is a doctrine 
according to godliness. Every part of it has a practical tendency, 
and we are required to obey it from the heart. It is well to hear ; 
but hearing is to be viewed in the order of means, and not as an end. 
Blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it. If ye know 
these things, happy are ye if ye do them. 

— We should walk in the enjoyment of his truth. For it is not 
only of a sanctifying, but a consolatory nature ; it brings us glad 
tidings of great joy ; it is all written for our learning, that we, through 
patience and comfort of the Scriptures, might have hope. If, there- 
fore, our conversation becometh the Gospel, it will be happy, as well 
as holy. Thus it was with the first Christians: they walked, not 
only in the fear of the Lord, but in the comforts of the Holy Ghost. 
They were not free from trouble ; but, as the sufferings of Christ 
abounded in them, the consolation also abounded by Christ. They 
were not free from complaint and self-abhorrence ; but in his name 
they rejoiced all the day, and in his righteousness were exalted. Of 
themselves they felt they could do nothing, but tlicy were strong in 
the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and through Him they could do all 
things. They knew not what a day would bring fortli ; but they 



MARCH 25. 127 

were careful for nothing, casting all their care on Him who cared for 
them. The Gospel did not shut them np in a dungeon of doubts and 
fears ; they knew the truth, and the truth made them iree indeed 5 
and they walked in the glorious liberty of the sons ot God. 

— We should walk in the profession of his truth. If we know the 
joyful sound, so as to be blessed by it, we shall feel this yoke easy, 
and this burden light. We shall not act to be seen of men: but we 
ishall have no objection that men sJiould see us. Praise will not draw 
us out of a corner ; and fear will not drive us into one. We shall be 
willing for all to know that we are not our own, but his who bought 
us with a ptice ; and that we are not only bound, but determined to 
glorify Him in our bodies and spirits. For his love will constrain ud, 
not only to confess Him with the mouth, but with the life, (for actions 
speak louder than words,) despising in our eyes a vile person, but 
honoring them that fear the Lord ; attending only where his truth 
is preached, and his glory is maintained ; and going forth to Him 
without the camp, bearing his reproach. 

If we are thus governed, we shall be a credit and a comfort to our 
ministers, who have no greater joy than to hear of their children 
walking in the truth. We shall hold forth the word of life, and cause 
them to rejoice in the day of Christ, that they have not run in vain, 
nor labored in vain. We shall adorn the doctrine of God onr Savior 
in all things, and be fellow-helpers to the truth — while He will gra- 
ciously say, " They shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy." 



March 25.— "The Lord knoweth the days of the upright; and their in- 
heritance shall be for ever." — Psalm xxxvii, 18. 

Every thing here requires attention — 

— The persons — " Tlie upright." Tlie upright mean those who 
are sincere : sincere in their dealings with their fellow creatures, with 
their own souls, and with their God. The character is equally rare . 
and excellent. It admits of imperfection, but not of partiality; and[ 
ie never separate from the renewing of the Holy Ghost. 

— The period — "Their days." These are "known of God." This 
knowledge being spoken of as a privilege, something more than mere 
intelligence must be intended ; for in this sense. He knows the days 
of the wicked, as well as of the upright. The meaning is, that he 
knows them kindly, and graciously; that He feels, and will acknow- 
ledge his concern in them, and make them all work together lor their 
good. He knows their number. This is with him. He has appoint- 
ed it ; friends cannot enlarge, enemies cannot reduce it. Whenever* 
they die, they have filled their days, and are immortal till their work 
ie done. He knows the nature of them — and he determines it. — 

"If light attends the course they run, I " And 'tis hit hand that veils their Fun 
•"Tis He provides those rays ; | *' If darkness clouds their days." 

Have they days of affliction? He knows them — knows their source 
their pressure, how long they have continued, the support Ihey re- 
quire, and the proper time to remove them. Have they days of dan- 
ger? He knows them, and will be a refuge and defence in them. 
Have they days of duty? He knows them; and will furnish the 
etrength and the help they require. Have they days of inaction, 



128 MARCH 26. 

when they are laid aside from their worli, by accident, or disease? 
He knows them ; and says to his servants, under every prevention, 
It is well that it was in thy heart. Have they days of privation ? 
when they are denied the ordinances of religion, after seeing his 
power and glory in the temple, and going with the voice of gladness, 
to keep holy day? He knows them; and will follow his people when 
they cannot follow him, and be a little sanctuary to them in their 
losses. Have they days of declension and of age ? in which their 
strength is fled, and their senses fail, and so many of their connex- 
ions have gone down to the dust — evil days, wherein they have no 
pleasure? He knows them; and says, I remember thee, the kindnees 
of thy youth. Even to old age I am He, and to hoar hairs will I bear 
and carry you. 

, — The portio7i — " Their inheritance shall be for ever." So was 
not the inlieritance of many of the angels in Heaven ; for they kept 
not their first estate. So was not the inheritance of Adam in Para- 
dise; for the Lord drove out the man. So was not the inheritance of 
the Jew in Canaan ; for the glory of all lands was made a desolation. 
So is not the inheritance of the man of the world. His portion is in 
this life. And what is this but a vapor, a shadow ! Yet, at the end 
of it, he is stripped of all, and departs as naked as he came. Yea, 
and before the close his hopes and comforts may be all laid bare. For — 

" Short liv'd as are we, yet our pleasures, we see, 
" Have a much shorter date, and die sooner than we." 

And the Christian has not only being, and health, and riches, and 
honor, and peace, and joy, and friendship, but all these for ever ! 
t Indeed, the more important and valuable the acquisition, the more 
miserable he would feel if there was any uncertainty in the continu- 
ance. The thought of loss, and even of danger, w^ould imbitter all. 
But it is for ever— for ever ! Yea, it will be always increasing. After 
millions of years we shall be singing a new song. 

In the world we have losses, but they cannot affect our estate. I, 
one day, says Mr. Newton, visited a family that had suffered by a 
fire, which had destroyed all their house and goods. I found the 
pious mistress in tears. I said, I give you joy, madam ! Surprised, 
and ready to be offended, she exclaimed. What ! joy that all my pro- 
perty is consumed J No ; but I give you joy that you have so much 
property that no fire can touch. This turn checked the grief, and 
she wiped her tears, and smiled like the sun shining alter an April 
shower. Thus the Hebrews took joyfully the spoiling of their good?, 
knowing in themselves that in heaven they had a better and an en- 
during substance. 



March 26.~»' And now I have told you before it come to pass^ th^t, when 
it is come to pass, ye might believe."— John, xiv, 29. :J r^ ^ ' ! - - 

He refers to what he had said concerning his death and resurrec- 
tion, his sufferings and glory. As nothing befel him by chance, so 
nothing took him by surprise. All was laid out in his view, and he 
saw the end from the beginning, and foretold it all before any of it 
had come to pass. For what purpose? " That, when it is come to 
pass," says he, " ye might believe." 



MARCH 26. 129 

Hence we see the importance of faitli. This is what he always re- 
quired in those he healed. Only believe, said he, to the ruler of the 
synagogue. He said to his disciples, with regard to the death of 
Lazarus, " I am glad for 5^our sakes that I was not there, to the intent 
ye may believe." If a man wishes a tree to grow, he waters not the 
branches, but the root. Holy tempers, and good works, are the fruits 
of religion— faith is the root, and as this is enlivened, every thing in 
the divine life prospers. Unbelief makes God a liar, renders the. 
Scripture a nonentity, and leaves the soul open to every sin. But he 
that believeth shall be saved. Yea, he hath everlasting hfe. By 
faith we stand, walk, live. We are justified, we are sanctified, by 
faith. Faith purifies the heart, and overcometh the world. Unless 
we believe, we shall not be established. We are filled with all joy 
and peace in beheving. We read of the joy of faith, the prayer of 
faith, the work of faith, the obedience of faith, the fight of faith — 
every thing is ascribed to it in the word of God. And yet some are 
afraid of having it much preached ! 

— Here we learn, also, that there may be an improvement in faith, 
where the principle is already found. Did not these disciples believe 
at this very time ? They had been with him from the beginning ; 
they had heard his sayings, and witnessed his miracles, and seen his 
glory— yes, and they believed on him too, and had left all to follow 
him. But they did not sufficiently believe. Their faith was too 
obscure in its views, too feeble in its hold, too powerless in its opera- 
tion. Are there not, then, degrees in godliness? May there not be a 
growth in grace ? Does not Paul tell the Thessalonians, that their 
faith grew exceedingly ? And how desirable is this progress! The 
etrong in faith have a thousand advantages above the weak. The 
latter have a heaven hereafter, the former have a heaven here too. 
And if the apostles were defective, and said, Lord, increase our faith, 
what need have we to cry out, w4th tears, like the father of the child, 
" Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbehef!'' 

— We remark, also, that one of the best means of increasing and 
establishing our faith, is to compare the word and the works of the 
Lord together. This was the help and advantage he would here 
insure to his disciples: " And now I have told you before it come to 
pass, that when it is come to pass ye might believe." So did the church 
in the time of David ; " As we have heard, so have we seen in the 
city of our God." We have heard the promises, and we have seen 
the fulfilment. We have heard the threatenings, and we have seen 
tlie execution. We have heard the doctrine, and we have seen the 
practice. As soon as Jesus had said, " Go tliy way, thy son livetlr," 
the nobleman " believed, and went his way." " But as he was now 
going dowm, his servants met him, and told him, saying. Thy son 
liveth ! Then inquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. 
And they said unto him. Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever 
left him. So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which 
Jesus said unto him. Thy son liveth ; and himself believed, and his 
whole house." That is, he nov/ bcheved more firnily and impres- 
sively ; and this was the consequence of comparison. And thus facts 
are yielding us constant and growing evidence of the truth of God's 
word. Upon this prhiciplc, apostates and scoffers do not scandalize 

6* 



130 MARCH 27. 

\]g — the Scripture tells us they -will come. We read in the Scripture, 
tlie way of transgressors is hard ; that he who Avalketh uprightly 
walketh surely ; ihat the merciful shall obtain mercy ; that the way 
of the slothful is a hedge of thorns ; and how little must he have 
observed the experience of others, or consulted his own, who is not 
every day more convinced of this ! 

— Finally : Does not this clearly intimate, that the benefit to be 
derived from prophecy is subsequent to its accomplishment ? " And 
now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to 
pass, you might believe. He mentions the same thing in several 
othei places, and we are informed, in more than one instance, of the 
result. Thus we read — " When, therefore, he was risen from the 
dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them ; and 
tliey believed the Scripture, and the word which Jesus had said." 
So also, when they had witnessed his " zeal" in purifying the tem.ple, 
his disciples remen.bered that it was written, " The zeal of thine 
house hath eaten me up." Thus we see our remark justified. Indeed, 
how can it be otherwise ? Where is the evidence of the truth of pro- 
phecy before it come to pass? You say, a God who cannot lie has 
spoken it. But God himself does not demand our faith en the an- 
nouncement, but on the event. And how little can it be understood 
beforehand, unless as to its general bearings? A definite and parti- 
cular acquaintance' v/ith the contents of divine predictions would de- 
range the order of Providence, and in many cases hinder the elTect. 
Had this fact been duly considered, much time and attention would 
have been more profitably employed than in attempts to open the 
seals, and blow the trurapnts and pour out the vials of the Apoca- 
lypse. There is no prophet among us, nor any that telleth how long ; 
yet there are, as Fuller calls them, " fortune-tellers of the Church." 
Pastors have been drawn away from their proper Avork. And " the 
hungry sheep look up, and are not fed." And sinners are not con- 
verted from the error of their ways. For even allowing the views 
advanced with so much presumption to be just and true, they are not 
repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. 
" Him crucified," the apostles preached, and determined to knoAV 
nothing else. It is not for us to know the times, or the seasons, which 
the Father hath put in his own power. He has intrusted us with his 
commands, but not with his decrees. " The secret things belong unto 
the Lord our God ; but those tilings which are revealed belong unto 
U8 and our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this aw." 



March 27.—" He hatb dene all things well.'*— Mark, vii,37. 

A GREAT commendation ; but deserved. Human excellences are 
iTire and individual. One man does one thing well, another does 
another thing well ; but He does all things well. The little men do 
well, is only comparatively well ; all He does is ahsolutely so. And 
this will appear, whether we consider him as the Creator, and survey 
the works of nature; or as the Savior, and contemplate the wonders 
of grace; or as the Governor, and examine the dispensations of his 
providence. 

We have some fine specimens of his agency recorded in the Scrip- 



MARCH 27. 131 

turfi. Take, for instance, the history of Joseph. Read it over again 
and again, and then ask, Could any hnk in this chain, any stone h\ 
this structure, have been omitted? In this achievement could any 
thing have been added to the plan, or the execution ? From a part, 
we may estimate the Avho'e ; and what applies to his dealings with 
others will apply to his dealings with us; for all the ways cf the Lord 
are mercy and truth. But whence, then, is it, that we cannot really 
and readily, with regard to his concern in our afiairs, and especially 
those of a trying nature, adopt the acknowledgment and say. He hath 
done all things well. 

— The reason is, we judge aiheisticalli/. Every unregenerate sin- 
ner lives without God in the world. But does a Christian ? Is he not 
made to differ from others, and from himself? He is. Yet his sanc- 
tification is not complete. Something is left in him of all the old kinds 
of leaven, and therelbre something of this atheism. He is in a good 
frame, when with Eli he can say, of whatever befalls him, "It is the 
Lord, let him do what seemeth him good." But he does not always 
see Him. He sometimes stops at the inslrumentality employed — " Oh, 
it was that unlucky accident, it was that heedless servant, it was that 
perfidious neighbor, it was that cruel enemy." No wonder he doea 
not all things well, when he is not acknowledged as doing any thing: 

— We judge selfishly. We are not to view ourselves as detached 
individuals. We are parts of a whole, and variously connected with 
others; and what is not good for us personally, may be good for us 
relatively. Suppose a trying dispensation makes us more tender and 
compassionate toward our fellow creatures and our fellow Christians; 
suppose a distressing experience gives us the tongue of the learned, 
and enables us to speak a word in season to him that is weary: sup- 
pose, as witnesses and examples of the power and excellency of th0 
Gospel, we arouse the careless, and confirm the wavering; is there 
not enough here to call for resignation and praise? Ezekiel was de- 
prived of the desire of his eyes with a stroke; to himself this was 
painful ; but it was profitable to his ministry, and usefal to his charge ; 
and this was the design of it. No man liveth to himself, and no niaii 
dieth to himself. 

We judge carnally. What is not pleasing may yet be beneficial ; 
and natural evil may be moral good. When things are agreeable to 
our wishes, we never think of any difficulty in the divine proceedings. 
While we have ease, and health, and friends, and success in business, 
we never complain of the darkness of providence. But as soon as 
there is any reverse, O then we groan out, " His way is in the sea, 
his path in the deep waters, and his footsteps are not known," as if 
every thing was to be estimated by our accommodation and conve- 
nience, as if God acted wisely or unwisely, righteously or unright- 
eously, just as his doings affect us; and affect, too, not our best inte- 
rests, but our present and temporal ! Is it wonderful that vre, who 
deserve stripes, should feel the rod? that we, who need correction, 
should meet with chastisement ? Is it mysterious that the vine should 
.be pruned? the ground ploughed? the gold tried in the fire? If the 
child now thinks certain restraints, and privations, and rebukes, to 
which the father subjects him, needless and har^h, he will more thai) 
approve of them when he comes to years. 



132 MARCH 28. 

— We judge prematurely. He that believetli maketh not haste. 
It is good tor a man not only to hope, but quietly wait, for the salva- 
tion of God ; and one reason is, because it will prevent a wrong con- 
clusion. Therefore, says the apostle, judge nothing before the time 
until the Lord come. You would not judge of the abiUties of the 
limner from the unfinished sketch, but you would wait till the canvas 
had received the last touches of his masterly pencil. You would 
not judge of the perfection of a building from the digging of the 
foundation, and coarse materials lying in a kind of disorder all around, 
especially if you had never seen the model ; but you would stay till 
the parts were all put together in their places, and the top-stone 
brought forth with shouting ; let us stay till God has done. What 
I do, says he, thou knowest not now, but thou slialt knoAv hereafter. 
Then every thing will speak for itself. Then we shall walk, not by 
faith, but by sight. Then we shall see what we now believe, and 
for ever acknowledge, " He is the rock ; his work is perfect ; for all 
his ways are judgment : a God of truth, and without iniquity, just 
and right, is he." 

March 28. — " Hereafter I will not talk much with you; for the prince of 
this world cometh, and hath nothing in me." — Jolin, xiv, 30. 

There are many talkers — profane talkers — indecent talkers — fool- 
ish talkers — vain talkers. And there are some who are wise and good 
talkers ; their lips are as a well-spring of life. But He was perfectly 
wise and good ; oh ! to have heard him " talk !" The term is ap- 
plied to his more public teaching, " While he j^et talked to the people." 
And had some of his ministers spoken more in a familiar and conver- 
sational mode, then they would have resembled him more, and the 
poor would have had the gospel preached unto them, and the common 
people would have heard them gladly, and the children would have 
cried hosanna. 

It is here intimated that he had talked " much" with them. He 
was never reserved. If he kept any thing back from them, it was 
because they could not, at the time, bear it. He treated them not as 
servants, but friends ; for all things that he had heard of the Father 
he made known unto them. He always instructed, and reproved, 
and encouraged them, as the occasion required. He seized every 
opportunity for religious discourse, and levied a tax of spiritual profit 
upon every natural object or providential occurrence. He could not 
see a sower going forth to sow, or a fisherman dragging his net, or a 
woman drawing water, but he derived from it a parable or an illus- 
tration; teaching his followers to be social and communicative in 
divine things ; and, for this purpose, to cultivate their understanding, 
and to be filled with the Spirit. For out of the abundance of the 
heart the mouth speaketh. How can much religious discourse he 
expected from those who have so little of the life^of God in tliem ? 
If, for the sake of consistency, they sometimes make the attempt, it 
must be a task ; and they will soon drop into what is more natural to 
them, a conversation empty as the wind, and barren as the sand. 

— But " hereafter" he would not talk much with them ; not from 
disinclination, but for want of intercourse. Their opportunities would 
soon be over, for he was going to leave them. With regard also to 



MARCH 28. 133 

us, it IS probable as to some, and certain as to others, that we have 
heard and read much more than we shall ever read or hear in future. 
Yet a Uttle while is the light with us. 

The way in which he refers to his removal from them by his suf- 
fering and death is remarkable, " For the prince of this world cometh, 
and hath nothing in me." 

. He marks, first, the character of his adversary— the prince of this 
world. He is not so by right, but usurpation ; and by God's allowing 
him power over those who provoke Him. When tlie traitor had re- 
ceived the sop, then Satan entered into him. He was in him before ; 
but his agency was under restraints. These restraints were then all 
taken away, and the devil had his victim entirely to himself. Israel 
would have none of him, so he gave them up to their owti hearts' 
lust. All who walk according to the course of this world, walk ac- 
cording to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now 
worketh in the children of disobedience. They may imagine them- 
selves to be free, and many of them make a figure in the eye of 
sense; but faith sees them taken captive by the devil at his will, and 
held in the vilest subjection ; he is their prince ; yea, according to the 
apostle he is the God of this world ; and in reality they not only obey, 
but worship him. 

— Secondly, he sees his approach : " He cometh." Not personally ; 
so he had come to him in the wilderness and been foiled ; but in his 
instruments. In Judas that betrayed him; in Peter that denied him ; 
in his disciples that forsook him and fled ; in Herod that threatened 
him ; in Pilate that condemned him ; in the Jews that clamored for 
his blood ; and in the Romans that shed it. " One of you," says our 
Lord, " is a devil ;" he gives him the name, because he bore his 
image and did his work. " The devil," we read, " shall cast some 
of you into prison." Is the devil a justice of the peace ? No ; but if 
he acts unrighteously and cruelly, the justice of the peace is the 
devil. The devil is not Voltaire ; but by poisoning and destroying 
the souls of men, Voltaire is the devil, who was a murderer from the 
beginning, and abode not in the truth. 

— Thirdly, he is confident of the result of the conflict : " And hath 
nothing in me." He has enough in us. First, enough of guilt. Hence 
he can alarm and dismay us. In the conscience of some he produces 
such terror and anguish that the man chooses strangling and death 
ratlier than life. He is also the accuser of the brethren, and in their 
sins, and the sins even of their holy things, he finds enough against 
them to perplex and distress them in their afflictions, and in their ap- 
proaches to God. But he could find no guilt in Jesus, and, therefore, 
he could stir up no feeling of self-remorse or despair. Secondly, 
enough of cormption. Plence he can easily draw us aside by laying 
hold of our envy, pride, avarice, impatience. Owing to the remains 
( f unmortified passions, or, as the apostle calls it, the sin thatdwelleth 
in us, we are always in danger from outward things. We may be 
ensnared by our dress, our table, our business, and our friends ; what 
is innocent and good itself, may become to us injurious and evil. Here 
The sparks fall upon tinder. But there was nothing inflammable in 
him, and, therefore, no unhallowed fire could be kindled. He was 
the Holy One of God. '• He did no sm," and " in him uas no sin I" 



134 MARCH 29. 

a proof that if he was stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted, he waa 
wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities; the 
chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are 
healed. We also see that there must be a great difference between 
him and ourselves, as to moral danger. He was safe every where, 
and in all circumstances. We must watch and pray, lest we enter 
into temptation ; the spirit, indeed, is willing, but the flesh is weak. 



March 29. — " God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salratioa 
by our Lord Jesus Christ." — 1 Thessalonians, v, 9. 

— No : " he has not appointed us to wrath." He might have done 
it. We deserved it, and were by nature children of wrath, even as 
others. But He has delivered us from ihe wrath to come. We 
have trials, but there is no curse in them. They come from a Father 
who corrects, not from a judge who punishes. We may sometimes 
fear his wrath, but this is our infirmity. Flesh cries, do not condemn 
me ; but faith says, There is no condemnation to them that are in 
Christ Jesus. 

— But " to obtain salvation.'" We are often said to be saved already ; 
and we are so as to our state, but not as to possession and enjoyment. 
This is a future blessedness. It is, indeed, begun here; but that 
which is held up to the hope of the believer, is the accomplishment 
of all that God has promised — the reception of the soul at death ; 
the resurrection of the body at the last day ; the glorification of the 
whole man for ever. Oh ! what an object of expectation ! How poor 
and pitiful is every thing seen and temporal, compared with this ! 
Some are destined to shine in courts ; some to stride over the heads 
of others ; some to amass heaps of shining ore; but, if a Christian, 
thou art destined to an inheritance beyond the skies, and a crown of 
glory that fadeth not away. What is life, however, indulged and 
endowed, that is, at its best estate, altogether vanity ! What are the 
pleasures of sin for a season ! What are riches and — death ! a title 
and — damnation at the end of it ! And what are losses and afflictions 
to a man who is going to obtain salvation! 

But by what medium will he acquire it? " Through our Lord 
Jesus Christ." To seek it in any other way is a vain pursuit. There 
is salvation in none other. I am the way, said He, the truth, and 
the life : no man cometh unto the Father but by me. Yea, it is not 
only useless, but sinful. It opposes God's revealed will and express 
command; it robs the Lord Jesus of his highest glory; it frustrates 
his grace, and makes Him to be dead in vain. Much comes to some 
through others. We have had friends and benefactors, but, after all, 
what have they done for vis ? What self-denial have they exercised ? 
What sufferings have they endured? But lie knew what AA'ould be 
required of Him in opening for us a passage to glory. Yet He 
readily consented, and said, Lo ! I come. Behold, and see if ever 
tliere was sorrow or love like his; He became poor that we might 
be made rich, and died that we might live. 

The apostle does not forget to tell us, that we are appointed to 
obtain this salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. As men we are 
not the creatures of cliance. There is an appointed time to man 



MARCH 30. 135 

upon earth ; and He has appointed the boundtj of our habitation. 
And as Christians, are we the offspring of contingency? Is conver- 
eion a happy accident ? It is the worlc of God, and He does nothing 
without foretcnowledge and design. Four things may be observed 
with regard to this appointment. The earliness of it — in hope of 
eternal life, which God, Avho cannot lie, promised before the world 
began. The fi-eeness of it — it was not founded on the foresight of 
any worthiness or works of ours ; He hath saved us, and called us, 
not according to our works, but according to his own purpose ancl 
grace given us in Christ Jesus before the world began. Its efficiency — 
it will not, cannot fail ; the counsel of the Lord standeth for ever. " I 
will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn 
away from them to do them good ; but I will put my fear in their 
hearts, that they shall not depart from me." Its appropriation — 
blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
Blessed are they that mourn. Blessed are they that hunger and 
thirst after righteousness. Go back from effects to causes. Prove 
your calling, and thus make your election sure. 

And remember one thing ; be simple, and receive the kingdom of 
God as a little child, not only as to doctrines, but as to its invitations 
and promises. The writer one day attended the dying bed of a 
young female. I have little, said she, to relate as to my experience. 
I have been much tried and tempted, but this is my sheet anchor ; 
He has said. Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out. 
I know I come to Him, and I expect that He will be as good as 
his word. Poor and unworthy as I am. He will not trifle with me, 
or deceive me. It would be beneath his greatness, as well as his 
goodness. I am at his feet, and you have often said : 

" 'Tis joy enough, my All in all, I " Thou wilt not let me lower fall, 

" At tliy dear feet to lie ; | " And none caa higher fly." 



March 30. — " When they saw Hiru, they besought Him that He would 
depart." — 3Iatthew, viii, 34. 

He had now entered the country of the Gadarenes, and cured two 
demoniacs. The people should have deemed themselves honored by 
his presence, and have thanked Him for relieving their wretched 
neighbors from the most dreadful malady. But He had, in correc- 
tion of an unlawful traffic, destroyed their swine. They, therefore, 
preferring their sins to their souls, feared and hated Him, and de- 
sired Him to withdraw. He took them immediately at their woid, 
and went, and returned no more. Oh ! when He comes to us, and 
convinces us of sin, and reproves us for our evil passions and vile 
courses ; when He comes and makes us uneasy by the admonitions 
of conscience, of friendship, of Scripture, of Providence, and instead 
of yielding to his merciful design, we regard Him as an irksome 
intruder, and entreat Him (and He hears our meaning without speech) 
to leave us, He will comply with our desire, and say, They are joined 
to idols, let them alone, and wo unto them when I depart from them ! 
This is an awful truth. 

But it is an equally pleasing one, that if we desire his presence, He 
will indulge our wish. And, therelbre, when the two disciples, going 
to Emmaus, reached the village whither they went, and He made as 



130 MARCH 31. 

if He would have gone farther, they constrained Him, saying. Abide 
with ns, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And, it is 
said, He went in to tarry ^vith them. So when the women of Samaria 
had persuaded many of their neighbors to come to the well to see 
Him, they besought Him that He would tarry with them : and He 
abode there two days. 

Savior Jesus ! cast me not away from thj^ presence, and take not 
thy Holy Spirit from me. Thou art all in all! Come and dwell in 
our country; come and dwell in our churches; come and dwell in our 
houses ; come and dwell in our hearts, for ever ! 

" I cannot bear thine absence, TiOrd ; 

" My life expires if thou depart : 
" Be thou, my heart, still near my God, 

•' And thou, my God, be near my heart." 



March 31.—" But that the world may know that I love the Father; and 
as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence." 

John, xiv, 31. 

When He says, " Arise, let us go hence." He shows his readiness 
to suffer. '' I will not wait for the enemy ; I will go and meet him. 
I will go to the place where Judas will look for me. I will go to the 
garden of Gethsemane, where I am to agonize ; and from thence to 
Calvary, where I am to die, I have a baptism to be baptized with, 
and how am I straitened till it be accomplished !" We always see 
in Him this disposition, a proof that He was not compelled to engage; 
that he did not undertake the case from ignorance ; and that He did 
not repent of his work, even in the sight of enduring all iiS expensive- 
ness of wo ; He loved us, and gave himself for us. 

Yet this alacrity was not rashness, but obedience, " As the Father 
gave me commandment." Though in his higher character He had 
the disposal of Himself; in his human nature, and in his mediatorial 
office, He was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. He 
felt no inconsistency in this, and why should we? No man taketh 
my hfe from me. I lay it down of myself; I have power to lay it 
down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have 
I received of my Father. So mistaken should we be in supposing 
that the Father was less disposed to save us than the Son, or that his 
love was purchased by that death which was really the effect of it, 
and designed to be the medium through which it should operate. 
Herein God hath commended his love toward us, in that while we 
were yet sinners Christ died for us. And therefore did the Father 
bve Him, because He laid down his life that he might take it again; 
and for the sufiering of death, He crowned Him with glory and honor. 
Though there was scmclhing here peculiar in our Savior's obedience, 
there is something also exemplary in it. He did not expose Himself 
heibre his hour was come, but cheerfully submitted to the divine will 
when it was come. So we are not to turn aside in search of trials, 
but to talce up our cross when it is fairly in our wRy. We are not to 
be impatient to suffer, but when we are called to it, the call should 
bear us up, and bear us through, for God is with us. 

And this obedience resulted from love — " 1 love the Father." I de- 
light, said He, to do tliy Avill ; yea, thy law is within my heart. My 



APRIL 1. 137 

meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finiijh his work. Hig 
l)€ople, in their measure and degree, can say the fjame. As obedience 
IS the best evidence of love, so love is the best spring of obedience. It 
is love that makes it pleasant to ourselves, and acceptable to God. 
With Him nothing can be a substitute for it. Indeed, we ourselves, 
in the conduct of our fellow creatures toward us, judge not by the 
bulk of the action, but the disposition from which it proceeds. The 
estimate is taken, not from the service, but the principle ; not from 
what is given, but from what is implied. The smallest donation is 
welcomed as a token of cordial regard; while, like God, we abhor 
" the sacrifice where not the heart is found." 

Jesus would have all this known, not to his disciples only, but to 
others — and to all : " But that the world may know that I love the 
Father, and as the Father gave me conmiandment, even so I do. 
Arise, let us go hence." And the world ought to know it, and in due 
time will laiow it. They are deeply concerned in it. At present a 
very large majority of mankind have never heard of his name, or of 
his salvation. But his cause is spreading. The Scriptures aie en- 
tering all languages. Missionaries are visiting all climes. The 
church is praying that his word may have free course and be glori- 
fied. And God has said, " It is a light thing that thou shouldest be 
my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the pre- 
served of Israel; I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that 
thou mayest be my salvation unto the ends of the earth." It must 
therefore by-and-by be said, without a figure, " Behold ! the w^orld is 
gone away after Him." 

But blessed are our eyes, for they see, and our ears, for they hear. 
We already know these tilings. But how do we know them ? Do 
we feel, as well as understand them? Are we, like a December's 
night, as cold as we are clear ? Shall we be found in the number 
of those who behold, and wonder, and perish ? Or, filled with admi- 
ration, and gratitude, and confidence, and zeal, are we, beholding as 
in a glass his glory, changing into the same image, from glory to 
glory, even as by tlie Spirit of the Lord ? 



April 1.—" His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down 
to the ground." — Luke, xxii, 44. 

It is a question whether this sweat was blood comparatively, i, e. 
whether it resembled blood, whose drops are denser, heavier, and 
larger than those of common perspiration, or really blood. The latter 
is possible, and there have been instances of it well authenticated, 
and the opinion early and generally prevailed, and nothing was more 
common among the fathers than to consider this as one of the times 
when He bled for us, each of his pores as a kind of wound, flowing 
with that blood Avithout w^iich there is no remission. It is, perhaps, 
impossible to determine this absolutely. But even allowing, what we 
by no means consider as proved, that it was only blood in resemblance, 
it must have been most extraordinary. For He vras abroad in the 
open air, upon the cold ground, the night far advanced, and the wea- 
tlier chilling, for the high priest's servants made a fire to warm them- 



138 APRIL 2. 

selves; here was enough to have checked perspiration ; yet his sweat 
was, as it were, great drops of blood falling down to the ground ! 

And what could have caused it? Surely not the mere circumstance 
of dying. Socrates, Seneca, did not sweat thus ; they were cool 
and cahn. Look at the martyrs, and even those of the more timid 
eex, they were tranquil in the prospect, and, in many instances, came 
forth from prison smiling, and blessed tiie instrument of death. Yes 
but they had not to contend with the powers of darkness ; but thia 
was their hour, and the power of darkness. They had not to bear 
the sins of others, nor yet their own ; whereas the Lord laid on Him 
the iniquities of us all. 

We indulge here no curious speculations, and we require the defi- 
nitions of no human creeds, but neither will we be reasoned out of 
the plain language and meaning of the Scriptures. We believe God, 
and not as some believe him, i. e. as a jury in a court believe the tes- 
(imony of a suspected, a discredited witness, relying no further upon 
his deposition than it is collaterally supported, and thus yielding no 
honor to himself We do not found our belief on knowledge, but 
derive our knowledge from belief. We believe in the unerring wis- 
dom and veracity of God, and he has told us that Christ also suflered 
for sins, the just for the unjust ; that He bore our griefs, and carried 
our sorrows; that the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and 
that by his stripes we are healed. 

Men think lightly of sin, but an awakened conscience feels it a 
burden too heavy to bear. It has made the whole creation groan. 
But see Jesus bearing it in his own body, and his sweat falls as great 
drops of blood down to the ground ! What, then, if you should bear 
it in your own person, O sinner ! Why it will sink thee to the lowest 
hell. But bear it you must, if you reject or neglect him, for there 
remaineth no more sacrifice for sin. He that believeth on the Son of 
God hath everlasting life ; and he that believeth not the Son of God, 
hath not life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. But, 

" Each purple drop proclaims there's room, 
*' And bids the poor and needy come." 

Oh ! let me look on Him who sutTers thus. Oh ! let me mourn over 
my sins, which caused his anguish. 

" 'Twere you that pull'd the vengeance down 

" Upon his guiltless head; 
" Break, break, my heart ; and burst, my eycsj 

" And let my sorrows bleed ?" 

But let me also rejoice. That bloody sweat proclaims my dis- 
charge from condemnation, and tells me the law is magnified and 
made honorable. 

And can I help loving Him ? Love begets love. And what can 
evince love like suffering ; and such suflering, and for such wretches, 
and nol only without their desert, but their desire ! Lord ! what wilt 
thou have me to do ? 



April 2.—" Then asked He them again, Whom seek ye ? And they said, 
Jesus of Nazareth."— John, xviii,7. 
Every thing here is remarkable. 
—In the very iamily of Jesus how^ wonderful that any should be 



APRIL 2. 139 

base enono-h to betmy Him! But here we find Judas, who had been 
caUed to the apostleship, and invented with power to work miracles, 
and a few hours before had partaken of the holy supper, hcadmg a 
band of men and officers, which he had obtained from the chief priest 
and Pharisees, and betraying his Master and Benefactor into their 
hands with a kiss , , i u i 

—How wonderful was the courage of Jesus, who, though he knew 
all things that should come upon him, not only remained in the place, 
but came forth from the retreat, and presented himself. This wa:3 
the effect of a love stronger than death. Perfect love casteth out 

—How wonderful was the rebuke, and the repulse, which his ene- 
mies met with. No sooner did he pronounce the words, " I am he," 
than thev went backward, and fell to the ground. Whether some 
rays of Mory broke from his sacred body, or whether he immediately, 
by his power, impressed their minds, we know not ; but surely here 
was enough to induce them to discontinue the unhallowed enter- 
prise. . n 1-1 

—Yet, how wonderful, that in a few moments tliey rise, and re- 
cover heart enough to approach him a second time. So that he asks 
them again, Whom seek ye ? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. 
This was partly the influence of numbers. A man alone may be 
often easily deterred from an evil action. But it is otherwise where 
hand joins in hand, and the sinner is seen and supported, and stimu- 
lated or reproached by his fellow creatures. It shows us, also, the 
hardening nature of sin. When the men of Sodom were smitten 
with blindness, they even then groped by the wall to find the house 
where the heavenly visitants were. Upon the removal of each plague, 
when Pharaoh saw there was respite, he hardened his heart. And 
Ahaz, in his affliction, sinned yet more and more against God. And 
of how many may it be said, " Thou hast stricken them, but they 
have not grieved ; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused 
to receive correction ; they have made their faces harder than a rock ; 
they have refused to return." 

Neither means, nor even miracles, will avail, when God leaves a 
man to himself. Persons often think, that a dreadful event will do 
what ordinances have failed to accomplish. But we have known 
many who have been stripped, and reduced, and yet their minds have 
not been humbled btfore God. They have resembled fractions of 
ice, or stone, broken, but not changed, each piece retaining the cold- 
ness and hardness of the mass. They think that a spectre would be 
much more efficacious than a preacher. Vain hope ! if they hear 
not Moses and the prophets, neither would they be persuaded though 
one rose from the dead. 

O thou God of all grace, fulfil in my experience the promise, A , 
new heart, also, will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within [ 
you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and II 
will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you,! 
and cause you to walk in my statutes, and j-e shall keep my jm^.g- 
ments, and do them." 



140 APRIL 3. 

April 3. — "Jesus answereJ, I have told you I am he : if therefore ye seek 
me, let these go their way." — John, xviii, ii. 

Here we sue the Savior's readiness to sufler. Pie makes not the 
least attempt to escape from the hands of iiis enemies ; but tells 
them a second time tliat he was the victim they sought after, and 
yielded himseh' up to be bound and led away without murmuring or 
complaint. This willingness was magnified by the greatness of his 
sufferings, his knowledge of all lie was to endure, his deserving it 
not, but bearing it for others, and his power of escape. 

Here we see his tenderness toAvard his disciples. He would not 
have them die, or suffer, or at present even be apprehended and alarm- 
ed. They were unable to bear it, and could not follow Him now. He 
has the same heart still, and from this instance of his conduct we 
may conclude that He will suffer no affliction to befall his disciples, 
unless for some wise and useful purpose ; that He will sympathize 
with them in tlieir suffering ; that He will afford them support and 
comfort, and in due time wipe away all their tears. 

Here, also, we see his authority and dominion over their adversa- 
ries. We are mistaken if w^e suppose that He presented a request 
when He said. If ye seek me, let these go their way. A request 
would have been nothing in the present state of their minds, and pro- 
vided, as they were, with officers, and an armed band of Roman sol- 
diers. It was in the nature and force of a command. It was an 
absolute injunction. " I Avill not surrender unless these are allowed 
to depart. You shall not touch a hair of their head." Accordingly 
they make not the least objection, and suffer them to retire unmolested. 

This was in character with his whole history. In his penury He 
always displayed his riches ; in liis deepest abasement He emitted 
rays of his glory. The manhood was seen ; but it Avas, so to speak, 
deified humanity. What majesty was combined with the humilia- 
tions of his birth, and of his death. Does He here submit ? It is a 
conqueror demanding his own terms, and obtaining them. 

And did not this serve to enhance the sin of his disciples in denying 
and forsaking Him. They were overcome by the fear of man. But 
what had they to fear? Did they not here see that their enemies 
were under his control, and could do nothing without his permission ? 
Did He not here obtain for them a passport, insuring their escape and 
safety ? Yet they have not courage and confidence enough to declare 
themselves on liis side, and to stand by Him. And do we not resem- 
ble them ? How often do we shnnk back from the avowal of our prin- 
ciples, or turn aside from the performance of some trying duty ? And 
wherefore? We also yield to the fear of man that bringeth a snare. 
Yet what can mian do unto us? or what can devils do? Satan could 
not sift Peter, nor touch an article of Job's estate, till leave waa 
granted him. Our foes are all chained, and the extent of their reach 
13 determined by the pleasure of Him who loved us well enough to 
die for us. If He careth for us it is enough. When shall we realize 
this, and go on our v.-ay rejoicing? If He says to events, " Let that 
man succeed in his calling," opposition and difficulties are nothing — 
lie gets forward ; the blesang of the Lord makcth rich. If He sayg 
to sickness, " Touch not that individual," the pestilence may walk 
in darkness, and the destruction rage at noon-day ; a thousand may 



APRIL 4. 141 

fall at his side, and ten thousand at his right hand, it shall not 
come nigh him. If He has any thing more tor us to do or suffer, 
tnough life be holden by a rotten thread, that thread is more tharv 
cable : we are immortal till our change come. 



" Hast thou not given tliy word, 
" To save my soul from death ? 

•* And I can trust my Lord 
" To keep my mortal breath. 



I'll go and come, 
" Nor fear to die, 
" Till from on high 
Thou call me home.' 



April 4. — " Christ died for us." — Romans, v, 8. 
So have many. All those who have paid their lives to the injured 
laws of their country, have died for us; and if we derive not improve- 
ment from it the fault is our ovrn. The world drowned in the deluge, 
perished for us. The JeAVs, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness, suf- 
fered, as the apostle tells us, as ensamples and admonitions to us, we 
have buried friends and relations; but — 

" For us they languish, and for us they die." 

That husband of Tier youth; that wife of his bosom ; that child of 
their love, have been removed, to wean their hearts from earth, and 
to show how frail they are. But are we going to rank the death of 
Christ with such deaths as these ? We would rather class it with 
that of an apostle : " If I be offered," says Paul to the Philippians, 
" upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice Avith 
you." This was noble. But av^^ Paul ci-ucified for us ? 

— No — " It is Christ that died." His death is peculiar and pre- 
eminent — infinitely peculiar and pre-eminent. This aat.s indicated by 
the prodigies that attended it. But on these we shall not enlarge. 
Neither shall we dwell on the many touching circumstances of his 
death. Such a tragical representation may be derived from the his- 
tory as would draAV tears from every eye, AA^hile the heart may be 
unaffected Avith, and the mind even uninformed of, the grand design 
of his death. What AA'as ?A?'s? 

Some tell us, that it was to confirm the truth of liis doctrine by the 
testimony of his blood, and to suffer, leaA^ing us an example, that we 
should follow his steps. Now this is true, and Ave believe it as fully 
as those Avho will go no further ; but the question is, whether this be 
the whole, or the principal part of the design. We appeal to the 
Scriptures. There we learn that He died for us as an expiation ot 
our guilt, and to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. There 
we see, that He died for us, as a sacrifice, a ransom, a substitute ; that 
He redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; 
that He once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might 
bring us unto God. Exclude this, and the language of the Bible be- 
comes perfectly embarrassing and unintellible. Exclude this, and 
what becomes of the legal sacrifices ? They were shadoAvs Avithoui 
a substance ; they prefigured nothing ; for there is no relation betAveen 
them and his death, as he AA^as a martyr, and an example ; but there 
is a full conformity betAveen them and his death, as he Avas an atone- 
ment. Exclude this, and hoAV are his sufferings to be accounted for 
at all? for He did not die for the sias of others,, and He had none ol 
his OAvn. Where, tlien, is the God of judgment ? That be far from 



142 APRIL 5. 

Him, to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked. 
So far the Jews reasoned well ; tliey rejected Him, for they considered 
Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. And so He was ; but 
" H(5 was wounded for our transgressions ; He was bruised for uur ini- 
quities ; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him ; and with his 
stripes we are healed. AH we, like sheep, have gone astray ; we have 
turned every one to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on Him the 
iniquity of us all." Exclude this, and with what can we meet the 
conscience, burdened with guilt? With what can we answer the 
mquiry. How shall I come before the Lord? With what shall we 
wipe the tear of godly grief? But we have boldness to enter into the 
holiest, by the blood of Jesus. Surely He hath borne our grief, and 
carried our sorrow. His death was an offering and a sacrifice to God, 
for a sweet-smelling savor. The all-sufliciency and the acceptable- 
ness were evinced by his discharge from the grave, and his being re- 
ceived up into glory. There, within the veil, our hope finds anchorage. 

" Jesus, my great High Priest, 

" Offer'd his blood, and died ; 
" My guilty conscience seeks 

" No sacrifice beside : 
" His powerful blood did once atone, 
" And now it pleads before tiie throne." 

But even this is not all the design. Christ died for us, not only to 
reconcile, but to renovate; not only to justify, but to sanctify. The 
one is as necessary to our recovery as the other, and equally flows 
from the cro.>s. For He gave himself for us, that He might redeem 
us from all iniquity, and purify 'linto Himself a peculiar people, 
zealous of good works. 

" Oh ! the sweet wonders of that cross, 

" Where God, iny Savior, groan'd and died ' 
" My noblest life her spirit draws 
^ " From his dear wounds and bleeding side " 



April 5. — " He was buried." — 1 Corinthians, xv, 4. 

The resurrection of our Savior necessarily presupposes his death, 
but not his burial. His burial was an additional thing ; and, as his 
flesh couhl not see corruption, seemed an unnecessary one. But it is 
worthy of our notice. 

Who begged his body for interment ? It was Joseph and Nicode- 
mus. And here, can we help remarking these petitioners themselves 1 
Not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many 
noble, are called; but these men were of distinguished rank and con- 
dition in life. A few of these there have been in every age of the 
church; sufficient to show, not that the cause of Grod depends upon 
them, but to redeem religion from the prejudice, that it suits the 
vulgar only ; and, also, to prove the power of divine grace in coun- 
teracting temptation. But, down to this period, Joseph and Nicodemus 
had not%een persons of much promise ; so fiir from it, that they were 
ashamed and afraid to have their regard to our Lord known, when 
his disciples were professing their resolution to follow him to prison, 
and to death. Behold the change ! The latter, in the hour of trial, 
forsake Him, and flee ; the former come, and openly acknowledge 
Him. Let us all seek after more grace; but let none trust in them- 



APRIL 5. 143 

selves, or despise others. " The strong may be as tow," and " the 
feeble may be as David." The man of whom we now think nothing 
may acquire confidence and zeal, and not only pass us in the road, but 
leave us very far behind in attainments and useluiness. " Who hath 
despised the day of small things?" " A bruised reed shall He not 
break, and the smoking flax shall He not quench, till He send forth 
judgmeni unto victory." 

— Who attended as mourners? "The women, also, which came 
with Him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and 
how his body was laid." With us some days elapse before interment ; 
but here only two hours were allowed between his execution and his 
burial. If indeed, his body had not been implored by Joseph and 
Nicodemus, It would have been interred at Golgotha — thrown mto a 
hole, dug under the cross. 

— Who carried the sacred corpse we know not ; but they had not 
far to bear it — " for the sepulchre was nigh at hand." This was not 
a grave of earth, but of stone, and hewn out of a rock. Thus there 
was only one avenue leading to it; no one, therefore, could approach 
it from the sides, or behind ; and the entrance was watched, guarded, 
and sealed. It was also a new tomb, in which never man was laid. 
And here, again, we see the hand of God; for had there been other 
bodies, some would have pretended collusion, and the evidence could 
not have been so simple and complete as it now was, when the body 
lay alone there. Finally, it was not his own. His followers are mad 
after the honors and riches of the world ; bu^, living and dying. He 
had not where to lay his head. He v.'-as born in another man's house, 
and was buried in another man's grave. 

— But why was He buried at all ? First. His burial was an ad 
ditionil confirmation of his death, upon which every thing depended. 
An examination was m.ade while he was upon the cross ; and finding 
him dead already, they brake not his legs, but a soldier pierced his 
side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. But now his 
mouth, and nostrils, and ears, were all filled with the odors and spices — 
and who can question a man's death when he is buried ? Secondly. 
It was the completion of his humiliation. " They have brought me 
into the dust of death." "Now, that He ascended, what is it but that 
He descended first into the lowest parts of the earth ?" Thirdly. By 
this. He sanctified the grave, and prepared it for his people. They 
would have been afraid to go in, but He entered it before them. They 
can lie in this bed after Him. He has freed it from every horror. 
He has softened it, and made it easy for them. 

— "And there was Mary Magdalen, and the other Mar}^, sitting 
over against the sepulchre." Let us sit by them, and contemplate. 
Tliere lies in that rock He who made it. Tlier-e are sealed up the 
lips which said. Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy ladeii, 
and I will give you rest. There are closed, the eyes which always 
beamed compassion, and wept for human wo. There^ cold, are the 
hands which were laid on little children, 1o bless them, and that de- 
livered the widow's son to his mother. There lies the Life of the 
world, and the Hope of Israel. He was fairer than the chiKlren of 
men — He was the image of the invisible God — He went about doin^ 
good — He was rich, and, for our sakes, became poor. 



144 APRIL 6. 

"Come, saiuts, and drop a tear or two, 
" For Him who groau'd beneath your load , 

"He shed a thousand drops for you, 
'A thousand drops of richer blood " 

On the tombs of mortals, however illustrious, the humbling sen- 
tence is inscribed, " Here he Z/es." But I hear the angel saying, 
" Come, see the place where the Lord /ay." He was dead — but is 
alive again — and because He lives, we shall live also. — 

" Break off your tears, j-e saints, and tell 

" How high your great Deliv'rer reigns ; 
"Sing how He spoil'd the hosts of hell, 

"And led the monster. Death, in chains. 
" Say — ' Live for ever, wondrous King I 

"Born to redeem, and strong to save.' 
"Then ask the monster, ' Where's thy sting! 

"And Where's thy victory, boasting grave?'" 



April 6. — " After that he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once ; 
of whom the greater part remain unto this present; but some are fallen 
asleep." — 1 Corinthians, xv, 6. 

As the resurrection of our Lord and Savior is of such unspeakable 
importance, it cannot be too clearly and fully ascertained. Now tlie 
way to prove a fact, is to call in evidence : and if in the mouth of tAvo or 
three witnesses every word shall be established, what shall we say 
when we meet such a cloud of witnesses as the apostle here brings 
forward — witnesses the most competent — eye-witnessee ; ear-witness- 
es ; witnesses who even handled the Word of Life — men, not of hasty 
credence, but slow of heart to believe ; men, whose despondence was 
only to be done away by proof the most undeniable, and upon which 
they hazarded every thing dear to them, and braved reproach, and 
suffering, and death. 

— This interview took place in Galilee, where our Lord had princi- 
pally resided, and preached, and done his wonderful works. There 
He was best known, and chiefly foUoAved. Before his death he had 
said, " After I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee." On 
the morning of his resurrection, we find the angel knew of this de- 
sign ; and, therefore, meeting the women, he said, " Go quickly and 
tell his disciples that He is risen from the dead; and, behold, He goeth 
before you into Galilee ; there shall ye see Him ; lo ! I have told 
you." Influenced by this authority, " the eleven disciples went away 
into Galilee, into a mountain vdrere Jesus had appointed them." From 
whence it appears that the very spot had been named. And, from 
the words of the apostle, it is certain that the disciples did not re- 
pair to it alone ; but having made knoAvn among their connexions 
the approaching interview w4th a risen Savior, they enjoyed the 
privilege in company with this large assembly. " He was seen of 
above five hundred brethren at once ; of whom the greater part re- 
main unto this present ; but some are fallen asleep." Every thing 
here is striking. 

The name — "Brethren." O, lovely distinction! When will it 
swallow up every other? When shall the religious world remember 
that all real Christians, notwithstanding their differences, are all jus- 
tified by the same blood ; sanctified by the same grace ; travelling 



APRIL 7. 145 

the same way ; heirs of the same glory ; children of the same Father, 
of whom the Avhole family in heaven and earth is named ? 

The number — " Above five hundred." We were not av>'are that 
he had so many adherents. In Jerusalem they could only bring 
together one hundred and twenty. But there were more in the 
country. Let us not judge of our Lord's followers by a particular 
place or party. Let us remember that He has his hidden ones, whom 
circumstances may never bring to our notice. How surprised should 
we be, if any event was to draw them together from their various 
retreats. " These, where have they been ?" What a multitude, then, 
which no man can number, will there be, when they shall be all as- 
sembled, out of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues? 

The ravages of time — " Some have fallen asleep." And no won- 
der in the lapse ot^ six-and-twenty years. Who has not, during such 
a period, been summoned to the grave to weep there ? Whose heart 
within him has not been desolate at the loss of friends and relations? 
Even the church has not been a sanctuary from the robber and spoiler. 
The wise and the good, the holy and the useful, the followers and 
witnesses of the Redeemer, have finished their course and their tss- 
timbny, and have slept the sleep of death. 

Distinguished preservations — " The greater part remain unto 
this present." The majority of five hundred spared so many years ! 
when, from the numberless perils of hfe, it was marvellous that any 
one of them should have lived even a iveek^ or a day! Have we sur- 
vived othere? Let us not ascribe it to our own care, or the goodness 
of our constitution, but say, with Caleb, when so many carcasses fell 
in the wilderness, " The Lord hath kept me alive." 

And let us be concerned that protracted life be devoted to Him, who 
is " the length of our days," and " the God of our salvation." 



April 7. — " Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer 
thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt show me the path of life: in 
thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for 
evermore." — Psalm xvi, 10, 11. 

Our Lord tells us of many things concerning Himself, not only in 
the law of Moses, and in the prophets, but in the Psalms. Some have 
contended that He is immediately regarded in every passage. This 
error, arising from a noble truth carried too far, has led fhe holders of 
it to take liberties with the translation, and with the original too. We 
may safely follow the applications of the Holy Ghost ; and Ave are 
sure, from the language of Peter, in the Acts of the Apostles, that, in 
the words before us, David speaks of the Messiah, or rather introduces 
the Messiah himself as the speaker. 

Jesus knew that he was to suffer and die ; but He knew, also, that 
death could not feed upon Him. He knew He should be laid in the 
grave ; but He knew, also, that He should not remain there. Thou 
wilt not leave my soul in hell. Hell, here, does not mean the place 
of the miserable, but the abode of the dead. This He entered, but 
continued not long enough there for dissolution to commence : " Nei- 
ther wilt thou sufler thine Holy One to see corruption." 

The path of life was his passage from the sepulchre to glory ; from 
the tomb of Joseph to the palace of the great King. This path no 

Vol. I. 7 



146 APRIL 7. 

one had yet trod. Enoch and Elias had entered heaven, but did not 
go in from the grave. Thousands had entered heaven, but left their 
Bodies behind; but He did not leave his. He is, therefore, called the 
firs^t born from the dead, because He was the first that entered heaven 
after lying in the grave. He was the first born, too, in the dignity 
and influence of the life He realized. Lazarus, and the widow of 
Nain's son, and others, though they were revived, died again. But 
He, being raised from the dead, dieth no more ; death hath no more 
dominion over Him. He lives as no one else ever lived, or ever will 
live. He lives, having the keys of hell and of death. He lives in 
the possession of all power in heaven and in earth. He lives as our 
Head and Representative ; as the source of all spiritual influence ; as 
the Father of the everlasting age. And He shall see his seed, and 
shall prolong his days ; and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper 
in his hand. 

And because He lives, we shall live also. His resurrection is the 
model, the cause, the proof, and the earnest of our own. For there 
is a union between Christ and Christians, by which they are federally 
and vitally one. When, therefore. He died, they were crucified with 
Him ; and when He arose and ascended, they were quickened toge- 
ther with Him, and raised up, and made to sit with Him in the 
heavenly places. And though their bodies return to the dust, iltey 
will not see corruption for ever ; for this corruptible shall put on iii- 
corruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality. 

The believer, therefore, can also say. Thou wilt show me the path 
of \\^e. This life means the blessedness reserved in heaven for the 
people of God after the resurrection. David here describes it. In thy 
presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for 
evermore. It has three characters. The first regards its source. It 
flows from " his presence." He is the fountain of life, and the supreme 
good of the mind. 

The second regards its plenitude. It is fullness of joy. In this 
vale of tears every pleasure has its pain, and every comfort its cross. 
We pursue satisfaction, but we grasp vanity and vexation. We look 
to Jesus, and find Him the consolation of Israel. But consolation 
supposes trouble. His followers are described, not only by their re- 
joicing, but their mourning — without they have fightings, and within 
they have fears. They have blessed frames, and in some religious 
exercises they seem to be partakers of the glory that shall be revealed. 
And so they are ; but it is by a glimpse, a taste, a drop — the fullness 
is above. 

The third regards its 'permanency. The pleasures are for ever- 
more. Uncertainty, as well as deficiency, attaches to every thing 
here. We embrace our connexions, and lo ! they are gone. We set 
our hearts on that which is not. 

If there was a possibility of the destruction or loss of the blessed- 
ness above, we should be miserable in proportion to its greatness. 
From the moment of knowing it the thought would poison all the 
fullness of the joy. But no ; it is a crown of glory tliat fadeth not 
away. It is everlasting life ! 



APRIL 8. 147 

April 8.—" If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the 
dead." — Philippians, iii, 11. 

Here the subject of consideration is, the resurrection of the dead! 
But it is obvious the apostle does not refer to it as an event ; for as an 
event it will be universal, and we shall be the subjects of it, wliether 
we are willing or unwilling ; for there Avill be " a resurrection of 
the dead, both of the just and of the unjust." But he refers to it as a 
privilege. That can hardly be called a deliverance that takes a man 
out of a bad condition, and consigns him to a worse. What is it for a 
criminal to be led out of prison to be tried, and condemned, and exe- 
cuted ? What is it for the body to be revived and not renovated ; in- 
heriting the principles of all the evils entailed upon it by sin, and 
rendered immortal for the duration of misery. The grave is better 
than hell. But while some will come forth unto the resurrection of 
damnation, others will come forth unto the resurrection of life ; a re- 
surrection that shall change the vile body, and fashion it like the 
Savior's own glorious body, and complete ail that the Savior has pro- 
cured for us, and the gospel has promised to us. 

With regard to the acquisition of a share in this blessedness, the 
apostle makes use of language that implies valuation, difficulty, 
variety, submission : ^^ If by any means I might attain unto the re- 
surrection of the dead." 

— It implies valuation of the object. Things may be important in 
themselves, and not prized by those whom they concern. And we 
see this with regard to the blessings of the gospel ; f<)r, though they 
are as superior to all Avorldly good as the heavens are higher than the 
earth, yet men make light of them ; and were we to judge of eternal 
salvation by the regard paid to it by the multitude, we should con- 
sider it a trifle unworthy a moment's serious thought. But what is it 
in the view of awakened souls ? The " pilgrim," when leaving the 
City of Destruction, and implored by his friends and family to return, 
put his fingers in his ears, and ran, crying. Life ! lite I eternal life ! 
Such wait for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning. 
They hunger and thirst after righteousness. They count all things 
but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus their 
Lord. " Everything," says Paul, " compared with this is nothing."' 
This is the prize of my high calling. If I miss it I am undone for 
ever. If I reach it the possession will realize all my hopes and de- 
sires. The very prospect, as I can make it my own, enlivens and 
cheers me in all my labors and sufferings. " If by any means I might 
attain unto the resurrection of the dead." 

— It implies the difficulty of the acquirement. All excellent things 
require application and diligence ; and he who rationally expects 
success must be determined, and bring his mind to exertion and en- 
durance. What pains and patience are necessary to attain human 
learning ! " There is no royal way to geometry." And is divine wis- 
dom the prey of the idle and careless ? Must we labor for the meat 
that perisheth, and can we, without labor, obtain that meat which 
endureth unto everlasting life ? No, says the Savior, even in the very 
passage in which He speaks of " giving it ;" where it is obvious, 
therefore, that the giving is not opposed to diligence, but desert. 

How rCadeSl thou? " ^'''""■'^ *'^ a-n^^ar' ;»-> l^i tKo ^fyaif /Toto " " "W7f»rL- 



148 APRIL a 

out your salvation with fear and trembling." " Fight the good fighi 
of faith, and lay hold on eternal life." But take those who, in their 
religion, know Jiothing of the privations and hardships of the soldier ; 
nothing of the unbending alacrity of the racer ; who never redeem 
their time ; whose day is only distinguished from their night by the 
substitution of sloth for sleep ; who exercise no self-denial ; who never 
mortify the deeds of the body; whose souls do not follow hard after 
God ; would it not be perfectly absurd for one of these to say, " U 
by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead ?" 

— It implies variety in the manner of reaching glory. This docs 
not apply to the procuring of the blessing. This is done already. 
Jesus said, as He expired, " It is finished." He made peace by the 
blood of his cross, and brought in everlasting righteousness ; and all 
that believe on Him are justified from all things. At the deluge, 
people could be drowned any where, but there was only one ark. Tlie 
way of salvation has been always the same from the beginning; but 
the methods by wdiich this salvation is applied are various. Various 
are the means employed in our conversion, and various are the courses 
of duty in which we actually obtain the promise. All the Lord's 
people obey ; for he is the author of eternal salvation only to them 
tliat obey him ; but they are called to obey in very different ways. 
One is required to act the Christian in single, another in relative lile. 
One fills a public station, another a private. Some are to receive 
with gratitude, others are to give with cheerfulness. Some must 
d'scharge the duties of prosperity, others those of adversity. Our suf- 
ferings, too, \ary, as well as our services. One glorifies God by bear- 
ing reproach and persecution, another by enduring bodily pain and 
infirmities. These have much outward trouble ; and those more 
inward conflict ; each is to take up his cross, and to Ibllow the Lamb 
whithersoever he goeth. For, 

Finally, it implies submission ; not prescribing, not objecting, but 
referring every thing to the divine pleasure. " If" by any means I 
might attain unto the resurrection of the dead." Whatever they arc, 
I bow to them. This implicit submission is necessary to evince the 
earnestness, and even sincerity of our conviction. Dr. Chyne often 
said to his patients, when they objected to the strictness of his regi- 
men, " I see you are not bad enough for me yet." For if a patient 
really beheves and feels his disease and danger, he will show it by 
readiness to yield to the remedies the physician enjoins, however 
trying they may be. Here, indeed, the great contention lies wnth 
many. It does not regard the end ; they would have heaven, but 
r\ot by any means; it must be by those of their own devising or 
choosing. Are not the rivers of Damascus better than all the waters 
of Jordan ? May I not wash in them and be clean ? But when a man 
is at the point to die — for ever — he will acquiesce in any means of 
deliverance, however mysterious to his reason, however humiliating 
to his pride, however adverse to his sin and sloth. God will have the 
whole management of our case, or he will have nothing to do with it. 
And He ought to have it ; for this submission is an homage due to his 
sovereignty. We have no claim upon Him ; and it is wonderful 
mercy and grace that he will save and bless us at all. We owe it 
also to liis wisdom and goodness ; for though he is a Sovereign, in 



APRIL 9. 149 

the exercise of his prerogative he does not act arbitrarily, but doea 
all things well; his work is perfect. The issue, too, is such as to justify 
our submission to any means in securing it. In earthly things, the 
Jioney does not always pay for the sting, nor the rose for the thorna 
But here the success will infinitely more than remiuierate all our ser- 
vices and sacrifices. And the success, also, is sure. How many cases 
are there in which means, any means, may be used in vain ! The 
race is not always to the swift,' nor the battle to the strong. In every 
department of human enterprise the successful candidates are few. 
Yea, the event m no other pursuit is infallible. But if you are like- 
minded with Paul, you need not fear the result. The gate of mercy 
was never yet shut against a returning sinner. Their heart shall 
live that seek God. 



April 9. — " Now, if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also 
live witi him." — Romans, vi, 8. 

The death and the resurrection of Christ constitute the substance 
of the Gospel ; and our concern with them includes more than our 
admitting them into our creed as doctrinal truths. They must be- 
come internal principles, and produce in us corresponding effects. 
He died, and we must be dead ; dead to the law, not as a rule of hfe, 
but as a covenant of works. Dead to the world ; not as the scene of 
God's wonderful works, nor as a sphere of duty, or a field of useful- 
ness, but as the enemy of God and our portion. Dead to sin — this in- 
cludes nothing less than our avoiding it, but it intends much more ; 
we may be alive to it, even while we forsake it. But we must no 
longer love, or relish it ; and thus no longer live in it. How shall we 
that are dead to sin, live any longer therein ! 

We must be dead with Him. We are dead Vv^ith Him virtualhj. 
For He is the head and representative of his church, and therefore * 
what He did for his people is considered as done by them. We are 
dead with Him efficiently. For there is an influence derived from 
his cross which mortifies us to sin, and this influence is not moral only, 
consisting in the force of argument and motive, though this is true ; 
and nothing shows the evil of sin, or the love of the Savior like Cal- 
vary. But it is spiritual also. He died to purify as well as to redeem -, 
and He not only made reconciliation for the sins of the people, but re- 
ceived gifts for men, and secured the agency of the Holy Spirit. -4-- 
There is no real holiness separate from the grace of the cross. There 
He draws all men unto Him. We are dead with Him as to resem- i 
blance. We are planted together in the likeness of his death, and ) 
therefore our death is called, as well as his, a crucifixion. " Know- I 
ing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin 1 
might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." 1 am, f 
says the apostle, not only dead, but crucified with Christ. That mode { 
of dying was a painful one, and a visible one, and a gradual one, 
and a sure one ; for the moment the body was fastened to the cross, 
it w^as as good as dead ; the bones might be broken to accelerate the 
event, but it was never taken down alive. All this is easily applied 
to the crucifying of the flesh, with the affections and lusts. 

But He rose, and now liv^es, and we shall live with Ilim. That is, 



150 APRIL 10. 

in consequence of his living. Because He lives, we shall live also. 
For we are quickened together with Christ, and are raised up, and 
made to sit together in heavenly places. That is, in his company. 
Where I am, there shall also my servant be. We have much in 
heaven to endear it. How delightful will it be to join our friends with 
all their infirmities done away. But to depart, to be with Christ, is 
far better. That is, in fellowship with Him. We may live with 
another, and not live like him. We may be with another, and be- 
hold his estate, but not share it. But when He who is our Ui'e shall 
appear Ave also shall appear with Him in glory. I appoint unto youj 
eays He to liis disciples, a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed 
unto me ; that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and 
sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Even our vile body 
chall be fashioned like his own glorious body. And the same duration 
attaches to his blessedness and ours. I am alive, says he, for ever 
more, and our end is everlasting hfe. 

Finally, Paul believed all this. And let us do the same ; but let us 
believe it as he did. That is, let us believe that we shall live with 
him if we be dead with him. Some believe it without this. But their 
faith is only presumption. Whatever they rely upon, whether their 
knowledge, or orthodoxy, or talking, or profession, they are only pre- 
paring for themselves the most bitter disappointment, if they are not 
dead unto sin, and delivered from the present evil world j for if any 
man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his. 

— But let us also believe, that if we be dead with Him, we shall 
also live with Him. The inclusive is as sure as the exclusive, and 
takes in every diversity and degree of grace. Whatever be their ap- 
prehensions of themselves, none of them all shall come short of this 
glory. It is as certain as the promise, and oath, and covenant of God, 
and the death and intercession of the Savior, and the pledges and 
earnests of immortality, can render it. Therefore be not faithless, but 
believing. It was used by Christians to animate and encourage each 
other in the apostles' days, as a common and familiar aphorism ; and 
they gave it full credit. " It is a faithful saying, for if we be dead 
with Him, we shall also live with Him." 



April 10. — "The sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow." 

1 Peter, i, 11. 

Connected with the sufferings of Christ there Avas a three fold glory. 

— There Avas a glory that preceded his sufferings. This is implied 

m his language — "I came forth from the Father:" "I came down 

^ from heaven." But it is expressly mentioned, Avhen He says, " The 

I glory that I had with thee before the world began." What condc- 

I Kcension can there be Avhere there is no previous dignity ; and Avhat 

• possessions can a being claim before his existence ? But He Avas rich, 

and for our sakes became poor. He Avas in the form of God, and 

thought it no robbery to be equal Avith God. He took upon Him the 

form of a servant, and made himself of no reputation. 

There was a glory that accompanied his sufferings. There is 
oflen much parade at the death of a monarch, and, by a shoAv of 
greatness, an attempt is m.ade to conceal or alleviate the disgrace of 



APRIL 10. 151 

real littleness. But what are the suspensions of business, the splen- 
did equipage, the tolling of bells, the solemn music, the discharge ol 
artillery — 

"He dies; the heavens ia mourning stood." 

The sun was darkened ; the earth shook ; the rocks rent ; the graves 
were opened; the dead arose. Spiritual trophies blended with the 
prodicTies of nature. Peter's heart was broken at a look. Thecen- 
lurion, watching, exclaimed, Surely this man was the Son ot God. 
All the people that came together to that sight smote their breasts 
and returned. The dying thief believed with Uie heart, and con- 
fessed witli the tongue,"unto salvation, and received an assurance ot 
an immediate place in Paradise, And what a scene of moral glory 
was here also displayed— in his readiness to suffer; his apology lor 
his slumbering disciples; the order to Peter to put up his sword ; hia 
heaiinf^ the ear of his enemy's servant; his stipulatmg tor the salety 
of hislpostles; his confessing before Pontius Pdate ; his bearing, 
without resentment, the mocking, the spitting, the scourging; his 
sympathy with the weeping daughters of Jerusalem, in his way to 
Calvary ; his tender concern for his widowed mother, in his agony 
on the cross; his prayer for his murderers, "Father, iorgive them, 
for they know not what they do 1" Where shall we end ? Here 
Celsus endeavors to turn his glory into shame. Having represented 
Him as despitefully used, arrayed in purple robes, crowned with 
thorns, and nailed to the tree, he cries out, in the name of wonder 
Why, on this occasion at least, does he not act the God, and hurl some 
sio-nal veno-eance on the authors of his insults and anguish? But, O 
Cdsus, He'does act the God. Any madman on earth, or fury in hell, 
is capable of anger, and wrath, and revenge. But to bear tne most 
shockino- provocations, and, though commanding the thunder and the 
flame, Ibrbear to punish, and only pity ! If it be the glory of a man 
to pass by a transgression, and the noblest triumph to overcome evii 
with 0-00(1 He died gloriously beyond all example. Yes— says even 
a Rosseau-If the death of Socrates was the death of a sage, the 
death of Jesus was the death of a God. -r. *u 

There was also a glory that followed his sufferings. From the 
clouds that had concealed Him, He issues forth, m all the radiance 
of immortality, declared to be the Son of God with power, by the 
Soirit of holiness, in his resurrection from the dead. An angel de- 
scends, and i-olls away the door of the sepulchre, and sits in glory 
upon it, and shakes the ground, and causes the Roman guards to flee 
for fear. His disciples are reanimated, and reassembled ; to whom, 
also, He showed Himself alive, after his passion, by many mtalhble 
sio-ns, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of things pertam- 
in"^ to the kino-dom of God. See Him ascend into heaven tar above 
alFprincipality and power, and every name that is named, not only 
in this world, but also in that which is to come. Were there glories 
on the day of Pentecost? lie shed forth that which was seen and 
heard. He filled the apostles with the Holy Ghost, according to his 
promise, so that they spake with new tongues, and all the people 
heard, in their own language, the wondertul works ot God. And 
three thousand were converted under one sermon. All the miracles 
his servants performed were done in his name, and were rays ot his 



152 APRIL 11. 

glory. The establishment of the Gospel then, and the spread of it 
since, and every soul called by grace, is a part of the joy set before 
him, wherein he sees of the travail of his soul, and is satisfied. And, 
Oh ! the glories that are yet to follow— when the nations of them that 
are saved shall walk in the light of the Lamb— when he shall sprinkle 
many nations— when all nations shall fall down before him, and all 
kings shall serve him ! And, Oh! the glories that are yet to follow, 
when his mediation shall be completely accomplished, and he shall 
come to be glorified in his saints, and admired in all them that be- 
lieve, and attract every eye, and fill every heart, and employ every 
tongue, for ever ! 

Savior Jesus ! may I be with thee, where thou art, to behold thy 
glory! £*» ^^*f ^^ ^^^ • 



April 11. — " In that day, saith the Lord of Hosts, shall ye call every man 
his neighbor under the vine, and under the fig tree,"— Zechariah, iii, 10. 

Thus inspiration characterizes the reign of the Messiah. It wa.3 
to be distinguished by three things. 

First. Its enjoyment. The very image is delightful. Vines ana 
fig-trees were much prized in the East. They afforded at once de- 
lightful fruit for the taste, and refreshing shade from the heat. Per- 
sons therefore regaled themselves under their branches and leaves — 
and thus the expression in time came to signify happiness. And 
what said our Lord to his disciples? Blessed are your eyes, for they 
see ; and yoxiv ears, for they hear. Because Christians do not run 
to the same excess of riot with others, and turn their back on the 
pleasures of sin, and the dissipations of the world, many think they 
are mopish and melancholy. But blessed are the people that know 
the joyful sound. It was so in the beginning of the Gospel. Where- 
cver it came, it was received as good news, as glad tidings; and it 
was said of the receivers, that they walked, not only in the fear of the 
Lord, but in the comforts of the Holy Ghost. It not only relieved 
but delighted them. It not only tranquillized them, but inspired them 
with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Have we the sam.e Gospel ? 
Or do we embrace it properly, itj instead of being thus blessed, it 
leaves us in a dungeon of gloom, the victims of sadness, and care, and 
apprehension ? 

Second. Is liberty. Slaves and captives did not sit under their 
vines and fig-trees. Nor did proprietors in time of war. When in- 
vaded, they were liable to the surprises of the enemy. Then the in- 
habitants disappeared from these loved, but no longer safe retreats; 
and longed for the time when, released from perils and alarms, they 
should go forth with joy, and repose and refresh themselves again. 
Therefore Rabshakeh, to urge the Jews to a surrender said, " Make 
an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me; and eat ye 
every one of his vine and every one of his fig-tree, and drink ye every 
one the waters of his own cistern." Hence we read, " There was 
peace all the days of Solomon, and from Dan to Beersheba the people 
sat every man under his vine and under his fig-tree." But a greater 
than Soloman is here. In " his days Israel shall be saved, and Judah 
shall dwell safely." What have his subjects to fear ? If God be for 



APRIL 12. 153 

us, who can be against us ? What shall separate us from the love 
of God ? Who is he that conckmneth ? It is Christ that died ; yea, 
rather, that is risen again ; who is even at the right hand of God '; 
who also maketh intercession for us. Christians may therefore o-ive 
up tliemselves to holy confidence. Their souls may dwell at ease. 
1 hey are free indeed. They are l<ept by the power of Gcd. They 
ehali never perish, neither shall any pluck them^it of his hand. Let 
them realize this, and feel a peace that passeth all understanding, 
keeping their hearts and minds through Jesus Christ. Let them say, 
" I will trust, and not be afraid, for the Lord Jehovah is my strength 
and my song, he also is become my salvation." ° 

The third is benevolence. Ye shall call every man his neighbor 
under the vine, and under the fig-tree. There is nothing like selfish- 
ne^-s here ; they are anxious that others should partake of their privi- 
leges. There is no envy here ; there is no room for it. Here is enough, 
not only for ourselves, but for our neighbors ; and for all of them. And 
if we are Christians indeed, our happiness, instead of being impaired 
by the experience of others, will be increased by it. Let ul therefore 
remember the lepers. They had discovered plenty, and were rega- 
ling themselves, while their fellow citizens were perishing withla- 
mine in Samaria. But conscience smote them, and " they said one 
to arother, We do not well ; this day is a day of good tidings, and we 
liold our peace ; if we tarry till the morning hght some mischief will 
come upon us ; now therefore come, that we may go and tell the 
king's household." Thus the first subjects of Christianity said to the 
spiritually destitute and dying, " That which we have seen and heard 
declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us; and 
tmly our felloAvship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ." 
Cursed be the temper of the elder brother that turned wretched at 
the tears of joy that bedewed the beard of an aged father, and the 
ecstacies of a family thrown into transport at the return and recep- 
tion of the prodigal. Let me resemble, in every feeling of m.y soul 
those happy beings who rejoice in the presence of God^over one sin- 
ner that repenteth. Let me invite all that come v/ithin my reach to 
that mercy which I have found. Let me say, O taste and see that 
the Lord is good ; blessed is the man that trusteth in him, and do this 
not only by my lips, but by all my temper and all my conduct, hold- 
ing forth the word of life. 



Apr:l 12.—" Being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption 
that IS in Chnst Jesus." — Romans, iii, 24. 

Here we have an answer to the most important and interestmo- oi 
all inquiries, " How shall man be just with God ?" ° 

To be justified is to be acquitted from the charge brought against 
us, and absolved from the condemnation with which we were threat- 
ened. With regard to us the condemnation was deserved, and the 
charge was true. This renders the case so difficult and peculiar, and 
calls for the apostle's developement. 

But in exposing the source of the privilege, he seems to use a tau- 
tologv, "Being justified//-ee/// b?/ his grace." If it be done freelv, it 
must be of grace ; and if it be gracious, it must be free. Yet this ia 

"7* 



154 APRIL 12. 

not saying too mucli. Paul knew that men were proud and vain ; 
and that, as Simon Magus thought of purchasing the Holy Ghost 
with money, so they, in dealing with Gfed about their souls, wish to 
be merchants, rather than suppliants, and would buy, while they are 
compelled to beg. But, surely, if it be not saying too much, it is 
saying enough. Surely, after this, the freeness and graciousness of 
the thing cannot be questioned. It is not only free and gracious, as 
opposed to constraint, but as opposed to worthiness. Merit in a sinner 
is impossible ; his desert lies on the other side. Thei^e he is w^orthy, 
and worthy of death. A man who asks a favor may have no claim 
upon you, but you may also have no demand upon hnn ; and, there- 
fore, though you may justly refuse him, yet you have no right to ap- 
])rehend and punish him. But God has aright to punish and destroy 
us ; and it is of his mercies that we are not consumed. It is also free 
and gracious, as opposed to desire. This is undeniable with regard 
to the constitution and accomplishment of the plan itself, for these 
long preceded even our being. But is it true with regard to the ap- 
plication of it ? The publican prayed, God be merciful to me a sin- 
ner, and went down to his house justified. And you sought, and 
found. But what induced you to seek? A sense cf your want of the 
blessing. But how came you to feel this, after being so long insensi- 
ble of it? Hearing such a preacher. But who made this preacher, 
and sent him, and placed him in your way, and applied what he said 
to your heart ? And the same may be asked with regard to any other 
instrumentality. Go as far back as you please ; when you arrive, 
you will find him there before you, with all his preparations and ex- 
citements, and will hear him say as you approach, " Come, for all 
things are now ready." 

" No sinner can be 
*' Beforehand with thee : 
" Thy grace is preventing, almighty, and free." 

But the apostle tells us of the medium of the privilege, " Through 
the redemption that is in Christ Jesus," And it is obvious he did not 
deem this inconsistent wilh the former. He knew tliat it was still 
freely by his grace. It was Avith God to determine whether the law 
ehould take its course, or the penalty be transferred to the surety ; for 
the sentence was, " The soul that sinneth, it shall die." It was, there- 
fore, an instance of his sovereign grace to admit a substitute. Besides, 
if he required reparation, he himself provided the Lamb for a burnt 
ofTering. Herein " God hath commended his love toward us, in that 
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us ;" and hence the excla- 
mation, " Herein is love ; not that we loved God, but that he loved 
us. and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." We have an 
illustration of this in the case of Job's friends. They had displeased 
God, and yet he was willing that they should be reconciled, i/e, 
therefore, ordered a proceeding that should be available : " There- 
fore, take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my 
servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my ser- 
vant Job shall pray for you; for him will I accept : lest 1 deal with 
you after your folly.'' The sacrifice and the intercession of Job did 
not dispose God to show them mercy, for he prescribed them ; but 
they were the way in which he chose to exercise it. And thus •• lie 



APRIL 13. 155 

laid on him the iniquities of us all." " He made him, who knew nc 
sin, to be a sin-offering for us, that we might be made the righteous- 
ness of God in him." This redemption, therefore, is the effect of his 
goodness. He loved the Son because he laid down his life for us ; 
and highly exalted him, because he was obedient unto death, even 
tl\e death of the cross. 

We cannot say too much of God's mercy ; this is tlie origin of all 
our hopes- But, surely, he had the right to determine the way m 
which It should be extended toward those who had no claims upon 
it ; and of the propriety oi" the way, both with regard to himself and 
us, he was the only competent judge. And, therefore, if he has ap- 
pointed a way, and revealed it in his word, ignorance, pride, or re- 
bellion only, can lead us to oppose or neglect it, and wretchedness 
and ruin must be the sure result. If we could not see Uie reasona- 
bleness of the dispensation, yet, if He has declared that it " became 
him," we should be bound to acquiesce and adore. But we can see 
that he has herein abounded toward us, in all wisdom and prudence; 
that here mercy and truth meet together, righteousness and peace 
kiss each other; that the law is magnified, and made honorable ; that 
sin is condemned in the flesh ; that God is just, while he justifieth the 
ungodly who believeth in Jesus ; and that every end that could have 
been answered by the destruction of the sinner has been equally, 
better, infinitely better answered by the death of the Savior. 

And now wliat wait we for ? We are accepted in the Beloved. 
Let us come in his name. Let us draw near in full assurance of faith. 
Let us joy in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have 
now received the atonement. And let us not conceal, but zealously 
and gladly make known, the blessedness that has made us free indeed. 



April 13. — "Upon one stone shall be seven eyes." — Zechariab, iii, 9. 

The Lord Jesus is often called a stone, and seldom without some 
attribute of distinction. Thus Peter calls him '' a living stone," and 
Isaiah *' a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation." 
And here the use of him is announced. He is the basis to sustain the 
complete salvation of the church of God, which is his house — his 
temple. Of such a structure how great would be the fall ! The crash 
would be heard beyond the stars. But what can bear up for ever the 
weight of such an edifice? Our worthiness and works? Our right- 
eousness and strength ? Better would the sliding sand, the leaf of 
autumn, the down of the thistle, support St. Paul's cathedral, or one of 
the pyramids of Egypt, or the pillars of the earth. E-utHe is infinitely 
equal to the importance of his station, and whoso believeth on him 
shall not be ashamed. 

But let us observe the notice he was to excite and engage. Upon 
one stone shall be seven eyes. Seven is not to be taken here literally; 
it is what the Jews call a perfect number, and is designed to indicate 
a great multitude. Thus God says, If ye walk contrary to me, I also 
will walk contrary to you, and will punish you seven times for your 
iniquities; that is, often and severely. Shall I forgive my brother, 
Bays Peter, until seven times ? 

Let us look at a little of the accomplishment. The eye of God 



150 



APRIL 13. 



" Through all his travels here below 
''' They did his steps attend ! 

" Oft gaz'd, and wonder 'd where at last 
" The scene of love would end." 



was upon him. No finite understanding can conceive the complacency 
He had in contemplating him, while achieving the redemption of his 
people, and finishing the work that was given him to do : " In whom," 
says He, " my soul delighteth." 

We read of an innumerable company of angels. The eyes of 
these were upon him. He was seen of angels. They announced 
and carolled his birth. They ministered to him in the wilderness. 

Around the bloody tree 

'• They press'd with strong desire, 

That woud'rous sight to see — 

" The Lord of life expire; 

And could their eyes have known a tear, 

Had dropp'd it there, in sad surprise." 

— The eye of Satan Avas upon him. He watched him through life, 
hoping to make a prey of him, as he had done of the first Adam. But 
here was the Lord from heaven. And he found nothing in him. 

— The eyes of men were upon him. Simeon saw him, and wished 
TO see nothing else. Blind Bartimeus saw him, and followed him in 
the way. Judas saw him closely, for three years, and confessed that 
he had betrayed innocent blood. Pilate saw him judicially, and said, 
I am pure from the blood of that just man. The centurion watched 
him in death, and said, This man was the Son of God. And all the 
people that came together to that sight, beholding the things which 
were done, smote their breasts, and returned. Mary, his mother, was 
standing by the cross. She saw him ; and what were her emotions 
when she viewed the head that had oft reposed upon her bosom, fall 
upon his shoulder, and yielding up the ghost ! After his resurrection, 
then were the disciples glad when they saw the Lord. Have not I 
seen Christ ? says Paul : yes, and even at mid-day he shone above 
the brightness of the sun. 

— And, hov/ many thousands and millions have seen him since ! — 
not with the eye of the body, but of the mind ; not with the eye ot 
sense, but of faith. Indeed, this — this is the grand essential : " He 
that seeth the Son, and believeth on him, hath everlasting life." The 
one single design of the Gospel, and all the ordinances of religion, is 
to bring the eyes of men to fix upon him ; for there is salvation in no 
other. He, therefore cries, " Behold me! behold me !" Every minis- 
ter only endeavoi's to awaken attention to him; saying, with John, 
" Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world !" 
' — Ah ! Christians, it is your grief, not that you are so little known 
and regarded, but that so few" e3'es are upon him. But more are view- 
ing him than you are aware of And, soon, Jews sball look upon him 
whom they have pierced ; and Gentiles shall come to his liglit, and 
kings to the brightness of liis rising. Yea, all kings shall fall down 
before him, and all nations shall serve him. 

—And, in another world, he is all in all. There he drawls every 
eye, and employs every tongue. There his c-ervants shall serve him, 
and tliey shall see his face, and his name shall be on their forehead. 
O glorious hope ! It doth not yet appear what we shall be ; but thia 
we know, that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we 

shall SEE HIM AS HE IS. 



APRIL 14. 157 

April 14.— " The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord, was 
taken in their pits, of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among 
the heathen."— Lamentations, iv, 20. 

The words are spoken of Zedekiah, the last king of Judah. And 
[wo thino-? are to be noticed and improved. First, How his people 
reo-arded°him— thev called him " The breath of their nostrils That 
i3,1ie seemed as dekr and necessary as the air they respn-ed. How 
prone are we to make too much of creatures. To love them proper- 
ly is a duty ; to over-value them is folly and sin. Yet even Chris- 
tian^ are in dano-er of this, according to the apostle John, Little 
children, keep yourselves from idols." And who can cast stones at 
Zedekiah's subjects 7 Is there no being who is the breath of our nos- 
trils'? Have we never made flesh our arm? Never said ot a child, 
" This same shall comfort us?" Never called gold our hope ? What 
H all sin, but a departure from God ; a transferring of that tear, and 
confidence, and dependance, and homage, to the creature, which are 
due to the Creator, God over all, blessed for evermore? Religion ig 
nothing but a compliance with the demand—" My son, give me thine 

heart " 

Secondly ; observe how he disappointed them. They reposed their 
trast in him, and expected that under his empire they should enjoy 
security and happiness among the surrounding nations : We said 
of him, under his shadow we shall live among the heathen— but he 
was taken in their pits." Alluding to his unsuccessful effort to es- 
cape, when Jerusalem was broken up ; "all the men of war fled, and 
went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the gate between the 
two walls which was by the king's garden: but the army of the 
Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook Zedekiah m the 
plains of Jericho ; and all his army was scattered from him. Then 
they took the king, and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to 
Rib'ah, in the land of Hamah ; where he gave judgment upon him." 
Thus painfully were their hopes deceived : and their idol, instead of 
defendino- and blessing them, was himself bereaved, and blinded, and 
imprisoned, for life : "And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Ze- 
dekiah before his eyes ; he slew, also, all the princes of Judah in 
Riblah. Then he put out the eyes of Zedekiah ; and the king of Ba- 
bylon bound him in chains, and carried him to Babylon, and put him 
in prison till the day of his death." Thus liable are we to disappoint- 
ment, when we confide in creatures. " The inhabitant of Maroth 
looked carefully for good; but evil came down from the Lord unto 
the gate of Jerusalem." " Behold," says Hezekiah, " for peace I had 
great bitterness." . . 

The young are peculiarly exposed here, owing to their ignorance 
and inexperience. Yet the old are not always wise. But we are the 
authors of our own disappointments. We disregard the notices of 
history and observation, and tiie word of truth ; and look for that from 
creatures which they are neither designed nor able to afford. There 
is no assurance of any of our earthly possessions or enjoyments; they 
are liable to outward violence ; they are corruptible in their qualities; 
tkey perish in the using. And there is not only a physical, but a 
moral uncertainty in their duration : for when we look to them ratlier 
than God, God will either take them away, that we may make Him 



158 APRIL 15. 

the only strength of our heart, and our portion for ever ; or if he leaves 
them, he will take away the comfort from them, and render them our 
rebukes. For whatev^er we make the means of our forsaldng or for- 
getting God, God will make the instrument of chastising us. We 
may therefore often read our sin in our sufferings ; and it will be well 
if the remnant of Israel no more shall stay upon him that smote them ; 
but shall stay upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 

Many have had reason to say, It is good for me that I have been 
afflicted. The dispensation that removed a creature introduced them 
to^ the God of all grace ; and the Valley of Achor became the door 
^of hope. And so it has been, not only in the commencement, but in 
*t)ie progress of the divine life. The Lord's people have been enrich- 
ed by their worldly losses ; and in the failures of human dependence, 
they have taken a fresh hold of his arm, and said, " I will trust, and 
not be afraid, for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song ; He 
also is become my salvation." When a good man was observed to be as 
cheerful in adversity as he had been in prosperity, he assigned as the 
reason, When I had every thing about me, I enjoyed God in all, and 
noAv I have nothing, I enjoy all in God. And happy he, who, when 
he abounds, can say, with the poet, 

" To Thee we owe our wealth and friends, I " Thanks to thy name for meaner things ; 
" Our health, and safe abode: | '• But they are not my God." 

And who, when he is abased, can say, with the prophet : " Although 
the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit b-e in the vine ; the 
labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat ; tlie 
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 my salvation." 



April 15. — "Then all the disciples forsook him and fled." — rZattbew, 
xxvi, 56. 

Let us look at this lamentable fact, in connexion with tlie dic:ciples, 
the Savior, and ourselves. 

— With regard to the disciples, it shows us their w^eaknesp and 
depravity. They fled from fear; but their fear was needless, lor lie 
had stipulated for their safety when he surrendered himself in the 
garden : " If, therefore, ye seek me, let these go their way ; that the 
saying might be fulfilled. Of them which thou hast given me, I have 
lost none." They were under great obligations to him. He had done 
much for them in calhng them by his grace, and dignifying them 
with the apostlesliip. And he was now going to bleed and die for 
them. And they had professed a great attacliment for him ; for when 
Peter said. Though I should die with thee, I will not deny thee ; so 
said all the disciples, yet they all forsook him, and fled ! Lord, what 
is man! Yet this culpable cowardice was overruled for good. For 
their declension made their witness, after his resurrection, the moiC 
unexceptionably credible ; and the weakness of their faith is the 
strengthening of ours. They were not persons of hasty belief They 
had doubted,^and, for tlie time, abandoned the cause, saying, " We 
trusted it had been he which should have redeemed Israel ;" and were 
repairing to their former home and callings. What could have rallied 
them, and brought them back, and inspired them with courage to go 



APRIL 16. 159 

forth, aiid bear reproach, and persecution, and death, in his name, but 
a conviction that nothing could resist I 

— With regard to the Savior, this was a part, and a very trying 
part of his abasement and passion. A friend is born lor adversity. 
Then his presence, his sympathy, his countenance, is pecuharly de- 
sirable and necessary. Common humanity says, To him that is 
atflicted, pity should be showed of his friend. But he looked for some 
to talve pity, and there was none, and for comforters, and he found 
none. These men had been three years with him ; they could have 
borne witness to his freedom from sedition; his innocency; his piety. 
They could have cheered him by their standing at his side, deter- 
mined to suffer with him. But one betrayed him, another denied 
him, and all forsook him, and fled. Behold, and see if ever there was 
sorrow like unto his sorrow ! And he foresaw and foretold this : " Be- 
hold, the hour cometh, and is now come, that ye shall be scattered 
every man to his own, and shall leave me alone." This enhanced his 
anguish, as he suffered in the apprehension, as well as in the reality; 
but it also enhanced his love. He was not drawn into any part of 
liis suffering by ignorance or surprise — he knew all — all was before 
him ; but he turned not his back. 

— With regard to ourselves, it may teach us not to sink or wonder, 
if we should be deserted by those from whom we had reason to look 
for better things. Did not one tell David, " Behold, Ahithopel is 
among the conspirators with Absalom ?" And did not he groan, " It 
was not an enemy that reproached me ; then I could have borne it ! 
neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; 
then I would have hid myself from him. But it was thou, a man 
mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. We took sweet coun- 
sel togetlier, and walked unto the house of God in company." Did 
not Job complain, " My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook 
and as the stream of brooks they pass away, which are blackish by 
reason of the ice, and wherein the snow is hid ; what time they wax 
Vv^arm, they vanish ; when it is hot, they are consumed out of their 
place." Did not Paul say, " At my first answer, no man stood by 
me, but all men forsook me ; I pray God that it may not be laid to 
their charge?" Above all, consider the Lord Jesus, " lest ye be wea- 
ried, and faint in your minds." Is the servant above the master ? 
" Then all the disciples forsook him and fled." 



April 16. — " I will not leave you comfortless ; I will come to you." — John, 
xiv, 13. 

These tender words are part of our Savior's farewell address to 
his disciples, immediately after the holy supper. 

We see in them his kindness. These disciples had shown many 
defects, and had very little improved any of their advantages ; but 
loving his own who Avere in the world, he loved them unto the end. 
They were now going to prove themselves very unworthy, and he 
foresaw and foretold what, according to their present views and feel- 
ings, seemed perfectly incredible to themselves ; that they would all 
forsake him in the hour of trial, notwithstanding their obligations and 
professions. They were going to leave him comfortless, as far as it 



160 APRIL 16. 

depended upon them; and to induce him to complain, " I looked for 
some to take pity, and there was none, and for comforters, and 1 found 
none." But, much as they deserved it, " I will not," says he, " leave 
you comfcrtlesfci." " I will, not to punish, or upbraid, but to relieve 
and encourage, I will come to you." 

Here, also, we perceive his greatness. When we are going away 
from our connexions to some distant place, we may speak of our re- 
turn ; but it must be conditionally ; for we are not sure of the event; 
it does not depend upon us, and we ought always to say, " If the 
Lord will, we shall live, and do this or that." But when we die, we 
know our return is impossible, and our friends know it, and weep most 
of all that they will see our faces no more. The dying pastor can- 
not say to his anxious flock, I will not leave you comlbrtless; I will 
come to you, and again teed you with the bread of hfe. The dying 
father cannot say to his family, mourning around his bed, I will come 
again, and provide for you. One of the most touching circumstances 
iifthe beautiful lines ol'Cow^per on his mother's picture, is the delu- 
sion employed to comfort him. 

" Thy maidens griev'd themselves at my concern, 

' Oft gave nie promise of thy quick return: 
" Wiiat ardently I wish'd, 1 long believ'd, 
" And disappointed still, was still deceiv'd. 
" By disappointment ev'ry day beguil'd, 
" Dupe o( to-morrow, even from a child — 
'• Thus manj' a sad to-morrow, came and went 
" Till, all my stock of infant sorrow spent, 
" I learn'd at last, submission lo my lot; 

' But, though 1 less deplor'd thee, ne'er forgot." 

And the same lesson we must all learn, with regard to every dear 
delight we here enjoy. The departing Joseph said unto his brethren, 
" I die: and God will surely visit you." He does not say, I will visit 
you — he knew he was going the w\ay whence he could not return. 
But Divinity here speaks, as well as friendship. " I will not leave 
you comfortless ; I will come to you." This is the language, not only 
of foreknowledge, but of sovereign dominion ; the language of one 
who had the kej's of hell, and of death; of one who said, No man 
taketh my life from me ; 1 lay it down of myself— I have power to 
lay it down, and I have power to take it again. Even death would 
not interrupt his goodness, nor his entering another world affect his 
intercourse with his people in this. His presence with them was not 
confined to his bodily residence. While on earth, he said, " The Son 
of man, who is in heaven." And now, though in heaven, he is no 
less on earth. Lo ! said he, I am with you alway, even unto the end 
of the worlJ. 

— And can w^e help perceiving, here, how indispensable he is to 
the happiness of his people? The disciples were comfortless in the 
view of his absence ; antl it is easy to account for this, from their at- 
tachment to him, and from the pleasure and profit they had derived 
from him. We feel, and tremble, and groan, at parting with a friend 
or relation. What must the feelings of the disciples have been at the 
thought of losing him ! They would be left in the world like sheep 
without their shepherd ; like travellers in a wilderness without their 
guide, like oq^hans bereaved of the father's care, and the mother's 
lx)som And what could comfort them, but the promise of himselt 



APRIL 17. 161 

again ? Had he said, I will not leave you comfortless, I will send you 
riches and honors, princes shall be your friends, and angels your ser- 
vants ; what would all this have been without the assurance, " I will 
come to you ?" But this is sufficient. Here is a resource equal to the 
exigency ; a consolation adequate to all the distress. 

The good found in creatures is always finite, and very limited. It 
is also much dispersed, so that Ave must apply to many to contribute 
their part to make up one comfort. The happiness we derive from 
creatures is like a beggar's garment, it is made up of pieces and 
patches, and is worth very little after all. But the blessedness Ave 
derive from the Savior is single and complete. In him all fullness 
dwells He is coeval with every period. He is answerable to every 
condition. He is a physician to heal ; a counsellor to plead ; a king 
to govern ; a friend to sympathize ; a father to provide. He is a foui> 
dation to sustain; a root to enliven; a fountain to refresh. He is the 
shadow from the heat ; the bread of life ; the morning star ; the sun of 
righteousness; all, and in all. No creature can be a substitute for 
him; but he can supply the place of every creature. He is all my 
salvation, and all my desire ; my hope, my peace, my life, my o-lory, 
and joy. 

Whom have I in heaven but thee ? and there is none upon earth 
that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth, but thou 
art the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. I cannot be 
exposed ; I cannot be friendless ; I cannot be poor ; I cannot be fearful ; 
I cannot be sorrowful, with thee. « 

" If thou, my Jesus, still art nigh, I " Secure, when mortal comforts flee, 

" Cheerful I live, and cheerful die ; | "To find ten thousand worlds in thee." 



April 17. — " Behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord 
of hosts." — Zechariah, ill, 9. 

That is of the stone, upon which were to be seven eyes, and Avhich 
intends the Messiah, the foundation laid in Zion. 

To engrave, is to pierce and cut. When he became a man of sor- 
rows, Avhen he said, Reproach hath broken my heart ; when he gave 
his back to the smiters, and his cheek to them that plucked off the 
hair; when the crown of thorns entered his temples, and the nails his 
hands and feet, and the spear his side — then, O my soul, was this 
Scripture fulfilled. 

As there is no engraving without wounding, so to engrave is to 
embellish and beautify. And he was made perfect through suffering. 
Hence, " I do cures," said he, " to-day and to-morrow, and the third 
day I shall be perfected." Hence he calls the season of his passion 
the hour in which he Avas to be " glorified." Hence he adds, '• Now 
is the judgment of this world ; noAv shall the prince of this world be 
cast out; and I, if I be lifted up from the earth, Avill draAV all men 
unto me." And the richest display of his graces, and the acquire- 
ment of the dispensation of the Spirit; and the dominion he exercises 
in our nature; and the prerogative of judging the A\'orld in righteous- 
ness ; and the praises he Avill inhabit through eternal ages — all these 
resulted from his sufferings, according to the language of divine pro- 
phecy and history : " When thou shalt make his soul an offerino- for 



162 APRIL 18. 

sin, he shall see his seeJ, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure 
of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of 
liis soul, and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous 
servant justify many, for he shall bear their initjuity." " Because he 
was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, therefore God 
hath highly exalted him, and given him a name above every name." 

And as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. To 
a person unacquainted with the process, the pruning of the tree, the 
cleaving of the ground with the ploughshare, the operation of the 
chisel on the stone, would look like an effort to injure or destroy. 
But look at the thing afterward. Behold the vine, adorned with 
jmrple clusters. Survey the field, yielding the blade, the ear, the full 
corn in the ear. Examine the carved work when the sculptor has 
achieved his design, and fixed it in the proper place ! 

Christians are sometimes perplexed, and discouraged, because of 
their trials. They know not what God is doing with them. They 
fear he is angry, and going to crush and destroy. But they are his 
workmanship. He is preparing them for their destination in the 
temple of his grace. These trials are applied to qualify and advance 
them, and will all perfect that which concerneth them. Howard was 
taken by the enemy, and confined in prison. There he learned the 
h«art of a captive ; and this experience, originating in his suffering, 
excited and directed his thoughts, and led him into all his extraordi- 
nary course of usefulness and fame. It is good for me, says David, 
that I have been afflicted. I know, says Paul, that this shall turn to 
my salvation. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, 
worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. >♦ 



April 18. — "Another parable spake he unto them : The kingdom of hea- 
ven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of 
meal, till the whole was leavened." — Matthew, xiii, 33. 

We may consider the kingdom of heaven as intending the empire 
of the Gospel in the world ; and also the empire of grace in the heart. 

Let us confine our attention to the latter. 

The leaven in the meal is a foreign importation. It is not natural- 
ly in the meal, nor derived from it. It is the same with divine grace. 
Though it resides in us, it does not arise from us; for in our natural 
state dwelleth no good thing. It is altogether a new production, and 
so alien is it from the man himself, who is the subject of it, that the 
introduction of the principle occasions a ferment, or contest, that lasts 
for life ; the flesh lusting against the Spirit, and the Spirit against 
the flesh. 

IMie leaven in the meal is active and operating. There it works, 
and evinces it residence by its agency. And the grace of God, is this 
a dead, powerless thing? Is it a notion, or a principle? We read of 
the work of faith, the labor of love, the patience of hope. Tlie same 
may be said of repentance : "• What carefulness it wrought in you ! 
yea, what zeal ! yea, what revenge !" I will show thee, says James, 
my faith by my works : I will show thee the sun by its shining, and 
the spring by the streams. Faith justifies the soul, but works justify 
fiiith, and prove it to be of the operation of God. 



APRIL 19. 163 

The leaven is assiniilalino;. It converts, it changes; not by de- 
stroying the substance of the^meal, but the quahty, communicating 
its own°property, tincture, rehsh. It is the same here. We are trans- 
formed by the renewinf^ of the mind. The man remains physicaHy 
the same as lie was before ; the same in his relations, talents, condi- 
tion, business. Yet he is another man ; a new man. He is evange 
lized. He has something of the holy and heavenly nature of divine 
truth in him. If the grace of God be light, it enlightens him. If salt, 
it seasons him. If glory, it glorifies him. If leaven, it leavens him. 

The operation of the leaven is gradual. The effect in the meal is 
not produced at once, but by degrees. And do we not read of being 
renewed day by day? of goin^ from strength to strength? of being 
changed into the same image, from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of 
the Lord? The work would w^ant the evidence of analog}^, if it were 
instantaneous. In the family w^e see children becoming young men, 
and young men becoming fathers. In the field, we see first the blade, 
then the ear, and after that the full corn in the ear. Some are not 
sensible of their religious advancement ; and the reason is, they judge 
by the growling rather than by the growth. The one escapes us, the 
other is perceptible. Were you to s^and by the side of ihe most ra- 
pidly growing plant, you w^ould not see it grow, but you would see 
when it was grown. Thus judge yourselves, and see whether there 
is not an increase in your convictions of sin, and the vanity of the 
world, and the preciousness of the Savior. Thus look at your dispo- 
sitions, your dependence, your taste, your dihgence, your self-denial, 
m the service and ways of God. 

The influence of the leaven is diffusive. Commencing from the 
centre, it reaches, in due time, to the extremities, and penetrates every 
particle of the meal. The grace of God is lodged in the heart ; but it 
is not confined there. It reaches all the powers of the man's mind 
and all the senses of his body. It enters all his situations and circum- 
stances in life. It affects him in the field, in the shop, in the family, 
in all his connections, in all his civil and common actions, and w^hether 
he eats, or drinks, or Avhatever he does, he does all to the glory of 
God. And, as the leaven ultimately attains its object, and leaveng 
the whole, so here the issue of the grace of God will be universal ami 
complete holiness. It will sanctify us wholly, body, soul, and spirit. 
It will perfect that which concerneth us, and the result is sure, even 
now. How small soever the leaven is, compared with the mass, the 
less will prevail, and subdue the greater. The dawn will chase away 
the night, and blaze in lull day. " He which hath begun a good 
work wnll perform it." Let us not despise, theretbre, the day of small 



April 19. — " We ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." 

1 John, iii, 16 

In the beginning of the Gospel this test of love was frequently re- 
quired : and Christians not only dared to be companions of them that 
suffered, but were ready to suffer for them. So Paul testifies of Pris- 
cilla and Aquila, his helpers in Christ : " Who," says he, " have tor 
my lite laid down tiieir ow"n necks : unto whom not only I give thanks, 



1G4 APRIL 19. 

Dut also all the churches of the Gentilas." It is well the providence 
of God does not call us to such a severe trial. But surely the princi- 
ple requires us to be ready to do every tiling in our power on their 
behalf: and will not allow us to refuse any service or sacrifice for 
our brethren, however cu'duous. 

We may do much for their minds ; by dissipating their doubts, re • 
moving their fears, and bringing them comfort in their spiritual dis- 
tresses. Thus Jonathan went to David in the wood, and strengthened 
his hand in God. Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart, so doth a 
man his friend by hearty counsel. A Christian is self-suspicious, 
and is afraid of every conclusion in his own favor draw^n by himself; 
he sees not the consolation to which he is entitled, though so near 
Iiim — But another, like the angel to Hagar, may open his eyes, and J 
show him the well. Sometimes he is cast down, supposing many N 
things are peculiar to himself; especially those painful feelings which 
arise from the assaults of Satan, and his conduct with in-dwelling sin, 
more and more of which he is continually discovering. But you can 
relieve him, by opening your own experience, and letting him know 
that it is so with you. There is another important case : "Brethren, 
if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such 
a one in the spirit of meekness j considering thyself, lest thou also 
be tempted." 

' What can be dearer to man than reputation? A good name is 
rather to be chosen than great riches : but it may be injured various 
ways. And surely we ought to be alive to a brother's character ; and 
willingly throw ourselves between him and the strife of tongues. 
When any thing is said to his disparagement, we should show that 
charity which rejoiceth not in iniquity, but hopeth all things. We 
should frown away the slander of insinuation. We should not allow 
a relater to go on, without inquiring whether he will allow us to name 
it to the person aggrieved, or the person from whom he affirms to 
have derived it. What a world of calumny and mischief would this 
prevent ! He that helps not in the circulation of the report, yet, if 
he pleasingly, or even patiently, sits to hear it, shares half the blame; 
and, as Dr. South says, the tale-bearer and the tale-hearer should be 
both hanged up, back to back, only the one by the tongue, and the 
other by the ear. 

The body may need help. And our Savior bore our infirmitie<?, 
and sicknesses, by compassion and sympathy. His commiseration 
could bear them away from the sufferers. We cannot perform mira- 
cles. But we may be useful by medical aid, and by personal at- 
tendance, and succor. And where the malady cannot be removed, 
the enduring may be alleviated. Is it nothing to the patient that 
you visit him in his affliction ? that he sees you at the side of the 
bed of languishing? that, by your tears and prayers, you are answer- 
ing to the address — Pity me, pity me, O ye my friends ! for the hand 
of God hath touched me ? 

The state of our brethren may call for assistance ; and is to be 
relieved according to our ability. It will be as base in us as unpro- 
fitable to them, to say. Depart in peace ; be ye warmed and filled-, 
while we give them not those things which are needful to the body. 
" Whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, 



APRIL 20. 165 

and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth 
the love of God in him ?" Job could say, The blessing of him that 
was ready to perish came upon me, and I caused the widow's heart 
to sing for joy. It was the saying of our Lord, It is more blessed to 
give than to receive. It was the glory of Christianity, in its first 
powerful effect, that none who embraced it " lacked." As glory in 
heaven, and as grace on earth, so the blessings of providence were - 
free, and open to all. The property of Christians went along with " 
their affections; " and distribution was made to every one as he had 
need." And so tender were they of each other, that " the multitude 
of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said 
any of them that aught of the things which he possessed was his 
own ; but they had all things common." " O, this is no rule for us " 
Well ; take it, and interpret it in your own way. Yet will not what 
even you infer from it as a duty, include much more than is now 
found in the temper Eind practic"e of Christians? "But we are not 
able." This is commonly the language of those who are able, but 
not wiHing. Some incapacitate themselves. A decent distinction ' 
above the vulgar will not satisiy them: they must be splendid in dress, _^ 
and luxurious in table, and magnificent in furniture. Others are dis- 
abled by hoarding. If accumulation be not condemned by Chris- ' 
tianity, the extent of it is. A man may decently provide for his 
family, without wishing to leave them in the snares of affluence, and 
with a heap, which if they do not dissipate by vice and excess, they 
are likely only to be concerned to enlarge. And may not persons 
increase their powers of beneficence, by diligence, and economy, and "^ 
self-denial? And is not self-denial the first lesson in the school of r 
Christ ? And you know the grace of Him, who, though he was ricli,Jj 
yet for your sakes he became poor, that you, through his poverty, ^ 
miglit be rich. "' We ought to lay down our lives for the "^ 

BRETHREN." -C 

April 20. — " And being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly." — Luke, 
xxii, 44. 

And w^hat must this agony have been, when it is added, that "his 
sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground ?" 
What, my soul, could have caused this? 

" Oh ! what wonders love has done ! I " What produced that sweat of blood 

" But how little understood; " Who can thy deep wonders see, 

" God well knew, and God alone, \ " Wonderful Gethsemane V 

— But let US now observe his deportment. For we are not only to 
view him as our mediator in his passion, but as also sufTering for us, 
to leave us an example that we should folloAv his step«:^'Ia hij 
agony he prayed more earnestly." Not that he was cold and formal 
before in his devotions ; but as the hour and power of darkness ad- 
ranced, and he began to be sore amazed, and very heavy, and his 
soul was exceeding sorrowful, even unto death ; there was more ex- 
citement in his feelings, and vehemency in his manner of expression. 
Now were the days of his flesh, in which, with strong cryings and 
tears, he made supplications to Him who was able to save him from 
death. So it is to be with us. Prayer is never out of season. We 
sec this in his life. On what occasion did not he pray ? But there is 



166 APRIL 21. 

a time when it is specially seasonable. Therefore, says God, " Call 
upon me in the day of trouble." " Is any atBicted ? Let him pray." 
Prayer is the design, the refuge, the solace, the improvement of 
affliction ; and the greater the distress and anguish we are in, the 
stt^^ more necessary will it be, both for our ssmetifi^^ and support. Let 
- - -'• uSj therefore, be the more importunate. In the greatness cf our distress, 

— Let us not, like Adam and Eve, flee, and endeavor to hide our- 
selves from God, but pray. 

— Let us not, like Cain, begin to build, and try, by w^orldly objects, 
to dissipate our grief, but pray. 

— Let us not, like Jonah, fret under the loss of our gourds, and tell 
God himself, that we do well to be angry, even unto death, but pray, 

— Let us not, like Ephraim and Judah, repair to creatures: "When 
Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his w^ounds, then went 
Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to King Jareb ; yet could not he 
heal them, or cure them of their wound," but pray. 

— Let us not, like Saul, who went to the witch of Endor, repair to 
the devil himself, by error, drunkenness, and sin, but pray. 

— Let us not, like Ahithophel and Judas, have recourse to suicide, 
and plunge into hell for relief, but pray, saying, with the Church, 
" Come, and let us return unto the Lord ; for he hath torn, and he 
will heal us : he hath smitten, and he Avill bind us up ;" or, with Job, 
" Though he slay me, yet will I trust in HimJ^ 

" There, till the dear Deliv'rer comes, 



I saem forsaken and alone, 
" I hear the lions roar ; 
And every door is shut, but one, 
" And that is Mercy's door. 



'■ I'll wait with hurnble pray'r: 
And when he calls his exile home, 
" The Lord shall find me there " 



April 21. — " Fear not ye ; for I know that ye seek Jesus Avhich was cru- 
cified." — Matthew, xxviii, 5. 

Thi3 was the address of an angel to Mary Magdalene, and the 
other Mary, that had come to see the sepulchre before break of day 
They were last at the cross, and first at the tomb. Fa^-ors are given 
sovereignly by the Lord, but honor is conferred according to a rule ; 
and the rule is this : " Them that honor me, I will honor." These 
women w^ere informed of his resurrection before the apostles ; the 
apostles received the intelligence from them, but they received it 
from an angel. At first these pious visitants were afraid. And what 
wonder when we consider that they were females ; that all their sen- 
sibilities were alive ; that they were in another's garden ; that they 
were alone ; that the earth was reeling under them ; that the guards 
were fleeing, and perhaps shrieking; that it was early in the morn- 
ing, and the remaining darkness rendered more visible and awful the 
divine messenger sitting at the door of the tomb — his countenance as 
lightning, and his raiment w^hite as snow ! But, says the angel, 
" You have nothing to apprehend from me. He is my master, as 
well as your Savior. I serve him wiiom ye seek ; and having attend- 
ed his resurrection, I now announce it to you. He is not here ; he is 
risen, as lie said ; step forward 3 come, see the place where tlie 
Lord lay." 

And it is true, in its most extended application, that they wdio seek 
JcEus Christ which was crucified, ha\'e really nothing to fear, what- 



APRIL 22. 1(^7 

ever at first may dismay them. But who are entitled to this assu- 
rance ? Do you leel your need of him as once you did not, for all the 
purposes of salvation ? Have you desires after him so peculiar that 
nothing else can satisfy them ; so powerful as to make you willing to 
part wTth whatever stands in competition w^ith him 7 Are you deter- 
mined to press through all difficulties, and be found in the use of all 
means which he has appointed ? Are you submissively asking. Lord, 
what wilt thou have me to do? depending on the aid of his Holy 
Spirit? and looking for his mercy unto eternal life ? If you can answer 
these questions in the affirmative, / know that ye seek Jesus which 
was crucified. 

—And! also loiow, that ye have nothing io fear. " Fear not ye.'^ 
Fear not that you have a graceless heart; the very seeking is a toi<en 
for good. It cannot be the effect of nature ; that which is of the 
flesh, is flesh ; hut that v.'hich is of the Spirit, is spirit. 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. Fear not that your search 
will be successless. Had he a mind to kill you he would not have 
shown you such things as these. His aim in making you sensible of 
your condition, was not to render you miserable, but to endear himself, 
and to draw forth your souls after him. You shall not be disappointed. 
You may be tried, but he will appear to your joy. Did any ever seek 
him in vain? Can he deny himself ? They that sow in tears shall 
reap in joy. Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after right- 
eousness, for they shall be filled. Fear notlhat you shall fall under 
the power of any evil. From what are you not secured ? Is it tem- 
poral want ? The young lions may lack, and suffer hunger ; but they 
that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. Is it the penalty 
of the law ? He has redeemed you from the curse of the law, having 
been made a curse for you. Is it sin? Sin shah not have dominion 
over you ; for ye are not under the law, but under grace. Is it the 
world ? This is the victory that overcometh the world; even our faith. 
Is it Satan ? The Gk)d of peace will bruise Satan under your feet 
shortly. Is it death ? He has abolished death. O death, where is 
thy sting ? O grave, where is thy victory ? " Nay, in all these things 
we are more than conquerors, through him that loved us. For I am 
persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, 
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor 
depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us ircm the 
love of GJod, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." 



April 22. — " And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses 
said. Rise up, Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that 
hate thee flee before thee. And when it rested, he said. Return, O Lord, 
unto the many thousands of Israel." — Numbers, x, 35, 36. 

We might have expected that Aaron would have done this, as he 
was the high priest. But Moses was the leader and commander of 
the people, and he was not offering sacrifice, or burning incense, in 
which he would have offended ; but performing a duty of natural, as 
well as revealed religion. This is bmding upon all, and especially 
upon public men. Thus Solomon, though a king, kneeled on a scaf- 



168 APRIL 22. 

fold of wood at the dedication of the templo, and led himself tho 
prayers of the nation. Princes, officers, magistrates, masters of fami- 
lies.^ should all be men of prayer. Relative, as well as personal claims, 
press on them. 

It would seem that Moses always, on those occasions, employed 
the same terms. Our Lord, also, in the garden, prayed three times, 
saying the same words. It is obvious from hence, that whatever 
advantages extemporaneous prayer possesses, and it has many, yet 
forms of prayer cannot be in themselves improper, in public or in 
private. 

As Moses thus addressed God at the commencem.ent and the con- 
clusion of every march, does it not behoove us to acknowledge Him 
in all our ways? and with prayer to begin and end every day ? every 
meal? every ordinance? every enterprise? every journey? every 
going out, and every coming in ? 

Especially let us think of these short and sublime addresses in cur 
travelling heavenward through this wilderness world. 

Here is the marching prayer, " Rise up, Lord, and let thine ene- 
mies be scattered ; and let them that hate thee flee before thee." 
That is, " Before we move we commend ourselves to thy guidance, 
and guardian care, and almighty agency. We are passing, not only 
through strange, but hostile regions. There are foes, open or con- 
cealed, which would hinder our progress, rob us, wound us, destroy 
us. But we are thy charge, and engaged in thy cause. They that 
hate us, hate thee ; our enemies are thy enemies. And, formidable 
as they are. Thou canst as easily vanquish them, as the sun rising in 
his strength can disperse the shadows that seem to oppose his march." 
Let us reahze this, and we shall feel enough to animate us to go for- 
ward, though men, though devils beset our path. " The Lord is my 
light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength 
of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? Though a host should encamp 
against me, my heart shall not fear ; though war should rise against 
me, in this will I be confident." 

Here is the resting prayer, " Return, O Lord, unto the many 
thousands of Israel." That is, " If Thou goest on, in vain we are 
left. What can we do without thee in our encampment, any more 
than in our march ? Thy presence is our security, our treasure, our 
glory, our joy. What is any station without thee ? How can its 
duties be discharged? its trials be endured? its comforts be sanctified? 
But every residence with thee is ennobled and blessed," Heaven is 
only the tabernacle of God with men. Thus the two disciples, when, 
the Lord made as if he would have gone further, constrained him, 
saying. It is toward evening, and the day is far spent ; and did he 
refuse ? He went in to tarry Avith them. Do we thus prize him ? Do 
we thus pray that he would go where we would go, and dwell where 
we dwell ? If not, we have a poor prospect before us. If we can live 
without God with us In this world, we must live without him in ano 
ther. But if our souls cleave to Him, and cry, " Cast me not away 
from thy presence, and take not thy Holy Spirit from me," we may 
rejoice in the promise, " I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." 
— But let me not here overlook two things. First, the number of 
his people, " The many thousands of Israel." " For," unless we send 



APRIL 23. 169 

out ignorance and bigotry to count them, " who can CDunt the dust of 
iacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel?" And the Lord 
add to his people how many soever they be, a thousand fold ! 
Secondly ; We shall be concerned for the whole Israel of God We 
are parts of them, and they all belong to us. They are all fellow 
citizens of the same community; branches of the same household- 
members of the same body. They are more intimately related, and 
ougat to be more endeared to us, than any earthly friends, or na ural 
relations-Pray, therefore, for the peace of Jeru.salem. For your bre- 
thren and companions' sakes say, Peace be withinthy walls, and proa 
perity within thy palaces. '• Return, O Lord "-not unto our family, 
VnlnV ""^'; ^^'^ thousands of episcopalians, or dissenters -but 

unto the many thousands of Israel." « Grace be with all them that 
love our Lord Jesus Christ m sincerity." And, "As many as walk 

iTmef of f^od." ' ^'''' ^' "'' '^'"^ ""''"^ ""'"''y^ ^^^ "P°" ^he 

April 23.— "From the end of the earth will [ cry unto thee when mv 
heart IS overwhelmed : lead me to the Rock that is higher than I For tfa^J 
lxi!2, s!'" ^ '"' ^'' """' ^"'^ ^ '*"°"S tower from^the enemy.' '-Psalm 

He does us the most important service who instructs us to prav. 
We may here learn much from the example of David 
ct.-r^.fT ^^"^^^^he pray? "I will cry unto thee." Crying is a sub- 
stitute for speech ; and also the expression of earnestness" A child 
can cry, long before it can articulate; and its cries as much move 
.he paront as any eloquence of words. A person in great danger or 
want or pain, not only utters himself, but cries out, and often aloud, 
according to the pressure of his feelings. Let me pray as I can. I 

f#2??h f. ^° ^Tl^' "^y '^^'''^' ^^ ^'^^ do 5 but, if I am deeply 
affected by tnem, and they spring from a broken heart and a contrite 
spirit, they shall not be despised. 

unto thee. He means any condition, however desolate, or distant 
-distance of place being put for greatness of extremity. Some- 
t mes we may be thrown into situations the most trying, and remote 

cor^. Th ^ t' ^'f T^'^i?-' '""^ ^''^ ^^d '^ ^A.r.: to hear and sue! 
cor us Thus Joseph found him, when sold into Egypt; and John 

the sea. We are as near the throne of grace in one place as another 
Prayer can reach H.m wherever we are, in a moment, in the twinl: 

spe^alfl wirr'h'ar."'^''' '''^' ^P^^' ' ''''' ^"^^^'^^' ^"^ ^^^-« ^^^^ 
Nn7t?,^^T would he pray? "When my heart is (wcrwhelmed^ 
r^ot that he would restrain prayer at other times; we are to pray 
w thout ceasing. It is the character of a hypocrite, that he will not 

iljT. \ "PrT ?^^- P^'^ ^^" ^'^''^^ that only'make a noise at 
the approach of bad weather; and there are persons who only pour 
out a prayer when God's chastening hand is upon them. But what 
should we think of a neighbor, or friend, who never called upon us 
but when he wanted to borrow or beg ? Yet what is always proper 
m^ be sometimes peculiarly seasonable, natural, and neces^ry. And 



170 APRIL 24. 

this is the case when we are in trouble and affliction. Therefore, eaya 
God, Call upon nie in the day of trouble. The answer will, in due 
time, relieve and deliver. The exercise will immediately soothe and 
sanctify. Is any afflicted ? Let him pray. 

— For what would he pray? '■^ Lead me to the Rock that is higher 
than /." What means he by this Rock, but something which could 
afford him support, when he was ready to be swallowed up ? the per- 
fections of Jehovah ; the everlasting covenant ; the doctrine of pro- 
vidence; the Lord Jesus, who is our hope. This is the rest, and this 
is the refreshing. And yet, when the relief is provided and when 
we see it too, we cannot reach it of ourselves. We need a divine 
agency to conduct us to it. We live in the Spirit, and walk in the 
Spirit. 

— Mlience does he derive his encouragement to pray? " For thou 
hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy." 
Nothing can be more confirming and exciting, than the review of 
God's former interpositions on our behalf; and to reason from what 
he h£Ls been, to what he will be, and from what he has done, to what 
he will do. For he is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. And 
they that know his name will put their trust in him. 

♦'Each sweet Ebcnezer 
"I have ill review, 



" His love, in time past, 
«' Forbids me to think 

" He'll leave ma, at last, 
" In trouble to sink. 



"Confirms his good pleasure 
" To guide me quite through 



April 24. — ^"But now they are hid from thine eyes.'' — Luke, xix, 49. 

When Pharaoh saw there was respite, he hardened his heart. 
Solomon tells as. Because sentence against an evil Avork is not exe- 
cuted speedily, therefore the hearts of the sons of men are fully set 
in them to do evil. But God's keeping silence is not approbation. 
His long-suflering is not even connivance. Cannot he be merciful 
unless he allows us to trifle and insult him for ever? His patience 
has its rules and its bounds. And Jerusalem knew this. 

— Much has been said on what is termed a day of grace ; and 
much which we neither admire nor believe. We are not authorized 
to say any one is beyond hope, while he is yet in life. Manasseh 
would have seemed very likely to be such a desperate character ; but 
he obtained mercy. 

"And while the lamp holds out to burn, 
" The vilest sinner may return." 

If we cannot view any of our fellow creatures as beyond the pos- 
sibility of salvation, so we have no rule by which we can absolutely 
determine against ourselves. Yet there are several things of fearful 
import, to which we do well to attend. 

First. The language of the word of God is fearful. "Ephraim is 
joined to idols ; let him alone." " Israel would none of me ; j<o I gave 
them up to their own hearts' lust." " In thy filthiness is lewdness : be- 
cause I have purged thee, and thou wast not purged, thou shalt not be 
purged from thy filthiness any more, till I have caused my fury to rest 
upon thee." '^ If we sin wilfully after that we have received the know- 
ledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins: but a 
certain fearful looking-for of judgment and fiery indignation, which 



APRIL 24. 171 

shall devoui the adversaries.'' " Because I ha\ e called, and ye re- 
fused ; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded ; but ye 
have set at nought all my counsel, and v/ould none of my reproof; I 
also will laugh at your calamity; 1 will mock Avhen your fear 
Cometh." " Behold, now is the accepted time ; behold, now is the 
day of salvation." We offer no commentary on these passages — but, 
surely, their language is fearful. 

Secondly. We know that final impenitency is irrecoverably hope- 
less ; and loith life all our opportunities end ; and this is fearful. It 
■would not be kindness, but cruelty, to flatter men with a contrary ex- 
pectation. Search the Scripture, and you will always find a differr 
ence between the present and the future. One is a state of trial, the 
other of decision. The one is sowing, the other reaping ; and what- 
soever a man soweth that shall he also reap. Is not this sufficient to 
induce us to seek the Lord while he may be found, and to call upon 
him while he is near? 

Thirdly. This life, upon which every thing depends, is very brief — 
this is fearful. Look at the images of Scripture ; a flower of the field, 
a flood, a watch in the night, a dream, a vapor. Consider the deaths 
that come under your own observation. Observe the frailty of your 
frame. Remember the numberless diseases and accidents to which 
you are exposed. Think of your pulse, Avhere the question is asked 
sixty times every minute, whether you shall live or die, and then 
you may well exclaim, 

" Great God ! on what a slender thread I " The eternal state of all the dead 
" Hangs everlasting things ! | " Upon life's feeble strings !" 

Fourthly. Our continuance here is as uncertain as it is short — this 
is fearful. " I have not had," said a good man, " a to-morrow for 
years." It would be well if we had not. Indeed, we have not in 
reality, whatever we may have in imagination. " Boast not thyself 
of to-morrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." 

Fifthly. Before this short and uncertain period terminates, many 
opportunities and advantages may elapse, tojeturn no more — this is 
fearful. Many convictions may die away, no more to be renew^ed 
again unto repentance. We may be deprived of reason, and religion 
can only operate through the medium of that. Old age helps on in- 
sensibility, and before we are aware, though unpardoned and unre- 
newed, we may become incapable of a moral change. The Gospel 
may be removed from us. We -may be placed where it is not in our 
power to attend it. We may become deaf, or blind. Sickness may 
confine us to a room of pain, or a bed of languishing. The influences 
necessary to render the means of grace effectual may be withholden. 
Though Paul plants, and Apollos waters, God alone gives the in- 
crease; and though Ave can do nothing to deserve his grace, we may 
provoke his anger, and he may judicially give us up. The heart is 
hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, and no less so by familiarity 
with divine things. And is not this the case with many ? Once their 
consciences smote them. They dropped a tear upon their Bible. 
When walking alone, among the works of God, they pi'ayed, " Lord, 
I am thine ; save me." But Felix no more trembles, and neglects to 
send for Paul. And the Gadarenes have besought the healer°of their 
neighbors, and the reprover of their sin, to depart out of their coasts. 



172 APRIL 25. 

April 25. — " And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, ho 
went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed."— Mark, i,35. 

And yet he had been greatly occupied the whole of the day pre- 
ceding this. We think Utile of time, but he never passed an idle hour. 
The whole of his life said, I must work the works of Him that sent 
me, while it is yet day ; the night cometh wherein no man can work. 
He was really a man; he took cur infirmities; and wearied nature 
requh-ed repose: but he distinguished between the necessary and the 
needless; and even between refreshment and indulgence; and while 
he enjoined self-denial upon his disciples, as the very first lesson in his 
school, " He pleased not himself." 

It is allowed, that as to the measure of sleep, no one rule can be 
laid down for all. Some require more than others. But it is ques- 
tionable whether they require much more. Yea, it may be questioned 
whether they require ani/ more as to length. What tliey want more 
of is better sleep ; and the quality would be improved by lessening 
the quantity. Let those who are now so wakeful, and restless, and 
can only sleep sound when they ought to be rising, let them try tlie 
experiment, and i^ee whether a lew hours of sweet and solid sleep be 
not preferable to the protraction of being bed-ridden, rather than of 
enjoying repose. 

We should also inquire too, whether we have not produced the 
habit itself that now demands so much to satisfy it. If so, we are ac 
countable for the cause as well as the effect. 

— We should also be always fearful and suspicious when our rea 
sonings ani pleadings are on the side of gratification and ease. It is 
here, where nothing sinful is thought of, and no danger appears ; it is 
here, we peculiarly need the admonition. Watch and pra}'-, lest yc 
enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesli 
is weak. 

—Some live only to do evil. We do not wish them to rise early — 
they are only harmless while they sleep. 

— Some live a life of mere indolence and ease. They are indeed 
free from vice, but they have no useful employment. It is of little 
importance at what time thev rise. There is very little diflerence 
between their sleeping and wakeful hours. The one is as barren ad 
the other cf any active endeavors to glorify God, or serve their gene- 
ration, or work out their own salvation. 

But surely there are some who feet that life is infinitely importanf ; 
who know that they are placed here to gain good, and to do good ; 
who remember that the only opportunities they have for both are 
short and uncertain. Surely these will say. Let us not sleep as do 
others. Surely these will feel the excitement and reproach. It is high 
lime to awake out of sleep. They that sleep, sleep in the night. 

— In a word, has not early rising every recommendation ? Is it not 
physically advantageous? Is it not better for health? Consult your 
strength, your appetite, your nerves, your spirits, your complexion. 
Ask your physician. Is there a medical man upon earth that would 
risk his reputation by a contrary opinion ? Sinclair, in his volumes on 
health and longevity, remarks, that though those who lived to a very 
great age differed in many things, they all resembled each other 
here. There was not one of them but rose early. 



APRIL 26. 173 

— Ig it not as desirable to our civil concerns? Wliat an advantage 
has a tradesman by early rising, in planning and arranging his con- 
cerns for the day; in forwarding his work, and placing it under his 
command, and in having leisure lor any incidental engagement, with- 
out etoppmg or deranging the usual course of his calling? While 
another, who has said, A little more sleep, a little more slumber, and 
who begins at ten what he should have commenced at six, is throv/n 
into haste and contusion, hurries on to overtake himself, finds, through 
the day, his duty a turmoil, and feels himself a drudge. If we turn 
from the shop and look into the family, what a ditference between the 
early and late mistress I and the early and the late servant ! Even 
tliOcC who do not practise early rising themselves plead for the impor- 
tance of it in their domestics, and would never engage them without 
it. Indeed, the reputation ot every individual, whatever be his con- 
dition in life, is concerned in it; and his character, in the feeiingn of 
others, is unavoidably lowered by late rising, unless there be a known 
and justifiable cause, 

— Above all, is it not raorally important? The heathens said, the 
morning was the friend to the muses. It is surely a friend to the 
graces. If it be the best time for study, it is also the best time for de- 
votion. It is better to go from prayer to business, than from business 
to prayer. Intercourse with God prepares us for our intercourse with 
our fellow creatures, and for every occurrence, whether pleasing or 
painful. Who would go out in the morning, not knowing what a day 
may bring forth, and feeling his ignorance, and weakness, and de- 
pravity, and danger, without retiring first, and committing himself to 
Grod ? Bocrhaave, the celebrated physician, rose early in the morn- 
ing, and through life his practice was to retire an hour for private 
prayer and meditation. This, he often told his friends, gave him 
firmness and vigor for the business of the day. He commended it, 
therefore, from experience, as one of the best rules of life. The great 
Judge Hale, too, rose early, and retired for prayer, and read a portion 
of God's wofd ; "without which, he said, nothing prospered with him 
all the day. But see the Lord of all ! ! What did He ? 



April 26.—" Sitting at the feet of Jesus."— Luke, viii, 35. 

— This \yas a place of nearness. Love longs to be near its attrac- 
tion, and this man noAv loves his benefactor, and feels his obligation to 
his pity and power. ° 

— It was a place of safety. He naturally dreaded the return of the 
malady, and the de\als gaining possession of him again ; he, there- 
fore, keeps close to his Deliverer. 

— It was the place of instruction. The two former purposes might 
have been answered by his sitting at the side of Jesus. But sitting 
at his feet was the position and posture of a learner. " They sat down 
at his feet," says Moses, when God was on the top of Horeb, and the 
people at the bottom, and received of his words. Isaiah, speaking 
of Abraham, says, " God called him to his feet." Martha had a 
edster, " who also sat at Jesus' feet." Saul of Tarsus " was brought 
up at the feet of Gamaliel." In all these instances there is a reference 
to the ancient and Eastern custom ; when the master occupied a 



174 APRIL 26. 

higher seat, and the scholars were sitting at his feet; as hereby he 
had them in view, and they were reminded, by their very place, of 
the reverence and submission which became them as learners. 

This is the place Ave should all be found in. But how is it possible 
for us to sit at his feet now ? He said, I am no more in the world ; and 
the heavens have received him till the restitution of all things. It is 
true, he is no longer here corporeally, but he is here spiritually. He is 
not visible, but he is accessible ; and, 

" Where'er we seek Hiin he is found, | " And every place is holy ground." 

We have his throne, and his house, and his word, and his ministers, 
and his ordinances. We have himself; for he has said, Lo ! I am 
with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Where two or 
three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of 
them. We can, theretbre, sit at his feet. And in recommendation of 
this place, let us observe the excellencies of the Master, and the ad- 
vantages of his disciples, for the one involves the other. 

And here we must not overlook the dignity of his character. A 
tutor seems to shed lustre over his pupils; and scholars have always 
prided themselves in the name of an illustrious preceptor, A young 
Israelitish prophet would have boasted in having been in the school of 
Samuel, or Elijah. How far did the queen of Sheba come to hear, 
the wisdom of Solomon ! But, behold, a greater than Solomon is 
here ! one fairer than the children of men ; He is Lord of all. See 
that poor, despised Christian. He is debarred every seat of learning 
among men, but he is under a divine instructor ; such honor have all 
his saints. For so highly are they related ; so pecuhar is their desti- 
nation ; so sublime are the stations they are to fill, and the functions 
they are to discharge, as kings and priests unto God for ever, that 
their education is not intrusted to a creature. All thy children shall 
be taught of the Lord. 

There is, also, the perfection of his ability. In him are hid all the 
treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Other teachers may be mis- 
taken, and they may deceive us. They cannot, therefore, deserve 
our implicit and absolute confidence. But he does. He knows every 
thing, and every thing perfectly. We cannot, therefore, rely too 
much on his decisions. Heaven and earth may pass away, but his 
word shall not pass away. 

There is the kindness' of his manner. Men often discourage and 
intimidate learners by their distance, hastiness, and austerity. They 
have not long-suffering, and gentleness, and tenderness enough to at- 
tract and attach the very soul of the pupil, to soften and shame him, 
if perverse ; to fix him, if roving and volatile ; to inspire him with con- 
fidence, if timid; and to produce in him at once that freedom and ap- 
plication of mind, so essential to improvement, and so incompatible 
with agitation and confusion of spirit. For something besides talent; 
and may we not say something beyond talent ? is required in a teacher. 
In proportion to the greatness of his knoAvledge, and tlie quickness and 
facility of his apprehension, a master will be tried by the imperfec- 
tions of his scholars, and the scholars will be the more liable to be 
abashed and depressed. Conscious of their ignorance, and inability, 
and slowness, they will be reluctant, and afraid to give up themselvea 
to such a superior tutor, unless he has other qualities ; and such a tutor 



APRIL 26. 175 

would not be very likely to waste, as he ts'ouU suppose, his time and 
talents upon such unpromising subjects. But we sit at the feet of One, 
whose condescension equals his greatness. He will stoop to teach me, 
even where I must begin. He will accommodate himself to ray wants 
and weakness. He will repeat his lessons. He will give me line upon 
line, precept upon precept, here a little, and there a little, and up- 
braid not. Thus he taught his immediate disciples-as they were able 
to bear it, and loved them to the end, nol withstanding their mistakes 
and mfirmities. And thus he said to his hearers. Learn of me, for I 
am meek and lowly in heart. Does he not refer to himself in these 
attributes as a motive as well as an example? As much as to say, 
" You need not be afraid to place yourselves under my care, I will 
deal tenderly with you." 

— There is also the efficiency of his tuition. None teaches like him. 
Other masters teach, but they cannot make their pupils learn. They 
can improve, but they cannot impart ability ; and without some apti- 
tude for art or science, little progress will be made under the best 
efforts. What could Handel or Haydn have done with a clown 
witliout any taste or ear for music ? But Jesus gives the capacity, and 
the disposition he requires. He furnishes not only the medium but the 
faculty of vision. He makes the blind to see, and the deaf to hear. 
He gives us a new heart, and puts a new spirit within us, and causes 
us to walk in his statutes. And though, like the morning, we set off 
with a few rays only, our path is like that of the sliining light, that 
shineth more and more unto the perfect day. 

But Oh ! what are the instructions he gives ! What is all other 
knowledge compared with this ? Ask Paul : he was a man of genius 
and learning; he did not despise science; yet he exclaims, "Yea, 
doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the 
knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord." Of other knowledge v/e may 
be destitute, and yet safe. But this is life eternal. Other knowledge 
leaves us as it finds us; yea, it often injures the possessor, and talent 
caters for depravity. But a man at his feet feels his words to be spirit 
and life. He is taught to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to 
live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present world. In other 
cases, " In much wisdom there is much grief; and he that increaseth 
knowledge increaseth sorrow;" but, "Blessed are the people that 
know the joyful sound." The burden of guilt is removed, and they 
enter into rest. They cast all their care on Him who careth for them. 
Their minds are kept in perfect peace. They can not only bear, but 
enjoy solitude. Even in the midst of trouble they are revived, and re- 
joice in hope of the glory of God. How sweet are his words unto their 
taste ! yea, sweeter than honey to their mouth ! 

No wonder, therefore, the disciple prizes his privilege, and cannot 
be seduced from his Master's feet. He has been taught the truth as 
it is in Jesus. He knows the tRith, and the tmth has made him free. 
And, therefore, upon the question, when others are offended, " Will 
ye al^ go away ?" he answers, with Peter. Where can we do so 
well ? Lord, to whom shall we go? To sin? That has ruined us. 
To the world ? That has deceived us. To the heathen philosophers ? 
Their ibolish hearts are darkened. To the chief priests and Phari- 
sees ? They are the blind leading the blind. To the law ? That 



176 APRIL 27. 

roars and flames despair. To Moses ? He wrote of thee. To thee 
gave all the prophets witness. Lord, to whom should we go, but untc 
thee? Thou hast the words of eternal life. 



April 27. — " Members one of another." — Romans xii, 5. 

All mankind are joined together by a connection which only death 
can dissolve. The remoteness of the situation in which we are placed 
does not hinder this connection, but rather strengthens it, as we see 
in the traffic of different nations, and their mutual exchange of com- 
modities. The inhabitants of one region cultivate the productions of 
the ground, and produce articles of manufacture for the use of those 
Df another ; and those of another do the same in return for them; and 
we sometimes find the four quarters of the globe in the furniture of 
one house, or the provisions of one table. The sea, which seemed 
likely to separate the dwellers upon earth, in the progress of science 
and arts, has rendered them accessible to each other, and navigation 
has become the principal medium of trade. 

There are various distinctions in life, and the Scripture does not 
discountenance them, neither are we to view them as selfish, or ter- 
minating only in the advantage of the superior ranks. The lowest 
are useful as well as the highest. The rich benefit the poor, and the 
poor labor for the rich. The king is the protector of his subjects ; and 
every subject contributes to the support of the king. The king is 
served by the labor of the field. There is no such thing as indepen- 
dence ; and were it not for ignorance and pride, we should never think 
of it. The under ranks are even the basis of the community ; the 
lowest parts of the wall sustain the higher. The more we rise, and 
possess, the less claim have we to independence ; as a larger building 
requires more support than a smaller. A nobleman employs a thou- 
sand hands ; a peasant wants but two ; and these are his own. 

— If this reasoning be true as to men, it is more so as to Christians. 
And it is in this light Paul so frequently and largely speaks of it : 
" I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among 
you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; bnt 
to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the mea- 
sure of faith." To show how important it is to display a mutual 
dependence, he remarks, " Tiic eye cannot say unto the hand, I have 
no need of thee; nor again, the head to the feet, I have no need of 
you. Nay, much more those members of the body which seem to 
be more feeble, are necessary." They have all their respective 
places and uses. Each is necessary; necessary to each, and ne- 
cessary to the whole ; necessary to the beauty, the strength, the hap- 
piness, the perfection of the whole ; why, then, should we set at nought 
a brother ? 

Yet the harmony is often broken, and a schism found in the body. 
The Christian church would never have been reduced to its present 
disjointed state, if the members had not been beguiled from the sim- 
plicity that is in Christ. The first wrong step took them at a dis- 
tance from the Spirit, and as though Christ had been divided, and 
had imparted himself and his gospel to some, exclusively of others; 
the names of creatures became noted as the sources from which par- 



APRIL 28. 177 

ticular doctrines were derived, and by whom particular modes of dis- 
cipline were established. The words the Holy Gliost used were less 
regarded than the words which man's wisdom teacheth. The worthy 
name by which Christians were originally called, was no longer eut- 
ficient. They rangetl themselves under different leaders, and called 
" Rabbi," Jorgetting who had forbidden this j and that one was their 
Master, even Christ, while all they were only brethren. Hence feuds 
and animosities folloAved, and the professors of meekness itself learned 
to bite and devour one another. The consequences of such measures 
are known and felt even at the present day; and though much of the 
violence of religious parties has subsided, distinctio/is unscriptural 
and unnecessary, (in the degree, if not in the existence,) are sup- 
ported ; and though all hold the same head, the members of one 
community often look for no more honor and assistance from those of 
another, than if they were not of the body. But " if the foot shall 
say. Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body, is it, tlterefore, 
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 ?" " But now 
are they many members, yet but one body ;" " that there should be 
no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same 
care one for another. And whether one member suffer, ah the mem- 
bers suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members 
rejotce with it." " For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, 
whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free ; and 
have been all made to drink into one Spirit." 

— Christians are not only so many members in a natural body, but 
are so many members in a civil or domestic state. However different 
and distant they were by nature from each other, an effectual method 
has been taken by divine grace to bring them together. They are 
reconciled in one body on the cross. They are no longer stranger.-j 
and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the house- 
hold of God. Therefore they are one in Christ, by obligation, as 
well as by connexion and dependence. Christ over his own house, 
has a right to enact a law for the well ordering and governing of 
those placed under him. This law is cleariy contained in the Scrip- 
ture, and vain is every other proof of our belonging to him, unless we 
obey it. And what says He? " Then are ye my disciples, if ye love 
one another." According to this, we must not live to ourselves. Each 
is to live for the good of each, and of all. Even a gratification, harm- 
less in itself, is to be avoided, if the peace of a weak conscience wll 
thereby be destroyed. Such was the example of Paul ; yea, and of 
Christ also: '• Let every one of us please his neighbor for his gocd 
to edification; for even Christ pleased not himself; but as it is writ- 
ten. The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me." 

" Now, by the bowels of my God, _ I " By his last groans, his dying blood, 

** His sharp distress, his sore coiuplaiuts, | " I charge my soul to love the saints.'* 



April 28.--" When Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should 
depart out of this world unto the Father."— John, xiii, 1. 

— *' His hour" means the period of his death. Ln another place it 
is called the hour of his enemies : " This," said he, " is yom^ hour, 



178 APRIL 28. 

and the power of darkness." It is calico tlieii' Lour, because tlw y 
seemed to have every thing their own way. They apprehended him, 
and mocked and scourged him, and nailed him to the cross. All their 
purposes and wishes succeeded, and they considered his cause as an- 
nihilated. But their triumph was short and foolish. What they had 
done was provided for, was admitted into his plan, and the very means 
of accomplishing his design. 

— It was '• His hour." He was delivered by the determinate coun- 
sel and foreknowledge of God. There was nothing casua.1 in his 
death. The time was appointed, and till this arrived the attempts of 
his adversaries were vain : " They could not lay hands on him, be- 
cause his hour was not yet come." It was not only his hour by 
appointment, but by importance. No such hour had been witnesserl 
since time had commenced. No hour of his own life would bear a 
comparison wdth it. It was infinitely unique, wonderful, and interest' 
ing, in its design and effects. Now was the judgment of this world. 
Now was the prince of this world cast out. Now was the ceremonial 
law abolished. Now was the moral law magnified and made honor- 
able. Now he was to finish transgression ; now he was to bring in 
everlasting righteousnese. Now he was to open the kingdom of 
heaven to all believers. Now he was to get himself a name above 
every name. 

— He knew that his hour was come — and so perfect wa^ his fore- 
sight of the event, that he ki:iew not only the fact itself, but the inci- 
dents attending it ; and knew the whole before there Avas any appear- 
ance of the thing, before his enemies had formed the design, before 
Judas had felt the thought of treason. And thus he evinced his de- 
votedness to his worlf. He saw the hour was at hand, but he seeka 
no hiding-place, nor attempts to escape, though he had so many means 
in his power. It does not affect this to say, that in another sense he 
■was unable to have released himself; because he Avas bound by cove- 
nant engagement; and if he saved others, himself he could not save. 
For his engagement was made in the full prospect of all he was to 
endure; and as the tremendous suffering approached, so far was he 
from repenting of what he had brought upon liimself, tliat he said^ 
" How am I straightened till it be accomplished!" 

— But how is his passage through this dreadful scene expressed ? 
" That he should depart out of this world unto the Father." Here 
let us think of his people, as well as of himself. In all things he must 
have the pre-eminence, but they resemble him. What is here said of 
his death, will," in a pleasmg degree, ai)ply to their ow^n. Their death 
is not, indeed, like his, mediatorial ; neither know they the hour when 
it will take place. But all their times are in God's hand; and the 
circumstances of their death, as well as of their life, fall under his ar- 
rangement. They knew they have their hour, and are immortal tiil 
it arrives. They know that enemies cannot hasten it, that friends 
cannot retard it. They know also that it is approaching ; that it can- 
not be far off; that it may be very near— and therelore that it re- 
quires a constant readiness. But was his death a "departing out of 
this world ?" So is theirs. He was in it for three and thirty yeara 
Many of them are in it a shorter, and many a much longer period. 
It was a sad world to liim. It knew liim not, but despised and re- 



APRIL 29. 179 

jected him. It hated him without a cause. It persecuted him from 
his birth, refused him a place where to lay his head, and could not be 
satisfied till it had shed his blood. And they find it a vain and deceit- 
ful world, a vexing and injurious world, a vile and wicked world. 
Every thing in it cries, Arise, and depart hence ; for this is not your 
rest, because it is polluted. And are we unwilling? Yes — 



" Thankless for favors from on high, 
" Man thinks he fades too soon ; 

'■ Though 'tis his privilege to die. 
" Would he improve the boon. 

' But he, not wise enough to scan 

" His best concerns aright, 
' Would gladly stretch life's little span 

" To ages, if he might — 



" To ages, in a world of pain — 

" To ages, where he goes, 
" Gall'd by affliction's heavy chain, 

" And hopeless of repose. 

"Strange fondness of the human heart, 

" Euamor'd of its harm ! 
"Strange world, that costs it so much smart, 

" And yet has power to charm !" 



We do not wonder, indeed, that this should be so much the case 
with " men of the world." They have " their portion in this life," 
and no hope of a better. Bad as it is, they know that it is the best 
world they will ever be in, and that whatever be its troubles, to them 
they are only the beginnings of sorrow. But it is otherwise with 
Christians. They are here like Israel in Egypt; and death is their 
departure for the land of promise. They are like strangers in an in- 
hospitable country, and travellers at a cheerless inn j and death ia 
their departing to their delightful home. 

Was his death a " going to the Father?" So is theirs. That is, 
going to heaven ; for the Father is there, and in his presence there is 
fullness of joy, and at his right hand there are pleasures for evermore. 
He went to the Father, to carry on their cause, and to possess his 
own reward ; but he had been there before. Hence he said, " I came 
forth from the Father, and am come into the world ; again I leave 
the world, and go unto the Father." Hence he speaks of heaven 
without wonder. He had been at court. He had resided there, and 
had only left it for a season. His return, with all the glories that 
should follow, was the joy set before him, fsr which he endured the 
cross. And, as love delights in the welfare of its object, he expected 
that his disciples would rejoice when he said, '• I go unto the Father; 
for the Father is greater than I." But they were never there before ; 
all will be new and surprising to them. But they, also, will have 
their work, and will be still praising him ; they, also, will drink ol 
the rivers of his pleasure; they will have immediate and uninter- 
rupted access to his Father and our Father, to his God and our God. 
And with Him is the fountain of life. 



April 29.— "And there appeared an angel unto hiiK from heaven, strength- 
ening him."— Luke xxii, 43. 

Thus, though the cup was not taken from him, he was heard, in 
that he feared, according to the promise : " I have heard thee in a 
time accepted ; and in the day of salvation have I succored thee.'* 
We may be heard, when we are not delivered ; and succored in dis- 
tress, when we are not saved from it. And if the burden be not di- 
minished, yet, if our ability to endure it be increased, the effect is the 
eame. Paul Avas a witness of this. When he besought the Lord 
thrice, that the thorn in the flesh might depart from him, the Savior 



180 APRIL 29. 

eaid, My grace is sufficient for thee ; for my strength is made perfect 
in weakness. And says David, In the day that I cried, thou an- 
sweredst me. and strengthened st me with strength in my soul. 

— Here we see the humihation of the Savior. He who was rich, 
for our sakes became poor. He was in the form of God, but took 
upon him the form of a servant. He was Lord of all, but had not 
where to lay his head, and was reheved by the creatures of his power: 
" Certain women which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmi- 
ties, Mary, called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, and 
Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many 
others, ministered unto him of their substance." He was the Lord of 
angels, but he was made a little lower than they ; yea, he received 
assistance from them : " There appeared unto him an angel from 
heaven, strengthening him." 

— What a contrast is here ! His apostles, who had been so much 
honored by him, forsook him; and even Peter, James, and John, who 
had been admitted to the transfiguration, and now were selected to 
be with him in the garden, slumbered and slept. And though, when 
he came to them and found them in this condition, he pitied them, 
and said. The spirit, indeed, is willing, but the flesh is weak; yet he 
felt it, deeply felt it, and said, " What ! could ye not watch with me 
one hour ?" But if earth disowns him, heaven does not. If men aban- 
don him, angels cry with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb ! " He 
was seen of angels." One of them announced his approaching con- 
ception ; another proclaimed his birth ; a multitude of them carolled 
his advent. In his temptation in the wilderness, " Behold, angels 
came and ministered unto him." An angel rolled away the stone 
from the door of the se])ulchre, and said to the women, " Fear not 
yc^ for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified : he is not here ;" 
" Come, see the place where the Lord lay." And here " an angel 
appeared unto him from heaven, strengthening him." 

He could have asked the Father, and he would have given him 
twelve legions of angels, and rescued him. What are we saying? 
One of these would have been sufficient ; the least of them could have 
looked all his adversaries into nothing. But how then could the 
Scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be ? And how could he have 
put away sin by the sacrifice of himself? Or how could he have 
sympathized with us, if he had never suffered ? The angel, theiefore, 
only strengthened him. Reminding him of the joy that was set 
before him ; telling him of the result of his passion, the effect of it in 
the glory of God, and the salvation of the world ; spreading before 
him the promises, perhaps reading to him the prophecy of Isaiah, 
" When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his 
seed . he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall 
prosper in his hand ; he shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall 
be satisfied." Raising him up from the cold ground; supporting his 
fainting head; wiping away the bloody sweat from his dear face. So 
that he appeared fresh, and fair, and glorious in his visage, and made 
those who came to apprehend him go backward, and fall to the earth, 
when he only presented himself, and said, " I am he." 

— In all things he has the pre-eminence, and how willing are his 
people U? acknowledge it I But while he is the first born among many 



APRIL 30. 18J 

brethren, all v)f tliejn are predestinated to be conformed to him. Ano-els, 
therefore, who attended him, attend them also. " Are they not all 
ministering spirits, sent forth to minister unto them that are the heirs 
of salvation?" Their attendance is no less real than formerly, though 
it is no longer visible, according to the principle of the economy under 
which we live, and which is to walk by faith, and not by sight. They 
delight to do the will of their Lord and ours. These ble^Sed beino-g 
have no envy, no pride. They are enemies to his enemies, but they 
are friends to his friends. They rejoice when a sinner repenteth, 
and carry the dying saint into Abraham's bosom. 

April 3q.-« But go your way; tell his disciples, and Peter, that he goeth 
before you into Galilee ; there shall ye see him, as he said unto you."— Mark, 

These are the words of the angel who had descended from heaven 
to attend his rismg Lord. They were addressed to Mary Mao-dalene 
and Mary the mother of James, and Salome. These women had 
honored the Savior, and he honored them. They were the first to re- 
ceive the announcement of his resurrection, and the first to report it 

But observe, they were to carry the news, not to the chief priests, 
and scribes, and Pharisees, not to Pilate, not to Herod. It was iust 
to leave these men in the darkness they loved. They rebelled ao-ainst 
the light, and no evidence would have convinced those who had 
already seen his miracles, and believed not. But his disciples, though 
timid, and weak, and imperfect, were sincere. They had forsaken 
all to iollow him. Their very doubting arose from the greatness of 
their love, and sorrow had now filled their hearts. They would 
therefore, welcome the intelligence, and be influenced by it, as his 
tollowers and witnesses. 

.'T'Pf-y^^y ^^ ?^^^^ distinctively mentioned? Because he was the 
chiet ot the apostles ? So far from it, the distinction reminds us of his 
humiliation. He had fallen by his iniquity ; and after the most solemn 
warnings and professions, he had denied his Master, with oaths and 
curses. But the look in the judgment-hall had broken his heart, and 
made him go out, and weep bitterly. He was now on the vero-e of 
despair, and ready to say— perhaps was even now sayinD-_Ah • he 
will disown me-and righteously-for ever! The angefs naminj^ 
liirn, tbereiore, on this occasion, was as much as to say. The Savior 
has not cast thee off; he has not forgotten to be gracious ; he does not 
break a bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax, but will send forth 
judgment unto victory— while it conveyed an intimation to his bre- 
Jiren that they were to follow his example, and endeavor to restore 
such a one in the spirit of meekness-, considering themselves, lest thev 
also were tempted. ' ^ 

.1 TT^^^ message, more than announcing his resurrection, added, 
that he wauld go before them into Galilee. In vain we ask how he 
passed thither. He had the power to appear and disappear, and to 
/•insport himself from place to place as he pleased, in a moment of 
tin»*^. ±5ut what led him down so many miles from Jerusalem '? Was 
It to mtiraate his forsaking that guilty city? Wo unto you when I de- 
part from you ! Or was it to call them off- from the strife and cruelty 
ot Uxeir enemies? It was comparatively a place of eecurity and con- 



182 MAY 1. 

cealment. Or was it that their journeying down separately, or with 
each other, might bring them to recollection, and recover them from 
their late cowardice and unbelief? Was it to tell tliem to withdraw, 
in order to be in the way of intercourse with him ? It was a despised 
place — would he teach them to rise above local and vulgar prejudices, 
and to call nothing common or unclean ? It is certain that he had 
been much in Galilee himself, and had many followers there. And 
this accounts for the largeness of the assembly ; for the apostles would 
naturally inform his friends there of this expected interview, and 
hence he was now seen of above five hundred brethren at once, many 
of whom were living when Paul wrote to the Corinthians, though 
some had fallen asleep. 

— His promise, that they should see him there, would prove a test 
of their faith and affection. If they valued the sight of him, and be- 
lieved his w^ord, they would certainly repair thither. Accordingly 
they did repair thither; and there was he! Let us apply this to our- 
selves. There are means and ordinances which he has established. 
In these he has engaged to be found of those that seek him. If we 
rely on his truth, and desire communion with him, we shall gladly 
avail ourselves of them. And shall we — can we be disappointed — if 
we do? Has he ever said to the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me, in vain? 
He has often been better than his word ; but who ever found him 
woi-se ? Let us go, therefore, to his throne, and to his house, with full 
and lively expectation. In all places where I record my name, I will 
come unto thee, and I will bless thee ; for where two or three are 
gathered together in ray name, tliere am I in the midst of them. 
There shall we see him, as he has said unto us. 

— He is also gone before us into heaven. Let us arise, and depart 
hence, and seek him there. There shall we see him in all his glory, 
according to his promise — Where I am, there shall also my servants 
be. Oh ! to join him there ! To be for ever with the Lord ! 

"O glorious hour! O bless'd abode! ] " And flesh and sin no more control 

" I shall be near, and hke my God : | " The sacred pleasures of my soul." 



May 1. — " And I will give her her vineyards from thence." — Hosea, ii, 15. 

— Observe the author of these favors. Iw'xW do it, says God. Every 
good gift and every perfect gift is from him ; and his people will 
readily acknowledge that all they enjoy is not only from his agency, 
but his grace. 

— Observe also the richness of the supplies — I will give her — not 
her corn — corn is for necessity, but grapes are for delight. Yea, it is 
not a vine, but a vineyard — yea, vineyards ! He engages to give, 
as if he could not do too much for them ; being concerned — not only 
for their safety, but for their welfare — not only for their relief, but 
enjoyment — and not only for their tasting consolation, but their being 
filled with all joy and peace in believing. 

— Observe, also, the strangeness of the way in which these indul- 
gences are to be communicated. For ivhence are these supplies to 
come? From a wilderness. " I will allure her, and bring her into 
tiie wilderness., and speak comfortably unto her ; and I will give hci 
hei vineyards from thence.^^ What could be looked for in a wilder- 



MAY 1. 183 

ness, but loneliness, and mazes, and danger, and beasts of prey, and 
reptiles, and sand, and briers, and thorns? Who would expect to 
find the vineyards of Engedi there ? But " He only doeth wondrous 
things 5 he is God alone," He turneth the shadow of death into the 
morning. He makes rivers in high places, and streams in the desert. 
He makes the wilderness to rejoice, and blossom as the rose — and 
gives us vineyards from thence. 

The region through which his people passed, in their way from 
Egypt to Canaan, Avas a wilderness. Here read the words of Jere- 
miah ; " Who led us through the wilderness, through a land of de- 
serts, and of pits, and of the shadow of death; through a land that 
no man passed through, and Avhere no man dwelt." Moses also calls 
it that terrible wilderness, \vherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, 
and drought ; where there was no water. But He gave them their 
vineyards from thence. Though the place yielded them nothing, 
they were well supplied from above. Though they had no rivers or 
springs, he smote the rock, and the waters gushed out, and followed 
them in all their journeyings. Though they had no food, the clouds 
poured down manna, and they did eat angels' food. Though they 
(lad no road, they had a guide to lead tliem the right way, in a cloud 
of fire which shaded them by day, and comforted them by night. 
The tabernacle of God was in the midst of them. From the mercy- 
seat he communed with them. He sent them Moses, and Aaron, and 
Miriam. He gave his good Spirit to instruct them. They had grapes 
from Eschol. They had a view of the glory of all lands, and at length 
the possession of it — where they sang, "To Him that led his people 
through the wilderness ; for his mercy endureth for ever !" 

— Earth is a wilderness ; and he gives them their vineyards from 
thence. It was not designed to be a wilderness ; but by one man sin 
entered into the world ; and it was said to the transgressor, " Cursed 
is the ground for thy sake ; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days 
of thy life. Thorns also, and thistles, shall it bring forth to thee;" 
and there are enough of these. 

" Lord, what a wretched land is this, 

" That yields us no supply ! 
"No cheering fruit, uo wholesome trees, 

" Or streams of living joy. 

"But pricking thorns, through all the ground, 

" And mortal poisons, grow ! 
•'And all the rivers that are found, 

" With dangerous waters flow." 

Such it is, as the fall left it. Such it now would be, but for divine 
grace. How discontented and miserable are the men of the world 
who have nothing else ! especially in their afflictions — and man is 
born to trouble. But to the Christian the curse is turned into a blessing. 
He has not only before him a land of promise, but even now — even 
here, he has a thousand alleviations, and succors, and even delights. 

" The men of grace have found I " And heavenly fruits on earthly ground, 

" Glory begun below ; | " From faith and hope may grow " 

And if earth be a wilderness, when they attend divine ordinances, 
and hear the joyful sound, and embrace the promises, and rejoice in 
hope of the glory of God, and walk in the comfoits of the Holy 
Ghost, they have theii- vineyards from thence. 



184 MAY 1. 

Solitude is a wilderness, and He gives them their vineyards from 
thence. There is not only much to be done alone, but gained alone, 
and enjoyed alone. There we gain much of our best knowledge, 
and our richest experience. There we enjoy the freedom of prayer, 
and the most unreserved intercourse with God. There his secret is 
with them that fear him, and he shows them his covenant. They 
are never less alone than when alone. " Go Ibrth into the plain, and 
I will there talk with thee." David said, " My soul shall be satisfied 
as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise thee with 
joyful lips, when I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on 
thee in the night watches." Nathanael under the fig tree found 
something mo-re refreshing than the shade of its leaf, more delicious 
than the taste of its fiuit. 

Outward trouble is a wilderness. Many have been afraid to be 
brought into it ; yet He has given them their vineyards from thence, 
and the Valley of Achor for a door of hope. They have been saved 
by their undoing, and enriched by their losses. Manasseh, in his 
affliction, sought and found the God of his father. And David, though 
he was converted before, could say, It is good for me that I have been 
afflicted. What proofs have all his people had that he was with 
them in trouble! What discoveries! v,'hat supports! what tender- 
nesses of comfort have they had there ! As the sufferings of Christ 
have abounded in them, the consolation hath also abounded by Christ. 

— The state of mind produced by conviction of sin is a wilderness. 
A Avoundcd spirit who can bear? Who does not remember the sur- 
prise, the contusion of mind, the terror, the anguish, the self-despair 
he once felt, and who can forget the feelings induced by a discovery 
of the cross, and the joy of God's salvation ! Many are afraid when 
they see their relations and friends trembling at God's word, and 
broken in heart at his feer, but Christians hail it as a token for good. 
They know that he gave them their vineyards from thence. 

The same may be said of that soul-abasement and distress the 
believer himself may feel, from increasing views of his un worthiness, 
depravity, and guilt. And this may be the case, and often will be 
the case after he has been for seventy years in the way everlasting, 
and hoping better things of himself This is truly lamentable and 
humbling, but will the humiliation hurt him? He giveth grace unto 
the humble. The rain falls upon the mountain tops, as well as in tire 
valley, but the valleys are fertilized; they are also covered with corn; 
they shout for joy ; they also sing. 

" The more his glories strike mine eyes, I " But, while J sink, my joys shall rise 
" Tne humbler I shall lie. | " Unmeasurably high." 

— The valley of the shadow of death is the last wilderness. There 
is much to render it uninviting and awful ; and yet, when it has been 
actually entered, the apprehension and the gloom have fled. And 
this has been the case generally, even with those who were most 
subject to bondage by the fear of it. The place has been made glad 
for them. They have had an abundant entrance into the joy of their 
Lord. And what vineyards does he give them from thence ! ! 



MAY 2. 185 

JIay 2.—" A psalm and scng at the dedication of the house of David." 

Psalm XXX. 
This he built for himself as soon as he was established kino- over 
Judah and Israel. It was, doubtless, very different from the cottao-e 
he occupied when a shepherd. But there was no impropriety in tins 
A man may alter his mode of living with his rising condition in the 
world. The gradations of life are not discountenanced in the Scrip- 
tures^and we have never seen any advantage arising fiom the neo-Iect 
ol them. Good men ought to avoid extravagance; but by beino-mean 
or parsmionious they may cause their good to be evil spoken of. 

David, as a king, was obliged to do many things from a rec^ard to 
his station, rather than from personal choice. But o-odliness is to 
show Itself m all circumstances. Therefore, when he t?ok possession 
ot his dwelling place he consecrated it to God. At enterino- a new 
house an entertainment is often given, and dissipation and excess 
toilow. Many are invited, but God is not of the number; yea they 
say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledo-e of 
thy ways. But every thing is to be sanctified by the word of l3od 
and prayer. Our religion is to be exempiified in little and common 
things. We are to sanctify the week, as well as to remember the 
feabbath, and to walk with a perfect heart in our own dwellino-cj a« 
we 1 as to worsliip in the temple of God. All we have is the Lord's^ 
and nothing is a blessing till he blesses it. And we know not what 
may befall us in our new abode. Here our children may be about 
us, or here we may weep because they are not. Here we may find 
a house of mourning for the desire of our eyes, or the guide of our 
youth. Here we may enjoy health, or be made to possess months of 
vanity, and have wearisome nights appointed unto us. Here we may 
live many years, or our sun may go down at noon. Let it, then be 
our concern, that the place may be the house of God while we live 
and the gate of heaven when we die. ' 

David was a poet, and was accustomed to indulge his pious genius 
on any particular occurrence. Here are the lines he composed on 
the present occasion. " I will extol thee, O Lord, for thou hast lifted 
ine up and hast not made my fbes to rejoice over ine. O Lord my 
God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. O Lord, thou hast 
brought up my soul from the grave, thou hast kept me alive that I 
should not go down to the pit. Sing unto the Lord. O ye saints of 
his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness! For his ano-er 
endureth but a moment; in his favor is life ; w^eeping may endurelbr 
a night, but joy cometh in the morning." 

All we notice here is, that previously to his occupyino- this fine 
mansion, he had been suffering under a dangerous disease. ''Por kino^ 
are as mortal as their subjects, and exposed to the same evils of life 
And what would a house of cedar be to one who carried into it a body 
lull ot pain? But God had recovered him speedily, and while re- 
newed health enabled him to enjoy the blessings of Providence divine 
grace taught him to value life, as a privilege for religious purposes, 
prolonging his opportunities to glorify God, and serve his o-eneration 
according to his will. 
Nothing is more interesting than little casual insights into the his- 



186 MAY 3. 

tory, and above all, the experience, of good and great men. And in 
this ode we see the workings of David's mind, belbre, and under, and 
after the affliction. 

— Before the affliction : " And in my prosperity I said, I shall never 
be moved. Lord, by thy favor thou hast made my mountain to stand 
strong." He had not said this in words, but his views, and feelings, and 
actions, were all vocal with God. And do Ave not here see the danger 
of indulgence? How little can we bear Avithout self-«ecurity, with- 
out presumption, without losing the heart of a stranger ! Hence the 
necessity of a change, and the advantage of those trials that cry to 
our hearts, " Arise, and depart hence, for this is not your rest." 

— Under the affliction : " Thou didst hide thy face, and I was trou- 
bled. I cried to thee, O Lord; and unto the Lord I made supplica- 
tion. What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? 
Shall the dust praise thee ? Shall it declare thy truth ? Hear, O Lord, 
and have mercy upon me : Lord, be thou my helper." Cain, in his 
distress goes to building. Saul sends for music. Few turn to Him 
that smiteth them. But prayer is the design, the sanctification, the 
resource of affliction. Is any afflicted? let him pray. 

— After the affliction : " Thou hast turned for me my mourning 
into dancing ; thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with 
gladness, to the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not 
be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever." 
He has done it — 

" His hand has loosed my bonds of pain, 
" And bound me with his love." 

Therefore I w^ill serve him with my best powers, and for ever — 

And his practice corresponded with his profession. No sooner had 
he taken possession of his new palace than " the king said unto 
Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the 
ark of God divelleth within curtains." And then it was that he 
availed himself of a pious and ardent frame of mind, to swear unto 
the Lord, and vow unto the mighty God of Jacob, " Surely I will 
not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed ; I 
will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids, until I 
find out a place for the Lord, a habitation for the mighty God of 
Jacob." How different the disposition of the selfish Jews on their re- 
turn from Babylon ! " Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your ceiled 
houses, and this house lie waste ?" And what gained they ? Them 
that honor me, says God, I will honor. " Ye looked for much, and, 
lo ! it came to little; and when ye brought it home I did blow upon it. 
Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, 
and ye run every man unto his own house." 



May 3. — " To reveal his son in me." — Gal»tians, i, 16. 

To reveal is to lay open something which, though in existence be- 
fore, was yet unknown. The knowledge of the Son of God is neces- 
sary to all the use we can make of him. And we may observe a four- 
fold revelation of him. The text only speaks of one of these, but they 
are all true, and they are all profitable. 

There is a revelation of the Savior to us. This is found in the 



MAY 3. 187 

Scripture, which therefore we oden call emphatically " revelation." 
It discovers many things, but he is the principal subject; and we are 
persuaded noihing has found a place in it, -but has some relation to 
him. This revelation early began. It dawned in paradise and the 
light continued to shine more and more unto the perfect day. All the 
Jewish ordinances and sacrifices prefigured him. Of him Moses in 
the law and the prophets did write : and the testimony of Jesus was 
the spirit of prophecy. He came personally as a preacher, and he 
Avas his own subject. He unbosomed himself to his disciples, as far 
as they were able to bear it ; and promised them a fuller manifesta- 
tion. This was done when the Holy Spirit taught them all things, 
and brought all things to their remembrance that he had said unto 
them, and inspired them to communicate the information to others, 
that all may read and understand their knowledge in the mystery 
of Christ. 

There is a revelation of the Savior in us. This is more than die 
former; for many who have access to the Scriptures will perish, and 
all their knowledge will only prove the savor of death unto death. 
There is, however, as to information, nothing in the internal relation 
that is not in the external. It is not, therefore, a new revelation in 
itself, for the truths themselves are as old as the creation; but it is 
new as to our perception and experience. If a man born blind were 
to receive his sight, he would not see a new sun, but it would be new 
to him. Even in a land of vision, we may be called out of darkness 
into his marvellous hght; because the eyes of our understanding may 
be opened. We heard of these things before, but now in God's'light, 
we see them; and this illumination shows us, not only their reality 
but their excellency ; and, with their glory, fixes, and replenishes, 
and sways the soul. Be not satisfied with any thing short of this. 
Distinguish between a Christian in name, and a Christian indeed. 
Do not place your religion in any thing without you. Have you the 
witness in yourselves? Is Christ revealed in you? Have you such a 
sight of him, by faith, as to see that he is fairer than the children of 
men? as to feel him infinitely endeared ? as to count all things but 
loss for the excellency of his knowledge ? This is what he hTmself 
means, when he said, " He that seeth the Son, and beheveth on him, 
hath everlasting life." 

There is a revelation of him hy us. It is our destiny, our duty, 
our privilege, to make him known. This is done by our being the 
subjects of his agency, as the Avork displays the attributes of the 
author, and the streams proclaim the quality of the fountain. We 
should discover him by our resemblance, as his followers, and by our 
testimony, as his witnesses. We can speak upon other subjects, wliy 
not upon this? Who has not opportunities to extol him among chil- 
dren, servants, friends, neighbors? What do seeking souls want, but 
to see Jesus ? Or doubting ones, but to be assured of his love ? Have 
we been freely healed by him ? Let us tell the deceased and dying 
of the physician. Let us zealously aid every institution that aims to 
show forth his praise. Pray that his glory may be revealed, and that 
all flesh may see the salvation of our God. 

There is also a revelation of him with us. The world knoweth us 
not ; it knew him not. We are now hid, and he is hid, and both are 



188 MAY 4. 

to be displayed at the same time. The day of the manifestation of 
tlie sons of God is also the revelation of Jesus Christ. And when he, 
who is our life, shall appear, we also shall appear with him in glory. 
Them that sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. They sutfered 
w^ith him, and they shall be glorified together. 

We wish to be distinguished. We want something exclusive ; 
half the relish and value is gone, if others share with us. But his 
benevolence, his condescension are such, that he cannot be satisfied 
unless we partake with him : " I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my 
Father appointed unto me, that ye may eat and drink at my table in 
my kingdom, and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.'^ 
" T^D him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, 
even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his 
throne." But where will the ungodly and the sinner appear? 

May 4.—" For even Christ pleased not himself."— Romans, xv, 3. 
— Not as if his undertaking our cause was against his will, or that 
he ever felt it to be a task and a grievance. He was voluntary in 
the engagement, and cheerful in the execution ; and could say, 1 
have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am 1 straitened till it 
be accomplished ! But he never followed the indulgence of his natural 
inclination in the days of his flesh. He preferred the glory of God, 
and our benefit, to his own gratification. He did not consult his ease, 
but denied the demands of sleep when duty required exertion. He 
rejected, with anger, Peter's proposal to spSi-e himself from suffering. 
He did not consult ambitious feeling, but refused the people when 
they would have made him a king. He stood not upon rank and 
consequence, but washed the disciples' feet, and was among them as 
one that serveth. He was far moie delighted with Mary's reception 
of his word, than with Martha's preparation for his appetite. He was 
not only thirsty, but hungry, when the disciples left him at the well 
to go and buy meat ; but when they returned, and said, Master, eat; 
he replied, " I have meat to eat which ye know not of. In your 
absence I have had something above corporeal satisfaction ; I have 
been saving a soul from death, and hiding a multitude of sins. My 
meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish his work." 
When the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter, he said to him, 
" What thinkest thou, Simon? Of whom do the kings of the earth 
take custom or tribute? Of their own children, or of strangers ? 
Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him. Then are 
the children free. The temple is the house of my heavenly Father, 
and I am his only begotten Son." But, though not bound like others,' 
lie foregoes his right, in order to avoid oflence ; " Nevertheless, lest 
we should offend," ?. e. excite pain, or dislike, or reflection, by their 
thinking we have not a proper regard to the sanctuary and ordinances 
of God, " Lest we should ofTend them, go thou to the sea, and cast 
a hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up, and when thou hast 
opened his mouth thou shalt find a piece of money ; that take, and 
give unto them for me and thee." This he exemplified all through 
life ; He was, therefore, well prepared, and authorized to say, '' If 
any man will be my disciple, let him deny himself, and take up hia 
cross and follow me." 



MAY 4. 189 

—And observe the use the apostle makes of it. Because Christ 
pleased not himself, therefore, " let the strong bear the infirmities of 
the weak, and not please themselves;" " Let every one of us please 
his neighbor, for his good to edification." He, indeed, limits the 
duty. We are not to humor our brethren in a sinful course, but 
only m thmgs innocent and lawful ; and we are to do this with a 
view to secure and promote his welfare, and not any advantage of 
our own. But we are not to consult our own little conveniences' and 
appetites, and wislies. We are not even to follow our convictions in 
every disputed matter. " Let us not, therefore, judge one another 
any more; but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block, 
or an occasion to fall, in his brother's v/ay. I know and am persiiided 
by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself; but to him' 
that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean. But if 
thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charita^ 
biy. Destroy not him with thy meat for whom Christ died." Here 
agam, the apostle calls in Jesus, as a motive, acd an example. He 
denied himself so as to die for this weak brother, and will you, savs 
he, refuse to deny yourselves in a trifling forbearance on his behalf .? 
" It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thinc^ 
whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is oflfended, or is made weak." ° 
Herein, too, Paul enjoins no more than he practised ; for he drank 
deep into the Savior's spirit : " I please all men in all thino-g, not 
seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they r^ay be 
eaved." If " meat make my brother to ofltend, I will eat no flesh 
while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to oifend." And 
how noble does he here look! And how below his principles does a 
Christian act when he thinks of himself only, his own accommoda- 
tion J yea, even his own conscience. He is to regard the satisfaction 
of ajiOther's mind, as well as his own ; and is to walk, not only riWir- 
eously, but charitably. Yet some say, " / do not think it sinful • 
therefore Tam not obliged to abstain." And was Paul oblio-ed to 
aostain? All things were pure to him; but he would not eat with 
oflfence. Some seem never to regard how their conduct will affect 
othere; but the Book says, " Give none offence; neither to the Jews 
nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God." Asaph w^as checked in 
his improper language by remembering, that if he so spake, he 
should '• offend against the generation of the upright." Let us 
therefore, beware of throwing stumbling blocks in tlie way of the 
blind. Let us make straight paths for our feet, lest that which is 
lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed. 

—Christianity is designed to refine and soften; to take away the 
iieart of stone, and to give us hearts of flesh ; to polish off" the rude- 
nesses and arrogancies of our manners and tempers, and to make us 
blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke. Lord 
Chesterfield, in one of his letters to his nephew, finely says, " Polite- 
ness is benevolence in little things." Religion should make us the 
most polite creatures in the world ; and what persons of rank do from 
education, we should do from principle ; yielding our own desires 
and claims to become all things to all men, if by any means we may 
gain some, and be not only sincere, but without offence, until the dav ' 
of Christ. ^ 



190 MAY 5. 

— If so, some professors of religion liave much to learn. They 
think of nothing but their own indulgence. They know nothing of 
bearing with mfirmity; of waiting for improvement; of watching 
for opportunity. They are decisive, and dictatorial, and hasty, and 
severe, and pride themselves only on'what they call iaithfulness, and 
which is the easiest thing in religion to them, because it falls in with 
their cwn natural temper; not to say, that frequently what tjiey mean 
by fidelity, is only rudeness and insolence. But while we can do 
nothing against the truth, but for the tmth, we are required to be 
courteous, and to pursue whatsoever things are lovely, and of good 
report. 

— And without this, professors will not only render religion unamia- 
ble and repulsive, but will lower themselves in general estimation, 
and lose the influence which is derivable from reputation and esteem. 
Who can regard the haughty and the selfish? But for a good man 
some would even dare to die. An inoffensive, self-denying, lovely- 
disposition and carriage, wins the heart. It is not in our power to 
love, but it is in our power to be loved. Our loving another depends 
upon him ; and here we have no control ; but another's loving us, 
depends upon ourselves ; and he that will have friends, must show 
himself friendly. 

Doddridge buried a most interesting child at nine years of age. 
The dear little creature was a general favorite ; and he tells us in his 
funeral sermon, that when he one day asked her how it was tliat 
every body loved her — I know not, she said, unless it be that I love 
every body. Tell your children this. Also read to them, " The 
child Samuel grew on, and was in favor both with the Lord, and also 
with men." 

" For he that in these things serveth Christ, is acceptable to God, 
and approved of men. Let us, therefore, follow after things which 
make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another." 



May 5. — " If thou knewest the gift of God." — John, iv, 10. 

As if he had said to the woman. Thou mistakest me for a mere 
.Tew, wandering and weary, and sitting thus on the well, and asking 
for the refreshment of water, seemingly dependent on the kindness of 
a stranger. But if thou wert acquainted with me — that I am the 
mercy promised from the beginning ; the only begotten of the Father, 
full of grace and truth ; that I am come into tlie world to save sin- 
ners; and that in me all fullness dwells ; what an opportunity wouldst 
thou find was now aflbrded thee, •' If thou knewest the gift of God." 

He calls himself the gift of God, because he came not according 
to the course of nature. A body was prepared him. A virgin con- 
ceives, and bares a Son ; and the holy thing born of her is called tlie 
Son of God. We go also further. A preternatural interposition 
might have taken place in a way of wrath ; and this is what seemed 
most probable in the case, and would have been the foreboding of our 
guilty minds. But God sent not his only begotten Son into the world 
to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. 
He, therefore, came not according to any rule of desert. A few years 
ago we heard much of the rights of man, and though the expression 



MAY 6. 191 

<\'as abused, and brought into contempt, there is a propriety in it. 
Man has rights, with regard to his fellow creatures. Children have 
rights, with legard to parents; and subjects, with regard to sove- 
reigns. A man has a right to enjoy the iVuit oi" his labor ; he has a 
right to worship the Supreme Being according to his conscience. But 
what were his rights, w^ith regard to Grod ? What right to protection 
has a subject that has become rebellious ? What right to wages hag 
a servant that has run away from his master ? As sinners, we had 
forfeited all expectation from God — except a fearful looking for of 
judgment and fiery indignation. We could have no right to the bread 
we eat, or the air we breathe. What claim, then, had we upon God 
for the Son of his love ? He wr\3 a gift infinitely free; and not only 
free as opposed to desert, but also as opposed to desire. Was he with- 
holden till we felt our need of him, and became suppliants at our of- 
fended Maker's feet? Ages before we were born, the plan was formed, 
and accomplished, and announced. And when we are desirous of ob- 
taining the blessings of it, we find them provided, and hear a voice, 
saying, Come, for all things are now ready. All other good too, is 
insured by him. He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him 
up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things'? 
Yea, he has given us all things in him ; and whatever a perishing 
sinner needs, even to life eternal, is to be derived from him. 

And if you kne\D the gift of God — surely you would say with the 
apostle, " Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift." You should 
overlook nothing in his bounty; but gratitude should bear some pro- 
portion to the favor it acknowledges. What is the sun in nature, to 
this Sun of Righteousness ! What is our daily bread to this Bread ot 
Life ! Here are the exceeding riches of his grace — in his kindness 
toward us by Christ Jesus. 

— If you knew tlie gift of God, surely you would avail yourselves 
of it. You would consider a participation of him as the one thing 
needful ; and receive him as he is presented in the gospel ; and as 
Zaccheus received him, who made haste, and came down, and re- 
ceived him joyfully, 

— If you knew the gift of God, you would not yield to despondency. 
You would not say, by way of objection, I have no money, no worthi- 
ness. This is supposed. Who thinks of buying a gift; of deserving 
a gift — especially such a gift ! 

— If you knew the gift of God, you would make him known. You 
would commend him to your children, your relations, your friends, 
and your neighbors— You would pray, " Let the whole earth be filled 
with his glory " — 

" His worth if all the nations knew, 

" Sure the whole earth would love liim too.'* 



May 6.—" Therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray thu 
prayer unto thee."— 2 Samuel, vii, 27. 

Where did he find his inclination, and power to pray ? " In his 
heart." The heart is every thing in religion. Man judgeth accord- 
ing to the outward appearance ; but the Lord looketh to tlie heart ; 
and requires it — My son, give me thy heart. W^here he does not find 
this, He finds nothing. Where this speaks, words are neodless : he 



192 MAY 6. 

knows what is the mind of tlie Spirit. Hannah, she sjake in her 
heart ; only her hps moved, but her voice was not heard — yet what 
a prayer she prayed ! and how successful ! It is a blessed thing, there- 
fore, to find it in our heart to pray — so that, wliile it is with many a 
bodily exercise only, a task which they would gladly decline, an 
effort forced upon them from something without — some danger, or 
trouble, we may do it naturally, and therefore constantly and plea- 
santly, from a principle in us, like a well of water springing up into 
everlasting life. 

And what was the prayer he found there ? It was this — " Let the 
house of thy servant David be established before thee.'" David had 
a peculiar concern for his family ; and, from his character, we may 
be assured he wished it to be not only or principally glorious, but 

food. It is a man's duty to seek to promote the temporal welfare of 
is house ; for he that provideth not for his own, especially those of 
his own house, hath denied the faith, and is worse than an Infidel. 
But the wish of many is not to budd up their house in Israel, but in 
the world. They are only anxious tor an increase of earthly wealth 
and honor. And how injurious have such risings in life proved to 
the comfort and i-eligion of the family. And how inconsiderate and 
inconsistent are parents, especially if they are pious ones, in longing 
for such perils, when they know the depravity of human nature, and 
the snares of prosperity. How much better is it to see, and to leave 
their household great in the sight of the Lord ; and under the bless- 
ing of that providence which will make all things work together for 
their good. 

And what produced this prayer? " Therefore'''' — "For thou, O 
Lord of Hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I 
will build thee a house :" " therefore hath thy servant found in his 
heart to pray this prayer unto thee." He had refused him the plea- 
sure and honor of building the temple which he had purposed. But 
he should be no loser. The will should be taken for the deed. 
Though he did not build God a house, God Avould build him a house 
— and except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build 
it. But all things are possible with him: and them that honor him, 
he will honor. What the king said to his prime minister — "You 
mind my affairs, and I will mind j^ours" — he says to each of his ser- 
vants. Serve me yourselves, and be persuaded that my blessing is 
upon my people, and that the generation of the upright shall be blessed. 

— But see — the certainty of a thing does not supersede the use of 
the means in attaining it. Why should David pray for it, when God 
had pledged himself to do it? So some would argue: but it would 
be the arguing of folly. The Scripture, the wisdom o? God, knows 
nothing of this perversion. No doctrine there leads to enthusiasm. 
There the means and end are connected. There activity groAvs out 
of dependence; and zeal, out of confidence. There God says, after 
he has promised the thing, " I will yet be inquired of by the house of 
Israel to do it for them." Yea, we see prayer is not only consistent 
with the promise, but derived from it. It is this that furnishes the 
matter of our petitions, and gives us all our encouragements. 

TJierefore, let us be thankful for the promises. Let us search them 
out. Let us place them opposite all our wants. Let us plead them. 



MAY 7. 193 

and say, Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast 
caused him to hope. And, as then we can ask in faith, so we may 
pray with confidence : for whatsoever we ask according to his will, 
we know he heareth us. 



May 7.—" The Sun of Righteousness shall arise."— Malachi, iv, 2. 

He is called the Sun of Righteousness, to intimate that he is the 
xime in the righteous world as the orb of day is in the natural. The 
importance of the latter is acknowledged by all, but the value of the 
former is infinitely greater ; for what^are the interests of time and 
sense to those of the soul and eternity ! We know there is only one 
sun in our system. : and there is one Mediator between God and man. 
Neither is there salvation in any other. I am the way, the truth, and 
the life ; no man cometh unto the Father but by me. The vastness 
of the sun is surprising; but Jesus is the Lord of" all. His greatness is 
unsearchable. The beauty and glory of the sun are such that, in the 
absence of Revelation, and when creatures were idols, we can scarce- 
ly wonder that this illustrious display of Deity should have been 
adored. But He is fairer than the children of men. Yea, he is alto- 
gether lovely ; and all the angels of God are commanded to worship 
him. But, oh ! the inestimable usefulness of this luminary ! How he 
enlightens ! warms ! fructifies ! adorns ! blesses ! What changes does 
he produce ! How he fills the air with songs, and the gardens with 
fruit and fragrance ! How he clothes the woods with foliage, and the 
meadows with grass ! How he fills the valleys with corn, and makes 
the little hills rejoice on every side, and crowns the year with his 
goodness ! And this he has always done. The sun that ripened Isaac's 
corn ripens ours ; and though he has shone for so many ages, he is un- 
diminished, and is as all-sufficient as ever. What an image of Him, 
who is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever ! who has always 
been the source of light, life, relief, and comfort ! the hope, the con- 
solation of Israel ! the desire of all nations ! Truly light is sweet, and 
a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun. But he that 
seeth the Sun of Righteousness, and believeth on Jesus, hath ever- 
lasting life. 

— The rising of the sun is the finest spectacle in the creation. I 
fear some never saw it ; at least at the most interesting season of the 
year. What to them are a thousand rising suns, to the sublimity of 
lying late in bed ! But when and how does this Sun of Righteous- 
ness arise ? His coming was announced immediately after the fall, 
when God said, the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's 
head. This was the very first ray of the early dawn of that light 
which waste shine more and more unto the perfect day. His ap- 
proach obscurely appeared in the types and services of the ceremonial 
law. In the clearer discoveries of the prophets, the morning was be- 
ginning to spread upon the mountains. But to the Jews he was be- 
low the horizon ; they longed to see his day; and kings and righteous 
men pressed forward to the brightness of his rising. At length, he 
actually arose ; and when the fullness of time was come God sent forth 
his Son. A messenger from heaven proclaimed him to the shepherds, 
and said, I bring you glad tidings of great joy. The Savior is born ' 

Vol. I. 9 



194 MAY a 

Oh I the splendor of that morninfif . It brought glory to God in the 
highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men — God was mani- 
fest IN THE FLESH. 

— He rises in the dispensation of the Gospel. Whenever this en- 
ters a nation, or a village, He is evidently set forth, and the savor of 
his knowledge diffused ; and it is then said to the place, and to the 
people. Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord 
is risen upon thee. He rises in spiritual illumination. Then he is re- 
vealed in us. He is presented to the eye of the soul. He is seen in a 
new manner, so as to fix and fill the mind, and govern the life. He 
rises in renewed manifestations. For sometimes he hides his face, 
and we are troubled. Then we anxiously ask, O when wilt Thou 
come unto me? Then we wait for him more than they that watch 
for the morning — and when we behold him again, find a brighter 
day. He rises in ordinances. What fresh and enlivening views of 
him have we often in meditation and prayer ; in his own supper ; in 
reading and hearing his word ! 

" Sometimes a light surprises 1 " It is the Lord that rises 

" The Christian, while he siugs : | " With healing in liis wingb." 

But how will he arise in the irradiations of heaven ; in the morn- 
mg of immortality ; making a day to be sullied with no cloud, and 
followed with no evening shade ! Then their sun shall no more go 
down. 

" God shall rise, and, shining o'er you, I " He, your God, shall be your glory, 
" Turn to day the gloomy night ; | " And your everlasting light." 



May 8.—" I will look for him."— Isaiah, viii, 17. 

This is pecnliar language. It is the langLiage of none in heaven. 
There all have found him, and are for ever wiFh the Lord. It is the 
language of none in hell. There they are only concerned to escape 
from his hand, and to elude Lis eye. It is not the language of any in 
the WORLD. There they are active and eager enough, but they rise 
early, and sit up late, and eat the bread of sorrow, to gain some tem- 
poral advantage, honor, or pleasure, but none saith, " Where is God 
my Maker, who giveth songs in the night ?" It is not the language 
of all in the church. There are some happy souls who know the joy- 
ful sound, and walk in the light of God's countenance ; in his name 
they rejoice all the day, and in his righteousness they are exalted. 
But there are others whose desire is to his name, and to the remem- 
brance of him, whose wish is, " O that I was as in months past, when 
the candle of the Lord shined upon my soul, and the Almighty was 
yet with me." These, these are the pei-sons saying, and they cannot 
do better than say, " I will look for him." 

It is here supposed that God may hide himself from his people. 
Indeed, it is expressly asserted in the former part of the verse, " I will 
wait upon the Lord, who hideth himself from the house of Israel." 
Sometimes he does this as to providential dispensations, suffering 
theiA to fall into trouble, and for a while leaving them, as if he had 
no regard for them, and had forgotten to be gracious. But we now 
refer to spiritual manifestations. Sometimes they are so in the dark 
that they are unable to perceive their condition, or enjoy the comforls 



MAY 8. 195 

of the Holy Ghost. God loves them ahvay.^, and they cannot serve A 
him in vain; but they cannot alwa}^? see this, as they once did. | 
The sun is as really in his course in a dark day as in a bright one, 
but his face is hid by fogs and clouds ; and, says David to his God, 
•• Thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled." For when we are 
in the dark with regard to him, other things come forth and dismay | 
us; and it is true, morally as well as ph3-sicall3^, " Thou makest 
darkness, and it is night, wherein all the beasts of the forest do 
creep forth." 

But the subjects of divine grace cannot rest satisfied v/ithout God. 
We see- this in Job : " Oh that I knew where I might find him. Behold, 
I go forward, but he is not there ; and backward, but I cannot per- 
ceive him; on the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold 
him ; he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him." 
This anxiety and restlessness to find him results from three things. 
Love, that longs to be near the object of attachment, and cannot 
endure separation. Conviction, which tells him of God's infinite 
importance to his case, and of his own entire dependence upon him. 
I am sick, says he, and he is my only physician ; I am a traveller, 
and he is my only guide. I have nothing ; he possesses all things. 
ExPERiEXCE, he has tasted that the Lord is gracious, and the relish ol 
the enjoyment adds to the sense of want; for that which indulges 
the appetite, provokes it also. Hence, though the believer does not 
desire more than God, he desires more of him. 

Well, this restlessness is a token for good. Henry says, " a Chris- 
tian is always on the perch, or on the wing ; he is always reposing in 
God, or in flight after him ; and the latter is as good an evidence ol 
religion as the former; for delight is not only a part of complacency 
and aflection, but also fear, complaint, desire ; fear of losing the 
object ; complaint of our enjoying so little of it ; desire to attain and 
feel more." 

Therefore be of good comfort ; and if you ask where you are to 
look for him, look for him in Christ, where he is reconciling the world 
to himself. In him he is well pleased. Look after him in the pro- 
mises; there you will find him, pledged in every readiness of power 
and compassion. Look after him in his ordinances ; where two or 
three are gathered togjether, there is He in the midst of them. And 
not only look for him in the temple, but in the closet ; pray to thy 
Father who is in secret, and thy Father who seeth in secret shall 
reward thee openly. Look after him in thy former experiences. 
Call to remembrance thy song in the night. 

* Did ever trouble yet befall, | " And he refuse to hear thy call?" ' 

Can all your former views and feelings be a delusion? 

" Could you joy his saints to meet ? | " Choose the ways you once abhorred.' 

Would he have showm you such things as these, and also have 
accepted many an offering at your hands, if he had been minded to 
kill you? 

And when you have found him whom you are looking after, fall 
at his feet, and ingenuously confess your unworthinesa in causing 
him to withdraw from you. Complain not of him; justify him ; but 
condemn yourselves. And instead of thinking he has dealt hardly 



196 MAY a 

with you, wonder that he has not cast you off for ever, and be thankful 
that he has been found of you again. Again you iiave morning ; 
again you have spring; but the rising and shining of the sun has 
made it. " Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing; 
thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me witli gladness; to the 
end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O 
Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever." Cleave to him 
with purpose of heart. Resolve rather to die. than again to grieve 
his Holy Spirit. And sa}^, 

• Till thou hast brought me to thy home, I " Thy countenance let me often see, 
' Where doubts and fears can never come ; | " And often thou shalt hear from me.'' 



May 9. — " So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt 
was found upon him, because he believed in his God." — Daniel, vi, 24. 

His case at first seemed very hard to flesh and blood ; but we liere 
see the end of the Lord. All was so overruled, that Daniel had no 
reason to repent of his conduct, or lament the result of it. It is true, 
the God he served continually did not preserve him from the den of 
lions, but he dehvered him out of it. He could have made a way for 
his escape; but the prevention of the trial would not have been half 
so impressive and useful as the issue. What a night did he pass 
there ! What hours were they of prayer and praise, of peace and 
joy ! What reflections did he make upon the power and goouness of 
his God ; while the hungry lions (and they had been prepared to 
devour) looked on, and snuffed his flesh, but felt an invisible Re- 
strainer, who said, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophet no 
harm. How would he resolve to confide in him, and confess him, 
and serve him in future ! How would the multitude be impressed ! 
Those who doubted would be convinced. The timid would be em- 
boldened. Many proselytes would be made to the religion of Daniel, 
v/hile the king said, " I make a decree, that in every dominion of my 
kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel ; for he is 
the living God, and steadfast for ever, and his kingdom that which 
shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end. 
He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in 
heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of 
the lions." 

How much, therefore, did his steadfastness conduce to the glojy ot 
God, and the advancement of his cause ! Christians never honor God 
more than in* the fires ; when they sufter like themselves ; wlien they 
are witnesses for God ; when they show that his service is too dear to 
loe forsaken; and that they are willing to follow him to prison, or to 
death ; and the religion they more than profess, enables them to 
glory in tribulation also ; men see that there is a reality in it — a vital 
— a blessed reality, and that the righteous is more excellent than his 
neighbor. 

But the result equally terminated in Daniel's own honor and wel- 
fare. When taken up, how would every eye be drawn toward him ! 
Hovv breathless would be their gaze I How would every tongue extol 
him ! With what shoutings would they follow him home ! When 
they met him, how ready would every man be to say. There is the 
man who would rather enter a den of hungry lions than violate his 



MAY 10. 197 

conscience, or sin against liis God ! What influence would be at- 
tached to his character ! what weight to his advice and counsel ! 
His reputation is perfected, and a good name is rather to be chosen 
than great riches. And liis attainder is revoked, and he is restored ; 
he is promoted by his sovereign to a higher station. 

— And who would not have done wliat Darius did ? He who had 
been laithful to his God, was more likely to be faithful to his king. 
This is, indeed, one of the ways in which godliness naturally con- 
duces to a man's present advantage. It gains him confidence, and 
this is the lever of elevation. Constantius, the father of Constantino 
the Great, while as yet this prince was a heathen, wished to know 
the character of those about him. He therefore called together be- 
fore him all the chiefs in his suit, and ordered them to offer sacrifices 
to his gods, on pain of being deprived of all their honors and fimc- 
tions. This trial was severe. Many sunk under it. They could not 
give up every thing that was dear and valuable. Bat some v/ere 
inflexible. They had bought the truth, and they would not sell it for 
any price. Whatever they suffered, they were resolved to have a 
conscience void of offence. What happened ! Those who basely 
complied he drove from his presence ; while those Avho nobly refused 
he intrusted with the care of his person, and placed them in the most 
important offices, saying, On these men I can depend — I prize them 
more than all my treasures. And we know who hath said. Then, 
that honor me I will honor ; but they that despise me shall be lightly 
esteemed. 



May 10.— <' And the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land 
cf Egypt. And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him ; for he had strait- 
ly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye 
shall carry up my bones away hence with you."— Exodus, xiii/18, 19. 

Here are two circumstances not to be overlooked, because God has 
deemed them worthy of record. 

The first is not easily understood from the present version. It is .said, 
They went up out of Egypt harnessed. The Avord harness, when 
the Bible was translated, signified not the furniture of a horse, but of 
a soldier — or armor; and this is the first sense the term bears in John- 
eon's dictionary ; and to check the presumption of a warrior it was 
once said, " Let not him that putteth on the harness boast himself 
like him that putteth it off." The translators therefore meant to say, 
that they went out armed. Yet this is not at all probable. Such'a 
jealous tyrant as Pharaoh would, by his spies, have prevented the 
Israelites from manufacturing, or purchasing, or hoarding up, wea- 
pons Wc find, in after-times, when the Philistines held the Jews m 
subjection, they would not allow a smith to live in the country, and 
only permitted them to sharpen their agricultural implements at par- 
ticular places. " But they had arms in the wilderness, when they 
fought Amalek and others." Yes, they had carried away a few wea- 
pons concealed, and made others out of the materials they had Avith 
them; and above all, they furnished themselves from the spoils of 
Pharaoh's army thrown on shore. But they were now only going 
out from Egypt. The margin is, they marched '^Jive in a rank." 
But this would have extended the train more than fifty miles in 



i98 MAY 10. 

length. Others, therefore, have rendered it, " iji five squadrons." But 
all the meaning seems to be, that they moved out, not armed, but in 
soldier-hke order, as regularly organized and slowly, as disciplined 
troops, and not like a rude rabble, or a huddled, jostling multitude. 
It shows that they did not go out by " haste or by flight ;" and ^hia 
is very remarkable, considering their numbers and the quality of the 
people, and how natural it was for those behind to dread lest their 
task-masters should overtake them, and therefore to press forward, to 
get before. But there was nothing of this ; they moved with such 
steadiness, and stillness, that " against none of them did a dog move 
his tongue." We are also informed that " there was not found one 
feeble among them." Indeed, they had enough to do to take care of 
themselves and their goods, without being incumbered with invalids. 
But did ever such an immense multitude leave a place before without 
one individual unable to follow ? It was the Lord's doing, and it is 
marvellous in our eyes. 

The other circumstance in this march regards " the bones of Joseph, 
which Moses took with them." This rendered it a kind of funeral 
procession, and such as no other history relates. Much people of Nain 
followed the bier of the widow's son j but Joseph's corpse was accom- 
panied with every man, woman, and child, of a w^hole nation. There 
is generally some time between death and interment, though in warm 
climates this is very short : here was an intervention of near two hun- 
dred years. Other bodies may liave been carried as far, but were 
never so long in their conveyance to the grave — for here forty years 
were taken up in bearing Joseph to his burial. 

We read at the death of Joseph, that " they embalmed him, and 
he was put in a coffin in Egypt :'^ and when we consider that he was 
the prime minister, and the savior of tlte country, and the most popu- 
lar man in the realm, we may be assured that this was done in a 
manner the most perfect and sumptuous. The descendants of his own 
family would be likely to have the care of this precious deposit ; and 
they would feel a pecuhar veneration for it. But it was dear to all, 
and useful to all. It was a memento of the vanity of all human great- 
ness. Joseph had risen in life to an unexampled degree of eminence. 
But what, where now is the governor and idol of Egypt ? Mum- 
mied within those few inches of board !" It was also a moral, as well 
as a mortal memento. Joseph was a very pious character ; he had 
been highly exemplary in every relation and condition of life ; and 
much of God, of Providence, and of grace, was to be read in his his- 
tory. What an advantage to be always reminded of such a man, in 
having his remains always in the midst of them I But the body would 
be, above all, valuable, as a pledge of their future destination. ItAvas 
a present palpable sign of God's covenant with their fathers, on their 
behalf 

For observe how they came in possession of this treasure. 
It was according to the dying wish and prophecy of Joseph : " Foi 
he had straightl}^ charged the children of Israel, saying, God will 
surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones aw^ay hence with 
you." His charge did not arise from a superstitious principle, as if it 
were better or safer to moulder in one place than another — nor even 
from a principle of natural or relative affection. This feeling, indeed, 



MAY 10. 199 

Is often strong, and the wit^h to lie with their kindred seems to grow 
with the declTne of Ufe. How affectionately does Jacob express this 
sentiment, when dying! "I am to be gathered unto my people: 
bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron 
the Hittite, in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is be- 
fore Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the 
field of Ephron the Hittite, for a possession of a burying place. There 
they buried Abraham, and Sarah his wife ; there they buried Isaac, 
and Rebekah his wife ; and there I buried Leah." This, however, 
was more than the language of nature in the father — and so it was in 
the son. The apostle tells us, " By foith Joseph, when he died, made 
mention of the departing of the children of Israel ; and gave com- 
mandment concerning his bones." If he did it by faith his faith must 
have had a divine warrant ; and it had. It was the promise of a God 
that cannot lie, that he would give Canaan for a possession to the seed 
of Abraham. 

" And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall 
be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them ; and 
they shall afflict them four hundred years; and aJso that nation, v/hom 
they shall serve, will I judge : and afterward shall they come out with 
great substance." And this was, at the very time, ratified by a solemn 
covenant. Joseph knew^ of tliis engagement, and believed it ; and 
though the time was remote, and the difficulties in the accomplish- 
menrmany, like a true son of Abraham, he staggered not at the pro- 
mise of God, through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to 
God, This raised him above the treasures of Egypt; this kept him 
from naturalizing there amidst all his prosperity — there he was only 
a stranger and a sojourner — another nation was his people — another 
land was his home : and therefore, instead of being entombed in an 
Egyptian pyramid, he ordered his body to be immediately taken to 
Goshen, and" kept by them till they should go as a body to pc^secss 
their inheritance, and then bury him with his fathers. 

And behold the fulfillment ! Enslaved as they were, they are de- 
livered. Their enemies perish. They live by miracle for forty years 
in the wilderness. The Jordan is crossed. Canaan is taken — and, 
gays the Conqueror to the people he had led to victory, " Behold, 
this day I am going the way of all the earth: and ye know in all 
your hearts, and in all your souls, that not one thing hath failed of all 
the good things which the Lord your God spake concerning you ; oil 
are come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof" 
" So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them 
a statute and an ordinance in Shechem." What more? "And 
the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of 
Eg}"pt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground v/hich Jacob 
bought of the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for a hundred 
pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of 
Joseph." Here we leave his hallowed remains till the resurrection of 
the just; inscribing over his sepulchre — A memorial of the faith- 
fulness OF God. 

"O for a strong and lively faith, I " To embrace the message of his Son, 

" To credit what the Almighty eaith: | " And call the joys of hoaveu our own " 



200 MAY 11, 12. 

May 11.— "The lame man which was healed held Peter and John." 

Acts, iii, lo. 

How perfectly natural and picturesque are the narratives of the 
Bible ; serving at once to voucii for their trutli, and to leave their 
representations fixed in the memory. 

The circumstance here mentioned is too simple, striking, and 
touching, to be overlooked. The poor man had been lame from his 
mother's womb, and was placed daily at the Beautiful Gate of the 
Temple, to ask alms of the worshippers. Silver and gold, Peter and 
,Tohn had none: but they gave him something far better. In the 
name of the Lord Jesus, said they, rise up, and walk. And imme- 
diately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And he, leaping 
up — stood — and entered with them into the temple — walking — and 
leaping — and praising God. The people, also, seeing what was done, 
hastened to Solomon's Porch, greatly wondering — But the man that 
was healed held Peter and John. 

Was this the effect of apprehension ? Did he imagine their influ- 
ence was confined to their bodily presence ; and that if he let them 
go, his lameness would return ? 

Or did this result from a wish to point them out to the multitude ? 
" Are you looking after the wonderful men who have made me 
whole ?" eager and proud to proclaim to them ; " Here," says he, 
" here they are — these are they." 

Was it not still more the expression of his attachment ? " O my 
deliverers and benefactors, let me attend upon you ; and enjoy the 
happiness to serve you. Entreat me not to leave you, nor to return 
from following after you. Let me live, let me die with you." So it 
is in our spiritual cures. It is natural to feel a regard for those Avho 
have been the means of our recovery ; and to keep hold of them — 
But let us remember, we may hold them too closely. And we do so, 
if we suffer them to draw us away from the God of all grace. For 
whoever are the instruments of doing us good. He is the agent; and 
he will have us know, that the excellency of the power is of Him, and 
not of them. Hence the reproof; " For while one saitli, 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 God 
gave to every man 7 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." They are some- 
thing in the order of means, and a proper respect is due to them in 
this character: but they are nothing as to efficiency and success — this 
IS entirely from God; arid his glory will he not give to another. To 
idolize a minister, is the way to have him removed from us, or ren- 
dered unprofitable to us ; " Not by might, nor by power, but by my 
Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." We can never honor God so nuich 
as by dependence upon him. And them that honor him he will 
honor; and they that despise him shall be lightly esteemed. 



May 12.— "And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and en- 
tered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him. And they did 
not -eceive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. 
And Avben his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou 



MAY 12. 201 

that \ve command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them even 
as ElTas dT B t he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what 
manner of spirifye are of. 'Porthe Son of man came not to destroy men's 
lives, but to save them."— Luke ix, 52— oh. 

Why did our Savior send a message to " make ready ^^Ji' J/i^ '^^^ 
It could not be from a principle of self-indulgence; he had blamed 
Martha for her too much serving, when she entertained him. INei- 
ther was it for the purpose of show and ostentation. But it was trom 
a motive of civility, not wishing to put them to trouble and contusion 
by his sudden arrival, especially as he travelled not alone, but w.tii 
his disciples, and probably others ; and also, as he purposed paying 
^or the accommodations he ordered, to try their dispositions. Accord- 
ino-lv they displayed themselves. , , , . 

But why " would they not receive him?" There had always been 
an implacable aversion between them and the Jews; it appeared on 
all occasions, and even hindered, as we find in the woman s answer 
at the well? the common offices of civil lile. But to this ordinary 
dislike something peculiar was here added. They knew that our 
Lord was a public teacher, and had heard of his miracles ; but his 
services had been with their enemies. They also had their temi>\e 
and their festivals, which were held at the same time; and one ot 
the^ Ava« a^ hand. But they saw he was bound, not to mount Geri- 
zimVbut to mount Zion ; therefore " they did not receive him, because 
his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem:' 

Not far fi'om this very p'ace Elijah had punished Azariahs cap- 
tain« and companies sent to take him. John and James, therefore. 
a«k " Lord wilt thou that ice command fire to come down trom hea- 
ven to consume them, even as Elias did ?" The very infirmities ot 
good men are peculiar ; they are the spots of God's children. Here 
was something excusable; yea, even commendable— such was their 
acquaintance with Scripture— their applying to our Lord lor his per 
mission and approbation ; their faith and confidence in his power, 
that, if He willed the thing, it must take place; and their attachment 
to him ; for they could not bear to see one so dear to them insulted, 
in bein'o- refused the common rights of strangers. But evil blended 
with tlie o-ood. Their zeal was not according to knowledge. The 
punishment was also extreme ; for though the people had shown their 
rudeness and prejudices, they had not offered him violence; yet they 
must be destroyed, and sent down quick into hell in their sins; and alt 
of them, though some of them might have been far less blameable 
than others. The cases, too, were not parallel. Elias had a call— the 
very impulse in him was supernatural, and was justified by the event ; 
for fire from heaven would not have obeyed private passion. He acted 
from a reo-ard to the glory of God and the welfare of Israel. But 
these men had no call, and were urged on too much by their own 

feelings. , r • ■. 

He therefore rebukes them : " Ye know not what manner of spirit 
ye are otV They little suspected how much their own tempers had 
to do in the proposal. When the Gadarenes besought him to depart 
out of their coasts, and when the Nazarenes took him to the brow ol 
the hill to cast him down, these disciples did not call for such ven- 
geance then ; wo— they were Jews, but these offenders are Samari- 



202 MAY 13. 

tarn. How insensibly does something of our selfish and carnal feel- 
mgs creep in and assume a religious pretension ! None of our pas- 
sions justify themselves so much as anger; we think we do well to he 
angry. But the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. 
We may offer strange fire on God's own altar ; but it is not thereby 
sanctified. The Author of peace and Lover of concord requires us to 
" show out of a good conversation our w^orks with meekness of wis- 
dom. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that 
make peace." 

How much does it become us to study our ov/n spirits, and walxh 
over the springs of our actions ! A Jehu may say, " Come, see my 
zeal for the Lord," when he was only removing God's enemies to 
clear his own way to the throne. What do some mean by dealing 
faithfl.illy with others, but indulging their dislike and insolence? 
Some professors of religion never reprove their servants and children, 
but in f retfulness and iil humor ; and then their temper is discharged 
in a kind of spiritual scolding. Who can understand his errors? 
" 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." 

Our Lord knew James and John better than they knew themselves ; 
and in further reproof, he refers to himself as their example : " For 
the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, bat to save them." 
He came indeed to seek and to save the soul principally ; but he did 
not overlook the body. He healed the diseased ; he fed the hungry ; 
and has taught us to be merciful to the temporal wants of our fellow 
creatures. And even in carrying on his own peculiar cause, and en- 
deavoring to promote the religion of the Bible, he allows us not to 
employ force, or to impoverish, or imprison, or in any way persecute. 
The weapons of his warfare are not carnal, but spiritual. " My king- 
dom," said he, " is not of this world : else would my servants fight" — 
indeed they would. Yea, they have fought— men, women, children 
have fought. They have fought with more than the courage of 
heroes. They have 'prayed, and lived, and taught, and wept, and 
bled, and died ! ^ 

May 13.—" 1 thank God, tlirougli Jesus Christ our Lord."— Romans, vii, 25. 

The experience of the Christian, while in this world, is of a mixed 
nature. It resembles the day spoken of by Zechariah, which was 
neither dark nor clear. Whatever advantages he attains at present, 
there is always enough to tell him that this is not his rest. But, under 
all his complaints, he has reason to take courage and be thankful. So 
it was with Paul : for these words are to be taken in connection with 
his language in the preceding verse, where he groans,' being bur- 
dened with the remains o^" indwelling sin ; " O wretched man that I 
am ! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God, 
through Jesus Christ our Lord," 

— Yes, even in the midst of such an experience as this, there is a 
fourfold ground of thankfulness, and the Christian may say— First, 1 
thank God, ".hrough Jesus Christ our Lord, that my cormption h. my 
complaint. It was not so once — neither is it so with manv now. 



MAY 14. 203 

Tliey drink in iniquity as the ox drinketh in water. It is their ele- 
ment ; but it is not nriine. They roll it as a sweet morsel under tlieii 
tongue ; but I have been made to see and taste that it is an evil thing, 
and bitter. I loathe it, and abhor myself for it, repenting in dust and 
ashes. The heart of stone has been taken away, and I have a heart 
of flesh — a heart affected with the guilt, the pollution, and the vileness 
of sin. I have nothing to boast of; every view 1 take of myself is 
humbling; but my desire is before him, and my groaning is not hid 
from him. 

' ' Slarks of prace I cannot show ; I " Yet I weary am, I know — 

" All polluted is my best ; | " And the weary long for rest." 

And they are invited to obtain it. 

Secondly, I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord, that though 
I am in the conflict, I am not conquered. Though yet alive, the ene- 
my is dethroned. Though it rages, it does not reign. It threatens to | 
resume its ascendancy, and has sometimes alarmed my fears. 1 have ji 
said, I shall one day perish ; but having obtained help of God, I con- | 
tinue to this day, faint, yet pursuing, and feeling no disposition to 
turn back. 

Thirdly, I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord, that deliver- 
ance is sure. 

' Wb-\t though my inbred lusts rebel ; 1 "gThe weapons of victorious grace 

" 'ils but a struggling gasp for life : 1 " Shall slay my sins, and end the strife." 

The victory in this case may be inferred from tlie reality of the con- 
flict. It is as certain as the Avord of God can render it. The result is 
left to no precariousness, but secured in the everlasting covenant. He 
who made his soul a sacrifice for sin, shall see his seed, and be glori- 
fied in them. Their help is laid on One that is mighty. His blood 
cleanseth from all sin. His righteousness justifies the ungodly. His 
grace is suflicient for the most weak and exposed. Theyl^hall never 
perish ; neither shall any pluck them out of His hand. And they may 
anticipate this, and rejoicing in a hope that maketh not ashamed, say, 
I know whom I have believed ; and am persuaded that He is able to 
keep that which I have commJtted to him against that day. Yea, 

Finally, I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord, that the de- 
.iverance is near. Were it remote, I ought to wait for it with patience 
Others wait The husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the 
earth, and hath long patience until he receive the early and the latter 
rain. But it will not tarry. If life be short, the conflict cannot be 
long. Soon the warfare must be accomplished ; and the enemies I 
ha\e seen to-day, I shall see no more for ever. My salvation is nearer 
than when I believed. The night is far spent. The day is at hand— 

" Though painful at present, [ '< And then, O how pleasant y^ 

" 'Twill cease before long ; | » Tiie Conqueror's song •" i^ 



May 14 — "I will cause you to pass under the rod."— Ezekiel, xx, 37. 

Three things in the Scripture go by this name. A father's scouro-o 
a king's sceptre, and a shepherd's crook. All these will apply in the 
present instance j and all of them are necessary to do some justice w 
the subject. 

—There is a paternal rod. Thus we read, He that spareth the rod 



204 MAY 14. 

hateth his son. I will visit their transgressions with a rod, and their 
iniquities with stripes. There can be no mistake here. The idea is 
correction, and the rod means the instrument with which the father 
chastises. God is a father, and he has a rod. This rod is made up 
of any kind of affliction — outward troubles — bodily pains — family be- 
reavements. Even men, wicked men, reproaching and injuring us, 
and undeservedly too, as to them^ may be God's scourge, to make us 
suffer for something else. Thus he said of the Assyrian : " O Assyrian, 
the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. 
I will send him against a hypocritical nation, and against the people 
of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take 
the prey, and tread them down like the mire of the streets." Our 
friends, our children, our dearest comforts in life, God can make the 
means of chastising us, if needs be. Who comes not under this rod? 
"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten." They are not all exer- 
cised in the same way ; but " what son is he whom the father 
chasteneth not ?" And who, painful as the exercise may be, cannot 
acknowledge in the review, if not in the enduring — 

"Yet I have found 'tis good for me I " Afflictions make me learn thy law, 

" To bear my Fatlier's rod ; j " And live upon my God ?" 

And as they are usei'ul in our progress in the divine life, so they have 
frequently been the means of first awakening the desire, "^Where is 
God my Maker, who giveth songs in the night ?" The failure of the 
human arm has made them feel after the divine. The desolations of 
earth have said to purpose, " Arise and depart hence ; for this is no' 
our rest." What sent the prodigal home ? He began to be in warn. 
What brought Manasseh to repentance ? In his afflictions he sought 
the Lord God of his father. 

"Father, I bless thy gentle hand : I " That forced my conscience to a stand, 

How kind was thy chastising rod, | "And brought my wandering soul to God!" 

— There is a regal rod. So we call a sceptre. Of the Messiah, 
the King on his holy hill of Zion, it is said, " He shall rule them with 
a rod of iron ;" but this refers to his adversaries. He has another 
kind of rod for his subjects. The Lord shall send the rod of his 
strength out of Zion. And what was sent out of Zion but the Gos- 
pel? The Gospel, therefore, is his rod ; and this rod is his sceptre, the 
emblem of his authority, displaying his majesty, and maintaining his 
rule. Hence it is added, " Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies ;" 
meaning, over his subjects, though surrounded with foes; for they are 
brought under his sway, and feel and acknowledge their subjection, 
as it follows, " Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power." 
Though once they said, Who is the Lord ? and we will not have 
him to reign over us ; they are all brought under the rod of his 
strength. The Gospel has come to them, not in word only, but in 
power. It has awakened their consciences ; it has changed their dis- 
positions ; it has made them submit to the righteousness which is of 
God, and to yield themselves to his service, as those who are alive 
from the dead. They were the servants of sin; but they now obey, 
from the heart, the form of doctrine which was delivered them. 

— There is a pastoral rod. Of this David speaks : when address- 
ing the Lord as his shepherd, he says, " Yea, though I walk through 
the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil ; for thou art 



MAY 15. 205 

with rac; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me." This refers to 
the crook with which the shepherd both walks as he folio w^-, and uses 
as he manages the sheep. It is tlie symbol and instrument of his 
charge and otRce. The people of God are naturally like lost sheep 
going astray, wandering upon the mountains of barrenness and dan- 
ger. But He seeks them, and finds them out, and brings them all 
under his rod. And happy are they who are under his care. He is 
their shepherd, and they shall not want. He will make them to lie 
down in green pastures ; he will feed them beside the still waters. 
He will restore their souls, and lead them in the path of righteous- 
ness, for his name's sake. He will gather the lambs with his arm, 
and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with 
young. And the privilege commenced in grace, will be continued 
and completed in glory. " Therefore are they before the throne of 
God, and serve him day and^night in his temple ; and He that sitteth 
on the throne shall dwell aniong'them: They shall llurtger n6 more, 
neither thii:st any more ; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any 
heat. For the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed 
them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God 
ehall wipe away all teai^ from their eyes." • 



jffAY 15. — "I will bring you into the bond of the covenant." 

; ' . , • Ezekiel, xx, 37. 

What is this covenant? Some always consider it a kind of stipu- 
lation between God and us, in which he proposes to do so much, if 
v/e will do so much : thus representing the Supreme Being as a bar- 
gainer, getting as good terms as he can, Avhile man, the other high 
contracting party, agrees to them. But God is said to make a cove 
nant with the earth ; yea, and with the beasts of the field. This can- 
not intend a reciprocal negotiation, but the engagement of God only; 
and which is called a covenant, allusively, to signify its stability and 
certainty, the effect in the one instance being put for the cause in the 
other. For the same reason, this name is given to that gracious con- 
stitution for the salvation of sinners through the Mediator, made 
known in the Scripture for the obedience of faith : and is the very 
same with what is also called "the mercy promised to the fathers,'" 
and "the hope of eternal life which God, that cannot lie, promised 
before the world began." 

The bond of this covenant is the obligation which it lays upon God 
who makes it, and upon those who are saved by it. We could not, 
without profaneness, have talked of binding God ; but he has been 
pleased, in his infinite condescension, to bind himself. His heart could 
have been trusted ; but he knew our frame, and our weakness ; and 
toiemove all our fearful misgivings, arising from our meanness and 
guilt, he hao brought himself" under a covenant engagement. And if 
it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be CDufirmeJ, no man disannulleth 
it. And he has confirmed his engagement, by an oath — and because 
he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself; and also by a 
sacrifice — and the victim was no less than his only begotten Son, and 
whose blood, therefore, is called the blood of the everlasting covenant. 
Thus he is bound to be the God of his people ; bound to save them, 
to pardon, to sanctify, to help them. ;pound to make all things work 



Om MAY 16. 

together for their good. Bound to give them grace and glory, and 
to withhold no good thing from them. 

It also binds them — not to atone for their sin — this is already ex- 
piated ; nor to produce a righteousness to justify them before God — 
tiiis is already brought in, and on this their hope only relies — but 
they are bound to obey, and serve, and glorify Him who has done 
such great things for them. Surely evidence, consistency, gratitude, 
justice, require it. They feel the obligation, and acknowledge it, and 
v\'ish all to know that they are not their own, but bought with a price. 
They feel the obligation; and it is not irksome ; for though they are 
bound, it is with the cords of a man, and the bonds of love. It is the 
obligation of a mother to press to her bosom her sucking child ; it is 
the obligation of a hungry man to eat his pleasant meat — My meat 
is to do the will of Him that sent me. It is a yoke ; but it is like the 
yoke of marriage to the happy pair who daily bless the bonds. It is 
a burden ; but It is lA^e tlie burden of wings to the bird, which, in- 
stead of confining him, gives him the freedom of the skies — Well, says 
the Savior, my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. 

Blessed are the people that are in such a case ! Their humble con- 
fidence can* authorize them in every trouble to say, " Yet hath he 
made Avith me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all thingsj^id sure; 
for this is all my salvation and all my desire;" and their affectionate 
zeal, in every temptation, will constrain them to sing, 

"All that I have, and all I am, | "Yet if I might make some reserve, 

"Shall be for ever thine; | " And duty did not call ; 

"Whate'er my duty bids me give, "I love my God with zeal so great. 

"My cheerful hands resign. | " That I should give him all." 



May 16. — " And it came to pass, Avhen the time Avas come tliat he should 
be received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem." — Luke, ix, 51. 

Whither he was to be received up, is not mentioned ; but it is 
easily understood, especially if we compare the words with other pas- 
pages. Accordingly the margin refers us to two places: in the first 
of which Luke says, " Until the day in which he was taken up ;" and 
in the second, Mark says, " So then, after the Lord had spoken unto 
them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of 
God." The event, therefore, Avas his ascending to his Father and our 
Father ; to his God and our God, There Avas the home Avhere he 
originally dwelt. He speaks of a glory Avhich he had Avith the Father 
betbre the Avorld AA^as. Thus he Avas rich ; but for our sakes he be- 
came poor, and made himself of no reputation. He resided on earth 
for three-and-thirty years in a kind of exile : a Prince higher than the 
kings of the earth, in disguise, and the Avorld knew him not. But 
having accomplished the AA-ork that Avas given him to do, he entered 
into his glory. 

—And if nothing is left to chance in our minutest aflhirs, surely 
there was nothing unarranged Avith regard to his leaving this AA'orld 
to go unto the Father. Accordingly, we here read of the time for 
his being received up. And if they haA-e chronicles above, a.nd days, 
a.? AA'e have — Avhat a memorable day Avould that haAC been, in Avhich, 
after such an absence, and after such astonishing exploits^ and com- 



MAY 17. 207 

pletely vanquishing all the powers of darkness, the everlasting doors 
v.-ere opened, for the King of glory to enter in ! ° 

— On this, therefore, the Savior fixed his eye ; and this emboldened 
jiim to set his face steadfastly to go to Jerusalem. For, what zeal, 
what courage did the determination require ! He knew the perilous 
nature of the journey. He apprehended all that awaited him when 
he should arrive — That there he should be forsaken — and betrayed— 
and apprehended— and mocked— and scourged — and crucified. Yet 
his resolution does not fail him. Lo ! I come, says he, to do thy will, 
O God ! I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I strait- 
ened till it be accomplished ! For he looked beyond, and regarded 
the blessed result. And this was the glorification of his human na- 
ture; the acquirement of his mediatorial reward: the dispensation of 
the Holy Spirit ; the government of the world ; the salvation of the 
church : the enjoyment of tlie praises of the redeemed for ever ! This 
was the joy set before him in covenant engagement; and for this he 
endured the cross, and despised the shame. For though his soul was 
to be made a sacrifice of sin, yet he knew that he should rise from the 
dead, and see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied. Therefore, 
as the season drew near, he looked to the issue, and triumphed in the 
prospect. Now, says he, is the hour that the Son of man shall be — 
not abased, but— glorified. Now is the judgment of this world ; now 
is the Prince of this world cast out; and I, if I be lifted up from the 
earth, will draw all men unto me. 

— So, Christian, should it be with you. There is a time appointed, 
when you also shall be removed from this vale of tears, and be for 
ever with the Lord. Think of it ; and set your face boldly and firmly 
to go, whenever duty calls. The man who has an amputation to suf- 
fer, must not dwell on the operation, but must pass beyond, to the 
restoration of health, and the continuance of life. This, Christian, is 
the way to endure, and to be more than a conqueror. It is to reckon 
that the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared 
with the glory tliat shall be revealed — You may sow in tears, but 
you shall reap in joy. The road may be rough, but it will soon bring 
you home. 

" Yet a season, and you know I " All your sorrows left below, 

" Happy entrance will be given ; | " And earth exchang'd for heaven." 



May 17. — " If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from 
the burning fiery furnace : and he Mill deliver us out of thine hand, O king. 
But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor 
worship the golden image which thou hast set up." — Daniel, iii, 17, IS. 

Conduct so tried and triumphant in the trial, must have had some 
principle to produce it. He who acts without principle is the slave 
of impulse, humor, accident, custom ; and you can no more rely upon 
him than upon a wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed. 
But when a man is governed by principle, he will be consistent in his 
practice : he may have infirmities, but a sameness pervades his cha- 
racter ; he may err, but he is conscientious : and his excellencies will 
appear even in his mistakes and failings. Can we find a principle 
adequate to this heroism ? The apostle tells us it was faith. But 



208 MAY n. 

faith must have something to lay hold ofj and the faith of these young 
men seizes tliree things. 

The first is, the power of God. Our God whom we serve is able to 
dehver us from the burning fiery furnace. They knew nothing was 
too hard for the Lord. And we believe in the Father Almighty, 
Maker of heaven and earth. We, indeed, are not to look for miracles : 
but the power of God is the same as formerly: and there are cases in 
which the view of it can alone inspire relief. When difficulties mul- 
tiply, and means fail, and creatures say, help is not in me — then we 
must lay hold of his strength, and remember that he is able to do for 
us exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask or think. 

The second is, his disposition. And he will deliver us out of thine 
hand, O king. This they deemed probable — perhaps tliey had a per- 
suasion of it, derived from a divine impression, or deduced from the 
character of God, and the records of his word. They had read in the 
Scriptures, along with the experience of his people, the assurance, 
" Call upon me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver thee :" 
'• When thou passest through the waters I Avill be with thee ; and 
through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee : when thou walkest 
through the fire, thou shalt not be burnt ; neither shall the flame 
kindle upon thee." Here is another argument of faith. His people 
eye his goodness, as well as his power; and know that he will appear 
for them, and save them, in his own way, and in his own time. 

The third, is a future state. " But it"^ not^ be it known unto thee, 
O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image 
which thou hast setup." What! would they refuse, even if death 
was the consequence ? Yes. But this shows undeniably, that they 
did not consider death as annihilation. They would not have acted 
thus, had they believed that there was nothing beyond the grave. 
Had they perished in the furnace, their martyrdom coidd not have 
been their duty — it would have been the sacrifice of fools — their end 
would have been madness. 

This is the very case argued by the apostle, " If in this life only 
we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most miserable :" 
" Else wiiat shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the 
dead rise not at all ? why are they then baptized for the dead ? And 
v/hy stand we in jeopardy every hour 7" God does not require us to 
sacrifice our being and happiness for ever; to his pleasure. It is 7wt 
his pleasure ; it cannot be his pleasure. By the law of our nature, 
and the authority of his word, we are even comnmnded to seek our 
welfare, and to seek Ji?'st the kingdom of God and his righteousness; 
and therefore to be willing to give these up, would be disobedience 
and contempt. But the language was wise and noble, when they 
knew, that though they fell in the conflict, they should yet be more 
than conquerors; and that, if they lost a dying, they would obtain an 
immortal life. 

It is absurd to suppose the Jews of old had no knowledge of a future 
state. Search the Scriptures, saj^s the Savior, for in them ye think ye 
have eternal life. Abraham, and his fellow heirs of the same promise, 
said such thinirs as declared plainly that they sought a country, even 
a heavenly. David said, Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and 
(ifterxcard receive me to glory. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, 



MAY 18. 209 

(tcted upon this belief, and must have acted upon it. They endured, 
as seeing Him who is invisible. And wh^-t was Nebuchadnezzar, 
compared with Him 7 What was this furnace, compared with the 
lake that burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death? 
What could they gain by complying, compared with what they 
would for ever lose ? And what could they lose by refusing, com- 
pared with Avhat they would for ever gain ? We reckon, said they, 
that the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared 
with the glory that shall be revealed in us. 

— And our faith must regard the future, or we shall be often per- 
plexed and vanquished. This is the victory that overcometli the 
world, even our laith. Moses chose rather to suffer affliction with 
the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; for 
he had respect unto the recompense of the reward. This, believed 
and realized, explains all ; harmonizes all ; indemnifies all ; glorifies 
all. " For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for 
us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look 
not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen : 
for the things which are seen, are temporal ; but the things which are 
not seen, are eternal." Lord, I believe ; help thou mine unbelief. 



May 18. — " Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good 
for us to be here : if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles: one for 
thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias." — Matthew, xvii, 4. 

— " Not knowing," we are assured by the Holy Ghost ; " not know- 
ing what he said." For had the motion been complied with, how 
could our Savior have suffered and died ? And if Peter had continued 
there, how could he have attended to his wife and children ? Besides, 
he was mistaken as to the nature and design of the dispensation, 
which was only for a confirmation of their laith, by making them 
witnesses of his glory, and to aflbrd them a glimpse or taste of the 
heavenly blessedness The full fruition is for another world. If ever 
we think oP building tabernacles here, we shall soon hear a voice 
saying, " Arise and depart hence, for this is not your rest." 

But though he did not know Avhat he said, he knew why he said it. 
Two things caused his bliss. First, the communion of saints. And 
here were not only John and James, but Moses and Elias; and these 
were not shining statues, but they spake, and spake of the Savior's 
decease. What a subject ! W'hat speakers ! How delightful must 
iiave been intercourse with them ! But the second w^as the presence 
of Jesus. And surely it cannot be a question, why it is good to be 
where He is. With him we are safe, and no Avhere else. He is the 
source of all light and knowledge. He is the fountain of honor and 
excellency. He is the consolation of Israel. He is all, and in all. 

But where is he with his people ? we do not mean as to his essen- 
tial presence, this is universal; but as to his special and gracious. 
He is with them in the closet. There he manifests himself to them, 
as he does not in the world. There they enjoy an intimacy, a free- 
dom, an unrestrained intercourse with him, such as other company 
will not allow. Could these beams and rafters, said a good man, 
pointing to an unceiled roof, speak, they would testify what hours of 



2iO MAY 19. 

enjoyment I have had here, in communion with Him. Of the closet 
therefore, they can say, It is good for us to be here. 

— He is v/ith them in his temple. Where would you look for a man, 
but in his own house ? And the sanctuary is the place w^iere the 
Lord's honor dwelleth. In all places where I record my name, I will 
come unto thee, and I will bless thee. And have they not found tlie 
promise true ? Have they not seen his power and glory in the sanc- 
tuary ? Of his house, theretbre, they can say, It is good for us to 
be here. 

— He is with them at his table. His cross is every thing to a Chris- 
tian ; and here, before our eyes, Jesus Christ is evidently set forth cruci- 
fied among us. What a sublime duty ; what an exalted privilege is 
the commemoration of his death ! His flesh is meat indeed, and his 
blood is drink indeed ! Who has not peculiarly found him in this ex- 
ercise the Tree of Life? Who has not said, I sat down under his 
shadow with delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste ? It is good 
for us to be here. 

— He is with them in the furnace. There the three Hebrew chil- 
dren found him. The flames only consumed their bands, and set 
them free ; and they were seen walking in the midst of the fire, with 
the Son of God I I will be with thee, says He, in trouble. And if this 
be fulfilled, and it must be fulfilled, they will have reason to say, how- 
ever deep the distress, Lord, it is good for us to be here. 

— He is with them in the vale of death. How much will they 
need him then ! Then all other friends and helpers leave them. Then 
heart and flesh will fail them. What shall we do, they have often 
f?aid, what shall we do without him then ? But they will not be with- 
out him. He knows their frame, and his grace is sufficient for them ; 
and his strength shall be perfect in their weakness. Yea, though 
they walk through the valley of the shadow of death, he is with them ; 
his rod and his staff they comfort them ; and then they have cause to 
say, Lord, it is good for us to be here. 

— How much more will they be justified in saying this in heaven ! 
There he is with them immediately. There they will see him as he 
is; there, before the presence of his glory, they will possess fullness of 
joy, and pleasures for ever more. 

'But none will be translated thither in person, whose hearts are not 
sent off first. None will have their residence in heaven hereafter, who 
have not their conversation in heaven here. None will be with the 
Lord for ever, but those that find it their happiness for the Lord to be 
with them new. 

May 19.— "He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took 
a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a basin, and 
began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel where- 
with he was girded."— John, xiii, 4, 5. 

That he designed this to be exemplary is obvious, from his own 
declaration after the action had been performed. " Know ye what I 
have done to you ? Ye call me Master and Lord : and ye say well ; 
for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Ma^^ter, have washed your feet, 
ve also ought to Avash one another's feet. For I have given you an 
example, that yc should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I 



MAY 19. 211 

eay unto you, The servant is not greater than his Lord ; neither he 
that IS sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, 
happy are ye if ye do them." Now it is not necessary that we should 
resemble him in the very circumstances of the action, but only in the 
spirit of it. In popish countries, tne ceremony of washing tlie feet of 
another, is often performed by persons not very lowly in heart — some- 
times by a cardinal — yea, and by the pope himself. But the design is 
to enforce the humility of brotherly love ; and to teach us that no ser- 
vice is to be deemed too mean for Christians to perform, when Provi- 
dence brings it in their way, and the condition of a fellow creature 
requires it. We may profess to do this in the abstract, but refuse to 
afford the assistance called for in particular instances, because the 
office is too mortifying to the pride of our feelings or manners. But 
this is not to love without dissimulation. This is to love in word and 
in tongue, but not in deed and. in truth. Many have lost all credit 
here, by their unfeeling, distant, and disdainful conduct towards their 
inferiors, when they had the finest opportunities to evince their con- 
descension, if they had any. 

It would be w^ell, if all who name the name of Christ would attend 
to the admonition of his apostle ; " In honor, preferring one another — 
Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate." Job 
was the greatest man in the East ; yet he could say, " If I did de- 
spise the cause of my man-servant, or of my maid-servant, when they 
contended with me ; what then shall I do when Cod riseth up? and 
when he visiteth, what shall I answer him? Did not he that made 
me in the womb, make him? and did not one fashion us in the womb?" 
And with regard to those sufferers, generally overlooked by greatness, 
yea, and by mediocrity too ; and those instances of humbler kindness, 
which splendid beneficence never thinks of; he could make this affect- 
ing appeal : ''If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have 
caused the eyes of the widoW' to fail ; or have eaten my morsel myself 
alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof; (for from my youth 
he was brought up with me as with a father, and I have guided her 
from my mother's womb ;) if I have seen any perish for want of 
clothing, or any poor without covering ; if his loins have not blessed 
me, and if he were not warmed Avith the fleece of my sheep ; if I 
have lifted up my hand against the fatherle.?s, when I saw my help 
in the gate ; then let mine arm fall from my shoulder-blade, and mine 
arm be broken from the bone." 

A great man seldom wants more help than he can purchase or pro- 
cure. Though he has Avasted his substance, and reduced himself so 
as to deserve starvation ; his utmost extremity is superfluous sub- 
sistence, compared with the suffering of a worthy character, who is 
neglected because originally indigent. But the industrious poor should 
be the objects of our attention, whose distress is brought upon them, 
not by vice, extravagance, and speculation, but by tlie providence of 
GJod ; and whose condition sinks them below observation ; so that, in 
the midst of their trouble, none careth for them. 

Services, small in their nature, are greatly esteemed by those who 
are commonly neglected. And in those oflices you perform for them, 
you serve the Loixi Christ. They cannot recompense you : but he 



'J ^^..^ =. ^ ^^ «=" ""-'-^ 



■i 



212 MAY 20. 

will graciously say, " Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least of 
these my brethren, ye did it unto nie." 

Let me, then, hear his blessed invitation — Take my yoke upon you, 
and learn of me ; for I am meek and lowly in heart ; and ye shall 
find rest unto your souls. Let the same mind be in me, which was 
also in Christ Jesus: who, being in tl\e form of God, thought it not 
robbery to be equal with God ; but made himself of no reputation, and 
took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness 
of men ; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, 
and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 



May 20. — " Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift." — 2 Corinthians, 
ix, 15. 

This gratitude, no doubt, must be due, infinitely due. But to excite 
and increase our thankfulness, it is desirable to know, not only that 
the Son of God has been given for us, but to us ; and that he is now 
actually our oion. There are some who are satisfied here. They can 
say. This is my beloved, and this is my friend : the strength of my 
heart, and my portion for ever. But this is not the case with all. 
Some are asking, with all the anxiousness the importance of the sub- 
ject requires. Is this unspeakable gift, for which eternity will be too 
short to praise God, mine? In answer to which, allow me to ask, 

Do you approve of the design for which he was given? He came 
into the world to save sinners, in a way equally gracious and holy. 
Do you acquiesce in a purpose which involves the destruction of self 
and of sin ? 

Have you received him ? In the word and means of grace he is 
presented to us. We read of some who have received Christ Jesus 
the Lord ; and as many as received him were privileged to become 
the sons of God. Has this act been yours? When Laban saw 
Abraham's servant laden with presents, he said, " Come in, thou 
blessed of the Lord." Did j^ou ever give Christ such an invitation ? 
•' Zaccheus made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully." 
Did you ever give him such a welcome ? And are you willing to re- 
ceive him wholly ? For is Christ divided ? Can you receive him as 
your prophet, and not as your king? as your priest, and not as your 
example? Can you enjoy him in his sacrifice, and refuse him in his 
service? Can you entertain him in spiritual privileges, and cast him 
out in spiritual duties ? 

— Have you given yourselves to Inm ? I do not say your substance 
only, or your time only. You may subscribe to religious institutions, 
r.nd attend the means of grace — and keep back the main thing. But 
have you given him yourselves? The Corinthians gave their own 
selves unto the Lord. Can you remember such a surrender? An 
evening, perhaps, when, like Isaac in the field, you said, "Lord, 1 am 
thine, save me." The close of a Sabbath, perhaps, when in your 
closet, you read, and wept, and kneeled — and then rose, and wept, 
and kneeled again, and said, " O Lord, other lords beside thee have 
had dominion over me — henceforth by thee only will I make mention 
of thy name." 

— bo you supremely prize him ? To them that believe, he is pre- 



MAY 21. 213 

ciojis. Paul longed to depart, to be with— James? Isaiah? Moses? 
No — but to be with Jesus. You have some who are dear to you on 
earth — you have more in heaven. Perhaps you have a child there — 
lovely here, but a cherub there ; perhaps you have a mother there, 
whose knees were the alter on which you laid your little hands to 
pray ; perhaps you have there the dear minister who turned your feet 
into the path of peace. But, thinking oi' Him, can you say, "Whom 
have I in heaven but thee ? and there is none on earth I desire beside 
ihec ?" Answer these inquiries, and claim this unspeakable gift aa 
your own for ever. 

But here is another question. What use should the possessor make 
of it ? If you are Christians, though you were once darkness, you are 
now liglit in the Lord, and must walk as children of light. And 
much of your wisdom must appear in knowing what a prize you have 
in your hand. Make use of him, then, in all your duties. Medita- 
tion is a duty — let him enrich and enliven it, and sweeten it. Prayer 
is a duty — do it always in his name. Make use of him in all your 
wants. Y''ou want cleansing — use him as the fountain open for sin 
and uncleanness. You want safety — flee to him as your refuge. 
You want food — and his flesh is meat indeed, and his blood is drink 
indeed: feed on it. Make use of him in all your afHictions. Are you 
bereaved? are you poor? Hang upon him, in whom you possess all 
things. You know that your Redeemer liveth. 

— We have one question more. What can ^ve think of those who 
disregard this unspeakable gift? What can we think of their inge- 
nuousness, in contemning such infinite goodness and mercy? Of 
their danger? How can they escape, if they neglect so great a sal- 
vation? Of their misrry? What can a wretch do witlicut him in 
death, and at the judgment-day ? It is awful to think — but the Sa- 
viour may become the destroyer. The greatest blessing may prove 
the greatest curse. 



Mat 21. — "That I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run 
in vain, neither labored in vain." — Philippians, ii, 16. 

Thi3 is mentioned as an argument, to enforce the duties he had 
just recommended: "Do all things without murmurings and dispu- 
tings ; that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, with- 
out rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among 
whom ye shine as lights in the world, holding forth the word of hfe." 
And surely we are to know them that labor among us, and to esteem 
tliem very highly in love for their works' sake, and to co-operate with 
them, and to be zealously concerned to promote their usefulness and 
comfort. There is a pecuhar relation between a minister and the 
people of his charge ; and, as a well conditioned flock is the credit of 
the shepherd, and a well ordered family the commendation of the 
master, and the moral and prosperous state of his subjects the praise 
of the ruler; so a wise, holy, consistent, amiable, lively, useful church, 
is the honor and happine&s of the preacher. He lives, if they stand 
fast in the Lord, for they are his glory and joy. 

But why, for this satisfaction, does the apostle refer to so late a 
period as the day of Christ ? Had he no present rejoicing from their 



2J4 MAY 22. 

excellencies and exertions? He had. But he knew that he must 
naw rejoice with trembling. He had known many who did run well, 
but were hindered; who began in the Spirit, but ended in the flesh. 
He had seen many moral blossoms perishing without fruit; and ex- 
perience taught him to distinguish between the hope of the spring, 
and the richness of autumn. Persons, for a season, may rejoice in a 
minister's light, but in time of temptation fall away. They may 
hang on his lips, and then break his lieart. He only that endureth 
to the end shall be saved ; and then are we made partakers of Christ, 
if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end ; 
and " the day will declare it.". 

— And till then the true character and condition of those among 
whom he has labored will not be completely ascertained and de- 
veloped. 

— Till then, also, his hearers will not be placed beyond the reach 
of moral harm, or be incapable of injuring the cause they profess. 

— Till then, also, his aim will not be fully accomplished, which is, 
to " present every man perfect in Christ Jesus," and " filled with all 
the fullness of God." 

— Then, also, many will acknowledge their obligations to his in- 
strumentality for their conversion or edification, which he knew 
nothing of here; and it will be safer and better for him not to know 
the extent and degree of his usefulness, till he is secure from the pos- 
sibility of vanity and pride. Then is the period for rejoicing, when 
there can be no mistake, no excess, no danger in the joy. 

— Oh ! may he that watches for my soul as one that must give an 
account, do it with joy, and not with grief! 

What a proof is here that there will be a knowledge of each other 
in heaven ! How else could the apostle say of converts, " What is 
our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the pre- 
sence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming ? For ye are our glorv, 
and our joy ?" 

May 22.— « Justified by the faith of Christ."— Galatians,ii, 16. 

Let me remark here the blessing, and the way in wliich it is ob- 
tained. 

What is justification? It is not the making us righteous in person, 
but in state. The Papists confound it with sanctification, and some 
Protestants do the same ; but justification stands opposed to condem- 
nation. It is the absolving a man from a charge, the acquitting him 
when accused, and pronouncing him righteous. Only as we are really 
guilty, we cannot be justified by disproving the oflfence, but by the 
non-imputation of it, and treating us as innocent. The manner \a 
described by the apostle : We are justified freely by his grace, through 
the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath set forth as a 
propitiation for sin The blessing is full and complete; for w^e " are 
justified from all thmgs." It is permanent and irreversible: "Their 
sins and iniquities will I remember no more." It is also a present 
benefit. The perception of it may be wanting, but the state is real ; 
they have passed from death unto life — they are acce])ted in the be- 
loved. And blessed, says David, is the man whose transgression ia 
forgiven, whose sin is covered : blessed m his duties ; blessed in hia 



MAY 23. 215 

(oniforts. Blessed in his trials. For him affliction has no curse, 
death no sting, eternity no terror. 

This inestimable blessing is obtained by the faith of Christ. We 
are often curious, and ask for reasons when we should be satisfied 
with facts. It is not necessary to be able to explain precisely how 
faith justifies the soul. It should be enough for us to know that it is 
a truth clearly revealed. 

And since, O my soul, none are justified that do not believe, and 
all that believe are justified, let me apply my heart unto his wisdom ; 
and, instead of losing myself in subtle inquiries, and angry disputes, 
let me do two things : let me observe, first, the importance of this 
faith. It is, in a sober sense, as important as Christ ; and what is 
ascribed to him meritoriously, is ascribed to faith instrumentally. He 
Is the well ; but by faith we draw water out of it. He is the refuge ; 
but a refuge cannot screen us, unless it be entered. He is the bread 
of Hie ; but food cannot nourish us, unless it be eaten — and all this is 
done by faith only. 

Let me, secondly, ask seriously and earnestly, have I this faith ot 
Christ? Do I believe the record, that God hath given us eternal life, 
and that this Hfe is in his Son? And am I repairing to him, and trusting 
in him alone for salvation '? How does my faith sow ? Does it " sow 
in tears?" How does it rejoice? Does it " rejoice in Christ Jesus?" 
and has it " no confidence in the flesh?" How does it work? Does it 
" work by love?" How does it travel ? How plead? Can I say, " I 
will go in the strength of the Lord God ; I will make mention of his 
righteousness only?" 



May 23. — " Be not ye called Rabbi ; for one is your Master, even Christ 
and all ye are brethren." — Matthew, xxiii, 8. 

Rabbi signifies Master ; not a domestic or civil master, having 
servants or subjects under him, but a master of pupils ; a leader, a 
teacher, having disciples who admire and follow him. It was not an 
ancient title ; we scarcely read of it before the coming of the Messiah 
But the Scribes and Pharisees were exceedingly fond of the name 
" They love," says our Lord, " greetings in the markets, and to be 
called of men. Rabbi, rabbi." " But," adds he, " be not ye called 
Rabbi." 1 ^ y 

The apostles followed this admonition. " We have no dominion," 
said they, " over your faith, but are helpers of your joy." They did 
not lord it over God's heritage, but fed them with knowledge and un- 
derstanding, and were ensamples to the flock. They considered them- 
selves as messengers, deriving all their authority from their employer, 
and always referred their people from themselves to him. They de- 
livered nothing but what they had received, and called upon those 
they addressed not to believe in them implicitly, but to search the 
Scriptures, and see whether the things were so'; to prove all things, 
and hold fast that which was good. They were offended if persons 
thought too highly of them, or wished to be named after them. " Was 
Paul crucified for you ? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul ? 
Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye 
believed, even as God gave to every man ?" " So, then, neither is he 



216 MAY 24. 

that planteth any thing, neither lie that vvatereth ; but God that 
giveth the increase." 

— It is now hardly possible to avoid religious names, but we lament 
that they were ever introduced. Why should parties be called Cal- 
vinists, Arminians, Lutherans, Baxterians, or any other denomina- 
tion? If the sentiments held by any of these men are not found in the 
Sacred Writings they are not binding upon the conscience, whoever 
sanctions them ; and if they are, why should it be intimated that they 
have any other origin ? Let us be satisfied with the words the Holy 
Ghost useth, without attaching salvation or damnation to men's defi- 
nitions of them. The documents are divine and infallible ; but who 
can pronounce the explications to be so 1 

If we call ourselves by the name of any human authority, let it be 
an inspired one. Let us call ourselves Paulites, after Paul ; or John- 
ites, after John. But no. The worthy name by which we will be 
called is Christians — after Christ. All we are brethren — but he is 
our Master ; and the voice from the most excellent glory cries, " Hear 
ye him.''' His authority was proved by miracles, wonders, and signs. 
In him are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. All he 
delivers to us is truth — truth unmixed with error — truth of the mighti- 
est importance — truth that can make us free — truth that can make us 
holy — truth that can make us blessed for evermore. And as to the 
mode of this tuition, none teaches like him ; so tenderly, so effectually, 
so perseveringly. 

— Will ye also go away? Lord, to whom should we go, but unto 
thee? Will ye also be his disciples? O,' my soul ! refuse not the 
privilege ; and henceforth may I hear him, watching daily at his 
gates, and waiting at the posts of his doors. Lead me in thy truth, 
and guide me ; for thou art the God of my salvation; on Thee do I 
wait all the day. _„__^____ 

May 24. -" I pray thee let me go over and sec the good land that is beyond 
Joi-dan; that goodly mountain, and Lebanon. — Deuteronomy, iii, 25. 

This desire seemed improper. For God had expressly said unto 
Moses and Aaron, " Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in 
tiie eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this 
congregation into the land which 1 have given them." We are poor 
creatures, and often insensibly translisr to God the efiects of our cwn 
feeling and conduct. Did Moses, then, through infirmity, thmk that 
God was changeable? No ; but he thought whether the threatening 
was absolute, especially as it was rwt ratified by an oath, as the ex- 
clusion of the people was. For many of God's denunciations, as we 
see, for instance, in the sentence with regard to Nineveh, have a con- 
dition imphed, though not expressed ; i. e. they will be executed 
unless repentance intervenes; upon this principle it was possible for 
Moses to hope for a retraction of the interdict. 

But the desire was a very natural one. It was natural for him to 
desire to enter Canaan, even as an object of curiosity, of which he 
had heard so much ; but still more as an object of hope, which had 
been so long promised with every enhancement. This it was that 
had animated the people to leave Egypt. This had encouraged them 
in all their travels in the desert. Tliis was the end, the recompense 



MAY 24. 2n 

of all their toils and sufferings for forty years^ and they had now 
nearly reached it ! How painfal to miss the prize — when the hand 
was in the very act of seizing it ; and to have the cnp dashed — even 
from the lip ! 

— Yet the desire was refused. And the Lord said unto him, Let 
it suffice thee — speak no more to me of this matter. For he some- 
times refuses the desires of his servants, and the most eminent and 
endeared of them too. And he does this in two ways. Sometimes 
lie does it in love. He denies, because what is desired would prove 
dangerous and injurious. We should think badly of a father who, 
if a'^son asked bread, would give him a stone ; or if he ask a fish, 
would give him a scorpion. But suppose, through ignorance, his sou 
should ask for a scorpion instead of a fish ; or suppose he should cry for 
a sharp instrument, or beg to climb up a steep ladder, then would 
he not hate his child, unless he rejected his wish ? In how many 
cases must a wise and good parent distinguish between a child's 
wishes and his wants? He may wish for liberty, but he wants re- 
straint : he may wish for holidays, but he wants schooling : he may 
wish for dainties, but he wants medicine. Here the love of the parent 
must appear in acting — not according to the wish, but the welfare ot 
his child. And — 

" God's choice is safer than our own: I " What the most formidable fate ? 
" Of ages past inquire, I " To have our own desire !" 

How well would it have been for the Jews, had he more than once 
turned a deaf ear to their importunity ! But they would have a king 
— and he " gave them a king in his anger, and took him away in his 
wrath." They would have flesh — and he gave them their hearts' 
desire, but sent leanness to their souls. On the other hand, who does 
not see, in looking back upon life, how well for him it was that such 
a scheme failed ; that such a hope was crushed ! — so much evil lurked 
under the specious appearance, or w^ould have resulted from the in 
dulgence. Who knows what is good for a man in this life? No one 
but God — the good God — 

" Good when He gives, supremely good, I " E'en crosses from his sov'rei jn haud 
" Nor less when He denies ; | " Are blessings in disguise." 

He also sometimes refuses in anger. Wrath is incompatible with 
love ; but anger is not : anger may even flow from it. Though Chris- 
tians cannot be condemned, they may be chastened : and the Law of 
the house is, that if his children walk not in his commandments, he 
will visit their transgression with a rod, and their iniquities with 
stripes. Hence those who shall be saved eternally may lie under 
the present rebukes of Pravidence ; and be refused many things on 
which they have set their heart, as to station, business, connexions, 
and usefulness — for them that honor him he will honor. They m.ay 
think hard of this at first ; but as they discover their unworthiness 
and desert, they will bow to the dispensation, and say, with David, 
"I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in 
faithfulness hast afflicted me." By such conduct, too, Providence 
reads lessons to others. See, it says, the evil of sin. See how se- 
verely God deals with it, even in his own people. And if these things 
are done in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry ! If judg- 
ment begins at the house of God, what shall the end be of them that 

Vol. I. 10 



218 MAY 25. 

obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ ! And if the righteous 
scarcely are saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear! 

— Yet his desire was partially indulged : " Thou shalt not go over 
this Jordan ; but get thee up into the top of Pisgah, and lift up. thine 
cyea westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and 
fcehold it with thine eyes." This was obviously intended, not to tanta- 
lize him, but to be a mitigalion of the severe sentence. The pre- 
servation of his good sight to so great an age, fitted him for the gaze; 
and probably it was also strengthened and enlarged for this very pur- 
i:)ose. The prospect showed him how worthy the country was of all 
that God had said concerning it; and would give him high and 
honorable views of the truth and goodness of God, in his covenant 
with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob. Along with this, too, there 
was exerted the influence of divine grace, which soothed and satisfied 
him. For by this, God can make us easy and contented under the 
refusal or loss of any comfort, however essential to our happiness it 
appeared before : so that we behave and quiet ourselves as a child 
that is weaned of his mother ; our soul is even as a Aveaned child. 
While, also, his mind was raised to things above, and, in type and 
emblem, to a better country, into which he was immediately to enter — 
and then there would be no want of Canaan. 

— Thus, in the midst of judgment. He remembers mercy ; and 
though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion. Like as a father 
pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him : for he 
knoweth our frame ; he remembereth that we are dust. 



May 25. — ^ Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God." — Ephesians, !v, 30. 

The expression is not to be taken properly and literally, as if the 
Holy Spirit of God was capable of vexation or sorrow. The Divine 
Nature is not subject to human passions. God's condescension is not 
to rob him of his glory. When the Scripture ascribes to him actions 
or affections that imply imperfection, it is in accommodation to our 
weakness of apprehension ; as we lisp with infants ; and unable to 
view the shining sun with the naked eye, we survey it in a vessel of 
water, or through obscured glass. 

We grieve a friend when we neglect him, or go contrary to his 
wishes and interests. And when he is grieved, he betrays it ; his 
countenance is not toward us as aforetime ; frowns succeed to smiles; 
complaint and reproof are administered; or there is a discontinuation 
of visits and correspondence. All this will apply to the grieving of 
the Holy Spirit of God. And there are three reasons why we should 
not grieve him. Nothing can be more unbecoming — ungrateful — 
unwise. 

— Nothing can be more unbecoming if we consider his greatness. 
The Holy Spirit is deserving in himself of all the regard we can ex- 
press. If a nobleman was calling upon you, common civility would 
leach you not to hurt his mind : and if the king honored you with his 
presence, how anxious would you feel not tooflend him ; how studious 
would you be to please him in all your actions, and words, and looks. 
Here all comparisons fail. No mortal is honored like the Christian, 
with whom the King of kings and Lord of lords deigns even to dwell. 



MAY 25. 219 

And will he not be sensible of this? Will he not exclaim, " Lord, 
what is man, that thou art mindful of him, or the son of man, that 
thou visitest him ?" Will he not fall upon his knees, and pray, " Let 
the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable 
in thy sight, O Lord, my Strength, and my Redeemer?" 

— Nothing can be more ungrateful, if we consider his goodness. 
What obligation was he under to you ? You were not worthy of the 
least of all his mercies; you deserved that his wrath should have 
come upon you as children of disobedience. Had he therefore lef*: 
you to perish, you would have had no reason to complain. But who 
remembered you in your low estate ? Who quickened you when dead 
in trespasses and sins ? Who unstopped your deaf ears, and opened 
your blind eyes ? Who turned your feet into the paths of peace? 
Who enabled you to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to life everlast- 
ing ? Who gave you a disposition, a taste, congenial with the work 
and enjoyment of heaven, and sealed you unto the day of redemption? 
But for his gracious agency, where, and what, would you now have 
been ? And are you forgetful of all this ? Are you grieving such a 
benefactor ? Is this thy kindness to thy friend ? 

— Nothing can be more unwise, if we consider his importance to 
you. As you are deeply indebted to him for the past, so are you en- 
tirely dependent upon him for the future. You live in the Spirit, you 
walk in the Spirit. Grieve the Holy Spirit of God ! What ! would 
you grieve your leader^ and be left to travel alone? Can you find 
your way without him? Can you learn without this teacher? Must 
not he guide you into all truth? What! would you grieve your 
helper^, and be left to act alone in your work ? Can you worship 
without the preparation of the heart and the answer of the tongup, 
which are from him ? Without him can you order speech by reason 
of darkness? Can you know what to pray for as you ought, unless 
the Spirit helpeth your infirmities? What power have you in any 
duty, unless you are strengthened with might by the Spirit in the 
inner man? You may spread your sails, but he must fill them. 
What ! would you grieve your preserver^ and be left to contend by 
yourself against your enemies ? Are you a match for the power of 
darkness, and the devices of satan? Why, the fii-st temptation that 
assaults you alone may occasion your sinning and falling, and by 
this you may cause the way of truth to be evil spoken of— ministers 
to be discouraged — your fellow Christians to be grieved — that which 
is lame to be turned out of the way, and your sin to be ever before 
you. What! would you grieve your co???/or^£'r, and lose your hold 
of the promises, and be unable to discern your evidences of heaven, 
and feel your hope decline, and your heart sink in the day of adver- 
sity, and be in bondage through fear of death, and groan, " O that it 
were with me as in months past, w^hen the candle ol the Lord shined 
upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness, 
while as yet the Almighty was with me ?" 

The comforts of the Holy Spirit can afford such strong consolation 
as will revive us in the midst of trouble. According to the Savior's 
assurance, when leaving this Avorld, his being with the disciples can 
more than make up for the loss of his own bodily presence. But, 
" When he hideth his face, who can behold him?" Vain then are 



220 MAY 26. 

friends, ministers, ordniances. " For these tlnngs," says the church, 
'• I weep: mine eye runneth down with water, because the Comforter 
that should reheve my soul is far from me." What infatuation to 
grieve liim ! 

Yet if there were no danger of this, the admonition would not 
have been given. Let me not therefore be high-minded, but fear. 
" Blessed is the man that feareth alway." I have always at hand 
an active adversary, the devil. I am passing through a world lying 
in wickedness. I carry within me an evil heart of unbelief, and every 
tiling without is rendered dangerous by the sin that dwelleth in me. 
They who far surpass me in every thing, have been overcome. Let 
me therefore watch and pray, " Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe." 
Nor let me be satisfied with negative religion. Let it not, O my soul, 
be enough that I grieve him not. Let me cherish all liis motions. 
Let me walk so as to please God. Let me abound therein more and 
more. 



May 26. — "Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheri- 
tance, and the uttennost parts of the earth for thy possession." — Psalm ii, 8. 

'•' The Heathen" — " the uttermost parts of the earth;" viewed in 
the representations of Scripture, and the reports of historians, travel- 
lers, and missionaries, seem a very unenviable acquisition. If it be 
true that the whole world lieth in wickedness, it seems fitter to be for 
the inheritance " and the possession" of Satan, than the Son of God. 
But two things are to be taken into account. Notwithstanding tlie 
present condition of the estate, it contains ver^ valuable and convert- 
ible materials. 

Every human being, however depraved and degraded, is a creature 
of God. He is the work of his hands, and is fearfully and wonder- 
fully made : and he has a soul of more value than the material world. 
The child of a savage is a richer production than the sun. The r:n 
sees not his owai light, feels not his own heat, and with all his gran- 
deur is doomed to perish ; but that child is the subject of reason, the 
heir of immortality. That child is capable of knowing, and serving, 
and resembling God, and of filling a sphere of everlasting action and 
enjoyment. That child will hear the heavens passing away with a 
great noise, and see the elements melting with fervent heat, and stand 
with all the dead, small and great, before God. 

— And we are also to consider what they may, and will become. 
Thus the Savior viewed them when they Avere surrendered tc him. 
He pitied them, and he knew he was able to bless them, and he 
knew that they would not remain what they were ; but that for him 
the wilderness and solitary place should be made glad, and the desert 
rejoice and blossom as the rose. He knew^ it had been said, by Faith- 
fulness and Truth, " Ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with 
peace ; the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into 
ringing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead 
of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall 
come up the myrtle tree ; and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for 
an everlasting sign, that shall not be cut off." The more desperate 
the condition of the patient, the more pleasure docs his recovery 
afford the physician, and tlie more does it display his skill and ability: 



MAY 26. 221 

So here. All these captives the Redeemer ransoms ; and each of 
them, as a justified, sanctified, glorified being, will for ever reflect his 
honor. He found them at hell's dark door ; but he raises them above 
the heavens. He found them in the likeness of the devil, and he 
adorns them with the image of God. He found them the diso-race 
of the universe, and he makes them an eternal excellency, the fov of 
miany generations. What is so interesting and delightful to a man 
of taste, as alteration and improvement ! With what pleasure do'-s 
he view a piece of rude and barren soil, under his cultivation, lookino- 
Vi^u ' Pressed in living green, and abounding with trees and flowers" 
What pleasure does a benevolent mind feel when he views the child 
he has taken up, exchanging rags for decency, ignorance Ibr know- 
ledge, vicious and idle habite for virtue and industry, and content 
plates his comfort, usefulness, and respectability, as the fruit of his 
kindness and labor ! What satisfaction must the Savior feel, to behold 
as the effect of his cross, and his grace, the renewal of human nature • 
tlie deliverance of province after province from the power of Satan 
and the kingdoms of this world coming under the influence of the 
(-Tospel! What an mheritance— what a possession wiU the heathen, 
and the uttermost parts of the earth be to the Messiah, when pao-anism 
and Mahommedanism, and the man of sin, shall perish I when the 
Jews shall come in with the fullness of the Gentiles! when, in every 
place, mcense shall be offered unto him, and a pure offerincr ! wheii 
the nations shall learn war no more ! when the people shall all be 
be'Sorified f "°^'^^°^'^^^'^''- ^^'^ Planting of the Lord, tliat he may 
We read of two vast gifts of God in the Scripture : the gift of his 
Son to the world, and the gift of the world to his Son. The first of 
these IS the greatest; and we ought never to Ihink of it without ex- 
claimm^,^ Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift ! But let us 
.nink of tae other also, and rejoice that our earth is to come under the 
dominion of the Messiah, and is given to him for this purpose. It is 
T nnd r'?' ^^.^^"^^^? '''^f f« the Jews. Canaan wL to them the 
Land of Promise ; and God having promised it, in vain was everv 
attempt made to keep them from obtaining it. Egypt was piao-ued • 
Pharaoh and his army A.^re destroyed ; the sea opened a paLa^e foi- 
he heirs of proni.se ; Jordan was driven back, and they were brouo-ht 
m triumph to the rest and the inheritance which the Lord the r 
God had given them. So will it be here. All opposition will be ps 
vain as it is unreasonable. His enemies shall liclc the dust Tlie 
word IS gone out of God's mouth, and shall not return ; that' to him 
every knee shall bow, and every tongue confes-s. I will overturn 
^Y^^^turij,_ overturn, until he shall come whose right it is, and I will 

bjif i"^! ^^''"i' u ^f P^^Pects- We have sympathized with him in 
his agony and bloody sweat; in his cross and passion. Let us exult 
at the thought that he is crowned with glory and honor, and has the 
heathen for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for 
his possession. And what an immensity of subjects will he derive 
from them! and what an infinity of servies! and what an eterni y 
of praises and delights ! It was the joy set before him, and he shah 
eee of the travail of li:s soul, and shall be satisfied. ' 



222 MAY 27. 

We onghl also to rejoice from a principle of benevolence. His 
dominion involves the happiness of the human race. Nebuchadnez- 
zar, and other conquerors, had nations given into their hands; but they 
only enslaved, and impoverished, and cursed their subjects. But, 

" Blessings abound where'er He reigns ; I ' The weary find eternal rest, 

" The pris'ner leaps to loose his chains : | " And all the sons of want are blost." 



May 27.—" The dumb spake."— Matthew, ix, 33. 

This was a natural dumbness, the cure of which was to be one of 
the miracles attending the Messiah's advent : " Then the eyes of the 
blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped : then 
shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing." 

But there is a moral dumbness, and the Savior heals this when he 
makes us new creatures. Then old things pass away, and all things 
become new; not physically new, but spiritually; each faculty be- 
coming new in quality, application, and use. Thus the man has a 
tongue before, but not a religious one. He speaks before, but now 
his^speech is with grace. Now he speaks — of God — for God — and 
to God. 

— He speaks of God; of his perfections; of his designs; of his 
works, and ways, and word ; of his commands and promises— a 
theme for angels. 

He speaks/or God ; " on his behalf," as Elihu says ; m defending 
his truth; in justifying his people; in recommending his service ; in 
pleading his cause. Wisdom is necessary here ; and we are to dis- 
tinguish between places, and seasons, and characters. " A word fitly 
spcSen, how good is it ! It is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." 
Yet caution, though it should qualify our zeal, should not quench it. 
We should be courageous, as well as discreet : 

" And if some proper hour appear, I " But let the scoffing sinner know 

" I'll not be overaw'd ; I " That I can speak for God." 

He speaks to God. And this is the better evidence of our sincerity. 
For many speak of God, and many for him, who never speak to 
him. While the world hears them, and the Church hears them, the 
closet does not. But the Christian's delight in God, and the duties 
and exigencies of his spiritual condition, will bring him often to his 
seat, and he will address Him much in a way of adoration, and praise, 
and 'confession, and intercession, and prayer. 

If you are the subject of this grace use it, and be concerned tliat 
the words of your mouth, as well as the meditation of your heait, 
may be acceptable in God's sight. Beware of any return of the old 
malady. There is an occasional, partial, comparative dumbness, and 
it is brought on by sin. This sto])s our speech. It did so in the case 
of David^when he had fallen by his iniquity. It not only broke his 
bones, and deprived him of joy, but of confidence, and filled him with 
fear and silence. He could neither speak, as he had done, of God, 
or for God, or to God. It is a sad evil, and if it be your experience, 
do — it is the best thing you can now do— do as he did. Take the 
case, and lay it before God, and say, " Open thou my mouth, and my 
lips sha.l show forth thy praise." 



MAY 28. 223 



•* Then will I teach the world thy ways? 
•• Sinners shall learn thy sov'reign grace; 
" I'll lead them to my Savior's blood, 
" And they shall praise a pard'ning God. 

•' O may thy love inspire my tongue ! 

" Salvation shiill be all ray song ! 

*' And all my powers shall join to bless 

•' The Lord, my strength and righteousness. 



May 28.—" Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior 
Jesus Christ."— 2 Peter, ui, 18. 

If we consider these words as containing two injunctions, may we 
not view the second as prescribing the way for the accomphahment 
or the first ? It is certain that there is a supreme excellency in the 
knowledge here recommended, and that he who would grow in grace, 
miLSt grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

This knowledge is supposed to be progressive. It was gradual, 
even in its communication to the world. Judaism was the dawn: 
Christianity the day. 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. There are degrees, also, in its attain- 
ment and experience. Four" ways we may grow in this knowledge. 

First. In its extent. Who has advanced near the extremities of 
this field ? How little do the wisest know of the treasures hid in it ! 

" The Cross, the JIanger, and the Throne, | " Are big with glories yet unknown." 

Angels know much more than they did. But they still desire to look 
into these things. How much more should we ! 

Secondly. In its certainty. This is, and must be, the same in 
itself; but' as to us, the degree of it depends upon the perception of 
evidence, and the mind may be led along from possibility to proba- 
bility, and from probability to full conviction. The firmness of belief 
may be also strengthened by the confirmations of experience. The 
whole life of a Christian is a series of tests by which he tries and 
proves the word of God. He is, therefore, perpetually increasing 
in the full assurance of understanding, and has his heart established 
with grace. 

Thirdly. In its injiue:ice. This implies the former, but is distin- 
guishable from it. There cannot be practical knowledge without 
speculative. But who will not own that there may be speculative 
knowledge without practical ? Who is ignorant of the difference there 
is between knowing things in theory, and in experience ? between 
the apprehensions of the judgment, and the bias of the will, and the 
glow of the affections? Who feels, and fears, and loves, according 
to his behef ? Alas ! how often do we see and approve better things, 
and follow worse ! How often are the clearest dictates of the under- 
standing, and even convictions of the conscience, counteracted by our 
appetites and passions ! We believe that we are dying creatures, and 
live as if we were to live here always ! We own ourselves under the 
providence of Him who doth all things well, and we murmur and 
repine as if his dealings were unjust or unkind ? We doubt not the 
Savior's power and love ; and yet we cannot tru£t in him, and are 
strangers to consolation and peace ! ^»_ ^C/\^ 



2U MAY 29. 

Fourthly. In its appropriation. Job could say, " I know tliat 
my Redeemer liveth." David said, " God is the strength of m-j 
heart, and my portion for ever." The first Christians said, " We 
know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understand- 
ing, that we may know Him that is true ; and we are in him that is 
true." Oh ! Avho does not want more of this delightful confidence to 
raise him above the world, to support him in his trials, to embolden 
him in his profession, and to enable him to triumph over the fears 
pf death ? 

O God, preserve me from delusion in a business of everlasting im- 
portance ! Let me feel a thousand terrors rather than perish with a 
lie in my right hand. But if I am thine, save me from the uncer- 
tainties I now feel. Give me the full assurance of hope unto the end. 
Let me know, not only that there are exceeding great and precious 
promises, but that I am an heir of promise ; not only that in the 
Lord Jesus all fullness dwells, but that I am blessed with all spiritual 
blessings in heavenly places in him ; and say unto my soul, I am 
thy salvation. _^_____^___ 

May 29.— "Ye are the children of the Lord your God."— Dent, xiv, 1. 

The Jews were so by nation. All men are so by creation and 

f)rovidence. Christians are so by special ^race, according to the 
anguage of inspiration : " Ye are all the children of God, by faith in 
Christ Jesus." As many as received him, to them gave he power to 
become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name ; 
which were born, not of blood, nor of the w^ill of the flesh, nor of the 
will of man, but of Grod." Let us make this relation a standard by 
which to estimate four things. 

First. The Divine goodness. Here we only follow the example of 
the apostle John, //e, even he, could not comprehend it ; but he 
admires it, and calls upon others to admire it with him : " Behold 
"ivhat manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that Ave 
should be called the sons of God !" What manner of love ! How rich ! 
how free ! how expensive ! What difficulties stood in the way ! Yet 
he removed them. How, said he, shall I put thee among the chil- 
dren ? But he did it. Yes, he not only spared and pardoned us ; he 
not only admitted us into his family as servants, but as sons j and for 
this purpose he gave his own Son for us, and his Spirit to us. " When 
the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a 
woman, made under the law, to redeem them that Avere under the 
law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because }e 
are sons God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, 
crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore, thou art no more a servant, but 
a son ; and if a son, then an heir of God, through Christ." 

Secondly. The believer's dignity. Secular nobility derives all its 
lustre from flesh and blood ; and if retraced, will be found to originate 
in the dust of the ground, from which Adam was taken. It has little 
value, unless in the fancies of men. But our relation to God confers 
real and durable honor; compared with which the most magnificent 
ti-tles in the world are mere shadows and smoke. How did the Jews 
boast of having Abraham to iheir father ! " Is it a light thing," said 
David, a s\ibject, " that I should be a son-in-law to the king?" But 



^ MAY 30. 225 

I think of the majesty and dominion of God! Tlie world is his. and 
tlie fullness thereof; I behold the productions of the earth, and the 
wonders of the skies, and say, 

" My Fatlier made them all I" 

Thirdly. The happiness of the Christian. The relation has con- 
nected with it the promise of pardon ; and we daily need it, for in 
many things we offend all. But I will spare him, says God, as a 
man spareth his own son that serveth him. It gives us free access to 
God in prayer, and inspires us with confidence and hope of success : 
" If ye being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children, 
how much more shall your Father Avhich is in heaven give the Holy 
Spirit to them that ask him P' Hence correction: " For whom the 
Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he re- 
ceiveth." Hence education ; he does not leave the child to himself, 
but trains him up in the way that he should go. He who feeds the 
ravens will not suffer the righteous to famish. Their heavenly Father 
knoweth what things they have need of before they ask him, and 
will suffer them to want no good thing. And if children, then heirs, 
heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ. Many are born to an estate 
which they never obtain, but here the inheritance is reserved in 
heaven ; and they are kept by the power of God, through faith, unto 
salvation, on earth. 

Fourthly. The duty of the saints. Are they all the children of 
the Lord their God ? Then they ought to fear him. If I am a father, 
where is my fear ? This will keep them from offending him. This 
will make them studious to please him. This will induce them to 
pray, '• Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, 
be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my Strength and my Redeemer." 

As his children they must walk worthy of God, who hath called 
them unto his kingdom and glory. We have read of a Pohsh prince 
who carried the picture of his father always in his bosom ; and on 
any particular occasion he would take it out and view it, and say, 
Let me do nothing unbecoming so excellent a father. 

Christians, do nothing unbecoming the rank of your family, and 
the grandeur of your descent. Be harmless and blameless, the sons 
of God, without rebuke. Be followers of God, as dear children. Be 
ye perfect, even as your Father who is in heaven is perfect. 



May 30.—" Ask of me."— Psalm il, 8. 

- -This is the condition of a very important grant. Ask of me, 
and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the utter- 
most parts of the earth for thy possession. 

Whatever appears humiliating in the condition to which the 
Savior submitted, let it be remembered that he entered it voluntarily 
and knowingly. He was aware that if the children were partakers 
of flesh and blood, he likewise himself must also take part of the 
same, and that in all things it behooved him to be made like untc 
liis brethren. He must, therefore, not only sulTer, but obey ; and 
though he was a Son, yet learned he obedience. He must, therefore, 
pray. Prayer is (he act of an inferior nature : and the Word wrJ, 

10* 



226 MAY 30. 

made flesh. Though rich, he became poor, and made himself of no 
reputation. 

Many objections are made to prayer. Some of them are specious, 
but they are all founded in ignorance. The best way to answer them 
is to take our stand on the Scripture, and make our appeal. Does 
not God derive his character and glory from his hearing prayer? Is 
not his Spirit the Spirit of grace and of supplication ? Is not this his 
command ? Is not this his promise ? " Ask, and it shall be given you ; 
seek, and ye shall find." Does He dispense with this, even in the case 
of his Son ? And can it be dispensable with regard to us ? We know 
his determination : For all these things I will yet be inquired of by 
the house of Israel to do it for them. "Ask, and I sliall give thee." 

— But how was he to ask? First, when he was on the earth, lie 
prayed like one of us. He prayed alone, and in company with his 
disciples; he prayed in the wilderness, and in the garden, and on the 
cross. "In the days of his flesh, he offered up prayers and supplica- 
tions, with strong crying and tears, unto liim that was able to save 
him from death, and was heard in that he feared." Secondly, he con- 

•: tinued the presentation of his desire when he entered heaven. We 
]<no\v not whether this was done vocally, but it was done really. 
Thirdly, he does it relatively. Thus prayer is made for him con- 
tinually. And whenever individuals, ministers, and churches, pray 
for the success of his cause, He is asking. 

— And his prayer, and our praying, are founded on the same conside- 
ration, viz. his suflerings and death. The counsel of peace was be- 
tween them both. It was said, that when the Father should m.ake 
his soul an offering for sin, he should see his seed, and prolong his 
days, and the pleasure of the Lord should prosper in his hands ; he 
should see of the travail of his soul, and should be satisfied. This Avas 
the joy set before him ; and having fulfilled the awful condition on 
which it was suspended, he pleads for it. He therefore asks in his 
own name, and on his own behalf. And ice ask on the same behalf, 
and in the same name, according to his own direction : " Whatsoever 

, ye shall ask, believing in my name, ye shall receive." And this 
should encourage and embolden us. There can be no more \incer- 
tainty attending the success of our asking, than of his, for herein we 
are identified with him. There is no unfaithfulness with God; and 

.. he hath said, " Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine 

2 inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession." 

t If our praters are sincere, they must be influential ; and we shall 

I. exert ourselves in the Redeemer's cause. Nor can we labor in vain. 

■-1 We are on the sure, the rising, the prevailing side. Merchants, 
heroes, politicians, may all weary themselves for very vanity. But 

^ Avc are at a certainty, A king shall reign and prosper. " His name 
shall endure for ever : his name shall be continued as long as the sun; 

■ and men shall be blessed in him : all nations shall call him blessed. 

^ Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeih wondrous 
thino-s. And bles-sed be his glorious name for ever : and let the whole 
earth be filled with his glory. Amen, and aiuen." 



MAY 31. JUNE 1. 227 

May 31. — "And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took 
bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them." — Luke xxiv, 30. 

This was not a sacramental meal, as when he took bread, anJ 
blessed it, and brake it, and said. This is my body. Neither was it a 
miraculous meal, as when he took the loaves, and blessed them, and 
multiplied them. But an ordinat^y meal. Yet he blessed the Ibod. 
And this he did always. And his example has the force of a law 
with all his followers 5 for " he that saith he abideth in him, oug^ht 
himself also so to walk as he walked." Hence the command, " What- 
soever ye do, in word or deed, do all in the name of the LfOrd Jesus^ 
i. e. as his disciples, who are not only to believe in him, but to repre- 
sent him. 

From his observing this practice, we may be sure that it is wise, 
and useful, and necessary. Sin has brought a curse upon all our en- 
joyments, and the blessing of God alone can take it off. 

" How sweet our daily comforts prove, 
" When they are season'd wilU his love." 

But how true — 

" 'Tis all vain, till God has blessed." 

" Man liveth not by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth 
out of the mouth of God." Can he also abuse the bounties of Pro- 
vidence, who has implored the divine benediction upon the use of 
them ? Can he indulge in excess? Will he not add to his faith, tem- 
perance ? It is lamentable, therefore, that such a duty should ever be 
omitted, or performed with haste and irreverence, as if the performer 
was ashamed of the performance. 

— Let the Savior's conduct also teach us not to confine our religion 
to extraordinary and sacred occasions. In all our ways let us acknow- 
ledge Grod. Morning and evening worship is good ; but let us be in 
the fear of the Lord all the day long. U is well to inquire in his 
temple ; but let us abide with God in our calling. We must remem- 
ber the Sabbath, and keep it holy ; but the spirit of devotion ia to 
actuate us during the week, and to induce us, Avhether we eat op 
drink, or whatever we do, to do all to the glory of Goth Tell me not 
what a man is in a storm — but in the calm. Not how he behaves 
himself in sickness — but^Ln health. A Balaam may pray, Let me die 
the death of the righteous. A David prays. Unite my heart to fear 
thy name. There is a goodness which depends upon in\ pul.se, not 
principle ; upon outward excitement, not upon internal disposition. 
There is a devotion that resembles the blaze of straw ; but that which 
is spiritual is like the fire on the Jewish altar— kindled from above, 
and which never went out. It is a stream fed ly a living fountain ; 
not a sudden to-rent, however wide or impetuous at the time, pro- 
duced by the melting of the snow, or a summer's thunder-storm. The 
water, says the Savior, that I shall give him, shall- be in him a well 
of water, springing up into everlasting life. / 

June 1.—" I am the vine."— John, xv, 5. 
Ministers are not to preach themselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord. 
But he was his own svibject — he preached himself. How could he 
have done otherwise, concerned as he was to be useful I For, 



228 JUNE 1. 

" None but Jesus ; none but Jesus, 
*' Can do helpless sinners good." 

And he knew this far belter than we do ? And who was able to be- 
clare what he truly was, so well as himself? 

— Here he calls himself the vine. A very easy and natural image. 
And natural images are the most preferable in divine things. Many 
writers and preachers love those allusions which show their learning, 
and which the uneducated cannot understand. Our Savior never 
takes his comparisons from the sciences, and seldom from the arts; but 
from natural scenery.^ which is obvious and intelligible to all. 

A vine is not so remarkable in its appearance as many other trees. 
In loftiness, it yields to the cedar; in strength, to the oak ; in sightli- 
Bess, to the palm tree and the fir. The greatness of Jesus was spiri- 
tual. He had no earthly pomp and riches. Like his kingdom, he was 
not of this world. Hence it was said, " He shall grow up betbre him 
as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground ; he hath no form 
nor comeliness, and when we shall see him there is no beauty that 
we should desire him." 

The vine is renowned for its fertility. One single vine, planted by 
the empress Lavinia, yielded one hundred and eight gallons of wine 
in one year. Many grapes grow on one cluster, many clustej-s on 
one branch, and many branches on one tree. How many have been 
saved by the Lord Jesus ! In him all fullness dwells. In him we are 
blessed with all spiritual blessings. What clusters were brought from 
Eshcol, to shovv^ Israel the goodliness and fruitfulness of Canaan! 
And what specimens of heaven, what earnests of the inheritance, 
what first-fruits of the Spirit, do taith and hope bring believers from 
him, even while they are in the wilderness ! 

The nature of the produce of the vine is delightful and profitable. 
The fruit is sweet to the taste. The juice it yields cheers and makes 
glad the heart of man. Give wine to those that be of heavy hearts. 
It was sometimes used medicinally. The good Samaritan poured 
oil and wine into the wounds of the bleeding traveller. And he brings 
us health, and cure, and comfort, and delight, and more than angels' 
food ; for 

'• Never did angels taste, abovevj 
•' Redeeming grace, and dying love." 

The vine also yields shade, and it was valued for this purpose in the 
East. Hence we so often read in the Scripture, of sitting under the 
vine and the fig tree. They had walks and bowers made of these ; 
and while the fruit refreshed them, the shelter screened them from 
the sun. And he is d, shadow from the heat, and rescues us from the 
evil of every annoyance to which we are exposed. I sat, says the 
chjrch, under his shadow with delight, and his fruit was sweet to 
my taste. 

The image, therefore, is pleasing and striking, and aids us in our 
aoncepticns of him, and communion with him. Yet it teaches us as 
much by contrast, as by comparison. A vine is not always green. It 
does not always bear. It never bears twelve manner of fruits. It does 
not endure for ever. But all this is true of him. 

The fruit of the vine, if taken too largely, will injure the partaker; 
but there is no danger here. While we are forbidden to be drunk 



JUNE 2. 229 

with wine, wherein is excess, we are commanded to be filled with 
the Spirit. The produce of the vine is only for the body, and lor time ; 
but his benefits are for the soul and eternity. Many cannot obtain 
the advantages of the vine; but none, however poor and mean, are 
excluded from the participations of Christ. Tlie image, therefore, is 
but an humble one, and tails far short of his glory. So does every 
tiling that is employed to show forth his worth, his glory, or his grace. 

" Nor earth, nor seas, nor sun, nor stars, 
" Nor heaven, his full resemblance bears ; 
" His beauties we can never trace, 
" Till we behold him face to face. 

" Oh ! let me climb these lower skies, 
" Where storms and darkness never rise! 
" There he displays his powers abroad, 
" And shines, and reigns th' incarnate God '" 



June 2. — " Ye are the branches." — John, xv, 5. 

For whatever he is, they have a relation corresponding with it. 
Thus, if he is the king, they are the subjects; if he is the shepherd, 
they are the sheep ; if he is the head, they are the members. There- 
fore, having said to his disciples, I am the vine, he adds, Ye are the 
branches. 

This reminds us of their union with him. The vine and the 
branches are connected. The latter are even parts of the former ; 
and it would be absurd for a person to say, I did not hurt the vine ; I 
only injured the branches. Why persecutest thou me? said the Sa- 
vior to Saul, who was persecuting his followers. He that touches 
them, touches the apple of his eye. And as he is sensible of their 
wrongs, so he feels every kindness shown them, and says, inasmuch 
as ye did it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye did it 
unto me. 

This gives them a character of likeness. The branches are the 
very same kind of wood as the vine ; and the very same sap per- 
vades them both. And they that are joined to the Lord are of one 
spirit. The same mind is in them which was also in Christ Jesus. 

This shows their dependence. " The righteous shall flourish as a 
branch:" but the branch does not bear the tree, but the tree the 
branch. Whatever likeness there may be, in all things he has the 
pre-eminence. He is our life and strength. Abide, says he, in me, as 
the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no 
more can ye, except ye abide in me, for without me ye can do nothing. 

This proclaims their usefulness. The branches are the beauty and 
excellency of the vine, and by these its vigor and fertility are dis- 
played. He is glorified in his people. He makes them to blossom 
and yield fruit. He diffuses his goodness through their prayert; and 
lives. In him is their fruit found, as to its source and support ; but 
they bear it— they are branches, and are filled with all the fruits of 
righteousness, which are, by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise 
of God. 

Let me leorn one thing from all this. Let me accustom myself to 
derive spiritual reflections from all the material objects around me. 
A taste for natural scenery is pleasing and good in itself. But let 



230 JUNE 3. 

me not approach it, as a creature, only to enjoy ; or a philosopher, 
only to admire ; but as a Christian, also, to improve. Let sense be a 
handmaid to lliith; and that which is seen and temporal, raise me to 
that which is unseen and eternal. 



June 3.—" Which is our hope."— 1 Timothy, 1,1. 

Mt;ch has been said in praise of hope. It has been called the mam- 
spring of motion. The soul of enterprise. The balm of life. The 
soother of care. And the healer of sorrow. 

We are not, however, going to speak of hope in general. We, 
therefore, say nothing of the hope of the w'orldling, which is a thing 
of nought. Or of the hope of the infidel, which is annihilation. Or 
of the hope of the Antinomian, which is a devil's dream. Or of the 
hope of the Pharisee, which is a spider's web. Or of the hope of the 
hypocrite, which is a lie in his right hand. But of oin^ hope — as 
Christians. And what is this ? Jesus Christ, says the apostle, he " is 
our hope." He deserves and realizes the character four ways — He is 
our hope substantially, meritoriously, efficiently, and exemplarily. 

He is the object of our hope. Theie be many that say. Who will 
show us any good ? But any good will not answer the wishes of a 
believer. His supreme aim is the — principal, the — only good — 

•' SufBcient in itself alone, | " And needful, were the world our own." 

It IS to win Christ ; to be found in him ; and in him to be blessed 
with all spiritual blessings. The Christian's hope is chiefly laid up 
for him in heaven. And is not He the essence of all blessedness 
there 7 The place is glorious ; but what Avould it be without his pre- 
sence? The company is attractive; but what would friends, and 
saints, and angels be without communion with Him ? We sometimes 
hear it said, " Well, w^e are all hoping for the sam.e heaven !" But 
nothing can be more false. A natural man is hoping tor one kind of 
heaven, a spiritual man for another, and each herein follows his 
peculiar disposition. I cannot hope for what I do not love and desire. 
As a man, I may hope for a heaven that shall secure me from hell, 
and exempt me from all toil and trouble, and furnish me with things 
in which I feel pleasure. But it is only as a Christian I can long to 
depart to be w^ith Christ, which is far better ; and be able to say, 

t" 'Tis heaven on earth to taste his love, I " And all the heaven I hope abo\ e, 
" To feel his quick'ning grace ; | " Is but to see his face." 

— He is the ground of our hope. In proportion to the use and 
grandeur of a building should be the basis. Nothing can equal the 
vastness and value of the believer's expectation. If we are wise, 
therefore, we shall inquire Avhat is to bear it up. And no other foun- 
dation can any man lay than that is laid, which is Christ. Every 
thing else we depend upon will prove sand. But here is rock; and 
he thatbelieveth on him shall not be ashamed. View him as incar- 
nate. Why is not our condition as hopeless as that of devils? Verily 
he took not on him the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed 
of Abraham. Because the children were partakers of flesh and 
blood, he likewise himself, also, took part of the same. He as- 
sumed the nature he Avould save ; and he will save, as surely as he 
assumed it View him as the gifl of God ; God so loved the world 



JUNE 3. 231 

that he o-ave his Only Begotten. What can discourage us now ? If 
our unworthiness, or the greaUiess of the blessing, could prove a 
hindrance to the divine goodness, it would have operated earlier, and 
he would have withholden from the guilty this unspeakable gi I. 
But He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, 
how shall he not with him also give us all things ! But his goodnesa 
i= wi^e goodness, just goodness. It must be as honorable to himselt 
as it is beneficial to us ; and we behold his Son set forth as a propitia- 
tion, throuo-h faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness. Sin is 
punished while it is pardoned. Even the law has nothing to complain 
of in our deliverance ; it is much more glorified in our salvation than 
it would have been by our destruction. One died for all ; and he 
was infinitely more than all. Do we question whether he finished 
the w^urk that w^as given him to do; and Avhether it was an offering 
and a sacrifice to God of a sweet smelling savor ; and whether he 
shall see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied ? Behold him dis- 
charged from the grave, and ascending up on high, and receiving 
gifts for men, even for the rebellious, and entering into the holy place, 
Siere to appear in the presence of God for us I What can Ave desire 
more? If, while w^e were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the 
death of his Son, much more now, being reconciled, we shall be 
saved by his life. " Who is he that condemneth ? It is Christ that 
died, yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand 
of God, who also maketh intercession for us." Will not this suflice? 
' He raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory, that our faith 
and hope might be in God 7 , • u 

—He is the author of our hope. For it is not natural to us, neither 
is it derived from ourselves, but he produces it in us by his Holy 
Spirit. Means may be used, but the excellency of the power is of 
him, and not of them. Hence says the apostle to those who were 
o-lorying in men. Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but minis- 
ters by" vhom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man ? 
Every thing in the new world is done by the Spirit of Christ. Under 
a conviction of guilt enough to condemn us a thousand tinies over ; 
did we find it an easy thing to hope in God at first, and believe that 
he was pacified toward us for all that we had done, and that we 
were accepted in the Beloved? Have we proved it an easy thing 
since to keep this hope lively and flourishing, yea, to maintain it at 
all ? How often should we have said, My hope is perished from the 
Lord, and have given all our profession up, but for " the supply of 
the Spirit of Jesus Christ," in glorifying him afresh; according to 
the promise, " He shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you." 
—He is also the model of our hope. For though he is unspeakably 
more than our example, he is nothing less ; and the higher views we 
have taken of him do not hinder, but, indeed, the m.ore require our 
saying, that the same mind w^hich was in him must be in us; that 
we must walk even as he walked ; that we must pray as he prayed ; 
fear as he feared, and hope as he hoped. And how did he hope ? 
" I will," said he, " put my trust in Him." He was remarkable for 
this. It was not to quote prophecy, that his insulters, when he was 
on the cross, said, " He trusted in God : let him deliver him now, if 
he will have him ; for he said, I am the Son of God." It was to 



232 JUNE 4. 

reproach him for the confidence in God which they knew he had 
professed to exercise. It will be well if our enemies can revile us for 
nothing worse. David seems early to have been dedicated to God ; 
but it was in the name of the holy child Jesus he spake, w^hen he 
said, " Thou art he that took me out of the womb; thou didst make 
me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts. I was cast upon 
thee from the womb ; thou art my God from my mother's bellj^" From 
his earliest infancy, from the first exercise of reason he honored him. 
Nor did he ever fail in his confidence in God. In every extremity he 
trusted in him. Even when in anguish on the cross, and dying, he 
cried, " My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ?" " Father, 
into thy hands I commit my spirit." His confidence, also, was equally 
cheeriul. He sung a hymn when he was entering the garden of 
Gethsemane. 'jThough a man oi" sorrows and acquainted with grief, 
instead of murmuring, he said, " In the midst of the church Avill I 
sing praises unto thee." Thus may I bear the image of the heavenly 
till he shall appear, and I shall be perfectly like him, for I shall see 
him as he is. „,=_„_____„_____. 

June 4. — " The woman then left her water-pot." — John, iv, 28. 
Three reasons may be assigned for this: 

Perhaps she left it from kindness to our Savior and his disciples 
His disciples had gone into the city to buy meat, and had just return- 
ed, and they were now going to partake of the homely fare. But for 
beverage they had nothing to draw with, and the well was deep. 
She, therefore, leaves them her vessel to enable them to draw and 
drink. Female kindness, and contrivance, and accommodation, are 
as quick as thought, and need no prompter. I admire the simplicity 
of early hospitality. See Rebekah and Abraham's steward: " And 
she said. Drink, my lord ; and she hasted and let down her pitcher 
upon her hand, and gave him drink." Ah! ye generous hearts ! who 
wish to do good, and feel your want of poAver, do what you can, and 
what you cannot will never be required of you. Remember the 
Savior's words : " Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these 
little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I 
say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward." 

— Perhaps she left it from indifference. She was now so impressed 
and occupied with infinitely greater and better things, that she for- 
gets the very errand that brought her to the well. The feelings of 
new converts are peculiarly strong and livel3^ The eternal realities 
and glories that open to their view, dazzle their minds, and render 
them incapable of distinctly observing other objects. Considering 
the infirmity of our nature, it is not to be wondered at if the powers 
of the world to come, and the " one thing needfiil" — the care of the 
Boul, should, for the time, engross all their attention, and make them 
too heedless of other claims. Hence, Avhat we should censure in 
others, we excuse in young beginners, especially if they are suddenly 
awakened. 1 say excuse; for we never wish to justify ignorance, 
imprudence, and rashness. God is not the God of confusion : but 
, says, " Let every thing be done decently, and in order." Religion 
i is not to draw us oflf from our business and callings. Neither are v;e 
to leave our places and stations in life, even in pursuit of things good 



JUNE 5. 233 

in themselves. When the demoniac had been dispossessed, he be- 
sought the Savior that he might be with him. But " Jesus suffered 
him not ; but said, Return to thine own house, and show how great 
things God hath done for thee." And, says Paul to the Thessalo- 
nians, " Study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work 
with your own hands j" to provide things honest in the sight of all 
men ; to maintain your families without dependence ; and have to give 
to him that needeth ; and to preserve your religion from censure. 
We are not, therefore, to abandon our water-pots. We are not to be 
careless of our worldly substance ; but to preserve and use it. Wit- 
ness the cautions in Scripture against suretyship, and hacking biilsy 
and the admonition, " Gather up the fragments that remain, that no- 
thing be lost." Yet those wdio are born from above, and bound for 
glory, are only strangers and pilgrims 'upon earth: and they who 
have found the Pearl of Great Price, will not, and cannot, feel toward 
worldly things as they once did. They cannot be so anxious to gain 
them ; so overjoyed in possessing them ; so depressed in losing them. 
And they will be willing to forsake whatever the service of GJod re- 
quires them to part with, however dear or valuable. Thus Matthew, 
sitting at the receipt of custom, upon hearing the call, " Follow me," 
" arose and followed him." 

— Perhaps she left it, as it would have proved a hindrance to her 
speed. The king's business requires haste : and in this she was now 
engaged ; and, burning with zeal, she could not bear the thought of 
losing a moment in communicating the knowledge she possessed ; 
and of saying to her neighbors. Come, see a man which told me all 
things that ever I did. Is not this the Christ? She knew the im- 
portance of the case; and the brevity, and uncertainty of the oppor- 
tunity. It Avas not the gratification of their curiosity — it was their 
life. And if he Avithdrew from the w^ell before they arrived, the day 
of their visitation might never return. Upon the same principles, let 
us get rid of every impediment, and avoid every delay, not only in 
gaining good for ourselves, but in doing good for others. All is hang- 
ing — upon the moment? " Whatsoeverlhy hand findeth to do, do it 
with thy mxight. There is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor 
wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest." 



June 5.— "Be thou their arm every morning." — Isaiah, xxxiii, 2. 

This is a prayer for others. And, when we repair to the throne of 
the heavenly grace, we should never forget our fellow Christians. 
But those will never pray earnestly, or even sincerely, for others, who 
do not pray for themselves. Every believer, therefore, includes him- 
£;€lf in the number of those for whom he implores the blessing ; " Be 
thou their arm every morning." 

He is made sensible of his own weakness and insufficiency. He 
knows, he feels, and he increasingly knows and feels, his need — of 
an arm — a divine arm — every morning. 

— For what purpose ? 

— He needs this arm to defend him in all his dangers, and to keep 
him from all evil, especially the evil of sin, that it may not grieve 
him. 



234 JUNE 6. 

— He needs this arm to uphold him under his burdens; whoee 
pressure often urges him to exclaim, " Lord, 1 am oppressed, under- 
take for me." 

— He needs this arm to lean on, in all his goings. What a iour- 
ney lies before him ! And what step can he talie alone ! This is the 
image of the church. She is represented as coming up out of the 
•wilderness, leaning on her beloved. 

And, as this arm is necessary— so it is sufficient— and it is kindly 
held out in the promises and invitations of the word — There, says 
God, " Let him take hold of my strength." And we take hold of it 
by faith and prayer. 

— Let me then avail myself of the privilege — Be thou my arm 
every morning. Let me lean — and converse with thee. Let me lean 
—and feel thee at my side. Let me lean — and go forward without 
dismay or discouragement. "Because he is at my right hand, I shall 
not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth : 
my flesh al,30 shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in 
hell ; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou 
wilt show me the path of life : in thy presence is fullness of joy : at 
thy right hand are pleasures for evermore." 



June 6. — "And walk humbly with thy God."— Micah, vi, 8. 

Why not joyfully? There is a foundation laid for this. It is their 
privilege. It is said, they shall sing in the ways of the Lord. This 
is not, however, absolutely necessary. In a sense, Christians may go 
on without it. We have known much self-denial, and deadness to 
the world, and spirituality of devotion, and zeal for the glory of God, 
and the welfare of others, in persons who may be said' to be saved by 
hope, rather tlian confidence. But with regard to humbleness of mind, 
this is indispensable — ahvays, and in — every thing: and no progress 
can be made without it. So that when Luther was asked what was 
the first step in religion, he replied humility; and when asked what 
was the second and third, answered in the same way. And Peter 
admonishes Christians to be clothed with humility; as if he would 
say. This is to cover, to defend, to distinguish, to adorn all. But how 
is our walking humbly with God to appear? 

It is to appear m connexion with divine truth. Here God is our 
teacher ; and if, as learners, we walk humbly with him, we shall cast 
down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against 
the knowledge of Christ ; we shall sacrifice the pride of reason ; and 
having ascertained that the Scriptures are the word of God, and dis- 
covered what they really contain, we shall not speculate upon their 
principles, but admit them on the divine authority. Nothing can be 
more proud and vam than to believe no more than we can compre- 
hend, or can make appear to be credible in itself. Is not this found- 
ing our (aith on knowledge, and not on testimony? Is not this trust- 
ing God like a discredited witness in court, whose deposition is re- 
garded only as it is collaterally supported ? Is this honoring his wis- 
dom or veracity? Is this receiving with meekness the engrafted 
word ? Is this receiving the kingdom of heaven as a little child ? 

— It will appear in connexion with divine ordinances. Here we 



JUNE 6. 235 

walk with God as worshippers, and if we walk humbly with hirh, we 
ehall have grace, whereby we may serve him acceptably, with reve- 
rence, and with godly lisar. We have, indeed, in Christ, boldness 
and access with confidence ; but it is by the iaith of him : that is, by 
the confidence of one who feels his encouragement derived from a. 
mediator. We may come boldly to the tiirone of grace : but it is to 
obtain mercy and find grace to help us — the boldness, therefore, can 
only be the boldness of the indigent and the guilty, who have nothing 
of their own to plead. We approach him as a lather ; but if I am a 
father, says he, where is mine honor? We have heard some address 
the Supreme Being with such a levity and freedom as they would 
not have used to a fellow creature a little above their own level in 
life. We should keep our feet when w^e go to the house of Goo. 
He is in heaven, and we upon the earth, therefore our words should 
be feic. 

— It will appear in connexion with his mercies. Here we walk 
with God as our benefactor; and if we Avalk humbly with him, we 
shall OAvn and feel that we have no claim upon God for any thing we 
possess or enjoy. Am I indulged? I am not worthy of the least of 
all his mercies. Am I distinguished ? 

I " Not more than others I deserve, | " Yet God hath given me more." 

Am I successful ? I will not ascribe it to my own skill, or the power 
of my own arm. I wmII not sacrifice to my own net, or burn incense 
to my own drag. The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he 
addeth no sorrow with it. 

— It will appear with regard to our trials. Here we walk Avith 
God as our reprover and corrector; and if we walk humbly, we shall 
not charge him foolishly ; we shall not arraign his authority, or ask, 
What dost Thou ? We shall not resist, or expose ourselves to the re- 
flection. Thou hast smitten them, and they have not grieved. We 
shall be in subjection to the Father of Spirits, and live. We shall 
be dumb, and open not our mouth, because He does it. Or if we 
speak, it will be to acknowledge that his judgments are right, 
and that in faithfulness he has afflicted us. " I mourn, but I do not 
murmur. I wonder not that my troubles are so heavy, but that they 
are so light. I more than deserve them all, and I need them all. I 
would not only bear, but kiss the rod. It is the Lord : let him do 
what seemeth him good." 

— It will appear with regard to our conditions. Here we walk with 
God as our disposer and governor; and if we walk humbly we shall 
hold ourselves at his control ; we shall be willing that he should 
choose our inheritance for us ; we shall not lean to our own under- 
standing, but in all our ways acknowledge him. We shall be satisfied 
with our own allotment, and learn, in whatsoever state we are there- 
with to be content. We shall abide in the callings wherein his pro- 
vidence has placed us, and not be eager to rise into superior offices, 
feeling our unfitness for them, and Tearful of their perils; saying, 
" Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty ; neither do I 
exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me. Surely 
I have behaved and quieted myself as a child that is weaned of hig 
mother : my soul is even as a weaned chiKl." 

It will appear with regard to our qualification and ability for our 



23G JUNE 7. 

work. Here we walk with God, as our helper and strength; and if 
we walk humbly, we shall be sensible of the insufhciency for all the 
purposes of the divine lite ; that Ave know not Avhat to pray for as we 
ought, unless the Spirit itself helpeth our infirmities ; that the pre- 
paration of the heart, and the answer of the tongue, are from the 
Lord ; that with regard to the exercise of every grace, and the per- 
formance of every duty, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, 
except it abide in the vine, no more can we, except we abide in him; 
for without him we can do nothing. Did Peter walk humbly with 
him, when, even after the warning he had received, he leaned on his 
own resolution for superior constancy 7 

" Beware of Peter's word, I " I never will deny thee, Lord ; 

" Nor confidently saj-, | " But grant I never may." 

Here, humility is, to fear always : and to pray, Hold thou me up; 
and I shall be safe. 

— It will appear with regard to the whole of our recoveiy. Here 
we walk with God as a Savior, and if we walk humbly, we shall not 
go about to establish our own righteousness, but submit ourselves 
unto the righteousness which is of God, and acknowledge that we 
have nothing to glory in before Him. Not by works of righteousness 
which I had done, but according to his mercy he saved me. I look 
to the rock whence I was hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence I 
was digged. How long did he wait for me ! What pains were used 
in vain to bring my heart to him ! He was found of me when I sought 
him not. And how little have I attained ! I am still an unprofitable 
servant ; the sins of my holy things would condemn me, I must look 
only for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. If I 
am called, he call-ed me by his grace. If I have a good hope, it is a 
good hope through grace. " By the grace of God I am what I am." 
Happy this humble walker with God ! God resisteth the proud, but 
giveth grace unto the humble. 

" All joy to the believer ! He can speak — 

" Trembling, yet happy, confident, yet meek ; 

" Since tlie dear hour that brought me to thy foot, 

" And cut up all my follies by the root, 

" I never trusted in an arm but thine, 

" Norhop'd, but in thy righteousness divine; 

" My pray'rs and alms, imperfect and dcSrd, 

" Were but the feeble eflorts of a child ; 

" Howe'er perform'd it was their l)rightebt part, 

" That they proceeded from a grateful heart. 

" Cleans'd in thine own all-purifying blood, 

" Forgive their evil, and accept their good ; 

" I cast Ihem at thy feet— my only plea 

" Is what it was, dependence upon tliee — 

" While struggling in the vale of tears below, 

" That never fail'd, nor shall it fail me now, 

" Angelic gratulations rend the skies ; 

" Pride falls unpitied, never more to rise; 

" Humility is crowu'd, and faith receives the prize." 



June 7. — " The Lord is our Judge." — Isaiah, xxxii, 32, 23. 
In ancient times the character of a judge was united with that of a 
sovereign. To deliver the award of acquittal, condemnation, or par- 
don, was the exclusive prerogative of Majesty. Even in our days 
the sentence pronounced by the appointed expositors of the law must 
have the fiat of the monarch before it can be fulfilled. 



JUNE 7. 237 

The word Judge is frequently in the Scripture synonymous with 
Ruler. But as here the Lord, as " our judge," is distinguished from 
the Lord, as " our lawgiver"' and " our king," the term shouid be 
taken in its more peculiar meaning. And this view of God should 
blend with every other cliaracter he sustains ; not to depress hope ; 
but to prevent presumption ; not to hinder our access to God, but to 
sanctify us when we come nigh him ; not to inspire gloom, but to ex- 
clude from us all that carelessness and levity so inconsistent with our 
dependence and responsibility. " If ye call on the Father, who, with- 
out respect to persons, judgeth accordmg to every man's work, pass 
the time of 5^our sojourning here in fear." 

He is our future judge. So then, says the Boo]f, every one of us 
must give account of himself to God. And God will bring every work 
into judgment, with every secret thing. And who could bear the 
thought of this process without the knowledge of a ^Mediator ! The 
only way to find safety in that day, is to look for the mercy of our 
Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life; and to be found in him. He is our 
advocate with the Father, and he is the propitiation for our sins. The 
charges brought against us are all ti-ue, and we have nothing to offer 
even in our own extenuation. But we appeal to our surety, and he 
answers for us. Who is he that condemneth ? It is Christ that died ; 
yea, rather, is risen again ; who is even at the right hand of God, 
who also maketh intercession for us. 

He is our judge at present. And the apostle speaks of it as a pri- 
vnlege of the gospel dispensation, that " we are come to God, the 
judge of all." 

Are you perplexed about the path of duty while importance is at- 
tached to every step, and yet you must move foiward ? Refer your- 
selves to his unerring counsel. Be inlluenced and encouraged by the 
command and the promise, " Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, 
and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways ac- 
knowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." 

Is your spiritual state doubtful to your own minds ? And do you 
dread delusion ? Present the case before Him, and say, " Search "me, 

God. and know my heart ; try me and know my thoughts, and see 
if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way ever- 
lasting." 

Do you lie under the misapprehension of friends and the reproaclies 
of enemies'? Say, with Job, " Behold, my witness is in heaven, and 
my record is on high." How often did David turn from the ground- 
less and crael censures of men, to him who knoweth all thino-s! 
" Lord, my heart is not haught}", nor mine eyes lofty, neither do I 
exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me. Surely 

1 have behaved and quieted myself as a child that is weaned of his 
mother ; my soul is even as a weaned child." " Let my sentence 
come forth from thy presence ; let thine eyes behold the things that 
are equal." Are you reviled? Revile not again. Do you suffer? 
Threaten not — but commit yourselves to Him that judgeth right- 
eously. It is pleasing to have the approbation of our felloAv creatures; 
but there is a higher, a juster, a more merciful tribunal. It is a light 
thing to be judged of man's judgment. He that judgeth us is the 
Lord. " Therefore, judge nothing before the time, until the Lord 



238 1 (•■ > JUNE 8. 

comej who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and 
will make manifest the counsels of the heart, and then shall every 
man have praise of God." 



June 8. — " The grace that is in Christ Jesus." — 2 Timothy, ii, 1. 

Grace is connected with the whole of our recover}^ as sinners. It 
is all in all in every part of our salvation. Whether he is chosen, or 
redeemed, or justified, or converted, or sanctified, or preserved, or com- 
forted, the believer will acknowledge, by the grace of God I am what 
I am — not I, but the grace of God which is with me. 

But where is this grace to be found ? The apostle tells us when 
he speaks of it as the resource of Timothy, both as a minister and a 
Christian, Thou, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in 
Christ Jesus. As Mediator, he is the principle and treasury of it 
with regard to us. 

It is in him exclusively. And we may as well think of finding 
snow en the bosom of the sun, or paradise in hell, as to think of find- 
ing, elsewhere than in him, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and 
redemption. As Pharaoh said to the famishing multitudes that cried 
to him for bread, " Go unto Joseph, he has all the corn ;" so perishing 
sinners are sent to be blessed with pll spiritual blessings in heavenly 
places in Christ. If there was only one weil m the vicinity of a place, 
this would soon become the scene of concourse, and hither all tlie in- 
habitants would repair, or die. And to him shall the gathering of tlie 
people be. If any man thirst, said he, let him come unto me and 
drink. Neither is there salvation in any other ; for there is none other 
name given under heaven among men, wliereby they must be saved. 
And what Christian will refuse to join in the ascription, OHiis full- 
iiLss have all we received, and grace for' grace? 

It is in him all sufficiently. For it is not in him as water in a ves- 
*!el which, though as large as the brazen sea, would, by constant 
draiving, be soon drawn dry ; but as water in a spring, which, though 
alwij^s flow^ing, is always as full as ever. It is not in him like light 
in a lamp, which, however luminous, consumes while it shines, and 
■\vill soon go out in darkness; but like light in the sun, which, after 
shining for so many ages, is undiminished, and is as able as ever to 
bless the earth with his beams. There never has been a deficiency 
in him ; and there never w^ill — never can — for Jesus Christ is the same 
yesterday, to-day, and for ever. 

It is in him relatively. He has it for the us© and advantage of his 
people. Is he head over all things ? It is to his body, the church. 
Has he power given him over aft flesh ? It is that he might give 
eternal life to as many as the Father hath given him. Is he exalted 
a. the right hand of God ? It is to be a Prince and a Savior, to give 
repentance unto Israel, and forgiveness of sins. Did he receive gifts? 
It was for men, and even for the rebellious also, that the Lord God 
might dwell among them. Many trustees are faithful to their office. 
Tlfe rich have Avealth for the poor ; but often the poor share very 
little of it, for it is either hoarded by avarice, or squandered by ex- 
travagance, and the design of the donor is subverted by the steward 
But liere there is no danger of this. He to whom all our welfare is 



JUNE 9. 239 

intru>led will be faithful, not as a servant, like Moses, but as a son 
over his own house. His work falls in with every disposition of hia 
heart He so loves the recipients of his bounty, that he even died for 
them, and rose again. The power and authority to bless them was 
the joy set before him, for which he endured the cross and despised 
I he shame. 

And it is wisely in him. Could Ave see no reason for it, we ought 
to believe in the propriety of his placing it in him, rather than in our- 
selves; for God does all things well; and we may always infer the 
rectitude of his conduct even from his adopting it. And when he haa 
told us, too, that a particular course of action " became him," it is ab- 
surd to speculate, and profane to object. But it is easy to apprehend 
tlie wisdom of God in his pleasure that in him should all fullness 
dwell. It is thus infmitely secure. Adam had all in his own hand, 
and soon failed, and ruined his whole race. And should we act better 
than he ? But ^' this man abideth ever :" and therefore the covenant, 
of which he is the head, is everlasting, ordered in all things, and sure. 
By this appointment also, there is rendered necessary a communion 
between Christ and Christians, equally honorable to him, and bene- 
ficial to them. Let me explain this by a simple reference. An infant, 
when born, if left to himself, would perish ; for he is entirely unequal 
to his own support. But he is not abandoned. Provision is made for 
his nourishment. Where ? In another. In whom ? The one abov^e 
all others interested in him — and whose relation to him — whose an- 
guish on his behalf— whose love — will always yield him a welcome 
access to her breast ; and the mutual action of giving and receiving 
will endear the babe to the mother, and the mother to the babe. It 
is well we cannot hve independent of Christ Jesus. How much are 
his glory and our welfare connected with the blessed necessity of our 
daily and hourly intercourse with him ! 



June 9.—" And a certain man, lame from his mother's womb, was carried, 
whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to 
ask ahns of them that entered into the temple."— Acts, iii, 2. 

What an object of distress was here? Some, if they are poor, are 
strong and healthful ; and limbs and labor are sufficient for them. 
And some, if they are sickly and infirm, have wealth, or relations and 
friends that can afford them support. But here penury and helpless- 
ness are combined. The sufferings of some are accidental, and en- 
dured for a season only ; but this man's affliction entered the world 
with him, and upward of forty years he had endured the calamity. 
' What a vale of tears is this earth ? To w^hat a variety of evils are 
the human race exposed ? Oh, could we see all !— could we see a 
little of the millionth part ! What is a burial-ground? a field of bat- 
tle ? a hospital ? every disordered body ? but a commentary upon 
sin, as the text ? For sin 

" Brought death into the world, and all our wo." 

—Can we see such a case as this, and not be thankful for our ex- 
emption and preservation ? Shall w^e say. He deserved to be such a 
cripple, but I did not ? Or rather, shall we not say, By the grace ot 
God we are what we are ? 



240 JUNE 10. 

Such an instance of misery is presented to try our disposition. The 
eye affecteth the heart, and was designed to do it ; and none but a 
Priest or Levite will pass by on the other side. Such rights wiU at- 
tract the notice of the humane and the merciful, and move all his 
bowels of compassion, and put in requisition all his powers of relief. 
Job, even with regard to his prosperity, which too olten makes men 
insensible and careless, could make this appeal : " When the ear 
heard me, then it blessed me ; and when the eye saw me, it gave 
witness to me ; because I delivered the poor that cried, and the father- 
less, and him that had none to help him ; the blessing of him that was 
ready to perish came upon me : and I caused the widow's heart to sing 
for joy." " I was eyes to the bUnd, and feet was I to the lame." 

As the only expedient of this poor wretch was begging, so, to give 
him an advantage, they placed him daily at the Beautiful gate of the 
temple, to ask alms of them that went in. This was wise. Surely 
he who is going to seek mercy, will be ready to show it. Surely he 
Avho is going to pray for pardon, will not be unforgiving and impla- 
cable. " Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there re- 
rnemberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave there thy 
gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy 
brother, and then come and offer thy gift." What communion hath 
light with darkness? What fellowship can the cruel and uncharita- 
ble have with Him who is love itself? 

Piety, without benevolence, is hypocrisy. " If a man say, I love 
God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar : for he that loveth not his 
brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom lie hath not 
seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who 
loveth God love his brother also." The tongue of men and angels, 
without charity, is as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. The 
gift of prophecy, the understanding of all mysteries and all faith, so 
That we could remove mountains, would be nothing Avithout charity. 
How such a man, whatever be his profession, can be a partaker of 
divine grace, perplexed even an inspired apostle. "Whoso hath this 
world's^good, and seeth his brother hath need, and shuttelh up his 
boAvels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?" 

How well he adds—" My little children, let us not love in word, 
neither in tongue ; but in deed and in truth." 

" And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure 
our hearts before him." 



June 10.—" He delighteth in mercy."— Micah, vii, 18. 
Causes are best discovered in their effects. We determine the 
nature of the spring by the quality of the streams. The tree is 
known by the fruits.' We judge of men's principles and dispositions 
by their pursuits and conduct. God himself, so to speak, submits to 
be examined in the same way. To ascertain what he is, we have 
but to consider what he does. The things the Scripture testifies 
concerning him, are confirmed and exemplified by the facts to which 
it refers us. Thus, says the church: " As we have heard, so have 
we seen in the city of our God." Is he called, " The God of all 
grace ?" " The Father of mercies?" Is it said, " He is rich in mercy V 



JUNE 10. 241 

" He delighteth in mercy?" Let us pause and reflect, and we shall 
find the proofs and illustrations more wonderful than the assertion itself. 

" What hath God wrought" to gain the confidence of our guilty 
and, therefore, foreboding and misgiving minds! for this is the first 
step in the return of a sinner to God ; we can only be saved by hope. 
And here let us follow the example of the inspired John ; what is it 
that arrests and enraptures his attention '? " Herein is love." Where? 
Li what ? " Herein is love : not that we loved God, but that he loved 
U3. and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." Not that 
li,e would overlook the other doings of God ; but here he saw most 
clearly that " God is love." God's soul delights in his own Son. 
yet he would seem to delight more in mercy 5 ibr when he met witH 
him and us on Calvary, he said, Thou shalt die, and they shall live. 
It therefore pleased the Lord to bruise him; that by his stripes we 
might be healed, and through his sweet smelling sacrifice become 
nearer to God than if we had never sinned. And we must here take 
in not only the expensiveness of the act, but the character of the 
objects. It is the reasoning of another apostle : " Scarcely for a 
righteous man will one die ; yet peradv^enture for a good man some 
would even dare to die. But God comraendeth his love to-ward us, 
in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us." And having 
made the provision, so that all things are now ready, would he en- 
deavor to awaken our attention to it? would he send tbrth the minis- 
try of reconciliation to beseech us to accept it, unless he delighted 
m mercy ? 

He delights, also, not only in the exercise of mercy to us, but hy 
ds. He, therefore, would not leave mercy to the operation of reason 
and religion only; but, as our Maker, he has rendered it a law of our 
being. By our very physical constitution, pity is an unavoidable 
emotion. When we see the pain and distress of a fellow creature, 
the eye affecteth the heart. We involuntarily feel an uneasiness, 
which prompts us to succor — even to relieve ourselves. As far, in- 
deed, as this is implanted in us, it is a mere instinct. But wiio pro- 
duced it there ? Who m.ade it natural ? Who rendered it so difficult 
to be subdued and destroyed? but a Being w^ho delighteth in mercy? 
Besides, though it be originally an instinct only, by cherishing it we 
render it a virtue; and by exciting and exercising it from religious 
motives, we turn it into a Christian grace. 

And see what stress he has laid upon it in his word. How often 
does he enjoin it ! How dreadfully has he threatened the neglect of 
it ? And what promises has he made to the practice of it ? " He shall 
have judgment without mercy who showed no mercy." " But blessed 
are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." He has told us, that 
no clearness of knowledge, no rectitude of opinion, no fervor of zeal, 
no constancy of attendance on ordinances, no talking of divine things, 
will be a compensation for charity. " Whoso haih this world's good, 
and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bow^els of com- 
passion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?" And 
hence the pre-eminence our Savior gives it in the proceedings of the 
last day. " Tiien shall the King say unto them on his right hand. 
Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for 
you from the foundation of the world : for I was an hungered, and ye 

Vol. L 11 



2A2 JUNE 11. 

gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink I was a stran- 
ger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, 
and ye visited me : I was in prison, and ye came unto me.'' The 
language has been perverted, for men dream of merit where, above 
all thmgs, we need mercy. This word " for" is here not causative, 
but evidential— just as we may say, the spring has come, for the 
birds sing; the singing of the birds does not cause the coming of the 
spring, but is the effect and proof of it. But even this distinction 
affords the merciless no favor ; for thougii the practice here so noticed 
be not the procuring of the blessedness, it is the character of t)ie 
blessed. On every ground, therefore, the man who is a stranger to it 
is not entitled to hope. For which reason, too, our Lord goes on to 
tl:3 subjects of condemnation. And who are these? Tyrants? rob- 
bers? murderers of fathers and mothers? perjured persons? No — but 
the slothful and the selfish — the unkind tongue — tlie close hand — tlie 
unfeeling heart — the unpitying eye — the foot that knew not the door 
of misery. " Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, De- 
part from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devii 
and his angels : for I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat : 
I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye 
took me not in : naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and 
ye visited me not." 

Let us, therefore, not only believe and admire, but let us be fol- 
lowers of him who delighteth in mercy. We cannot love him unless 
we are concerned to please him; and we cannot please him unless v>'e 
are like minded with him. Neither can we enjoy him. Resem- 
blance is the foundation of our communion with inm. He only that 
dwelieth in love, dwellcth in God, and God in him. " Be ye there- 
fore ATERCIFDL, EVEN AS YOUR FaTIIER, V/IIO IS IN HEAVEN, IS MER- 



Ju:>E 11. — "And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyea 
were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said 
unto him, My son : and he said unto him, Behold, here am 1. And he said, 
Behold, now I am old, I know not the day of my death : now therefore take, 
I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver, and thybow, and go out to the field, 
and take me some venison; and make me savory meat, such as I love, and 
bring it to tiie that I may eat ; that my soul may bless thee before 1 die." 
Genesis, xxvii, 1 — 4. 

In Isaac's blindness we see one of the frequent accompanimenta 
of age. Age is generally an aggregate of privations, diseases, and 
infirmities. If, by reason of strength, we reach fourscore years, the 
strength then becomes labor and sorrow : labor in tk.e preserving, and 
Borrow in the possession. 

" Our vitalfi, with laborious strife, I " Ami drag the ilull remains of life 

" Bear up the crazy load ; | " Along the tiresome load." 

A powerful reason why we should remember our Creator in the days 
of our youth, that we may have a resource when the evil days come, 
in which we shall say, I have no pleasure. What a privilege, when 
exercised with the loss of sight and of hearing ; with trembling of 
limbs and sleepless nights, and fearful apprehensions, and failure of 
desire ; to have God for the strength of our heart, and our portion for 



JUNE 11. 243 

ever ; and to hear liim saying, " Even to your old age I am He ; and 
even to hoar hairs will I carry you : I have made, and I will hear ; 
even I will carry, and will deliver you." 

— The reflection upon his mortality may be adopted by every in- 
dividual, whatever his condition, or health, or age. All are ignorant 
of the time of their dissolution. For the human race dies at all pe- 
riods, as well as in all circumstances; and we know not what a day 
may bring forth. But when Isaac says, " I know not the day of my 
death," he means that it was near; and that every day might be reck- 
oned as his last. Death is not far from every one of us. But while, 
as the proverb says, the young may die, the old must die. And it be- 
comes the aged .to think frequently and seriously of their departure 
as at hand — to prepare for it — and to regard zealously the call of every 
present duty. It was the prayer of Moses, " So teach us to number 
our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." It was tlio 
profession of our Lord and Savior, " I must work the works of Him 
that sent me while it is day, the night cometh wherein no man can 
work." It was the admonition of Solomon, " Whatsoever thy hand 
findeth to do, do it with thy might, for tiiere is no work, nor device, 
nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest." • 

Thus Isaac was roused into a concern to finish his work before he 
finished his course; " Now therefore take, I pra}* thee, thy weapons, 
thy quiver, and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some 
venison ; and make me savory meat, such as I love, ajid bring it to 
me, that I may eat, that my soul may bless thee before I die'^not 
afterward. In like manner Elijah, vrhen waiting for his ascension 
into heaven, said to Elisha, " Ask now what I shall do for thee, before 
I be taken up from thee" — believing his intercourse with him, and 
his acting for him, would then be terminated. This is a solemn, and 
should be a useful thought. Look at your children, your relation^ 
your friends, your neighbors, and see in what way you can serve 
your generation. Now you can bless them by your prayers, your 
counsels, your example, your liberality — but all these opportunities 
are confined to life, and this life is a vapor, that appeareth for a little 
time, and then vanisheth away ! Isaac did well in seizing the pre- 
sent moment to set his house in order before his death. But there are 
two things in which he was blamable. ^ 

First. He shows too great a regard for the indulgence of his ap- 
petite. It is mournful to see a good man, and especially an old man, 
instead of mortifying the deeds of the body, studying his sensual 
gratification, and making provision for the flesh, not to fulfil the wants, 
but the lusts thereof. Carriages are dragged as they are going 
down hill. 

Secondly. He was more influenced by natural affection than a 
regard to the will of God. He wished to make Esau heir, but Gkd 
had expressly declared, " the elder shall serve the younger." Isaac 
could not have been ignorant of this. Had iie forgotten°it? Or did 
he disregard it ? Here we see his frailty. But this does not render 
the purpose of God of none effect. His counsel shall stand, and he 
will do all his pleasure. Rebekah on the other hand, was fond of 
Jacob; and a father has no chance against a mother, who has a fa- 
vorite whom she is determined to advance : especially such a selfish. 



244 JUNE 12. 

crafly, cnaning creature as was here at work. Her aim, indeed, fell 
in with God's design ; but this concurrence arose, not from lier piety, 
but her partiahty. Her conduct was unjustifiable and sinful ; for w^ 
must not do evil that good may come. She had the divine promise 
on the side of her preference, and she shouUl have rested in the Lord, 
and waited patiently for him, and not have fretted herself in any 
wise to do evil " He that belie veth maketh not haste." Had she 
quietly committed her way unto the Lord he would have brought it 
to pass without those wretched consequences that afflicted the family. 
For God uses instruments without approving of them ; and though he 
makes the folly and passions of men to praise him, he fails not to 
prove tliat it is an evil and bitter thing to ibrsake him, and to act 
without his fear in our hearts. 

— How painful would it be to go on, and see a mother teaching 
her child to falsify and to see a son imposing on the blindness of an 
aged father ! "W hat is our proof that Rebekah was ever religious, 
and what our evidence that Jacob was pious at this time ? Per- 
iiaps he was converted in his journey from Beerslieba to Haran. At 
Bethel God met with him ; and there he spake Avith us. 
• ^^ „_ ,,,,^^ 

June 12. — " And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, 
to lead them the way^; and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, to 
go by day and night. He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the 
pillar of fire by night, from before the people." — Exodus, xiii, 21,22. 

Tins institution was necessary : for there was no path in the de- 
sert; and they had no maps, no pioneers, no guides. But, says God, 
I have not brought you out of Egypt to leave you to wa-nder a. id 
perish in the wilderness. Behold your Conductor to the rest and the 
inheritance which the Lord your God giveth you. Accordingly, by 
this, they were to be regulated in all their journey-ng. As this rose, 
they rose ; as this paused, they paused ; as this turned to the right 
hand or to the left, they turned. It sometimes called them to leave a 
more endeared spot, and to stop in a less inviting scene ; but they 
were not at liberty to cling to the one, or decline the other : the signal 
was instantly decisive. This pillar was obviously nothing less than 
a real miracle — yet how little were the observers affected by it ! They 
sinned with this hovering prodigy over them ; and even committed 
idolatry ! We are prone to ascribe too much moral efficacy to such 
supernatural appearances. They soon become as unimpressive and 
uninfluential as the ordinary means of grace are with us. 

It was a symbol of the divine presence. " The Lord was in the pil- 
lar." It was this nearness of God that insured their safety, and gave 
them their distinction and pre-eminence. There he was always at 
hand, always in view. •' And," says Moses, " what nation is there so 
great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in 
all things that we call upon him for ?" 

But how extensively adapted was this provision to their state and 
exigencies! It was both a pillar of a cloud, and a pillar of fire, to lead 
them in the way ; the one appearance was for the day, the other for 
the night. Fire by day would have added to the dazzling and fer- 
vidness of a burning sky — the pillar was therefore a cloud by day, 
and screened them like a large umbrella from the scorching rays of 



JUNE 13. 245 

the Bun. Cloud by night would have added to the gloom, the dark- 
ness, and the dread of danger — the pillar was therefore a fire by 
night, to lick up the unwholesome damps, to warm the chilling atmos- 
phere, and to afford them a light, by which they could see to move 
about in their tents, and also to travel, as they often did, after the si?j] 
was set. 

If this ordinance showed his wisdom and goodness, the continuance 
of the blessing evinced his patience — for, notwithstanding their un- 
worthiness, and their provocations, and their various corrections, this 
pillar was not taken away from before the people till they reached 
tlie border of Jordan, and came to their journey's end ! 

He has a people for his name now. They are only strangers and 
pilgrims on earth, bound for a better country, that is, a heavenly. Tliis 
they would never reach, if they were left to themselves. But they 
are not. The God of Israel is v*^ilh them. They have not the same 
sensible proof of his presence as the Jews had. But they have real 
evidence of it-, and it is satisfactory to their own minds. He keeps 
them from falling. He accommodates himself to their conditions. He 
is a \ecy present help in trouble. He makes his goodness to pass be- 
fore them. He leads them by his word, and his Spirit, and his pro- 
vidence. He has also said, I will never leave thee, nor forsalce thee. 
Therefore they may boldly say. This God is our God for ever and 
ever : He will be our guide unto death. 



"Thus, when our first release we gain, 
*'Fioiu Siu's olij yoke, and Satan's chain, 
" We have t!iis desert world to pass, 
* A dangerous and a tiresome place. 



" II3 feeds and clothes us all the way ; 
"He guides our footsteps Icsl we stray; 
"He guards us with a powerful hand ; 
"And brings us to the promised land." 



Ju.vE 13. — "The censers of these sinners against their o^m souls, let thera 
make them broad plates for a covering of the altar."' — Numbers, xvi, 38. 

He had solemnly forewarned and admonished tlie rebels them- 
selves before they suffered; and thus, in Avrath, he remembered mercy. 
When Koran, Dathan, and Abiram, who headed the conspiracy, were 
buried alive, and their companions, the two hundred and fifty princes, 
men of honor, were burnecl with fire, he would make them beacons, 
and prevent others fi-om coming into the same condemnation. Orders, 
therefore, were given to take up the censers in which they had dared 
to burn incense, and make of them broad plates to cover the altar of 
burnt offering — that they might "be a sign unto the children of Is- 
rael ;" i. e. a memorial to the Levites, and the.comers thereunto, of 
the revolt of these men, and that they were punished for invading an 
oflice which God had forbidden them. 

Whence we note, that the sin which is hurtful to the transgressors, 
ehoald be useful to the observers. 

" These sinners against their own souls !" Yes ; whenever men sin, 
they sin against themselves. Society cannot exist without laws, ami 
laws are nothing without penalties. Connivance at the guilty, would 
be cruelty to the innocent. In every well-ordered government, crimes 
are punished. And will they, can they escape, in the empii-e of a 
Being, holy in all his ways, and righteous in all his works? What 
would you think of a magistrate, who bore the sword in vain, and 
who was not a terror to evil doens, as well as a praise to them that do 



246 JUNE 13. 

Avell? What would you think of him, if, when you brought before 
him the incendiary of your house, or the murderer of your child, he 
should say. Oh, this does not regard me — and smile, and say. Go in 
peace! We dislike the word vindictive justice— there seems some- 
thing malignant in it ; but substitute in the room of it, the vindicatory 
or punitive justice of God, and we contend that this is essential to the 
excellency of his character, and that you could not esteem, nor even 
love him, without it. What regard could you have for a being who 
.equally respected lies and truth, cruelty and kindness, a Nero and a 
Howard? We readily own, that Avhen anger and wrath are ascribed 
to God in the Scriptures, they do not imply any thing like passion in 
us, but only principle. But principle they do establish ! and this prin- 
ciple is the soul of order; adherence to rectitude; determination to 
punish. 

And we may see this denounced in his threatenings. For his wrath 
is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness and ungodliness 
of men. If this book be true, the wicked shall not stand in his sight. 
He hateth all workers of iniquity. 

He has also confirmed and exemplified it in his conduct. Look to 
heaven, and see the angels sinning against themselves, and cast down 
to hell. See Adam and Eve driven from the garden of Eden. See 
the flood carrying away the world of the ungodly. See the inhabit- 
ants of the plain ; and Pharaoh ; and the nations of Canaan ; and 
the Jews, though so peculiarly indulged of God. Yea, and good men 
— he even visits their transgressions with a rod ; and though he for- 
gives their iniquities, he takes vengeance on their inventions. See 
Moses and Aaron forbidden to enter the land of promise ; and Eli 
and David so awfully judged in this life. And if these things are 
done in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry? and if the 
righteous are recompensed in the earth, how much more the sinner 
and the ungodly ! 

It would be easy to trace the injury of sin with regard to every 
thing of which the welfare of the sinner is compoundeil. His con- 
nexions ought to be dear to him. But how does he sin against these? 
How does the wicked child rend the heart of his parents, and bring 
down their gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. How does the hus- 
band, by his vices, instead of providing for those of his own house, 
reduce the wife he ought to love, even as himself, to indigence and 
wretchedness, and her hapless babes along with her. What a bless- 
ing is health. But hpw does he sin against this ! By intemperance 
and sensuality he is made to possess the iniquities of his youth, which 
lie down with him in the dust. Envy is the rottenness of the bone?. 
So are hatred and malice. And so are all those corroding anxieties 
and fears which those must feel who have no confidence in God, or 
hope of heaven. Reputation is desirable, as it enables us to live in 
the esteem of others, and valuable,, as it is an instrument of useful- 
ness — a good name, says Wisdom itself, is better than great riches. 
But who regards the sinner ? Who confides in him ? What is his 
friendship, or his promise? The name of the wicked shall rot. A 
wicked man is loathsome, and cometh to shame. We must be mea- 
sured and weighed by our souls. The mind is the standard\of the 
man. This is the seat of happiness or misery. But he that sinneth 



JUNE 13. 247 

against me, says God, wrongeth his own soul. Wrongs it of peace 
—for there is no peace to the wicked. Wrongs it of liberty and plea- 
Fure— for he is in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity. 
Wrongs it of safety— for the wrath of God abideth on him : he is 
condemned already. 

But let not these sinners suffer in vain. They are our martyrs. 
They die and perish for us. Their loss should be our gain j and their 
destruction our salvation. 

The first advantage we may derive from an observation of the sins 
and sufferings of others, is the confirmation of our faith. And no- 
thing can tend more to estabUsh our belief in the truth of the Scrip- 
ture, than to take its declarations and decisions, and compare them 
with the documents of men's lives. The Bible tells us that the way 
of transgressois is hard. That they proceed from evil to evil. That 
a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. That the companion of 
fools shall be destroyed. That the love of money is the root of all 
evil. And he must be blind that has not— seen this, as well as- 
read it. 

Another benefit, is gratitude. When we see the wicked, we see 
what we should have been, but for preventing and distinguishing 
grace. Who made me to differ ? Have I a heart of flesh, while they 
are insensible? Am I light in the Lord, while they are darkness? 
Am I walking in the way everlasting, while destruction and misery 
is in their paths ? By the grace of God, I am what I am. 

The observation should also awaken and excite zeal. Surely none 
so much need our compassion, as those who are destroying them- 
selves for ever. We talk of doing good. What advantage can we 
procure a fellow creature like that godliness, which is profitable unto 
all things? What enemy can we rescue him from, like his lusts and 
vices ? If we convert a sinner from the error of his ways, we save a 
soul from death, and hide a multitude of sins. 

It should also serve to wean us from the present world. What a 
bedlam it is ! what a sink of corruption ! What righteous soul is not 
daily, hourly, vexed with the filthy conversation of the ungodly? — 
Thus the ear, the eye, the heart, is constantly sickened. We behold 
the transgressors, and are grieved. O that I had in the wilderness a 
lodging-place of way-faring men, O that I had wings like a dove, 
for then would I flee away, and be at rest — with the spirits of just 
men made perfect — dwelling in love, and dwelling in God! 

Finally. Let us fetch from it, warnings. When Daniel, address- 
ing Belshazzar, reminded him of his father's pride and destruction, he 
aggravates his guilt, by saying, '•' Thou knewest all this." When the 
apostle mentions "the sins and plagues that Israel knew," he says, 
"Nov^^ these things v/ere our examples, to the intent we should not 
lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters a.s 
were some of them ; as it is written. The people sat down to eat and 
drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as 
some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thou- 
sand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them ala? tempted, 
and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them 
also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now, all these 
tilings happened unto them for ensamples : and they are written for 



248 JUNE 14. 

our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Where- 
fore, let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." 

And surely, O my soul, if the sins of others may be rendered thus 
profitable, I ought to be concerned to gain something from my own. 
Let me learn wisdom from my follies ; and strength from my weak- 
nes,s ; and standing from my falls. Let me see more of my depra- 
vity; and put on humbleness of mind; and apply to the Blood of 
Sprinkling ; and never more trust in my own heart, but be strong in 
the grace that is in Christ Jesus ; and be sober and vigilant ; and till 
I am beyond the reach of evil, pray, " Hold thou me up, and I shall 
be safe." 



I 



June 14. — " Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and 
yet hast thou not known me, Philip ?" — John, xiv, 9. 

— He had been with Philip and his fellow disciples corporeally, for 
the Word was made flesh and dwelt among them, and they beheld 
his glory. But his bodily presence was confined to Judea, and few 
knew him after the flesh. And soon he was known so no more, for 
he was received up into heaven. But it is remarkable, that while on 
earth, ho evinced that his efficiency was not dependent on his bodily 
presence, for he performed cures at a distance, as we see in the case 
of the nobleman's son, and the centurion's servant, who w^ere healed 
by no application, but simply by his volition, as if to encourage the 
belief, that when removed hence, he could still operate here. 

And if his word is to be relied upon, he is with his people now. 
What was his promise to his ministers? to his churches ? to indivi- 
duals ? " Lo ! 1 am with you alway, even unto the end of the Avorld ?" 
" Where two or three are gathered together in my Name, there am 
I in the midst of them." " If a man love me, he will keep my words, 
and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make 
our abode with him." Therefore he has either given promises which 
he is unable to fulfill or though now in heaven, he is with his disci- 
ples on earth — with them specially, graciously, spiritually. Effects 
prove the existence of the cause ; the operation of the workman shows 
his presence ; and that " Ms Name is near his wondrous v.'orks de- 
clare." He has done enough in the Christian, to demonstrate that 
he is loith him — and he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor for 
sake thee. 

— Yet he says to Philip, " Hast thou not known me?" Philip was 
not entirely ignorant of him ; but he knew him not sufficiently ; he 
knew him not comparatively — he knew him not, coiisidering how he 
might have known him. And is not this the case with us ? Some 
have very little knowledge of any kind. They never guide even the 
common affairs of this lite with discretion. They seem incapable of 
improvement. Even suflfering does not teach them wisdom. " Ex- 
perience," says Frankhn, " is a -dear school ; yet fools will learn in no 
other." But many do not learn even in this. 

• Yet the children of this world are wiser in their generation than 
the children of light. We live in aland of vision ; we ha -e Sabbaths, 
and Bibles, and religious ordinances, and teachers; yet as to a know* 
ledg*^, of the peculiar truths of the Gospel, and the reality of Christian 



JUNE 14. 249 

experience, numbers are as ignorant as lieathens. " The light shineth 
in darkne:3.--j but the darkness comprehendeth it not." Must we go 
on ? What do numy Christians, real Christians, who have long had 
the great Teacher with them — what do even they know? What do 
they'know of their own interest in him ? Are they not unable to de- 
termine what their spiritual condition is, and to say, with Thomas, 
wy Lord and wy God ? How little do they know of his salvation ! 
How little ol the glories of his person I How little of the nature of his 
dispensations toward them; so that they are confounded with the 
fresh discoveries they make of the evils of their own hearts ; perplexed 
whh their own adlictions; desponding if difficulties multiply, and 
they see no means or way of escape ; and ready to conclude that he 
has shut out their prayers^, because he does not immediately and sen- 
sibly answer them ; all A'om their knowing so little of the mariner in 
which he deals with his people ! 

Yet the defectiveness of their knowledge is very censurable, espe- 
cially after long intimacy with him. Hence the apostle reproaches 
the llebrews, " W^hen for the time ye ought to have been teachers, 
ye have need that one teach you again, which be the first principles 
of the oracles of God." Hence our Lord said to his disciples on an- 
other occasion, " Are ye also yet without understanding?" And here 
again he says, " Have I been so long- with you, and yet hast thou 
not known me, Philip?" He had scarcely been three years with 
them then; and he had very gradually developed himself, and kept 
back many th-ngs for a future communication. Yet it was a long pe- 
riod, considering its imjX)rUince and privileges, and always having 
access to him with their inquiries, and hearing his discourses, ami 
witnessing all his conduct, they ought to have gained much more 
than they did. But they were slow of heart, and made very little 
progiess, as we see by their various mistakes and embarrassments. 
Yet what right have we to cast a stone at them? How few, how 
poor, how wretched, have been our attainments ! And yet he has 
men much longer with many of us — ten — twenty — forty years — 
abouadiiiir too v/iih every assistance. Four things ought to make us 
blush at the thouglit of this. 

First. The iiecerv^ity and value of the knowledge w^e have made 
eo little v>rofioie:icv in. How much depends upon it, our usefulness, 
our (vjj.-eiVHt'.o;! fVoni error, our peace and comfort, and our progress 
in the divine life; for though we may grow in knowledge without 

frowiuiT in gni'.-e, v»'e cai'.not groAV in grace wiihout growing in 
n )wle;'ive. U^.-rgion does not, act upon us mechanically, but moral- 
ly ; /. e. tln-ouir!> just views an;] motive?-. 

Secondly. Some h;l^•e made llir greater advancement in much .ess 
time, and with very iiirerior ;idvantages. They set out long after, 
but they soon passt-d us on the road. The}'' have had very little pious 
intercourse, •i.ul [y-vvi sel-.inin heard a. Gospel sermon. Yet when we 
converse wtli them, and pffi them in the relations, duties, and trials 
ol life — how muc'i below iheni must we ie.e!. 

Thirdly. Os-r ol^li'j'Mt^oits arid respoiisibility rise with our means 
and oppo:iu:;it'M-v. What an. ad vanlajxe are pious relations! What 
a privilege is a Gospel ministry! What a precious talent is time! 



260 JUNE 15. 

Where is conscience, while we look at our improvement of all theec ? 
Where much is given much will be required. 

Lastly. Our unprofitableness is the subject of divine disappoint- 
ment and complaint. "What could have been done more to my 
vineyard that I have not done in it ? Wherefore, when I lool:ed that 
it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?^' The 
thought of displer^sing and dishonoring him is nothing to some. But 
shall we provoke, and grieve his Holy Spirit? Can we who love him, 
and know what he has done for us, can we be insensible to the Sa- 
vior's decision? " Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much 
fruit ; so shall ye be my disciples ?" 

What remains, but that we admire and adore the patience of Him 
who still bears with us, though we have so often constrained him to 
ask, " How long shall I be with you ? how long shall I suffer you ?" 
And let us search and try our ways, and turn again unto the Lord. 
Let us guard against indecision and sloth. Let us be diligent in the 
use of all the means of religious improvement. Let us not cease to 
pray that we may be " filled with the knowledge of his will, in all 
wisdom and spiritual understanding. That we may walk worthy of 
the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and 
increasing in the knowledge of God." 

" Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord. His 
going forth is prepared as the morning. And he sliall come unto us 
as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth." 



June 15. — " When the Most High divided the nations their inheritance, 
when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people ac 
cording to the number of the children of Israel." — Deuteronomy, xxxii, 8. 

This is an important and interesting communication, and it sup 
plies us with two facts. First. That God originally divided the na- 
tions their inheritance. When, after the deluge, he gave the new 
earth to the children of men, he did not throw it in among them, so 
to speak, for a kind of scramble, that each might seize what he could ; 
but he assigned them their several portions, that the discontented 
might not invade the peaceful, nor the mighty prey upon the weak. 
God permits what he does not approve ; but nothing can be more con- 
trary to his design and pleasure, than for powerful states to invade 
and incorporate little ones. And the crime generally punishes itself. 
Such unjust and forced accessions add nothing to the safety, strengtli, 
or happiness of the acquirers, but become sources of uneasiness, cor- 
ruption, and revolt ; so difficult is it to suppress old attachments and 
patriotical instincts that are almost equal to the force of natuie. Paul 
justifies the sentiment of Moses, "He hath made of one blood all na- 
tions of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath de- 
termined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habita- 
tion, that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after 
him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us." 

Secondly. In the arrangement of the limits and conditions of man- 
kind, He had an especial reference to the future common\vealth of 
Israel. For they were by far the most important detachment of the 
human race. They were the Lord's portion, and the lot of his inhe- 



JUNE 15. 251 

ritance. They were the depositaries of revealed rehgion. The lieirs 
of the righteousness which is by faith. To them pertained the adop- 
tion, and the glory, and the Covenant, and the giving of the Law, 
and the services of God, and the promises ; theirs were the fathers, 
and of them, as concerning the flesh, Christ came. We cannot trace 
this fact perfectly lor want of more materials, and we know not all 
the purposes of God in making and keeping the Jews a peculiar body ; 
otherwise we should clearly see how all the dispensations of God cor- 
responded to their privileged destination. One thing is to be observed. 
They were not intended to engross the divine favor, but to be the me- 
diums and diffusers of it. They were not only to be blessed, but to 
be blessings. Hence their being placed in the midst of the earth, 
that from them knowledge might be derived, and pro^lytes to re- 
vealed religion might be made; and that, in the fullness of time, out 
of Zion might go forth the Law and the Word of the Lord from Je- 
rusalem, and that the great Supper, as our Lord calls it, and which 
was designed for the whole family of Adam, might be spread in the 
middle of the earth, and be accessible to all. 

While we here see that there is nothing like chance in the govern- 
ment of the world, there is what may be called a peculiar providence 
in particular instances. And here we cannot help thinking of oui 
own country. No country on earth bears such a comparison with 
Judea in privilege and design. Its appropriation and appointment 
will account for its preservation, and emerging from difficulties which 
seemed likely to swallow it up. And when we consider what it is, 
and what it more than promises to be, we can find reason for its insu- 
lar situation, its government, laws, and commerce ; its talent, and 
learning, and influence, and dominion. We are a sinful people, but, 
as " the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it 
not, for a blessing is in it ; so, says God, will I do for my servants' 
eakes, that I may not destroy th^m all." We cannot approve of every 
thing we have done, especially in the West and East Indies; but we 
cannot be ignorant that God is overruling it for good, and has endi 
in view far beyond slave-holders and mercantile companies, and 
statesmen. We have fought, and we have conquered, but the negro 
is instructed, and the captive is made free, and openings are made 
and occupied for the spread of the Gospel. 

The economies of heaven on earth have always been regulated by 
one end — the cause of the Messiah; and could we view things as 
God does, v/e should perceive how all the revolutions of the world^ 
the changes of empire, the successes or defeats of haughty worms, 
have affected this cause, immediately or remotely, in a way of 
achievement or preparation, or purification, or increase; of solidity or 
diffusion ; and that all things are going on, not only consistently with 
it, but conducively to it. For, says the Ruler over all, " I have sworn 
by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and 
shall not return, that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue 
shall swear." 

And, O Christian, there is a special providence over thee. The 
hairs of thy head are all numbered. One thing regulates all that be- 
falls thee, all the dark, as well as the clear— all the painful, as well as 
the cheerful — thy spiritual— thy everlasting welfare. " For we know 



252 JUNE 16. 

that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them 
that are the called according to his purpose." 



June 16. — " Thy loving-kindness is before mine eyes." — Psalm xxvi, 3. 

And it will be well to follow David, and to keep the I'oving-kLtjdness 
of God before our eyes also. And this should be done four ways. 

First. As a subject of contemplation. The mind will be active, and 
it is our wisdom to regulate and sanctify our thoughts. Isaac went 
out into the field at eventide to meditate, and we may infer the nature 
of his reflections from his character. David said. My meditation of 
him shall be sweet. How precious are thy thoughts unto me, O God ! 
How great is the sum of them ! People complain of the difficulty they 
feel in fixing their minds ; but the duty would become easier by use 
— and surely they can never be at a loss for a theme. Let them take 
his loving-kindness and set it before their eyes. Let them observe it 
as it appears in the promises of his word ; in the history of his church ; 
in their own experience. And let them pass from the instances of 
his loving-kindness to the qualities of it, and dwell i.pon its earliness, 
and fullness, and extensiveness, and seasonableness, and constanc}^ 
" Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall un- 
derstand the loving-kindness of the Lord." 

Secondly. As the source of encouragement. How often shall vcq 
need this ! We shall feel our want of it under a sense of our guilt, 
and unworthiness, and continued imperfections; and nothing short of 
the exceeding riches of his grace, in his kindness toward us by Christ 
Jesus, will be able to relieve us. But this will relieve us, and effect- 
ually too. It will give us everlasting consolation, and good hope 
through grace, and boldness and access with confidence by the faith 
of him. And it will do all this without reconciling us to our sins, or 
even our infirmities — j^ea, it will make us lament our deficiencies the 
more, grieving that we serve him so little who loves us so much. 
We shall want it in onr afflictions. And who can hope to escape 
these in a vale of tears'? Now nothing is so desirable in our suffer- 
ings as to see, not only the hand but the Jd7idncss of God in them. 
For often they look like the effects of his wrath, and we tremble under 
them, and cry, " Do not condemn me. I could bear these trials, if I 
thought they were only the strokes of a father's rod, and sent in love." 
And they are sent in love. They are only the strokes of a Father's 
red, laid hold of with reluctance, and laid aside with pleasure. 

Thirdly. As an excitement to praise. It is. afflicting to think how 
little the 'loving-kindness of God is acknowledged by those who are 
constantly partaking of it. How lamentable, says Leighton, is it, that 
a world, so llill of God's mercy, should be so empty of his glory. Oh, 
eays David, again and again, Oh that men would praise the Lord lor 
his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! 
Were there not ten lepers cleansed? hut wliere are the nine? Did 
evenHezekiah render according to the benefits done him ? And are 
we better than they ? And whence is it that we feel so little the ob- 
ligations we are under to the God of our mercies? Because the mer- 
cies of God are so little remarked and remembered by us. Nothing 
can impress us when it is out of our minds and thoughts. Therefore, 



JUNE 17. 253 

Bays David, " Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his bene- 
fits." At the moment when God appears ibr us, we are sensible ofhis 
goodness, and speak well of" his name ; but like the Jews, we soon 
lorget his works, and the wonders which he has shown us. AVe in- 
scrTbe our alHictions upon a rock, and the characters remain — we write 
our mercies in the sand of the sea shore, and the first wave of trouble 
washes them out. 

Lastly. We should keep his loving-kindness before our eyes as an 
example for imitation. The Scripture calls upon us to be followers or 
God as dear children. But in what 7 His moral, and not his natural 
perfections. We may wish to resemble him in power and indepen- 
dence, and to be as gods, knowing good and evil. But we are to be 
concerned to reverence Him, not as the greatest, but as the best of 
beings — to be faithful as he is faithful, to be holy as he is holy — to be 
patient, and forgiving, and kind, like him. " I say unto you, Love 
your enemies; bless them that curse you; do good to them that hate 
you ; and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute 
you ; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven ; 
for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth 
rain on the just and on the unjust." Be ye therefore merciful, even 
as your Father which is in heaven is merciful. 

You would do well to keep in view some of your fellow creatures, 
who feel that it is more blessed to give than to receive. Think of a 
Howard, a Thornton. But in Him the fatherless findeth mercy. God 
is love. We cannot equal him. But it is our happiness to resemble. 
He that dwelleth in Love, dwelleth in God, and God in him. "Put 
on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, 
kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long suffering, forbearing 
one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel 
against any : even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above 
aU these things, put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness." 



June 17. — " The breath of our nostrils, the Anointed of the Lord, was 
taken in their pits, of whom we said, Under his shadow we shall live among 
the Heathen." — Lamentations, iv, 20. 

Some commentators suppose that these words are intended to apply 
to the Savior. We see no ground for this. Others imagine that 
there may be a reference to him under the case of Zedekiah. How- 
ever this may be, the passage may be used — not to prove any doc- 
trine, but to remind us of several things pertaining to the Lord Jesus, 
and fully established in the Scriptures of Truth. 

—Such as his office — '' The anointed of the Lord." The very 
meaning of the word Messiah in the Old Testament, and of Christ in 
the New. Prophets, priests, and kings, were anointed at their con- 
"secration. He was all these; and therefore he is said to be anointed 
with the oil of gladness, above his fellows. Here the term imports 
majesty ; and he is the King of glory, the King of saints, the King 
of natiop.s — " With my holy oil have I anointed him" 

— Such is tlie estimation in which he is holden by his subjects — 
" The bnreath of our nostrils." He is not so regarded by others. The 
world knew him not. The Jews received him not. He is now, as to 



254 JUNE 17. 

the multitude, despised and rejected of men. This was the case once 
with his own people. They acknowledge it ; and look back with 
Bhame and sorrow upon a period — and with some of them it was a 
long period — during which he had no form or comeliness, nor any 
beauty that they should desire him. But he has been revealed in 
them. And now he appears fairer >han the children of men, and 
altogether lovely. Faith makes him precious. He is their righteous- 
ness and strength; their glory and joy; all their salvation and all 
their desire. We may be excessive in our attachment to a creature ; 
but we can never think too highly of H-i<ni. It was Idolatry in these 
Jews to call their prince the breath ofwheir nostrils; but Jesus is 
really and absolutely so to us. How d«ar I How important ! How 
indispensable! 

"This fleslj^of j^iine miglrt i(?^irn as soon 

" To live, yef part with all my blood ; 
" To breathe wiien vital aifis.gorie, 

" Or thrive audsrow withgut my food." 

' - -Such is their expectationl^-om Hirr^" Of whom we said. Under 
his shadow we shall live amoj^ the IMarthen." The Israelites were 
literally among the Heathen, surround6dja§ they were with the Gen- 
tile nations. This was also the case witMhe first Christians. Yea, 
tlVey were not only encompassed by them, but intermixed with them. 
In one house dwelt an Idolater; in the next a ^vorshipper of God. A 
Pagan and a Christian labQ^ed together m the same field, or the same 
manufactory. We should not undefVaJue the outward advantages 
of Christianity. How much more privileged are we, than our mis- 
sionary brethren ! They live ijnder his sliadow — but it is among the 
Heathen ! While we have our sabbaths, and temples, and preachers, 
and our fellow Christians, with whom wejthke sweet counsel together. 
Though there are no heathens among As, nominally, and as to dis- 
pensafion, yet there are sonnpAvho know nothing doctrinally : and 
many who know nothing spiat^aally^' inany who are without God in 
the world, and who hate and'oppose, as far as they are allowed, the 
religion we experience. Ai>d', how often is a righteous soul vexed 
with the conversation of the ungodly,' and constrained to sigh, " Wo 
is me, that I dwAll in Mesech!" But A^4latever be the disadvantages 
of our condition, there is a sHadow — and his shadow — under which 
we can lire! A shadow frohi the heat— not the shadow of a summer 
cloud only ; but of a great rock in a weary land : the shadow of a 
tree yielding, not only shade, but fruit, according to the acknow- 
ledgment of'^the Church—" Fsat down under his shadow with great 
delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste." So it is said, " They 
that dwell under His shadojy shall return ; they shall revive as the 
corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of 
Liebanon.''^His shadow means protection, and all the blessings of his 
empire. The reign of some rulers is like the shadow of a vulture over 
the bird of pi-ey ; or as a hurricane over the flooded meadow, and the 
stripped forest— but let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. 
Blessed are all they that put their trust in him. 

—Such is his apprehension or suffering—" He was taken in their 
pits." They watched him, and persecuted him, through life. At 
kngth he was betrayed into the hands of his enemies ; and they in- 



JUNE 18. 255 

feoilted him, and crucified him, and laid him in tlie grave. Then his 
disciples said, " We trusted that it had been he which should have 
redeemed Israel " — " The breath of our nostrils, the Anointed of the 
Lord, was taken in their pits, of whom we said, Under his shadow 
shall we live among the Heathen." 

— But here correspondence becomes contrast. No type, no image, 
no illustration, can do justice to him : and when examined, it will al- 
ways be found to teach more by unlikeness, than b}' conformity. Zc- 
dckiah's subjects had their hopes disappointed and destroyed by his 
arrest : and Avhen carried away, and imprisoned at Babylon, he could 
no longer defend or comfort them. But Jesus is our liope, notwith- 
standing his apprehension and death — yea, and in consequence of it. 
He is made perfect through sufferings. And thus it is that he brings 
many sons unto glory. When he fell into the hands of his enemies, 
they thought they had now completely succeeded. But their triumph 
was short. He fell : but in dying he overcame. And then Avas the 
judgment of this world, and then was the Prince of this world cast 
out. We therefore glory in his cross, because he here becomes the 
Author of eternal salvation. He died for us, and rose again ; and be- 
cause he lives, we shall live also. 

— Let us, then, live under his shadow — ^^securely live ; nobly live ; 
joyfully live — not only having life, but having it more abundantly. 

— And let us invite others to come, and share with us. " In that 
day shall ye call every man his neighbor under the vine, and under 
the fig-tree." 



June 18. — "After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to 
Corinth; and found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come 
from Italy, with his wife Priscilla ; (hecause that Claudius had ordered all 
Jews to depart from Rome ;) and came unto them. And because he was of 
the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought : for by their occupation 
they were tent-makers." — Acts, xviii, ] — 3. 

AauiLA. and Priscilla were persons of great religious excellence. 
They are often mentioned with commendation in the Epistles, as 
well as in the Acts of the apostles, especially where Paul says to the 
Romans, " Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my helpers in Christ Jesus, 
who have for my life laid down their own necks; unto whom not only 
I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles." They were 
born in Pontus, they then resided in Italy, and Avere noAV in business 
at Corinth. Hither they had been driven by an imperial decree, and 
probably thought hard of the measure that banished them. But in 
consequence of this trial they became acquainted Avith Paul, and had 
him for their guest, their friend, and companion. And Avhat a com- 
panion must a man of his talents and grace have been ! And Avhat 
an advantage must they have derived from his morning and evening 
devotions ! and his example ! and his constant conversation ! Surely 
they Avould acknowledge. It is good for us that Ave have been afl^licted. 

The lives of some have been very changeable, and in their remo- 
vals, contrary to a disposition to enjoy a fixed and permanent dAvell- 
ing, they have been ready to murmur and complain. But nothing 
occurs by chance ; and all the Avays of the Lord are mercy and truth 
to those that fear him. Let such remember that they know not AA'hat 



2oQ JUNE 18. 

designs God has to accomplish by events of this nature, either with 
regard to themselves or their conneciions. Let them also reflect that 
this is not their rest, and view every present residence as 

" Preliminary to the last retreat." 

In proportion as w^e look after a better country, and realize it as our 
own, all earthly situations will be alike inditlerent to us — yea, we 
Bhall find each of them none other tJian the house of God, and the 
gate of Heaven. 

Paul not only lodged v>^ith them but wrought ; for they were of the 
eame occupation with himself For though he had been educated at 
the feet of Gamahel, he had been bred to the craft of tent-making. 
The Jews were accustomed to give their sons a calling, whatever 
was their condition in life, Avisely considering it a prevention of idle- 
ness, a security from temptation, and a resource in accidental indi- 
gence. Hence, of their doctors, one was surnamed Rabbi, the shoe- 
maker; another, the baker; another, the carpenter. Bicaut says, the 
Grand Seignior, to whom he was ambassador, Avas taught to make 
wooden spoons. Is this degrading? Seneca says, he would rather 
be sick, and confined to his bed, than be unemployed. Adam and Eve 
w^ere placed in the garden to dress and to keep it. And our Savior 
declined not working at his supposed father's business. Paul, the 
chief of tlie apostles, was not ashamed of labor. But as a man of 
taste and learning he must have been fond of reading, and he desired 
Timothy to bring iiira his books and parchments. It seems, therefore, 
strange, that his friends should not have indulged him w^th leisure 
and ent're freedom for his office also, by exempting him from manual 
toil. The workman is worthy of his hire ; and this he always claimed 
as a right, contending that tliey who preached the Gospel should live 
of the Gospel; adding, also, that no man who warreth entangleth 
himself with the affairs of this life. 

But a right is sometimes to be given up, and there is no general 
rule but allows of exceptions. Priscilla and Aquila were not rich, 
and would lament their inability to do more for their illustrious guest. 
And he had an independence of mind, and seeing these worthy peo- 
ple themselves laboring to gain a livelihood, he would not be burden- 
some, but pay for his accommodations. And they are mean souls 
wiio will endure to be supported by the alms, and especially the in- 
dustry of others, when their own hands are sufficient for them. They 
who will not work should not eat. In a word, Paul knew the infancy 
of the cause, and was acquainted with all the circumstances of the 
case, and acted, we may be assured, with wisdom and prudence. 
Yet his conduct displayed the noblest self-denial and zeal. 

There are two places in which he refers to his working. The first 
Ehows the degree in which he toiled often, alter teaching, sitting up 
late at night. " Ye remember, brethren, our labor and travail, for 
we labored m'g'hi and day, because we would not be chargeable unto 
you." The second tells us that his aim was not only to support him- 
self, but to be able to succor others. " Ye yourselves know that these 
hands have ministered to my necessities, and to iheni that were with 
me." What a soul had this man ! And liow well could he add, " I 
have showed you all things, hovv that so laboring ye ought to support 



JUNE 19. 267 

the "weakj and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, 
It is more blessed to give than to receive.-' 



June 19. — " Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." — 2 Tim. ii, I. 

We may have this grace, and not be strong in it. The reahty is 
one thing ; the degree is another. We read of weak faith, as well a^ 
of strong faiih. There are lambs in our Shepherd's fold as well as 
sheep ; and in our Father's house there are little children as well as 
young men. But while there is in religion an infancy which is na- 
tural and lovely, there is also another which is unlooked-for and offen- 
sive — it is the effect of relapse. It is not of the beginning of the divine 
lite, but of an after period the apostle speaks, when reproving the 
Hebrews, he says, " Ye are become such as have need of milk, and 
not of strong drink." We must not despise the day of small things. 
The Savior himself does not break the bruised reed, nor quench the 
smoking flax, but he is concerned to bring forth judgment unto vic- 
tory. And while the feeble-minded are to be comforted, the slothful 
10 be stimulated ; and all are to be kept from " settling upon their lees." 

Every thing shows how necessary it is to be str-ong in the grace 
that is in Christ Jesus. Your dangers require it. These are to be 
found in all the relations, offices, conditions, and circumstances of life. 
Your passions are not wholly mortified. There is the sin that yet 
dwelleth in you. The world lieth in wickedness, and you are passing 
through it. Your adversary, the devil, goeth about seeking whom he 
may devour. How much depends upon one lapse ! And did not 
Abraham equivocate? and Moses speak unadvisedly? and Peter 
deny his Lord ? And what says all this? but, Be strong in the grace 
that is in Christ Jesus. 

— Your duties require it. You have a family, and with your house 
you are to serve the Lord. You have a calling; and in this you are 
to abide with God. You have the exercises of devotion, in which you 
are to worship God in Spirit and in truth. ' You have to walk by 
faith, and not by sight. You are to have your conversation in heaven, 
while every thing conspires to keep you down to earth. 

— Your usefulne-ss requires it. Your are not to live to 3^ourse]ves, 
but to him that died for you and rose again. You are to look, not en 
youi own things, but also on the things of others. You are to walk 
m wisdom toward them that arc without, and endeavor to w-in souls. 
You are to do good a.g you have opportunity unto all men, especially 
unto those that are of the household of faith. 

— Your trials require it. Who but must reckon upon these in a 
vale of tears ? And if you faint in the day of adversity, your strength 
is small. To glorify God in the fires, and to recommend religion°by 
its supports and comforts, when every tiling else fails, demand no 
email share of grace. 

— Your consolations require it. Consolations are not only delight- 
ful, but they are even of practical importance in religion. 'Thej°en- 
large the heart and enliven zeal, and embolden courage, and wean 
from the workh And you read of a peace that passeth all under- 
standing ! and a joy that is unspeakable and full of glory ! Yet what 
do BDme of you know of these? More grace would'bring more evi 



258 JUNE 20. 

dence, and raise you more above your fears and depressions. If ye 
will not believe, surely ye shall not be established. 

— Death requires it. Other events may, but this must occur. It is 
a melancholy day to those that have no God, and a very serious one 
to those who have. To think of it, to meet it, with triumph, or even 
with confidence, will not this call for more grace than you now pos- 
sess? And what is the language of all these demands? Despond! 
No — but be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Without 
Him you can do nothing ; but thi-ough his strengthening of you, you 
can do all things. 

Rest not, therefore, in any present attainment Like Paul, forget 
the things that are behind, and reach forth unto those that are before. 
It is to be lamented that we are easily dissatisfied where we ought 
to be content, and content where we ought to be dissatisfied. In tem- 
poral matters we should have our conversation without covetousness, 
and be content with such things as we have ; but here, alas ! we are 
avariciously anxious. And though three feet are enough for us in 
the cradle, and seven in the grave, nothing will hardly satisfy us be- 
tween. But in spiritual things, with what trifling acquisitions are 
we contented ! Yet here it is even our duty to be covetous, to be am- 
bitious ! And as before us* lies an infinite fullness, and we are not 
straitened in our resources, let us not be straitened in our desires and 
expectations, but ask and receive, that our joy may be full. 



June 20. — "Thou hast given me the heritage of those that fear thy 
name." — Psalm Ixi, 5. 

So then, they that fear God have a heritage. All of them have 
not a heritage in the world, and they need not be ashamed to own it. 
They have the honor of conformity to their Lord and Savior, whc 
had not where to lay his head. And though they have nothing, they 
yet possess all things. " I know thy poverty, but thou art rich." In- 
deed, as to temporal good, they are above others. He blesses their 
bread and their water ; and bread and water, with the favor of Grod, 
are dainties. And a little that a righteous man hath, is better than 
the riches of many wicked. It is not only sweeter, but safer, and will 
go further. For it is true, as Phihp Henry often told his family, the 
grace of God will make a little go a great way. And we have often 
seen it ; and should have been amazed how some individuals, with 
their very slender means, could make a very decent appearance, and 
pay their way, and have a trifle to give to him that needeth, did we 
not know that the secret of the Lord was upon their tabernacle. God- 
liness, also, with contentment, is great gain. Contentment is a kind 
of self-sufficiency. It does not allow us to want what Providence de- 
nies. And who, v/hatever be his affluence, can be more than content ? 
A man is satisfied with much less in a journey than he has at home. 
Now regeneration makes a man a stranger and a pilgrim upon earth ; 
and then reason, as well as faith, says to him, 

" Turn, pil;,Tiin, turn ; thy cares forego ; 1 " Man wants but little here below ; 
'• All earth-born cares are wrcng : | " Nor wants that httle long." 

— But as to spiritual good, they may well say. The lines are fallen 
unto us in pleasant places j yea, I have a goodly heritage, For the 



/ JUNE 21. 259 

Lord is the portion of their inheritance, and of their cup. His testi- 
monies are their heritage for ever, and they find them the rejoicino- 
of their hearts. All the exceeding great and precious promises are 
theirs. And theirs is the inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and 
that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for them. Compared with 
this, what was the heritage of a Jew in Canaan 1 Of Adam in para- 
dise? What is the heritage of a crowned worldling? of an angel in 
glory ? Yet this is as true as it is wonderful. " This is the heritage 
of the servants of God, and their risrhteousness is of me, saith the 
Lord." 

— For this heritage is not obtamed by force, nor by purchase, nor 
by desert; but by bounty and grace. It is " given." 

And we may know that we possess it. David speaks without any 
hesitation, Thou hast given 7ne the heritage of those that fear thy 
name. 

O that I could read my title clear. Praise waiteth for thee, O God, 
in Zion. I long to be able to praise thee as the health of my coun- 
tenance, and my God. Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation. And 
ehow me a token for good. 

— Above all, as — whatever they may doubt or fear, blessed are they 
that do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled , 
enable me — if I cannot say with confidence. Thou liast given me the 
heritage of those that fear thy name : enable me to pray, with su- 
preme desire, "Remember me, O Lord, with the favor that thou bear- 
est unto thy people ; O visit me with thy salvation ; that I may see 
the good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, 
that I may glory with thine inheritance. And, 

" In the world of eudless ruin I "Here's a soul that porish'd, suiusr 

" Let it never, Lord, be said, I " For the boasted Sanor's aid." 



Junk 21. — "Neither give place to the devil." — Ephesians, iv, 27. 

If this admonition be connected with the words immediately pre- 
ceding ; " Be ye angry, and sin not ; let not the sun go down upon 
your wrath ;" the apostle intimates that sinful passion arises from the 
influence of the devil ; and that when it prevails, we give up our- 
selves to his power And can there be a truer ei)ecimen of hell, than 
a man in a state of fury and revenge ! But there is nothing in the 
case that requires us to confine the address to the repulsion of wrath. 
The truth is, that Satan has access to us, and in various ways is al- 
ways endeavoring to encroach upon us ; and it must be our object to 
repel him. The image is familiar and striking. If an enemy Avas 
trying to enter your field, your garden, or your house — you would 
withstand him ; for you would see, that as you yielded, he advanced. 
In every successful temptation, Satan gains upon us, and takes a posi- 
tien which we ought to have kept. 

With the philosophy of this subject we have nothing to do, but only 
with the fact itself The sacred writers as much support the doctrine 
of diabolical agency, as of divine. They make use of the same terms 
and phrases in the one case as in the other. Is God said to open the 
eyes of our understanding? Satan is said to blind the minds of them 
that believe not. Is God =aid to work in us to will and to do ? Satan 



260 JUNE 21. 

is the spirit that now workcth in the children of disobedience. Are 
Christians filled with the Spirit? Why, says Peter to Ananias, hath 
Satan filled thine heart? But while the fact is proved, nothing is 
said of the mode in which his operations are carried on. We cannot 
think, however, that it is always done personally 'and immediately. 
This would involve an impossibility. If he were thus soliciting every 
individual in every part of the earth at the same time, (and his work 
is always going on,) he must be omnipresent and omniscient. But 
he is the God of this world ; and having under him all that is in the 
world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life ; 
and having all the errors and the wickedness which he has introduced 
into our region to make use of, and such a depraved nature as ours to 
work upon — he has power enough to employ mediately for all his 
purposes. The bird need not be afraid of the fowler, if he keeps away 
from his gun and his snare ; for he is not in much danger from his 
fingers. How is the fish taken ? The angler does not wade into the 
water, and seize it in his hand. He does not even see his prey ; but 
he reaches it, and secures it, by a baited hook at the end of his line 
and his rod ; yet he catches the fish, and would do the same if his 
instrument was a mile long. 

There are many reasons why we should not give place to the devil. 
One is because his designs are alwaj's bad. He may transform him- 
self into an angel of light. And he may endeavor to introduce hi^ 
evils and mischiefs under specious names, representing covetousness 
as laying up for the children, and pride as dignity, and revenge as a 
becoming spirit, and trimming in religion as prudence, and conformity 
to the world as winning others. Thus we are hardened through the 
deceitfulness of sin. But we ought not to be ignorant of Satan's de- 
vices. We read of his depths and his wiles — and God, in his word, 
tears off all his disguises, and shows us at once that his aim is only to 
ensnare, and enslave, and rob, and degrade, and wound, and destroy. 
He, therefore, that yields, wrongeth his own soul, and loves death. 

Another is, because the more you give Avay, the more advantage he 
has over you. It will always be found much more easy to keep him 
out, than to let him out. When the Moors were admitted into Spain, 
they staid there for more than six hundred years, in spite of every 
groan and effort — so much harder is expulsion than exclusion. 

Let us therefore avoid parleying with this enemy. He will rise in 
his demands with every concession. He is not to be treated with, but 
rejected. Let us guard against beginnings; they increase unto more 
ungodliness; in this down-hill course Ave easily proceed from evil to 
evil. When a person walks out in the morning clean in his apparel, 
he u cautious how he treads, and the first soil he contracts affects him, 
but the second oflends less, and the fourth much less still ; till he says, 
" it matters not now," and heedlessly dashes on. The youth is not 
profligate at once ; but evil communications corrupt good manners. 
The first time he complies with a temptation, he feels a reluctance ; 
and after the crime is committed, his conscience smites him. But a 
degree of this is overcome by every subsequent repetition ; and the 
profaner of the sabbath, and the drunkard, and sensualist, go boldly 
on, waxing worse and worse. One sin naturally leads to another, pre- 
pares for another, pleads for another, and renders another necessary, 



JUNE 22. 261 

either by way of finish or concealment. Thus David, to hide his 
aduUery, commits murder ; and tlien impiously ascribes this to the 
providence of God : " The sword smiteth all alike !" 

Another reason is, because you need not yield. You are not forced. 
If the devil compelled you, he would also justify you; for there can 
be no guilt where there is no hberty. The motives to sin can never 
be so great as the arguments to forbear. What can weigh for a mo- 
ment against the authority of an infinite Being on whom we entirely 
depend? And what is any indulgence or suffering, compared with end- 
less happiness or misery ? Would God have enjoined upon us a thing 
that is impracticable ? And is not his grace sufficient for us ? And 
is it not attainable by us? Is not his promise true, Ask, and it shall 
be given you? And in the history and experience of his people in all 
ages, do we not sec proof of this? Have not multitudes in the same 
condition, exposed to the same perils, feeling the same weaknesses 
and depravity, been more than conquerors ? 

Finally, resistance is the way to success, and insures it. Hence, 
says God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Can God be 
mistaken ? Can he deceive ? And does not every one know that 
persons slacken in any course or action in proportion as they want 
encouragement ? For hope is the mainspring of motion. If a beggar 
be relieved, however slenderly or seldom, he will in extremity repair 
to the door again, but not if he be positively and invariably refused. 

Resist, therefore, steadfastly^ and show that you are in earnest and 
determined. For there is a heartless, undecided refusal, that invites 
renewed application, or at least does not shut the door entirely against 
importunity. If Satan cannot look into the heart, he is acquainted 
with the ways in which it shows itself, and is ?ure to know whether 
there is a latent wandering after what is professedly renounced, and 
so will be led to watch his opportunity, and work his means. 

— But the apostle adds. Resist him steadfastly in the faith. There 
is no fighting on a quagmire. Faith furnishes the only sohd, the only 
safe ground on which we can contend. Faith clothes us with the 
whole armor of God. Faith connects us with the Captain of our sal- 
vation, without whom we can do nothing, but through whose strength- 
ening of us we can do all things. 

" And Satan trembles when he sees 
" The weakest saiut upon his knees." 

♦' A Friend and Helper so divine 

* Doth my weak courage raise , 
" He makes the glorious vict'ry mine, 

" And his shall be the praise." 



June 22. — " He left Judea, and departed again into Galilee. And he must 
needs go through Samaria." — John, iv, 3, 4. 

For two reasons. Because Samaria lay in his passage, and be- 
cause he had in design the conversion of this poor woman. We can- 
not imagine an event of such magnitude in itself, for there is joy in 
the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth, and 
attended with such consequences as this was, for it involved the sal- 
vjiticn also of many of the Samaritans ; we cannot imagine that such 
an event was accidental. Nothing takes place by chance in our most 



262 JUNE 22. 

common affairs, and is the conversion of a soul for everlasting blessed- 
ness a casualty ? 

In the recovery of sinners the grace of God is equally necessary 
and illustrious. By grace are we saved through faith ; and that not 
of ourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should 
boast, for we are his w^orkmansliip, created in Christ Jesus. And in 
the conversion Jesus here accomplish^, we have an example of thia 
grace. An example of its freeness, of its gentleness, of its -power, 
and of its effects. 

— Onts free7iess, in selecting this*wicked wretch, in spite of hei 
unworthiness, and without hehrfesire, and making her not only the 
pa rtaker but the instrument oHiis goodness. 

— Of its gentleness^ in having recourse to no means of alarm, no 
violence. No angel appears with a drawn sword, no lightnings flash 
no thunder rolls, no threatening terrifies. All is mercy, all is mild- 
ness, and he employs circumsi^ntfes the most natural and suitable, to 
bring her to conviction, and tp. induce her to pray. 

— Of its poi(?e/*, in the victor^ it gained over the corruptions of her 
heart. If there be a moral disorder that seems incurable, or an evil 
capable of resisting all reasoning and motive, it is the spirit of impu- 
rity. But behold here a new creature. She is not only pardoned but 
renewed, and the change wrought at once ! 

— Of its ejf'ects^ she not only believes, with the heart, but confesses 
with the mouth. She is not ©u-ly enlightened but inflamed. No sooner 
has she gained good than ^le is concerned to dd*good. Personal re- 
ligion becomes social. She cannot for a moment keep from others 
v/hat she has seen and he^rd he^elf What benevolence ! What 
zeal ! What urgency ! What fortitude ! " The woman then left 
her waier-pot, and v^^ent hef way into the city, and saith to the men. 
Come, see a man which tdl'd me all things that ever I did ; is not this 
the Christ ?" And what su^Tcess, too ! For they who speak from' ex 
perience seldom speak in vain. " Then they went out of ^e, city, 
and came unto liim." Some of these might have accompanied her 
fit)m curiosity, and some from the mere contagion of example; but 
not a few were deeply ar\d saviil^ly impressed. " And many of the 
Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of -the woman, 
which testified. He told me all tiiat ever I d^fl. So, when the Sama- 
ritans were come unto lijm, they besought him that he would tarry 
with them ; and he abode t^ere two days." 

The sight of this had so affected our Savior as, it Avould seem, to 
take away his appetite. He had been hungry as well as thirsty ; 
and the disciples had gone away into the city to buy meat. But when 
they returned, and prayed him, saying. Master, eat; he said unto 
them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. And when they said 
one to another. Hath any man brought him aught to eat? He said, 
" My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish hia 
work." What a repast have I had since you left me ! A poor, sin- 
ful Samaritaness has been here. And I have manifested myself to 
her. And under the impression she hastened to inform and invite her 
neighbors to come and hear me, and has prevailed ! " Say not ye, 
there are four months, and then cometh harvest ?" But see the en- 
couragement we have to scatter the seeds of divine truth. " Lift up 



JUNE 23. 263 

your eyes and look on the fields/' See tlie woman and her company 
coming over yonder plain " for they are already white unto harvest." 
Here the success is so immediate, that " the sower and ihe reaper 
rejoice together.''^ And so it is written, " Behold, the days come, 
saith the Lord, that the ploughman shall overtake tl:ie reaper, and 
the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall 
drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt." 



June 23. — " The Lord will give strength unto his people , the Lord will 
bless his people with peace." — Psalm xxix, IL 

The God of nature gave David a fine poetical genius. And he 
employed it like a good man for his own improvement, and the profit 
of many. It is well to take advantage of the excitement of any pre- 
sent feeling, and to give it a religious direction, according to the ad- 
monition of the apostle James. Is any afflicted? let him pray. Is 
any merry ? let him sing psalms. David did this ; for he was accus- 
tomed to put his sentiment into verse, on the occurrence of any inte- 
resting or significant event. Many of his psalms took their rise from 
a trouble or a deliverance he had just experienced. The thirty-first 
psalm was written at the dedication of his new house. The one 
hundred and fourth was a spring meditation. The eighth is a night 
scene. The nineteenth a morning piece. The lines before us were 
composed in a thunder stormr 

Thunder is one of the sublimest displ^s of Deity. It generally 
produces fearfulness and terror. Caligula, the emperor, at the hear- 
ing of it, would creep into any hole or corner. But such a man 
should reflect, that if God has a mind to kill him, he can do it without 
raising nature into a storm — his breath is in Jiis nostrils; he is crushed 
before the moth. " Thine eye is upon me, and I am not !" And we 
should do w^ell to think of a more dreadful event ; like Baxter, who, 
when a storm came on as he was preaching, by Avhich the congrega- 
tion was obviously disconcerted and dismayed, paused, and Ihen said, 
" Men and brethren, we are assembled here to prepare for that hour, 
when the heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements 
shall melt with fervent heat ; the earth, also, and all the works that 
are therein, shall be burnt up." 

All greatness is comparative. David, therefore, naturally addresses 
" The mighty ;" as much as to say to them. You are flattered and 
feared, but what is the greatest of you before Him ! Think of the 
THUNDER, and adore. " Gfive unto the Lord; O ye mighty, give 
unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due 
unto his name ; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. The 
voice of the Lord is upon the waters ; the God of glory thundereth ; 
the Lord is upon many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful, 
the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord 
breaketh the cedars ; yea, the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. 
He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a 
young unicorn. The voice of the Lord divideth the flfaiee of fire. 
The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness ; the Lord flialceth the 
wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to 
calve, and discovereth the forests." Here let the mini review the 



264 JUNE 24. 

description, and we shall see how truly and vividly David's imagi- 
nation marked and portrayed the circumstances and effects of the 
phenomenon. 

He then leads us from tlie uproar of nature, to the small and still 
voice of grace. He retires with us into the sanctuary of God, there 
to testify the glory of his goodness, and to calm and cheer us with 
the assurance of his providential empire over all the commotions of 
life, and his attention to the welfare of his people : " And in his temple 
doth every one speak of his glory. The Lord sitteth upon the flood ; 
yea, the Loid sitteth King ibr ever. The Lord will give strength 
unto his people ; the Lord will bless his people with peace." 

But this promise, you say, is made to " his people." It is, but be 
not afraid. Perhaps these people will not be found so unlike your- 
selves as you imagine. It is here implied, that they are weak and 
distressed, otherwise they would not want strength and peace. Both 
these blessings are insured. 

— Are they by nature without strength, and have they from ex- 
perience a growing conviction of their inability ? Yet, with ali this 
sense of weakness, have they trials to endure, duties to perform, a 
race to run, a warfare to accomplish? As their day, so shall their 
strength be. His gracp is sufficient for them. Let the vrealv say, I 
am strong. 

— Do they need rest and refreshing? The God of peace shall give 
them peace always by all means. Not worldly peace. He has no 
where absolutely engaged to give this — I say absolutely ; for if it be 
good for them, they shall not want it; for they shall want no good 
thing. But there is a peace as far exceeding every other as the soul 
surpas-seth the body, and the heaven the earth, and eternity time — 
the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, and which keeps 
the heart and mind through Christ Jesus. This does not depend 
upon outward things. In the world, says the Savior, ye shall have 
tribulation, but in me ye shall have peace. And hence, as when 
weak they are strong — so, though sorrowful, they are always re- 
joicing. 

Yet it is only the beginning of it they liave here. At death they 
enter into peace fully. Every enemy is then vanquished, and the 
din of war is heard no more. The dangerous, treacherous, raging, 
sickly sea, is crossed ; and then are they glad, because they be quiet. 
So he bringeth them unto their desired haven. 



June 24. — " And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man s 
house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joi.ied liard to 
the synagogue. And Crispus, the chiei ruler of tlie synagogue, believed on 
the Lord with all his house ; and many of the Corinthians, hearuig, believed, 
aud were baptized." — Acts, xviii, 7, 8. 

This was at Corinth. Here he continued a year and six months, 
assured that the Lord had much people in that city. At first he rea- 
soned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded the Jews. 
But upon their opposing and rejecting him, he sought another place 
to teach in. It was not a building appropriated to public worship. 
At this time, and long after tliis, the Christians had no such edifices. 
They assembled wherever they could find an accommodation. The 



JUNE 24. ' 265 

spot was, liiileed, consecrated, not by a religious ceremony, but by 
the presence of God, and the service itself. The Savior himself 
attached no hoh'ness to walls or ground ; but said, Where — let it be 
where it will — two or three are gathered together in my name, there 
am I in the midst of them. lie preached not only in the temple, 
and in the synagogue, but in the private dwelling, and by the way- 
side, and in the mountain, and on board a ship. And his apostles 
followed his example, and everij where hfted up holy hands without 
wrath and doubting. 

The house Paul noAV entered belonged to a worshipper of God, 
wliose name was Justus ; and it joined hard to the synagogue. The 
nearer the church, the proverb is, the further from God. This is 
founded on the observation, that what men can easily reach and en- 
joy, they often neglect. And who are they that come late lo the sanc- 
tuary ? Not those }>om a distance, but they who live near. Who are 
absent in bad weather ? Those who have carriages, or can procure 
vehicles ; not they Avho come on foot. Who most frequently excuse 
their non-attendance '? The strong and healthful ; not the indisposed 
and weak. Who sleep during the service ? Not the poor and laborious, 
who have seldom an hour of repose — but the lazy and geiiteel, who 
never know what fatigue means. 

It was a trial of principle in this man to open his house to Paul. It 
would create him inconvenience, and trouble, and expense ; and it 
would draw upon him danger and reproach; as it was an open avowal 
of his adherence to the cause; and he knew tliat the sect was every 
where spoken against. How many professors of religion, yielding to 
their selfish and dastardly reasonings, would have refused. They 
would have said — But what will people think of me? What will my 
relations say ? And may not my business suffer ? We are never pre- 
pared for a course of godliness till we can give up every thing to God, 
especially our paltry reputation, and our worldly profit. Bunyan, 
with as much truth as genius, places all the pilgrims under the con- 
duct of Mr. Great-Heart. It is to intimate that we shall need courage 
every step of the way to the shining city. Let us consult not with 
flesh and blood, but only with conviction: and gc forth to the Savior 
without the camp, bearing his reproach. We shall then, not only re- 
tain peace of mind, but please Him whose loving-kindness is better 
than life. Did Obed-edom repent of taking in the ark? The Lord 
blessed his house, and all that pertained to him. Who was ever a 
loser by any thing he did for the cause of God ? Who can be a loser 
while He remains true who said. Them that honor me I will honor. 
They shall prosper that love Zion? 

What Justus did in accommodating Paul, rewarded and dignified 
him: and it is now told for a memorial of him. How must it have 
dehghted him to see the good that was done under his own roof! 
There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that 
repenteth. But here a man of some rank and influence, Crispus, the 
chief ruler in the synagogue, believes — nor is this all. His house too 
U added to the Lord ! Yea, and many of the Corinthians, hearing, 
believe and are baptized ! 

Yet Paul baptized but few of ^hem. And when he wrote his epistle 
to these people, lie rejoiced in the fact. This has puzzled those who 

Vol. L 12 



266 JUNE 25. 

look upon the dispensation of the sacrament?, as they are called, a* 
by far the most honorable and sacred part, of the ministerial function. 
And in all churches persons are allowed to preach before they are 
authorized to administer. And many reasons have been alleged, to 
account, consistently with this, for Paul's conduct in thanking God, 
that in all the time he staid here, and notwithstanding tlie multitude 
of converts, he had only baptized Crispus and Gaius, and the house- 
hold of Stephanus. But the reason he himself assigns overturns an 
iinscriptural notion and practice — He had devol/ed upon oihers the 
baptism of tlie new converts, because, says he, Jesus Christ sent me 
nor to baptize — which outward form could he dispensed by othere cf 
inferior station and talent; but — which is by far the most important 
and difficult part of my office — to preach the Gospel. 



June 25.—" The ark of the Covenant of the Lord went before them in 
the three days' journey, lo search out a resting-phice for them." — INuki- 
bers, X, 33. 

That is, the Lord did this. But the ark was the symbol of his 
presence, and the seat of his residence; t'lom which by the cloud, he 
regulated all their movements. Yet the expression is still metaphor- 
ical ; and we must not suffer the condescension of his language to 
injure the glory of his perfections. He feels no p.erplexity. He never 
deliberates; never examines; never searches: for " there is nothing 
that is not manifest in his sight." But as men do this, and must do 
tliis, if they would avoid mistakes, and decide and act judiciously : 
the Lord thus intimates — that his ^\'isdom was concerned in all their 
journeyings; and that his people may keep their minds Jn peifect 
peace, being stayed on him — for, as strangers and pi'grlnis on the 
earth, he careth for them — they are under his guidance — nothing be- 
fals them by chance. All their removals, and their rests; all their 
situations, their trials, their comforts, are chosen for them by the only 
wise God their Savior, who is always on the lool:-odt for tliem — 
" For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, 
to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect 
toward him." 

He not only leads his people in the way that they should go, but is 
concerned to afford them repose^ as well as direction. Tiius, in Isis 
promise to INToses, he said, '* My i)resence shall go with thee, and 1 
will give thee rest." Thus, in the review of his goodness, lie says, by 
Jeremiah, " The people which were left cf the sv/ord found grace in 
the wilderness, even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest." 

Thus here he searched out for them a resting place— ?/2 their jour- 
ney, and after it. To the former, Moses refers, Avhen he says, " The 
Lord 5'our'God went in the way before you. to search you out a place 
to pitch your tents in ;" before they reached Canaan, he led them into 
many resting places ; in some of which they co'itinued only days ; 
in some, weeks ; in some, months ; and in a few, even years. It was 
a fine resting place when they came to Elim, where were twelve 
wells (if water, and threescore and (en palm trees. But this was at 
the beginning of their journey, and designed to encourage them. 
They could not look for many stations like this, each however which 
they'successfuUy occupied — was of the Lord's selection. 



JUNE 20. 2CT 

We may apply this to the temporal resiJences of Christians. 
How iiio\eabIc have yome of them hecii ! But He has led them from 
one situation to another; and it should be satislyincrfor them to think, 
tliat he could find a better resting place for them tlian they could 
have clioien for themselvcr^, for he jXTlccily knows both the place and 
the person.^. Sometimes the lines Ikll to them in agreeable scenes 
and he kind I v exceeds their hopes. In other cases the abode is less 
inviting, and even trying. But they must acquiesce, without mur- 
murmg or complaining, in their Conductor's disposal, conscious that 
they are not v^-orthy of the least of i^\ his mercies, and remembering 
that they are not }et come unto '• the rest and inheritance which the 
Lord giveth them." 

—It will apply, also, to their spii-itual peace and refreshment in 
their travels. '• Thus saith tlie Lord. Stand ye in the ways, and see, 
and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, 
and ye shall find rest for your souIs.=' ''There are spiritual resting 
places on this side heaven. In their acquaintance with his Throne, 
his House, his Day, his Word, the Covenant of Peace— lierc he 
affords them the shadow of a great rock in a v/earv land. Here he 
maketh his flock to rest at noon. Here they lie down in green pas- 
tures, and are fed beside the still waters. 

But the principal resting place he sought out for ihem was at their 
journey's end. It v/as Canaan : "In the day I lifted up my hand 
unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt, into a land 
that I had espied for them, flowing v/ith milk and honey, wliich id 
tlie glory of all lands."' 

Yet there is a better country. And this, Christian, He is looking 
out for you! Whatever you now enjoy, your repose is imperfect, and 
interrupted. Something, aloud, or in a whisper, says. Arise, and 
depart hence, for this is not your rest. But there refnaineth a rest 
for the people of God. A rest from all toil and temptation. From 
all sorrow and sin. A rest not only in God, but a resticith him. 

" O glorious hour ! O bless'd abode ! I » And flesh and sin no more conf rol 
" I shall be near, and like my God i | " The sacred iiteasures of my soul," 



.UfiK 20.— ' And u})on Ibis came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked 
with the Moman : yet no man said, What seekest thou ? or, Why talkest thou 
with her.'" — John, iv, 27. 

That is, immediately upon the conversation, and just as he liad 
said to her, I that speak unto thee am the Messiah. 

Thus their return broke off' the conference, and the woman was 
probably grieved to see the disciples so near at hand. Our most in- 
teresting interviews in this world, are often and soon interrupted. It 
js sweet to hold converse with our fellov/ Christians, and with mini.> 
t_ers, and it is far sweeter still to hold communion with the Savior. 
T here are moments in the sanctuary and the closet, when we can say, 

•' While sucJi a scene of sacred joys j " Here could we sit, and gaze away, 

'■ Our raptur'd eyes and souls employs, | " A los.g, an everlasting day." 

But not oidy our sinful distractions, but our lawful connexions, and 
businesses, and cares, invade and disperse our enjoyments, and make 
us long .Iter a state Avlicic these interruptions will be no more. Now 



?il8 JUNE 26. 

we have visions, or, at best, but visits — then we shall be for ever with 

the Lord. 

— The disciples were astonished, and the cau?e of their marvelling 
was, "That he tallced with the Avoman." Had they an apprehen- 
sion that she was a woman of ill character? And, like the Pharisees, 
did they suppose that it was incompatible with the sanctity of the 
Messiah to hold any intercourse with persons of infamous reputation? 
This is not probable. Sl»e was a stranger to them. Our Lord, indeed, 
knew her; but it was by his divine prerogative; ajid as yet he had 
no opportvmity to P))eak of her to his disciples. 

— It is more likely that their wonder arose from seeing him in 
close and friendly convei'stition witli a woman of Samaria ; for the 
Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans. The rancor excluded 
even tlio common civilities of life. At present his disciples seemed 
not aware of their Lord's design to extend lavor to the Gentiles, and 
were but little acquainted with the nature of his kingdom, " where 
there is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, male or female, for we 
are all one in Christ Jesus." Again. Women have not always been 
properly regarded. If they contribute to their own degradation they 
must blame themselves. It has often been asked, why the conversa- 
tion of even wise men is, with women, always vain and trifling? We 
do not entirely admit the fact. It", however, there be truth in the 
supposition, the cause is to be found in females themselves ; they 
must be pleased with such discourse; for men Avill naturally accom- 
modate themselves to their taste, and it is their interest to do so. Let 
women rise, and vindicate their sex ; many are now doing so; let 
theiii show that they consider themselves, and wish to be considered 
as nuicriol as well as animal creatures; and as companions as well 
as playthmgs and toys, and articles of sense and dress. But at this 
pe:;od the sex were treated, and are so still, in the East, as a kind of 
l)eings inferior to men. Now, the disciples, knowing that Jesus never 
trifled in conversation, but always spoke supci-ioiiy and divinely, 
were amazed to find him discoursing on deep and important subjects 
with a poor menial woman, judged incapable of uiiderstaii'ling them. 
The meanness of the persons to whom he manifested himself always 
scandalized flesh and blood. Have, it was asked, any of the rulers 
believed on liim ? But this people, who know not the Law, are cursed. 
Yet it was his o-lory that the poor had the gospel preached unto them, 
and that the common people heard him gladly. When he rejoiced 
in spirit, he said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, 
that then hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and re- 
vealed them unto babes. And his apostle follows in the same strain. 
" For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will 
bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is tlie 
•wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this Avorld? hath 
not God made foolish the wisdom of tin's world? Bur God hath chosen 
the foolish things of the world to confound the wise : and God hath 
chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which 
are mighty; and base things of the world, and things that are de- 
spised, Tiath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to brirg tc 
nought tilings that are : that no flesh should glory in his presence." 

But we here see the diffidence and submission of the disciples — 



JUNE 27. 269 

** Yet no man said, What seekest thou ! or, Why talkest thou with 
her?" Confidence in his greatness and rectitude awed them into si- 
lence. Whence we recommend two things. First, let us observe the 
Avords of Solomon, " If thou hast tlicrught evil, lay thine hand upon 
thy moiUh.'''' A good man should make conscience of the state of his 
mind as Aveli as of his speech; but what we cannot always prevent 
in thought, Ave may restrain in expression. Words are Avorse than 
thoughts, they add to them; they show more of the dominion of evil; 
they are more injurious to others, and betray ours-elves more into diffi- 
culties. In a m.ultitude of words tliere wanteth not sin. Therefore let 
•J3 resolve to take heed to our ways, that AA'e sin not with our tongue. 
David prayed, " Set a Avatch, O Lord, before my mouth, keep the 
door of my lip?.'' 

Secondly, as the reverence of the disciples induced them not to 
question the propriety of our Lord'^ conduct, though for the present 
ihcy could not understand it, so should AA^e act toward him. He is 
not bound to gi\-c account of any of his matters, and he often requires 
us to Avallc by (iiith, and not by sight. But Ave know that his Avork is 
jxirfect, his Avaj's are judgment Let us ne\'er charge him foolishly, 
but acquiesce in the most mysterious of his dispensations, assured that 
he has reasons for them Avhicli at present satisfy him, and will satisfy 
us Avhen they are finished and explained. What Av'e know not now, 
we shall knoAv hereafter. '' Shall not the Judge of all the earth do 
right ?" " Just and true are all thy Avays, O thou King of saints." 



June 27, — " TUou hast been a shadow from the heat." — Isaiah, xxv, 4. 

And AA'hat he lias been, he is — the same yesterday, to-day, and for 
ever. 

Heat means CA-il— any evil, CA-ery evil, from Avhich it is desirable 
to be screened. Heaven is a state, and many liaA'e reached it, where 
the sun doe-s not light on them, or any heat. But it is otherwise here. 
Here many things atfcct the mind, as oppressiA^e heat docs tlie body, 
and make us pant for deliverance and repose. The Avrath of God — a 
rense of his fiery laAV in the conscience— the temptationsof Satan— the 
persecutions of wicked and unreasonable men — afllictions, public and 
private, personal and relative — here is the heat. 

Where is the shadoAv ? Behold me, says the Savior of sinnei-s, be- 
hold me ! Come unto njo, and I Avill give" ycu rest. This is the rest, 
pays God, Avherewith ye shall cause the weary to rest, and this is the 
refreshing. 

But Avhat kind of shadow is He? We read in the Scripture of the 
shadow of a cloud, of the shadow of a tree, of the shadow of a rock, 
of the shadoAV of a tabernacle from the heat. The shadow of the 
cloud in har\'est is grateful, but transient. The shadow of a tree 
under Avhich Ave sit down, is delightful; but it is limited to a small 
distance, and the rays frequently jpierce through the boughs. The 
shadow of a great rock is dense and cool, but it befriends not on every 
side, and covers little from the vertical rays. The shadoAv of a taber- 
nacle into Avhich Ave may continually resort, and find not only room 
but entertainment, is the most complete and inviting. All these have 
some truth in their application to Him, but none of tliem can do jug- 



270 JUiNE 28. 

tice to tlie subject. He is Avhat tlicy imply, but more ^ and not only 
more llitm each of them, but more than all of them combined, and 
more than all of them combined in their best estate; and infinitely 
more. He is not c.ily ferfect^ but divine; and he that dwelleth in 
the secret place of the Most High fchall abide under the shadow of 
the Almighty. 

Let me leave, iiien, other shadows. They are all inadequate to the 
■wants of the soul, and, in some way or other, will be sure to fail me : 
yea, whatever else I get under for shcltci-, will not only prove vanity, 
t)ut vexatioj) of spirit. 

13ut ler. me make use of this shadow from the heat. He is not far 
off. He is accessible. He is easy to approach. And it is only by re- 
pairing to him that I can enjoy the benefit derivable irom him. And 
while believing, I rejoice in him with joy unspeakable. Let me show 
my benevolence by recommending him to others. They, also, are 
strangers to repose. They want rest unto tlieir souls. And he is sul- 
ficient to receive, and defend, and succor, and bless all. O happy 
period ! v.'hen the eyes of men, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be 
toward the Lord! And when in him all the families of the earth shall 
be blessed 1 The Lord hasten it in his time ! 



June 28.—" What doest thou here, Elijah ?"— 1 Kings, xix, 13. 

The principle of this question was not ignorance. God well knew 
how, and why he came there. But he would laiow from Elijah him- 
self: and therefore asks him — that being called upon to account for 
his conduct, he might be convinced of his folly, and be either speech- 
less, or condemned out of his own mouth. We may view the inquiry 
three ways. 

First, as an instance of God's moral observation of his creatures. 
His eyes are upon the ways of man, and he pondereth all his doings. 
Nothing can screen us from inspection. Elijah was in a wilderness, 
and alone ; he had even left his servant behind him — but the eye of 
God followed him. And the eyes of the Lord are in every place be- 
holding the evil and the good. And let us not imagine that he onlj- 
looks after an extraordinary character, like Elijah. No one is too 
small and inconsiderable to be disregarded by Him. Every human 
being is not only his creature, but his subject, and responsible to him. 
The meanest slave is great in the sight of God, as possessed of a soul, 
and destined for eternity. God has a right to know where Ave are, 
and what we are doing ; and a much greater right than a father or. 
a masttir has to know this, with regard to a child or a servant : for 
Ave are absolutely his. And he is interested in observing our conduct; 
interested as a judge, who is to pass sentence upon cur actions: an(l 
interested as a iriend and benefactor, Avho would check us when vv-e 
are going astray, or recall us when we have wandered. For, 

Secondly, we may consider it as a reproof given to a good man. 
He ought not to have been here, hiding himself from his enemy, and 
begging that he might die ; but should have been engaged in carry- 
ing on the cause of God in the reformation he had so nobly begun. 
He was therefore blamable. God dcies nut cast him off; but he re- 
pi-ehcnds him: and as many as he loves he rebukes and chactens. 



JUNE 28. 271 

Aiiii faithful are the wounds of this Friend. And how does he ad- 
minister this reproof? He liad all the elements under his control ; and 
he showed him what he could do : '• And he said, Go forth, and stand 
Tipon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, 
and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces 
the rocks, before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the vvijid: and 
after the wind, an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earth- 
quake : and after the earthqual<e, a fire ; but the Lord was not in the 
tire: and after the fire, a still small voice. And it was so, when 
Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, 
and stood in the entering in of the cave." "And, behold, there came 
a voice unto him, and said ;" You cowardly deserter? You ungrate- 
ful, rebellious wretch? No: but — " What doeet thou here, Elijah?" 
And this " in a still small voice" — a kind of under tone, or whisper, 
as if no one should hear it beside. Here was no upbraiding; nothing 
10 inflame passion; but a kind and calm appeal to reason. How 
forcible, and yet tender! It is thus his gentleness makes us great. 
It is thus he does not break the bruised reed, or quench the smoking 
llax. It is thus he calls upon us to be followers of him, as dear 
children. If a brother be overtaken in a faulty let us not employ the 
earthquake, the wind, and the fire — but the still small voice. Let us 
lake him aside. Let us tell him his fault between him and us alone 
Let us restore such a one in the spirit of meekness. Reproof should 
iiever be given in a passion. It is too much, says an old writer, to 
expect that a sick patient will take physic, not only when it is nau- 
seous, but boiling hot. And we know who has said, •' In meekness in- 
structing those that oppose themselves." " The wrath of man worketh 
not tlie righteousness of God." 

Thirdly, as a rule by which we may judge ourselves. Let us sup- 
jx)se that we heard God addressing us, as he did Elijah. How should 
we answer him ? Could we say, I hope I am where thou wouldst 
have me to be, and doing what thou wouldst Jiave me to do ? He 
does thus inquire. And therefore it behooves us so to act as to be 
able to give a satisfactory account of our conduct. Let us apply the 
question to our troubles. How came we in these ? Have they be- 
fiillen us in following after God ? Or haA^e we drawn them upon our- 
selves by our folly and sin? Let us apply it to our connexions. We 
are choosing associates. Are we walking whh wise men, or are we 
the companions of fools? We are engaging ourselves for hfe. Are 
we marrying in the Lord, or unequally yoking ourselves with unbe- 
lievers? "What doest thou here, Elijah?" Let us apply it to our 
recreations. Are they such as conduce to the health of the body, and 
accord with purity of mind? Or are they amusements and dissipa- 
tions which, if God should call us to account, would strike conscience 
dumb? Let us apply it to our stations. Are we abiding with God 
in our own callings? or are we acting out of our proper sphere of 
duty ? How many have injured, if not mined their usefulness and 
comfort, by improper removals, or striking their tent without the 
cloud ? Let us apply it to our religious services. We ought to have 
an aim, and a very worthy one, in coming to his house. Happy 
they who, when they hear the inquiry. What doest thou here, Eli- 
jah ? can say, Here I am — not from custom or curiosity, but to hear 



2T2 JUNE 29. 

what God the Lord will speak, and to see his power and his glory 
as I have seen him in tlie sanctuary. 

And let us remember that a false answer will be more than use- 
less. We often assign a reason very different from the true one, to 
an inquiring fellow creature — and him we may deceive — but God is 
not mocked. ■^__^____»__ 

June 29. — " Then spaJce the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision. Ee 
not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: for I am with thee, and no 
man shall set on thee to hurt thee } for I have much people in this city." — 
Acts, xviii, 9, 10. 

The Lord is a very present help in trouble ; and before his people 
compress their apprehensions, he foresees them, and effectually pro- 
vides against them. 

It is obvious Paul was now depressed and discouraged. He had 
nature in him as well as grace. The Christian, and even the apostle, 
did not destroy the man. He had genius ; and not only great sensi- 
bility, but a tinge of melancholy is perhaps inseparable from this en- 
dowment. He was also the subject of bodily enervation; and was 
now worn down, not only by the constant preaching, but also by work- 
ing manually, day and night, to support himself and relieve others. 
In allusion to which, he says, in his letter to these Corinthians, " I was 
with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling." Yea, 
he was now, it would seem, afraid — of men — of suffering persecu- 
tion — of death. Is this he that said, None of these things move me, 
neither count I my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my course 
with joy ? Yes ; the same. He then spoke sincerely, and accord- 
ing to the frame he was in. But what a change do we feel, if the 
Lord hides his face ; or faith fails ; y3a, or if there be only a varia- 
tion in the humors of the body, or the state of the weather. 

The Lord, therefore, removes his fear by the assurance that no man 
should set upon him to hurt him ; for " He was with him, and had 
much work for him to do;" so that even his destination secured him. 
And see how faithfully and remarkably this was accomplished. For 
though the place was so abandoned, and he had so many enemies, 
he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of Grod 
among them, without any molestation. At length a storm arose, 
which tried his confidence in the promise ; but it issued in the proof 
that the Savior in whom he trusted was true and righteous altoge- 
ther. For all tlie Jews in the city made a violent insurrection against 
Paul, and brought him before Gallio, the deputy ; but he refused to 
take cognizance of the affair, and drave them from the judgment j^eat. 
Upon \vnich, provoked by his conduct, the Greeks, who had joined 
the Jews in this assault, fell upon Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the 
eynagogue, and beat him in sight of the bench. But Paul, on whose 
account the persecution was raised, was suffered to escape uninjured, 
and continued his labors a considerable time longer undisturbed, and 
at length withdrew from the place in peace. 

— Is not this enough to prove that nothing is too hard for the Lord? 
that he can turn the shadow of death into the morning? that our 
enemies, however numerous and malignant, are all under his control, 
and cannot move a hair's breadth beyond the length of the chain in 
which he holds them ? 



JUNE 30. 273 

Do we not here see, that if we have his promise, wc have enough 
to estabhsh, strengthen, settle us, whatever cur difficuhies and dan- 
gers may be ? Heaven and earth may pass away, but his word can- 
not fail. If a chiUl in the dark feels his father's hand grasping his, 
and hears him say, I am whh thee, fear not, he is calmed and c-onfi- 
dent. Yea, says David, thougli I walk through tl\c valley of the 
shadow oi' death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. He hath 
said, I will never leave tliee nor forsake thee: so that we may boldly 
eay, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what nian shall do 
unto me ! 

" How safe aiid happy are tliej', I " He ravens and lions can tame — 

" Who on their food ShppherJ rely ! | " All creatures obey his command: 

" He gives them out strength for their day ; I " Then let me rejoice in his name, 

" Their wants he will surely supply, | " And leave all my car^s in his hand." 



June 30. — " There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the 
City of God." — Psalm xlvi, 4, 

What can this " river" be, but that blessed covenant to which 
David himself repaired in the time of trouble, and extolled beyond 
every other resource or delight — Although my house be not so Avith 
God, yet hath he made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered iv 
all things, and sure; for this is all my salvation, and all my desire^ 
although he make it not to grow. 

And what are " the streams" of this river ? but the out-goings and 
effects of this divine constitution — The blood of Jesus — The influ- 
ences of the Holy Spirit — The doctrines and promises of the gospel 
— The ordinances of religion, and all the means of grace. 

There are four ways in which the stieamsof a river would gladden 
tlie citizens. They will all apply, in a pre-eminent degree, to the 
case before us. 

The first regards pj'ospect. Nothing can be more pleasing or in- 
teresting to those Avho relish the simple beauties of nature, than to 
walk by the side of living streams ; to s^ee the fish playing and dis- 
appearing; the green weeds waving their long streamers in the 
water ; the reeds bending and reco/ering themselves again ; the rip- 
pling of tlie shallows, and the glassy reflections of the deeps ; while 
the bushes and trees form a quivering shade on the banks. Here is 
enough to fix the tasteful mind, and to induce the poet to take out his 
pen, and the painter his pencil. What views have Christians by 
the side of their streams ! How various 1 how endearing ! how im- 
pressive the objects which strike and occupy their minds ! " My me- 
ditation of him shall be sweet ; I will rejoice in tiie Lord." 

The second regards traffic. It is an unspeakable advantage to a 
place to be accessible by water, as it renders commerce not only prac- 
ticable, but easy and extciisive. The Humber was the making of 
Hull. The Thames has rendered London so famous. Were this 
^ream dried up or diverted, how would the mistress of the nations 
be humbled and reduced ! It is owing to their trade, carried on by 
means of their rivers, that many cities on the continent have united 
themselves to the ends of the earth, and acquired such distinction 
and wealth. And by these streams Cliristians obtain riclies for the 
eoul, and eternity; unsearchable riches, durable riches^ Avith right- 



274 JUxNE 30. 

eousiiess. It is by these they carry on business with the land that 12? 
very far oli', the merchandise of which is better than the merchan 
diseof silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. 

The third xcg^nls. fertility. Imagine a dry and barren land whc"."" 
no water is, and think what happiness would ensue, if springs gushea 
forth from the sands, and meandered through meadows with grasd 
and reeds, and rushes. Lot c!i3se the plain country, the vale of 
Sodom, near Jordan, because it was watered, like the garden of the 
Lord. Did you never read the words of Balaam, in describing the 
blessedness oi" Israel ? " As the valleys are they spread forth, as gar- 
dens by the river's side, as the trees of lign-aloes which the Lov:i 
hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters." What is a tree 
planted by the rivers of water, bringing forth ni its season, and with 
never-withering leaves ; but a Christian by these streams, growing 
in the divine life; adorned with the graces of the Spirit, and filled 
with all the traits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ unto 
the glory and praise of God ? 

The Iburth regards supply. What could a city do without this 
precious, all-important fluid? An enemy, therefore, always endeavors 
to cut otf the water, to compel a place the more suddenly and speedily 
to surrender. Hence the boast of Rabshakeh: " With the sole of 
my foot I have dried up all the rivers of the besieged places." This 
sliall never be the case here. Your resources can never fail. Youi 
relief can never be cut off. You have always access to the God ot 
all grace. And how superior are your supplies ! How free ! How 
full ! How satisfying! " Jesus answered, and said unto her. Whoso- 
ever drinketh of this water sliall thirst again ; but whosoever drinketli 
of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst; but the water 
that I shall give him shall be in him, a well of water springing up 
into everlasting life." 

Arc you asking, Who will show us any good ? Let the subject^ 
supply an answer. O there is — there is a river, the streams whereof 
ma!(e glad tlie city of God. Forsake the foolish and live, and go in 
the way of understanding. Leave the Avorld and enter the Church.^ 
There — how unlike creatures, who are all vanity and vexation of 
eplrit — there you will find a Savior full of grace and truth. Ac- 
quaint now thyself ^vith him, and be at peace, thereby good shall 
come unto thee. 

O my soul, am I tlie subject of this happiness? Let me give proof 
of it. Let me be a witness tor God. Let me exemplify his word. Let 
me convince others that there is — a reality — an excellency — a bless- 
edness in the religion of Jesus, that can set the heart at rest, and yield 
a joy unspeakable and full of glory. 

The pleasures of which we have been speaking aie the pleasures 
of the way. What will be those of the end ! 

"If such the sweetness of ths sircants, 1 "Where saiiUs aiiJ angels drw their bliss 
♦* W!ial must tbn fountain be ? | " lin-ncdiately from thee." 



END OF VOL. I. 



MORNING EXERCISES 



FOR THE 



CLOSET: 



FOR 



EVERY DAY IN THE YEAR. 



^ 



BY WILLIAM JAY. 



Never be without a Book, in daily reading, of a direct scriptural and deTOtiooal 
tendeDcy. — Hale. 

The testimonies of thy grace. 

I set before mine eyes: 

Thence I derive my daily strength, 

And there my comfort lies. — Watts. 



VOL. II. 



PUBLISHED BY THE 

AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY; 

150 NASSAU-STREET, NEW-YORK. 



D. Fanshaw, Printer. 



CONTENTS OF VOLUME II. 



JDLT. 



Th« sigk I of G cd '■ glory 

I^rnt'i's song at Peer 

Fain 

Pursuing .... 
Submiision to God 
The end of ordinances 
Indvelling (in deplored 
Juitificatioii ar.d »anctifiCRtion 
Our Lord'i praying • 
Christian Gratiiude 
Elijah's jcurney to Horeb • 
Daily dying .... 
The Divine requisition 
The Savior's peace 
The inj.iriousness of unbelief 
Former days remembered 



Exod. xxxiii. 18. 
Nurab.xxi. 16,19. 
Judges »iii.4. 
Judges viii. 4. 
James iv.7. 
Matt. I :. 7. 
Rom.r;i.34. 
ICor.v;. U, 
Liikexi. I. 
aCor.ix. 15. 
1 Kings xiz.8. 
1 Cor. XV. 31. 
Ezek.ixxvi.37. 
Johnxiv. 27. 
Matt. xiii. 53-58 
lleb.x.33. 



The holy unction 

Riches of mercv 

The bow in the'cloud - 

Intimacy with Je«os 

The ex perienceuf divine grace 

The victor - . - . 

Encouragements to prayer - 

God proved ... 

The prophet of the church 

Treasure hid in the field 

The gracious state 

The seeker encouraged • 

Showing himself risen 

The third appearance - 

Jesus at the lake 



1 John ii. 20. 
Ephes.H.4. 
Ettk. I. 28. 
Actsiv. 13. 
Fs. xxxiv.8. 
Rev.iii.21. 
Fs. Ixxxvi. 5. 
Mai. iii. 10. 
Actsiii. 22, 2S. 
Matt. xiii. 44. 
Rom. Y. 2. 
IChron. xvi. IC. 
jtctsi.3. 
John xxi. 14. 
Jobnxxi. 1. 



AUGUST. 



1. The questioning of Peter 

2. Peter's destiny - 

3. Curiosity reproved 

4. Circumstantial truth 

5. Harvest 

6. The Sickle - 

7. The kingdom of Gcd 

8. Learning to pray 

9. The seasonible admonition 

10. The growing empire • 

11. Commendation 

12. God's holiness - 

13. The disinterested inquiry 

14. Me't-hibosbeib's humility 

15. The waiting chcrch 

16. Chrift's power and dominion 



Word of Life 
The Practical preacher 
The pious excursion 
The Savior's legacy 
Divine strengthening 
God conducting Israel 
Prophecy of Hosea 
Gcd's forbearance 
The Christian Joyful 
Joy before God - 
Joy of harvest 
God's love to his people 
Tne title known 
The needful caution - 
Tb« important inquiry 



John xxi. 18. 
John xxi. 18, 19. 
John xxi. 19.22, 
John xxi. 23. 
Joel iii. 13. 
Joel iii. 13. 

1 Cor. iv. 20. 
Luke xi.l. 
Jer. xxiii. 16. 
J-hn iii. 30. 
Fhil. ii. 12. 
Pg.xxx.4. 

2 Sam. ix.l. 

2 Sara. ix. 7, 8. 
Ps.lxv. 1. 
Matt. xvii. 27. 



Extent of Christian knowledge ljobnii.20 
Morning devotioi. . - Ft. t. 3. 
God's union with his people - Jer. iii. 14. 
God's going forth as the morningHos. vi. 3. 



Lazarus sick 

The word of Christ 

Waiting rewarded 

The smitten shepherd • 

The hearer of prayer • 

Divine Espousals - 

Heirship ... 

Varied experience - 

The blessing of Faith 

Holy vigilance 

The never-failing relation 



SEPTEMBER. 



Death not always detirabU - Amos v. 18. 

The noble resolve - Fs. Ixxxv. 8. 

Christian Moderation » Phil. iv. 6. 

The Shining right - IVov. iv. 18. 

Christ entering heaven - • I Pet. iii. 22. 

The stranger and sojourner • Ps. xxxix. 12. 

The well-Etteiided flock . • Etek. xixiv. 15. 

Prayer and thanksgiving - Phil. iv. 6. 

Adve'sity useful - . - Hos.xiii.5. 

Changes in the wilderness - Numb. x. 12. 

The ascending Savior followed Luke xxiv. 50, 51 

The good Shepherd • - John i. 14. 

Sparing mercy - - - Mai. Iii. 17. 

Prosperity Icjuriout - - Hos. xlii. 6. 
Difference beiw. words and deedsDeut. v. 28. 

Brevity of the Scripture - Jobnxxi. 25. 



Phil. 11. 16. 
Phil, ii, 16. 
1 Sain. iii. 9. 
John xiv. 27. 
Zech. X.12. 
Deut. xxxii. 10. 
Hos. i.l. 
Rom. ii. 4. 
Is. 11.3. 
Is. ix. 3. 
Is.ix.3. 
Deut. xxxiii. 3. 
Gen. XV. 8. 
Prov. iii. 5. 
Acuix.8. 



The surrender - . . 

The use of means ... 

The freed prisoners - 

The successful follower - 

The sinless Savior 

The divine presence 

God thei.usband of his church 

Mutual dependence - 

The Christian obligation 

Impatience 

Peter brought to Christ • 

Zeal to save 

Ziou'ssoiis . . . • 

The call to depart 

Filial duty .... 



The alarm 

Jontidenceand caution 
Inattention 
The blessed sight 
Divine solicituite - 
Design of incarnation 
Life more abundantly 
The morning star 
The door 

The subjects agents too 
The clean heart 
Blesi^eduesB of loving God • 
Prayer and trouble 
Messiah the prince 
Concern for the best cause 



NOVEMBER. 



1. How to read the Scriptures - Luke x.26. 

a. The season of life • - 1 Pet. iv. 2. 

3. Joy in sorrow • - 8Cor. vi. 10. 

4. The di\ine liealer - - Matt. rlii. 7. 

5. God tor ever ours - - - Ps. xlr;,i. 14. 
i. Therevealerofsec.-ets - Dan. ii. 28. 



I 7. Unbelief of Christ's brethren - 

8. Capiiousness of the Pharisees 

9. The whole and the sick - 

10. Christ tii€ resurrection 

11. Joy in God's salvation - 
'l2. God's iole agency 



John li. 3, 
Col. iii. 16. 
Fs. xxxvii. 34. 
Zech. xiii. 7. 
Fs. IxT. 2. 
Ho8. il. 19. 
Titus iii, 16, 
Ps.lxv. 3. 
Gal.ui.9. 
1 Peter i. 17. 
Hos. ii. 9. 



Acts ix. 6. 
Malt, xvii. 27. 
Zech. ix. II. 
Hos. vi. 3. 
1 John iii. 5. 
Exod. xxxiu li 
Is. liv. 5. 
Phil.iv.2-4. 
1 John ii.6. 
Fs. Iv. 8. 
John i. 42. 
John i. 42. 
Lam.iv.2. 
Micah ii. 10, 
Mal.i.6, 



Rom, xiii. H. 
Ps, IXXXT. 8, 
Is. xni.20. 
Is. xxxiii. 17. 
Deut. V. 29. 
John X. 10. 
Johnx. 10. 
Rev.ii.28. 
John X. 9. 
Jer. iv. 14. 
Jer. iv. 14. 
1 Cor. viii. 8. 
Ps. Ixxxvi. 7. 
Dan.ix.25. 
Pi. Ixxii. 15. 



Johnvii.5. 
Matt. ix. 11. 
Matt. ix. 12. 
Johnxi. 25. 
1 Sam. ii. 1. 
Deut. xxxU. 12. 



CONTENTS. 



n. The needful (iislnibance 

14. Divine example - 

15. itil sufficient asaiitance • 

16. God's hidden ones 

J 7. The seed of ihe Messiah 
18. The cnlSrged prayer - 
13. The importance of failh 

20. With Jesus in the garden 

21. Elislia'ssiclcnest 



The groundless accusation 

The persevering suppliant - 

Job's conftssioii . . . 

Knowledge of our sinfulness 

Our peace in trouble 

The Divine defence 

The coming soul discouraged 



Deul. xxxil. 11. 
Deut.xxxii.il. 
Deul. xxxii. U. 
Pi. lxxxiii.3. 
P». Ixxxix. 38. 
Ps.lxxxi 10. 
John ix.35. 
John xviii. 26. 
SKingsxhi.H. 



1 22, Partial zeal 

(23. Elisha's sepulchre 

1 24. Prosperity in the divine r..''e 

125. The evidence of faith - 
25, The resting-place forgotten 
27. Union of faith and love - 
20. Hftbitual Piety - 

23. The two commandments 
1 30. The personal inquiry . 



DECEMBER. 



The Apostle's glorifying 
I am a burden to myself • 
Sabbath influences 
Job's praying for his friends 
The Marys at the stpulchrc 
The wisdom of zeal 
The needless alarm - 
The heavenly abepherd - 
True friendship 



Jobi.9. 
Matt. XV. 27. 
Jobxl.4. 
Jobxiii,23, 
Micah V, 5. 
Job i. 10. 
Luke ix. 42. 
2Cor. xi. 30. 
Jobvii.20. 
Rev, i, 10, 
Job xlii, 10, 
Mat, xxvii. 61. 
Phil. i. 9. 
Job I, 2. 
ReT. Tii. 17. 
ISam. xxiii,16. 



2 Kiugi siit. 19. 

- 2Ktng»sili.20,«, 
Ps,xcii. 12. ' 

- Joh« ix, 35. 
Jer, 1.6. 

- 1 Tim. 1-14. 
Prov. xxiii. 17. 

• lJohniii,23. 
John ix.35. 



Trial of the scribe 

The poverty of Jesus 

New-born citizens 

Jesus at the fast 

The end of affliction 

The valuation of the sabbath 

Attachment to Ziou 

Thedavspring ... 

Birth ot Jesus 

The Angels with the shepherds 

The great sight at Bethlehem 

The pious pair 

Strong conndence - - 

Brevity of life ... 

Gratitude and conCcWflM 



Mat. viii. 19, ao 
Mat. Tiii. 20. 
Pa, IxxxTii. i, 5 
John xi, 56. 
Jobx. 2. 
Is.lviii, 13. 
Ps. Ixxxvii, 7. 
Luke i. 78, 79. 
Luke li. 1-6. 
Luke ii. 8,9. 
Luke ii. 13. 
Luke . 6. 
Job xiii. 15. 
Job X. 20. 
.AcUxxTlU.lS. 



MORNING EXERCISES 

FOR THE CLOSET. 



July 1. — "i beseech thee, show me thy glory." — Exod. xxxiii, 18. 

This prayer was not entirely proper. It would seem that Moses 
desired some visible display of Deity, or some kind of representa- 
tion — and so far it was refused. '' He said, Thou canst not see my 
face ; for there shall no man see me and live. Behold, there is a 
place by me ; and thou shalt stand upon a rocic : and it shall come 
to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft 
of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by : 
and I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back 
parts — but my face shall not be seen." 

Here we see the weakness of man, even physically considered. 
How little can we bear ! When Daniel only saw an angel, he fell 
into a deep sleep ; and John, at the sight of Him on whose bosom 
lie had often leaned, fell at his feet as dead. Flesh and blood can- 
not inherit the kingdom of God, neither doth corruption inherit 
incorruption. 

We cannot go on well till God has gained our full confidence. 
Let us never suppose that he denies us any thing from insuffi- 
ciency to give, or from a grudging disposition ; " He that spareth 
not his own Son, but delivereth him up for us all ; how shall he 
not with him also freely give us all things ? The very same 
principle that leads him to give us some things, induces him to 
withhold others — a regard to our safety and happiness — 

"Good, when he gives, supremely good, " E'en crosses, from his sovereign hand, 
" Nor less when he denies j ' Are blessings in disguise." 

Had He yielded all the wish of Moses, he would have been de- 
stroyed upon the spot. He therefore rejects what was evil, but 
grants what was good — " I will make all my goodness pass before 
thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee ; and 
will be gracious to whom I will be Gracious, and will show mercy 
on whom I will show mercy." W e are morally defective ; and 
our infirmities appear even in our prayers — we know not what to 
pray for as we ought. What would be the consequence if all our 
desires were accomplished ? It is our privilege that God is as 
wise as he is kind ; that he knows what is really good for us ; and 
answers us not according to our wishes, but our wants ; and ac- 
cording to what we ourselves should only pray for, if we were 
alive to our real welfare, and always knew wherein it consists. 

Thus qualified, we cannot do better than to make this prayer 
our own, and deaire God to show us his glory. For lie alone can 



6 JULY 2. 

do it efficiently. As the sun can only be seen by his own shining, 
so God can only be known by his own revealing — in his light we 
see light. But we have every encouragement we could desire, if 
we seek him. If any lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giv- 
eth to all men liberally and upbraidcth not, and it shall be given 
him. Then shall ye know, if ye follow on to know the Lord. 

Let us pray, therefore, that he would show us more of his glo- 
ry. More of it in his works. More of it in his ways. More of 
it in his dispensations and ordinances. And, above all, more of 
it in the face of Jesus Christ. Nor let us ever think that we do 
not stand in need of this. For who expressed this desire ? but 
a man who had been indulged already beyond any of his fellow 
creatures ! Yet, after communications the most deep and exten- 
sive ; after being inspired to write Scripture ; after beholding 
God in the burning bush ; after talking with him as a man talk- 
eth with his friend — so far is he from being satisfied, that his soul 
is drawn forth after more ; and he, even he cries — I beseech thee, 
show me thy glory. Behold another instance. Paul, after all 
liis intimacies with the Lord Jesus for many years, thus expresses 
himself: " That I may know him ! " But who is Moses ? who is 
Paul ? " Which things the angels desire to look into." 

Yet some are so perfectly indifferent to the subject of this 
prayer, that they say unto God, Depart from us, for we desire not 
the knowledge of thy ways. But spiritual darkness is the fore- 
runner and pledge of eternal. If our Gospel be hid, it is hid to 
them that ase lost. Because they are a people of no understand- 
ing, therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them ; 
and he that formed them will show them no favor. 



July 2. — " And from thence they went to Beer ; that is, the well, whereof 
the Lord spake unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give 
them water. Then Israel sang this song, Spring up, O well : sing ye unto 
it. The princes digged the well, the nobles of the people digged it, by the 
direction of the Lawgiver, with their staves. And from the wilderness they 
•went to iMattanah ; and from Mattanah to Nahaliel ; and from Nahaliel to 
Bamoth." — Num. xxi, 16 — 19. 

Beer was a pleasing station to the Jews ; and it is a very in- 
structive one to us. They here came into a dry place ; but they 
neither rebelled nor murmured against God, or his servant Moses. 

See, first, How easily the Lord can supply the wants of his peo- 
ple — " Gather the people together, and I will give them water." 
Not only is every good gift and every perfect gift from above, 
but all our temporal comforts come from the hand of God. We 
are not to look for miracles ; but then we may be assured that his 
word can be accomplished without them : " For sooner all nature 
shall change than one of God's promises. fail." And He has said, 
" Thy bread shall be given thee ; and thy water sliall be sure." 
And what he has promised, he is able also to perform. Let us 
5iot limit the Holy One of Israel. Nothing is too hard for him. 
He can turn the shadow of death into the morning. Jehovah- 
jireh ! The Lord will provide. " When the poor and needv seek 



JULY 2. 7 

water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the 
Lord will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. 
1 will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of 
the valleys ; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the 
dry land springs of water." 

Secondly. See how want endears our blessings. " Then Israel 
sang this song, Spring up, O well ; sing ye unto it." We feel 
unthankful for this precious fluid, because it is so common, and 
we have never been deprived of it. But had Ave gone several days 
in a Avilderness without it, how should we have exalted and 
praised God at the sight of a refreshing supply. It is thus, by 
their removal or suspension, we are taught the w^orth of our com- 
forts. How is liberty prized and enjoyed, after bondage ? and 
health, after sickness ? and spring, after wdnter ? and morning, 
after night '? We become indifferent to the means of grace. By 
a change of residence, or by accident, or disease, we are deprived 
of the privileges of the sanctuary— then, ah ! then Ave remember 
these things, and pour out our souls in us : for w^e had gone with 
the multitude ; we went with them to the house of God, with the 
voice of joy and gladness, with a multitude that kept holy day. 

Oh, says David, when he was faint, Oh that one would give me 
to drink of the water of the well that is by the gate of Bethlehem ! 
And were we equally athirst, spiritually, how should v/e long for 
the well of salvation, and say — 

" Thou of life the fountaia art ; " Spring thou up within my heart ; 

♦' Freely let me take of thee ; " Rise to all eternity !" 

Thirdly. His agency does not exclude or supersede our instru- 
mentality. " The princes digged the w^ell, the nobles of the peo- 
ple digged it by the direction of the Lawgiver with their staves" 
—God filled it ; but they digged it ; This was their part. This 
they could do — and why should God have exempted them from 
it ? He gives the increase ; but Paul must plant, and Apollos wa- 
ter. He furnishes the wind ; but wa are to spread the sails. He 
gives ; but we gather. Prayer and diligence, dependence and 
activity, harmonize in the Scripture, and are only inconsistent in 
the crudeness of ignorant and foolish men. Paul makes divine 
influence not an excuse for the neglect of means, but a motive 
and encouragement for the use of them : '• W'ork out your own 
salvation with fear and trembling ; for it is God wlio worketh in 
you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." 

Fourthly. However pleasing any of our present stations aje, 
we must, if we are the Israel of God, leave them. " And from the 
wilderness they went to Mattanah : and from Mattanah to Naha- 
liel ; and from Nahaliel to Bamoth." The part they left is called, 
indeed the wilderness : and so it was — but it was good for them to 
be there. 

There they had witnessed proofs of the power and goodness of 
God, and enjoyed a time of refreshing from his presence. But 
they had compassed the place long enough ; and, decamping from 
this loved scene, had to journey on in the desert. Here, also, 
Christians have their indulgences. But these are designed, not to 



8 JULY 3. 

induce tliem to tarry, but to encourage them to advance. In the 
midst of their enjoyments, a voice cries, Arise ye, and depart 
hence ; for this is not your rest. 

These people would have been more Avilling to move — because' 
they knew they were moving toward Canaan, a better country, 
the end and aim of their journey ; and — because they were under 
the direction of God, as their guide, and who would never leave 
them nor forsake them. So it should be with us. 



JvLY 3.— "Faint.— "Judges viii, 4. 

What war is there that has nothing to depress ? nothing to 
animate ? and that does not furnish a diversity of feelings in 
those who carry it on ? 

Christians resemble 
the Amalekites — faint, 3'et pursuing. 

Yes — while engaged in this good fight of faith, they may be 
faint. We need not wonder at this, if we consider the enemies 
they have to vanquish— bodily appetites ; filthiness of spirit ; a 
depraved nature ; all sin and error ; the present evil world ; the 
devil, and his angels. If we also consider the qualities of their ad- 
versaries — their number — their malignity — their power — their po- 
licy — their success : for they have cast down many mighty ; yea, 
many strong men have been slain by them— Oh ! when we think 
of tne heroes, the statesmen, the princes, the philosophers, the di- 
vines, and all the myriads they have enslaved and destroyed, who 
is not ready to tremble, and exclaim, " I shall one day perish !" 

There is also the length of the service. It is not for a season 
only, but for life. We are not allowed to receive any proposals 
of peace. We cannot enter into a truce — no, not even to bury 
the dead. Let the dead bury their dead. We are to fight on 
through summer and winter— by day and night— in every situa- 
tion and condition. He that endureth to the end, the same only 
shall be saved. In conversion we throw away the scabbard ; in 
death only we lay down the sword. While we are here, some- 
thing is still to be done ; something still to be avoided — in com- 
pany — in solitude — in health— in sickness. And is it nothing to 
watch in all things ! To pray without ceasing ! In every thing to 
give thanks ! To be always abounding in the work of the Lord ' 

There are also occasional difhculties too common to be over- 
looked ; and it is easy to suppose a few of them. What marvel 
if the soldier is faint— when the road is rough and thorny — and 
the weather is Avarm and oppressive— and he hungers and thirsts 
for want of seasonable refreshments and supplies, which are in- 
terrupted, if not cut off— and he feels a loss of strength, occasioned 
by a wound from without, or an indisposition from within Is 
this talking parables ? There is not a Christian on earth whose 
religious experience will not easily explain it all. 

And if this, therefore, be nuj experience — let me remember that 
there is nothing ominous, nor even peculiar, in it. Every subject 
of divine grace is well acquainted with this heart's bitterness — 



JULY 4. S 

and mmt be— or much of the Scripture could not be applied to 
him. either in a way of description, or comfort. 

—And let me be thankful that to Avill is present with me, though 
how to perform that which is good I find not. If 1 faint, I do net 
flee. Faint — yet pursuing. 



July 4.— "Yet pursuing."— Judges, viii, 4. 
The life and experience of the Christian are full of contrasts. 
He resembles the bush of Moses, which was seen burning, but not 
consumed. And his language is. Cast down, but not destroyed ; 
sorrowful, yet always rejoicing ; as dying, and, behold, we live 
We are now viewing him as a soldier. In our last page we saw 
him faint ; but we shall now find him, amidst all that is grievous, 
feeling no disposition to give in, or give up— yet pursuing. 

—And there is much to encourage and animate him. Tliere 
is something in himself, and which is nothing less than a princi- 
ple of divine grace. Every thing else will decline, when it meets 
with its proper temptation. Natural and merely rnoral resources 
are as the morning cloud, and the early dew which soon passeth 
away. But we are confident of this very thing, that He which 
hath begun a good work in us, will perform it. That which is 
divine is durable and invincible. That which is born of God 
overcometh the world. 

— There is also much to encou-age him in his cause. It is a 
good warfare. It will bear examination. Conscience entirely 
approves of it. Angels applaud it. There is, therefore, nothing 
to make us waver, or hesitate. Every thing feeds courage. We 
ought to engage and persevere. It is the cause of truth, of right- 
eousness, of glory — of real glory. It would be more honorable to 
be foiled in this cause, than to conquer in any other. 

— There is also much in his leader and commander. Some 
chiefs have so attached and inspired their troops, that they would 
plunge into any enterprise, or follow them into any danger. It 
was said, proverbially, at Rome, that it was unbecoming a Roman 
soldier to fear while Ceesar was alive. It is much more umvorthy 
a Christian soldier to fear while Christ is alive ; for, because, says 
he, I live, ye shall live also. When Antigonus heard some of his 
troops rather despondingly say. How many are coming against 
us ? he asked. But how many do you reckon me for ? And when- 
ever we think of our foes, and the Captain of our salvation, we 
may truly say, More are they that be with us, than they that be 
with them. Greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the 
world. Who goes before us ? Who teaches our hands to war, 
and our fingers to fight ? Who provides for us ? Who renews 
our strength ? ^Miat limits have His wisdom and power ? Did 
He ever lose an action yet ? or a single soldier ? 

"A friend and helper so divine, " He makes the glorious vict'ry mine, 

" Doth niy weak courage raise ; " And hid shall be the praise." 

— And, oh ! let me think of the certainty of the issue ! Fear 
unnerves : but it would make a hero of a coward to assure him in 



10 JULY 5. 

the conflict that he should overcome. This can rarely or never 
be done in other contentions : for nothing is so doubtful as the re- 
sult of a battle. Prudence, therefore, says, Let not him that put- 
tnth on the harness boast himself like him that puttcth it otf. But 
the Christian enters the field under peculiar advantage. How- 
ever trying or lengthened the struggle may be, he fights not un 
certainly — 

" The weakest saint " Though death and hell 

" Shall win the day, " Obstruct the way." 

Yea, in all these things we are more than conquerors ! 

— For what will be the result of success ? "What do other vic- 
tors gain ? How precarious, how unsatisfying, how poor and 
mean, the rewards of the world's warriors, compared with the ac- 
quisitions of the good soldier of Jesus Christ ! He that over- 
cometh shall inherit all things ! 

" Then let my soul march boldly on, " There peace and joy eternal reign, 

" Press forward to the heavenly gate ; " And glittering robes for conq'rors wait.' 



July 5. — "Submit yourselves to God." — James, iv, 7. 

This is the great thing — This is the excellency, the essence, 
the proof, of religion. God is our Savior. Our Lawgiver. Our 
disposer. Under each of these characters, his people are made 
willing to submit to him in the day of his power. And nothing 
but the efficiency of divine grace can influence a man cordially 
to resign himself to God in either of these relations. 

We must submit ourselves to God, as the Savior. Here our 
concern with him begins, and — must begin. For we are con- 
demned, and the first thing is to obtain deliverance. We are dis- 
eased and dying, and the first thing we want is the physician and 
the remedy. When, therefore, the Jews asked our Lord, What 
must w^e do that we may work the works of God ? " This," said 
he, " is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath 
sent." And when the jailer asked Paul and Silas what he should 
do to be saved, they said unto him, " Believe on the Lord Jesus 
Christ." God is a sovereign, at whose mercy we absolutely lie. 
We have no claims upon him ; and it is wonderful that he is dis- 
posed to undertake our case at all. But he requires us to submit ] 
and will not allow us to prescribe. He will have the entire ma- 
nagement of our case, or he will have nothing to do with it. And 
it might be supposed that there would be no great difficulty here. 
But men are not sensible of their condition and danger : and 
there is much in the nature and manner of this salvation that is 
not palatable to the pride of the human heart. No court is paid 
to our reason ; but we are required to trust in a plan concerning 
which we have never been consulted ; and even to become fools, 
that we may be wise. However decent and moral our character 
has been, we must be content to enter into life in the very same 
way witli the chief of sinners. We must renounce our own 
righteousness, and plead for acceptance as guilty. We must de- 
pend on another for all our strength. V/o must acknowledge that 



JULY 5. H 

ail we have is from the exceeding riches of liis grace ; and be cr}-- 
ing, to the last, " Not unto us, not unto us, O Lord, but unto tliy 
name, give glory, for thy mercy and thy truth's sake." 

But to this, every awakened and humbled sinner is brought. 
And his submission is not the effect of necessity only. It is ac- 
companied with acquiescence and approbation. He sees a consis- 
tency and an excellency in it that delight him, while it relieves. 
And though he knows there is no other way — yet if there were a 
thousand, ho would turn from them all, and say, God forbid that 
I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

We must submit ourselves to Him, as the Lawgiver ; and be 
willing to live, not to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. 
He is only the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey 
him. We cannot love Him, till we hope in his mercy : nor run 
in the way of his commandments till we are freed from the load 
of guilt and terror — a burden too heavy for us to bear. But faith 
is followed by love : and love, by obedience. We are delivered 
from the hand of our enemies, says Zecharias, not to be lawless, 
but to serve Him, who lias made us free, without fear, in holiness 
and righteousness, before Him, all the days of our lives. Our 
obligations are infinitely increased by redeeming grace and dyi'ig 
love. And every believer feels them, and acknowledges that he 
is not his own, for he is bought with a price, and bound to glorify 
God in his body and in his spirit, which are God's. The Tove of 
sin, as well as the love of self, is subdued in him : and he grate- 
fully asks, " What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits 
toward me ?" " Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?"' He finds 
his yoke easy ; and accounts his service to be the truest freedom. 
He cannot, indeed, do the things which he would, and this is his 
grief: but he delights in the law of God after the inward man. 
He would not bring down the divine commands to his deficiencies ; 
but longs to rise to the level of their perfection. And though he 
is full of complaints, it is of the servant, and not of the Master — 
He always speaks well of his name : and recommends him to others. 

We must also submit to him, as our disposer, and be willing 
that he should choose our inheritance for us. Ptian naturally 
loves independence : he wishes to be at his own control ; and to 
have the management of events, both as they affect others and 
himself. Many, also, who talk much of the providence of God, 
are constantly striving with it. Hence they envy the successes 
of their fellow creatures; and are discontented and repining when 
things do not fall out according to their mind ; and — especially 
under ih&.r trials, think God deals improperly with them : and so 
charge him foolishly, or unkindly. 

But this temper is, at least, dethroned in the Christian ; and he. 
is disposed to say, " Here I am ; let Him do what seemeth him 
good. I am ignorant and liable to be imposed upon ; but he 
is all-wise ; and by not sparing his own Son for me, he has justi- 
fied the implicit confidence of my heart. Let him, therefore, de- 
termine the bounds of my habitation, and arrange all the events 
of my condition. If things are not such as I had wished and 



13 JULY 6. 

reckoned upon, I have no reason to complain. He has a right to 
do what he will with his own ; and he always uses it ii. a way the 
most conducive to my welfare. How often have I desired him to 
undertake and act for me ! And when he complies — is it for me 
to murmur, and dispute ; or say unto Him, AYhat docst thou ? 

" Lord, I would, T do suJ mit ; " Only when the way is rough, 

" Gladly yield my all to thee : "And the coward llcbh would start, 

"What thy wisdom sees most fit, " Let thy presence and tliy love 

"Must be surely be^t forme. "Cheer and aiiimalc my hcai't."' 



July 6. — "What Aveiit ye out into the wilderness to see ?" — r>Iatt. xi, /. 

These are the words of Jesus to the multitude concerning John, 
to whose preaching they had repaired.. " There were many of 
you — and persons of all ranks and conditions — and some from 
a great distance. What did you tliink of the preaclier ? What 
induced you to attend his ministry '? Surely you had some rea- 
son for it — some design in it. W hat was it ?" 

May we not learn from hence that we should ahvays have an 
end in view in repairing to the ordinances of religion ? and be able 
to answer the question, JVhy we attend t-he preaching of the word ? 

This becomes us, even as men. Men ought not to act at ran- 
dom ; or, like the inferior creatures who are led by blind impulse 
or instinct, without reflection or motive. They, as the Scripture 
says, have no understanding, and must be governed and guided 
by those above them. But God teaches us more than tlie Dcasts 
of the field, and maketh us wiser than the fowls of the air ; for 
there is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty givetii 
him undersiaiiding. And wherein is this pre-eminence to ai)pear, 
but in our acting wisely, and with design ? 

— We rise higher, and say, that without this we cannot phrase 
God. There can be nothing religious without design. Intention 
is essential to moral conduct, /.nd though a good m.otive cannot 
sanctify a bad action, a bad motive will always vitiate a good 
action. The Pharisees fasted, and prayed, and gave alms ; but it 
was to be seen of men, and thus all was corrupted in its principle. 

— Without an aim in our attendance, we have nothing to pray 
for before we go ; nothing to make the subject bear upon, v.hile 
we are hearing ; nothing by which to examine ourselves, when 
we return. How can we decide whether our meeting together is 
for the better or the worse ? whether we have failed in the op- 
portunity, or succeeded ? Success is the accomplishmeiu of an 
end, and must be judged of by it. 

—A man that acts v/ithout an end, never acts in earnest. Jt is 
the end that stimulates zeal ; that sweetens labor ; that repays 
every expense, W'hat would induce a patient to tlie taking of 
medicine, or the losing of a limb, but the thought of restoring or 
preserving health and life ? 

— To finish the argument— the concern itself here should ho 
taken in the account. In common and trivial matters we may 
act without motive ; but in momentous ones, every kind of deli- 
beration is wisdom. And how important is our attendance on ths 



JULY 6. 13 

word of life ! It regards God ; aud tlie soul : and eternity, Its 
roJiscquences will remain for ever. It must furnish the most 
ir.vful part of our future account. We forget these exercises ; but 
they are all recorded in the book of God's remembrance. We 
have soon done with the sermon ; but the sermon is not done with 
us, till it has judged us at the last day. What an insult is offered 
to Godj to come before him, and, by an appearance of devotion, to 
call forth his allention, when, in reality-, we have nothing to do 
with him ! What a trifling is it with dnine things ! And what 
can be so dangerous as this ! It impairs the conscience, and 
deadens moral sensibility. It renders the means of grace unim- 
pressive by familiarity ;' and provokes God to withhold or with- 
draw the influence essential to tlieir success. 

But, admitting that we ahvays ought to have an end in view, 
what OUGHT THAT END TO BE? Not curlosity and amusement. 
This was the case with Ezekiel's hearers. They went to his 
preaching as persons go to a concert. 

— Not criticism and cavilling. Many are Aviser than their 
teachers. They come to judge, not to learn, and make a man an 
offender for a word. Many come to our Savior to '-catch him 
m his talk." 

— Not an outward advantage. A man, by his attending the 
Gospel, may secure himself reputation, business, or friendship. 
But this is trading in divine things. And what is the hope of the 
hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh avray his soul ! 

— Not the quieting of conscience. Some are at ease in Zion 
because they hear the word of truth, though they do it not. But 
the Apostle tells us, they deceive their own seh'es ; and our Lord 
calls them fools, because they build upon the sand. 

— But the end should be — 

To obtain the conversion of the soul to God. This is the very 
design of the ministry itself. And how many have v;e known, 
since we attended the word, Avho have been turned from the error 
of their ways, into the path of peace ! Has faith come to us by 
hearing ? Has this efficacy ever been our aim — our wish— our 
prayer ? 

It should also be, to gain all needful instruction. This v.-as tiie 
case with many who came to hear John. The people, the publi- 
cans, and the soldiers severally said to him — •• And what shall we 
do?" They did not inquire after the duty of otJicrs, but after 
their own. David went to inquire in God''s temple, and said, I 
vvill hear what God the Lord will speak. The best disposition we 
can go in, is when we lia^ e no partiahties, and can sincerely ask. 
Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ? Not sliunning to liear all 
ihe counsel of God ; or counting the preacher our enemy be- 
cause he tells us the truth. 

It should be, to ha^'e divme things reapplied and rcimpressed. 
If we do not want nevr information, it is def-irable to be reminded 
of forgotten truth, and to have our k?iowledge reduced to experi- 
ence end practice. The principle of divine grace cannot be lost. 
But what changes do believers fee] in their frames! IIov/ often 
do their souls cleave unto tlie dust ! And here they obtain quick- 



14 JULY 7. 

ening, according to his word. And by waiting upon Him their 
strength is renewed. 

It should be, also, to aid in upholding the public means of grace 
for the advantage of others. How adapted to usefulness is the 
institution of preaching. We may judge what a neighborhood 
would be without the ministry of tlie word, when we see what it 
is even with it. Here are always to be heard calls to repentance, 
and proclamations of pardon. Here is always furnished solace 
to the afflicted, and excitement to the careless. 

It is lamentable that so little of this spirit is to be found in the 
midst of so much hearing as there is in our day. We read of a 
concourse of people in the Acts, occasioned by the clamor of 
Demetrius, of whom it is said, " Some cried one thing, and some 
another ; for the assembly was confused ; and the more part knew 
not wherefore they were come together." With the exception of 
crying out, here is a fair representation of many a religious au- 
dience. A few are informed and principled, but the mass have no 
aim, or an improper one. 

— Yet in another view, it is pleasing to see a place filled with 
hearers. They are in the way, and God may meet Mith them. 
His grace is sovereign and free. Some who come with no seri- 
ous design, have been convinced of all, and judged of all, and 
confessed that God was in the midst of them of a truth. 

Yet his sovereignty is not our rule, but our resource. What he 
may do, is one thing ; what he will do, is another. He has said, 
" Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you." 

And though he is sometimes found of them that seek him not, 
he is ahva3-s found of them that seek hii;n. 



July 7. — "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the 
body of this death !" — Rom. vii, 24. 

It is commonly supposed that here is a reference to a cruel 
usage sometimes practised by the tyrants of antiquity, and which 
IS mentioned by Virgil and Cicero, and Valerius Maximus. It 
consisted in fostening a deeid carcass to a living man. Now sup- 
pose a dead body bound to your body — its hands to your hands- 
its face to your face — its lips to your lips. Here is not only a 
burden, but an offensive one. You cannot separate yourself from 
your hated companion — it lies down, and rises up, and 'walks with 
you. You cannot breathe without inhaling a kind of pestilence ; 
and " Oh I" you would say, " O how slowly the parts corrupt and 
fall off— O how can I longer endure it ! When shall I be free ! O, 
wretched man that I am ! \^lio shall deliver me from the body of 
this death V This is very strong. Yet it comes not up to Paul's 
case ; for he is speaking of a wretchedness, not without him, but 
within. 

Whatever we may think of this allusion, here is a representa- 
tion of the sin that dwelletl>. in us — it is the body of this death, 
or, as it is in the margin, this body of death. It is called — a body, 
to intimate the entireness and universality of the evil ; thus we 
call a code of laws a body of laws, and a system of divinity a body 



JULY 7. 15 

of divinity. And it is a body of — dcalJi, to mark its malignant 
effect. Gmipowder is a body of destruction : arsenic is a body of 
poison : sin is a body of death. It brought death into the world ; 
It lias slain all the inhabitants of the earth, and will soon slay us; 
it has brought upon us spiritual, as well as corporeal death ; and 
it produces a deadness, even in tiie souls of believers, and hinders 
the operation of tRose vital principles wiiich they have received 
from above. By this baneful influence the tendencies of tlie 
divine life in them, which are so glorious, are chilled and checked ; 
and therefore they are frequently wandering in meditation, and 
stupid in reading and hearing, and insensible in prayer, and dull 
even in praise ; so that 

" Hosaniias languish on our tongues, " And our devotion dies " 

Till, roused by reflection, they cry, 

" Dear Lord, and shall wc ever live " Our love so faint, so colil to thee, 

" At this poor dying rale ? " And tlimc to us so great." 

— My soul cleaveth to the dustj quicken thou me according to 
thy word. 

For there are remains of this evil even in tlie sul)Jects of divine 
grace. None of them are free. In many things, says James, wc 
offend all. In all our doings, says the churcli, our sins do appear. 
My tears, says Beveridge, require to be washed in the blood of 
Christ, and my repentance needs to be repented of. Tliose who 
could die for the Savior, have used the most humbling language 
with regard to themselves. Sometimes, says Bradford, O my 
God, there seems to be no difference between me and the wicked; 
my understanding seems as dark as theirs, and my will as per- 
verse as theirs, and my heart as hard as theirs. Yea, says Paul, 
at the end of so many years of advancement, I have not attained; 
I am not already perfect. After this, " who can say, I have made 
my heart clean ; I am pure from my sin ?"' 

But observe the distress this remaining corruption occasions 
them. It is their chief burden and grief, O wretched man that 
I am ! Who shall deliver me from this body of death ? Paul 
never said any thing like this of any of his sufferings ; yet he was 
a great sufferer — he suffered the loss of all things ; he was once 
stoned, thrice -he suffered shipwreck, he was twice beaten with 
rods, five times he received forty stripes save one ; lie was in pri- 
sons more frequent, in deaths oft. Yet, so far from groaning and 
complaining, he tells us he took pleasure in all this, because it 
was for Christ's sake. And it is a sad evidence against us, if we 
are more affected with our calamities than with our corruptions. 
We are not required to be stoics: we may feel our sufferings; but 
there is something we shall feel more if we are in a right state of 
mind, viz. an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living 
God. 

The people of the world judge of Christians by their own views 
and feelings ; and because the]/ love sin, and would deem the li- 
berty to indulge in it a privilege— they think Christians are dis- 
posed to take every advantage for the same purpose. But how 
shall they M-ho are dead to sin live any longer therein ? Sin is 

Vol. II. 13 



16 JULY 8. 

tJieir abhorrence J and at the foot of the cross they have sworn to 
have indignation against it for ever, Tliey have a new nature ; 
and as/ar as they are sanctified, there is as perfect a contrariety 
between them and sin, as between darkness and hght. Hence the 
co)ilest within. The flesli lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit 
against the flesh: and these being contrary llie one to the other, 
tiiey cannot do the things that they would. And will not this be 
painful ? If a mechanic longed to excel in his workmanship, and 
an enem)?- stood by and marred every thing before he put it out 
of his hand — would not this be vexatious ? Would not a man in 
a journey of importance, and anxious above all things to speed 
his way, feel a liindrance that would impede him for an hour 
more than an idler would the loss of a day? He that delights in 
neatness will suffer more from a single stain than another would 
from wearing a filthy garment. Because their sentiments are 
evangelical, their enemies seem to think their feelings must be 
Aivtinomian; but though this may not be made plain to others, 
their doctrinal views befriend holiness, and with their mind they 
serve the law of God — yea, they deliglit in the law of God after 
the inward man. The goodness of God ieadeth them to repent 
auce. His love is shed abroad in their hearts, and they love him 
in return. Tliey grieve to think they serve him so defectively, 
and have still in them so much of that which he infinitely hates. 
How painful to think that while they repose upon his bosom, 
they should often pierce it too ! 

In a word, while many would represent the Christian, if not an 
enemy to holiness and good works, yet too indifferent to their 
claims, he is abasing himself before God for the hidden evils of 
}iis heart; and is more aflfected with his sins of infirmity thnn his 
revijers are with sins of presumption. Thus you may drive a 
sword through the body of a dead man, and no muscle moves ; 
while the puncture of a thorn will pain a living one all over. 



jiij.v g,_" But ye are washid j but ye are sanctified ; but ye are justified.** 
ICor. xi, 11. 

Wfi consider the word " washed," as a general term, compre 
liending a twofold cleansing — a cleansing from the guilt, and a 
cleansing from the pollution of sin. It would be easy to show 
that in the Scripture it is used iji both these senses. The two 
added articles, therefore, are explanatory of its meaning here — 
Ye aie washed, that is, ye are sanctified and justified. 

What we w^sh to observe, is— that both these are found in tlie 
same subjects. Justification and sanctification should be ahvays 
discriminated ; but they must never be disunited. Where they 
are not distinguished, a religious system cannot be clear; mvi 
where they are divided, it can never be safe. Where they are not 
distinguished, law and gospel, free-will and free-grace, the merit 
of man, and the righteousness of Christ, run into a mass of confu- 
sion and disorder. And where they are divided, Pharisaic pride, 
or Antinomian presumption, will be sure to follow. 



JULY 8. 17 

Be it remembered, then— That the one regards soraethhig done 
for us ; the other, something done in us — the one is a relative, the 
other a personal change — the one a change in our state, the other 
in our nature — the one is perfect at once, the other is gradual — 
the one is derived from the obedience of the Savior, the other 
from his Spirit — the one gives us a title to heaven, the other a 
meetness for it. 

But let us not forget their union. It is supposed that this was 
typified in the dying of the Lord Jesus, when from his pierced 
side there came forth blood and water — the one to atone, the other 
to purify. But not to lay too much stress on an historical inci- 
dent, and which can be physically accounted for, the truth to 
which we allude is most expressly asserted in the word of God. 
" If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature : old things are 
passed away, behold, all things are become new." " There is no 
condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, who walk not 
after the flesh but after the Spirit." We need one as well as the 
other. And if we were not sanctified, as well as justified, we 
could neither serve God properly, or enjoy him. Suppose an un- 
renewed man pardoned, he would be no more able to see the 
kingdom of God than before ; but would feel the company, the 
pleasures, and employments of the state, uncongenial and irksome. 
Or suppose you had a son ; and you forbad him to enter a place 
of contagion, on pain of losing all you could leave him. He goes 
and is seized with the infection — he thus is not only guilty, by 
transgressing your command, but he is also diseased. And do 
you not perceive, that your forgiving him does not heal him 1 
He wants not only the father-s pardon, but the physician's aid; 
and in vain is he freed from the forfeiture of his estate, if he be 
left under the power of his disorder. 

Let us therefore judge of the one, by the other; and- make our 
election, by making our calling, sure. To be justified freely from 
all things : to have passed from death mito life ; and never to 
come into condemnation again, is a privilege of infinite value — 
and there is a possibility of knowing that it belongs to us. But 
how is it to be known? Not by an audible voice from heaven, 
as the woman heard—" Thy sins are forgiven thee." Not by a 
sudden impulse, or working the mind into a persuasion which Ve 
are unable to justify. For the very thing to be determined i?, 
whether this confidence be a good hope through grace, or a mere 
presumption. If the confidence itself were suflicient, the Antino- 
mian woidd be surer than the Christian; but he has a lie in his 
right hand. The sacred writers do not consider this certainty of 
mind as self-proved ; and regard all apprehensions of its waver- 
ing, as unbelief. They tell us to " fear, lest a promise being left 
us of entering into his rest, any of us should seem to come short 
of it." They call upon us to " examine ourselves, whether we be 
in the faith ; and to prove our own selves." " We know," says 
John, " that we have passed from death unto life — because we 
love the brethren." '• Hereby we know that he abideth in us, by 
the Spirit which he hath given us." This is the way, walk ye 



18 JULY 9. 

ill it. What is the Spirit which he hath given you ? Does it, con- 
vince of sin ? Does it cause you to hunger and thirst after right- 
eousness ? Does it glorify Christ ? 

It is true that we are justified by faith ; but faith is justified by 
works. Has this promise been fulfilled in us? "Then will I 
sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean : from all 
3^our filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A 
new heart also will I give you, and a new Spirit will I put within 
you ; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and 
I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within 
you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my 
judgments, and do them." As far as we are strangers to this 
practice, and to these dispositions, whatever our knowledge or 
our assurance may be, we ought to tremble. For though the 
grace of God finds us sinners, it does not leave us such. While 
it " bringeth salvation," it teacheth us " that, denying ungodliness 
and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly 
in this present evil world ; looking for that blessed hope, and the 
glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ ; 
who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all ini- 
quity, and parify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good 
works." 



July 9. — " And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, 
when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto hixn, Lord, teach us to pray, 
as John also taught his disciples." — Luke, xi, 1. 

Thocgh " one" of the disciples said this, we have no reason to 
think the rest differed from him. He was the mouth for them 
all. When our Lord said to the twelve, will ye also go away ? 
Peter answered — but it was in the name of his brethren, and ey- 
pressed the conviction of each of them — "Lord, to whom shall 
we go ? Thou hast the words of eternal life." It is very proba- 
ble he was the speaker here; for his heart was always in his 
mouth But whoever the speaker was, every tiling here was 
praiseworthy. 

I admire his decorum. Some arc satisfied with the moralities 
of conduct; but there are the proprieties too; and these are not 
to be overlooked. " Let every thing be done," says the Scripture, 
'decently, and in order." This should be peculiarly the case in 
our holy assemblies. Let us guard against every thing that is 
unseemly, and disturbing. Let us avoid coughing as much as 
we can. Let us not look and stare all over the house of God. 
Let us not talk or whisper. Let us beware of coming in during 
the service. How painful and injurious is it to the preacher and 
worshipper to be interrupted and diverted in those sacred mo- 
ments in which we ought to attend on the Lord without distrac- 
tion. Observe these disciples. They surrounded our Savior 
while he was engaged — but with breathless silence ; and did not 
not break in upon his devotion— but waited till he had " eeastd 



JULY 9. 19 

I admire his emulation. Having heard his Master, he began to 
say, Well, this is prayer. What dignity ! What wisdom ! What 
reverence ! What submission ! What fervor ! According to this, 
we have never prayed yet — Lord teach us to pray. Indeed, the 
more we attend on him in any thing, the less shall we think of 
ourselves. The beams of this sun will soon darken our tapers. 

But the disciple did well. He wished to resemble what he so 
much admired. And thus we should always endeavor to im- 
prove by the superior endowments and excellencies of others. 
These should not excite envy, or yield discouragement ; but ex- 
cite to imitation. What others are, they are by grace ; and when 
we see how any of our fellow Christians bear prosperity, or en- 
dure affliction, or fill up their stations, we should be anxious to 
follow them, even as thej^ follow Christ. 

I admire his spiritual wisdom. Some wish to resemble others 
in worldly possessions ; or bodily qualities j or mental endow- 
ments and acquisitions. But it is belter to resemble them in 
grace, than in any of these. Many would rule, or compose, or 
speak, like others ; but the thing is, to prat/ like them. It is by 
prayer we hold communion with God. It is by this we unlock 
all his treasures. He that knovv's how to pray, has the secret of 
safety in prosperit}^, and of support in trouble. He has the art 
of overruling every eneni}^, and of turning every loss into a gain. 
He has the power of soothing eyerj care ; of subduing every 
passion : and of adding a relish to every enjoyment — the mer- 
chandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver ; and the 
gain thereof, than much fine gold. Many things are good for me ; 
but none so good as to draw nigh to God. 

I admire his humility. He is convinced that they are not suf- 
ficient of themselves for the duty, but need divine aid. We want 
instruction in everything; for the way of man is not in himself; 
it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. But we pecu- 
liarly need guidance here. The Spirit helpeth mtr infirmities, 
says the apostle ; for we know not what to pray for as we ought. 
The best of men have erred in their prayers. Take my life from 
me, says Elijah, in the very midst of his usefulness. I beseech 
Thee, says IMoses, show me thy glory. You ask for death, says 
God, for no man can see me and live. " And James and John, 
the sons of Zebedee, came unto him, saying, Master, we would 
that thou shouldest do for us whatsoever we sliall desire. And 
he said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you? 
They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy 
right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory. But Jesus 
said unto them. Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the 
cup that I drink of ? and be baptized v,'ith the baptism that I am 
baptized with?" What would children be — how iniserable — 
how useless — what burdens to themselves — and what plagues to 
others, if they had whatsoever they desired ! — As to temporal bless- 
ings, it is hard to distinguish between our real, and our imaginary 
wants; and between what is pleasing, and what is profitable. 
And even as to spiritual things — we never see their beauty and 
glory, so as to desire them supremely, till the Lord teaches us to 



20 JULY 10. 

profit. Nor do we know of ourselves how to come before the 
Lord, and deal concerning them. Under a sense of guilt, and a 
concern to obtain acceptance, Avhat strange expedients do we 
often adopt ; and what a self-righteous traffic do we carry on, be- 
fore we come to the blood of sprinkling, and make mention ol 
his righteousness only. We may also err, as lo our end and aim. 
We often ask, and receive not, because we ask amiss, that we may 
consume it upon our lusts. 

— An easy thing to pray ! Who that has made the trial, and 
is concerned for the result of it, but exclaims, with Elihu, " teach 
us what we shall say unto Him j for we cannot order our speech 
by reason of darkness ?" Loi-d teach us to pray. 



July 10. — "Thanks be unta God for his unspeakable gift." — 2 Cor. ix, 15. 

We have always been accus^tomed to think of Christ when 
these words are pronounced ; and we are not disposed to give up 
this application without necessity. And we see no such necessity 
— if we appeal to authority : for not to mention many of the an- 
cients, this application is supported by many of the modernSy 
also ; by a Henry, a Scott, a Doddridge. And we see no such 
necessity — if we refer to the writer of the words. Paul's mind 
was full of Christ ; and the love of Christ constrained him : and 
nothing is more common in his Epistles than sudden and unlook- 
ed-for allusions to him. To which we may add, the nature of 
the case itself : for if the words would apply to the charity of the 
Corinthians, how much stronger will they apply to the Savior of 
sinners ! And though we would do justice to every part of the 
Scripture, we would yet rather be followers of Coccius than Crel- 
lius, of whom, as expositoi-s of the Bible, it was said, the one 
fotmd Christ every where, the other no where. 
' God then (this is the meaning) so loved the world, that he 
^ave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him 
should not perish, but have everlasting life— and he is not only a 
gift, but an unspeakable gift. Much has indeed been said of this 
gift in Christian conversation : in the sermons of ministers ; in 
the preaching of prophets and apostles ; in the Scriptures of 
truth, of which it is the principal, and in a sense, the only sub- 
ject. But it is not in the power of words to do it justice. And 
we see how even inspired men labor for terms and images, when 
they would hold forth a little of the Savior's glory. 

He is a gift unspeakable — if we consider the greatness of his 
person. We consider him a man of sorrows : but he was not 
always so. He was born in the fulness of time : but his goings 
forth were from of old, from everlasting. In the beginning Mas 
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 
All things were made by Him, and without him was not any thing 
made that was made. 

— Unspeakable— if we consider the immensity of the plenitude 
which he possesses, as Mediator, for our use. Some things in- 
clude many more. What an unspeakable blessing is a fountain, 
btmg the source of all the refreshing streams that flow from it. 



JULY li. 31 

and fertilize and beautify the ground! ^Vhat an unspeakable 
blessing is the sun, that makes our day, our spring, our summer ! 
What would the earth be without the sun ! What an unspeaka- 
ble blessing is life, with all its intelligence, pursuits, productions, 
and enjoyments 1 He is the fountain of living waters. He is the 
mm of righteousness. He is the life of the soul and eternity. He 
not only insures every thing else, but contains it— In him it hath 
pleased the Father that all fullness should dwell. In him we are 
blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. 

—And can we think of this, and not exclaim. Thanks be unto 
God for his unspeakable gift ? Nothing is so detestable as ingrati- 
tude. The very heathens condemn it. One of their philosophers 
said, Call a man ungrateful, and you call him every thing that is 
vile.' The Lacedaemonians made it punishable. South compares 
such a wretch to the sea, that turns the sweet influences of the 
clouds into brine ; and to the grave, which is always receiving, 
and never restoring. How soon we complain of a want of thank- 
fulness in our fellow creatures toward ourselves ! How soon do 
we abandon them, when our favors seem lost upon them ! 

And yet what are these favors, when, too, we are under an obli- 
gation to show them, from a community of nature, and the com- 
mand of God ! How few ! How small ! How far from being en- 
tirely pure in their motive ! With how little self-denial and sacri- 
fice attended ! Herein is love ! not that we loved God, but that he 
loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 

And can this love deserve only a careless reflection of the mind 1 
a cold acknowledgment of the lip ? Ought it not to claim and 
consecrate the heart '? Ought we not to ask every moment, Wliat 
shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me ? 
Ought we not, by the mercies of God, to present our bodies a 
living sacrifice ? 

" Were the whole realm of nature mine, I " Love so airnzinw, so divine, 
" That were a prcseut far too small : | " Demands my soul, my life, my all." 



July 11.— " Aud he arose, and did eat aad drink, and went in the stren^h 
of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb, the mount of God.' 

1 Kings xix, 8. 

Having, on Mount Carmel, witnessed the triumph of truth over 
idolatry, and destroyed Baal's prophets, and predicted the re- 
turn of rain and urged the king to hasten home lest he should 
be impeded by the approaching torrents, " Elijah girded up Ins 
loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel." Had 
Ahab properly regarded Elijah, he would have taken him up into 
his chariot, as the eunuch did Philip, and have honored him be- 
fore his attendants, and conversed with him respecting the awful 
state of the country. But he did not cordially like him, and was 
happy to get rid of him as soon as possible ; as Felix said unto 
Paul, " Go thy way for this time j when I have a convenient 
season I will call for thee." 

But we admire the conduct of Elijah. He was not elated by 
the recent unparalleled honors conferred upon him, above the 
duty of a subject j and tlierefore, notwithstanding the character oX 



22 JULY 11. 

Ahab, he pays respect to him as his sovereign, and renders honor 
to whom honor was officially due. 

— It is probable that Elijah came to Jezreel to carry on th€ 
reformation he had begnn, and hoping that the late miracle would 
give him a powerful influence. But soon after he arrives in the 
suburbs, he learns the determination, not of the queen consort, 
but of the queen regent, (for Ahab, though King, M'as completely 
governed by a termagant wife,) to put him to death. *' And 
Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he 
had slain all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a 
messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more 
also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to-mor- 
row about this time." Upon this, he should have stood his 
ground, and have resolved to go on w4th his work, leaving events 
with God, and relying upon that providence and grace which had 
so signally appeared for him. He should have replied, as Chry- 
sostom did, when Eudoxia, the empress, threatened him, " Go tell 
her that I fear nothing but sin ;" or as Bazil did, Avhen Valerius, 
the Arian emperor, sent him word that he w^ould put him to 
death : " I would that he would ; I shall only get to heaven the 
sooner j" or as Luther did, when they would have dissuaded him 
from going to Worms : " I would go, if there were as many devils 
there as there are tiles upon the houses j" or the prince of Conde 
did to the French king, when he proposed to him, going to mass, 
or perpetual banishment, or death : " As to the first of these, by the 
grace of God I never will ; and as to the other two, I leave the 
choice of either to your majesty." 

But where is the faith that never staggers through unbelief? 
the hand that never hangs down ? the knee that never trembles '? 
We are amazed at the magnanimity of Elijah before, in reproving 
Ahab to his face, opposing single-handed all the followers of Baal, 
and slaying Jezebel's four hundred and fifty chaplains ! But Miiat 
is man ! He cannot stand longer than God holds him, or walk 
further than God leads him. This same hero now turns pale, and 
flees for his life ! "And when he saw that, he arose, and went for 
his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and 
left his servant there ?" And why did he leave him ? Was it 
from tenderness, wishing to save him from the perils to which he 
himself was exposed ? Or was it the more perfectly to conceal 
movements, as one could be more easily hid than more ? Or did he 
wish for unrestrained, unwitnessed intercourse witli God 7 There 
are seasons and places, in which we wish no eye to see, no ear io 
hear — but God to be all in all. Abraham left his young men below, 
M^hen he ascended to worship God. And Jesus said to Peter, 
James, and John, in the garden, Tarry ye here, while I go and 
pray yonder. 

Ilowever this was, " he went a day's journey into the wilder- 
ness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree;" and, fatigued 
with journeying and hunger, and harassed with forebodings, and 
despairing of further success in his exertions, he asked to resign, 
not only his office, but his life : He requested for himself that 
he might die ; and said. It is enough: now, O lord, take away my 



JULY 11. 23 

life J for I am not better than my fathers" — L e. I am not fittei 
to bear their trials, or discharge their duties, than tliey were. 
Why then should I remain, when they are removed ? [ have 
done and suffered my share. This was the language of nature, 
not of grace. Children grow fretful as they grow sleepy. Paul 
longed to depart to be with Christ, which was far better ; yet he 
was willing to abide in the flesh, because it was needful for others. 
While we are ready to go, we must also be willing to stay, if God 
has any thing for us to do, or to suffer. To be impatient for 
retreat, especially as soon as we meet with disappointment, is 
unmanly and sinful ! 

Though Elijah was forward to die, it was a peevish haste, and 
evinced that he was in a very improper frame for the event. But 
God remembered that he was dust, compassionated his weakness, 
and appeared for him, even in a strait of his own producing — not 
dealing with him after his desert. " And as he lay and slept 
under a juniper-tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said 
unto him. Arise and eat. And he looked, and, behold, there was a 
cake baken on the coals, and a cruise of water at his head ; and he 
did eat and drink, and laid him down again." Before, he had fed 
him by ravens ; now, he supplies him by one of those heavenly 
mes?!enger3 who are all ministering spirits unto the heirs of salva- 
tion. The office seemed beneath one of these glorious beings. 
But he was as much pleased to bring a meal to this weary 
traveller, as he would have been had he received orders to manage 
the affairs of an empire. Angels have no partialities. They con- 
sider not the nature of the command, but only the Author, May 
his will be done on earth, as it is done in heaven. 

— But what was the meal ? A cake of bread and a cruise of 
water ? Nature is content with little, and grace with less. How 
many disorders arise from excess ! A voracious appetite is a 
judgment ; a delicate one is an infirmity : a dainty one is a dis- 
grace. Ministers, above all men, should not be given to appetite, 
or be fond of dainty meals. And those who entertain them should 
not insult them bj^ the nature and the degree of their preparations. 
Did our Savior require much serving ? Did not he reprove Martha 
for being cumbered about many things When an angel was the 
guest, Abraham brought him forth a cake, baked on the hearth, 
with butter and milk. And when an angel, who had the com- 
mand of every store, catered for the greatest and best man of the 
age — it was a cake of bread and a cruise of water. 

— " But the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and 
touched him, and said. Arise, and eat ; because the journey is too 
great for thee." God's caring for his people is not only relieving, 
but prospective. He foresees what they will need, and prepares 
them for difficulties and duties which they had not reckoned upon. 
He strengthens the shoulder when the burden is going to be in- 
creased. And when he gives them an additional supply of faith, 
hope, peace, and joy, little, perhaps, do they imagine what trials they 
are to endure, or wnat steps they are to take, in the strength of it ! 

— But how was Elijah fitted for his journey ! Surely the suste- 
nance derived from this meal was miraculous. But it shows us what 

13* 



24 JULY 12. 

his power can do ; and teaches us that man liveth, not by breuO 
alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. 
"And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of 
that meat forty days and forty nights, unto Horeb, the mount of 
God." And why did he choose to repair hither ? Would no 
other place have afforded him an equally safe retreat ? Was he 
actuated by curiosity, or piety ? Here was much to strike his 
mind, and to aid his faith and devotion. Here, would he say, 
Israel encamped ! Here fell the manna ! Here moved, and here 
stood, the fiery cloudy pillar ! On the top of this hill God spake 
all the words of his law ! And there God spake with Moses, face 
to face ! How much is connected with some spots ! " And Jacob 
awoke — and said, How dreadful is this place ! This is none other 
but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." 



♦' July 12,—" I die daily."— 1 Cor. xv, 31. 

We need not confine the meaning, but take the expression in all 
its latitude of import. In what sense could not Paul make this 
acknowledgment ? In what sense is it not possible, or proper for 
us to make it ? 

First. He died daily, because he professed to preach the Gos- 
pel, in constant hazard of life. "In labors," says he, "more 
abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in 
deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save 
one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I 
suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep ; in 
journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils 
by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the 
city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among 
false brethren ; in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in 
hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness." Well 
might Tie affirm, "I die daily." But in this sense, you say, the words 
are not applicable to us. It is true, from many of his dangers 
you are secure. Your religion is not exposing you to the loss of 
3^our life, or even of your liberty, or your substance. But do not 
even you die daily ? Are you not in jeopardy every hour ? Are 
•you not surrounded by wicked and unreasonable men, whose 
vices and passions would destroy you, without the restraining 
providence of God ? Are you not liable to a thousand accidents ? 
Do not 

'' Dangers stand thick througli all the ground, I " And fierce diseases wait around, 
" To push us to the tomb ? | " To hurry mortals home I" 

Wliat a frail thing is the human body ! How strange that such 
a curious machine, composed of such a multitude of delicate 
organs, shoyld continue so long in force and operation ! Know 
3'ou not that the heart beats seconds ; and that sixty move- 
ments of the blood take place every minute — so that sixty times 
every minute the question is asked, whether we are to live or die ! 
We die daily ! 

Secondly. Paul could say this, as death was actually in\'ading 
^m daily. And this is the case with us. We are r^— <^o v -^t cr.? -. 



JULY 12. 25 

in destination, but state. We decay while we receive siistenanca 
We talk of dying ! But is this a future thing ? Have we not always 
been dying ? Why 

" The momeut we begin to live, | " We all begin to die," 

We talk of dying ! Why many of us are half dead already, and 
some much more. Many of our connexions are dead ; many of 
cur comforts j many of our hopes. We have buried many of our 
opportunities ; and days and years — and every year, and even' 
day, brings us near the entire end of the whole. It is absurd to 
confine dying to the act of separation between soul and body — this 
is only the finishing stroke. We die daily. 

Thirdly. Paul, by a moral decease, died daily. So should we. 
To die to an object, according to the Scripture, is to have no more 
connexion with it, or attachment to it. Thus the apostle says to 
the Romans, " Reckon ye yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin." 
" How shall we, who are dead to sin, live any longer therein ?" 
And this moral dying is frequently expressed by the word crucifix- 
ion, in allusion to the mode of it ; and to remind us also of the cause, 
as well as the example. Hence it is said. " Our old man is cruci- 
fied with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that hence- 
forth we should not serve sin ; for he that is dead is" thus " freed 
from sin. Now if we be dead v/ith Christ, we believe that we shall 
also live with him." Thus the Christian dies daily, by a course of 
mortification to sin, and the world, and the impression of things 
seen and temporal, and the power of temptation. " For they that 
are Christ's have crucified the flesh, with its aflfections and lusts." 

Fourthly. Paul died daily by a readiness for his dissolution, 
whenever it should take place. And the man who is hke-mindod 
will feel a concern to be prepared to die — in a good state, and in a 
good frame — to die safely — to die cheerfully — to die glorifyiiig 
God — and having an abundant entrance into the everlasting king- 
dom of our Lord and Savior. And this must commence with the 
apostle's desire, " To win Christ, and be found in him." Notlung 
can be done to purpose, in our preparation for eternity, till we have 
said, " Into thine hand I commit my spirit ; thou hast redeemed me, 
O Lord God of truth." The voice from heaven only pronounces 
those blessed who " die in the Lord" — in a state of union and com- 
munion with him — having his righteousness to give them a title 
to, and his grace to give them a meetness for, the inheritance of 
the saints in light. 

But we should be concerned, not only to be habitually, but ac- 
Inally ready to die. That is, to be in a waiting posture ; having our 
loins girded, and our lamps burning; keeping our consciences clear 
«nd calm ; drawing off our affections from earth ; that, v/hen the 
summons comes, we may be v/illing to depart, and not be constrain- 
ed to plead for protraction, " O spare me a little, that I may recover 
strength before I go hence, and be no more." In the history cf 
Charles V., emperor of Germany, we are told, that he resigned 
the reins of government, and retired into a convent in Spain. 
There he resolved to celebrate his own obsequies. For this pur- 
pose, he ordered his tomb to be erected in tlio chapel of the 



26 JULY 13. 

monastery of St. Justus. Thither, at the proper season, all his 
domestics were ordered to march in funeral procecsion, carrying 
in their hands black tapers. The emperor followed in his shroud. 
Arrived at the place, he was laid in his coffin. The service of 
the dead was performed : and when the ceremonies were ended, 
the doors were closed, the attendants dismissed, and he was left 
alone. After remaining some time in the grave, he arose, and 
repaiied to his apartment, filled Math all those awful reflections 
which the solemnity was adapted to inspire. Now we do not 
recommend the practice of such a gloomy and abject superstition. 
But you may sanctify the expedient, at least, in thought. You 
may anticipate an event that must befall you. And Oh that you 
were wise, that you understood this, that you would consider 
your latter end ! Oh that you would remember, that the service 
you perform for others will certainly be required for yourselves ! 
Oh that when you see man going to his long home, and the 
mourners going about the streets, you would say, " I also am 
accomplishing, as an hireling, my day ; and in a little time, my 
neighbors, friends, and relations shall seek me — and I shall not be !" 
— Would it be improper or useless for you, in imagination, to 
suppose yourselves — entering yoin- sick chamber — stretched upon 
a bed of languishing — dying — MTapped up in your winding sheet 
— laid in your coffin — friends, for the last time, touching your 
cold cheek with their lips or the back of their hand — the lid 
screwed down — and your remains borne through the mutes at the 
door — and accompanied to the grave — and left there — while the 
spirit had returned to God, who gave it. In endeavoring to re- 
alize this condition, I ask, How would the world appear ? What 
v/ould you think of the censure or praise of men ? What of many 
of your pursuits '? Would not this check the levity of the mind, 
and the pride of life ? Would not, also, this contemplation break 
the force of surprise ? 

" FaanlJar thoughts can slope the way to death." 

—But if we think not of the subject, the event will be a sudden 
precipice. 

— The sum of human wisdom is, to keep us from surprise in 
any thing — the sum of divine wisdom is, to keep us from sur- 
prise in death. We know not how soon the event may come, 
nor in what manner it may befall us. It may not wait the close 
of threescore years and ten ; and it may not announce its ap- 
proach by the common warnings of sickness. If Ave have not 
learned this truth already from our observations of mortality — 
neither should we be persuaded though one rose from the dead. 



July 13.— "I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do 
it for them." — Ezek. xxxvi, 37. 

That is, what he had been promising, and notwithstanding the 
freeness and certainty of the engagement. Such is the revealed 
" will" of God. And liis will is law, and law from which there 



JULY 13. 27 

lies no appeal. Nothing, llierefore, can dispense with the obliga- 
Uon of prayer. But let us look at this fact. 

As we have no claims upon God, and all he does for us must be 
from pure mercy and grace, no one can deny that he has a right 
to determine the Avay in which his favors shall be conferred. 
Nor can it be questioned that he is the most competent judge in 
this case. For his understanding is infinite ; he knows himself 
and his relations ; and he knows us and our welfare, perfectly. 

But let us not suppose that he acts arbitrarily, though he may 
act sovereignly. And let us remember, too, that his acting sove- 
reignly does not consist in his acting without reasons, but in his 
being governed by reasons, which are often far above, out of oui 
sight. 

His wisdom and his goodness are to be seen here, as plainly as 
his authority. Some vainly ask, Where is the propriety ol 
prayer 7 Can prayer be necessary to inform a Being, perfect in 
knowledge ? Or to excite a Being, always ready to do good ? Or 
to induce a Being with whom there is no variableness, to change 
his measures ? But the question is beside the mark. What is 
not necessary as to God, may be necessary as to us. Religion 
is founded, not in his wants, but in ours. Does not something ot 
this kind obtain among all ranks and conditions of our fellow 
creatures ? All-parental as you are, do you always dispense with 
your child's asking for Avhat he wants ? As a master, though will- 
ing to forgive, do you not deem it needful to require the servant 
that has offended you to confess his fault, and implore pardon ? 

How many are the advantages arising from God's requiring us 
to ask, that v/e may have ; and seek, that we may find ! The 
exercise of prayer keeps alive a sense of our indigence and de- 
pendence. Every time I go to God in prayer, I am reminded— 
that I am ignorant, and that he is wise ; that I am weak, and 
that he is powerful ; that I am guilty and miserable, and that he is 
merciful and gracious ; that I am nothing, and that he is all in all. 

— Prayer, by bringing us into the presence of God, will impress 
us with his excellencies ; and the intercourse we have with him 
will lead us to admire, and fear, and love, and resemble him. For 
we soon catch the spirit, and take off the manners of those with 
whom we are intimate, especially if they are above us, and we 
much esteem them. It is said that those who are about the court, 
have an air and address peculiar to themselves, and that it is dif- 
ficult, if not impossible, for another to assume it. A man who \s 
much at the throne of grace, wiU betray it in a manner of feel- 
ing, speaking, and acting, that a religious pretender can never 
exemplify. 

— Hereby, too, the blessing is more endeared, and enhanced. 
We never much regard what we acquire witliout application or 
effort. The effort is a kind of price ; and we judge of the com- 
modity by the cost. That which blesses us is what relieves our 
wants; fulfils our desire; accomplishes our hope; crowns our 
sacrijices. God's blessings are not bestowed upon those who are 
incapable of feeling their value— they would then yield neither 
pleasure lo the receiver, nor praise to the Giver. His way, there- 



28 JULY 14. 

fore, is to make us sensible of our need ; to show us the impor- 
tance and excellency of the favors ; and to draw forth our souls 
after them. Then we are in his way. I'hen we can plead his 
promise. For blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after 
righteousness, for they shall be iiJled. 

July 14.—" My peace I give unto you."— John xiv, 27. 

Peace sometimes signifies a confluence of temporal good things. 
But this is not the meaning of it here. Our Savior himself was 
poor, and a man of sorrows. And he said to his disciples, In the 
world ye shall have tribulation. Yet at the same time they were 
to have peace in him. This peace, therefore, must have been 
something which trouble could not hinder or injure. It must 
have been a spiritual privilege — composure of mind ; especially 
— for here is the source of the greatest perplexity and disquietude ; 
the calm of conscience, arising from a hope of our acceptance in 
the beloved. Before it can be enjoyed, the awful breach between 
God and us must be healed ; and the blessed partaker of it be 
able to say, Th ju wast angry Avith me ; but thine anger is turned 
away, and thou comfortest me. For there must be a sense or 
apprehension of God's favor, which is life. I may be pardoned ; 
but if I am ignorant of my forgiveness, my anxieties and unea- 
siness will remain. But when He says to my soul, I am thy sal- 
vation, then being justified by faith, I have peace with God — not 
only peace with him above, but peace with him within — a peace 
that passeth all understanding. 

For who can adequately conceive the value of this donation ? 
We need not descend into the depths of hell,, to inquire what the 
miserable victims of despair would give for a moment's enjoy- 
ment of it. Let those speak wiio have been convinced of sin, 
who have felt a wounded spirit, and, expecting to fall into the 
hand of the living God, have exclaimed. What must I do to be 
saved ! What were the feelings of the man slaj^er, with the 
avenger of blood at his heels ! And what was the change he ex - 
perienced, as soon as he had entered the appointed asylum, and 
could turn round and face the foe ! Say ye — for ye have reali- 
zed the blessed transition — ye who have fled for refuge to lay 
hold of the hope set before you. 

" 'Tis a young heav'n on earUily ground, | " And glory in the bud." 

It is a cluster of the grapes of Eshcol. It weans from the worlc'. 
It enlivens duty. It smooths the rugged path of adversit3\ It 
turns a dying chamber mto the House of God, and the gate of 
heaven. 

But the Savior calls it his peace — " My peace I give unto you." 
It would be a low sense of this, though a true one, that he came 
and preached it. It was his in an infinitely more expensive way. 
He procured it for us. He came not to tell the way to heaven, 
but to be the way — not to show us how to make our peace with 
<Tod, but to make it ; and he did make it — we were reconciled 
unto God by the death of his Son. The chastisement of our 
peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed — he made 



JULY 15. 29 

Deace by the blood of his cross. And he applies it by the agency 
of his Holy Spirit; enabling ns to believe, and enter into rest; 
and maintaining our hope in all the changes o life and under a 
continued sense of our unworthiness and guilt. Nor is it more 
his by derivation than distinction. Many have peace ; but how 
unlike his! There is the peace of the sinner Ihis is of Sa- 
tanic oricTin. The strong man armed keepeth his palace and his 
goods iii° peace. But this peace is worse than war. It is not 
founded iii conviction, but ignorance. It cannot endure thought. 
it is unworthy of the name of peace-there is no peace, saith my 
God, to the wicked. How can a man retire, and go to sleep, 
when, if he dies before the morning, (and how easily may his 
bed become his grave !) God is under an oath to damn him ? He 
denies it, or forgets. There is the peace of the self-righteous 
Pharisee and the peace of the Evangelical hypocrite; both oi 
which will prove as the spider's web, and as the giving up of the 
ghost There is the peace of the worldling, who, in the calm ol 
his fireside or evening's walk, musing on his abundance, says, O 
my soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years ; take 
thine ease ; eat, drink, and be merry. But he may, that very 
nic^ht, have his soul required of him ; and then whose are those 
things which he has provided ? What is it to be at ease in our cir- 
cumstances, and to enjoy peace with our neighbors, and m our fami- 
lies while we are at war with God, and his wrath abideth on us ! 
—But this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian cometh 
into the land ! Look to him. Repair to him. " He healeth the 
broken in heart, and bindeth up aU their wounds." While you 
neglect Him, you may seek peace, but you will never find it. 
But he cries— oh ! hear him—" Come unto me, all ye that labor 
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." And is not this 
the very thing you want 1 Rest ? Rest unto your souls ? Bc- 
heve him. try his word. " Lo this, we have searched it, so it 
is ; hear it, and know thou it for thy good." 

July 15.—" And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these para- 
bles, he departed thence. And when he was come mto his own country, he 
taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and 
Baid, Whence hath this man this wisdom,and these mighty works ? Is not this 
the carpenter's son ? is aot his mother called Mary ? and his brethren, James, 
and Joses, and Simon, and Judas ? and his sisters are they not all with us ? 
Whence then hath this man all these things ? And they were offended in 
him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, save in 
his own country, and in his own house. And he did not many mighty 
works there, because of their unbelief."— Matt, xui, 5J— £»«. 

—His o\vn country here means, not Bethlehem, where he was 
born, but Nazareth, where he had been brought up— a poor and 
despised place ; so that it was proverbially asked, " Can any good 
thing come out of Nazareth ?" Yet there was He found, who is 
the King of Glory ! 

Here he taught in their synagogues. U hat he taught is not 
recorded. But we may determine the substance of it from his 
addresses on other occasions, and from the end which he always 
kept in view—" to seek and to save that which was lost.' Of his 



30 JULY 15. 

manner of teaching, we cannot form an adequate conception. It 
was all his own. " Grace was poured into his lips." Even those 
who derived no saving advantage from it — even his enemies — 
said, " Never man spake like this man." 

Accordingly, the people here were astonished. Wonder has its 
place in religion ; and there is every thing in the Gospel to call it 
forth. But many emotions of this kind are not powerful enough 
to produce any decisive result ; and the subjects of them behold, 
and wonder, and perish. Thus it was here. They acknowledge 
his works to be mighty works, that is, miraculous ; but are of- 
fended with his want of education, having been at no university, 
at the feet of no Gamaliel ; never having learned letters. And 
also because he was not a man of birth and rank, but had rela- 
tions in common life, and was himself engaged in manual employ- 
ment. See how the god of this world blinds the minds of them 
that believe not. Who can stand before envy and prejudice ? If 
he had the wisdom, and did the works — both which they admitted 
— it was the more commendable, and the mere marvellous, that 
he was so pre-eminent without any ordinary helps, and the more 
likely was he to be divinely inspired. There seemed no other 
way of accounting for the prodigy. And this scem^s to strike them. 
But men do not value things according to their' real excellence. 
And M'hen there is not a cordial liking to any subject, every circum- 
stance which would otherwise befriend is converted into objections. 

In answer to their offence, our Savior remarks, " A prophet is 
not without honor, save in his own country, and in his own 
house." Usefulness depends upon acceptance, and acceptance 
\ipon esteem. Hence a bishop is to have a good report of them 
that are without; and hearers are commanded not only to re- 
ceive such, but to hold them in reputation. But those who have 
been above a man in condition, do not like to come down and 
listen to him as an instructer and reprover ; and those who have 
been upon a level with him, have been too familiar to feel venera- 
tion toward him. Many things, though quite consistent with 
sanctity, yet breed not that reverence and respect which attach 
to a man that comes to us, so to speak, from a kind of distance, 
and is onl}" seen through the medium of his sacred office. The 
case here stated is not universally and absolutely true. But it is 
so generally and comparatively; and even our Savior himselt 
was not an exception to it. After this, some of his servants need 
not be astonished at the treatment they experience. Neither 
should they fret and complain. They must take human nature 
as it is, and accommodate themselves prudenth^, as much as they 
ran innocently, to the actual state of society. This governed the 
Mast(n* ; and lie assigns it as the reason why he preferred labor- 
ing elsev/here : " He said unto them. Ye will surely say unto me 
this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard 
done in Capernaum, do also here in tliy country. And he said, 
Verily I say unto you. No prophet is accepted in his own country." 

But what a conclusion is here ! " And he did not many mighty 
works there, because of their unbelief." Some he did. ;Mark says, 
he laid his hands on a few sick folk, and healed them. But what 



JULY 16. 31 

was the prevention of more ? He generally required faith in liis 
iniraculoiis exertions. Hence the expressions — Be it unto tliee 
a'^cording to thy faith. Believest thou that I am able to do this ? 
If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. 
There were, indeed, some cases in which he wrought without 
this ; at least, without the faith of the individual ; though even 
then faith was found in those who applied on his behalf, or who 
brought him to Jesus. 

' But faith is always necessary in spiritual operations. He can 
produce faith within us ; but he cannot carry on his M'orks of 
grace without it. If he could, it would be in contradiction to his 
word ; and by a bhnd, positive, physical force, without their 
knowledge, feeling, wishes, or designs. But this is not his way. 
He does every thing by faith. We are saved through faith. 
Hence the importance of believing. The first, the chief concern, 
is to get faith. Talk not of the sufficiency and excellency of the 
remedy — it cannot lieal us unless it be applied ; and it can only be 
applied by faith. The Gospel is the power of God to salvation — 
but it is only to every one that believeth. 

There is something infinitely evil in unbelief, if we only consi- 
der what it prevents. It stands, and it is the only thing that does 
stand, between a sinner and the relief of the Gospel. Let him 
believe, and he is saved. He that hath the Son, hath life ; and he 
that believeth, hath the Son. As to others, the Wrath of God abi- 
deth on them ; for nothing else can withdraw them from under 
it. The Jews could not enter into Canaan because of their unbe- 
lief. It equally bars heaven against us. But what mighty works 
attend faith ! By faith we are justified. By faith we are sancti- 
fied. We stand, we walk, we live by faith. 

And Oh, what an injurious bar to a Christian himself is unbe- 
lief! How much does it hinder him from achieving in a way of 
duty, and realizing in a way of privilege ! What keeps him so 
weak and wavering ? Unbelief. " Surely if ye will not believe, 
ye shall not be established."' If we depend on our frames and 
feelings, we draw from a summer brook, instead of the well of 
living waters. Pleasing experiences are cordials ; but faith is the 
soul's food. Faith in the promise would immediately tranquihze 
lis, as it did Paul in the storm : '' Be of good cheer ; for I believe 
God, that it shall be as it was told me." What keeps a Christian 
60 poor in consolation ? Unbelief. '•' Filled with all joy and 
peace in beUeving." " Believing, we rejoice with joy unspeaka- 
ble and full of glory." 

Who would not, then, by faith let loose all the sources of divine 
mercy and grace ? Who would not cry out, with tears, " Lord, I 
believe ; help thou m.ine unbelief ?" 



JcLY 16. — " Call to remembrance the former days," — Heb. x, 33. 

This will soon convince us that there is nothing new under the 

sun, and keep us from saying, '• What is the cause that the former 

days wpre better than these ?" In many respects we have the 

advantage. In knowledge, and civilization, and liberty, and trade, 



33 JULY 16. 

and the conveniences and comforts of life, and abeve all in spirit- 
ual privileges, we far surpass our predecessors. 

If we look back to the period of Judaism, we shall have reason 
to say, " Blessed are our eyes, for they see ; and our ears, for 
they hear ; for many prophets and righteous men desired to see 
the things that we see, and did not see them, and to hear the 
things that we hear, and did not hear them." Tliey had the type, 
w^e have the reality ; they had the promise, we have the accom- 
pUshment; they had the dawn, we have the day— God having 
provided some better thing for us, that they without us should nol 
be made perfect. 

If we look back to the period previous to the entrance of the 
Gospel into our own country — what were our ancestors ? Naked, 
painted savages in the woods ; oppressed by cruel rites ; enslaved 
by idolatry: being without Christ; strangers to the common- 
wealth of Israel; having no hope, and without God in the world. 

We were called Christians long before the Reformation. But 
look at the period prior to that auspicious event. In what a state 
of mental degradation were we — religion, superstition— the ser- 
vice performed in an unknown tongue — the Scriptures kept from 
the common people— and nothing suffered to peep or mutter but 
as priestcraft allowed ! 

And when men began to know the words of life, and to serve 
God in spirit and in truth, what interdictions were they under ; 
and to what fines, imprisonments, tortures, and deaths, w^ere they 
exposed by the spirit of persecution— Popish, and— even Protes- 
tant ! Remember the former times, in which your forefathers en- 
dured a great fight of alfliction for conscience' sake. Think how 
they would have rejoiced to see a day, in which we sit under our 
own vine and fig-tree, and none can make us afraid ; and the 
Gospel is spreading far and wide ; and individuals, and churches, 
and communities combine to make manifest the savor of the Re- 
deemer's knowledge in every place. Christians should judge by 
a rule of their own ; and deem those the best times in w^hich the 
best cause flourishes most. We therefore live in the most prefer- 
able era the world ever yet M'itnessed. 

But it is well for us also to remember the earlier periods of our 
own personal history and experience — our days of religious 
nothingness, when we never called upon his name, and had no 
fear of God before our eyes. What feelings does the review of 
these days require ! 

But other days, better days, blessed days, followed after we 
knew God, or rather were known of him. He remembered these. 
" Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the 
Lord^ I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of 
thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in 
a land that was not sown. Israel was holiness unto the Lord, and 
the first-fruits of his increase." And shall ice forget them ? Can 
we forget them ? 

" IIow sweet their memory still !" 

In one respect, the review must be humbling. For how little has 



JULY 17. 33 

our practice corresponded with our profession, or our proficiency 
witli our advantages ! Yea, instead of advancing, have not we 
stood still, or rather gone back ? We read of " the fust ways of 
David." They were, alas ! his best. The king of Israel never 
equaled the shepherd of Bethlehem. When at ease in Zion, his 
soul prospered much less than when he was hunted like a par- 
tridge upon the mountains. And have we never sighed, " Oh that 
it was with me as in months past !" Here is the charge : " I have 
somewhat against thee, because thou has left thy first love." Let 
us not deny it, but remember from whence we are fallen, and 
repent, and do our first works. 

Are we in trouble ? Do we see no way for our escape ? Does 
God seem to have forgotten to be gracious 7 Let us remember the 
years of the right hand of the Most High. His love, and power, 
and truth, are still the same. And because he has been my help, 
therefore in the shadow of his wing will I rejoice 



JcLY 17. — " Ve have an unction from the Holy One." — 1 John, ii, 20. 

Who is this Holy One ? Unquestionably the Lord Jesus. It was 
one of the names by which he was known in the days of his flesh. 
The devils knew him by it, and said, We know thee who thou art. 
The Holy One of God. Ye denied, said Peter and John to the 
Jews, the Holy One and tlie Just. He was so called from the 
innocency of his life, the purity of his nature, and the eminency 
of his perfections ; and therefore in a sense applicable to no mere 
creature. God is often called the Holy One, in the Old Testa- 
ment ; and, alluding to the very place where holiness is thrice 
ascribed to him by the serapliim, the evangelist affirms, " This said 
Isaiah, when he saw his glory, and spake of him." He is rela- 
tively, as well as personally, holy ; and evangelically, as well as 
legally. He is as holy in his Gospel as in his law. He is as 
holy in his dispensations as in his ordinances. He is holy in all 
his ways, and righteous in all his works. He came by water, as 
well as blood ; and gave himself for us, to redeem us from all 
iniquity, and to purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of 
good works. And though he will bring millions from the depra- 
ved race of Adam to glory, he will bring them all there, not 
having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. 

And what is this unction from Him ? John was a Jew, and well 
knew that oil, unction, anointing — it is all the same thing— was 
used to consecrate — to beautify — to refresh and delight. The 
M^ord, therefore, is used here for the influence of the Holy Spirit. 
And this is derived from the Lord Jesus. This was typified in 
the case of Aaron, when the oil was poured upon his head, and 
w^ent down to the skirts of his garments. So, here, the unction 
descends from the head of the church to the lowest members of 
the body. Hence it is so often called the Spirit of Christ. It 
comes to us through his mediation, and comes to us from his pos- 
session. For it was not, as Mr. Howe observes, the design and 
effect of the sufferings and death of Christ, that the Spirit should 
be given immediately to any individuals 3 but that the whole dls 



34 JULY 18. 

pensation should be lodged in his hands, and the administration 
be the honor of his office. He received gifts for men, and this was 
the chief of them. Being by the right hand of God exalted, says 
Peter, and having received of the Father the promise of the 
Spirit, lie hath shed forth this which ye now see and hear. Ke 
therefore said to his disciples, " It is expedient for you that I go 
away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto 
you ; but if I depart, I will send him unto you." " And he shall 
not speak of himself ; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he 
speak ; and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify 
me ; for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you." 

Thus it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell. 
And of his fullness, says every saved, every sanctified sinner, have 
all we received, and grace for grace. 

Have we this unction from the Holy One ? If any man have 
not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. Destitute of this, our 
religion will be a form of godliness, without the power ; practice, 
without principle ; duty without dehght — a task — weariness— va- 
nity. We can only know that He abideth in us, by the Spirit 
which he hath given us. 

— If strangers to the benefit, let us seek it. We know to whom 
we are to apply. He is able, he is willing, to give us the supply of 
his own Spirit. How encouraging to address ourselves to one who 
loved us, and gave himself for us — who says, If any man thirst, let 
him come unto me and drink— who never sent one suppliant empty 
away — who never will — never can — for he cannot deny himself. 

Let us cherish this unction. It is what the apostle means, 
when he says,, " Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, by which ye 
are sealed to the day of redemption." Not only does gratitude 
require this, because of what the Spirit has already done for you, 
but a concern for your own welfare. What can you do without 
his aids and comforts ? In consequence of his sin, David feared 
the entire loss of his agency ; and therefore cried. Cast me not 
away from thy presence, and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. 
Yea, he had suffered the loss of the consolation and support which 
he alone can give : Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and 
uphold me with thy free Spirit. 

Let us diffuse this unction. Let us make manifest the savor of 
the Redeemer's knowledge, in every place ; in every condition ; in 
every company. Let it so abound in our conduct, temper, and dis- 
course, that we may be distinguished and recommended by it. So 
that all may take knowledge of us that we have been with Jesus. 



July 18. — " God, Avho is rich in mercy." — Ephesians, ii, 4. 

In a thousand things God entirely eludes our research. In 
every thing he surpasses our comprehension. But we know that 
he is merciful— we are sure that he is rich in mercy. And we 
cannot be loo thankful that the eminence of an attribute so es- 
sential to our happiness and hope is not obscurely revealed, but so 
plainly and fully made knowu in the works of his hands, the dis- 



JULY 18. 35 

pensations of his providence, the promises of his word, the pro- 
visions of his house, and the Son of his love. 

For who does not need this assurance '^ The self-righteous Pha- 
risee, who thanks God that he is not as other men are — he does 
not require it. And^the proud pretender, who is free from all 
sin — he does not require it — he formerly required it, but he has 
now attained, he is now already perfect. But there are four classes 
of characters to whom it must be like life from the dead. 

First. The victims of affliction. These are not rarely to be 
met with in this vale of tears. To such we would say. We ask 
)'ou not what your distresses are ; but if oppressed, say. Lord un- 
dertake for me. Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall 
sustain thee. Repair not, under the pressure of wo to the rope, 
or the bowl of intoxication, or the dissipations of the world — 
this is like Saul's going to the witch of Endor ; but go to the 
throne of the heavenly grace, imploring the pity of the God of 
all comfort. He does not afflict willingh^, nor grieve the children 
of men. It is your welfare that has called forth this seeming se- 
verity. He knows your frame. He remembereth that you are 
dust. He lays upon you no more than he will enable you to 
bear. He will not always chide : neither will he keep his anger 
for ever. When the benevolent end of the dispensation is an- 
swered, he will readily lay aside the rod, and say, '• Is Ephraim 
my dear son '? is he a pleasant child ? For since I spake against 
him, I do earnestly remember him still : therefore my bowels are 
troubled for him ; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the 
Lord. Set thee up w^aymarks, make thee high heaps ; set thine 
heart toward the highway, even the way which thou M'cntest : 
turn again, O virgin cf Israel, turn again to these thy cities." 
For He is rich in mercy. 

Secondly. Convinced penitents. They were formerly always 
extenuating their guilt ; now they are dwelling only upon the ag- 
gravations of it. Lately they seemed unsusceptible of alarm ; 
but now they refuse to be comforted. Such is their unworthi 
ness ! — the number and greatness of their sins ! They are cast 
out of his sight ! And there is only for tkem a certain fearful 
looking for of judgment and fiery indignation ! But Oh ! awaken- 
ed sinner, there is hope in Israel concerning this tiling. There 
is everlasting consolation, and good hope through gi-ace. With 
the Lord there is mercy, and -with him is plenteous redemption. 
Judge not of Him by a human standard. Who is a God like 
unto Him ? View him not through the medium of your own feel- 
ings. Believe his own word, wherein he assures you that he is 
ready to forgive ; that he will abundantly pardon. Believe his 
oath, wherein he SM^ears by himself, " As I live, saith the Lord, I 
desire not the death of him that dieth ; wherefore turn, and live ye." 

"Raise thy downcast eyes, and see | *' Tliey, though sinners once, like mo, 
" What forms his throne surround ; | " Have full salvation found."' 

— He is rich in mercy. 

Thirdly. Desponding backsliders. These, after walking in tlie 
way everlasting, have fallen by their iniquity, and perhaps feel 
more anguish of mind than when they were'first led to repent- 



36 



JULY 19 



ance. They say, and they say justly, '• No one lias snnied with 
such enhancement as I have done. I have sinned against the 
dearest relations, and under the highest obligations, and against 
the greatest advantages. I have sinned, after being made to know 
what an evil and bitter thing it is ; and alsy after tasting that the 
Lord is gracious. My sin has been more injurious in its effects 
than that of others ; it has more dishonored religion, and grieved 
the Holy Spirit of God." All this they ought to feel ; yet must 
not they forget that He is rich in mercy. It is this belief that will 
break the heart most, and make it sorrow after a godly sort. It 
is this alone that will lead them forward, M'ith weeping and sup- 
plications, saying. Lord, take away all iniquity : create in me a 
clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. And He 
— will He refuse to reply, " I will heal their backsliding, I Mill 
love them freely ; for mine anger is turned away from him V' 



Return, ye wandering souls, return, 
" And seek his tender breast ; 
Call back tlie nienioiy of tliose days, 
" When there you fouu(^ your rest. 



" Behold, great God, we come to tiiee, 
" Though blushes veil our face ; 

" Constraiu'd our last retreat to seek 
" In tliy much injur'd grace." 



Fourthly. Persevering believers. These have holden on tiieir 
way, and, having obtained help of God, continue to this day. 
They ought, therefore, to feel thankful. But it becomes them, 
also, to be humble. Indeed, the more they advance in tlie divine 
life, the more will they be dissatisfied Mith themselves. They 
will be deeply affected with a sense of their unprofitableness, and 
numberless infirmities. If their outward conduct has been fair to 
men, they know how little their heart has been right with God. 
They know the sins of their holy tilings would be enough to con- 
demn them, if God should bring them into judgment with him. 
Their language, therefore, still is, God be merciful to me, a sin- 
ner. This is their only relief—living and— dying— He is rich in 
mercy. 



July 19. — " As the appecorance of the bow that is in the cloud in the dny 
of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the 
appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord." — Ezekiel, i, 28. 

There is always ground for the prophet's complaint, "Seeing 
many things, they observe not." How often do even objects pe- 
culiarly designed and adapted to excite and impress, fail to strike, 
or at least to awaken any proper attention. Tliis is the case with 
the rainbow. Children wonder at the novelty, grandeur, and 
construction of the figure, but seldom ask a question about it. 
The common people, who are much abroad in the field, rarely 
give it a gaze, and never connect a thought with it, but as it may 
be supposed, by the time of its exhibition, to intimate the state of 
the weather. And what does the philosopher better? In the 
pride of science, he despises the vulgar ; but, though able to ex- 
plain the mediate cause of the phenomenon, he never looks after 
any thing the Scripture says concerning it. But who is, here^ not 
only a naturalist, but a moralist ? And not only a moralist, out 
a Christian ? A Christian in the field, as well as in the temple 



JULY 19. 37 

making that which is seen and temporal the means of communion 
with that which is unseen and eternal. 

The rainbow may be viewed three ways. First. Physically. 
Thus it is, in the sky, a semicircle of various colors, which ap- 
pears in showery weather. It is gendered by the sun-beams, on 
a cloud. When there is a moist and dark cloud opposite the sun, 
and disposed to receive and reflect his rays, the how is seen ; and 
never without this concurrence. 

Secondly. Federally.' The first time we read of it in the Book 
of Genesis' is in this covenant relation. " I do set my bow in the 
cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the 
earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the 
earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud : and I will remem- 
ber my covenant which is between me and you, and every living 
creature of all flesh : and the waters shall no more become a flood 
to destroy all flesh.'' It was in being before. But now it was 
made a divinely constituted sign, or token. Thus it should lead 
us to think of the holiness and justice of God, in the destruction 
of the old world : and also of his forbearance and goodness, in 
engaging not to destroy it in like manner : and in affording a 
sensible assurance of it. " The appearance may be, in some mea- 
sure, viewed as even typical of the event. The bow was early 
the principal weapon of war ; and soon became the emblem of it. 
David says, " He hath bent his bow, and made ready his arrows 
upon the string, to shoot at the persecutors."' But here is a bow 
without arrows, and without a string ! When a man uses the bov/ 
in a hostile manner, the ends are toward himself; and the back 
is toward the enemy. But here the bow is reversed — the back 
is toward heaven ; and the ends toward the earth. And there- 
fore if it had arrows upon the string, thej^ must be discharged 
upw^ard, not downward — the earth is safe, and has nothing to 
fear from it. If this should be thought more curious than wise, 
yet the bow thus viewed, if not a type, is a proof and a pledge 
It says, the flood is gone — never to return ! And here we feel a 
perfect certainty. However long or violently the rain falls, we 
are not alarmed. We look to the bow in the cloud ; and are sure, 
that, " w^hile the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold 
and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night, shall not 
cease." And why do we not feel equally sure v.ith regard to 
another interposition ? 

For thirdly. Tlie bow is to be viewed evangelically. " For a 
small moment have I forsaken thee ; but with great mercies will 
I gather thee. In a little wTath I hid my face from thee for a 
moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on 
thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer. For this is as the waters of 
Noah unto me: for as I have sv/orn that the waters of Noah 
should no more go over the earth ; so have I sworn that I would 
not be wroth with theo, nor rebuke thee. For the mountains 
shall depart, and the hills shall be removed : but my kindness shall 
not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be 
removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee." Here we find 
God doing in a nobler case, what he did after the deluge. Here 



38 JULY 20. 

we find him— with a better, an everlasting covenant, ordered i.i 
all things and sure. And to render the allusion similar, and to 
afford strong consolation to those M^ho are fleeing for refuge to 
lay hold of the hope set before them ; we have his oath, accompa- 
nied with a sign, or token, that should subdue every apprehen- 
sion. Where ? What is it? " Upon the likeness of the throne," 
says Ezekiel, "was the likeiiess as the appearance of a man above 
upon it.''^ We know to whom this refers. " And I saw as the 
color of amber, as the appearance of fire round about Avithin it j 
from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the ap- 
pearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the ap- 
pearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. As Ihe ap- 
pearance of the boio that is in the cloud in the day of i-ain^ so was 
the appearance of the brightness round about — This ivas the ap- 
pearance of the br^ightness of the glory of the Lord.^^ An emblem 
of his glory, both as to his person, and importance. Who can 
help admiring the rainbow ? It is one of the most beautiful ap- 
pearances in nature. How various the colors ! Yet the celestial 
tints are united ; and though distinct, melt into each other, to 
make one astonishing whole. And his name is Avonderful. What 
a combination of excellencies is found in him — " He is altogether 
lovely." 

" All human beauties, all divine, [ " In our Beloved meet and tliine." 

All the charms of nature ; all the attractions of all creatures in 
earth and in heaven ; are blended in him, and infinitely surpassed 
— " For how great is his goodness ; and how great is his beauty !" 

It also reminds us of his importance. He insures us safety — 
covenant safety. We are justified by his blood, and saved from 
wrath through him. He is the hope — the consolation of Israel. 
He that believeth on him shall not— cannot perish ; but have ever- 
lasting life. 

Let us look to him, and be comforted, against every adverse 
threatening. Afflictions cannot overwhelm us. The Law cannot 
curse us. Enemies cannot injure us. " Nay, in all these things 
w^e are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I 
am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor princi- 
paUties, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor 
height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to sepa- 
rate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." 



July 20 — " They took knowledge of tliem that they had been with Jesus." 

Acts, iv, 13. 

This recognition is explained two ways. Some take it literallj^, 
as referring to the persons of the Apostles. These, their arraign- 
ers remembered, when they looked at them, for they had seen 
them before in company with him. And this, it is more than 
probable, was the case. For some of this very council attended 
\iie examination on the night of his apprehension. Yea, he was 
examined in the very house of this Caiaphas — and we are assured, 
that, Peter on the occasion, went into the High Priest's palace to 
see the end. Jesus, also, had openly taught in the Temple, when, 



JULY 20. 39 

more than once, some of these men were present, disputing with 
him; and he was always accompanied by his disciple°s— No 
wonder, therefore that Peter and John were recognized by them. 
But others take it in allusion to their qualities, behavior, and 
mode of speaking ; connecting it particularly with the former 
words. And " when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, 
and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they 
marvelled— and they took knowledge of them that they had been 
with Jesus :" remarking that they were of the same party ; or, as 
we should say, of the same stamp. So the sentence has been 
commonly understood. And three remarks may be made upon it. 
First. Some have been with Jesus. Peter and John had been, 
as to his bodily presence, with him, for several years, in public 
and in private ; going out and coming in with him— and who is 
not ready to envy them such intercourse ? But he was received 
up into glory : and they who had known him after the fxesh, 
knew him so no more. Yet he has promised his people his 
spiritual presence, to the end of the world. And thus though now 
invisible, he is yet accessible. Hereafter they will be for ever 
with the Lord. But this heaven begins on earth. They were 
naturally without Christ ; though not as to dispensation, yet as to 
experience. But their religion began with an introduction to him 
—they were made sensible of their need of him. They sought 
him ; and they found him. They had much to do with him then • 
and they have had much to do with him ever since. And they only 
go on well in religion as they are able to say, " \\Tien I awake, I 
am still with thee"—" I am continually with thee." They are 
with him— and in his word— in his House— at his Table— with 
him in the closet— in the field— 

" Where'er they seek him he is fouud, | « And every place is holy ground." 

They are with him, as pupils are with their teacher— as servants 
are with their master; waiting upon him all the day— as follow- 
ers with their leader ; willing to follow him whithersoever he 
goeth—as soldiers with their commander, fightintr the good fight 
of faith ; For " they that be with him, are called, and chosen, and 
faithful ;" and " he that is not with him, is against him." 

Secondly. It is expected, that thev who are with him should 
resemble him. It is proverbially said, Tell me a man's company, 
and I will tell you his character. And it is well known, that 
like not only attracts, but begets like. 

Hence the importance we attach to the choice of associates. 
Hence we say to the unmarried— Be not unequally yoked toge- 
ther with unbelievers. Hence, to the young— He that walketh 
with wise men shall be wise ; but a companton of fools shall be 
destroyed. If we enter the house of mourning, we instantly catch 
the sympathy. The heart softens. The countenance contracts. 
I he eye melts— How different are our sensations in the circle of 
festivity and mirth ! It is said^ that those who live at Court have 
a manner of their o\vn, which others cannot successfully put on. 

All association, however limited, produces some influence. But 
the conformity will be in proportion— to the degree of the intima- 
VoL. H. 24 



40 JULY 21. 

macy — and the constancy of the intercourse — and the love wc 
liave to the individual — and the veneration we feci for his great- 
ness. Novv^ all these will apply supremely to the Christian's ac- 
quaintance with Christ. And therefore the resemblance must be 
the greater — especially when we add to all this — That it is the 
duty, and the main business of his religion, to imitate him — For 
he that saith, he abideth in him, ought himself also so to walk as 
he walked. And if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is 
none of his. 

Thirdly. This conformity will not be overlooked. The Chris- 
tian himself may be not sensible of it ; for the more progress he 
makes in the divine life, the more humble will he be. Moses was 
not aware of the brilliancy of his face when he came down from 
being with God ; and was surprised to see the people dazzled at 
the glory of his countenance. And Paul said, I have not attained, 
I am not already perfect. But God will take knowledge of it — 
Angels will take knowledge of it — Ministers will take knowledge 
of it — His fellow Christians will take knowledge of it — The world 
will take knowledge of it — His profiting will appear unto all men. 
And though the wicked cannot be pleased with it ; yet they are 
aware of what, by their profession. Christians ought to be ; and 
their consistency will enthrone them in their conviction, and put 
to silence their ignorance ; and may constrain them to glorify 
God in the day of visitation. 

If persons are seen firm in principle ; fearless in duty ; zealous 
in the cause of God ; yet humble and lowly ; and gentle and 
tender ; and patient in suffering ; and ready to forgive — no one 
need to be told with w^hom they have been. 

So, if you are proud, and vain, and worldly-minded, and avari- 
cious, and revengeful, and censorious, and unkind, w^e do not 
require you to tell us with whom you are most intimate. And 
though we do not believe in witchcraft, we know that you have a 
familiar spirit — and we know who and what he is. And " glory not, 
and lie not, against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from 
above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and 
strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom 
that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to 
be entreated : full of mercy and good fruits ; without partiality, 
and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown 
in peace of them that make peace." 



July 21.— "O taste and see that the Lord is good."— Psalm xxxiv, 8. 

That God is good is too obvious to be denied : though, alas ! 
v/e are so little affected with it. He is good to all, and his tender 
mercies are over all his v/orks. He openeth his hand, and satisfi- 
eth the desire of every living thing. As to ourselves, he made us. 
and why did he not make us reptiles ? He placed us so high in 
the scale of beings, and furnished for our reception a world filled 
with his bounty and beauty. He gives the sweet interchange of 
hill, and vale, and wood and lawn. He makes the outgoings of 
the morning and evening to rejoice ; and, in the succession aj^f^ 



JULY 21. 41 

produce of the seasons, crowns tlie year with his goodness. He 
not only provides for our support, but for our comfort. He not 
only feeds and clothes, but feasts and adorns us. All our senses 
might have been so many inlets of pain, but they are the avenues 
of a thousand pleasures : and we are furnished with the most de- 
lightful colors, and sounds, and perfumes, and relishes. Our food 
might have been rendered distasteful ; but he has made it pleasant, 
and connected gratification with the most necessary act of life ; 
so that no one eats from a sense of duty, or to avoid death : but 
for pleasure. 

Distinguished from this general kindness of God, there is, how- 
ever, a peculiar goodness ; and which regards us, as sinners. It is 
called, in the Scriptures, mercy and grace. It led Him to remem- 
ber us in our low estate, and to make provision for our salvation 
from every effect of the fall. He spared not his own Son. He 
was delivered for our offences, and raised again for our own justi- 
fication. And in him all things are now ready for our acceptance. 
And, unworthy as we are, we may obtain all spiritual blessintys iii 
heavenly places, and— for ever. Herein is love ! And this fovor 
which he bears unto his people, and whicli regards the soul and 
eternity ; this good-will of Him that dwelt in the bush— This is 
what we are supremely to seek after. 

But what is the best way to know this goodness ! David does 
not say. Hear, and know ; read and know ; believe, and know • 
but taste and see that the Lord is good. That is, apply to him for 
3^ourselves, instead of relying on the authority of others ; as in a 
case of disputed relish you determine not by testimony, but taste 
In other words it means experience. Experience is knowledge 
derived from experiment, in contradistinction from theory. Since 
the mighty mind of Bacon beat down hypothesis, and introduced 
the inductive system, philosophy has reasoned from facts, and 
experimental philosophy has been much applauded. Why then 
should we ridicule experimental religion ? Is there no standard in 
divinity to which we can appeal ? Is there no test to be applied to 
the truth of pious pretensions ? Are there no facts to bear out or 
to contradict what the Scripture says of sin ? of repentance'? of 
nope ? and of peace and joy in believing ? 

• Some, and, m our day, many, know divine things in a way of 
speculation. But they are not under their operation ; thev feel 
not the powers of the world to come. And these are the most 
unlikely characters to be wrought upon. They are familiar with 
the tni hs of the Gospel; they admit all the preacher advances; 
they acknowledge all he proves: but it has no influence over the 
heart and life They believe in hell but make no attempt to flee 
from the wrath to come. They believe in heaven, but do not set 
their affection on things above. They believe in the value of the 
soul, and that its redemption ceaseth for ever, and yet nedect the 
only opportunity to embrace the things that belong to their peace. 
They go through the Bible; but its threatenings do not alari, and 
Its promises do not allure them. They resist every motive Thev 
nave been wooed and awed a thousand times in vain. They see 



42 JULY 22. 

and approve better tilings, and follow worse. They are not happy, 
and contrive to be miserable. They are in the jaws of death, and 
yet are at ease in Zion. What paradoxes ! What contradictions 
are you ! Of what worth is your knowledge ! To know a refuge, 
and never enter it ! To know a remedy, and never apply it ! To 
know good, and never partake of it ! This will not only leave you 
to perish, but deprive you of excuse, and aggravate your sin and 
condemnation. Like Uriah, with his fatal letter, you carry infor- 
mation that will place you in the front of the battle. Be not 
satisfied, therefore, till you know these things to purpose ; which 
% an only be. by your knowing them experimentally. 

Then your heart will be estabhshed v/ith grace ; and you will 
be so confirmed in the truth, that you will not be led away by the 
error of the wicked, to fall from your own steadfastness. 

Then you will desire greater degrees of it ; and, having tasted 
that the Lord is gracious, your prayer will be, " Lord, evermore 
give us this bread." 

Then you will be excited and qualified to address others ; for 
you will speak from the heart, and recommend a tried remedy — 
a remedy that has effectually cured yourselves. "Lo this, we 
have searched it, so it is j hear it, and know thou it for thy good." 



July 22.—" To him that overcometb."— Rev. iii, 21. 

There are seven addresses of this kind, closing the seven epis- 
tles, which John was to write, and send to the churches which 
were in Asia : to Ephesus and Smyrna, and Pergamos, and Thy- 
atlra, and Sardis, and Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Overlooking 
what is peculiar in each of them, let us notice what is common to 
all. Four things are so. 

First. All of them regard a particular character. It is a suc- 
cessful soldier. Him that overco'nteih. This reminds us of the 
nature of the Christian's life. It is a warfare. It was such, un- 
questionably, in the apostles' days. We read of their wrestling 
with p~incipalities and powers ; of their fighting the good fight ol 
faith ; of their resisting unto blood. If it be said, " The language 
is figurative," we allow it. But it must, or we are trilled with, 
imply realities. And what are these ? If it be said, " Religion i* 
not the same thing now as it was then," we ask. When was it 
changed ? And by whom ? And what is it at present ? What 
would be thought of a preacher, who should come forward in 
pi'.blic, and say, A religious life was a difficult thing once, but it is 
a very easy one now. The first Christians were required, in order 
to be the disciples of Christ, to deny themselves, and take up their 
crois, and follow him in the regeneration ; but all this is dispensied 
with now ! He may prophesy falsely — and the people may love 
to have it so : but what will be done in the end thereof? If, there- 
fore, you think yourselves in the way everlasting, without know- 
ing any thing of this spiritual warfare, you are in a pitiable condi- 
tion — and pertain to the strong man armed, who keeps his palace 
and goods in peace. 



JTJLY 23. 43 

Secondly. All of them are attached to an individual— not to 
them that conquer, but to — him that overcometh. As much as to 
say, Each is perceived by me in the crowd; and ifall in the church 
should prove corrupt, and one only maintain his fidelity — faint, 
yet pursuing — let him not be ashamed, or afraid. He shall be con- 
fessed before my Father, and the holy angels. For him that honors 
me I will honor. 

Thirdly. All of them contain the assurance of some reward of 
grace. The food of paradise — a crown of life — the hidden manna, 
and the white stone — the morning star — white raiment — a pillar 
in the temple of God — a seat with the Savior on his throne. But 
these who can describe or comprehend ? They are yet to be re- 
vealed. But we know enough to animate us in the conflict, and 
to convince us that godliness is profitable unto all things. 

Fourthly. All represent the Lord Jesus as the Author and Be- 
stower of every honor and indulgence, /will make : /will give ; 
/ will grant — says he, who procured all for us — and in whom all 
fullness dwells. The joy set before him, for which he endured the 
cross, and despised the shame, was the gratification of his benevo- 
lence, in receiving gifts for men. And he shall see of the travail of 
his soul, and shall be satisfied. He saves them spiritually now. 
And he shall raise up their bodies at the last day. And he shall 
say to those on his right hand. Come, ye blessed, of my Father, 
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the 
world. 

He shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in 
all of them that believe. Amen. 



July Q3. — " For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive, and plenteous 
in mercy unto all them that call upon thee." — Psaira, Ixxxvi, 5. 

The first word '* for," shows that the text contains a reason for 
something ; and it was this, as we see by the preceding verse — 
" Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul." We learn from it of 
what importance it is to place and keep the Supreme Being before 
the eye of the mind, in an amiable and inviting character, when 
we have to do with him. Tell me not there is danger in such 
representations — they may gender presumption. They may. 
Every thing is liable to abuse. But for this we are not answerable. 
We are saved by hope. By withdrawing his confidence in God, 
man fell ; and he can only be restored by replacing it in him. 
The first step of a sinner, in returning to God, must result from 
this trust. Accordingly, the design of revelation is to produce 
and support it. " For whatsoever things were written aforetime, 
were written for our learning, that we, through patience and com- 
fort of the Scriptures, might have hope." The same is said of 
the mediation of Christ : " By him we believe in God, who raised 
• him up from the dead, and gave him glory, that our faith and 
hope might be in God." More are destroyed by despair than by 
presumption. AVhen once a man says. There is no hope, he be- 
comes abandoned ; and the despondence he feels is the strongest 
link in the chain that binds him to an unconverted state. Let there 



>^ I •< - ' ' -^^ I ^^ K ■ -> .>■:: - -. - ■ '^ "'-^ ^^^^^-^-^^ •:.%^ \ J ,.. 
. l)e. therefore, always a refuge open, and into which a sinner, when , 
" he looks back, and wishes to enter, may return. Tell him yet 
^ there is room. Tell him that God is good, and ready to forgive, 
," and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon him. 
" And from hence let me also learn, that — when we have no v 

comfort arising from personal assurance, there is encouragement 
' enough in the general views M^hich the Scripture gives us of God, 
to induce us to wait on the Lord, and keep his way. David does 
not here say, I will lift up my soul to Him ; for he is my God, and 
he has given me the heritage of them that fear his name ; but he 
looks to his goodness, and readiness to forgive, and the plenteous- 
ness and impartiality of his mercy — these considerations do not 
require me to ascertain, before I come to him, that I am a saint ; 
but tell me to come, as a sinner ; and assure me, that he will in 
no wise cast me out. When I kno\y not that I have grace, how 
delightful is it to know that it is attainable ; and to hear a voice, 
saying. Whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely ! 
Thus Mr. Scott said, when dying, that those Scriptures refreshed 
and comforted him most which were not limited to a particular 
I class, but open to all. 
; V Yet, however good, and forgiving, and merciful. He is— this is 
■'■' nothing to those who refuse or neglect to — "call upon him." 
Such blessed assurances are not intended to make us careless ; 
but to excite and animate our applications to him. Prayer is the 
way in which he who has a right to determine, and who cannot 
err, has chosen for our obtaining his favors— Yet I will be in- 
y ': quired of. Ask, and ye shall have. Seek, and ye shall find. 
V "^ Those, therefore, that live without prayer are shut out from the 
" blessedness. But this is not all. They incur, also, the curse, 
which results from the contempt of his grace. There is no ag- 
gravation of misery like the consciousness of patience exhausted, 
kindness abused, opportunity lost. But lost entirely by our own 
fauU ! Lost for ever ! This conviction will be the food of the 
worm that never dies, and the fuel of the fire that can never be 
V. , quenched. 

^ — - 

July 24.— "Prove me now."— Malachi, hi, 10. 
There is nothing of which men are more tenacious than the 
honor of their veracity. How offended do they feel, if we seem 
to suspect the truth of their word, by requiring a pledge or vouch- 
er before we can venture upon it. If a king were to address his 
subjects in a way of privilege, and . they should saj^— We must 
try thy faithfulness before we can trust it— he would consider 
himself insulted, and, in wrath, have nothing to do with them. 
God is veracity itself ; and magnifies his word above all his name. 
And he might justly say to us— Such are my declarations— disho • 
nor me not, by requiring any confirmation— I am entitled to nn- 
plicit credence, and if ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be 
established. But he knoweth our frame ; and he knoweth the 
absolute importance of our confidence in him— and therefore he 
allows us to acquire it in our own way, and seems more concern- 
ed for our satisfaction than for l>i.s own glory. 



JULY 24. 4o 

And yet hereby he glorifies himself too ; for by this method 
he not only shows his kindness and condescension in accommo- 
dating himself to our infirmities, but obtains a sensible and satis- 
factory conviction in favor of his truth. In addition to testimony, 
we are furnished with experience. What we have read and heard, 
we have brought to trial — and have demonstrated ourselves. So 
that we do not merely believe. There must be, indeed, a degree 
of faith to induce us to make the trial— but when we have made 
it, and made it successfully, the proof increases the confidence of 
faith — and he that thm believeth hath the witness in himself. 

Hence, when God invites us to prove him, it is not sinful to do 
it— yea, it would be sinful to refuse. We see this in the case of 
Ahaz. " Moreover, the Lord spake again unto Ahaz, saying. Ask 
thee a sign of the Lord thy God ; ask it either in the depth, or'in the 
height above. And Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt 
the Lord." He did not decline it from confidence in God, or 
from humility— but from desperation or indifference. " Not I— 
it is useless." Isaiah so understood it, as appears from his an- 
swer and complaint : " And he said. Hear ye now, O house oi 
David ; it is a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary 
ray God also ?" When He allows a privilege, it becomes us 
gratefully to use it : we reflect upon his kindness and wisdom if 
we do not. Some, like Gallio, care for none of these things. 
They do not think religion or revelation worthy of proof. Hume 
said he had never read through the New Testament in his life ! 
As much as to say. It is nothing to me, whether these things be 
true or false. I v/iil take no pains to ascertain whether we have 
souls as well as bodies ; whether another world succeeds this ; 
whether, after death, there be a judgment, or a heaven, or a hell ! 

There is, indeed, a censurable proving of God j and it is more 
than once charged upon the Jews of old. It was founded in un- 
belief, and led them to dare his judgments. Thus Pharaoh, and 
thus Adam and Eve, tried his word, in his threatenings. This is 
always wrong. First, because, if the trial proves the denuncia- 
tion true, the proof is useless ; for it is derived from the infliction 
of the evil itself : we are convinced by being punished. And, 
secondly, we cannot put the menaces of God to the test, but by 
criminal conduct. It is only by sinning, that we can try whether 
what he has threatened against sin will be accomplished— as the 
practice is the condition on which the penalty is suspended. But 
it is otherwise with the promises of God— if we find tliem true, 
we are saved and happy : and we can only seek the proof of their 
truth, in what is good and improving ; in praying, in obedience, 
in the use of the means which God has ordained. 

Let us then prove him— and see whether his word will come to 
pass or not. Let us prove him w^th regard to the freeness of his 
mercy. For he hath said, " Come and let us reason together • 
though your sins were as scarlet, they shall be white as snov/ ; 
though they were like red crimson, they shall be as wool." " Let 
the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts ; 
and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon 
him ; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my 



46 JULY 25. 

thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, 
saith the Lord." Let us prove him with regard to the eflficacy of 
his grace. For he hath said, " My grace is sufficient for thee, for 
my strength is made perfect in weakness." Let us prove him 
with regard to the care of his providence. For he hath said, 
" There is no want to them that fear him." " He careth for you." 
" The hairs of your head are all numbered." Let us prove him 
with regard to the advantage of benevolence. For he hath said, 
" God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, 
which ye have showed toward his name, in that 3^e have minis- 
tered to the saints, and do minister." Let us prove him in regard 
to the blessedness of his service. For he hath said, " Godliness 
is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, 
and of that which is to come." " 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 life, and in the world to come life 
everlasting." 

By how many millions Juis all this been proved ! Yes ; his word 
has been a tried word, and it has never failed in the trial, and 
never will. 

Let us make the trial for ourselves, and set to our seal that God 
is true. Thus we shall become his witnesses to others, and be able 
to say, " O taste and see that the Lord is good ; blessed is the man 
that trusteth in him." 



July 25. — "For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the 
Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me ; him shall 
ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come 
to pass, that every soul Avhich will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed 
from among the people." — Acts, iii, 22,23, 

There was a remarkable resemblance between Moses and the 
Messiah, which it would be easy to trace. But the likeness here 
spoken of regards his ofiice. Moses Avas a prophet, a peculiar 
prophet, a pre-eminent prophet. He introduced and established 
the whole of the Jewish dispensation with miracles, wonders, and 
signs. He was the mediator between God and the people. Other 
prophets received divine communications through various me- 
diums; but he received every thing from God immediately. "If 
there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make mj-self known 
unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My 
servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all my house — with him 
will I speak, mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark 
speeches ; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold." But, 
if " the law was given by Moses, grace and truth came by Jesus 
Christ." "No man hath seen God at any time ; the only begotten 
Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." 
Yea, in all things he has the pre-eminence. Moses was faithful 
as a servant ; but Christ as a Son over his own house. The com- 
mission of Moses was confined to one nation ; but Christ is not 
only the glory of his people Israel, but a light to lighten the Gen- 
tiles — the light of the world. 



JULY 25. 47 

Every office the Savior sustains requires a corresponding dis- 
position in those to whom he is sent. As he is a prophet, we are 
commanded to "hear him." It cannot mean a mere hearing. 
Then many would be safe who are condemned already. But it 
includes our believing his instructions with a faith unfeigned, and 
our cordial submission to them ; or, as the apostle expresses it, 
our obeying from the heart the form of doctrine delivered us. 
Blessed are they that hear the word of God and "keep it." If he 
commands us to lay up treasure in heaven, and we mind earthly 
things, if he tells us to deny ourselves, and take up our cross, and 
follow him, and we live to the lusts of men — if he says, Look unto 
me, and be ye saved, and we go about to establish our own riglit- 
eousness — we do not hear him, but despise and reject him. He 
that hath his commandments, and keepclh them, he it is that lovetli - 
him — and he it is that heareth him. 

We are not only to hear him, but to hear him " in all things 
whatsoever he shall say unto us." Some dislike the mysterious 
parts of Christianity ; some the humiliating ; some the practical. 
But the only inquiry of a true disciple is, " Lord, what wilt thou 
have me to do ?" He will not dictate ; he will not object ; he will 
not prefer — but say, "I esteem all thy commandments concerning 
all things to be right, and I hate every false way." The test of 
real obedience is, to " do all things without murmurings and dis- 
putings." 

Nothwithstanding our duty and our rsj^onsibility, it is here 
supposed that some " will not hear this prophet." This is a sad 
intimation, and we might wonder at the fact. But the depravity 
of human nature will account for it, and all history confirms it. 
Some ridicule and oppose. Many never attend the means of grace- 
Numbers have only "a form of knowledge;" and others, only "a 
form of godliness," while denying the power thereof. 

And to what are they e*^posed '? " It shall come to pass that 
every soul that will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed from 
among the people." Mark the impartiality of the sentence, " every 
soul." The refusers may be many ; and they may diifer from 
each otlier. But though each may turn to his own way, all are 
going astray. There is only one path of life, but there are many 
avenues to death. And it matters not what our particular cha- 
racter is, whether profligate or formalist, Pharisee or hypocrite — he 
that believeth not shall be damned — and without holiness no man 
shall see the Lord. See the nature of the doom, " shall be cut 
off." This is not correction, but excision ; not, however, annihila- 
tion—this would be a privilege. They shall seek death but they 
shall not find it. In vain will they ask the rocks to fall on them, 
and the mountains to cover them. The penalty is not the loss of 
their being, but of their happiness and of their hope ; the destruc- 
tion of body and soul for ever. Observe the dreadfulness of the 
aggravation, " from among the people." They are intermixed 
now, and some of them very peculiarly. They attend in the same 
sanctuary ; they live under the same roof; they are united by the 
ties of friendship and of blood. But their privileged situation and 
condition only evinced ?nd increased their depravity. " Let favor 



48 JULY 26. 

be showed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness ; in 
the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly ; and will not behold 
the majesty of the Lord." Their present advantages, therefore, 
will afford them no security. Neither will they be able to retain 
them. The wicked shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners 
in the congregation of the righteous. But severed from the just, 
they will be led forth with the workers of iniquity ; and carry 
away with them into the place of torment only the remembrance 
and the guilt of all they neglected and abused here. 

See, then, that ye refuse not him that speaketh ; for if they es- 
caped 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 ?" 



July 2fi.— " The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field ; the 
which, when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and sell- 
eth all that he hath, and buyeth that held."— Matt, xiii, 44. 

How well may the Savior call the Gospel a treasure! The 
tongue of an angel could not describe its value and preciousness. 
It meets and relieves every want of the sc-ul. It blesses us with 
all spiritual blessings. It is the true riches ; unsearchable riches 
— durable riches. It profits in the day of wrath. It delivers from 
death. It ennobles in the world to come. 

A man may Jind a treasure hid in a field, by accident, or by 
search. There is nothing casual in the salvation of a sinner, as 
to God ; but as to himself] the event may be wholly undesigned, 
and unlooked for. He may have been seeking, but not for this 
object ; like Saul, who was searching when Samuel met him ; but 
it was for his father's asses, and not for the kingdom. Thus the 
Lord is found of them that sought him not ; and asked not for him. 
Matthew was sitting at the receipt of custom when the Savior 
said. Follow me. Saul was in a journey of iniquity, when the 
Savior appeared to him in the way, and called him by his grace. 
Some have gone to the house of God, from mere custom, or cu- 
riosity, or a design to ridicule ; but have returned to pray, and 
liave said, what wilt thou have me to do ? But, says Henry, though 
he is sometimes found of them that seek him not, he is always 
found of them that seek him. This was the case with Cornelius. 
He was a devout man, and feared God, with all his house ; pray- 
ing and giving alms always, when Peter was sent to tell him words 
by which he was to be saved. Nathanael had retired beneath 
the fig-tree, to read and reflect, and pray, when the Savior took 
knowledge of him, and said. Thou shalt see greater things than 
these. And there are those now, who are awakened, rather than 
enlightened: they feel their spiritual wants, and are using the 
means of grace. And whatever ignorance or legality mixes with 
their efforts, they are in the search, and shall find. He w^ho has 
touched the heart, and turned it from the world, will fulfil the de- 
sire of them that fear him ; he also will hear their cry, and will 
save them. Then shall we know, if we follow on to know, the 
Lord. 



JULY 26. 49 

The emotions of the fnder are naturally portrayed. First, when 
he hath found the treasure he hideth it. When we are anxious 
to secure a thing, we conceal it. The way therefore is here used 
for the end ; and hiding refers not to secrecy, but safety. The 
allusion is to that holy jealousy recommended by the apostle, 
when he says — Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us 
of entering into his rest, any of us should seem to come short of 
it ; looking diligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God. To 
that trembling at God's word — when we are more affected with 
the inviting, than with the awful parts. To that solicitude to ob- 
tain which always genders apprehension. Oh ! how shall I make 
all this my own ! Oh ! if I should miss, or lose ! What must I do 
to be saved ? 

Secondly. He feels joy thereof. Not that firm and glorious 
joy which arises in the established Christian, from a conscious- 
ness of possession, and who can say, I know that my Redeemer 
liveth : but the joy that results from discovery of the reality, the 
excellency, the suitableness, the all-sufficiency, the attainableness 
of the blessing ; and is called. Rejoicing in hope. The patient, with 
the disease yet oppressing him, cannot feel at ease ; but he is glad- 
dened, even on the brink of the grave, when he hears of the arri- 
val -^f a physician, bringing with him a remedy that was never 
applied in vain. 

Thirdly. He goeth — for now^ it is impossible for him, like many, 
to sit still — and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth the field. 
That is — he is fully determined to submit to the cost of procuring 
it, whatever it may be. W^e can offer no equivalency for the pos- 
session : nor is this the meaning of the word so often emplo3^ed in 
this connexion. In this way, were we to buy, it would be with- 
out money, and without price. But the meaning is simply e.r- 
change ; as, in buying, we part with something to gain some- 
thing. Hereby, we show our estimation; for wliat stronger 
proof can we give of our valuation of an object, than parting v/ith 
all we have for the sake of it ? And the case here is such, that we 
must make a choice, and a sacrifice, to evince our preference, and 
attain our desire. Some things must be absolutely given up. 
Some, conditionally. And all, as to supreme regard and depen- 
dence. Are we willing, then, to part with our sins? All our sins? 
Even our bosom lusts? The right hand? The right eye? Are we 
willing to part with our own wisdom ? not leaning to our own un- 
derstanding, but receiving the kingdom of God as little children, 
and becoming fools that we may be w^ise? Are we willing to part 
with self-righteousness? not with the practice of obedience, mo- 
rality, and good works ; but only the substitution of them in the 
room of the Savior, and reliance on them for our acceptance be- 
fore God, and the pleading them as a title to heaven —instead of 
saying. In the Lord have I righteousness and strength ? Are we 
willing to part with the world ? The promises of superiors ? The 
applause of companions ? The smiles of friends ? The ties of the 
dearest relations ? For " he that loveth father or mother more 
than me, is not worthy of me." 

This is a hard saying. But every thing requires sacrifice, and 



50 JULY 27, 

every thing in proportion to the importance of the attainment. 
And we are more than indemnified, for all we suffer or lose. 
" Verily I say unto you, there is no man, that hath left house, or 
parents, or 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." 



July 27. — " This grace wherein we stand." — Romans, v, 2. 

What is this state ? And what is this standing ? The stale is a 
state of grace ; and means, the privileged condition in which all 
Christians are found, though they were by nature children of 
wrath, even as others. It is expressed by our apostle, in the pre- 
ceding words — Being justified by faith, we have peace with God, 
through our Lord Jesus Christ ; by whom also we have access by 
faith into this grace. 

It may well be called this grace ; for it only flows from, and 
only proclaims, the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness 
toward us, by Christ Jesus. How dreadful it is to have God for 
our adversary ! He, in whom we live ! He who is about our 
path, and our lying down ! He, on whose side all creatures rise 
up, and range themselves ! He whose look is death, and whose 
frown is Hell ! What were our alarms, when we began to disco- 
ver our danger, and conscience induced to cry, "What must I do 
to be saved?" And when we saw the storm was passing off; 
when we were told that the dreadful breach was made up ; when 
we believed that God was pacified toward us for all that we had 
done — what were our feelings then, but life from the dead ? And 
in that day we said, " O Lord I will praise thee ; thou wast angry 
with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortest me." 

But we may be reconciled to another, so as to be forgiven, and 
not be admitted into the intimacies of friendship. After Absalom 
was, through the intercession of Joab, allowed to return to Jeru- 
salem, two years elapsed before he was allowed to see the king's 
face. But God favors us with the most familiar intercourse and 
communion. We come boldly to the Throne of Grace ; and in 
every thing, by prayer and supplication, make known our requests. 
We dwell in his house. We eat at his table. We walk Math 
God, We lean on his arm, and on his bosom. He honors us 
with his confidence, and trusts us with his secrets. He allows us 
to put him in remembrance, and plead with him ; and say — can 
his condescension go further? Concerning the work of my hands, 
command ye me. This grace takes in, also, approbation and com- 
placency. He takes pleasure in them that fear him. He rests in 
liis love. He joys over them with singing. They are his chil- 
dren, his bride, his jewels, his glory. And as their persons, so 
their services are accepted in the Beloved. Poor as they are, he 
smiles upon them. Their prayer is his delight ; and their alms 
are the odour of a sweet smell. He views tlieir motive, and passes 
by their mistakes. He regards their wish and design ; and says, 
in their failures, " It is well that it was in thy heart." 
Hence follows sympathy and compassion. What is done to 



JULY 28. 51 

them, he resents as a personal injury : for he that toiicheth them, 
toucheth the apple of his eye. In all their affliction, he is afflicted. 
And though he corrects them, it is for their profit. He takes the 
rod with reluctance, and he lays it aside with pleasure. He can- 
not withstand their yielding and tears. Is Ephraim my dear son ; 
is he a pleasant child ? For since I spake against him, I do ear- 
nestly remember him still. 

" So fathers their young sons chastise, 1 " The children weep beneath the smart, 
" WitL gentle hand and melting eyes ; \ " And move tlie pity of the heart." 

In this grace, they stand. Standing, here, intends firmness, 
stability, permanence. This is sometimes opposed to condemna- 
tion — If Thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquity, O Lord, who shall 
stand? To which we may answer — No one that appeals to his 
own obedience; but every one that is found in Christ: for there 
is no condemnation to them that are in him. For loho is he that 
condemneth ? It is Christ that died, yea, rather, thai is risen 
again ; who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh 
intercession for us. Hence, without presumption, they may ex- 
claim, 

" Bold shall I stand in that great day, I " While, through his blood, absolved I am, 

" For who aught to my charge shall lay? [ " From sin's tiemendous curse and shame 1" 

Sometimes it is also opposed to defeat. Take to you the whole 
armor of God — that ye may stand in the evil day ; and, having 
done all, may stand. And of this, they may be assured; for 
whatever disproportion there is between them and their enemies, 
the worm Jacob shall thrash the mountains. Some warriors have 
barely overcome ; another such victory would have almost ruined 
them; but a Christian, having vanquished all his adversaries, 
stands with his feet on their necks ; and is ready to engage as 
many more — Yea, in all these things we are more than conquer- 
ors, through him that loved us. 

The more privileged any condition is, the more anxieties does 
it awaken. It is easy, therefore, to imagine what a Christian 
must feel, if he apprehended any uncertainty as to the state he is 
in. But that state is as safe as it is blessed. " For I am persuaded, 
that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principahties, nor 
powers, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other 
creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which 
is in Christ Jesus our Lord," 

" Arise, my soul, my joj'ful powers, I " He raised me from the deeps of sin, 

" And triumph in my God | " The gates of gaping hell ; 

• Awake, my voice, and loud proclaim, I " And fixed my standing more secure 

" His ^ZonVjus grace abroad. | " Than 'twas before 1 fell." 



July 28.— "Let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord."— 1 Chro- 
nicles, xvi, 10. 

—And yet many believe, or pretend to believe, that religion is 
a joyless thing ! 

The heart has very little, if any, share in other enjoyments. 
Tliese delights only gratify the appetites, and strike the senses, 
and chaim the imagination. But where is the heart? Even in 
laughter the heart is sorrowful ; and the end of that mirth is hea- 
viness. Tn relisrion the heart finds relief, repose, satisfaction, joy. 



52 JULY 28. 

Yes, " the heart of those wlio are fully assured of their condition ; 
who have already attained, or have far advanced in the divine 
life." Nay — says the prophet — Let the heart of them rejoice that 
seek the Lord. And there are three reasons for this. 

First. Because it is an evidence of grace. They may draw a 
conclusion against themselves, and refuse to be comforted ; but no 
man can seek to know, and enjoy, and serve, and resemble God, 
from mere nature. Actions may not indicate the state of the mind ; 
but desires spring from it. We may be forced to do ; but we can- 
not be compelled to .prefer, and to choose. 

Secondly. Because their success is sure. This is the case in 
no other pursuit. In the fields of worldly labor we may spend 
our strength for nought, and in vain. A rival may bear off from 
us a prize, which we have long been chasing, and at the very mo- 
ment we are seizing it. The cup of enjoyment, filled with eager 
hope, is often dashed to the ground from the very lip that touches 
it. But their heart shall live that seek God. He that goeth forth 
and weepeth^, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless return again 
with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. Blessed are they 
that do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be 
filled. Is their unfaithfulness with God ? Did he ever say to the 
seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain ! 

Thirdly. Because, when they have found, their aim and their 
wish in seeking are fully answered. All they can desire is trea- 
sured up in Him : and they that seek the Lord, shall not want 
any good thing. As to success in other cases, the wise man tells 
us. All is vanity and vexation of spirit — vexation, if we miss ; and 
vanity, if we gain. To one of these alternatives we are inevita- 
bly subjected. We must be disappointed, either in acquiring 
them — and this is often the case, or in possessing them — and 
this is always the case. 

*' In vain we seek a heav'n below the sky ; 

" The world has false, l»iU flattering charms : 
" Its distant joys show big in our esteem, 
'* But lessen still, as they draw near tlie eye : 

" In our embrace the visions die, 
" And when we grasp the airy forn>s, 

" We lose the pleasing dream." 

But while every thing earthly falls short of hope, it is not pos- 
sible to form an expectation adequate to the riches of the glory of 
the inheritance in the saints. W^hat is it to have God himself for 
our portion and exceeding joy ! To be blessed with all spiritual 
blessings in heavenly places in Christ ! To realize a happiness 
that solitude increases, that trouble improves, that death perfects ! 
As it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor have en- 
tered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared 
for them that love him. 

While thus the heart of them that seek him should rejoice, the 
heart of others should be induced to seek him. At present he is 
not far from any one of you. He is even invit^ig you to seek 
liim. But, yet a little while, and if you seek him, it will be too 
late. Therefore, seek ye the Lord while he may be found j and 
call ye upon him while he is near. 



JULY 29. SS 

JcLY 29.—" To whom he showed himself alive after his passion."— Acts, i,a. 

How much Avill eternity reveal to our astonished minds ! and 

in reference to a thousand things, we may safely follow the advice 

of the Poet— 

" Wait the great teacher, Death ; and God adore." 

The Scripture is given to establish our faith, and comfort our 
hearts, and sanctify our lives ; but not to amuse us and to gratify 
onr curiosity. Our Savior rose from the dead, and ascended into 
heaven- but between these events there elapsed a considerable 
portion of time. During these intervening weeks, where was he ? 
And how employed ? One thing only we know-that he frequently 
showed himself to his disciples. The fact cannot be qi^estioned 

But what purposes were these intermediate appearances intended 
to answer '2 The Lord does not always give an account of any ol 
his matters ; and we ought to be peculiarly cautious in assigning 
reasons for his conduct,.who says, " My ways are not your ways 
and my thoughts are not your thoughts." \\e cannot however, 

^^L!.ThaT^they were the accomplishment of his word. He had 
<;aid " Ye now have sorrow ; but I will see you again, and^your 
hearts shall rejoice ; and your joy no man taketh from you. • 1 
will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you. \ et a httle 
while and the world seeth me no more ; but ye see me. Now 
though these declarations extend to his final coming to judgment 
and his advent in the gifts and graces of the Holy Ghost ; yet 
they more immediately ensure his manifestation of himself be- 
tween his resurrection tnd his glory. And if the disciples under- 
wood it not at the time, the meaning would be explained by the 
verification. And they would see how well they might in every 
other case rely upon his promise. ,,■,-, r 

_They were also to convince them how fully, he had forgiven 
them and thus gain the confidence of their hearts. For they had 
Sed very unworthily. After all he had done for them, and 
their own p/ofessions of attachment, when the hour of trial came, 
they all forsook him and fled. How much he felt their defection 
we learn from his complaint, " I looked for some to take pity and 
there was none ; and for comforters, and I found none." And their 
own consciences upbraided and condemned them for their vile- 
ness And therefore had he gone away to heaven, and they had 
not seen him. they would have feared his resentment and displea- 
sure—but he 'appeared to them again and again ; and always witn 
kindness in his looks, and peace on his lips ; and at last, laying 
his hands on them, he was taken up to heaven in the very act of 
blessing them-thus telling them that he had the same hean as 
ever, aiid was more than pacified toward them after all that they 

^— They were also to evince the certainty of his resurrection. 
The importance of this event rendered it necessary that it should 
be placed beyond the possibility of all reasonable doubt. Ine 
disciples were not eagerly credulous of the fact, but slow of heart 
to believe ; and their diffidence has been overruled to confirm our 



54 JULY 29. 

faith. For they required and obtained every kind and degree of 
proof. And these deponents were many. And were eye and ear 
witnesses. And even handled the word of Life. And did eat 
and drink with him. And for a length of time. And in cases of 
a most peculiar nature. They could not be mistaken j and ue 
cannot be deceived. He is risen indeed, and therefore he is the 
Son of God ; and we are not in our sins, and the dead in Christ are 
not perished ; and because he lives we shall live also. 

— They were also to impart information on subjects not touch- 
ed, or only hinted at before : because the disciples were not able 
to bear them ; and the proper hour was not yet come. And 
therefore the sacred historian says, that he not only showed him- 
self alive after his passion, by many infallible proofs, being seen 
of them forty days, but also spake to them of things pertaining to 
the kingdom of God. And this led them to think so differently 
of this kingdom from what they had done before, and to wait by 
prayer for its coming in righteousness, peace, and joy in the 
Holy Ghost. 

But when he said, I am no more in tliis worM ; and, also, Lo ! 
I am with you always, even unto the end of the world : and wiien 
he said, " He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he 
il is that loveth me ; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my 
Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him." 
Surely he intended a manifestation beyond his appearance, be- 
tween his grave and his glory. And this we ourselves may hope 
to claim. But how is it that he will manifest himself unto us, 
and not unto the world ? We disclaim all pretensions to personal 
manifestations. Some have contended for these ; and, like Colo- 
nel Gardiner, have believed that they corporally saw him. But 
surely this was mistaking a lively impression on the mind for a 
reality. The case speaks for itself Being embodied, he coula 
render himself visible ; but then it would be a true representation j 
we should see him as he is. And accordingly Saul saw him, 
when he appeared to him in his way to Damascus, with a body 
glorious above the brightness of the sun. .But these good people 
always see him as he is not — they always see him bleeding on the 
cross — but he is not there — he dieth no more, death hath no more 
dominion over him. We need no sensible appearance. 

— But there is a spiritual manifestation absolutely necessary. 
Paul experienced this, or the outward vision would have been of 
little avail : " It pleased God," says he, "lo reveal his Son in me." 
And our Savior himself said, He that seeth the Son, and believeth 
on him, hath everlasting life. It is a perception, by faith, of his 
glory, so as to induce us to love him, and trust in him, and follow 
him. 

— There are also special manifestations of himself (we mean as 
to clearness and enjoyment) occasionally experienced by his peo- 
ple ; and which excite them to exclaim, " This is none other but 
the House of God, an.d this is the Gate of Heaven." Thesefare 
not their food, but cordials. They are regulated by their condi- 
tion and exigencies. But though they are limited, as to num- 
ber and degree, they are most desirable and valuable. They 



JULY 30. 65 

make us better acquainted with heaven, than all the descriptions 
in the world. And they make us long after a state — in which his 
servants shall serve Him ; and they shall see his face — " And so 
shall they be for ever with the Lord." 



July 30. — " This is now the third time that Jesus showed himself to his 
disciples after that he was riseu from the dead." — John, xxi, 14. 

Not the third time in succession — for he had appeared before 
this to the women, and to Cephas, and to James, and to the two 
disciples going to Emmaus. But third time in kind ; i. e., the 
third time when the disciples were together. 

— " And on this wise showed he himself." The place was, " the 
sea of Tiberias," called, also, the lake of Gennesserat, and the 
lake of Galilee. We should like to visit this sea, whose surface 
and whose shores so often felt the presence, and witnessed the 
miracles of the Son of God. 

— The favored party were " Simon Peter, and Thomas, called 
Didymus" — he had lost much by his absence before, but now he 
keeps close to his brethren — " and Nathanael, of Cana in Galilee" 
— we thought well of him from the beginning ; for though at first 
he had some infirmities, he was open to conviction, and loved re- 
tirement ; and he who saw him under the fig-tree assured him that 
he should see greater things than these — " and the sons of Zebe- 
dee," John and James — " and two other of his disciples" — who are 
not named. But it may be asked. How came the disciples here, 
seeing when he rose from the dead they were (unless, perhaps, 
Nathanael) at Jerusalem ? The Savior had said, " The hour co- 
meth, and now is, when ye shall be scattered every one to his 
own ;" and it is said, " Then the disciples went away again unto 
their own home." This was the effect of fear. But though fear 
made them flee, yet their repairing down into Galilee was enjoin- 
ed them by the angel who appeared to Mary Magdalene and the 
other Mary. And Jesus himself had said, before his death, " After 
I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee." They believed his 
word ; and obeyed, and he was faithful that had promised. 

— But how did he find them engaged 7 " Simon Peter," who 
had a house of his own, and perhaps had retained the implements 
of his business, " saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto 
hull, We also go with thee." This was not, as some imagine, 
blamable ; as if they ought to have remained fasting and praying j 
or as if this exertion was the effect of their despondency, with re- 
gard to his appearance, and his care to provide for them. We 
are persuaded they acted commendably. It showed their humi- 
lity — that, though advanced, they were not elated, nor ashamed 
of their former engagement ; and their wish — not to be burden- 
some to any, if they could supply their OAvn wants, and with qui- 
etness work, and eat their own bread ; and also their diligence — 
in redeeming their time, and not waiting for him in idleness. And 
he appeared to them, though not engaged in a religious exercise, 
but in a secular, honest calling ; as the angels had appeared to 
the shepherds, when keeping their flocks by night. And if he 



56 JTTLY 31. 

came to any of us, by death, how much better would it be for 
him to find us active, in tulfilhng the duties -of a useful station, 
than telling our beads, or kneeling before a skull, or a crucifix, in 
a cell ! V^ hen Elijah was consciously waiting for the chariot that 
was to carry him to heaven, what did he? Retire to fast and pray ? 
No ; but he continued talking with his pupil and successor, for 
his improvement — determined to be useful to the last, and to live 
as long as he breathed. And blessed is that servant, whom his 
Lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing. 

— But " that night they caught nothing." Though, in an ordi- 
nary way, the hand of the diligent maketh rich, yet this rule has 
its exceptions ; and these should be sufficient to teach us that the 
blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich ; and that, except the Lord 
build the house, they labor in vain that build it. The race is not 
always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. Men, and even 
good men, may for a while be baffled in their efforts — to teach 
them the lesson of dependence upon Providence ; and to keep 
them, when success cometh, from sacrificing to their own net, and 
burning incense to their own drag, as if by these their portion had 
been made plenteous. 

— He loves to astonish, as well as relieve his people : he there- 
fore often delays his appearance, till our hopelessness has prepared 
us for the display of his glory to the greatest advantage. Weep- 
ing may endure for a night; but joy cometh in the morning. 
*' When the morning was come, Jesus stood on the shore." But 
they knew not that it was Jesus — supposing him to be some com- 
mon person, waiting their coming ashore, to purchase what they 
had caught. And this was the meaning of the question, " Children, 
have ye any meat ?" i. e. Have you succeeded in fishing ? And 
have yoii any provision to dispose of? Upon their answering 
No, he showed his omniscience. He saw where a shoal was ap- 
proaching the boat, and ordered them to cast the net on the right 
side of the ship — assuring them that they should find. They did 
so— and who ever lost by obeying ? So signal was their success, 
that they were not able to draw the net for the multitude of fishes ! 

— Thus good men sometimes see their affairs, after many a 
fruitless struggle, taking a favorable turn, and every thing suc- 
ceeding beyond their expectation. At evening tide it shall be 
light. " It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat 
the bread of sorrows : for so he giveth his beloved sleep." Wc 
shall look at this narrative again. 



July 31.— " And on this wise showed he himself."— John, xxi, 1. 
— We have traced this appearance down to the moment when 
the disciples ascertained who he was. John recognized him first, 
reminded, as it would appear, by a former miracle of the same 
kind, and on the performance of which Peter had exclaimed, De- 
part from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. Yet Peter was not 
at present struck with the recollection himself. But no sooner 
does John say to him, " It is the Lord," than the ship can hold 
him no longer ; but, girding himself with his fisher's coat, he 



JtJLY 31. 57 

pluiifres into tlie sea to reach him ! What rashness ! Wliat zeal ! 
How°perfectly in character does this man always appear ! He 
was fervent, but acted by feeling rather than reflection. He had 
a warm heart. The Lord had lately turned and looked upon him 
in the judcrment hall, and he went out and wept bitterly. He had 
had much forgiven, and he loved much. The Savior had more 
than pardoned his late sad conduct ; and had sent a message to 
him distinctly : " Go, tell my disciples,, and Peter 1" And how 
could he love Him enough ? And love is strong as death. Many 
waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it. 

—The rest of the disciples followed slowly, but surely, dragging 
the net Had all done like Peter, the fish had been abandoned, 
and the vessel left to be drifted and injured, \\hile we admire 
gome we must not condemn others. The dispositions and the 
duties of men are various ; and while some perform splendid ac- 
tions, and excite notice, others go ploddingly on in the sober dis- 
charge of their common calling— but they also have the testimony 
that thev please God. , o tt * ^ e 

—What did they find when they came to land ? A fire of 
coals, and fish laid thereon, and bread." This was to show that 
he cared for them ; that they should be furnished, not only with 
grace suflicient for them, but with food convenient for them ; and 
that verily they should be fed. He had reminded them of this on 
a former occasion. WTien he sent them forth on their missionary 
excursion unprovided, they had misgivings how they were to be 
supplied— though they were ashamed to make known their tears-. 
But he who employed them was bound to maintain them— and 
when they returned, he said, "When I sent you forth without 
purse and scrip, lacked ye any thing '? And they said, Nothing. 
" O fear the Lord, all ve his saints ; for there is no want to them 
that fear him ! The young lions may lack, and sufter hunger ; 
but they that seek the Lord shall not want for any good thing. 
You serve a kind Master, and the world is his, and the fullness 
thereof-Jehovah-jireh I But we read, " Thou shalt eat the labor 
of thine hand ; and nothing has such a peculiar relish as what is 
trained by the blessing of God upon our own endeavors. He there- 
fore also said unto them, "Bring of the fish which ye have now- 
caught. Simon Peter went np, and drew the net to land lull ol 
great fishes, a hundred and fifty and three ; and for all there were 
so many, yet was not the net broken." And thus, while they 
must have marvelled and adored at what was nothing less than a 
miracle, they were not only supplied for their immediate use, but 
the sale of the capture would pay their expenses back to Jerusa- 
lem, and while waiting there for the promise of the Father. 

—Filled with reverence and awe, they seemed reserved, and dis- 
posed to keep back. He therefore invited them ; " Come and dme. 
And none of his disciples durst ask him. Who art thou ? knowing 
that it was the Lord." But still keeping back, " Jesus then cometli 
to them, " and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise. 
The meat was ordinary, and coarsely dressed ; but it was wdiole- 
some, and the appetite of labor made it welcome. We do not live 
to eat but eat to live. Nature wants httle, and grace less. Luther 



58 AUGUST 1. 

often dined upon a herring, and Junius on an egg. If it be, as is 
said, beneath a philosopher to be nice and finical in his food, how 
much more is it so in a Christian ! in a minister ! Jesus censured 
Martha, and commended Mary. The table he spreads for us is 
frugal and simple. It is the world, the flesh, the devil ; disease 
and death bring in the rest. No mention is made of his blessing 
the repast, but there is no doubt but he did. It was his constant 
usage— to teach us to be religious in our common actions ; and 
that man liveth, not by bread alone, but by every word that pro- 
ceedeth out of the mouth of God. 

But did he actually partake of the provision himself ? WTiat 
says Peter ? " He showed him openly ; not to all the people, but 
unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us who did eat and 
drink loith him after he arose from the dead." Did he rise with 
the same body that died ? " Behold," said he, "my hands and my 
feet, and see that it is I myself. Handle me and see ; a spirit hath 
not flesh and bones, as ye see me have." Did his body undergo 
any change before his ascension ? Will things in a future state 
be possible that are not necessary ? We know but in part. And 
the sacred writers prophesy but in part. 

— But " Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of 
God." Let me be one of the number to whom he shall say, " Ye 
are they which have continued with me in my temptations. And 
I appoint unto )^ou a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto 
me j that ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and 
sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." 



August 1. — " So when they had dined"— John, xxi, 18. 

— They did not, we presume, continue long at table. Table, 
indeed, they had none. The place was the sea-side. The viands 
bread and fish. The fare dressed and served coarsely. Yet part 
of it was miraculously provided before they landed ; and part of 
it supplied from the wonderful capture they had just made. 
Here were seven apostles — and the Lord of angels. Who, then, 
would not have been at the homely meal ? who, having any piety, 
or any wisdom, would not have preferred the entertainment — 
thus dignified — however humble — to the sumptuous feast of Bel- 
shazzar, or Ahasuerus ? Where there is much provision for the 
flesh, there is little repast for the mind. And this is commonly 
found after the meal. It has often been lamented that the best 
part of society should be expected to withdraw as soon as dinner 
is ended ; but females may be assured, that with few exceptions, 
they sustain no loss by their removal. 

—But here, when they had dined, discourse followed, which 
has been deemed worthy the page of inspiration, and was written 
for our learning and admonition. It commenced with an inquiry. 
" Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me 
more than these ? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord ; thou knowest 
that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith 
to him again, the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou 



AUGUST 1. 59 

me ? He saitli unto liim, Yea, Lord ; thou kiiowest that I love 
thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him tlie 
third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was 
grieved because he said to him the third time, Lovest tliou me ? 
And he said unto him. Lord th(ni knowest all things; thou know- 
est that I love thee. Jesus said unto him, Feed my sheep." 

Tiie question was put to Peter because of his late conduct. In- 
stead, therefore, of showing any pre-eminence in him, it implied 
his fall, and tended to his humilialion. This, and this alone, was 
the reason why our Lord thus freely, yet tenderly, addressed him 
in the presence of his brethren. It was necessary both for his 
sake, and for theii- sakes. 

The question was first put comparative!}^ — Lovest thou me more 
than these 7 There is something ambiguous and equivocal in the 
expression. Did our Lord, by ihese^ refer to the fish, the nets, the 
boat, his present occupation and profit ? Doddridge says this is a 
forced and frigid sense. But this does not appear. By tliis call- 
ing, Peter had gained his subsistence— he migln naturally be at- 
tached to it — and feel a degree of reluctance at leaving it, without 
any other means of support in view — and, as our Lord would be 
freely served, he inquires whether Peter was Milling to resign all 
— and go a-fishing no more — and be wholly engaged in his ser- 
vice. Or did he point to the rest of the disciples when he said, 
Lovest thou me more than these? — i. e. more than these thy 
brethren love me 1 To this, Whitby objects; because it would be 
impossible for Peter to answer such an inquiry, as he coidd not 
know the hearts of others, and compare them with his own. But 
the question refers not to Peter's knowledo-e, but to his opirinn. 
He had already expressed a degree of self-preference, as well as 
self-confidence, when he said, " Though all should be offended 
because of thee, yet will I never be offended" — and he had now 
done more than the other disciples, in swimming to shore, to reach 
him first. "Am I, then," says Jesus, " to suppose that thou lovest 
me more than these ?" Peter's reply shows his improvement : " I 
have done with judging others— and I say nothing of the degree 
of my love — but thou knowest the reality.''^ 

— It was thrice renewed. Thrice is used as a kind of perfect 
number. In Peter's vision, the thing was done thrice, to render 
it the more observable. There is little doubt, however, that our 
Savior alluded to the repetition of his offence — and the forewarn- 
ing he had received: "Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt 
deny me thrnce.^^ 

— Peter, when asked the question the third time, was gi-ieved-. 
This grief was not anger at the Savior's conduct ; but pain to think 
that he had rendered his love to so dear a Master suspicious; and 
fear also — as he knew he never spoke in vain — that there was a 
cause for this additional inquiry, and that it intimated an appre- 
hension of some fresh peril. This sensibility showed a good frame 
of mind. 

— To all the inquiries he replies, without a moment's hesitation, 
and addresses himself, in each instance, to the Savior's own know- 
ledge, with an additional force in the last appeal : " Lord, thou 



60 AUGUST 2. 

knowest all things : thou knowest that I love thee. I do not say 
I shall never yield to temptation again — Lord preserve me ! And 
I wonder not that tliose who can only judge from the outward ap- 
pearance, think unfavorably of me, after all that I have done. But 
thou seest the heart." We ought to stand clear with men ; but it 
is a peculiar satisfaction, when we are misjudged of our fellow- 
creatures, to know tiiat our witness is in heaven, and our record 
is on high. 

— After every answer, our Lord commands him to feed his 
lambs, and his sheep. Here, again, a desperate cause wants to 
find a proof of Peter's supremacy. But he is not told to lord it 
over all the otlier shepherds, but to do tlie work of a pastor himself 
— the very same tiling which Peter, too, enjoins upon others: 
" Feed the flock of God that is among you." Yea, instead of his 
being exalted above his brethren, he is again reproved and abased. 
They had not forfeited tlieir charge 5 but he had ; and it was ne- 
cessary to renew it. And therefore, now he is re-converted, he is 
re-commissioned. If a servant had offended and forfeited his 
place, it would not be enough for the master to say, I forgive thee, 
but lean no more trust thee or employ thee. Nothing would be 
deemed a full restoration, but re-employment. 

Two things may be observed here. First, the difference there is 
among the Lord's people. There are not only sheep, but lambs 
Tliese mean new converts and weak believers. These are not to 
be disregarded. He does not despise the day of small things, and 
he tells those who are strong to bear the infirmities of the weak. 
Secondly, see what the Lord requires, as the principle of his ser- 
vice. " If you love me, Peter, feed my lambs, feed my sheep — I 
wish you to do nothing for me, unless you do it from love. This 
alone will render your work your delight, and carry j^ou through 
all its difliculties. Love is strong as death." And while he re- 
quires the love as the principle of the service, he requires the ser- 
vice as the proof of the love. " You cannot show your love to me 
personally ; shov/ it relatively. I have a cause — endeavor to pro- 
mote It. I have followers — aid them: and inasmuch as ye do it 
unto one of the least of these my bretliren, ye shall do it unto me." 

Ah ! this love, O my soul, is the grand thing ! Without it, what- 
ever be my religious pretensions, I am nothing. Let me put my 
name in the place of Peter's, and suppose the Lord Jesus asking 
me this question. Dost thou love me ? 

" Lord, it is my cliicf complaint, I " Yet I love thee, and adore ; 

" That my love is weak and faint; | " O for grace to love thee more !" 



August 2. — "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young thou 
eirdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest; but when thou shall 
he old, thou shalt stretch forth thijie hands, and another shall gird thee and 
carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying hy what 
death he should glorify God. — John, xxi, 18, 19. 

— This was another part of his discourse, "when they had 
dined." He had enjoined Peter his doing work, and now lie ap- 
points him his suffering work. In such a world as this, doing well 
and bearing ill are commonly connected ; in the first days of Chris- 
tianity they were inseparable. 



AUGUST 2, 61 

The representation may be applied to tlie difference there is be- 
tween youth and age. The glory of young men is their strength. 
They can gird themselves, and go with ease, and speed whither 
they would. And let them use well their powers and opportuni- 
ties. Let them be active and useful, and prepared for the future. 
Other days will come , and when they shall be old, they shall 
stretch forth their hands, and another shall gird them, and carry 
them whither they would not. They will be helpless and depen- 
dent. People long for age— but what is it, but longing for days in 
which we have no pleasure ; w^hen we shall be dim-sighted, and 
hard of hearing, and tremblings will come upon us ; and the 
grasshopper will be a burden, and desire fail ! These are the ef 
fects of the state — if by reason of strength our years are three- 
score and ten, yet is our strength labor and sorrow. Let us secure 
succor against such a period. It is said, an old man has no friend 
but his money. But if we are kind, and live not to ourselves, we 
shall not want those who will rock the cradle of our age. And, 
above all, God will be our comfort and strength ; and bear and 
carry us'; and gently take us to himself; w^here our youth shall 
be renewed like the eagle's, and mortality swallowed up of life. 

But our Lord, we are assured, designed to intimate that, after 
Peter had served him as an apostle, he was to honor him as a mar- 
tyr, "signifying by what death he should glorify God." Thus, 

First. Our Lord foresaw Peter's sufferings, and the manner in 
which he was to finish his course. And he foresees all that shall 
befall each of us. We know not what a day may bring forth. But 
nothing is left to chance. No event will turn up that is new to 
him, and for which he has not provided. 

Secondly. Peter was not to die till he should be old. Very 
good and useful men have been removed in the midst of life — and 
this is one of the most mysterious dispensations of providence. 
But this is not always the case. Religion conduces to health and 
longevity. Many of God's most eminent servants have " filled 
their days," and come to the grave in a good old age, like a shock 
of corn fully ripe, in its season. And the hoary head is a crown 
of glory, when it is found in the way of righteousness. Such a man 
is not only a kind of physical wonder — that he should have been 
preserved so long with such a feeble frame, and exposed to so 
many outward dangers — but a moral wonder, that, with such a 
heart, and in such a world, he should have held on his way, and 
kept his garments clean, and been without offence. He is a 
monument to the glory of divine grace. 

Thirdly. He was to die by crucifixion. This is the meaning of 
his stretching forth his hands, and being girded and carried 
whither he would not" — i. e. his arms would be extended on a cross, 
and he would be bound, to be led to a death of violence, not 
agreeable to his feelings, and at which nature would revolt. For 
religion does not divest us of humanity ; an aversion to pain is 
not inconsistent with submission to the will of God ; we may 
love the result of death, and shudder at the passage. Paid wished 
not to be unclothed, but clothed upon ; and Jesus himself, with 
strong cryings and tears, said, Father, if it be possible, let this 



62 AUGUST 3. 

cup pass from me. Peter would, and would not ; there was na- 
ture in him., as well as grace. And while the spirit would be 
willing, the flesh would be weak. We see this related of some of 
the martyrs. Latimer, in one of his letters in prison, says to his 
friend, " Oh! pray for me ! I sometimes shudder, and could creep 
into a mouse-hole ; and then the Lord visits me again with his 
comforts ; and thus, by his coming and going, shows me my infir- 
mity." Ridley, at the stake, said to the smith that was driving 
in the staple, " Knock it in hard, my good fellow, for the flesh 
may have its freaks." And when they were leading Rawlins 
a'ong to the flames, chancing to see his wife and children among 
the crowd, he burst into a flood of tears ; and, striking his breast, 
he exclaimed, " Ah ! flesh, you M'ould have your way ; but I tell 
thee, by the grace of God, thou shalt not gain the victory." 

Lastly. His death was to issue in divine glory. Persecution 
has always been overruled to advance the cause it aimed to de- 
stroy. The wrath of man has praised God. The blood of the 
martyrs has been the seed of the churches. The death of such 
men has been honorable to the truth and grace of the Gospel. It 
has awakened attention, and induced inquiry; and, by displaying 
the temper and supports of the sufferers, such impressions have 
been made upon the spectators, that, before the ashes were extin 
guished, others' were ready to be baptized for the dead. 

We are not martyrs. But we are often called to suffer ; and we 
may glorify God in the fires. There is only one way into the 
world ; but there are many ways out. By which of these we are 
to pass Vv-^e know not. But we may glorify God by the death we 
shall die — if we are enabled to exercise faith, patience, and peni- 
tence ; if the joy of the Lord is our strength ; and we can, from 
experience, recommend his service. 

For this, we should be concerned. And, but for this, we pre- 
sume many would desire to die " softly, suddenly, and alone." 
Yet what they should choose, they wot not. They, therefore, 
leave all with their heavenly Father — only praying, that Christ 
may be magnified in their body, whether it be by life or by death. 

August 3. — " And wh«?n he had spoken this, he saith unto him, FoIIotv me. 
Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved, following , 
which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that 
betrayeth thee ? Peter seeing him, saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this 
man do ? Jesus saith unto him. If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that 
to thee ? Follow thou me. — Jolin, xxi, !9 — 22. 

— This is another part of the discourse when they had dined. 
It is the reproof of Peter, who, though recovered from his fall, and 
recommissioned to his office, was not faultless. Who can under- 
stand his errors ? 

— The case was this. As soon as our Lord had tried Peter's 
love, and predicted his death, he said unto him, "Follow me." 
This is to be taken literally : for though it might be intended as a 
symbol, yet he now arose from his seat, and, walking away from 
the company, he told Peter to come after him— probably wishing 
to have some communication with him apart. Peter obeyed. But 
John, seeing this, and fearing that our Lord was departing, ana 



AUGUST 4. G3 

would take Peter along with liim, could not remain where he was 
— and so he followed them, silent and anxious, and perhaps weep- 
ing. Peter turning around, sees him ; and asks, " Lord, and what 
shall this man do ?" It is probable this arose partly from an af- 
fectionate concern for his companion; and. considering the pecu- 
liar friendship there was between them, we might have considered 
the question as excusable, if not even laudable. 

But we are suie jt was wrong in the motive. Peter, instead of 
being satisfied with a knowledge of his own duty and destiny, and 
praying to be able to perform the one, and endure the other, 
wishes to pry into John's future circumstances — to know what 
was to become of him ; whether he also should suffer ; and what 
death he should die. This, in the view of him who reproved not 
according to the hearing of the ear, involved it in an improper 
curiosity — a principle, when indulged always the most unprofita- 
ble in itself, and often the most rude in its exercise, and injurious 
in its effects. Our Lord always discouraged it ; and therefore he 
here rebukes Peter in these memorable words — " If I will that he 
tarry till I come, what is that to thee ? Follow thou me — " as I 
have commanded thee. How many things engage our time and 
attention, which do not concern us ! How often do we turn from 
what is plain and important ; and perplex and amuse ourselves 
with v/hat is too distant to reach ; too deep for us to fathom ; too 
complicated for us to unravel ; or too trifling to merit regard 1 
When poring over the future state of the heathen, and the desti- 
ny of idiots, and the decrees of God, and the union of forknow- 
ledge and free agency, and the fulfilment of prophecy, is not the 
Savior asking, " What is that to thee ? Follow thou me !" " The 
secret things belong unto the Lord our God ; but those things 
which are revealed belong unto us, and to our children for ever, 
that we may do all the words of this Law." 

Our present knowledge is proportioned to our present state. 
More information upon certain subjects would now injure, rather 
than improve, by multiplying our diversions and drawing us more 
off from the one thing needful. We are now in a state of action 
and preparation. Let us leave the knowledge that is too wonder- 
ful for us. A day-laborer will gain more of it in a moment after 
he enters heaven, than any philosopher or divine can acquire by 
the toil of a whole life. Let us wait the great teacher. Death, 
and God adore — Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right ! 

But what have we to do ? Follow thou me. Lord help me to 
follow thee, as thy disciple and thy servant — immediately, with- 
out delay — freely, without constraint — fully, v.ithout reserve — 
and constantly, without change, or — a shadow of turning ! 



August 4. — " Then went this sayinff abroad among the brethren, that that 
disciple should not die ; yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die ; but 
if 1 will that he tan-y till I come, what is that to thee ?'' — John, xxi, 23. 

What did he mean by his coming to John ? It may be under- 
stood three ways. 

— Of his coming by a natural death ; and he was the only 
apostle who did not suffer a violent end. 
Vol. IL 15 



G4 AUGUST 4. 

— Of his coming to destroy Jerusalem ; and he survived that event. 

— Of his coming at the last day ; in which case he answers 
Peter, by the supposition of miracle, " What if I choose that he 
should continue on earth till I come to judge the world ?" In this 
sense it was taken. 

But observe how it was mis-reported. Jesus only supposed a 
case, and it was turned into an assertion. He only said, what if 
I will that he tarry till I come ; and it was circulated that he 
slioidd so tarry — and the saying went abroad among the brethren 
that he should not die. AVho has not heard the absurd story of 
the wandering Jew ? Whether any now believe such a delusion, we 
know not ; but we see what influence the notion had in the early 
ages. Beza mentions an imposter in his time, at Paris, who gave 
out that he was the deathless John, and was burnt at Toulouse. 

— But see how ready people are to credit things strange and 
wonderful — O that they were equally ready to receive the wit- 
ness of God ! 

How many mistakes have arisen from deviating by little and 
little from the language of revelation. Many errors might be 
prevented, and many rectified, if we could bring the parties to the 
very words the Holy Ghost useth. Let us distinguish between 
divine truth, and men's explanations of it. Let us not take up 
with the statements of Calvin, or Aj-minius, or any other reporter, 
while we can go to the Scripture itself. " To the Law and to the 
testimony : if they speak not according to his word, it is because 
there is no light in them." 

But let us make a moral use of this misrepresentation, and learn 
the importance of accuracy in our statements. It is owing to the 
neglect of this that there is so much circumstantial falsehood : we 
refer to the relations of facts, true in substance, but false in cir- 
cumstances. Some seldom or never apprehend things distinctly ; 
and how can they report them accurately ! Some have memories 
that rarely retain perfectly what they hear. Some are careless, 
and mind not morally what they say. Some are full of eager 
ness and feeling : and love to excite — and for this purpose they 
have to enlarge and enhance. From one cause or another, many 
who would shrink back from a direct lie, occasion deception by 
those omissions or additions which can give an erroneous turn or 
effect to the case spoken of. By this means what aid is given to 
slander, and what injury is often done to character, where there 
is no risk on the one side, and no redress on the other ! 

Look at the text, and see what consequences may result from 
the substitution of a sliall, for an if ; and always make conscience 
of your speech. Distinguish things that differ. AVhat you know 
as probable, state as probable ; and state as certain, only Avhat 
you know to be certain. As a good remedy for this, and every 
other evil of the tongue— Let us be swift to hear, but slow to 
speak — Let us remember, that in the multitude of words, there 
wanteth not sin— L^t us believe, that by our \vords we are to be 
justified or condemned— Let us keep our hearts with all diligence ; 
for out of them are the issues of life— and let us pray— Set a 
watch. O Lord, before my mouth, keep the door of my lips. 



AUGUST 5. 65 

August 5.— "Put ye iu the sickle for the harvest is lipe."— Joel, iii, 13. 

The season renders the language interesting ; and we may con- 
sider the words, literally, as an address to husbandmen. 

The husbandman waiteth for the precious fruits of the earth, 
and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and the 
latter rain. He casts the seed into the ground, where it seems 
lost. For a while, he sees nothing to reward his labor and ex- 
pense : for that which he soweth is not quickened except it die. 
But it soon rises from the dead : and he perceives the blade, 
gently rising through the earth. Then comes winter. The wind 
howls over it ; the frost bends and binds it ; the snow covers and 
oppresses it— but it weathers all. The spring arrives. The stalk 
shoots up ; and the ear appears, and the full corn in the ear. The 
crop ripens ; and the golden harvest waves its treasures ; and 
calls for the reaper to fill his hand, and he that bindeth sheaves, 
his bosom. The husbandman may think little or nothing of God 
—unless he wants fine weather ; but it is He that worketh all in 
all : and whatever interventions there ma}^ be. He is the first 
cause : " And it shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith 
the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth j 
and the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil ; and 
they shall hear Jezreel." 

And herein we see the power of God. The spectators won- 
dered when five loaves were multiplied into a sufiiciency for more 
than five thousand consumers. Why are not we struck, when we 
see the grain in the earth annually increasing thirty, sixty, an 
hundred fold ? It is the commonness of the effect that prevents 
our astonishment. The only dijfference in the cases is, that in 
one instance, the operation is sudden ; in the other, it is slow ; 
but this magnifies the agency, instead of detracting from it- 

— And here we see the truth of God. When Noah and his 
family left the Ark, and saw the new world, every appearance of 
cloud awakened their fears ; and God, to tranquilize them, said, 
" I will not again smite any more every thing living, as I have 
done. Wliile the earth remaineth, seed time and harvest, and 
cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night, shall 
not cease." And every time the sickle is put in, he tells us that 
he is a faithful God, and that we may always rely upon his word. 

— Here we behold his goodness. For whom does he thus con- 
stantly and plenteously provide ; but an unworthy, guilty, un- 
grateful world ; who will overlook his kindness and abuse his 
benefits, and turn his gifts into weapons of rebellion against him '. 
Were he to deal with them after their desert, or reward them ac- 
cording to their iniquities, the heavens over us would be brass, and 
the earth, iron ; the grain would perish in wetness, or be burnt up 
with drought ; and we should have cleanness of teeth in all our 
dwellings ; and while the children cried for bread, the mother 
would have none to give them. 

— Here we also trace the wisdom of God. For though all 
things are of God, he does not encourage sloth. Our activity is as 
necessary as our dependence. Though there is a part we cannot 
do, there is a part we can do — and if this be neglected, God will 



6G AUGUST 6. 

do nothing. We cannot furnish the soil ; but we must manure 
it. We cannot produce the seed ; but we must sow it. We can- 
not ripen the field ; but we must reap it. " What Thou givest 
them, that they gather." 

Let us be thankful that another of these pleasing and instructive 
periods has arrived. And while we see the valleys standing 
thick with corn, and hear the little hills rejoicing on every side j 
let us pray for tlie appointed weeks of harvest. 

— And remembering another, and an infinitely more important 
opportunity, may we give all diligence, while it continues to se- 
cure its blessings ; lest, in the anguish of disappointment, and the 
remorse of despair, we are forced to exclaim ; " The harvest is 
past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." " Behold now 
is the accepted time ; behold now is the day of salvation." Put 
ye in the sickle ; for the harvest is ripe. 



August 6. — " Put ye in the sickle ; for the harvest is ripe." — Joel, iii, 13. 

We have taken these words literally ; let us now view them 
metaphorically. We have heard them addressed to the husband- 
man ; let us now consider them as addressed — to spiritual instruct- 
ors — to public judgments — to the messengers of death — to the 
angels of God at the last day — Put ye in the sickle ; for the har- 
vest is ripe. 

First, as addressed by God to the ministers of his word. That 
we are allov/ed such an application, is obvious. Our Lord said, 
" The harvest is truly plenteous, but the laborers are few ; pray 
ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth 
laborers into his harvest." By harvest he intends means of use- 
fulness and opportunities ; and by laborers, those whose office is 
to endeavor to make use of them. So again ; " Say not ye. There 
are yet four months and then cometh harvest ; Behold, I say unto 
3^ou, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields ; for they are while 
already to harvest." Here he refers to the season of doing good 
to the Samaritans, which he was now improving ; for, in conse- 
quence of the testimony of the woman, many of them were eager 
to hear, and were coming over the plain. The case is, when the 
grain is ripe, if it be not gathered in, it is liable to perish. The 
season for saving it is short and uncertain. Men, therefore, forego 
care, and endure fatigue to secure it. But what is the safety of 
the grain, to the salvation of souls ! How many are destroying, 
for lack of knowledge ! But the period is favorable for informing 
them. We have religious freedom ; and our exertions are unim- 
peded. None makes us afraid. We have the Scriptures in full 
circulation. The rising generation are taught to read. Religious 
parties excite and emulate each other. Prejudices are wearing 
away. Persons are willing to hear. And not preachers only, 
but parents, masters, neighbors. Christians at large— all in doing 
good, have the finest opportunities, if they will seize them ; and 
the loudest calls, if they will obey them— But the space for all 
this, will not, cannot continue— Therefore, " whatsoever thy hand 
findeth to do, do it with thy might ; for there is no work, nor de- 



AUGUST 6. 67 

vice, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thongoest." 
Secondly, as addressed to public judgments. Thus we are 
prmcipally to understand the passage before us. The people 
spoken of were ripe for ruin— God therefore calls for the execu- 
tioners of his wrath to cut them down. Thus it was with the 
people of Canaan, when their iniquity was full ; and Joshua and 
his army were the reapers. Thus it was with the Jews them- 
selves : and Nebuchadnezzar was called in to punish them : and 
afterwards the Romans, to destroy them. Thus it has been with 
many nations since. And thus it has been with many a commu- 
nity, even in our own times. The work was soon done ; for the 
reapers were the Lord's, and the fields were fully ripe. Are we 
in danger ? We have reason for apprehension, if we estimate our 
condition by our guilt, and our guilt by our privileges. Let us 
not be high-minded, but fear. God can never be at a loss for 
instruments. He can mingle a perverse spirit in the midst of us. 
He can take wisdom from the prudent, and courage from the 
brave. Hearts, events, elements, all are his. He has a contro- 
versy with us ; and, by menacing dispensations, seems to say 
aloud, Cut it down ; why cumbereth it the ground ? But these 
threatenings are mercifully conditional. " At what instant I shall 
speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck 
up, and to pull down, and to destroy it j if that nation, against 
whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of 
the evil that I thought to do unto them." May we hear, and fear, 
and turn unto the Lord— and he will leave a blessing behind him, 
that we perish not. 

Thirdly, as addressed to the messengers of death — accidents, 
diseases, whatever can bring us to the grave. This regards us 
individually. Whatever be the destiny of the nations, we know 
our own destinyj old or young, rich or poor, it is appointed unto 
us once to die. This is the way of all the earth. But when are 
people ripe for this removal hence? 

It is certain that sin ripens the transgressor for hell. But when 
he is ripe, it is not easy to decide. The most grossly and openly 
vicious are not always the most guilty before God. We see a 
profligate wretch, and deem him ripe for ruin, and wonder he is 
not cut down — when, perhaps, though not immoral, w^e ourselves 
are much more criminal in the sight of Him who judgeth right- 
eously. He, perhaps, never had our advantages, and was pressed 
by severer temptations than we ever were. If asked, therefore, 
whm a man is ripe for destruction, we acknowledge we cannot 
determine. But it must be Avise to beware, and to keep from 
every approximation to such a dreadful state. Surely when a man 
is insensible under the word, and incorrigible under the rebukes 
of Providence, and his conscience ceases to reprove, and he can 
turn divine things into ridicule, he must be, as the apostle says, 
"nigh unto cursing." 

— Holiness ripens the saint for glory. But here, again, tcihen he 
is matured and made meet for it, we cannot ascertain. Actions 
strike us ; but some have few opportunities for exertion, and yet 
they have much of the life of God in their souls: We should 



68 AUGUST 6. 

think favorably of a man, in proportion as he was dissatisfied with 
himself; and esteemed the Lord Jesus; and relied upon him; 
and was anxious to resemble him ; and acknowledged God in all 
his Avays. However, the Lord knoweth them that are his, and 
them that are not his ; and he chooses the most proper time to 
remove them— the wheat for the barn, and the chaff for the burn- 
ing. But the end of all things is at hand. And, 

Fourthly, God thus addresses his angels at the last day. When 
this mandate will be given is uncertain. But we are sure of the 
event, as we are ignorant of the period. And then shall the Son 
of man come in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. 
Then cometh the end. Then all will be ripe. His purposes will 
be accomplished. His promisings and threatenings will be veri- 
fied. Time itself will be no longer. The earth will be cleared of 
all the produce ; and the very fields in which it grew will be de- 
stroyed. " The field is the world ; the good seed are the children 
of the kingdom ; but the tares the children of the wicked one ; 
the enemy that sowed them is the devil ; the harvest is the end 
of the world ; and the reapers are the angels. As, therefore, the 
tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the end 
of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and 
they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and 
them which do iniquity, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire ; 
there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the 
righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. 
Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." Let him hear this. How 
many things are continually said ! And how are we to judge of 
them ? One says, this is excellent ; another, this is all-important. 
But if you would know what is the j^eal value of these things, 
bring them to the standard — bring them to the great day ! How 
do they abide this trial ? 

" Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be 
diligent, that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and 
blameless." If you say, " All this is far off; and many things 
must be previously accomplished :" remember yon cannot say 
this of death. There is but a step between you and death. How 
soon, therefore, may all the prophecies be fulfilled, and the world 
be at an end Avith you ! And as death leaves you, judgment will 
find you. Many who once heard the warnings, are now in pos- 
session of the facts. Could we ask them — now they have entoed 
the eternal world by death, and are waiting for ihe judgment to 
come — Is there one of them that would not bear his testimony to 
the importance of every sabbath, and every sermon, with which 
you are favored ? Is there one of them that would say, " Whi'e I 
was living, the preacher was too close, and too alarming ?" Rath'^r 
would he no-t say, "Why was he not more in earnest? And Oh ! 
wretch that I was, to disregard his voice — and come into this 
place of torment !" It is all over with them. But it is not too 
late for you. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found and call 
ye upon him while he is near. 



AUGUST 7. 69 

August 7.—" For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power."— 1 Co- 
rinthians, iv, 20. 

Let us not abuse, but improve this important decision. It may- 
be abused in two instances : 

First. When it leads us to undervalue the outward institutions 
of piety, and the ordinary means of grace. Some would so 
refine religion as to make it unsuited to human beings. We have 
bodies, as well as souls, and we are required to glorify God in the 
one, as well as in the other. Our devotion is indeed nothing un- 
less we " lift up our hearts with our hands 5" bodily exercise need 
not be excluded in order to our worshipping in spirit and in truth. 
There may be the form of godliness, without the power; but 
while we are here, the power cannot be displayed or maintained 
without the form. Enthusiasts may tell us they never had so 
much religion as since they have given up what are called its ordi- 
nances ; for now every day is a sabbath, and every place a temple, 
and every voice a preacher. But they are not to be believed. 
Even all the private and practical duties of life are more fully and 
regularly discharged by those who wait upon God in his appoint- 
ments. It is a dangerous delusion that leads people to tlie neg- 
lect of those means of grace wiiich God, who knoweth our frame, 
has enjoined us to use, and to the use of which he hath promised 
his blessing. In the New Jerusalem, John saw " no temple there ;-' 
but the experience of every Christian leads him, while he is here, 
to love the habitation of God's house, and to acknowledge that it 
is good for him to be there. The streams that will be needless 
when we reach the fountain-head, are valuable in the way. Our 
present aliments will be unnecessary hereafter; but what pre- 
lender would be so ethereal as to dispense with them now ? 

Secondly. When we are heedless of regulating the energy of 
our religion by the rule of the word. It is desirable to enlist the 
feelings on the side of truth and excellence. Impulse is useful, 
and even necessary to exertion and success; but, in proportion to 
its force, it requires guidance, if not restraint. It is good to be 
always zealously affected in a good thing ; but, without know- 
ledge, zeal may, even in a good cause, carry us astray ; so that 
our good may be evil spoken of, and even produce evil. Some- 
thing must be allowed for persons wanting in judgment ; and for 
young converts, especially if they have been suddenly awakened. 
The novelty and tlie vividness of their views and impressions of 
eternal things may occasion some mistakes and improprieties in 
harmonizing religion properly with secular and relative life. But 
what we excuse we are not to command. If one duty defrauds 
or kills another, it is a robber or a murderer. The wise man 
tells us every thing is beautifid in its season : and Paul enjoins 
us to do every thing decently and in order. But, under the sanc- 
tion of such an authority as our text, we have known religious 
servants who have risen above their masters, and lectured and re- 
proved them ; we have kno^vn men who have left their callings, 
and rushed into offices for which they were not designed ; we 
have known females, w ho, instead of being keepers at home, have 



70 AUGUST 7. 

neglected their husbands and children, to gad about after favorite 
preachers ; we have known orthodox professors, who have broken 
out into every kind of rudeness and rancor, under a notion of 
being faithful and valiant for the truth. Disputants have contended 
earnestly for the faith, Avith pens dipped in gall, and tongues set 
on fire of hell : persecutors have killed others to do God service j 
and the priest with the crucifix, has urged the dragoon not to do 
the work of the Lord deceitfully, or keep back his sword from 
shedding blood ! 

The decision may be improved by applying it in two cases. 
First, in judging ourselves. And here the 'leaning should be to 
the side of severity. Let us be satisfied with nothing short of the 
real power of religion. Whatever we depend upon, while we are 
strangers to this, will be more than useless — it will issue in the 
most dreadful disappointment. It is better to err on the side of 
caution than of self-security. According to our Savior, the delu- 
sion accompanies some to the very door of heaven ; they knock, 
with confidence that they shall be admitted ; and are surprised 
and confounded when they hear from within, I know you not, 
whence ye are. Do not place your religion in attending on di- 
vine ordinances ; or in a mere belief of the truth ; or in some out- 
ward reformation ; or in some particular course of duty, to which 
you may have inducements that render it easy. Search and try 
your ways. See whether you have given God your whole heart, 
and can sacrifi:ce every bosom lust. See whether your religion 
has any thing in it above the efficiency of natural principles — 
whether it is flesh or spirit — whether you are under the law, or 
under grace. Examine yourselves. If believers — Does your faith 
work by love? And do you love in word and in tongue, or in 
deed and in truth ? If penitents — Have you said with Ephraim, 
what have I any more to do with idols ? If worshippers — Do you 
only draw nigh to Him with the mouth, and honor Him ^vith 
your lips, while your heart is far from Him ? If hearers — Has 
the Gospel come to you, not in word only, but in power, and in 
the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance ? 

Secondly. In judging others. And here the leaning should be 
to candor.' We should beware how we deny this power to a fel- 
low professor, Avithout just evidence. It is always a difficult 
thing to decide the degree of another's religion. Men differ ex- 
ceedingly, even in their natural temperament. How sanguine is 
one ! How phlegmatical is another ! Some are constitutionally 
bold and forward ; others are equally timid and retreatmg. Is it 
to be supposed that all these will show their piety precisely in the 
same manner ? We often ascribe to religious ardor what is the 
effect of a liveliness and volubility of temper. Hence, when we 
meet with an individual who is always speaking on religious 
topics, we are apt to consider him a zealous soul, and to suppose 
that all his talkativeness results from pious principle. Whereas, 
it is more than probable, if we follow^ed him through life, Ave 
should find him as eager on secular occasions as on religion. On 
the other hand, Avhen we meet Avitli a man Avho shrinks from no- 
tice, and is backward to speak of divine things, and especially of 



AUGUST a 71 

his own experience, we frequently set liim down as one who is 
not fervent in Spirit, serving the Lord. But may not this man be 
very much the same in all other cases ? And if so, should we not 
do him injustice by judging of his state in religion by the slow- 
ness of his speech, and the hesitation of his temper, and the tar- 
diness of his conduct, v/hich constitute a caret in his whole life ? 
Judge not after the 'outward appearance, but judge righteous 
judgment. 

Again. If you have reason to conclude that a fellow Christian 
has this divine reality, let it satisfy you. Love and esteem him, 
though he differs from your opinions, and walks not with you in 
the outward order of the Gospel. What is the chaff to the wheat ? 
I love those Scriptures which inspire us with zeal, not to make 
proselytes to a party, but converts to the Savior — which tend to 
unite the truly pious to each other, and embattle them against the 
common foe — which diminish those inferior things that bigots 
are always magnifying, and attach supreme importance to those 
that infinitely deserve it. " For the kingdom of God is not in 
v/ord, but in power." " For the kingdom of God is not meat and 
drink ; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." 
" For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor 
uncircumcjsion, but a new creature. And as many as walk ac- 
cording to this nde, peace be on them, and mercy, upon the Israel 
of God." 

August 8,—" Lord, teach us to pray."— Luke, xi, ], 

This was the language of one of his disciples, as soon as he 
had heard him pray in a certain place. He did not interrupt our 
Lord in the exercise ; but when he had ceased, he said, wishing to 
resemble him, " Lord, teach us to pray." 

It was well in him, not only to attach importance to prayer, 
and to feel his own ignorance and insufficiency in the performance, 
but to address one who is always able and willing to hear and help 
us. None teaches like Him. Four ways he teaches to pray 

First. By his M'ord. A form or model — why not both ? — was 
immediately given these disciples — " He said unto them. When 
ye pray, say. Our Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy 
name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so 
in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us 
our sins, for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And 
lead us not into temptation : but deliver us from evil." The Scrip- 
ture at large has many instructions how we are to pray. In one 
place we are told to pray without ceasing — In another, to come 
boldly to the throne of Grace — In another, to let our words be 
few — In another, to ask in faith, nothing wavering — In another, 
to ask in the name of Jesus — " If ye shall ask any thing in my 
name, I will do it." 

Secondly. By his example. ^^TVhoever lives without prayer, 
ha did not. His example has the force of a law ; and " he that 
saith he abideth in him, ought himself also to walk even as he 
walked. As to place— he prayed in the Wilderness, and he pray- 
ed in the Garden. As to time — we read of his rising up early in 
15"* 



72 AUGUST 8. 

the morning to pray ; and praying in the evening ; and continu- 
ing all night in prayer. As to observation — he prayed privately, 
alone, and with his disciples, and in public. As to cases — he pray- 
ed when he was baptized ; and has taught us to sanctify all ordi- 
nances and duties by prayer. When going to send forth his 
Apostles, he prayed, to teach us to engage in no enterprise, relying 
on our own wisdom and strength. When he was transfigured, he 
prayed to teach us how to escape the snares of glory and great- 
ness. With strong crying and tears he made supplication, when 
he was sore amazed and very heav}^, to teach us, if afilicted, to 
pray. To teach us to love our enemies, when they pierced his 
ii-dnds and feet, he prayed, " Father, forgive them, for they know 
not what they are doing." And teach us how to finish our course, 
he dies, praying — " Into Thy hands I commit my spirit." 

Thirdly. By his providence. Ah ! Christians, this may ex- 
plain many a dispensation that has made j^ou tremble and grieve. 
"I will go, and return to my place, till they acknowledge their 
oflTence, and seek my face : in their afflction, they will seek me 
early." That is — I will teach them to pray. What did Absalom, 
when he wished for an interview with Joab, who, when sent for, 
refused to come ? Go, said he to his servant, and set his corn on 
fire — and then he will soon come. And so it fell out. And 
speedily and eagerly approaching him. Why hast thou done this ? 
says Joab. Absalom replies— Not because I designed to injure 
thee ; but I wanted to converse with thee ; and my messengers 
were refused. So when you are lifeless in prayer, and backward 
in the exercise, and disregard the invitation, " Seek ye my face ;" 
some fiery trial consumes or threatens some of your possessions 
or comforts ; and, alarmed and perplexed, then you anxiously say 
unto God, " Do not condemn me ; show me wherefore Thou con- 
tendest with me." You then also want succor and consolation ; 
and therefore pray, '■ Let thy loving kindness be for my comfort, 
according to thy word unto thy servant." How many of the 
prayers of God's people in the Scripture were, both in their real- 
ity and excellency too, the offspring of those measures by which 
the Lord not only chastened, but taught them. 

Fourthly. By his Spirit. What means " praying in the Holy 
Ghost," but praying by his influence? Why is he called "The 
Spirit of grace and supplication ?" Is it not because he brings 
us upon our knees, and keeps us instant in prayer '? If any 
man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his: and this 
Spirit awakens the conscience, and makes us sensible of our needy 
and perishing condition : and shows us the glory, as well as the 
absolute importance of Divine blessings ; and causes us to hunger 
and thirst after righteousness ; and leads us into all the truth con- 
nected with our relief; and through the blood of the cross inspi- 
ring hope and confidence, enables us to cry, Abba, Father. 

Nor is it only in the beginning of a devotional life that this 
assistance is required : " Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our 
infirmities," says the Apostle : " for we know not what we should 
pray for as we ought : but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for 
us with groanings which cannot be uttered " And where is the 



AUGUST 9. 73 

Christian who would not often have given over the exercise, under 
a sense of his imperfections and weaknesses, but for the hope of 
the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ ; and the promise, " If ye 
then being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, 
how much more shall your heavenly Fatlier give the Holy Spirit 
to them that ask him 1" This has revived him again ; and, out of 
weakness he has been made strong, and delighted himself in the 
Almighty. 

Happy they who, by the great Teacher, are thus taught to 
pray. You may be ignorant of many things ; but you know the 
way to the throne of grace. You may have little learning ; but 
you can speak the language of Canaan. You may be unnoticed of 
your fellow creatures ; but your fellowship is with the Father, and 
with his Son Jesus Christ. And a life of prayer will soon be fol- 
lowed by an eternity of praise. 

But how awful the condition of those, who never express this 
desire — Lord, teach us to pray ! Can the love or the fear of God 
dwell in you ? Can you dispense with the blessings of salvation ? 
Or do you think that God, who has said, " For all these things 
will I be inquired of," will deny himself? Well, another instructer 
will soon teach you to pray — a dying hcur — a judgment day — 
but in vain ! " Then shall they call upon me, but I will not an- 
swer : they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me." 



August 9.—" Give glory to the Lord your God before he cause darkness." 

Jeremiah, xiii, 16. 

The removal of the Gospel is darkness. The Gospel will never 
be removed from the w^orld ; but it may be withdrawn from a 
particular place or people. It is the very thing denounced ; " I 
will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent." 
And this has been done. The Jews are an eminent example. 
The Kingdom of God was taken from them. And when we con- 
sider the miracles, the institutions, the privileges, by which they 
were distinguished, and see how they were all laid waste ; well 
may the apostle say. Behold the severity of God — and if he spared 
not tlie natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. 
Where now are the seven Churches in Asia ? Where is the fa- 
mous Church of Rome, whose faith was spoken of throughout 
the whole world ? At present, you have the inestimable benefit. 
Be not as the swine, who knows not the value of the pearl, and 
tlierefore tramples it under foot. What wonder, if the manna 
should be taken away, when you despise it as light food '? The 
Scriptures may be continued, and the preaching of the Gospel 
be removed : and thus the word may be precious, because there is 
no open vision. What a blessing to see our teachers ; and to hear 
a ^vord behind us, saying, This is the way ; walk ye in it ! Faith 
cometh by hearing. And what if the Lord should send a famine 
in the land — not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water ; but of 
hearing the M'ords of the Lord — and we should run to and fro to 
.seek the word of the Lord — and shall not find it ? Give glory to 
t?ie Lord your God before he cause darkness. 



74 AUGUST 9. 

Impenitence is darkness. A man may be surrounded with 
food ; yet he dies, if he cannot use and digest it, as much as if he 
were in want of the ahment. The means of grace may re- 
main, and we become incapable of deriving benefit from them. It 
is an awful fact, that God punishes one sinner by another, and 
judiciously blinds those who provoke him. Because they like 
not to retain him in their knowledge, he gives them up to a repro- 
bate mind. Because they receive not the love of the truth, that 
they may be saved, he sends them strong delusion to believe a 
lie. They are joined to idols ; and he lets them alone. They de- 
light in error; and they find it. They seek objections to the 
faith once delivered to the saints ; and they are overcome by them. 
They trifle with the Gospel ; and, at length, they cannot serious- 
ly regard it, or feel any impression under it : and thus is fulfilled 
the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, 
and shall not understand ; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not 
perceive. Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause 
darkness. 

— Public calamity is darkness. Was not the Babylonish bon- 
dage darkness to the Jews; when their country, the glory of all 
lands, was desolated ; and they carried away captives, and op- 
pressed as slaves, and insulted as a proverb and a by-word ? And 
v/ould not national distress be darkness to us ? Some effects of 
this, we have experienced : but how inconsiderable have they yet 
been, compared with the sufferings of other countries, or our own 
deserts ! And is there no danger of greater ? If God has a contro- 
versy with us, it is in vain to argue — we must submit. If he is 
provoked, and determined to punish, vain is the authority of rulers, 
the wisdom of statesmen, and the courage of v/arriors. " But he 
has a people among us." He has — and he will take care of his 
own ; but he can secure them and destroy others. Or even 
they themselves may help forward, or even occasion calamity — 
for no sins oftend him like theirs ; and they may be chastened of 
the Lord, that they may not be condemned with Ihe world. When 
the ship sailed from Joppa, there was only one good man on 
board ; and the storm was for his sake; and the sea could only be 
calmed by his being cast into it. Give glory to the Lord your 
God before he cause darkness. 

The loss of reason is darkness. And how soon may the under 
standing be eclipsed ! How easily may the slender and mysteri- 
ous basis on which intellect rests, be destroyed ! See Nebuchad- 
nezzar, eating grass like an ox. See the Philosopher, moping 
in drivelling idiocy. Religion can only operate through the me- 
dium of thought; and, therefore, Avhile you have your mental 
powers, employ them — lest darkness come upon you. 

— The loss of health is darkness. Is it nothing to be made to 
possess months of vanity ? or to have wearisome nights appoint- 
ed us ? to be chastened, also, with pain upon our bed, and the 
multitude of our bones with strong pain ; so that our life abhor- 
reth bread, and our soul, dainty meat: and our bones, that were 
not seen, stick out ? Yet, on this season, many suspend an attention 
to the concerns of religion. WTien thought is broken to pieces, 



AUGUST 10. 75 

and every avenue to the soul is occupied with the anguish of dis- 
ease, and the anxieties of recovery ; surely sufficient for that day 
is the evil thereof. Use your health while you have it, lest dark- 
ness come upon 3'ou. The same applies to age. Then desire 
fails ; the grasshopper is a burden ; sight and hearing, and memo- 
ry, and judgment, decline. Remember, therefore, says Solomon, 
now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days 
come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have 
no pleasure in them. 

— Death is darkness. Then j^ou must give up your employ- 
ments, however interesting ; your possessions, however valued ; 
your connexions, however endeared ; your religious advantages, 
however important — and, stripped and silent, retire into the gloom 
of -the grave. This darkness is certain, It-cannot be remote. It 
may be close at hand. There may be but a step between me and 
death, " before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land 
of darkness, and the shadow of death : a land of darkness, as 
darkness itself; and ol the shadow of death without any order, 
and where the light is as darkness." 

— Hell is darkness — outer darkness ; where there is weeping, 
and wailing, and gnashing of teeth. The dreadfulness of this 
state, it is impossible either to describe or imagine. But we know, 
that it is possible to escape it. We also know that the present 
is the only opportunity. Behold, now is the accepted time ; now 
is the day of salvation. Give glory to the Lord your God, before 
he cause darkness. 

Blessed be God, for his long suffering goodness, and his warning 
mercy. He might justly have spared his words, and come in- 
stantly to blows. But he speaks before he strikes : and he threat- 
ens, that he may not destroy. May the kind alarm awaken our 
fear; and may our fear produce flighty and may we flee for 
refuge to the hope set before us, even Jesus, who delivers from 
the wrath to come. 



August 10.—" He must increase, but I must decrease."— John, iii, 30. 

This was spoken of the Redeemer, by his forerunner John. And 
it is not to be considered as the language of complaint, or sullen 
acquiescence— as if he w^ould say, " I dislike it ; but it is unavoid- 
able. It is my grief; and I must bear it." No. It was as agree- 
able in his feelings, as it was firm in his belief. And it sho\ved a 
fine and a noble soul in this man. The spirit that is in us lusteth 
to envy. We love something distinguishing, and therefore exclu- 
sive. We wish to rise, even by the depression of others. It is 
trying, even to a good man,' to withdraw, and see a successor filling 
his place better than himself, and, as the honors he has worn are 
transferred to another, to say, "He must increase, but I must 
decrease." It is not an easy thing to go down Avell ; or for a set- 
ting star to exult in a rising sun. 

But it was thus with John. He knew his rank, and approved 
of his place. He was the servant, not the master. The friend, 
not the bridegroom. The church was not married to him. " He 



76 AUGUST 10. 

that hath the bride is the bridegroom : but the friend of the bride- 
groom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because 
of the bridegroom's voice. This my joy therefore is fulfilled, 
He must increase, but I must decrease." 

What does he mean by this increase ? Not an increase in his 
temporal condition. As he had been poor, so he was to continue. 
Many of his professed followers seek great things to themselves : 
but we may judge of his estimation of them by his choice : for 
they were all within his reach. But though he had a kingdom, it 
was not of this world. Nor is it by any kind of earthly distinc- 
tion and indulgence that he has characterized Christians, or raised 
their hope. He has nowhere engaged to make them rich in th.s 
world's good, but only rich in faith. He has nowhere told them 
that they shall be free from trouble, but only that in him they 
shal] have peace. 

The increase partly regards his personal ministry. Both John 
and Jesus were preachers and leaders. John's " course" was 
ending ; but Jesus was only commencing his public work. John 
was going to lose his disciples, and Jesus to gain them, and be- 
come a much more famous minister, by miracles, and clearness, 
and grandeur of doctrine, and the permanency of his success. In- 
deed, we have no reason to believe that John ever preached after 
this. The end of his mission was answered. He was a voice ; 
and, having made his proclamation, he was silenced. He was the 
morning star ; and, having ushered the Sun of Righteousness in, 
he disappeared. He was the forerunner, to introduce the Messiah ; 
but the Messiah was now come and verified, and acknowledged. 

But it Avas the same as saying, Christianity must increase. 
Christianity was small at first ; but it was to resemble the shining 
light, which begins with the dawn, but becomes perfect da^^ Or 
to be like the mustard seed, which, however diminutive, grows 
the greatest amongst herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds 
of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. Or the por- 
tion of leaven, which, hid in the meal, continues to diffuse itself 
till the whole be leavened. His doctrine was possessed only by 
liimself for a time. He then communicated the secret to twelve, 
then to seventy. His followers, after this, were not numerous, 
and they consisted chiefly of the common people ; for it was 
scornfully asked " Have any of the rulers believed on him ?" 
After various trials, the number of disciples in Jerusalem, pre- 
viously to the descent of the Spirit, were about one hundred and 
twenty. Then three thousand were added in one day — and the 
Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. Thus 
mightily grew the word of God, and prevailed. It soon spread 
beyond the bounds of .Tudea, and reached the ends of the Roman 
world — the heralds of thanking God, who always caused them to 
triumph in Christ, and made manifest the savor of his know- 
ledge by them in every place. How much has his cause done 
since ! And how is it expanding now ! But a vaster increase is 
yet to take place. His glory shall be revealed, and all flesh sliall 
see it together. For now sliall he be great to the ends of the 
earth. Such is the language of the Scripture, and nothing h{\« 



AUGUST U. 77 

yet taken place sufficient to fulfill it. It is therefore before us. 
We know that heathenism, and Mahomedanism, and Popery, 
shall be destroyed. And we know that the Jews shall look on 
him whom they have pierced — and if the casting them away was 
the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, 
but life from the dead ? 

— And there is no uncertainty here — it must be. The mouth 
of the Lord hath spoken it. His death insures it. He has power 
over all flesh to accomplish it. Let those who love him, and are 
laboring to advance his cause, rejoice, and be encouraged — they 
cannot fail. " His name shall endure for ever ; his name shall be 
continued as long as the sun • and men shall be blessed in him ; 
all nations shall call him blessed. Blessed be the Lord God, the 
God of Israel, who only doth wondrous things. And blessed be 
his glorious name for ever ; and let the whole earth be filled with 
his glory. Amen, and amen." 

August 11. — " Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as 
in my presence only, but now much more in my absence." — Phil, ii, 12. 

" That which is unsavory cannot be eaten without salt." And 
therefore, to render it palatable, we season it. When we are going 
to reprove a fault, or enforce a duty, we should, as much as pos- 
sible, commend ; for praise opens the mind, and prepares for the 
reception of rebuke or admonition. This wisdom the apostle 
here displays. There was nothing in him like flattery ; but, to 
introduce his most solemn charge, that they would work out their 
own salvation with fear and trembling, he applauds these Philip- 
pians for four things. 

First. Their obedience. Belief, knowledge, profession, talk, 
every thing is vain without this. The Gospel was made knowTi 
for the obedience of faith — and these Philippians had " obeyed." 

Secondly. The constancy of their practice. Lot's Wife, at the 
angel's command, left Sodom ; but " she looked back." The Ga- 
latians '• did run well ; but were hindered :" " they began in the 
Spirit, and ended in the flesh," The goodness of Ephraim and 
Judah Avas like a morning cloud, and as the early dew that pass- 
eth away — but these Philippians had " always" obeyed. 

Thirdly. The increase of tlieir diligence and zeal. They had 
" much more" obeyed. They not only held on their way but 
waxed stronger and stronger ; not only continued, but always 
abounded in the work of the Lord. Nothing is more desirable 
or pleasing than to see this progression. It is like the shining 
light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect da}^ It is like 
the springing of the earth, first the blade, then the ear, and after 
that the full corn in the ear. 

Fourthly. The progress of their improvement under disad- 
vantages. They had much more obeyed " in his absence" than 
in his presence ^Vhen he was no longer with them as a witness 
to observe, as an example to excite, as a preacher to watch and to 
warn, to address and to animate. Some attend the word and wor- 
ship of God from the influence of a friend, or the authority of a 
father or a master. Jehoash followed the Lord all the days of 



:b august 12. 

Jelioiada, the high priest, who brought him up ; but as soon as 
this eminent servant of God was dead, the young prince became 
an idolater, and even slew a prophet of the Lord. There are 
many who regard the eye of man more than the eye of God. It 
is well when our devotion springs from inward principle, and does 
not depend upon outward excitement ; when we not only forsake, 
but abhor that which is evil ; and not only follow, but cleave to 
that which is good. There is scarcely an individual, perhaps, 
that does not sometnnes pray. But does he delight himself in 
the Almighty ? Will he always call upon God ? There are few 
but are afflicted or alarmed into occasional piety. But are we the 
same in health as in sickness ? In the house as in the temple ? 
On the week as on the Sabbath ? 

What an immense loss must the Philippians have sustained in 
Paul's absence from them ! Yet they obeyed much more in his 
absence than in his presence. Surely this shows that when he 
left them, God did not leave them. It teaches us that God does 
not depend upon instruments, though he is pleased to make use 
of them. It proves that, by his own Spirit, he can make up for 
th§ want of any creature advantage. When, by persecution, the 
church has been deprived of their pastors ; or, by accident or dis- 
ease, Christians have been destitute of the public ordinances of 
religion ; they have seen his power and his glory as they have 
seen him in the sanctuary. The streams were gone, but the 
fountain was near. And where the providence of God has denied 
the usual means of grace, we have knoAvn the sufferers to prosper 
in the divine life, even more than those who have enjoyed an 
affluence of privileges. 

" I cannot bear ^hine absence Lord — I " Be thou, my heart, still near my God, 
" My life expires if thou depart : | " And thou, my God, be near my heart." 



August 12. — " Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at 
the remembrance of his holiness." — Psalm, xxx, 4. 

It would be perfectly useless to call upon others to do this in 
tlieir present state. 

" None but the soui thct feels his grace | " Can triumph in his holiness." 

Since the fall, this attribute, which renders God so amiable in 
himself, and which draws forth the highest praises of heaven, 
makes him unlovely to an apostate creature. There is nothing 
the sinner thinks of with so much dislike as a perfection that jus- 
tifies all his fears, and opposes all his inclinations and pursuits. 
What an enemy the world naturally is to the holiness of God, 
may be seen in the practice of the heathens. Among all the he- 
roes they deified, they advanced none for those qualities which 
approach the most nearly to it; but frequently for passions the 
most remote from it ; and at best, only for some physical power, 
valued or useful in the concerns of this life. Esculapius was dei- 
fied for his skill in curing diseases. Bacchus for the use of the 
grape. Vulcan for his operations in fire. Hercules for his de- 
stroying monsters : and so of the rest. But not one of them all 
was advanced to this honor for the virtue of holiness— as if this 



AUGUST 13. 79 

property was beneath their notice in the formation of a deity ; or 
they loved a god better that had nothing to do with it. 

It was upon this principle that they who are now saints " would" 
once themselves " have none of Him ;" and really said unto God, 
" Depart from us ; we d^ire not the knowledge of thy ways." 
Hence, if they loved the ^fobath, it was a day of leisure and re- 
creation ; not as " the holy of the Lord, and honorable." Hence 
they disliked his people, as renewed, because they were images 
of this pure original. 

What a blessed evidence is it in their favor, that they can now 
glory in his holy name, and sing and give thanks at the remem- 
brance of his holiness ! But such is tlie change they have expe- 
rienced, that they do contemplate him with pleasure as holy in all 
his ways, and righteous in all his works. It is a relief, a satisfac- 
tion to their minds, in every perplexity in nature or providence, 
that the Judge of all the earth must do right. They delight in 
the law of God, which is holy, just, and good, after the inward 
man. The gospel appears to their minds glorious, because 'there- 
in is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith ; that 
he might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus." 
This attribute now smiles upon them. They have a vast interest 
and hope in it. As holy, they can depend upon his truth, and 
are assured of the fulfilment of his word. They know that He, 
who has said, I will abundantly pardon ; I will never leave thee, 
nor forsake thee, is a God that cannot lie. Yes, says the Chris- 
tian, since He who loves me is purity itself, and his influence is 
almighty, he will sprinkle clean water upon me, and I shall be 
clean. He will destroy in me the sin which he infinitely hates. 
He will make me a partaker of his holiness, and render me meet 
for the inheritance of the saints in light. 

But without this love to holiness we cannot see the kingdom of 
God. We are, both by Scripture and by the nature of the case, 
excluded for ever from his presence, which could only make us 
miserable, ^\llat fellowship hath light with darkness ? What 
communion hath righteousness Vv'ith unrighteousness ? 

Some talk of the less amiable views of the Supreme Being — 
yea, of the darker side of the Deit3^ I wonder what side this is. 
The Book tells me : and — I believe it — I feel it, that " God is 
light, and in him is no darkness at all." Therefore, thus saith the 
Lord ; '" Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the 
mighty man glory in his might ; let not the rich man glory in 
his riches ; but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he under- 
standeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lov- 
ing kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth ; for in 
these things I delight, saith the Lord." 



August 13. — " And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house 
of Saul, that I may show him kindness, for Jonathan's sake ?" — 2 Sam. ix, L 

Let me not pass by this without remark. 

— See the law state of SauPs house ! He had a very numerous 
family, sufficient to have replenished a country j and yet it was now 



80 AUGUST 13. 

so reduced, dispersed, concealed, or imknoAvn, that it was necessary 
lo inquire whether any remains of it were left. So God setteth 
the solitary in families. Some houses, distinguished for their 
wealth and nobility, fall into indigence and obscurity ; while 
others are completely terminated, theirU.ast branch having with- 
ered in the dust. " Their inward thmight is, that their houses 
shall continue for ever, and their dwelling places to all genera- 
tions ; they call their lands after their own names. Nevertheless, 
man being in honor, abideth not ; he is like the beasts that pe- 
rish." " Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, \\ hen the 
glory of his house is increased." Vanity of vanities ! saith the 
preacher — all is vanity ! 

— See a fine instance of the forgiveness of injuries. — Sa jl had 
been David's sworn foe, and had pursued him to the last with re- 
morseless malignity. Yet while he was alive, David never took 
an advantage to injure him, when he had him completely in his 
power. And when he died, he mourned over him, and eulogized 
liim far beyond his desert. And, years after, he inquires whether 
any of his family was left — not to cut them off, lest they should 
disturb his government — or to punish the sins of the father upon 
the children. Thus Athaliah arose, and destroyed all the seed 
royal : and Abimelech would leave none remaining of his father's 
house, and slew his brethren, the sons of Jerubbaal, being three- 
score and ten persons, upon one stone. And the same barbarous 
exterminations have always been practised in the east. But Da- 
vid asks if any is left, to " show him kindness." Let us learn 
from hence not to avenge ourselves, but rather to give place unto 
wrath. A greater than David has said, " Love your enemies ; 
bless them that curse you." And he perfectly exemplified his 
own command: "When he was reviled, he reviled not again; 
when be suffered, he threatened not," but prayed, " Father, for- 
give them, for they know not what they do." 

We have here a proof of real and refined affection — that I may 
show him kindness " for" Jonathan's sake." Jonathan had been 
his bosom friend, and his open and generous conduct had justly 
endeared him to David. We love steadiness of attachment. Thy 
own friend and thy father's friend forsake not. A friend is born 
for adversity, and loveth at all times ; and his regard will extend 
beyond the individual, to his connexions and offspring. God him- 
self acts upon this principle, and tells us that the children of his 
servant shall continue, and that the generation of the upright 
shall be blessed. "*! have been young," says David, " and now 
am old ; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed 
begging bread." And shall not we act upon the same principle 
in another case ? Who remembered us in our low estate ? Who, 
when rich, for our sakes became poor ? and died, that we might 
live? He was received up into glory, and is no more in the 
world. But are there none left of his family who stand in need 
of our assistance ? Let us pity and relieve them. Whatever we 
do unto one of the least of all these, he will esteem as done unto 
himself. 
—It was Iwnorable in David not to wait to he addressed^ hut to 



AUGUST 14. 81 

endeavor to search out the object, We are to devise liberal things, 
and not only to seize, but to seek opportunities of doing good. 
The most needy and deserving are generally the least clamorous ; 
and, like the stricken deer, retire and bleed alone. And such we 
must seek after. We should not wait for the enforcement of 
claims, if conscience tells us they are due. Yet some, we fear, 
would never pay a debt, if they thought the creditor had forgot- 
ten it. But justice is the rule of our duty. 

—We can go no further in our prase of David. Surely his 
kindness loses somewhat of its excellency in its lateness. Mephi- 
bosheth was five years old when David ascended the throne ; and 
was now married and had a son. Thus a considerable number 
of years must have elapsed since God had delivered him out of 
all his adversity. He therefore (though better late than never) 
should have made this inquiry much earlier. What shall we say 
to this ? We ought to make the best of every thing, especially in 
the conduct of great and good men. But none of them are fault- 
less. And the sacred writers always show their impartiality. 
They always record things just as they occurred, regardless of 
consequences — their only aim is truth. It has been said, in ex- 
culpation of David, That he was so much engaged in war, and 
pressed with such a multiplicity of engagements ! There was a 
truth in this : but it does not entirely excuse him. He had entered 
into covenant with Jonathan ; and should immediately have shown 
his seed " the kindness of God ;" that is, the kindness which he 
had sworn in his presence to exercise. Let us take heed that in- 
dulgence does not harden the heart : and when we prosper, let us 
watch and pray, lest we enter into temptation. The prosperity 
of fools destroys them ; and the prosperity of wise men commonly 
injures them. As people rise in the world, they get bad memo- 
r'es. The Chief Butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot 
him : Lord, what is man ! 

In all things Jesus has the pre-eminence. He remembered us 
as soon as he came into his kingdom. And, though passed into 
the heavens, he is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. 



August 14. — " Aud David said unto him, Fear not; for I will surely show 
thee kindness, for Jonathan thy fathers sake, and will restore thee all the 
land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually. 
And he bowed himself, and said. What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look 
upon such a dead dog as I am ?" — 2 Samuel, ix, 7, 8. 

DAvm had inquired whether there M'as any left of the house of 
Saul, that he might show him kindness for Jonathan's sake. Upon 
which Ziba, an old retainer in Saul's family, said unto the king, 
" Jonathan hath yet a son, which is lame on his feet." This lame- 
ness was occasioned by an accident, in consequence of the battle 
of Gilboa, by which his grandfather and his father were both 
slain. The nurse, not only from the terror such an event natu- 
rally inspires, but also from knowing that INIephibosheth vras now 
the heir apparent to the throne, and that the victors would eagerly 
seek to apprehend him, to secure and conceal her precious charge, 
took him up and fled j but fell and crippled him for life. To how 



&Z AUGUST 14. 

many perils are children exposed in their rearing ; and how 
thankful should we feel to the providence of God, if we have 
escaped them. Yet, instead of pitying Mephibosheth, we ought 
rather to congratulate him on this affliction. In the earlier stages 
of society, corporeal accomplishments were much rated ; and had 
not Mephibosheth been thus disfigured and dismemberd, the adhe- 
rents of Saul's house would probably, as he was the next heir, 
have proclaimed him instead of his uncle Ishbosheth ; and then 
it is most likely he would have been murdered as he was. Who 
knows what is good for man in this vain life ? And who knov.'S 
what is evil ? How often have we deprecated things for which 
we have afterwards been thankful ! How much do we owe to 
the disappointments of life ! What dangers have ill health, or re- 
duced substance, prevented ! 

*' Yc fcai ful saints, fresh courage take ! I "Are big with mercy, and shall break 
" The clouds ye so much dread | " In blessings on your head." 

— " And the king said. Where is he ? And Ziba said. Behold, he 
is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lo-debar." 
Here, probably, resided in obscurity his mother's relations : and 
here he himself was forgotten, like a dead man out of mind. 
Machir, with whom he dwelt, seems to have been a noble, gene- 
rous man, who took charge of Mephibosheth from pity of one 
born to honor, and the son of so excellent a father ; and not from 
any disaffection to David. Yea, we afterward find him equally 
kind to David ; and furnishing him with every refreshment when 
he was driven an exile into his neighborhood, by the rebellion of 
Absalom. And may not David's kindness to Mephibosheth at 
this time, have induced Machir the more promptly and extensively 
to exert himself in favor of David in his subsequent distress ? If 
so, it says, " Give a portion to seven, and also to eight ; for thou 
knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth." The aid we 
impart to-day, we may want to-morrow. Blessed are the merci- 
ful, for they shall obtain mercy. 

The king sent and fetched him. And observe his introduction 
at court. W^hen he was come unto David, he fell on his face, 
and did reverence. David had done the very same, to this crij)- 
ple's father a few years before, bowing himself three times to the 
earth. What changes take place in the conditions of men. David 
had too reflective a mind not to think of this. He had probably 
never seen Mephibosheth before, though he was born about the 
time of his intimacy with his beloved father. The first thing I 
suppose he would look for in his features, would be the image of 
Jonathan. David had too much sensibility not to be impressed 
with the affecting scene. Feeling is always brief in expression. 
He utters only one word : but the manner in which he pronounced 
it said every thing. And David said, Mephibosheth! It was the 
language of surprise, tenderness, and endearment. 

—But why was he afraid of David ? It is not probable that he 
apprehended any danger from him. But he had been living in 
the country, and in privacy, from a child. And it is no unusual 
thing for a stranger to be intimidated at the presence of a very 
superior and extraordinary man. Madame de Stael, though ac- 



AUGUST 14. 83 

customed to the highest society, and endued with such powers of 
addresy and conversation, says she was breathless in the company 
of the late emperor of France; and could never rise above this 
prostration of mind. But David was a greater man, and as great 
a warrior, considering the age in which he lived. Seeing the de- 
pression of his countenance, and his tremor ; 

—David said to him, " Fear not, for I will surely show thee 
kindness, for Jonathan's sake ;" and gave him the assurance of two 
things. First— Upon the suppression of Ishbosheth's faction, 
Saul's estate had been confiscated to the crown— this he promises 
to give him with all its future revenues. And secondly— He assigns 
him a residence in his palace, and a constant access to himself: 
I will restore thee all the land of Saul thy fother ; and thou shalt 
eat bread at my table continually. 

— And how did Mephibosheth receive these honors ? He was not 
one of those who take every favor as a debt, and imagine their 
friends are only doing their duty, and very imperfectly, too, per- 
haps, in every kindness they show them— But he exclaims, " What 
is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I 
am ?" A dog is fitter to be under the table, than at the side of it ; 
and a dead dag is fitter for the ditch, than the palace. It was 
a strong, proverbial expression, used to signify how mean, and 
base, and unworthy, and unqualified, he deemed himself. But 
if he received these benefits from David with so much thank- 
fulness and humility, how ought lue to feel under those blessings 
which God bestows upo)2 us '? And here let me ask three questions. 

And, first— not to dwell on the ordinary bounties of his provi- 
dence ; Has he not remembered us in our low estate ? Has he not 
sought and saved our souls ? Has he not restored our forfeited 
inheritance ? Has he not given us a name and a place in his house, 
that we may eat and drink at his table, in his kingdom ? 

Secondly. And are not the blessings He has conferred upon 
us infinitely greater than those Mephibosheth received from David 1 
It might seem an immense thing to a worldly mind, to be fetched 
out of distant obscurity ; and enriched with a royal demesne ; 
and allowed to live at a splendid court. But Mephibosheth, per- 
haps, was not even so happy as before : and for whatever pur- 
poses he valued his elevation, he soon left it, and found that he had 
set his eyes on that which is not. But we are blessed with all 
spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Our dignities 
and enjoyments yield the most perfect satisfaction. And they 
will endure for ever. 

Thirdly. And how much less reason had we to look for such 
favors from God, than Mephibosheth had to expect such bestov'- 
ments from David ? He was David's fellow creature, and had a 
claim founded in the community of nature. He was the son of 
an intimate friend, to whom he was under obligation. He was 
always a relation, being the child of his brother-in-law. Though 
a sufferer, he was innocent, and ha^ ahvays conducted himself 
properly toward David. 

—But, Lord, what is man, that thou rirt mindful of him ; or 
the son of man that thou visitest him. ? We were strangers — ene- 



84 AUGUST 15. 

mies by wicked works — unworthy of the least of ail his mercies 
deserving that his wrath should come upon us as the children of 
disobedience ! What then ought to be our self abasement ? our 
gratitude ? But where are they 7 Are they urging us to exclaim. 
Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us ! By thy grace we are what we 
are ! Are they inducing us to utter abundantly the memory of his 
great goodness; and recommend him all the day long to others ? 
Are they constraining us, by his mercies, to present our bodies a 
living sacrifice, holy and acceptable, which is our reasonable 
service ? 



August 15. — "Praise Avaiteth for thee, O God, in Zion: and unto thee 
shall the vow be performed." — Psalm Ixv, 1. 

Here we have the church's praise, and the church's vow — the 
suspension of the one ; and the fulfillment of the other. 

In general, God waits for our praise. And how slow and re- 
luctant are we in rendering it ! And how seldom, at last, do we 
render, according to the benefit done unto us ! But here praise 
waits in Zion for him. The meaning is, that the deliverance or 
blessing which they were in need of had not arrived ; but they 
w^ere looking for it — They had their harp in their hand, ready to 
strike up a song of thanksgiving ; but delay kept them silent ; 
praise waited, therefore, because the church waited. 

And this is no unusual thing, first, as to their spiritual experi- 
ence. They wish to be able to view him as the strength of their 
heart, and their portion for ever ; and to claim all the exceeding 
great and precious promises as their own. But they are doubtful 
and uncertain ; yea, they often exclude themselves from all part 
and lot in the matter. Now we cannot praise him for what we 
think he has not done for us, or given to us ; but only for what 
he has. If, therefore, he has forgiven, and accepted us, the ac- 
knowledgment of the blessing requires the knowledge of it. Yet 
how many are in a state of anxiety, waiting for the Lord more 
than they that watch for the morning ; and praying. Say unto my 
soul, I am thy salvation ! And, 

Secondly, as to providential dispensations. IIow long was it, 
even after David had been anointed by Samuel, before he was es- 
tablished on the throne ! How long did Joseph wait, with every 
prospect growing darker, before his prophetic dreams were ac- 
complished ! And so Abraham, " after he had patiently endured, 
obtained the promise." God keeps back, till self-despair and the 
failure of creature confidence have spread a dark ground, on 
which his glory must be seen. He loves to surprise, as well as 
relieve. He will convince us, in future difficulties, that he is able 
to do for us exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask or think. 
Therefore at eventide it is light : and he turneth the shadow of 
death into the morning. 

Here, however, let it be observed, that Christians cannot be 
ever entirely silent. They have always much to praise God for. 
Whatever be their present condition — it might have been much, 
worse — yea, in every thing they are to give thanks. Nor will 
they be silent long. The vision is only for an appointed time. 



AUGUST 15. 85 

Yet a little while, and he that shall come, will come, and will not 
tarry. And they need not be silent at all if they have faith in 
God : for faith can see the certainty of the thing before it takes 
place ; and cause us always to triumph in Christ, while yet the 
warfare is not actually accomplished. 

If hope deferred maketh the heart sick, when it cometh it is a 
tree of life. Therefore says the churcli, " Unto thee shall the vow 
be performed." The vow means their solemn engagement to 
praise Him when the deliverance or blessing arrived. " If He 
appears to my joy, I will give him the glory that is due unto his 
name— witness my vow." We are not fond of vows : they often 
ensnare the soul, and give the enemy an advantage over us. And 
Christians, as they advance in self-knowledge, are commonly more 
disposed to pray to God, than to stipulate with him. It is a useful 
hint which Cowper gives us — 

" Beware of Peter's word ; I " I never will deny the Lord, 

" Nor coafideutly say, | •' But, grain I never Jiiay." 

Yet vows in some cases may be useful. They may prove as a 
kind of fence to the field, or hem to the garment. They may 
serve to remind us, when we forget ; and to humble us, when we 
fail. But two things should be always observed. The first is, 
that they be formed in an entire dependence upon divine grace. 
" By Thee only will we make mention of thy name." " Through 
God we shall do valiantly." 

" Man's wisdom is to seek I " And e en an aiiecl would be weak, 

" In God his strength alone ; 1 " That trusted'^in his own." 

The second is, that when we have made them, we should be con- 
cerned to fulfill them. " When ihou vowest a vow unto God, defer 
not to pay it ; for he hath no pleasure in fools ; pay that whicli 
thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than 
that thou shouldest vow and not pay." Y^et how often have men 
bound themselves when they were in danger, sickness, and afflic- 
tion; and, forgetting or violating their vow, liave turned again to 
folly ! Even Jacob, after all his solemn covenanting witli God, 
in the prospect of his journey, was awfully remiss upon his return ; 
till, divinely rebuked, he said, " Let us arise and go up to Bethel ; 
and I will make tliere an altar unto God, who answered me in my 
distress, and, was with me in the way Avhich I went." Hamiali 
was more exemj)lary. She had vowed, that if her prayer was 
answered, she would give her son to the Lord as long as he lived. 
The surrender was painful : but as soon as she had^veaned him 
she took him to Shiloh, and brought him to Eli : " And she said, 
Oh, my lord ! as thy soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that 
stood by thee here, praying unto the Lord. For this child I 
prayed ; and the Lord hath given me my petition whicli I asked 
of him ; therefore also I have lent him to the Lord ; as long as he 
liveth he shall be lent to the Lord." " Well done thou good and 
faithful servant." 



80 AUGUST iC. 

August 16. — " Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to 
the sea, and cast a hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and 
when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money ; that 
take, and give unto them for me and thee." — Matthew, xvii, 27. 

Hovv^ well was it foretold that his name should be called, Won- 
derful ! 

AVhat a surprising combination of attributes was displayed in 
liim ! Observe the case before us. Here, while we behold his 
penury and dependence — so that lie did not possess wherewithal 
to pay the Temple-tribute, we perceive his omniscience — so that 
in Peter's house he could pierce the waters of the sea, and discern 
a particular fish, and see what M^as in its body — and announce a 
piece Of money there — and the very coin by name. Surely the 
darkness hideth not from him ; but the night shineth as the day. 
" Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight , 
but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with 
whom we have to do." 

He who saw the staler in this fish, sees what money we are in 
the possession of— and liow we acquired it — and tlie way in M^hich 
we are using it. He sees whether we are needlessly hoarding, or 
wastefully expanding it. He sees Avhelher we are making it our 
hope and confidence, or valuing it only as an instrument of lawful 
enjoyment, and of pious and benevolent use. He sees the responsi- 
bilities of the owner ; and knows how^ he Avill feel when he shall 
be called to leave it ; and when he will be required to give an 
account of it. 

Here we also behold his power and dominion. He is Lord 
of all. The beasts of the field obey him. At his bidding not a 
dog moves his tongue in the departure of the Israelites : and, at 
his command, the dumb ass, speaks with man's voice, and rebukes 
the madness of the Prophet. The fowls of the air obey him— at 
his order, the ravens bring Elijah bread and meat in the morning 
and evening. The fishes of the sea obey him — at his command, a 
great fish swallows the disobedient, and disembarks the penitent 
Jonah — and, here, a fish at his requirement goes and takes up 
from the bottom of the sea a stater, and then goes and bites at 
Peter's hook, with this in his maw ! " All things are put under 
his feet : all sheep and oxen ; yea, the beasts of the field ; the 
fowls of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth 
through the paths of the sea." 

Could any thing be better adapted to encourage the confidence 
of the disciples in the kindness and all-sufficiency of his provi- 
dence, when he M'as sending them forth, as sheep among wolves, 
and without any known supplies to live upon ? He commissior.\ed 
the Seventy to "go in pairs through the whole country ; but he 
sent them forth without purse, or scrip, or shoes. And they had. 
it would seem, many uneasy and distracting thoughts at the time. 

They did not, indeed express them ; but our Lord was aware 
of them, and remembered them. And when he came back, he 
brings them to their own recollection; "How came you to think 
tliat 1 who employed you, should not provide for you ? Did you 



AUGUST 17. 87 

doubt my inclination, or my ability? When I sent you forth 
without purse and scrip, lacked 5^e any thing ? And they said, 
Nothing, Lord." 

Are you called to leave behind you those who seem to hang on 
j-oiur care ? Hear this Savior at your dying bed, saying, " Leave 
thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive ; and let thy 
widow trust in me." " O fear the Lord, all ye his saints j for 
there is no want to them that fear him. The young lions do 
lack and suffer hunger ; but they that seek the Lord shall not want 
s.ny good thing." 



August 17.—" Ye know all things.''—! John, ii, 20. 

The reason, or the cause, is previously given — " We have an 
unction from the Holy One." This unction means the Spirit of 
grace and truth. This the Savior possessed personally ; he " was 
anointed with the Holy Ghost and with power ;" and had the Spi- 
rit without measure. And, as Mediator, for the suffering of death, 
he received all the fullness of it for the supply of his people. They 
therefore derive it from him ; and it is not only sanctifying, but 
illuminating ; it leads them " into all truth ;" and " they know all 
things." This is a bold expression; but the extensiveness of it 
must be taken with four distinctions. 

First. It means only things religious. It does not intend to in- 
timate that every Christian is familiar with the secrets of Nature ; 
the resources of trade ; the mysteries of government ; the struc- 
ture of language ; and a thousand other things. With regard to 
these, he may be far surpassed by the people of the world. Not 
that religion stupefies its possessor — yea, it is favorable to the ac- 
quisition of knowledge generally, by rousing and employing the 
mind, and thereby improving it— but it is distinguishable from 
learning and science ; and makes us acquainted with " the things 
which accompany salvation." 

Secondly. It means things not only religious, but retealed. 
" The secret things belong unto the Lord our God ; but those 
things which are revealed belong unto us, and to our children for 
ever, that we may do all the works of lliis law :" a passage which 
should never be forgotten. It would draw some persons a little 
further from the decrees of God, and a little nearer to his com- 
mands. The sacred writers prophesy but in part. Had every 
thing been revealed in the Scripture, the world could not have 
contained the books that would have been written ; and our atten- 
tion would have been so divided that the one thing needful would 
have been forgotten. T^iere are numberless subjects upon which 
a busy and curious mind would speculate, concerning which the 
word is silent. But where God says nothing, we are not to be 
^vise above what is written. If men will conjecture, let them con- 
jecture without devouring much of their time, or injuring their 
temper ; and without censoriousness, self-conceit, and positive- 
ness— He that hath a dream, let him tell a dream. What is the 
chaff to the wlieat ? When our Savior had foretold the duty and 
destination of Peter, and Peter, not satisfied with this, asked con- 
VoL. IL 16 



88 AUGUST 17. 

cerning Johii, "Lord, and what shall this man do?" instead of 
answering him, he reproved his impatient and presumptnous curi- 
osity ; " What if I will that he tarry till I come ; M'hat is that to 
thee ? Follow thou me." 

Thirdly. It not only means things revealed, but revealed things 
oi importance. Every thing, even in the Scripture, is not equally 
momentous and interesting. Some things are hard to be under- 
stood ; but then it is not necessary to be able to understand them. 
Yet such things as these are not without their use, if they make 
us humble, by showing us the limits of the human understanding, 
and lead us, while Ave adore here^ to study elsewhere. How many 
things are there in the geography, the chronology, the natural 
philosophy of the Scriptures, in which we may be safely unversed ? 
A man may be able to number his days so as to apply his heart 
unto wisdom, without knowing when Antichrist will be destroyed. 
He may not know what creature Behemoth was, or where Ophir 
was ; and yet he may know what is life eternal, and the way to it 
he may know. The Jews had the fiery cloudy pillar, not to exa- 
mine, but to follow. They knew no more of its essence at the end 
of forty years, than at the beginning ; but it had led them, by a 
right way, to the city of habitation. Tliere are things which con- 
cern the Lord Jesus, and to know these is the excellency of know- 
ledge. These will make us wise unto sah'ation. These are things 
that are ornamental to a Christian — and these are not to be un- 
dervalued ; but others are essential to his very being. Some 
things conduce to our comfort ; but others even involve our 
safety. It is desirable, but not equally necessary, that a Chris- 
tian should be informed in all these truths. 

Fourthly. With regard to things of importance, it only means 
a comparative knowledge of these, in our present state. Of the 
God of grace as well as of the God of nature, we are compelled to 
say, " How small a portion is known of him !" What one truth 
is there that we can trace back completely to its rise, or follow to 
its last outfall ? We read of things which angels desire to look 
into ; of a peace which passeth all understanding ; of a joy un- 
speakable. The love of Christ passeth knowledge. 

" The cross, the manger, and tlie throne, [ "Arc big with glories yet unknown." 

More we cannot concede. If Christians are comparatively igno- 
rant, they are comparatively wise. They are children of the 
light, and of the day. They have an understanding given them 
to know Him that is true. Not that they are endued with a new 
physical faculty ; but they have another kind of knowledge— and 
it is as superior as it is peculiar. There is as much difference 
between their present and their former knowledge, as bet-ween the 
shining of the glow-worm and the vital lustre of the sun. They 
have a heaj't to know. They see divine things, not only in their 
reality, but in their beauty and excellency'; and, while this gives 
them a firmer conviction of their certainty than they had before, 
so it gains their affection to them, and brings them under their 
influence. Thus, with them, the darkness is past, and the true 
light now shineth. They walk in the light, as He is in the light. 
The secret of the Lord is with them, and he shows them his co- 



AUGUST 13. 80 

venant. '' The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit 
of God ; for they are foohshness unto him ; neither can he know 
them, because they, are spiritually discerned. But he that is 
spmtudX judgeth all things.^'' 

Thus another reproach is rolled away. Christians are not only 
considered as slaves ; as cowards ; as the victims of gloom and 
melanclioly ; but are often despised, or pitied, as fools. Yet are 
they the wisest people in the world. Their religion, from first to 
last, is wisdom. And it is justified of ail her children. 

August 18.—" My voice thou sbalt hear in the morning, O Lord, Ps. v. 3. 
Authors have found the morning the best time for study and 
composition— hence it has been called the friend of the muses. It 
would be easy to prove that it is equally a friend to the graces and 
the duties — it is the finest season for reflection and devotion. 
David found it so, and therefore resolves, " My voice shalt thou 
hear in the morning, O Lord." What voice ? The voice of praise 
and the voice of prayer— the owq excited by looking back, the 
other by looking forward. 

—How much is there in the morning to call forth the voice of 
thanksgiving ! Let us think of the season we have just passed 
through. How many houseless creatures this night have had no 
place where to lay their heads ! How many victims of accident 
and disease have been full of tossing to and fro, until the dawn- 
ing of the day; their beds have not comforted them, nor their 
couch eased their complaint ! How many have been deprived of 
repose while attending their neighbors, friends, and relations, in 
sickness and sorrow ! How many, since the last setting sun, have 
entered an awful eternity ! How many, this night, have been cut 
off in their sins ! Many have been terrified, robbed, injured, mur- 
dered, by wicked and unreasonable men ! How many have been 
consumed by fire, or drowned with water ! How many, this night, 
have been engaged in works of darkness ; and v/ho, if any knew 
them, would be in the terrors of the shadow of death ! How many 
have risen this morning to pass the day in anguish ! How many 
to suffer want ! How many who have all things richly to enjoy, 
have risen only to live another day Avithout God in the world ! 
They lie down and rise up like the beasts that perish : God is not 
in all their thoughts. And is it otherwise with us ? \^' hat shall we 
render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward us ? Bless the 
Lord, O my soul, and all that is Avithin me, bless his holy name. 
O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together. 

-—And with how many of these merciful nights have we been 
favored ! Hence, perhaps, we have been so little affected with the 
goodness of God in them. How strange ! that what increases 
the greatness of our obligation should diminish the sense of it ! 
^ et it is by the interruption, the suspension, the want of our 
comforts, we are made to learn the value of them. Let us guard 
against this perverseness of ingratitude ; and remember that if 
our mercies are common, they must be numerous, and so increase 
the claims to our praise. 

— And shall our gratitude evaporate in a mere morning acknow- 



90 AUGUST 19. 

ledgnient? Shall we not, by the mercies of God, dedicate our- 
selves to his service, and be in his fear all the day long? 

And v.'hen we think of the day before us, how much is there to 
awaken concern ! And what is our concern, without the attention 
of God ? He shall, therefore, in the morning hear, not only the 
voice of praise, but the voice of prayer. 

Who is to guide me through the day upon which I have enter- 
ed ? How much depends upon one mistake in my mo^'ements ? 
And how easily may I go astray ? The way of man is not in him- 
self; it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. " Cause 
jne to hear thy loving kindness in the morning, for in Thee do I 
Irust; cause me to know the way wherein I should walk, fori lift 
up my soul unto Thee." 

Who is to guard me through the day ? And I am much more 
exposed when awake, than when asleep. My soul is more expo- 
sed — more exposed to sin — and sin is the greatest evil. And what 
am I, to resist a corrupt heart, a wicked world, and all the powers 
of darkness? " Hold Thou me up, and I shall be safe. Be Thou 
my arm every morning ; my salvation also in the time of trouble." 

Who is to help me through the day ? I have many duties to 
discharge. I am to live soberly, righteously, and godly. I am to 
walk in wisdom toward those that are without : I am to speak the 
truth in love : I am to adorn the doctrine of God my Savior in 
all things. " Lord, without thee I can do nothing. Let thy grace 
DC sufficient for me ; and thy strength made perfect in weakness." 

Who is to give m.e success in the business of the day ? I know I 
ought not to be idle, but to be diligently and prudently employed 
in my lawful calling. Means are mine ; but how much more is 
necessary than my wisdom and anxiety. " The blessing of the 
Lord it maketh rich ; and he addeih no sorrow with it." " Except 
the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it ; except 
the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain. It is 
in vain for me to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of 
sorrows : for so he giveth his beloved sleep." 

Who is to prepare me for the events of the day 7 And I know 
not what the day may bring forth. Perhaps I m.ay receive the 
most unwelcome intelligence. Perhaps I may sustain losses in 
property. Perhaps I may meet "svith mortification from my fel- 
low creatures, and be tried with disappointments in friends. 
My child may this day fall sick. The desire of mine eyes may be 
taken away with a stroke. There may be but a step between me 
and death. It is wonderful we live a day through. " May I know 
how to be abased, or how to abound. If in the world I have tri- 
bulation, in the Savior may I have peace. So teach me to number 
my days that I may apply my heart unto wisdom— That v/hether 
I live, I may live unto the Lord ; or whether I die, I may die unto 
the Lord : so that, living and dying, I may be the Lord's." 

August 19.—" I am married unto you."— Jeremiah, iii, 14. 
Marriage is the nearest and most intimate of all human rela- 
tions. It is surpassed only by the union between soul and body. 
Here are two persons meeting together, who perhaps never saw 



AUGUST 19, 91 

or heard of each other some time before ; yet, coming under the 
power of this ordinance, are united in a connexion that exceeds 
the claims of nature, and the wife becomes dearer than the dear- 
est parent. " Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mo- 
ther, and shall cleave to his wife ; and they shall be one flesh." 

—Thus, Christians, though once strangers, and far off, become 
the people of God, a people nigh unto, him ; yea, one with him, 
in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten— and He is not 
ashamed to own the relation, " I am married unto you." What 
is supremely and essentially included in this relation, when pro- 
perly established ? 

—In such a marriage there is mutual love. This love regards 
the person, and not the endowments. And such a love there is 
between God and his people. It Cv-^mmenced on his side much 
earlier than on their's ; and his love to them produced their love 
to him. For love begets love : and we love him, because he 
first loved us. Yet the love is mutual— and he says, " I love 
them that love me." 

The same may be said of mutual choice. In a proper marriage, 
the parties freely elect each other. God has cliosen his people ; 
and they have chosen him : for, though once averse to him, as 
their Lord and portion, they are made willing in the day of his 
power ; and this power is not violence, but influence— the influ- 
ence of wisdom and goodness. He works in them to will and to 
do of his good pleasure. He draws them, and they run after 
him; and they can all say from the heart, " Whom have I in 
heaven, but Thee ? and ttiere is none upon earth that I desire 
beside Thee." 

In this connexion, there is also confidence and communication. 
Where this is wanting, the spirit of it is materially injured ; and 
the relation is very defectively maintained. It is readily allowed, 
that the woman should not carry on designs concealed from the 
husband ; but is not every thing here reciprocal ? And is he jus- 
tified in treating her with reserve and silence ? Yet there are many 
wives, who have had no intimation of the state of their husband's 
affairs, till they have found themselves plunged into a condition 
overwhelming them with surprise, as well as calamity. The se- 
cret of the Lord is with them that fear him ; and he will show 
them his covenant. And they, in all their ways, acknowledge him. 
They pour out their hearts before him ; they hide nothing from liim. 

There is, also, in this alliance, fellowship and community of 
goods. However poor or mean the wife was before, she is now 
raised to a participation of the husband's rank and affluence : and 
however free and independent he was before, the husband now 
shares in all the condition of the wife. And thus the believer 
dedicates himself to God, with all he is and has. He feels his 
cause his own ; he deplores its reproaches, and rejoices in its suc- 
cess. And God gives himself, with all he is and has, to the be- 
liever. In all his afflictions, He is afflicted : and he that toucheth 
liim, toucheth the apple of His eye. 

Finally. There is complacency and delight. As the bride- 
groom rejoicethover the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee. 



92 AUGUST 20. 

He will rejoice over thee with joy ; he will rest in his love ; he 
will rejoice over thee with singing. 

How wonderful is this ! and yet how true ! 

How blessed are the people who are in such a case ! 

Art thou in this happy, this glorious condition ? All hail ! Thy 
maker is thy husband. There was joy in the presence of the an- 
gels of God the hour thou gavest thy consent to the proposals of 
the Gospel. 

Art thou willing to be united to him ? His ministers invite and 
woo thee. Come — for all things are now ready. Resemble not 
Israel, who would have none of him ; and so were given up to 
their own heart's lust. Behold, now is the accepted time : behold, 
now is the day of salvation. 



August 20.— " His going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall 
come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth." 

Hosea, vi, 3. 

" His going forth," and " his coming," mean his displays and 
communications, on the behalf of those who earnestly and perse- 
veringly seek after him, according to the words immediately pre- 
cedmg, " Then shall we know, if we follow on to know, the 
Lord." This contains the assui-ance of their success. But here 
is added the illusiration of it. It consists of two images equally 
beautiful and encouraging. 

The first derived from the morning ; " His going forth is pre- 
pared as the morning." When the morning is not yet come, we 
fully rely upon it : we know it is coming : we know it is secured 
in the appointment of providence, and the arrangements of na- 
ture. It never yet failed ; and it never will, as long as the world 
endures. And does not the God of all grace express the immu- 
tabihty of his counsel by the certainty of this very allusion ? 
" Thus saith the Lord, If ye can break my covenant of the day, 
and my covenant of the night ; and that there shall not be day 
or night in their season ; then may also my covenant be broken 
v/ith David, my servant." What can hinder the approach, and 
the rising of the sun ? And his going forth is prepared as surehj 
as the morning. 

— And as luminously too. The morning drives away the dark- 
ness, and shines upon our path ; so that we see where we are. 
and how to move. " If a man walk in the day, he stumbleth 
not, because he seeth the light of this world. But if a man 
walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him." 
The Lord will come, and manifest himself to his people. He will 
show them his covenant. He Avill lead them into all truth. And, 
with regard to doctrine, and experience, and practice, and also 
their interest in the divine favor, he Avill make darkness light be- 
fore them, and crooked things straight : these things will he do 
unto them, and not forsake them. 

It is also as delightsome as the morning. The night is a season 
of gloom, as it is a period of confinement, and danger, and fear, 
and anxiety. Paul's mariners, in the storm cast four anchors, 
and wished for the day. David refers to travellers and sentinels. 



AUGUST 21. 93 

who watch for tlie morning, as the image of his waiting for the 
Lord. Some nights are less cheerless than others ; but, at best, 
they have only the moon and stars— the sim is wanting— he alone 
can make the morning : and when he comes, the birds sing, the 
lambs play, and man partakes of the cheerfidness that spreads 
all around. " Truly the light is sweet : and a pleasant thmg it is 
for the eyes to behold the sun." Creatures are pleasing ; but 
none of them can supply the place of God. He is our sun, as 
well as our shield ; and the language of the gracious heart is, Oh ! 
when wilt thou come unto me ? Thou alone canst put my fears to 
flight, and inspire me with joy unspeakable and full of glory." 

But the morning comes not all at once, but gradualty. A^hat 
a difference is there between the first glimmerings of the dawn and 
the splendor of noon ! So the path of the just is as the shining 
light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. 

The second is derived from the rain—" He shall come unto us 
as the rain ; as the latter and the former rain unto the eartli." 
God asks, " Can any of the vanities of the Gentiles send rain?" 
He claims the production as his own divine prerogative, and justly 
wonders that we do not notice it more than we do. " Neither 
say they in tlieir heart, Let us now fear the Lord our God, that 
giveth rain ; both the former and the latter in his season." In 
Judea the rain was less frequent, and more periodical than witli 
us. It peculiarly fell after autumn and spring, that is, just after 
seed-time, and just before reaping— the former to soften the 
ground, and quicken the grain, and aid the springing thereof ; the 
latter, to fill the corn in the ear, and hasten its maturity. 

What would nature be without rain? We are equally dependent 
on the grace of God. But, under the influences of his word and 
Spirit, we revive and grow as tlie corn. Tliese influences are 
always needful; but is it pressing the metaphor to observe, that 
there are two seasons when they are peculiarly experienced ? The 
one is connected with the beginning of the divine life— this may 
be called the former rain. The other with tlie close of it— tins 
may be called the lattter rain. The on| is to enliven. The other 
to confirm. To the " former" many can look back, and ask— 

•' Whpre is tlie blessedness I knew | " Wlierc is lliat soiil-rcfrnshiiig view 

" When first 1 saw the Lord 7 | "Of Jesus and his word ?" 

—Others are longing for the " latter." Their salvation is nearer 
than when they believed. But they do not yet feel as they wished. 
They want more faith, more hope, more consolation— more of all 
the fullness of God. Let the last showers descend ; and the ap- 
pointed weeks of harvest come ; and tlie produce be brought 
home, with " shoutings, Grace, grace, unto it !" 

August 21.—" Therefore, his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold 
be whom thou lovest is sick." — John, xi, 3. 

These words furnish several sources of remark and instruction. 

The first regards the love of Jesus. In his love to Lazarus 
there was something peculiar, and something common. He loved 
him with a partial, and he loved him with a divine affection. To 
know Christ after the flesh is a privilege which has long since 



94 AUGUST 21. 

ceased ; and to be loved by him under the advantage of his hu- 
manity, was a favor restricted to a few. But there is, however, 
another sense in which, as lie loved Lazarus, so he loves us ; and 
though we share not in the partial regard of the friend, we are 
the subjects of the divine regard of the Savior. This love com- 
menced from no excellency in us, like the love of creatures. It 
took knowledge of us, as sinners. It began before the foundation 
of the world. It led him to espouse our cause, and brought him 
under an engagement to suffer and die for us. His people remem- 
ber this love more tlian wine. It passeth knowledge. 

The second regards the affliction of Lazarus. He " was sick.' 
Sickness is one of the comn'ion calamities of life ; and it is one of 
the most painful and trying. Yet Lazarus was exercised with it, 
though he was loved of Jesus. This explains the nature of his 
love, and shows us that it does not exempt its subjects from afflic- 
tion. It is not the foolish fondness of a father, who, when correc- 
tion was necessary, spares the child for his crying. He that thus 
" spareth the rod, haieth his son : but he that lovelh him, chastens 
him betimes." Could we now see, as we shall hereafter, the prin- 
ciple, tlie design, the alleviations, the advantages of the afflictions 
of the righteous, we should perceive that they are not only com- 
patible with divine love, but the fruit, the proof of it. " Whom the 
Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son Avhom he 
receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with 
sons : for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not ?" 

The tliird regards the mission of the sisters. " Therefore the 
sisters sent unto Jesus." Their affliction led to this application. 
To induce us to send to liim is the design of our trials ; for we 
are too forgetful of him in ease and prosperity. " In their afflic- 
tion they will seek me early." Wliat can we do without him, 
then ? Therefore, says the Teacher, as well as the Chastiser, 
" Call upon me in the day of trouble." And what a solace ! what 
a relief! what a source of support, sanctification, and deliverance, 
is prayer! Jolm's disciples, therefore, when their master was be- 
headed, not onl}'- took up the body, and buried it, but " went and 
told Jesus." "I will say unto God," was the resolve of Job, •" do 
not condemn me ; show me wherefore thou contendcst Mitli me." 
"And," says David, "From the end of the earth will I cry unto 
Thee when my lieart is overwhelmed : lead me to the rock that 
is higher than I." Thus it has been with all who have heard tlie 
rod. They all have said, " A glorious high throne from the be- 
ginning has been the place of our sanctuary." 

— Tliereforo his sisters sent unto him. It is pleasing vvlicn 
in our natural relations, we have spiritual friends wlio will carry 
our cases, and spread them before llie Lord. Many, in their sick- 
ness, have connexions about them who are kind and attentive ; 
but they never speak a word to tliem of their soids ; and no>er 
administer to them the cordials of the gospel, tliough they often 
apply self-righteous opiates to stupefy conscience. They send for 
the physician and the lawjer, but do not address the Savior 
for them. But some, like Lazarus, have those who will bear 
tliem upon their minds, and call in the aid of the Hope of Israel, 



AUGUST 21, 95 

the Savior thereof, in the time of trouble. And what an eucoii- 
ragenient and comfort is this to those who are scarcely able to 
lift a thought to God for themselves : whose broken and distracted 
petitions seem unworthy of notice j and who know that the prayer 
of the righteous availeth much. 

The fourth is. the message they conveyed to him, " Saying, 
Lord, behold, he whom thou kivest is sick." From hence we 
may learn two things. First. The Lord's love gives us encou- 
ragement in prayer, and furnishes us with our most prevailing 
plea in dealing with him. They do not say, he whom we love- 
though this was true. Nor he who loves iAee— though this was 
true r but he, whom thou lovest. How wise, how expressive was 
this. As much as to say, " Hast thou not deigned to regard him 
already ? Has not thy kindness for him raised our confidence in 
thee, and our expectation from thee ? Will not others turn their 
eyes toward thee, and see whether thy friendship is like the 
friendship of the world, which leaves its dependents in the hour 
of necessity and distress ? " A true friend loveth at all times : but 
is born for adversity." We read of pleading with God : and fill- 
ing our mouths with arguments : but our most suitable and suc- 
cessful ones must be derived from himself, and especially from 
his own goodness. " I plead nothing of my own— not even my 
love to thee : 

' Yet I love Tbee, and adore : | 'Oh for grace to love tliee more i' 

Bat my love to thee is weak and cold ; and whatever it be it is 
the effect of thy love to me. I was once a stranger, and an 
enemy, and should have remained so still, hadst not tiiou found a 
way into my heart. But thou hast redeemed me by thy blood. 
Thou hast called me by thy grace. Thou hast opened my blind 
eyes, and turned my feet into the path of peace. And after all 
this love, wilt thou cast me off ? Couldest thou not have destroyed 
me. without showing me such things as these ?" 

Secondly. It is better for us, when we seek the Lord for tem- 
poral things, to refer our own suit to his own good pleasure. I 
admire the° manner in which these pious women addressed him. 
They do not prescribe— they hardly petition— they particularize 
nothing. They do not say. Lord, come to this house— come im- 
mediately — remove his malady — what will become of us, if La- 
zarus should die ? But they state the case, and leave it : " Lord, 
behold, he v/hom thou lovest is sick." When therefore, we have 
to pray for deliverance from some trouble, or the acquisition of 
some outward favor, let us do it with modesty and reserve. For 
these blessings are promised not absolutely but conditionally ; 
that is, if they are good for us : and in the very same way they 
are to be implored. We must not desire them, if they would be 
hurtful; and they may be injurious: and God perfectly knows 
whether this would be the result of success and indulgence. Had 
the Jews prayed in this manner, for flesh, he would not have 
given them their heart's desire, and sent leanness into their souls. 
What we extort as it were, from God, by restless importunity, 
turns the blessing into a curse. The feverish and inflamed state 
of the mind renders the gratification of the craving dangerous. 

16* 



m AUGUST 22. 

We cannot be too earnest with God about spiritual blessings j but 
as to every thing of a temporal nature, temperance of mind be- 
comes us ', and, in resignation at his feet, we must endeavor to 
say, " Here I am ; let him do what seemeth good." 

" Assure me of thy wondrous love, | " And, Lord, to thine unerring will 
" Inyneasurably kind : 1 " Be every wish resigned." 



August 22.—" The word of Christ." — Colossians, iii, 16. 

So the Scriptures are called, because he is the author, and be- 
cause he is the subject of their contents. They are not only de- 
rived from the inspiration of his Spirit, but they are full of his 
person, and character, and sufferings, and glory. There is no- 
thing, perhaps, admitted into them, but has some relation to him. 
We cannot, in any instances, trace this connexion at present : but 
we shall tjee more of it when, in the church, the light of the moon 
shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be 
sevenfold, as the light of seven days. And, perhaps, to explore 
it perfectly, will be a part of the blessedness and employment of 
heaven. But when our Lord urged his hearers to search the 
Scriptures, he said, " They are they that testify of me." And 
going to Emmaus with the two disciples, " he expounded unto 
them, in all the Scriptures, the things concerning himself." 

We may divide the Scriptures into six parts. 

There is the historical part. He is the substance of this. In 
Adam, we see him the head and representative of his people. In 
Noah, as the restorer of a new world. In Isaac, as a victim laid 
on the altar. In Joseph, as a sufferer and a savior. In Moses, as 
a lawgiver. In Aaron, as a high priest. In Joshua, as a leader 
and commander. In Solomon, as the prince of peace. In Jonah, 
as buried and rising from the grave. 

Tliisre is the ceremonial part. Of this he is the substance. He 
IS the body of all its shadows, the reality of all its types. He is 
the rock whose streams followed the Israel of God. He is the 
manna, the bread, that came down from heaven. In the city of 
refuge, we behold hnn as our security from avenging justice. 
And in every bleeding sacrifice as the atonement for our sins. 

There is the prophetical part. Here he is all in all. " To him 
gave all the prophets witness." " The testimony of Jesus is the 
Spirit of prophecy." 

There is the pj-omissoiy part— And how large and glorious a 
portion of it is filled with exceeding great and precious promises ! 
And what blessing can we need, that is not furnished under the 
pledge of a God that cannot lie ? " But all the promises of God 
in him, are yea ; and in him amen, to the glory of God by us." 

There is the practical part. To be a Christian is to live not to 
ourselves, but to him that died for us, and rose again. Of good 
works, his example is the rule ; his love is the motive ; his Spirit 
is the author. He is the altar on which all our sacrifices are to be 
offered. Prayer is asking in his name. We are to love our wives, 
even as beloved the church, and gave himself for it. 

There is the doctrinal part. And what is the great mystery of 



AUGUST 23. OT 

godliness? " God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, 
eeen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the 
world, received up into glory." Every doctrine of the Gospel, as 
treated by the inspired authors, leads to him. If we are justified, 
it is by his righteousness. If we are sanctified, it is by his Spirit. 
If the glory of God shines forth, it is in the face of Jesus Christ. 
Providence is, all power given unto him in heaven and in the earth. 
The whole of Christianity is called, " The truth as it is in Jesus." 

Take him out of the Bible, and you take the sun out of our 
world ; and the soul out of the body ; and what is left ? 

It is this that so powerfully endears the sacred volume to every 
real Christian — It is the word of One, he supremely loves, and 
feels infinitely necessary to all his comfort, and all his hope. Of 
him, he can never read or hear enough. 

O my soul ! let this word of Christ dwell in thee, richly, in all 
wisdom. And never forget the admonition of kindness, as well as 
authority. " Bind it continually upon thine heart, and tie. it about 
thy neck. When thou goest it shall lead thee ; when thou sleepest, 
it shall keep thee j and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee." 



August 23.—" Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt 
thee to inherit the land ; when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it." 

Psalm xxxvii, 34. 

Here is a twofold admonition. 

First. " Wait on the Lord." "I hope I do so." But are you 
sure of this? Is there any thing in your religious exercises that 
really deserves the name of waiting on God? For persons may 
read without attention, and hear without faith, and sing without 
praise, and pray without desire. They may draw nigh to hiin 
with the mouth, and honor him with the lip, while the heart is far 
from him. But God is a Spirit ; and they that worship him must 
worship him in Spirit and in truth. "I hope I do thus wait on 
Him." But do you thus wait on him sufficiently? First. In his 
sanctuary? Secondly. In the family? Thirdly. I;i the closet? 
Fourthly. In all your concerns ; like David, who said, " On thee 
do I wait all the day, Lord !" 

Secondly. " And keep his way." This is beautifully connected 
with the former. Wait — and work. Wait — and walk. Get grace — 
and exercise it. Persevere in the use of means, if present comfort 
be withholden. Neither give up the course in which you are en- 
gaged — nor turn aside — nor stand still — nor look back — nor seem 
to come short; though superiors frown — and companions re 
proach — and iniquity abounds — and the love of many waxes 
cold — and numbers walk no more with him. In all opposition, 
and through every discouragement, let your soul follow hard after 
God. Thus did Job ; and therefore he could say, " My foot hath 
held his steps ; his way have I kept, and not declined. Neither 
liave I gone back from the commandment of his lips : I have es- 
teemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food." 
So it was also with the church. " Our heart is not turned back, 
neither have our steps declined from thy way ; though thou hasi 



98 AUGUST 23. 

sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the 
shadow of death." We have enough to animate us to hold on — 
" After two days will he revive us : in the third day will he raise 
us up, and we shall live in his sight. Then shall \ve know if we 
follow on to know the Lord. His going forth is prepared as the 
morning ; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and 
former rain unto the earth." 

Here is a twofold promise. 

First. " He shall exalt thee to inherit the land." God is the 
source of all elevation and honor. He raised the Jews to the pos- 
session of Canaan, the glory of all lands. But he dignifies Chris- 
tians with a title to a better, even a heavenly country ; where, 
" with kings, are they upon the throne." But He advances them 
here, as well as hereafter. For he is "the glory of their strength, 
and in his favor their horn is exalted," and not only with regard 
to spiritual, but temporal things. For " the meek shall inherit the 
earth." , Not that all of them are rich and 'great in the world. So 
far from it, they are commonly a poor and afflicted people. Not 
that every thing is actually in their possession, or that they have 
a civil right to it — dominion is not founded in grace : but security 
is; peace is; contentment is; happiness is. As to covenant in- 
terest and enjoyment, and improvement, " all things are theirs." 

Secondly. " When the wicked are cut oif, thou shalt see it." 
And they will be cut oif. They are often cut oif, even in life, from 
their places, and riches, and prospects. At death they are cut off 
from all their possessions and comforts : for, poor as their portion 
here is, 

" 'Tis all the happiness they know." 

Yea, they are then cut off from all the means of grace, and the 
hopes of mercy. In the last day they will be cut off from " the re- 
surrection of life ; and before the assembled world, they will hear 
the Judge irreversibly excluding them from himself, the source of 
all happiness. " Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared 
for the devil and his angels." 

Dreadful as the ruin is, there is nothing in it to alarm the pray- 
ing" and persevering- believer. He will have no share in it. The 
vengeance that falls and crushes the foe, will not — cannot touch 
the friend. He will only be a spectator ; and strange as it may 
now seem, the sight will not affect liis happiness. But is it ne- 
cessary to go further ; and represent it as a source of pleasure and 
delight ? Surely it is enough that he will see it, and adore the 
mercy that graciously saved him; and acquiesce in the justice 
that righteously condemns others. 

As the saint will only see the destruction of the sinner, so the 
wicked will see the salvation of the righteous, and not partake of 
it. But to see such a blessedness ; to see what was once within 
his own reach, and is now enjoj^ed by others — this must be a 
source of the keenest anguish. Such was the display of plenty to 
the interdicted nobleman at the gate of Samaria : " Behold, thou 
shalt see it with thine eyes ; but thou shalt not eat thereof." And 
we know who has said, " There shall be weeping and gnashing of 



•AUGUST 24. 99 

teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the 
prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out." 



August 24. — " Smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered ; and 
J will turn mine hand upon the little ones." — Zech. xiii, 7. 

— We know who this Shepherd was. God speaks of him, in 
the former part of the verse, as " his fellow ;" and calls him "his 
Shepherd." He was God's Shepherd, because he appointed him 
to take the charge of his church, and to perform, on their behalf, 
all the duties implied in the pastoral office. Hence it was fore- 
told of him, " He shall feed his flock like a shepherd ; he shall 
gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and 
shall gently lead those that are with young." This character the 
Savior applied to himself, with an attribute of distinction ; " I am 
the good Shepherd." Paul styles him, " That great Shepherd of 
the sheep." Peter calls him, " The chief Shepherd;" and, "The 
Shepherd and Bishop of souls." Let the language of my heart 
be, "Tell me, O Thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, 
where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon." 

" 'Tis there, with the lambs of thy flock, I " 'Tis there I would always abide, 

" There only, I covet to rest ; | " Nor ever a moment depart ; 

" To lie at the foot of the Rock, I "JPreserv'd evermore at thj' side, 

"Or rise to be hid in thy breast. | " Eternally hid in thine heart." 

— He was to be " smitten." Every one that enters this vale of 
tears is a sufferer. But he was " a man of sorrows ;" and could 
say, " Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sor- 
row, which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted 
me in the day of his fierce anger." For, though he suffered from 
devils, who had their hour and power of darkness : and though 
he suffered from men — for, against him, both Herod and Pontius 
Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered 
together — yet it was only to do whatsoever his hand and his coun- 
sel determined before to be done. It pleased the Lord to bruise 
him: he put him to grief. When therefore, the Jews esteemed 
him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted, they were right in the 
fact, but mistaken in the cause. They supposed he suffered for 
guilt ; and so he did — but the guilt was not his own. " He was 
wounded for our transgressions ; he was bruised for our iniqui- 
ties : the chastisement of our peace was upon him ; and with his 
stripes we are healed." Here let me contemplate the evil of sin, 
in the sufferings of this divine victim. And here let me dwell on 
that love, which passeth knowledge, that led him, all innocent as 
he was, voluntarily to become a sacrifice on our behalf; and to 
suffer, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us unto God. 
The glory of the Gospel ; the hope of the sinner ; the triumph of 
the believer — all lies here — " It is Christ that died." 

— It was a sad thing that his own disciples should abandon him, 
at the very moment he was going to die for them, and after all 
their professions of determined adherence to him. But when the 
Shepherd was smitten, " the sheep were scattered." In this de- 
sertion, an emblem was furnished of his all-sufficiency for his 
work, and of the entire meritoriousness of his passion, without 



100 AUGUST 25. 

addition or co-operation from any creature. He trod the wine- 
press alo7ie ; and, of the people, there was none with him. By 
himself he purged our sins. But, in this dereliction, he was not 
taken by surprise ; for he had previously said, " Behold, the hour 
Cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered every man 
to his own, and shall leave me alone." Yet how much he felt it, 
may be inferred from his lamentation and complaint : " I looked 
for some to take pity, but there was none ; and for comforters, but 
I found none." Let not his people count it a strange thing, if 
they are betrayed or forsaken — It should remind them of the fel- 
lowship of his sufferings. 

But behold an instance of forgiving mercy and renewing grace ; 
" And I will turn mine hand upon the little ones." His disciples 
were little in the eyes of the world ; and less in their own. They 
were few in number, and poor in condition. They were weak in 
faith and fortitude — and were now dismayed, and desponding. 
But he did not give them over unto death. He knew their frame ; 
he remembered that they were dust. As soon as ever he was 
risen from the dead, he appeared to them — not clothed in terror ; 
but saying, "Peace be unto you." He exerted again the powerful 
influence of his Holy Spirit ; and renewed them again unto re- 
pentance ; and established their faith and hope ; and gave them 
enlarged views, and fresh courage, so that they were ready to suf- 
fer and to die for his name. 

Surely, 

" His heart is made of tenderness, | " His bowels melt with love.' 

A bruised reed will he not break ; and smoking flax will he not 
quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. And in his 
name shall the Gentiles trust. 



August 25. — " O Thou that heai-eth prayer ! unto thee shall all flesh 
come." — Psalm Ixv, 2. 

We have no claims upon God ; and are not worthy of the least 
of all his mercies. It is therefore surprising that he should hear 
prayer at all. But he glories in it ; and by nothing is he so much 
distinguished. He derives his fame, his character from it — " O 
Thou that hearest prayer !" 

And we need not wonder at this, when we consider — How con- 
stantly he has heard prayer ; even ever since men began to call 
upon the name of the Lord. And how many prayers he has 
heard. If we are to pray without ceasing, the prayers of one in- 
dividual will be very numerous. What, then, is the aggregate 
multitude that has been offered by all the millions that ever 
sought his face ? And how largely he answers prayer — giving 
grace and glory, and withholding no good thing pertaining to life 
and godliness. And how readily he answers prayer : " Before 
they call," says he, " I will answer ; and while they are yet 
speaking, I will hear." And how certainly he hears prayer. We 
have his promises, which are firmer than the earth and the 
heavens. It may not be easy to ascertain when, or how, he 
answers us, as the God of our salvation : but this we know, that 



AUGUST 26. 101 

he cannot deny us, without denying himself. He cannot he— 
and he has said, " Ask, and it shall be given you ; seek, and ye 
shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto you ; for every one 
that asketh, receiveth ; and he that seeketh, findeth ; and to him 
that knocketh, it shall be opened." 

— What should be the influence of this glorious truth ? " Unto 
Thee shall all flesh come." If these words had stood separately, 
we should have taken them as affirming, that all flesh would come 
to him at the last day to b? judged. But the reference is not to 
God on the judgment-seat, but on the mercy-seat ; and it is well 
that we can kneel at the latter, before ^ve stand at the former. 
The meaning is, that men shall seek to him in 'prayer ; and not 
some, but many ; not many, but all. Surely here is nothing less 
than a prophecy of the calling of the Gentiles. Not only shall 
the seed of Jacob, his chosen, seek unto him ; but those also that 
were strangers to the commonwealth of Israel, and without God 
in the world, crying only unto idols that could not save. The 
Jews in latter times, were carnal, and selfish, and averse to the 
extension of their privileges : but the more ancient and spiritual 
of their nation rejoiced in the prospect of it ; and they had inti- 
mations from the beginning, that the Gentiles, also, should be fel- 
low-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of the promise of 
Christ, by the Gospel. " All nations whom thou hast made, shall 
come and worship before thee." " My house shall be called the 
house of prayer for all people." 

If the practice here insured is to result from the character 
here expressed, the character must be known. For " how can 
they, call upon him, in whom they have not believed ? And how 
can they believe on him, of whom they have not heard ?" Accord- 
ingly it is said, " From the rising of the sun, even unto the going 
do^vn of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles ; 
and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a 
pure offering." 

And, to notice this more personally, we see of what importance 
it is to entertain encouraging views of God. Confidence in his 
mercy and grace will alone draw us into his presence. And 
therefore the ground of this confidence must be firm and obvious. 

Much advantage, also, upon this principle, must result from 
reviews of our own experience of his goodness. All success is 
animating, especially in prayer. " Because he hath inclined his 
ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live." 

— Let me come to him among all those that are coming. And 
immediately. For there is a time when he will not hear prayer. 
" Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer ; they shall 
seek me early, but they shall not find me." 



August 26.—" Yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in 
judgment, and in loving-kmdness, and in mercies."— Hosea, ii, 19. 

In the covenant of grace, there is God's part, and there is our 
part. But God — or it would never be accomplished — undertakes 



102 AUGUST 26. 

for the latter, as well as the former — He engages to do all that is 
necessary /b?' his people, and in them. 

Here is the nature of the connexion he will establish with them ; 
" I will betroth thee unto me." And the manner of it — " In 
I'ighieoKsness^ and in judgment^ and in loving-kindness^ and in 
mercies.'''' 

First. I will do it, says he — in righteousness — And no wonder, 
Feeing he is holy in all his ways, and righteous in all his works. 
But the soul that sinneth, it shall die. Righteousness, therefore!, 
seems to require that he should punish them, rather than admit 
them into his favor. Ah, awakened souls want to see a way in 
which God is just, as well as the justifier. And he has provided 
for til is ; and he tells us in the gospel, that, though sin is pardoned, 
it is also condemned; and that, though the transgressor escapes, 
«he curse falls upon another, who, by bearing it himself, redeems 
us from it, and is the end of the law for righteousness to every one 
that believeth. The law, therefore, instead of being injured, is 
magnified and made honorable; and even more than it would 
have been by the destruction of the sinner. In the sinner's de- 
struction, justice would have been always satisfying, but never 
satisfied. Whereas the satisfaction was now completed at once, 
'•by the one offering up of himself" Then, also, justice would 
only have been displayed passively — but now it is displayed 
actively too. Then, it would have been displayed only in them 
— but now, it is also displayed by them. Then, they would have • 
hated, and cursed it for ever — now, they love it, and delight to 
extol it. For righteousness here is not to be taken only for the 
way in which he makes the guilty just, but the way in which he 
makes the depraved holy. This comes from the same gracious 
agency ; and is equally necessary with the former ; as he could 
not admit them to communion with himself while in a state of 
sin — For, " how can two v/alk together except they be agreed ?" 
And, "what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness ?" 

Se3ondly. In judgment. The heathens placed Mercury, the 
god of wisdom, by the side of Venus, the goddess of marriage : 
and for good reason ; since there is nothing in which judgment is 
so needful — yet few things are entered upon with so little discre- 
tion and reflection. Hence the wretched consequences that en- 
sue. For what can be expected from those hasty and thoughtless 
matches, in which, adaptation, age, temper, and even piety, are 
all overlooked ? But God knows what he does, and why he does 
it. He has reasons, which justify the measure to his OAvn infinite 
understanding. Hence salvation is called his counsel ; in which 
also he is said to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence. 
And this is true, not only as to the contriving and procuring of it, 
but also as to the applying. The place, the time, the manner, the 
means of their conversion, will all evince, when known, that his 
work is perfect, and his ways judgment. We see but little of this 
now. Yet there are openings into it Avhich carry the mind away 
in contemplation and surprise ; and which assures much more 
remains for our discovery and rapture in the world of light. This 
applies also to his people, as well as to God. Their clioosing him 



AUGUST 26. 103 

and consenting to his gracious proposals, will bear examination. 
It is wisdom: and wisdom which is justified of all her children. 
The world may censure ; but they are able to give a reason of the 
hope that is in them. The spiritual judgeth all things, though he 
himself is judged of no man. 

Thirdly. In loving kindness. Without this, it were better tor 
persons never to come together. The parties mutually need it ; 
and need it daily. They should be filled with tenderness, to bear 
and sympathize with each other ; and the law of kindness should 
rule in their looks, words, and actions. This is seldom wanting 
on the female side. Their love is not only more pure and disin- 
terested, but more fervent and undeclining, and better prepared 
to endure privation and sacrifices. Men are fond of power and 
authority; and therefore they are commanded— not to govern 
them— this they will do readily enough ; but to love their wives, 
and not be bitter against them. God says to his church : '* You 
shall find me full of tenderness and compassion. I know 3'our 
frame, and remember that you are dust. I will pity your infirmi- 
ties, and spare you. If I afflict, it shall not be wilhngly. If I chide, 
I will not contend for ever. I will look to the heart, and judge you 
according to your meaning, and your desires." It would seem 
strange to apply the exercise of this quality to them, as well as to 
Him.° Kindness towards God seems too low an expression ; but 
he himself has sanctioned it—" I remember thee, the kindness of 
thy youth, and the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after 
me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sovvU." Every thing 
they do for Him, he takes kind at their hand: and their ingenuous 
disposition will make them fearful of grieving his Holy Spirit; 
and anxious to walk " worthy of him unto all pleasing." 

Fourthly. In mercies. This is distinguishable from the former. 
That was the effect ; this shows the cause- and it is mentioned, 
in addition to loving-kindness, to remind us that all we possess, 
or expect, springs solely from the free and undeserved grace ot 
God — and also to meet"^ those discouragements to which we are 
always liable, from a sense of our un worthiness and ill-deservings. 
There is not a just man on earth that liveth, and sinneth not. In 
many things we utfend all. What humiliations must a Christian 
feel, when he reviews even his sabbaths, and holy communions! 
and when he compares his proficiency with his obligations and ad- 
vantages ! But God will not cast away his people ; but have mercy 
upon them according to the midtitude of his tender- mercies. This 
is children's bread ; and the children of God will not, cannot 
abuse it— yea, the more they are persuaded of this truth, the more 
holy and cheerful, and vigorous they will be in duty. Grass that 
grows in orchards, and under trees, is of a sour quality : it wants 
the sun. Fruits that grow in the sun are richer and riper than 
those which grow in the shade. The best frame we can be 
in, is to be upholden by a free spirit, and to act under a full sense 
of our divine privileges. Let us therefore sing of the mercy of 
the Lord for ever, and if he ever seems to have forgotten to be 
gracious, let us plead with him, and say, " Where is thy zeal, and 
thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels, and of thy mercies to- 



104 AUGUST 27. 

ward me ? Are they restrained ?" Here again the import includes, 
not only that we receive mercy, but exercise it — not toward Him 
personally — this is impossible — and he needs it not. But his 
creatures need it ; his people need it. And what is done to them 
he will consider as done to himself. And what is so just and pro- 
per, as that they who are forgiven, should forgive ? And that they 
who live by mercy, should be merciful 7 



August 27.— "—Heirs— ."—Titus, ill, 7. 

If we properly observe those who are Christians indeed, we 
shall find in them a peculiarity that distinguishes them from, and 
an importance that ranks them above all other creatures. What 
an assemblage of qualities, excellencies, and advantages must they 
possess, to do any thing like justice to the various and numberless 
representations by which they are held forth to our view and ad- 
miration in the Scriptures of Truth ! Let me contemplate them 
under the character of Heirs. 

As such, we may consider them in the grandeur of their estate. 
A man may be an heir to a cottage, or a large domain, or even a 
throne. But what is the inheritance of Christians ! In one plate 
they are called " heirs, according to promise" — in another, " heirs 
of the grace of life" — in another, " heirs, according to the hope 
of eternal life" — in another, " heirs of Salvation" — in another, 
" heirs of the kingdom, which the Lord hath promised to them 
that love him." Paul prays that the Ephesians may be enlight- 
ened to know it; and speaks of " the hope of their calling," and 
" the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints." The 
inheritance of the worldling, who has his portion in this life ; the 
inheritance of the Jew, in Canaan ; the inheritance of Adam, in 
Paradise ; the inheritance of angels, in heaven ; all come far short 
of the believer's expectation. At present, it cannot be fully either 
described or conceived — it is a glory to be revealed — it doth not 
yet appear what we shall be. 

We may consider them in the solidity of their title. No person 
ever had a claim to an estate so clear and decisive as the Christian 
has to his inheritance. He may not, indeed, be certain of it in 
his own mind. There is a difference between a right, and the 
perception of it. An heir, by reason of his tender -age, or infirmity, 
or disorder, may be unconscious of what awaits him. And Chris- 
tians may be ignorant and fearful. They may condemn them 
selves, when God has justified them freely from all things ; and 
they may conclude that they have no part nor lot in the matter, 
Mhile yet their title is as valid as the word and oath of God can 
make it — it is also perfectly inseparable from the birth that makes 
them new creatures, for they are born of God, and, " if children, 
then heirsj and joint heirs with Jesus Christ ;" and, being one 
with him, their heirship is as undeniable as his. 

We may view them, also, in the certainty of their possession. 
An heir who has had the clearest and fullest title to an estate, has 
yet never enjoyed it. To take possession of it, perhaps he had 
to cross the sea, and was wrecked. Or he travelled by land, and 



AUGUST 27. 105 

was murdered. Or, in reaching maturity, he fell a prey to one 
of the many diseases to which humanity is liable. Or, if he was 
preserved, the estate was destroyed : for there is no place of se- 
curity on earth. Or, if the estate was not destroyed, it was usurp- 
ed^ and by fraud and villany, alienated from its lawful owner. 
How many figure away, only in the rights of others ! But what 
shall hinder tlie Christian from realizing his hope ? His inheri- 
tance is incorruptible and undefiled, and fadeth not away, re- 
served in heaven for him, where danger never comes. And the 
heir is as safe as the estate ; being " kept by the power of God, 
through failh, unto salvation." 

But observe these heirs in the circumstances of their minority 
For there is a period of non-age : and " the heir, as long as he is 
a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be Lord of 
all ; but is under tutors and governors until the time appointed 
of the father." Before this season arrives, he must submit to 
many restraints, not pleasant to his feelings, and the reasons of 
which he cannot fully appreciate. Yea, there may be cases in 
which he may even be constrained to borrow from a domestic or 
neighbor, who has none of his expectancy. And Christians must 
not" reckon that their present indulgences will equal their future 
reversions. They are now under a course of discipline, in which 
they must exercise self denial, and appear less favored than many 
around them. But they rejoice in hope, and not only so, but, as 
the heir has something more from his estate than the prospect of 
it ; as he has education and attendance, becoming his rank ; and 
remittances, to enable him to live, answerable to his destination : 
so Christians have now supplies from their riches in glory, and 
are training up, under a divine teacher, for the sublime spheres 
they are to fill ; and their ministering spirits do always behold 
the face of our heavenly Father. 

And what is the deportment that becomes these heirs 7 It ought 
to be ennobled. Holiness is the true dignity of the soul, and sin, 
its vilest degradation. They are, therefore, to " have no fellow- 
ship with the unfruitful works of darkness ; but rather reprove 
them." And, oh ! the infinite delicacy of the Gospel ! they are 
to " abstain from the very appearance of evil." It ought to be 
humble and grateful. They were, by nature, only children of 
wrath. If their relation is glorious, it is derived entirely from 
grace. There were difficulties in the way of their adoption, 
wiiich God alone could remove. " But I said, How shall I put 
thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly 
heritage ?" But he removed these obstacles by the sacrifice of his 
own Son, and the renovation of his own Spirit ; and, poor and 
vile as they were, he raised up the poor out of the dust, and lifted 
the needy from the dunghill, to set them with princes, even the 
princes of his people. It ought to be very cheerful and happy. 

" A hope so much divine, | " May trials well endure." 

But so inferior are natural things to spiritual, that, when the 
one are applied to the illastration of the other, they teach us 
as much by contrast as by comparison— what, then is the differ- 



106 AUGUST 28. 

eiwe between these and earthly heirs ! In other cases, the inheri- 
tance is diminished by the number of co-heirs. But here, the 
multitude of partakers, instead of injuring, increases the blessed- 
ness of each possessor. In other cases, the father dies before the 
child inherits. Here, the father never dies. In other cases, the 
heir, by dying, loses his inheritance. Here, he gains it by dying 
— it is then he comes of age. In other cases, an estate passes from 
hand to hand. Here, is no succession — it is our heritage for ever. 
" This is the heritage of the servants of tlie Lord j and their 
righteousness is of me, saith the Lord." 

August 28. — "Iniquities prevail against me— as for our transgressions 
thou shall purge them away." — Psalm Ixv, 3. 

This is the language of complaint and of triumph. It was utter- 
ed by a Jew ; but every Christian can make it his own. For, as 
in water, face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man, in 
every age, and under every dispensation. 

As to the complaint, there are two ways in which iniquities 
may prevail against the Christian. The first is in the growing sense 
of his guilt. This may be occasioned by afflictions, which bring 
our sins to remembrance ; or by any thing which increases self- 
knowledge ; for this must always show us more of our unworthi- 
ness and depravity. Suppose a man in a dungeon, abounding 
with noxious reptiles. While all is dark there", he sees none of 
them ; but as the light increases, he sees more of them — the 
light seems to bring them, and to multiply them ; but it only dis- 
covers what was there before. Some pray that God would show them 
all the corruptions of their heart ; but this would probably drive 
them into distraction or despair. They could not bear the whole 
disclosure, especially at first ; and therefore they are made sensi- 
ble of them by little and little. 

The second is in the power of their acting. This prevalence 
cannot be entire ; for sin shall not have dominion over them ; but 
it may be occasional and partial. An enemy may make a tempo- 
rary irruption, and do injury, though he may be soon expelled 
again. In a war, checks and discomfitures are not incompatible 
with general and final success, as we see in the history of the Ro- 
mans. The Israelites were repulsed at Ai ; but they returned to 
the assault with more caution and wisdom, and succeeded. And 
thus, whatever advantages the foe may gain against Christians, 
the God of peace will bruise Satan under their feet shortly. Da- 
vid does not sa)^, Iniquities prevail with me, but against me. As 
to many, they prevail with them. They drink in iniquity, as the 
ox drinketh in water. They draw iniquity with cords of vanity, 
and sin as it were with a cart rope. But a Christian is made willing 
in the day of God's power, and therefore can say, " To will is 
present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not. 
When I would do good, evil is present with me." Ahab is said to 
. have sold himself to work wickedness. But it is otherwise with 
• a poor slave in Africa. He is kidnapped, or taken by force, and 
disposed of to some demon-trafficker in flesh and blood. He re- 
sists and weeps — but they prevail against him. And, says Paul, 



AU(iUST 29. 



107 



I do not sell myself, but I am sold under sin. So then it is no 
more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. O wretched man 
that I am, who shall deliver me ! Poison in a serpent never pro- 
duces sickness ; but it does in a man ; because it is natural to the 
one, but not to the other. Sin does not distress the sinner ; but it 
offends, beyond every thing else, the renewed mind. 

The words are broken and abrupt ; but when the church adds, 
" As for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away," they 
are, assuredly, the triumph of faith, after a plunge of distress, and 
a pause of thoughtfulness. There are two ways, according to the 
Scripture, in which God purges our transgressions; and they 
always go together. The one is by pardoning mercy. Thus Da- 
vid prays — " Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean ; wash 
me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Hide thy face from my 
sins, and blot out all mine iniquities." Thus the blood of Jesus 
Christ cleanseth us from all sin. And they that believe on him 
are justified from all things. 

The other is by sanctifying grace. " I will sprinkle clean water 
upon you, and ye shall be clean ; from all your filthiness, and from 
all your idols will I cleanse you." And this is as much the work 
of God as the former. He subdues our iniquities, as well as for- 
gives them. He not only ordains peace for us, but works all our 
works in us. 

The Christian is persuaded of this gracious deliverance, and 
therefore expresses himself with confidence. And a foundation is 
laid for this confidence ; and such a firm and scriptural foundation, 
as that he may feel himself perfectly safe in the midst of danger • 
and, under the deepest sense of his desert, joy in God, through 
our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom he has now received the atone- 
ment ; and, vvith regard to all the conflicts of in-dwelling sin, take 
courage, and sing — " I shall not die, but live, and declare the works 
of the Lord." 



' My spirit holds perpetual war, 
" And wrestles and complains ; 
" But views the happy moment near 
" That shall dissolve its chains. 



"Cheerful in death I close my eyes, 

" To part with every lust ; 
" And charge my flesh, whene'er it rise, 

" To leave them in the dust." 



August 29.—" So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful 
Abraham." — Galatians»iii, 9. 

The outward distinctions of life awaken the envy of some, and 
gender discontents in others. And yej; how little depends upon 
them I All that is essential to the real welfare and chief happiness 
of man, lies open to all who choose to avail themselves of it. All 
cannotbecome scholars; but all may be made wise unto salvation. 
All cannot acquire wealth ; but all may gain the unsearchable 
riches of Christ. All cannot M'alk upon the high places of the 
earth ; but all may be great in the siglit of the Lord. Abraham, 
the founder of the Jewish nation, was considered the most digni- 
fied and indulged of the human race ; yet every Christian, how- 
ever poor and despised, stands related to this extraordinary 
character, and is blessed with him. " If ye be Christ's, then are 
ye Abraham's seed, and heirs, according to liis promise." " They 
which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham." " So 



108 4UGUST 29. 

then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abiaham.'' 
And how was he blessed ? 

He was justified. And blessed are they whose iniquities are 
forgiven, aiid whose sins are covered : blessed is the man to whom 
the Lord will not impute sin. For him there is no wrath to come, 
no sting in death, no curse in affliction. But came this blessed- 
ness upon Abraham only ? " What saith the scripture ? Abraham 
believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now 
it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him, 
but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him 
that raised up Jesus our Lord from thT3 dead ; who was delivered 
for our offences, and was raised again for our justification." So 
then they that be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. And 
are all authorized to say, "Therefore being justified by faith, we 
have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." 

— Abraham was called the friend of God — and was called so by 
God himself. " But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I 
have chosen, the seed of Abraham, my friend." If Eusebius 
held it such a privilege to be the friend of Pamphilus : If Lord 
Brookes so gloried in the distinction, as to have it inscribed 
upon his tomb — 

" Here lies the friend of Sir Philip Sidney," 

what was the honor of Abraham, in being acknowedged the 
friend of God ? Yet such honor have all the saints. They are 
not only pardoned, but admitted to intimacy. They walk with 
God. His secret is with them ; and he shows them his covenant. 
In all their afflictions, he is afflicted. He loveth at all times ; and 
will never leave or forsake them. " So then they Avhich be of 
faith are blessed with faithful Abraham." 

— Abraham, also, was blessed with usefulness. "I will blss 
thee," says God, " and make thee a blessing." This was done, not 
only in the descent of the Messiah from him, in whom all the 
families of the earth were to be blessed eventually, but by his 
prayers, and instructions, and example, and exertions, and influ- 
ence, wherever he came. Thus also are all believers blessed. 
Not one of them is useless. They are disposed to do good ; and 
their desire is gratified. They are qualified to do good ; and as 
stewards of the manifold grace of God, they serve their genera- 
tion by his will. They are the salt of the earth, to preserve; the 
light of the world, to inform; and a dew from the Lord, and 
as showers upon the grass, to cool and refresh, and revive, and 
fertilize ; " I will save you, and ye shall be a blessing." 

— Abraham was divinely protected: and God said to him, "I am 
thy shield." " I will bless him that blesseth thee ; and I will curse 
him that curseth thee." He preserved him in his going out and 
coming in. He covered his head in the day of battle, when he 
rescued his kinsman. Lot. He suffered no man to do him wrong : 
yea, he reproved kings for his sake, saying, Touch not mine 
anointed, and do my prophet no harm. And thus, though many 
rise up against believers, and they feel themselves to be perfect 
weakness, their defence is of God, who saveth the upright in 
heart. He is their refuge and strength ; a very present and all- 



AUGUST 30. 109 

sufficient help in trouble. They are kept by the power of God, 
through faith unto salvation ; therefore they need not fear what 
their enemies can do unto them. 

Abraham had not only a divine protection, but an infinite 'por- 
tion : " I am," says God, not only " thy shield," but " thy exceed- 
ing great reward !" This necessarily includes what God was to 
do for him beyond the grave. It could not have been fulfilled in 
this life. When we find him, a few years after this assurance, 
sickening and dying, and laid in the cave of Machpelah, we are 
constrained to ask. Is this the reward, the great, the exceeding 
great reward, consisting, so to speak, of God himself? Ages after 
this, God said to Moses, at the bush I am — not I was — but, I am 
the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob. The relation, there- 
fore, remained ; for, " He is not the God of the dead, but of the 
living." They were then living, as to their spirits ; and would as 
certainly live, as to their bodies, in the resurrection, as if it had 
already taken place. Hence the reasoning of the apostle; "By 
faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, 
dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him 
of the same promise : for he looked for a city that hath founda- 
tions, whose builder and maker is God." " And truly, if they had 
been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they 
might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they de- 
sire a better country, that is, a heavenly : wherefore God is not 
ashamed to be called, their God: for he hath prepared for them a 
city." Our Savior also allowed him to be in glory ; and even re- 
presented heaven by a union and intimacy with him : " The beg- 
gar died, and was carried by angels into Abraham's bosom?" 
Well, and nothing less than this is the glad and glorious des- 
tination of every believer. For they that be of faith are blessed 
with faithful Abraham. 

The grand inquiry therefore is—" Dost thou believe on the Son 
of God?" For we have access owlyhy faith into this grace, where- 
in we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 

For they that are not of his faith are cursed with— the faithless 
nobleman, to whom it was denounced, " Thou shalt see it with thine 
eyes, but thou shalt not taste of it." And with the faithless Jews, 
whose carcasses fell in the -wilderness; and who "could not enter 
in because of unbelief." And " with hypocrites and unbelievers, 
where there is weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth." 



August 30.— « Pass the time of your sojourning here in fear." 

1 Peter, 1, 17- 

From these words, I might consider the nature of the Christian 
life— which is a sojourning here: and also— the time appointed 
for It. But let me rather reflect upon the manner in which I am 
to pass the one, in accomplishing the other. " Pass the time of 
your sojourning here in fear:' This cannot intend every kind of 
fear, without making the Scripture inconsistent with itself: for 
how often does it forbid fear ! 

We must not, therefore, give way to apprehensions of any 



110 AUGUST 30. 

thing we may suffer from our fellow creatures, in following the 
path of duty. Here we should boldly say, " The Lord is my 
helper ; I will not fear what man can do unto me." " Fear not," 
says the Savior — mentioning the extremest case—" Fear not them 
that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do." 
And this, Paul exemplified : " None of these things move me ; 
neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish 
my course with joy." When Peter and John were threatened, if 
they spake any more in the name of Jesus, they replied, We have 
nothing to do with consequences : Ave cannot but speak the things 
which we have seen and heard : we ought to obey God rather 
than man : and he has commanded us to preach the gospel to 
every creature. So should it be with us. We are not, indeed, to 
run into sufferings for our religion ; but we can never go on well 
in divine things till we are delivered from the fear of man that 
bringeth a snare. What is it but this, that produces so many 
concealments, and defections, and inconsistencies, in those who 
know what is right, and are incited by their convictions, but 
have not courage enough to resolve and proceed ? Perfect love 
casteth out this fear ; and is strong as death. 

W^e are equally to shun a distrustfulness of God's word. This 
fear is at once the most dishonorable to God, and injurious to our 
own souls. It robs us of comfort, and lays open the mind, to 
temptation; as we see in Abraham, who, in a moment of unbelief 
prevaricated, and debased and exposed himself in Gerar. Having 
the assurance of God in any case, we should feel no uncertainty 
as to the result— it must be accomplished— we have something 
firmer than the earth and the heavens to rely upon. But we may 
fear, not— whether we shall perish in the way everlasting ; but 
whether w^e are in it. Not— whether the promise will fail ; but 
whether we are the heirs of promise ; as the apostle even admo- 
nishes—" Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of en- 
tering into his rest, any of us should seem to come short of it." 
This is a case too important to be taken for granted. The conse- 
quences of mistake are remediless ; and the possibility, yea, the 
probability of it, is great. It will, therefore, be better to err on 
the side of solicitude, than of security. 

A servile fear, too, is not to be cherished. This may, indeed, 
precede something better': but if our fear of God begins, with the 
Judge, it must end with the father. It argues a very low degree 
of religion, when a man can only be held to duty, like the slave, 
by the dread of the lash. We have not, says the Apostle, received 
the Spirit of bondage again to fear ; but the Spirit of adoption. 
The slave is converted into the child ; and God spareth him as a 
man spareth his ow^n son that serveth him. 

But there is a proper and all-important fear^ which God has en- 
gaged to put into the hearts of his people, that they may not 
depart from him— It is a fear of respect, and esteem, and gratitude. 
Ft regards not only God's greatness, but his goodness. There is, 
therefore, nothing irksome in it. It is compatible with consola- 
tion and joy : and the first Christians walked in the fear of the 
L(?rd, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost. It is, in reality, the 



AUGUST 30. Ill 

same with affection— llie love ^vhich an inferior bears to a superior 
— the love of a dutiful child to a parent ; or of a good servant to a 
master ; or of a thankful dependant to a benefactor. This shows 
itself much in a way of reverence, and obedience, and attention. 
Hence, the more I love God, the more I shall fear him : the more 
I shall'dread to offend him ; the more I shall study to please him ; 
the more I sliall ask, " Lord, what Milt thou have'me to do ?" the 
more I shall pray. " Let the words of my mouth, and the medi- 
tation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, 
and my Redeemer." 

There is, also, a fear of caution, in wliich it becomes us to live. 
This regards sin. Sin is the greatest evil to which Ave can be ex- 
posed. And we may see enough in the case of David to make 
even a good man staiid in dread of it. For though God put away 
his sin, as to its future penalty, yet it was ever before him in the 
sufferings it occasioned. The sword never departed from his 
house. He was filled with dread of divine abandonm.ent. He 
was deprived of his peace and joy. His bones were broken : and 
his tongue was struck dumb. And a holy God will always cause 
the backslidings, even of his own people, to reprove them, and 
make them know that it is an evil and a bitter thing to sin against 
him. He will becloud their hope, and destroy their comfort, and 
perhaps quarter troubles upon them for life. Reputation, which 
is the produce of years, may be ruined in a moment : and the effect 
of a thousand good actions may be lost, by one evil deed. He 
who has befriended religion, may cause the way of truth to be 
evil spoken of, and become a judgment upon the whole neighbor- 
hood in which he dwells. 

And are we in danger of this ? Read the Scriptures. See the 
falls of good men ; and men eminently good. Have not we a 
subtle and active enemy always at hand ? Have we not a wicked 
world without us ? and an evil heart within us ? Owing to our 
remaining depravity, are we not liable to be ensnared by every 
thing we come in contact with, however harmless in itself? If 
we think caution unnecessary, we have the greatest need of it : 
for " pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a 
fall." Wherefore, let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed, 
lest he fall. Be not high minded, but fear. 

If we would maintain this frame of mind, let us walk circum- 
spectly ; not as fools but as wise. Let us not be anxious to rise 
in the world, and gain the affluence which will require a moral 
miracle to preserve us. " He that makes haste to be rich, shall 
not be innocent." " They that will be rich, fall into temptation, 
and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown 
men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the 
root of all evil ; w^hich while some coveted after, they have erred 
from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sor- 
rows." 

—Let us keep our month with a bridle. In a multitude of 
words there wanteth not sin. 

— Let us not run into perils, uncalled of God. We are only 
authorized to look for his protection \vhen we are brought into 

Vol. II. 17 



112 AUGUST 31. 

tliem in the discharge of duty. And, \vhile we watch, let us 
also constantly pray, " Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe " 
" Blessed is the man that feareth alway." 



August 31. — " I will betroth thee unto me for ever.' — Hosea, ii, 19. 

How well is it said of Christians, " Ye who sometimes were 
far off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ." They are not only 
pardoned, but employed in his service. They are not only re- 
conciled, but admitted into friendship and intimacy. Yea, iLey 
are not only friends and favorites, but they are his bride—" I will 
betroth thee unto me ;" and observe the permanency of the rela- 
tion, " I wall betroth thee unto me for ever." 

" Permanency," says the poet, " adds bliss to bliss." How is 
every possession and enjoyment without it, impaired in value ! 
Yea, the more important any acquisition be, and the more neces- 
sary w^e feel it to our happiness, the more alive are we to appre- 
hension of danger : the more averse are we to absence ; the more 
painful is separation ; the more intolerable is the thought of loss. 

Yet, to whatever we are attached here, do we not set our 
" hearts on that which is not ?" It is said that the Jews, in their 
nuptial ceremony, always threw a glass upon the ground, to sig- 
nify, that the union then forming was as frail as the emblcn. v,as 
brittle. Without the figure, if we are wise, there is enough to 
remind us of the fact : and well does the apostle reason, when 
he says, " Brethren the time is short : it remain.«, therefore, that 
they who have wives be as though they had none." 

We take each other, " till death do us part." And the relation 
is terminated by death— not the death of both— but the death of 
either. What then is the tenure of the treasure ? What is our 
life? It is even as a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and 
then vanisheth away. Has God given you a companion in the 
days of your vanity ? Rejoice ; but rejoice v/ith trembling. Per- 
haps, already the wife has been called to give up " the guide of 
her youth :" or the husband " the desire of his eyes ;" with whom 
they once took sweet counsel together, and walked to the house 
of God in company ! 

But Christians can never be in a widowed state. They can 
never lose their defence, their glory, their joy. There is nothing 
precarious in the transactions of God with his people. " I know 
that whatever God doeth, it shall be for ever ; nothing can be 
put to it, and nothing can be taken from it." How delightful in 
a vrorld of changes to know that He changeth not, and therefore 
that we shall not be consumed. Every thing seems reeling around 
me, and sinking beneath my feet : but I have hold of something 
firmer than the heavens and the earth— the word, the oath of 
eternal faithfulness and truth. " For the mountains shall depart, 
and the hills shall be removed : but my kindness shall not depart 
from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, 
saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee." "I will make an 
everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from 
them, to do them good ; but I will put my fear in their hearts, 



SEPTEMBER 1. 113 

that Ihey shall not depart from me." I have had many a persua- 
sion which has failed me, because, though the confidence was 
strong, the foundation was weak. But here the full assurance of 
faith can never do justice to the certainty of the event. " For I 
am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor princi- 
palities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor 
height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate 
us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." 



September 1.—" The word of life."— Philippians ii, 16. 

This is a representation of the Gospel ; and it well deserves 
our notice. All hfe is valuable ; but there are several kinds of it, 
rising above each other. There is vegetable life— this is superior 
to mere matter ; as a tree is more excellent than a stone. There 
is animal life — this is superior to vegetable ; as a bird excels a 
tree. There is rational life— this is superior to animal ; as a man 
excels a bird : for man was made a httle lower than the angels. 
There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty 
giveth him understanding. Yet there is a life superior to rational 
—it is called the life of God ; a life from which we are naturally 
alienated ; but to which all subjects of divuie grace are restored 
by the Savior, Avho came, not only that v.e might have life, but 
have it more abundantly. It will be completed in heaven but it 
is begun here. The case is this. Man, by transgression, is dead 
in state ; for cursed is every one that continueth not in all things 
M-ritten in the book of the law to do them. He is also dead in 
clisposUion—or, as the apostle expresses it, dead in trespasses and 
sins. But the Christian is passed from death unto life. He is no 
longer exposed to condemnation, for he is justified by faith, and 
has peace with God. And he is no longer under the power ol 
moral death ; for he is quickened and made to walk in newness 
of life. " I compare," says he, " my present with my former ex- 
perience. I Avas once dead to divine things, for they no more 
impressed me than sensible things affect a dead corpse. But now, 
for the very same reason, I hope I am alive ; for these very things 
do affect me, do interest me, do excite in me hope and fear. I am 
susceptible of spiritual joy and sorrow. I live, for I breathe the 
breath of prayer. I feel "the pulse of sacred passions— I love, 
and I hate. I have appetite — for I hunger and thirst after right- 
eousness. I vv-alk, and I work— and though all my efforts betray 
weakness, they evince life." 

But what will this life be, when there shall be no more death— 
when the bod}^ shall partake of the immortahty of the soul— when 
both shall be glorified together — in a perpetual duration of know- 
ledge, purity, friendship,^ riches, and glory. This is life eternal ! 

Now the Gospel is called the word of this life ; and it has four 
relations to it : A relation of discovery— for it reveals the reality 
and excellency of this life ; the way in which it is obtained ; the. 
source from which it flows ; and every particle of information we 
have concerning it. A relation of conveyance— for it communi- 
cates ; it produces this life. A relation of support— for it is the 



lU SEPTE3IBER 2. 

means, not only of begetting this life, but of maintaining and in- 
creasing it. Tlierefore, it is considered as its food; adapted to 
all stages of its being — millv, if we are babes ; strong meat if we 
are men. A relation of order — it is the rule by which this life is 
governed, as to doctrine, worship, experience, exertion. To this 
rule all our religion must be brought ; and as man}' as walk ac- 
cording to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the 
Israel of God. 



SiiPTEMBER 2. — " Holding forth the word of lift*.'' — Pliilippians, ii. 16. 

The apostles did this supernaturall3\ They received their 
commission immediately from God ; and were preserved from 
all mistakes in delivering his counsel ; and could work miracles 
in confirmation and defence of it. Ministers do this ofllcially. 
They pretend to no original communications from God, no new 
discoveries — they derive what they publish from the Scriptures j 
and they call upon you to prove whether these things are so. Yet 
their preaching is a divine ordinance — a work 'wliich an angel 
might covet -, the simple design of which is to hold forth the word 
of life. 

But there are many ways of doing this, common to all Chris- 
tians, and they are the persons the apostle here addresses. They 
may hold it forth by their profession. This is not to be consi- 
dered as a substitute for experience, but as flowing from it. Ex- 
perience is a secret thing between God and their own souls ; but 
their religion is to be visible as well as veal. The}' that are in 
darkness are to show themselves ; and we are to confess with the 
mouth, as well as to believe with the heart, unto salvation. They 
may hold it forth by example. And this must evince the sinrr^ 
rit}^, and conduce to the efficacy, of your profession. You are re- 
quired to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called ; 
and to constrain others, by your good works M'hic-h they behold, 
to glorify God in the day of Visitation. Nothing is so eloquent as 
the silence of a holy, consistent, and lovely life. Actions speak 
louder than words ; and by these you can cause the way of truth 
to be evil spoken of, or adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in 
all things. It is thus all can be " holders forth,-' wliatever be 
their condition, and without leaving their place and station. This 
is the way in which servants are to preach to their masters and 
mistresses, and children to their parents. Indeed, with regard to 
all of us, 

" Thus shall we best proclaim aloud I "When the salvation reigns within, 
"The honors of our Savior God ; | " And grace subdues tlie power of siii." 

This is net, however, to hinder express exertions. By tlicse. whcii 
the life is in accordance with them, nmch may be often done. 
There arc few so situated and limited as not to liave some oppor- 
tunities and influences by which they may be useful, and in a 
much greater degree than they are aware of, if they will seize 
them with simplicity, and diligence, and prayer. The talents ol 
men are various, but the servant who has only one will be con- 
demned if he wraps it up in a napkin. When we can do little in- 



SEPTEMBER 3. 115 

dividually, we can do something by joining with others, and re- 
commending and aiding those institutions Mdiich aim at the diffu 
sion or the cause of Christ, We cannot translate the Scriptures 
into otiier tongues, but we can circuUite them. We are not at 
liberty to go abroad ourselves j but we can be fellow-helpers to 
the truth, l)y contributing to missions. Silver and gold we have 
none ; but wc can apply to those who have. We are not donors -, 
but we can be collectors. 

What should induce us to hold forth the word of life? Interest. 
The regard v^^e pay to the Gospel will bless onr souls ; for, like 
its Author, it says, Them that honor me, I will honor. We sel- 
dom labor ill vain in this work ; but if our efforts should prove 
successless, in some way or other they will return into our own 
bosom. The most respected, and the most happy Christians, are 
the unsclPish, the active, the fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. 

Benevolence. The Gospel is not only wonderful, but all-im- 
portant. It is the Gospel of our salvation. It is the bread, the 
water of life. For dying souls it is the onl}^ remedy. It has done 
more already for even the public welfare of nations than all the 
civil institutions of men ; and by this alone will the wilderness 
and solitary place be made glad, and the desert rejoice and blos- 
som as the rose. 

Piety. It is thus God's perfections are displa3'ed. It is thus his 
enemies are to be diminished, and his subjects increased. It is 
thus his kingdom comes. And what claims has he not upon us 
for our service ? Whose are we ? Who bought us with a price ? 

Our relation in the church. Why have we joined ourselves to 
a religious societj^, and placed ourselves under the ministry of 
the word ? Is it only to commune together in privilege, or also to 
co-operate together in usefulness? Holding forth the word of 
life, says the text— That I may rejoice in the day of Christ, thai 
1 have not run in vain, nor labored in vain. 



SEPTEMBER 3. — " Speak, Lord; for thy servant hearetb." — t Samuel, iii,9. 

This shows a temper of mind which we should feel on every 
occasion. But what does He say to us now we are leaving home 
for a season ; and shall in a peculiar sense be for a while strangers 
and pilgrims on earth ? 

He requires us, in this excursion, to look to our motives. Surely 
sin is out of the question. What a dreadful thing it would be to 
go from home to get opportunities to commit iniquity, v.ithout 
danger of observation and discovery! To such it might well be 
said. This journe}^ shall not be to thine honor. But the object is 
lawful, if it be business ; if it be friendship ; if it be relative affec- 
tion ; if it be health; if it be recreation, within proper bounds, 
and with a view to prepare for future application. 

He requires us to move in a dependence on his providence. 
The Avay of man is not in himself; it is not in man tliat walketh 
to direct his steps. In his hand, our breath is ; in his, are all our 
ways. There are many who live without God in the world. 
James describes the presumption of such an individual in the 
thought of a journey, and a project—'' Go to now, ye that say, 



116 SEPTEMBER 3. 

To-day or to-morrow we will go into such a city, and contiir.ie 
there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain : M'hereas ye know 
not what sliall be on the morrow. For what is your life ? It i^ 
even a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth 
away. For that ye ought to say, if the Lord v/ill, we shall live, 
and do this or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings : all 
such rejoicing is evil." Paul speaks of a prosperous journey, 
by the will of God, Nothing can be done without his permission 
and blessing. He can set every thing against us, or make every 
thing conduce to our profit. He can spread a gloom over the 
fairest scenes of nature ; or lie can comfort us on every side. The 
elements are his. He preserveth man and beast. Let us remem- 
ber our entire reliance upon him ; and hear him at this moment 
saying, " Commit thy way unto the Lord ; trust also in him, and 
he shall bring it to pass." 

He requires, that wherever we go, we should maintain the con- 
sistency of our character. This does not forbid the exercise of 
prudence. We are even commanded to be wise as serpents, 
as well as harmless as doves -, and walk circumspectly, not as 
fools, but as wise : and especially to walk in wisdom toward them 
that are without. But this does not require the surrender of prin- 
ciple, or even the concealment of it. We are not to be ashamed 
of the Savior, and of his words; but confess him before men. If 
we become all things to all men, it must be in things sinless and 
indifferent. If we please our neighbor, it must be for his good to 
edification. If we yield, and " trim our way," an act unbecoming 
our profession, we shall not only lose the benefit of reproving, 
convincing, and impressing others, by a practical testimony, but 
procure for ourselves contempt, instead of esteem. For those who 
understand not our experience, can comprehend our duty ; and 
those who do not admire piety, despise inconsistency. 

He, therefore, requires us to seize and seek opportunities of use- 
fulness. All cannot act in the same way. Our stations and abili- 
ties differ : and we are not to suffer our good to be evil spoken of. 
But let us beware of indecision and excuse. " He that observeth 
the wind shall not sow ) and he that regardeth the clouds shall 
not reap." Who may not be a blessing in every place in which 
he is found? Who can tell the influence, immediate or remote, 
of a proper and lovely example ? of a M^ord fitly spoken? of a 
book lent, or a tract given ? of a ivise and worcd distribution of 
alms ? " In the morning so^v thy seed, and in the evening with- 
hold not thy hand ; for thou knowest not whether shall prosper. 
either this or that, or whether they shall be alike good." Let us 
never think any of our possessions or endowments our own. 
They arc talents; and, "as every man liath received the gift, 
even so let us minister the same one to another, as good stewards 
of the manifold grace of God." Many of our opportunities are 
already gone, and they are gone for ever. How many remain, 
we know not ; but they are few and uncertain. Let us awake, 
and resemble him who went about doing good ; and who said, " X 
must work the works of him that sent me while it is day ; the 
night Cometh when no man can work." 



SEPTEMBER 3. 117 

He requires that we should not be careless and inattentive ob- 
servers of his works. The works of the Lord are great, in num- 
ber and in quality ; and are sought out of all them that have plea- 
sure therein. And I will, says God, that thou magnify his works 
which men behold. We can see them every where ; but, as we move 
from one place to another, we perceive them in a greater variety. 
And when from an inland situation we reach the watery world, 
we behold his wonders in the deep. The sea is his, and he made 
it : and, with all its immensity, holds it in the hollow of his hand. 
What wisdom do we recognise in the salineness of the fluid ; and 
in the ebbing and flowing of the tide ? What power appears in rais- 
ing, and in calming the billows ; and in giving to the sea his decree 
that the waters should not pass his commandment; saying. Hith- 
erto shalt thou come, and no further ; and here shall thy proud 
waves be stayed ! And we should observe his works, not only as 
objects of curiosity and wonder, but as excitements to admiration 
and praise. We should regard them not as naturalists and philo- 
sophers, but with the views and feelings of Christians. 

He requires that we should find in all we see, confirmations of 
OLir faith in his word. The Scripture tells us of the flood by 
which the ungodly world was destroyed and the earth convulsed 
and torn— And what indications of this awful catastrophe do we 
often meet with ! The Scripture tells us, that though God made 
man upright, he sought out many inventions, and that we are 
gone astray : there is none righteous, no not one — And where can 
we go and not discern this ? " While the earth remaineth, seed- 
time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and 
day and night, shall not cease." And in the succession of the 
seasons, we see this pledge redeemed. He is good to all, and his 
tender mercies are over all his works — and w^e have but to open 
our eyes, and we see him opening his hand, and satisfying the 
desires of every living thing. 

He requires, that in our progress and our return, v/e should be 
thankful. And how much is there to awaken our gratitude ? That 
we have not only been supplied and supported, but have had so 
many agreeable prospects and entertainments, and changes — that 
WG have been preserved in our going out and our coming in — that 
we have been secured from wickedlmd unreasonable men — that 
no accident has spilt our life upon the ground, or bruised a limb of 
our body — that our property has been secured, as well as our per- 
sons and health — that no plague has come nigh our dwelling — 
and that we know also that our tabernacle is in peace ! Bless the 
Lord, O our souls ; and all that is within us, bless his holy name! 

He requires that we should realize life itself as only a journey, 
and think of getting home. We arc but strangers and sojourners 
here, as were all our fathers. There is none abiding. " Lord, 
make me to know mine end, and the measare of my daj's, what it 
is ; that I may know how frail I am." " So teach us to number 
our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." 



118 SEPTEMBER 4. 

Seftember 4.— "Peace I leave with 3'ou." — John, xiv, 27. 

We know whose words these are — And who was ever so 
qualified and authorized to speak of peace as he? He is called 
the Prince of Peace. His ministers are the messengers of peace. 
His word is the Gospel of peace. His way is the path of peace. 
An angel announced peace at his birth; asid he himself bequeath- 
ed peace at his death — " Peace I leave v/ith you." 

For we may consider the words, so to speak, as a part of his last 
will and testament. Lands, and houses, and gooda, and silver, and 
gold, he had none to leave. But such as he had he disposed of in 
a manner following. That is to say ; his soul to God — Father, 
into thy hand I commit my spirit. His body to the envy and ma- 
lice of his enemies — to be buifeted, and scourged, and crucified. 
His wearing apparel, to the soldiers — wlio divided his garments 
among them, and for his vesture cast lots. His widowed mother, 
to the care of John — who, from that hour, took her unto his own 
home. But what have his disciples all this time? Has he forgot- 
ten them ? No — " Peace I leave with you."' 

But why does he bestow it upon them in a way of legacy ? 
First ; to make it the dearer. They would thus prize this boon — 
It was the remembrance of their dying Lord and Savior. Any 
thing left us by a dying friend, if it be only a book, or ring, is es- 
teemed and valued. Secondly ; to render it the surer. If it be 
but a man's testament, yet if it be confirmed, no man can disannul 
it. But here every thing concurs to establish confidence. The 
will is written, witnessed, and sealed. And the testator dies : for 
a testament is of no force while the testator liveth. And the ex- 
ecutor is true and honest, and will see all punctually fulfilled — this 
is the Holy Ghost, which is to glorify him, by taking of his, and 
showing it unto them. 

This bcstowment was much more than they deserved. They 
had always been dull scholars ; and sadly repaid the labors he 
had expended upon them. They had been very defective ser- 
vants; and, only a few hours before, had been disputing among 
themselves which of them should be the greatest. And now, as 
his suflTering drew near, instead of showing themselves his sympa- 
thizing friends, they were all going to forsake him, and flee — 
yet loving his own who were in the world, he loved them unto 
the end. 

"Happy disciples, to be thus remembered, honored, and en- 
riched V You are ready to exclaim, " how we envy you !" But 
these words were not confined to them. They were personally to 
enjoy the privilege ; and they are immediately addressed— But, 
in receiving this assurance, they stood as the representatives of ail 
his people, to the end of time. And you, even you, if you lo\e 
and follow him, are as much included in the bcqueathmcnt as if 
you were mentioned by name. Vvltnoss his following intercession : 
" Neither pray I for these alone ; but for them also which shall 
believe on me through their word, that they all may be one, as 
thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in 
us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me: and the 



SEPTEMBER 5. 119 

gloiy which thou gavest me I have given them that tliey may be 
one, even as we are one," 



Septkmber 5. — ^"I will strengtheu theni in the LcrJ."' — Zecli. x, 12. 

This is the very assurance our hearts want, as we think of our- 
selves, and survey the duties and trials of the Christian life. And 
we cannot two confidently rely on the accomplishment of it, for 
it comes from the lips of faithfulness and truth. But we may err 
Ls to the manner in which it is to be fulfilled, and therefore our ex- 
pectation is to be regulated and qualified accordingly. 

Let us observe, then, that the fulfilment of the promise, as long 
as Ave are here, will not exem^pt us from all cause of complaint. 
It will keep us in our work, but not cause us to cease from our la- 
bor. It secures us assistance in our conflict ; but the war lasts for 
life. However strong our faith, and firm our hope, and long-suf- 
fering, unto all joy fulness, our patience, we shall still be sensible, 
and the more sensible too, of resistance, deficiency, defilement ; 
and still acknowledge that, when we would do good, evil is 
present with us — and groan, "O wretched man that I am! who 
shall deliver me from the body of this death '?" 

This impartation of strength will also be seasonable, and propor- 
tioned to the exigencies of our condhion: "As thy days, so shall 
thy strength be." What we are to look for is, not grace for imagi- 
nary purposes, but for real; not grace for future difficulties, but 
present; or, as the apostle has it, grace to ''help in time of need.*' 
It does not, therefore, follow, that what is formidable in the pros- 
pect, may be so in the event. You may fear death while living, 
and not fear it at last. " Is this," said Dr. Goodwin, '• is f/iis dying ? 
Is this the enemy that dismayed m.e so long — now appearing so 
liarmless — and even pleasant ?" 

These supplies of strength are to be sought after and expected 
in God's own way — that is, in the use of the means Mhich he has 
ordained. So his word deals with our hope. " Draw nigh to God, 
and he will draw nigh to you." " Blessed is the man that heareth 
me, witching daily at my gates, and waiting at the posts of mv 
doors," '• He giveth power to the faint ; and to them that have 
no miglit he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint 
and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall ; but they that 
wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength : they shall mount 
up with wings as eagles : they shall run, and not be v/eary, and 
they shall walk, and not f\iint." 

And have I not found it so ? In the day when I cried, has he 
not answered me, and strengthened me with strength in my soul ? 
Have not I kneeled down with a contracted, and risen up with 
an enlarged heart ? When I have read his word, hath he not 
thereby quickened me ? Have I not found him, in his palaces, for 
a refuge ! Has he not sent me help from the sanctuarv, and 
strengthened me out of Zion ? 

— How foolish, then, to avoid religious exercises when I am 
not in a proper, and spiritual, and lively frame ! The means cj 
17* 



120 SEPTEMBER 6. 

grace are surely th« \ the most necessary — as fire is the more 
needful when we are cold, and excitement when we are dull. 

It is only a part of the truth that we are to pray \Gith the Spi- 
rit — we are also to pray for it. Witness the language of the Sa- 
vior : " If ye then, beii;g evil, know how to give good gifts unto 
your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give 
the Holy Spirit to them that ask him ?" Witness the example of 
the church : " Awake, O north wind, and eome thou south. Blow 
upon thy garden, that the spices thereof may flow out." 



September 6.—' He found him in a desert land, and in the Avaste howlmg 
%vilderuess ; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple 
of his eye." — Deut. xxxii, 10. 

And will not this apply, O Christian ! to thee, as well as to 
Israel ? 

Will not the findino- ? He found them in a desert land, in a 
waste howling wilderness. And where did he find you ? What 
was your natural state ? What was the world lying in wicked- 
ness ? What was the earth, as filled, from the effects of sin, with 
vanity and vexation of spirit ? There he found you, not you him. 
To his name give glory, for the mercy and the truth's sake. You 
indeed find him — but how ? " I am found of them that sought me 
not — I am sought of them that asked not for me." You did choose 
him — but as tlie cause or consequence of his choice. Hear his 
own language : " Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, 
and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit, and 
that your fruit should remain." Who can refuse to acknowledge, 
We love him, because he first loved us? 

— Will not the leading- ? He led them about. There was no 
road, and much depended upon their movements. He therefore 
became their conductor — and we know how he did this. It was 
by a fiery cloudy pillar. As this advanced, they removed. As 
this turned to the right or the left, they turned also. As this 
paused, they remained. Thus they were freed from all anxiety. 
The distance they had to go was not great in itself. Jacob's sons, 
Avith their asses, soon passed and repassed between Egypt and 
Canaan. And the Israelites quickly reached Kadcsh-barnea, which 
Avas not far from Jordan ; but they were turned back. And if 
you consult a map, and observe all their winding marclies, 5'ou 
will see the propriety of the expression. He led them about. And 
has he not thus led 5'ou ? You knew the way of man is not in 
himself. You cried unto the Lord, aiul said, Lead me in thy 
truth, and guide me ; for thou art the God of my salvation ; on 
thee do I wait all the day. And he said, I will lead thee and 
guide thee, and instruct thee with mine eye. And has he ever 
abandoned you ? What mistakes has he prevented ! How often 
has he hedged up your path, to keep you from going astray ! 
From how many embarrassments, the effect of your acting without 
him, has he extricated you ! He always led you in the right wa)' , 
hut it has often been a trying one, and such as you could n(»t 
have foreseen or conjectured. In your temporal aflfairs he has 



SEPTEMBER 6. 121 

perhaps checked you, and turned you back— you liave liad life to 
begin again, and to seek other openings and labors. And as to 
your spiritual experience, instead of gaining more of the assu- 
rance of hope, doubts and fears have invaded you ; and instead 
of victory over your enemies, you have been le^d to see and feel 
more of the evil of your hearts— while you have often asked. If 
I am his, why am I thus ? Yet all this has fulfilled the promise, 
" I will bring the blind by a way that they know not ; I will lead 
them in paths that they have not known ; I will make darkness 
light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will 
J do unto them, and not forsake them." 

—Will not the teaching 7 He instructed them. They had the 
finest opportunities in the world to learn, cut off as they were 
from intercourse with surrounding nations, and alone, with God 
as their preceptor. When at Horeb, they sat down at his feet, 
and received of his words. He gave them laws and ordinances. 
He sent them Moses, and Aaron, and Miriam. He taught them 
much by events, pleasing and painful. He showed them in exam- 
ple the evil of sin, the happiness of obedience— yea, he gave 
them his good Spirit, says Nehemiah, to instruct them. And has 
he not instructed you ? If you have been unprofitable learners, 
the fault has been your own. You have had every thing favora- 
ble in your situation ; a thousand resources of information have 
opened around you ; you have the Scriptures, the preaching of 
the word. Christian intercourse, and that Spirit which is to teach 
you all things. Every thing that has befallen you has read you 
lessons. Some things you must have learned— that this is not 
your rest- the folly of trusting in your own hearts— the great- 
ness of your unworthiness— and that it is of the Lord's mercies 
that you are not consumed. 

—Will not the protection ? He kept them as the apple of his eye 
—the tenderest part of the tenderest member. Did the serpents 
bite them? He provided a remedy and healed them. Did enemies 
assail them? It was not with impunity. He reproved kings for 
their sakes, saying, touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets 
no harm. Amalek Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og king of 
Bashan, found, to their peril, that he made their cause his own. 
Did Balaam use divination and enchantment ? He owned there 
was no enchantment against Jacob, nor divination against Israel ; 
he cursed them, but the curse was turned into a blessing. In 
tra-^elling, were they exposed to the sun? The Lord was their 
shade on then* right hand. He preserved them in their going out 
and in their coming in— they were a people saved of the Lord. 
Who has kindly, tenderly, constantly kept you? Have you had 
no enemies ? And why have you not been a prey to their teeth ? 
Wliy has not your heart turned back, nor your steps declined 
from his ways ? iJehas holden you up. You have been kept by 
the pov/er of God through faith unto salvation. 

This is what he has done for you. 

— What have you done for him ? 

— WTiat are you doing ? 

— What do you resolve to do ? 



^22 SEPTEMBER 7 

September?. — "^The word of the Lord, that came unto Hosea, the son 
of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, 
and in the days of Jeroboam, the son of Joash, king of Israel." — Hosea, i, 1. 

We are not informed whether he had been trained up for the 
holy office, or been called in a manner sudden and unlooked for. 
Some of the prophets v/ere taken at once from following their 
common occupations ; as we see in the instances of Elisha and 
Amos. Others were taken — and this was more generally the 
case — from the schools of the prophets ; where, by retirement, 
and prayer, and meditation, and instruction, they were gradually 
prepared to minister in holy things. Thus God both sanctified 
the use of means, and showed that he was not confined to them. 
It is the same now. Some of the most pious, eminent, and useful 
ministers the churches have ever possessed, have been educated 
for the parpose ; and we ought to be thankful for such institutions ; 
and on these, for our spiritual supplies, we must 'principally de- 
pend. But we must not limit the Holy One of Israel. He will 
sometimes take a man out of our rules, and give him acceptance 
and success. And Ave must receive a Bunyan, as well as an Owen. 
When will persons allow God to work in his own way ? and learn 
that, because one thing is right, another need not be wrong ? But 
Hosea was dwinehj couimissioned — " The word of the Lord came 
unto him." " For the prophecy came not in old time by the will 
of man, but holy men of God spake as they Averc moved by the 
Holy Ghost." And they could demand attention, in the name of 
Him who sent them — " Thus saith the Lord." 

— His descent is also remarked. He Avas " the son of Beeri." 
The Jews have a rule, that the prophet Avhose father is named, 
was the son of a prophet. But this does not ahvays hold. Nothing 
is recorded of Beeri. Yet it is reasonably concluded, that unless 
he had been a man of some distinction, and from Avhom Hosea 
derived honor, he Avould not have been mentioned. And this he 
might have been, Avithout possessing Avorldly rank and riches. 
The righteous is more excellent than his neighbor. He is happily 
and nobly descended Avho springs from those Avho are great in 
the sight of the Lord. He may Avell exult, and sa}^ — 

" My boast is not, tliat I deduce my birth 
" From loins entl)ron'd, and rulers of the eartu ; 
" But higher fiir my proud pretensions rise — 
"The son of parents pass'd into the skies !" 

Let US so live, that our children may derive from us a»Jvantage 
and respect. 

But the principal thing is, the time of his ministrations — " In 
the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah ; 
and in the days of Jeroboam, the son of Joash, king of Israel." 
NoAV if he prophesied onl}^ from the end of Jeroboam's reign, the 
son of Joash, to the beginning of Hezekiah's, it aa^ouM have been 
near seventy /ears. But he prophesied in the reign of both. And 
if Ave alloAV liim a fcAV j-^ears in each of these, and reckon up tlie 
length of the reigns betAveen — his ministry must have been little 
short of eighty years ; and it Avas probably even more. And five 
ihings may be observed from hence. 



SEPTEMBER 7. 123 

First. How very little we have of his prophecyiiigs. Twelve 
short chapters, read in much less time than a modern sermon, 
include all that has been perpetuated of far the longest ministry 
on record. Some labor for posterity; and leave behind them 
works which will render them a blessing to future ages. Others 
are called more to serve their own generation, by the will of God ; 
and are preachers, rather than writers. How useful was White- 
fiekl, as a preacher ! v.diile his few writings have had little cirjii- 
lation, and rather serve to excite wonder that he was so pov.'erful 
va another capacity. How^ useful has Hervey been, as a writer ! 
M'hile his preaching was without excitement, and scarcely distin- 
guished by any effect. Some, like Doddridge, have excelled, both 
in the pulpit and from the press. Every servant of God has his 
peculiar gifts, and his appropriate sphere — "Even so. Father, for 
so it seemeth good in thy sight.-' 

Secondly. He must have begun his ministry very young. Paul 
forbids the ordination of a novice, lest he should be lifted up with 
pride. Talent is not all that is necessary for the sacred office. Hovv' 
necessary is the knowledge that is derived from experience ! and 
the confidence that grows out of the trial of character ! Thirty 
v.'as the age for entering on the Levitical service. And not earlier 
than this period did John and Jesus thus commence their pubhc 
ministry. But " the word of God is not bound." Timothy was 
young: so young that Paul was obliged to say, -'Let no man 
despise thy youth." Samuel was employed, while yet a child. 
Jeremiah was consecrated from the womb. And this was nearly 
the case with Hosea. What a privilege, what an honor, to be 
early dedicated to the service of God ! " I remember thee, the 
kindness of thy youth." 

Thirdly. He must have been very old before he retired from 
labor. Some do not resign early enough, but stand about in the 
way of usefulness — The excellent Cornelius Winter often prayed 
to be preserved from this error. Indeed, few can set well, and say 
of a successor, with proper feelings, "I must decrease, but he 
must increase." Others resign too soon. They would retire upon 
a pension, before they are disabled in a holy war. A minister 
may want the sprightliness and vigor of youth, and yet have the 
ripeness and richness of age; and the fruit may drop without 
much hard shaking. Some nobly fall at their post — sword in 
hand — faithful unto death — and, with the crown of life obtain the 
commendation, " Thou hast labored, and hast not fainted." 

Fourthly. He must have passed through a vast variety of con- 
dition. He lived in the reign of one good king, and of four bad 
ones. He saw peace, and much war. He saw plenty, and more 
than once, scarceness and famine. He saw a few partial revi- 
vals of religion ; but witnessed general and constant wickedness. 
How many of his relations, friends, and pious connexions, had 
fallen ! How lonely must he have felt I How changed his views ! 
How convinced must he have been, that all below is vanity and 
vexation of spirit ! while yet, God was the strength of his heart, 
and his portion for ever. How much he knew of what was doing 
in other countries we cannot determine. But within the compass 



124 SEPTEMBER 8. 

of his minisUy lived lij^ciirgus, the famous Lacedaemonian legisla- 
tor ; and Hesiod, the Greek poet ; and Rome was begun to be built. 
Finally. A man of God may labor long, and do very little 
good. 'I'he people he addressed not only continued wicked but 
waxed worse and worse : and the captivity he had threatened, he 
lived to see commenced. He certainly saw a part of Israel car- 
ried away captive, by Tiglath Pileser ; and probably the entire 
d< St ruction of the kingdom of the ten tribes, by Salmanezer. This 
must have been very painful. But it did not slacken his efforts.' 
We are not answerable for our success. If we lose our labor, we 
shall not lose our reward. A greater than all said, " I have la- 
bored in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain ; 
yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my 
God." -«»___— 

Skptf.mber 8. — "Desplsest thou the riches of his goodness, and forbear- 
ance, and long-suffering ?" — Romans, ii, 4. 

One of the ways in which God addresses us, in his word, is ex- 
postulation. To expostulate is to accuse before an open rupture. 
It is the lingering of friendship, offended indeed, but unwilling to 
abandon its object without further trial. It is anger blended with 
kindness: it is chiding, accompanied with entreaty. This is a 
very pleasing view of the Supreme Being, and induces us to ex- 
claim. Lord, what is man that thou art mindful of him ; or the son 
of man that thou visitest him ? By the transgression of his law, 
we reduced ourselves to ruin. He remembered us in our low 
estate, and provided for our deliverance. The blessing was 
placed before us, and w^ithin our reach — But Ave disregard it, and 
contemn the Savior as well as the Ruler. Thus we deserve that 
his wrath should come upon us. Yet, before he pronounces sen- 
tence^ he sends for iis into his presence ; and reasons with us — 
that being unable to defend our conduct, we may acknowledge, by 
our silence, that we have acted a part that leaves us without ex- 
cuse, and without hope—" Despisest thou the riches of his good- 
ness, and forbearance, and long-suffering ?" 

God is good to all ; and the apostle speaks of " the richness of 
his goodness." These riches appear in numberless displays. But 
he adds — ''and forbearance, and long-suffering;" to induce us to 
consider the latter, as the proof of the former. 

To see then the riches of his goodness, let us contemplate his 
forbearance and long-suffering. Every thing in God enhances 
}iis patience. His greatness enhances it. We are more affected 
with an affront from an equal, than from a superior; and more 
from an inferior, than from an equal. How does the master rc- 
s(mt an offence from his slave! or a king from a subject? But all 
comparison fails between God and us. He is the maker of all 
things, and all nations before him are as nothing. This is the 
being insulted. And who is the offender ? A grovelling worm 
upon a dunghill — and yet he bears Mith us — His icisdom. enhan- 
ces it. We cannot be affected with affronts of which we are igno- 
rant. How would some be enraged if they knew only what is said of 
them by some of their "dear five hundred friends ;" how they turn 



SEPTEMBER 8. 125 

them into ridicule before they have well left their house ; and 
what freedoms they take Mith their character, and their conduct, 
in almost every compan}*. But none of our offences are secret 
from God. He hears all — sees all — and knows perfectly every 
imagination of the thoughts of our heart — And yet he bears with 
lis. His holiness enhances it. If we do not think and feel a thing to 
be an affront, there is no virtue, for there is no difficulty in endu- 
ring it. The trial is when it touches us to the quick, in some 
most valued interest. But sin is exceeding sinful. By nothing 
does God deem himself so dishonored. He is of purer'eyes than 
to behold iniquity. It is the abominable thing M'hich his soul 
hates — and yet he bears with us. His power enhances it. A\Tiy 
do vre put up with a thousand wrongs ? We know them and feel 
them ; but we reluctantly submit, because we have no way to 
punish them. WTiy are not sinners destroyed 7 ]Moses, when he 
had provoked the Egyptians, saved himself by flight. But whither 
can we go from God's presence, or flee from his Spirit ? Some, 
when they have provoked resentment, have defied it, and success- 
fully too. But who ever hardened himself against God, and pros- 
pered ? His look is death — And yet he bears with us. His bounty 
enhances it. We complain peculiarly of an injury, or an insult, 
from one who is much indebted to us. From another, we say. 
we could have borne it ; but he is viler than the brute ; for the ox 
knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib. But we are 
under infinite obligations to the God we provoke. In him we 
have lived, and moved, and had our being. His table has fed us ; 
his wardrobe has clothed us ; his sun has warmed us. And this 
is not all. His kindness continues, notwithstanding all our in- 
gratitude. And hs not only spares us, but in every way indulges 
us. He waits to be gracious, and is exalted to have mercy upon us. 

Yet are these riches of his goodness '• despised." Despised by 
inconslderalion. We treat them as umvorthy of our notice. They 
do not occupy our thoughts or our speech. Despised by disobe- 
dience. We resist their design, Vvhich is to lead us to repentance. 
God calls, but we will not answer. He knocks, but we refuse to 
open— Who is the Lord, that we sliould obey his voice ? Despised 
by perversion. AVe turn them into instruments of rebellion : and 
make them the very means of increasing our impenitency. If we 
thought God would' strike us into hell the next sin we committed, 
it would not be committed ; but since he is too kind to do this, we 
offend him. We are evil because he is good. " Because sentence 
against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart 
of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil." 

How ii.nreasonahJe is this I How vile is this contempt ! How 
shameful! If an individual was to behave toward a fellow crea- 
ture, as men are continually acting toward the blessed God, no 
one could notice him but with astonishment and disgrace. Yet 
we talk of the dignity of human nature ! or contend that it is but 
slightly injured by the fall ! 

— And how dangez-Qus ! How iminous is this contempt ! It is 
true, God is merciful and gracious ; but he will by no means 
spare the guilty. If we reject the Gospel, the law takes hold of 



!26 SEPTEMBER 9. 

us — yea, Ave have to deal with the Gospel, too — and shall find it 
to be the savor of death unto death. 



Skptembeb 9. — " They joy before thee, accordiug to the joy in harve_st," 

Tsaiah, ix, o. 

Three circumstances are here mentioned. 'Y\\Qy joij. They joy 
bi'fore thee. They joy before thee, according to the joy in ha)%'est. 
Lach of these will supply an interesting and useful meditation. 
They Joy. 

Among the many mistakes entertained concerning religion, no 
one is more common than the notion, that it prescribes a forced, 
gloomy, melancholy course; engaged in Avhich we must bid adieu 
to every thing like pleasure. And nothing can be more injurious 
than this notion : for men will naturally turn from religion, Avliile 
the}" \'ie\v it as the enemy of their happiness. 13ut nothing is so 
unfounded and false as this opinion. Let us take it to tliree tribunals. 

Let us bring it to the bar of reason. It must be allowed that 
God is able to make us happy or miserable. And, if so — is it 
likely that he Mill suffer those who hate and oppose him to be 
liappy ? and those who love and try to please him to be miserable ? 
^Vhat a notion of the supreme Being M'oukl this imply I And what 
could equally blaspheme his character ? And has a hope that my 
sins are pardoned, that God is my Father, that providence is my 
guide, that death is my friend, and that heaven is my portion, a 
tendency to inspire me with sadness or with joy ? And which is 
most adapted to make me wrctcl^.ed or comfortable within ? Malice, 
or benevolence ? Passion, or meekness ? Pride, or humility ? Envy, 
or complacency ? Anxiety, or confidence ? Distant things do not 
sufficientl}^ impress us. SVc need something immediate. Our 
propensity to present gratification is powerful. And must not reli- 
gion meet this state of feeling, and provide for it 7 Thirsty as man 
is. if there be no pure stream at hand, will he not kneel down to 
the filthy puddle ? AVhat is to preserve us from being drawn away 
by the allurements and dissipations of the world, but our having 
something better to satisfy our hearts at home, and to keep us 
from roving ? What can sustain us in our trials, and animate us 
in our duties, if destitute of present consolation? The joy of the 
Lord is our strength. We shall soon decline a course in which 
v.-e feel no interest or delight. And if we are strangers to holy 
pleasure, hov.- can we impress others in favor of religion? It is b}' 
singing at their work, that his servants praise their master ; and 
prove that his yoke is easy, and his burden light. 

Let us take it to the bar of Scripture. Read the Bible all through 
for this purpose. Take its commands — "What are these ? " Re- 
joice in the Lord, and be glad, ye righteous ; and shout aloud for 
joy. and all ye that are upright in heart." " Rejoice evermore." 
" Rejoice in the Lord always ; and again I sa}', rejoice." Take 
its promises — What are these ? " Blessed is the people that know 
the joyful sound : they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy coun- 
tenance. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day; and in thy 
rifriitcousness tliev shall be exalted." " The ransomed of the 



SEPTEMBER 9, 127 

Lord shall return, and come to Zion, with songs," " They shall 
go out with ioy, and be led forth with peace : the mountains and 
the hills shall "break forth before them into singing, and all the 
trees of the field shall clap their Irands." Take its representation : 
What are these ? Go back to the beginning of the Gospel. The 
first churches walked not only in the fear of the Lord, but '• in 
the comfort of the Holy Ghost." Peter, addressing Christians at 
large, says, " In whom believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable 
and full of glory." If ice libel Christianity, and cause the way of 
truth to be evil spoken of, they honored it. What hindered their 
joy ? Losses did not—" They took joyfully the spoiling of their 
goods." Persecutions did not—" They received the word in much 
affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost." Guilt did not— They joyed 
in God tlirougii our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom they received 
the atonement. Death did not— They longed to depart to be with 
Christ, which was far better. Eternity did not— They were look- 
ing for that blessed hope, and hastening unto the coming of the 
day of God. Joy was then considered an essential part of genu- 
ine religion. The circumcision not only worshipped God in the 
Spirit, and had no confidence in the flesh ; but also rejoiced in 
Christ Jesus. And the apostle v.'ould as soon have excluded from 
it, righteous conduct, and a peaceable temper, as spiritual joy : for, 
says he, " the kingdom of God is not meat and drink ; but right- 
eousness^ and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." 

Let us' bring it to the bar of experience. Experience signifies 
knowledge derived from experiment, in opposition to theory and 
hypothesis. And experimental philosophy has been of late years, 
much extolled. And why should not experimental religion be 
equally recommended? Is there no standard in spiritual things, 
to which we can appeal ? And is there no w^ay of subjecting the 
truth and importance of their claims to trial? Many are indeed 
too careless, and too prejudiced to pursue the process. But some 
have examined, and reduced the subjects to decision. And they, 
and they only, are the persons to whom you should repair in a 
case of this kind. They have this advantage over you. You liave 
never tried their principles ; but the}' have tried yours. You have 
never walked in their ways : but tliey have walked in yours ; and 
know, as well as you, that tliey are not pleasantness and peace. 
And after trying your resources, and finding them to be vanity and 
T exation of spirit, they have tried the Savior's promises, and ha\e 
found them to be full of grace and truth. At first, they could only 
be swayed by faith ; but now they have the witness in themselves. 
They know, for they have applied to him, that he is a suitable, a 
willing, a mighty Savior. They know they were strangers to 
peace, till they were reconciled to God, by the death of his Son — 
but they have come to the blood of sprinkling. They know that 
once they were ignorantly asking. Who will shov/ us any good ? 
but they' have found the fountain of life : and can say, It is good 
for me to draw nigh to God. They, therefore, ought to be heard. 
They can speak witli confidence and earnestness ; for they speak 
from experience — and this is their language ; "'Lo this, we have 
searched it, so it is ; hear it, and know thou it for thy good." 



r28 SEPTEMBER 10. 

" That wliicli we have seen and heard declared v,e unto yon, that 
3'e also may have fellowship with ns ; and truly our fellowship is 
with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ." 

Let us listen no longer to a report as false as it is evil. It is a 
good land which the Lord our God giveth us. Let no man's 
heart fail him. 



SEPTEr^BEii 10.— "They joy before thee, accordhig to the joy mhai-vest." 

Isaiah, ix, 3. 

TlIEY joy BEFORE THEE. Tllis shoWS 

The sincerity of this joy. All men arc in view of God ; and 
they are always before him : but the wicked and worldly never 
yo?/ "before liim. Their ']oy is all show and profession : it may de- 
ceive their fellow creatures ; but it cannot impose on God. He 
sees through all the hypocrisy of their happiness ; he knoAvs, 
that in the midst of their sufficiency, they are in straits ; and 
that they sigh and groan, though others do not hear them, over all 
their successes and indulgencies. Their joy is for company, not 
retirement. They cannot partake of it, till they forget God. One 
thought of Him damps all their pleasure. Therefore they say 
unto God, Depart from us, we desire not the knowledge of thy 
ways. And hence, they dislike conscience, God's deputy and se- 
cretary. They cannot relish their enjoyments till they have sent 
him out of the way, or lulled him to sleep, or stupified him with 
an opiate, or silenced him with a bribe ; one look, one word from 
conscience, will be enough to spoil all their delights. They never 
taste one drop of real joy. There is no peace, saith God, to the 
wicked. But the Christian's joy will bear the gaze of God. It 
lives and flourishes in his presence. And so far is he from shrink- 
ing back from the eye of his heavenly Father, that the thought 
of being near him, with him, before him, affords him relief and 
satisfaction. He can say, with Asaph, " Nevertheless I am con- 
tinually with thee : thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou 
shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to 
glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee ? and there is none upon 
earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth ; 
but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever." 

This reminds us of the secrecy of this joy — It is before him — 
and often lie alone discerns it. Strangers intermeddle not with it. 
And the world knows it not. Seeing Christians often poor, and 
afflicted, and despised, they are at a loss to conceive how they can 
be joyful. The}'- are therefore men wondered at. Their fellow 
creatures can see their burdens — these are often plain enough : 
but they see not their supports; and how, underneath them, are 
the everlasting arms ; or they would not wonder that they do not 
sink. They see their losses and trials ; but their communion Mith 
God, and the comforts of the Holy Ghost, are invisible. Neither 
are the subjects of this joy disposed to divulge it to all. They are, 
indeed, ready to say to them that fear God, Come, and I will tell 
yon what he hath done for my soul : but, were they to communi- 
cate their feelings to others, they would not, could not, under- 



SEPTEMBER 10. 129 

stand them. It would be worse than speaking of the pleasure of 
literature to a clown ; or of the pleasure of melody and harmony 
to a man who has no ear for music. The joy also does not ope- 
rate and discover itself like common mirth. It is not the froth 
that swims and shows on the surface. It lies deep. It is not 
noise, but composure. It is the calm of the mind ; the content of 
the heart ; the sunshine of the soul ; a peace that passeth all un- 
derstanding. A man, if joyful, does not joy like a child. " True 
joy is a serious thing." But God sees his people, even when sor- 
Vovvfiil, yet always rejoicing either in possession, hope, or desire. 
He sees them turning aside from the world, to refresh and exhila- 
rate their spirits alone with himself: and hears them (when no 
other hears them) saying, " How precious are thy thoughts unto 
me, O God ! how great is the sum of them ! if I should count 
them, they are more in number than the sand : when I awake, I 
am still with thee." 

'•* Be earth, with all her scenes, withdrawn ; 

" Let noise ami vanity begone : 

" In secret silence of the mind, 

" 3fy heaven, and tlicre my God I find." 

They joy before Him — and this also reminds us of the medium 
of this joy ; not indeed exclusively, but pre-eminetly so. It is 
connected with the worship and ordinances of God. And the 
allusion is to the three annual solemnities of the Jews when they 
went to appear before the Lord in Zion. For there he was con- 
sidered as residing. There was his house — his table — his attend- 
ants. This, said he, is my rest for ever ; here will I dwell, for I 
have desired it. Hence, says David, when shall I come, and ap- 
pear before God ? These services were called feasts. There were 
songs to be sung in the way to them. The people went with the 
voice of joy and gladness to keep holy day. And when they 
arrived, they were required " to rejoice before him." Is God less 
present in our assemblies, than in those of the Jews ? Has he not 
said, " In all places v.iiere I record my name, I will come unto 
thee, and I will bless thee ?" And many can set to their seal that 
God is true. They know he is there, waiting to be gracious, and 
exalted to have mercy. They have found him there, and con- 
versed with him, as a man talketh with his friend. Thc)^ have 
seen his power, and his glory, in the Sanctuary, and have there 
tasted that the Lord is gracious. Hence they hail the Sabbath, 
as the day of holy convocation, with delight. They are glad 
when the summons comes, to go into the house of the Lord. 
They come before his presence with thanksgi\ings ; and as they 
approach their pleasant things, can say — 

" Th-? sorrows of the r.!ind, I " Religion never was designed 

" Be banished from V.ns place : | "To make our pleasure less." 

Yes, they who mourn ; and are there comforted — they who 
come burdened with guilt ; and are there set free — they who 
come in the midst of trouble, and find him in his palaces for a 
refuge — they vvho come cold and languid, and are quickened ac- 
cording to his word : these know the truth of his promise, " I 
will bring them to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in 



13C SEPTEMBER 11. 

my liGi.rie of prayer." And they know the meaning of the decla- 
ration. "They joy before thee." 

" Though pinched with poverty at home ; 

" With .sharp alHictious daily fed : 
" It makes amends, if t!iey can come 

" To God's own house lor heavenly bread. 

"With joy they hasten to tlie place 

" Where they their Savior oft ha\ e met ; 
" And while they feast upon his grace, 

" Tiicir burdens and their griefs forget." 



Skptember 11. — "They joy before Thee, according to the joy in har 
vest." — Isaiah, ix, 3. 

They joy before Him — according to the joy of harvest. And 
what is this joy ? 

It is a joy connected with exertion. Reaping is no easy thing. 
But this is not alL There is manuring, and ploughing, and sow- 
ing, and harrowing, and weeding. All these are previously ne- 
cessary to the joy of harvest. The husbandman does not eat the 
bread of idleness. His labor fills his hands. Every season has 
demands upon him : and the end of one work is the beginning of 
another. Indeed, nothing valuable is to be obtained without dili- 
gence and difficulty : yea, it would not be valuable, or prized, if 
it were acquired priceless and painless. And are not we to exer- 
cise ourselves unto godliness ? And is it nothing to worship God 
in Spirit and in truth ? And to watch in all things ? And to pray 
without ceasing ? And to keep the heart with all diligence ? " But 
the grace of God does all this for us." It does. But it is equally 
true, that it does all this by us, too. God does not believe and 
repent ; but enables us to believe and repent. We run the race 
that is set before us, and fight the good fight of faith — though in 
Him is all our help found. 

This joy requires patience. The husbandman soweth in hope ; 
but the accomplishment is future. Weeks and months, and many 
dreary weeks and months, intervene, before his wishes can be 
fulfilled. Yet he is not foolish enough to suppose, that he has 
labored in vain, because he cannot reap as soon as he has sown : 
or childishly eager enough to cut do\Mi the grain green, to hasten 
the harvest."^ But what does he ? " The husbandman Avaiteth for 
the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until 
he receive the early and latter rain." And so Abraham, after he 
had patiently endured, received the promise. Christians, also, a?-c 
required to wait. And let them remember that in due time they 
sjiall reap, if they faint not. And they have not long to wait. 
Their salvation is nearer tlian when they believed. Yet a little 
while — a few more rising and descending suns, and it shall be 
said, " Put ye in the sickle ; for the harvest is ripe." In the mean 
time the process is hourly advancing to maturity ; and the end 
shall prove that every thing is most beautiful and most profitable 
in its season. " It is good for a man both to hope, and quietly 
wait for the salvation of the Lord." 

This joy is not free from anxieties. When the seed is first 



SEPTEMBER 11. 131 

thrown into the ground, it seems lost ; and when it revives from a 
kind of death, and springs up, it has to encounter the frosts of 
winter, the changing and blights of spring, the lengthened dry- 
ness or Avetness of summer. And when the period has arrived 
for securing the precious treasure, solicitude is more alive and 
alert. The husbandman often rises, and looks at the sky. Ten 
times in the day he examines the glass. He goes about with u 
heavy heart, and a depressed countenance, and often forebodes the 
worst ; and it is not till he has safely housed the whole, that he 
can give up himself to satisfaction and delight. But how will 
this apply to Christians ? Is there any thing precarious in the 
purpose and promise of God ? No. But it is otherwise with their 
apprehensions. Their eternal prospects awaken all their concern ; 
and they have a thousand doubts and fears concerning their safety 
and success. Am I an heir ? Is this repentance toward God. and 
faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ 7 Can these wandering 
thoughts and imperfect desires be prayer? What if, after all, 1 
should fail of the grace of God, and come short of the glory to be 
revealed ? 

But this joy is great. Vv'hen the harvest is come, every face 
betrays pleasure. The very toil seems delight. Tliey that pass 
by say, " We bless you in the name of the Lord." " He that 
soweth, and he that reapeth, now rejoice together." Pennant tells 
us, in his Travels, that in parts of Scotland he sometimes saw 
large numbers reaping to the sound of a musician behind them, 
playing on the bagpipe, and thus enlivening the scene, and soften- 
ing the work. And David says, " They that sow in tears shall 
reap in joy," or, as it is in the margin, reap singing. And he 
adds, " He that goeth forth, weeping, bearing precious seed, shall, 
doubtless, return again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with 
him." And who has not heard the shoutings of the rustics, as 
the last loaded wain returned from the field, covered with green 
boughs ? And who has not witnessed the rude mirth of harvest- 
home ? But if •• the poor laborers sing," think of the owner ! Now 
his anxieties are dispelled ! now his patience is revrarded ! now 
his exertion and expense are abundantly repaid — his garner is 
full, affording all manner of store ; and he hails, in his possession, 
the means of indulgence, improvement and wealth ! Yet, what is 
this joy, compared with the Christian's ! The one is for the body ; 
and the other for the soul. One is for time ; the .other is for eter- 
nity. One is common to the wicked and therighteous ; the other 
is peculiar to the subjects of divine grace. The one may gender 
intemperance and sin ; the other sanctifies, while it contents. 

Let me learn, then, to improve the works of creation to pious 
purposes ; and make nature a handmaid to grace. 

And let me be thankful for the harvest with which we have so 
recently been favored. He has again " prepared of his goodness 
for the poor." All, indeed, are concerned. " The king is served 
by the labor of the field :" but kings have many ways of living 
that poor people have not. We do not think of palaces or mansions, 
so much as of the dwellings of the poor, vrhen we view the waving 
fields. He has not only given us plenty, but afforded us the ap 



132 SEPTEMBER 12. 

poiiiled weeks of liarvcst. '• O that men would praiso the Lord 
for his goodness, and lor his wonderful works to the children of 
men ! For he satisfieth the longing soul, and hlleth the hungry- 
soul with goodness." 

Yet man iiveth not b}' bread alone, but by every word that pro- 
ceedeth out of the mouth of God. Let me therefore labor not 
for the meat that perisheth, but for that meat which endiu'cth 
unto everlasting life. All spiritual blessings, in heavenly places, 
are provided and presented. But the season for securing them is 
limited, short, and uncertain. Now is the accepted time; now is 
the day of salvation. And how many, in consequence of neglect, 
have exclaimed, at a dying hour — The harvest is past ; the 

SUMMER 13 ENDED — AND WE ARE NOT SAVED ! 



September 12. — "Yea, he loved the people." — Deuteronomy, xxxiii, 3. 

There can be no doubt of this, with regard to Israel, They 
were often reminded of it, and as often told why he set his love 
upon them. The reason was not their greatness ; for they M'ere 
the fewest of all people. Nor their goodness; for they were a 
stiff-necked people ; but because the Lord had a favor toward 
them. Hence he chose them, and redeemed them, and provided for 
them, and distniguished them by miracles and privileges. " To 
them pertained the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, 
and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the pro- 
mises." " He dealt not so with any nation." 

But has he less appeared to thee, O Christian ! saying, Yea. I 
liave loved thee with an everlasting love, and with loving-kind- 
ness have I drawn thee 7 Here is the source of your salvation. 
However wide, and however far it flows, here the river rises ; 
and take what stream of it you please, it will lead you up to this 
spring-head, the free and undeserved favor of God. ''Yea, he 
loved the people." 

But his love to his people, so to speak, is of three kinds. 

— A love of benecolencc — which consists in wishing and design- 
ing them good. 

— A love of beneficence — consisting in doing them good. This 
appears in a thousand instances. But the principal one of all is, 
his remembering them in their low esttte, and sending his only 
begotten Son info the world, that they might live through liim. 
Herein, therefore, says the apostle John, is love; not that we 
loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propi- 
tiation for our sins. It was necessary to find a way in which his 
goodness could reach us, consistently ^vith his nature as a holy 
Being, his claims as a lawgiver, and his honor as a governor. 
And this medium of our salvation does not, therefore, detract 
from the original of it ; for if he required a sacrifice, he furnished 
one, and it was the Lrnub of Gael. And therefore, the apostle says, 
Being justified //■?<?/?/ by his grace, through the redemption which 
is in Christ Jesus. 

— A love of complacency. The love of benevolence, and the 
love of beneficence, regarded them as unworthy and a3;niserable : 
but the love of complacency regards them as new crec?.ures. He 



SEPTEMBER 13. 133 

cannot Uike pleasure in them while they are destitute of his image, 
and enemies to him by wicked works. What fellowship hath 
righteousness whh unrighteousness ? And what communion hath 
light with darkness? But he prepares them for his deligliting in 
them, and holding intercourse with them. He saves them by the 
washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. 
Then he lakes'^pleasure in them that fear him. in them that hope 
in his mercv. Does a man take pleasure in his inheritance ? In 
the wife of'his bosom ? In the children of his affection ? In the 
work of his hands ? They are all this, and more than all. to the 
God of all grace. He puts their tears into his bottle— Are they 
not in his book ? Their prayer is his delight. Their alms are 
the odour of a sweet smell. He corresponds with them. Visits 
them. Takes up his abode with them. He rejoices over them 
with joy. He rests in his love. He joys over them with singing. 

What can I wish for more ? Suppose men reproach 1- Since I 
have been precious in his sight, I have been honorable ; and he 
has loved me. Let them curse ; but bless Thou. One smile of 
thine is better than life ; and v.ill more than balance a miiverse of 
frowns. 

Let my portion, and the portion of mine, be— •• The good will of 
Him that dwelt in the bush."' 



September 13. — "And he said, Lord God, whereby shal! I Iniow that I 
ehall ixiherit it ?" — Gen. xv, 8. 

Why had not God that very moment promised it ? And was not 
his word sufficient ? They, surely, have never made the trial, who 
imagine that it is an easy thing to believe. To confide in a Being 
invisible, and whom we have so deeph* offended, and to hang our 
everlasting hope upon his naked truth, requires the exertion of 
the power that raised up Christ from the dead. Who never feels 
in him the working of an evil heart of unbelief ? Our Lord up- 
braided his own Apostles with their unbelief. And even the father 
of the faithful deserves something more than God's engagement 
to give him the land of Canaan — Whereby shall I knov.- that I 
shall inherit it ? 

Yet God pardoned his servant in this thing: and stooped to his 
weakness ; and yielded him what he required. And Abraham was 
satisfied with the sign and the seal. 

There is a better country, even aheavenl}". The possession of it 
is an object worthy of all our concern. And they who love it, and 
seek it supremely, cannot leave their claim undecided and uncer- 
tain : and therefore their language will be, •' say tmto my soul, I 
am thy salvation ;" " Give me a token for good :-' " AMiereby shall 
I know that I shall inherit it ?" Why you have the promise of 
God, who cannot lie ! Yes : and this infallibly insures it, to all 
those to whom it belongs — But who are tlie heirs of promise ? 
Away with dreams, and visions, and sounds in the air, and im- 
pulses, and accidental occurrences of passages of Scripture. We 
have surer evidence. AVe liave unerring nroofs. furnished by God 



134 SEPTEMBER 14. 

himself. Searcli his word with diligence and prayer. Tiiere you 
will find, not the names, indeed, of the heirs of eternal life, but 
their characters — their qualities — their taste — their choice — ^'their 
way — their aim. 

Let me fix on one of these vouchers, only — It is a preparation 
for it. Where this is found, the title can never be absent. The 
apostle therefore gives " thanks to the Father, who hath made us 
meet to partake of the inheritance of the saints in light."' In 
another place he says, " He hath wrought us for the self same 
thing." And he does nothing in vain. If he has, by the agency 
of his Holy Spirit, fitted you in the temper of your soul, for the 
word z\ glory, you may be assured that he designs you for it. 
If you bear the image of the heavenly, you will partake of their 
condition. If you have the dawn of tiiat blessed state, you will 
have the day. Grace is of the same nature witli glory — they dif- 
fer only in the degree. Is heaven not only tlie high but the holy 
place in which entereth nothing that defileth ? And do you hun 
ger and thirst after righteousness '? Toes the blessedness consist 
in adoring the Lamb tliat was slain ; and in being like him ; and 
in seeing him as he is ? And are you now glorying only in his 
cross ; and following him in tlie regeneration ; and praying that 
you may know him in the power of his resurrection, and the fel- 
lowship of his sufferings? Will the distinctions in life, now al 
lowable and necessary, be done away ; and only tliose remain 
which arise from character ? And are you valuing persons, not 
according to their outward circumstances, but their real, their 
moral, their spiritual wortli ? As no inquiry v/ill be made there, 
where we have worshipped, but how ; nor to what denomination 
we pertained, but whether we were Jews inwardly — can you now 
pra)^, from the heart, " Grace he with all them that love our Lord 
.Tesus Christ in sincerity ?" Can you now say, " Whosoever shall 
do the will of my Father who is in heaven, the same is my brother, 
and sister, and mother ?" Then heaven is already begun ; and 
therefore insured ; for we are confident of this very thing, that he 
which hath begun a good work in you, will perform it until the 
day of Jesus Christ. If you can take the representations of the 
employments and enjoyments of heaven given us in the Scripture, 
and can desire these things, and hope for these things, and find 
your liberty and happiness in them, you have the earnest of the 
inheritance, and are sealed by the Holy Spirit of God, unto the 
day of redemption. Let me not, then, O my soul ! be faithless 
but believing; and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 

' When I can read my title clear I " I bid farewell to every fear, 

" To mansions in the skies, | " And wipe my weeping eyes." 



September 14. — " Lean not unto thine own understanding." — Prov. iii, 5. 
The understanding is a natural faculty, by which man is distin- 
guished from inanimate creatures, and also from the animal 
world. The sun, the moon, the sea, and rivers, are impressed by 
laws, of which they know nothing; and follow their destiny, 
wholly unconscious of the operations they perform. The beasts 
of the field, and the fowls of the air, have an instinct which often 



SEPTEMBER 14. 135 

surprises us. But, while it is exact as far as it goes, it is exceed- 
ingly limited; it admits of no variety or progression. These 
beings are no wiser now than when they went to Noah for shelter, 
and to Adam for names — But there is a spirit in man ; and the 
inspiration of the Almighty giveth him understanding. 13y means 
of this endowment, he can look backward and forward. He can 
examine and judge. He can survey principles in their abstrac- 
tion; and duties in their circumstances; and actions in their 
moral bearings. He can refuse the evil, and choose the good 
against present feelings, and imposing appearances. 

This faculty, from the lowest degree of reason to the highest 
reach of intellect, is the gift of God, the Father of lights ; and 
should be cultivated by us, as men and as Christians. We should 
rejoice tnat we live in a country and in an age so favorable to all 
kinds of information. It is a sad reproach to many, that in the 
midst of knowledge they are found so ignorant as they are — it 
must be the result of dissipation or sloth. 

But though we are to prize, and improve, and make use of our 
understanding, we are not to lean to it. Yet, if we were not prone 
to this, the caution would be needless. There is nothing of which 
men are so proud as their knowledge. There are more than a 
few who would rather be charged with a want of principle than a 
want of understanding ; and would rather pass for knaves than 
fools. This regard seems, indeed, to be a kind of equalizer of the 
human race : and the only thing with which all are satisfied, and 
in which they feel an ineffable complacency, is their own under- 
standing. They lean to their own understanding in preference to 
the understanding of others ; whom yet, if asked, they would con- 
sider as very superior to themselves, both in capacity and experi- 
ence. They may, indeed, consult with an adviser ; but it is in 
hope of finding a confirmation of their own opinion : and should 
his judgment differ from theirs, they would feel little difficulty in 
resolving by which to abide. We frequently see this in those who 
are just entering the world, and so much need a guide to escape 
those early mistakes that may affect the whole of their future life. 
Whatev^er quickness of perception they may possess, they surely 
must be destitute of that practical wisdom that grows out of ob- 
servation and trial — Yet, how little do " the younger submit them- 
selves to the elder !" Men carry this disposition even into the 
things of God. They regard their own reason more than his 
word ; and are reluctant to believe what they cannot comprehend. 
We are told that Alphonsus the royal astronomer, having appre- 
hended some seeming irregularities among the heavenly bodies, 
was daring enough to say, " Had I been by the Creator when lie 
made the world, I would have given him some good advice." We 
justly shudder at his profaneness— and yet, who has not fallen 
into a snnilar error? Who has not found" fault with God, in his 
manner of governing the world, the church, the family, the indi- 
vidual ! Who has not been ready to direct the Spirit of the Lord ; 
and, being his counseller, to teach him ? 

To preserve us from this tendency, let us remember how limited 
our own understanding is ; how manv objects there are entirely 

Vol. II. 18 



156 SEPTEMBER 14. 

beyond its reach; and that there is nothing with which it is per- 
fectly acquainted. Let us also reflect, how much we are impressed 
by appearances ; and how different these often are from the reali- 
ties of things. " Who knoweth what is good for a man in this 
life ; and the days of his vain hfe, which he spendeth as a shadow? 
What should we be at this hour, if things had always been according 
to our mind and v/ishes ? Let us look back, and see how frequent- 
ly we have erred, both in our hopes and fears. W^e now clearly see, 
that what we so eagerly desired would have proved our injury or 
ruin ; and that what we are so anxious to escape has conduced to 
our best welfare : so that we can say, " It is good for me that I 
have been afflicted."' 

We are very incompetent to judge for ourselves, because we 
know not the influence other and untried events will exert upon 
us. To these, we go forward with our present views and feelings, 
not aware that new scenes will produce new views and feelings ; 
and we may unfold secrets in our character of which we have no 
conceptions, and which may fill us, not only with surprise, but 
dismay. Thus, when Elisha predicted with tears, the atrocities 
he would commit, Hazael shuddered at the thought, and sincerely- 
exclaimed, " What ! is thy servant a dog, that he should do this 
thing ?" the man of God only answered, " The Lord hath showed 
me that thou slialt be king over Syria," and his elevation trans- 
formed him from the man into the monster which he had execra- 
ted! And if by leaning to our own understanding, we take one 
wrong step, what consequences, immediate or remote, personal or 
relative, may arise from it ! See this in David. I shall now perish, 
said he, one day, by the hand of Saul : "there is nothing better 
for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the 
Philistines." The oracle, had he consulted it, would not have 
told him so. In truth, it was the worst measure he could have 
devised, as it tended to alienate the affections of his countrymen, 
to justify the reproaches of his enemies, to deprive himself of the 
means of grace, to put himself out of the Divine protection, and to 
lay him under obligations to a benefactor he could not oblige, with- 
out betraying the cause of God. Accordingly, he was soon drawn 
into a scandalous equivocation with Achish, and was ordered to 
go and fight against his own people Israel. And when he was 
released from this embarrassment, and went back, he found that, 
in his absence, his residence and property had been destroyed, and 
his family been carried away captives. " OLord, 1 know that tlie 
way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to 
direct his steps." Lot leaned to his own understanding, and chose 
the landvaleof Sodom, which was well-watered like the Garden of 
the Lord. By this movement, he separated himself from inter- 
course with his pious uncle. He was taken captive by the con- 
federate kings. He was strangely induced to reside in tlie town 
itself; and dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed 
his righteous soul from day to day. with their unlawful deeds. At 
length, he was burnt out of house and home. His Avife, for look- 
ing back, became a pillar of salt ; so that he never after could go 
or look that way. His daughters damned by the vices of the 



SEPTEMBER 15. 137 

place— But we dare not go on— Trust in the Lord with all thine 
heart— Lean not to thy own understanding— In all thy ways 
acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. 

Septkmber 15. — "Lord, what wilt thou have me do?" — Acts, ix, 6. 

This is a very marvellous question, considering from whom it 
came. For the inquirer, till now, had hated the Name of Jesus : 
and was at this very time actually engaged in the persecution of 
his followers. What would he have thought, if some one could 
have told him, that in a few hours, in a few moments, he would 
be a worshipper at the feet of the Nazarene ! But so it was : 
and he, trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what wilt thou have 
me to do ? 

Let us never despair. The chief of sinners are within his 
reach. He has a mighty arm ; strong is his hand, and high is his 
right hand. What changes has his grace already accomplished ; 
and what changes must it accomplish still, if the promise be ful- 
filled, " Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead 
of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree ; and it shall be to the 
Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign, that shall not be cut off." 
But let us make this inquiry our own. It is every way worthy 
of our adoption. 

It is personal in its aim — Lord, what wilt thou have we to do ? 
Many seem more anxious to reprove others, than to know their 
own faults; and are busily employed in pulling the mote out of 
their brother's eye, while a beam is in their own. Some are always 
reading and hearing for others. And we have known persons ap- 
plying, in a sermon, to some fellow-w^orshipper, things, every one 
else in the assembly would deem most proper for themselves. 
But w^e should think of ourselves in divine things ; and bring 
home every truth to our business and bosoms, whether it en- 
courages or censures — praying. Search -ma, O God, and know ray 
heart ; try me, and know my thoughts ; and see if there be any 
evil way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. When our 
Lord had informed Peter of his duty and destiny, Peter saw John 
coming toward him, and asked, Lord, and what shall iArs man do? 
But our Savior said. What is that to thee ? follow thou me. 

It is practical in its subject — What w^ilt thou have me to do? — 
Not to know, to hear, to believe, to talk of. Religion, indeed, ex- 
tends to every thing : but every thing is not essential to it. But 
practice is. If ye know these things, happy are ye if you do 
them. Faith without works, is dead, being alone. Though a man 
say, he hath faith, and hath not w^orks ; can faith save him ? Eve- 
ry part of the truth, as it is in Jesus, has a bearing upon the heart, 
and the life, of the receiver ; and is according to godliness. 

It is impartial in its desire — Lord, lohat wilt thou have me to 
do ? I do not prescribe. I do not select. I do not prefer. Thy 
pleasure, alone, I ask to know^, and am resolved to follow — 
Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth. True obedience is com- 
patible with defects ; but not with partialities. If a man regards 
some things, and not others, in religion; those he regards, he 
regards from some other motive than the will of God : for this 



138 SEPTEMBER 16. 

would lead him to regard the one as well as the otlier -, seeing 
they are all enjoined by the very same authority. He that offends 
in one point, is guilty of all ; not m the act, but in the principle 
i. e. he violates the authority of the whole. For he that saith, For- 
sake not the assembling of yourselves together, said also, Enter 
into thy closet. If, tlierefore, you engage in public worship, and 
never retire for devotion, you are an offender. He that said. Do 
not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill : now if thou commit 
no adultery, yet, if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of 
the law. We never can truly obey, therefore, unless we can say, 
with David, I esteem ail thy commandments concerning all things 
to be right ; and I hate every false way. 



September 1G. — " Lord what wilt thou have me to do ?" — Acts, ix, 6. 

Before we yield ourselves to any one, we should have full con- 
iidence in him ; and the confidence should be founded on know- 
hidge. To no fellow creature can we wholly resign ourselves, 
either of right or with safety; for as he has no title to us, so we 
know not what his depravity may require of us. We owe duties 
to our fellow creatures ; and to many of them ^ve must say, W^hat 
wilt thou have me to do ? Yet we must obey them only "in the 
Lord." But his authority is supreme. He has infinite claims to 
my implicit homage. 

Five principles demand and more than justify the absolute 
surrender of myself to Him — saying, Lord, what wilt thou have 
me to do 1 

First. The righteousness and excellency of his requirements. 
Each of his prohibitions only says, Do thyself no harm. Each of 
his injunctions is an order to be wise, and rich, and noble, and 
happy. While following him, my understanding never blushes 5 
my conscience never reproaches me. I can give a reason for my 
obedience, as well as my hope. His will is always a reasonable 
service — His work is honorable and glorious. 

Secondly. The relations in which he stands to his people. He 
is their Husband — He is their Father— He is their Master — He is 
their Sovereign — He is their Maker — from whom they have de- 
rived all they have and are. And surely, in each of these, it be- 
comes them to ask, " Lord, what wilt tlwu have me to do ?" 

Thirdly. His greatness. This is unsearchable. He is Lord of 
all. All the angels of God worship him. All things were cre- 
ated by him, and for him : and he is before all things ; and by 
liim all things consist. His greatness is necessary to the illustra- 
tion of his goodness, and crowns it with glory and honor. What 
condescension is there, where there is no dignity ? But he was in 
the form of God, and took upon him the form of a servant— there 
was the stoop ! He was rich, and for our sakes, became poor. 
There was the grace ! Greatness alone produces, not attachment, 
but dread and aversion. But, while he has all power in heaven 
and in earth, he is full of grace and truth— 

"Jlis heart is made of tenderness; | " His bowels melt with love." 



SEPTEMBER 16. 139 

Therefore, fourthly, the obligations he has laid us under by his 
kindness. What are the obligations any of our fellow creatures 
have laid us under ? What have they done for us ? suffered for 
us ? How few, how inconsiderable, how unexpensive, how unat- 
tended with any thing like sacrifice and self-denial, have their 
acts of favor been ! But he, without our desert, and against the 
greatest demerit, remembered us in our low estate ; and, in his 
love and pity, redeemed us. And how ? He was made a curse 
for us. He bore our sins in his own body on the tree. By his 
Etripes we are healed. Where does he stand ? how does he ap 
pear ? when he says, " My son, give me thy heart V 

'* See from his head, his hands, his feet, I " Did e'er such love and sorrow meet, 
" Sorrow and love flow uiingled down; | *' Or thorns compose so rich a crown ?" 

And can we wonder at the result ? 

<' Were the whole reabn of nature mine, I " Love so amazing, so divine, 

" That were a present far too small j j " Demands my soul, my life, ray all." 

No legal process ever produced this surrender. The display of 
terror and mere authority never made one cordial convert to any 
cause. Would you be induced to love another, by his command- 
ing you to do so, and threatening you, if you' do not ? No ; but 
by a display of love— love begets love. And we love Him, be- 
cause he first loved us— at the Cross we are effectually wooed and 
won— there we are drawn, and there we are bound with cords of 
a man and the bands of love. 

Lastly. His engagement to reward our devotedness to hira. 
Christians are not mercenary : but they cannot serve him for 
nought. The recompense must be of grace, and not of works— 
so much the better is it for their hope : for if it is to be measured 
and judged of now, not accarding to their doings, but his own 
abundant mercy, which is to be displayed in it. Hence will he 
say at last, with regard to those poor performances over which 
they have blushed and wept, " Well done, good and faithful ser- 
vant ; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." But he is not un- 
righteous to forget their work of faith and labor of love, now. 
In keeping his commandments, there is great reward, 'oreat 
peace have they that love his law ; and nothing shall offend them. 
He is the best of masters. He furnishes them with ability for 
their work. He lays no more upon his servants than he enables 
them to bear. He will comfort them in affliction. He will not 
east them off in old age. He will remember the kindness of their 
youth. When heart and flesh fail, he M-ill be the strength of their 
heart, and their portion for ever. And at death, receive them to 
himself : that where he is, there they may be also. Sinners talk 
of the pleasures of sin ; but they never commend them at last. 
The people of the world boast of its amusements and delights * 
but they never speak well of it at parting. In everv season, in 
every condition, however trying, the Christian can "say, Thou 
hast dealt well with thy servant, O Lord. 

" Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed the^e. 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 child ren for 



140 SEPTEMBER 17. 

the kingdom of God's sake, who shall not receive manifold more 
in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting." 



September 17. — " Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them go thon 
to the sea, and cast a hoolc, and take up the fish that first cometh up ; and 
when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money : that 
take, and give unto them for me and thee." — Matthew, xvii, U7. 

In the midst of this supernatural scene, a sanction is thus given 
by our Savior to the use of means. The supply was, in its source, 
preparation, and announcement, miraculous ; yet Peter, who is 
to receive it as a favor, is to procure it by his instrumentality. 
The peculiar nature of the instance only renders it the more con- 
clusive ; for if our Lord would not dispense with the use of means 
in an extraordinary case, surely he will not dispense with it in an 
ordinary one. Some good, but not very wise people, seem to 
think that instrumentality detracts from the divine glory ; and 
that God is honored more by acting iw-mediately. But instru- 
mentality supposes and requires agency ; and the means them- 
selves are always the Lord's own, and he gives them their success. 
His producing an effect by various concurrences and co-operations, 
displays more of his perfections, and gives more opportunity to ob- 
serve them, than his causing a result by an instant volition. 

Here was something which Peter could do, and something which 
he could not do. He could not replenish the fish with the money, 
or make it swim in the direction of his bait ; but he could procure 
the bait, and throw in the hook, and in the most likely place ; and 
stand, and watch. Why does not the Lord dispense with all this^ 
and cause the fish to spring on shore, and appear at once upon 
Peter's table? Because he would not sanction indolence. Be- 
cause he would render even his miracles moral, as vrell as marvel- 
lous. Because his exertions were not a mere parade of power, 
but a display of wisdom and goodness— meeting indigence, re- 
lieving weakness, confirming faith : but not encouraging folly 
and presmnption— teaching us to trust— but forbidding us to 
tempt him. 

In like manner, there is always something which we cannot do ; 
and something which we can do— but the evil is, that we com- 
monly derive from the former, excuses for our neglect of the 
latter ; and so God's agency becomes a reason for our inactivity, 
instead of exciting our diligence— perfectly contrary to the mean- 
ing of the apostle, when he says, " AVork out your salvation with 
fear and trembling, for it is God which workcth in 3^ou to will 
and to do of his good pleasure." In natural things we are v/iscr. 
Can the husbandman produce an ear of corn ? He knows it is 
perfectly impossible. But he can manure, and plough, and sov.- ; 
and in the use of these he expects the divine efliciency — but neve?^ 
in the neglect of them. No man can quicken his own soul. But 
there are means which are designed and adapted to serve us ; and 
we can pray, " Come, thou north Avind, and blow, thou south." 
It is thus that religion possesses the evidence of analogy ; and in 
the God of grace we see the God of nature. He feeds the fowls 



SEPTEMBER 18. 141 

01 the air, not by putting it into their mouths, but by furnishing 
provision ; and giving them wings, and eyes, and feet, and beaks, 
to find and make it their own — " That thou givest them, they 
gather." And thics "he satisfies the desire of every living 
thing." He could warm us without the fire, and sustain us without 
food — but we know what would be the consequence were we to 
disregard these, under a notion of honoring him by a dependence 
on his agency. 

Though the effect here was beyond the means, yet there was 
an adaptation in them. Peter was a fisherman ; and he is em- 
ployed in his own line • and his fishing was not only the condition 
of the result, but the medium — and comluced to it. And in gene- 
ral we may observe, that while the insufficiency of the means 
serves to display the power of God, the suitableness of them 
shows his wisdom. And such a suitableness there is. A pen 
cannot write, without a hand to use it ; yet there is an adaptation 
in the instrument to the work, which is not the case with a ham- 
mer. Some seem to use the means of grace only as tests of their 
submission to the divine appointment — not as things which have 
a real tendency even in themselves to do them good. They ex- 
pect the divine blessing in them, but not by them— ?. e. not as an 
effect resulting from them under the divine influence — as if, in 
the use of them, they were planting and watering pebbles, which 
by an almighty exertion, could be made to yield produce — instead 
of using them as a man sows wheat, and looks for wheat to arise 
from it — not without God, but by God, in his own way. Faith 
Cometh by hearing ; and hearing tends to produce it, by informing 
and convincing the mind. The same may be said of a religious 
education, in forming the moral and pious ^character of the child. 

Peter did well not to disobey, or reason, but to follow implicitly 
the divine order; fully expecting success. And he was not— 
could not be— disappointed. And thus let us act without mur- 
muring or disputing. Let us use the means which he has pre- 
scribed, not only swayed by his authority, but relying on his pro- 
mise—that none of those that wait for him shall be ashamed. 



Septf.mbfr is.— "I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit v.hereiu 
is no water."— Zech. ix, 11. 

Persons may be prisoners, as felons, as robbers, as dcibtors, as 
captives taken in war. The character^ of the subjects of divine 
grace, by nature, involved all these. 

A pit wherein there is no water, is a situation expressive of 
destitution, wretchedness, and danger. There the victim has no 
thing to reheve his wants; nothing to quench his raging thirst. 
He cannot live in it ; he cannot escape from it— he is ready to 
perish. Such was Joseph's pit, and Jeremiah's dungeon. In such 
a condition the Lord finds his people. 

But he does not leave them there. He always produces a change 
in their favor. If they are in darkness he calls them into his 
marvellous light. If they are far off, he brings them nigh. If 
they are prisoners in a pit wherein there is no water— he sends 



142 SEPTEMBER 19. 

them out of it. In his love and pity he redeems them, and makes 
them free indeed. 

The work is entirely his own ; and the principle cannot be 
mistaken. How mnvorihy were they of his notice ! How great 
the evil from which they have been rescued ! How infinite the 
blessedness resulting from it. And after such a deliverance as 
this, shall they again break his commandments ? A soul redeem- 
ed, demands a life of praise. Let my people go, that they may 
serve me. What has he sent them out of their bondage to do ? 
but to go and tell sinners such as they themselves once were, that 
with the Lord there is mercy, and Mith him plenteous redemption ! 
but to show forth his praise ; and acknowledge by the grace of 
Cod they are what they are ? but to walk in newness of life : to 
run in the way of his commandments : to return and come to 
Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads ? 

And can this be a task? Did Zechariah think so when he sung 
and prayed — " That he would grant unto us, that we being deliver- 
ed out of the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear ; 
in holiness, and righteousness before him all the days of our lives?" 



September 19. — " Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord." 

Hosea, vi, 3. 

"Whether we consider these words as an excitation and an en- 
couragement addressed by the godly to each other, or to their own 
souls, they remind us of an important aim ; a necessary duty ; 
and an assured privilege. 

— The aim is " to know the Lord." For the soul to be without 
knowledge it is not good. All the operations of the Spirit are begun 
and carried on in the renewing of the mind, rsothing can be 
moral or religious in our dispositions and actions, that is not 
founded in knowledge ; because it must be destitute of principle 
and motive ; and the Lord looketh at the heart. Real repentance 
must arise from proper views of the evil of sin, in connexion with 
the cross of Christ — "They shall look upon him w^hom they 
pierced, and shall mourn for him." Even faith is impossible, 
without knowledge — " For how can they believe in him of whom 
they have not heard?" But what says the Savior? " This is 
life eternal, that they know Thee, the only true God ; and Jesus 
Christ, whom thou hast sent." This declaration not only decides 
the importance of this knowledge, but also the nature of it. It is 
not a philosophical knowledge of God, as an almighty being, the 
maker and upholder of all things ; or even a knowledge of him 
as holy in all his ways, and righteous in all his works. Such 
vieMS of him alone, must, on the mind of a sinner, gender dread 
and aversion. The grand thing in the restoration of a fallen and 
guilty creature, is to know that he is reconcilable ; that he is wil- 
ling, even now, to become our friend ; and has already given un- 
deniable proof that he is waiting to be gracious, and is exalted to 
have mercy upon him. And all this is only to be seen in the 
Only Begotten of the Father, who has declared him. God in na- 
ture, is God above me : God in providence, is God beyond me ; 



SEPTEMBER 19. 143 

God in law, is God against me ; but God in Christ, is God for me, 
and with me. Neither is this knowledge of him, a merely specu- 
lative acquaintance with him ; such as men may possess, who be- 
hold, and wonder, and perish. There is a great ditference between 
the decisions of the judgment, and the bias of the will ; between 
the convictions of the conscience, and the submission and acqui- 
escence of the heart—'- With the heart man beheveth unto right- 
eousness''—" I v.ill give them a heart to know me"—" He hath 
shined in our heart, to give us the light of the knowledge of the 
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." 

Connected with this there is a necessary duty. It is " to follow 
on" to know the Lord. 

—This takes in the practice of v/hat we already know. To 
what purpose would it be for God to afford light to be neglected? 
It would only increase their sin and their condemaiation. " Who- 
soever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abun- 
dance ; but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away 
even that he hath." And we see this constantly exemphfied, 
\Vlien men love not to retain God in their knowledge, it is their 
interest to see things less clearly ; and so they part with one 
truth after another, as it becomes troublesome; till God gives 
them up to strong delusion to believe a lie. While those who do 
his will, know of the doctrine : advancing toward the light, they 
get more into its shining ; and as far as they have already°attained, 
walking by the same rule, and minding the same thing, if in any 
thmg else they be otherwise minded, God reveals even this unto 
them, 

—It also includes diligence in the use of appointed means : such 
as reading the scriptures, and hearing the word preached, and 
meditation, and " walking v/ith wise men," and above all, prayer 
to the Father of lights, according to the promise, " If any of you 
lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally 
and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." "If thou criest 
after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding ; if 
thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid trea- 
sures ; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Loi-d. and find 
the knowledge of God." 

—It must also mean perseverance in this course. " Blessed is 
the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at 
the posts of my doors." Here is not only watching, but waitmg. 
Some run well; and are hindered. But we are to run vvith pa- 
tience the race that is set before us ; and by patient continuance 
in well domg, to seek for glory, honor, and immortality. 

—Nor shall this be in rahu " Then shall we know, if v/e follow 
on to know the Lord." The privilege is as sure as the word of 
God, confirmed by his faithfulness, and all history, and all expe- 
rience, can make it. And if probability will actuate a man to 
engage in an enterprise, and continue in a series of exertions and 
sacrifices, how much more should actual certaintv ! Let there- 
fore, this full assurance of hope excite and influence us in two cases 

The first is with regard to ourselves. The way of the Lord is 
strength tc the upright. Keep his way ; and your path shall be 

18* 



144 SEPTEMBER 20. 

as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect 
day. Your perplexities shall be solved ; your doubts removed ; 
your fears subdued. Crooked things shall be made straight, and 
rough places plain. You shall know more of liim in his word, 
providence, and grace : and more of him as the strength of your 
heart, and your portion for ever. 

The second regards others. Be not impatient if they cannot 
embrace all your religious views at once ; and are amazed at some 
parts of your experience. In grace, as well as in nature, there 
must be infancy before manhood. Though now tlieir acquaint- 
ance with divine things be small, and they only see men as trees 
walking, the Enlightener will put his hand a second time to the 
work, and they shall see clearly. If their heart be broken otT from 
sin and the world ; and they are asking the way to Zion, with 
thdr faces thitherward — they shall not err therein. " Who hath 
despised the day of small things ?" 

September 20. — " In him is no sin." — 1 John, iii, 5. 

— No sin original. David said, I was shapen in iniquity, and in 
sin did my mother conceive me. The same may be said by every 
individual of the human race. Our Savior was truly a man — But 
to secure him, in tlie participation of our nature from pollution, 
behold a new thing in the earth ! He is made only of woman ; a 
virgin conceives and bears a son ; and that holy thing which is 
born of her, is called the Son of God. His people are holy by 
renovation ; he was so by nature. Even when sanctified, they 
feel within them a conflict ; the flesh and the spirit oppose each 
other, and they cannot do the things that they would. But he 
had no warfare of this kind. He could not say, I find then a law, 
that, when I would do good, evil was present Mdth me. All 
his senses, and appetites, and passions, moved in obedience to 
reason, and in unison with the will of God. 

Hence there was in him no sin actual. In proof of this the tes- 
timony of his friends maybe deemed partial, though they had the 
best opportunities of knowing him : and they all gloried in the 
avowal, that he did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. 
But hear the multitude— He hath done all things well. Hear the 
dying thief — This man hath done nothing amiss. Hear Pilate 
who judicially examined him — I find no fault in this man: I am 
pure from the blood of that just man. Hear Judas, the domestic 
spy, after three years of intimacy with him — I have betrayed in- 
nocent blood. No one ever had more keen or malicious observers, 
especially in the Pharisees, whom he had exasperated to fury, by 
laying open their pious wickedness to the people. But he chal- 
lenged every adversary — AVhich of you convinceth me of sin ? If 
there be any tiling in us susceptible of evil influence, Satan will be 
sure to find it; for he has a bait suited to every disposition— but 
the Prince of this world came and had nothing in him. He struck 
the sparks, but there was no tinder. Events, whether prosperous 
or painful, are severe trials ; and if there be mud at the bottom, 
the waves will cast up mire and dirt — But he was in all points 
tempted like as we are, yet without sin. He was made under the 



SEPTEMBER 20. 145 

the law ; and this law is so spiritual, that the holiest of men. when 
they have compared themselves with it, have always prayed, 
Enter not into judgment with thy servant, O Lord ; for in thy 
sight no flesh living shall be justified. But even this law had 
nothing to complain of in him ; it found, in principle ajid in 
practice, all the obedience it required. And how was he viewed 
by him who is greater than the heart, and knoweth all things ! 
He always did the things that pleased the Father. 

— The fact, therefore, is undeniable. But whence this excep- 
tion ? How came this one man alone to have no sin in him, while; 
as to the myriads of the human race beside, they are all gone out 
of the way ; there is none righteous, no, not one ! It can only be 
accounted for upon the admission that he was the Lord from 
heaven ; the Holy one of God ; the Word made flesh ; the only 
begotten of the Father — full of grace and truth ; who received not 
the Spirit by measure ; in whom dwelt all the fullness of the 
Godhead bodily. 

This is not an unimportant decision. The innocency of his 
character affects the credibility of his mission and his doctrine. 
A being in whom was no sin could not have been a deceiver ; bnt 
he constantly declared that he came forth from God ; that he came 
to seek and to save that which was lost ; that he would cast out 
none that came to him. Lord, I believe, help thcu mine unbelief. 

It serves to evince the naturae of his suffering and death. He 
had no sin of his own, and therefore if he died not for the sins of 
others, he died without any reference to sin at all. And where is 
the God of judgment ? That be far from him to slay the righteous 
with the wicked. No one ever suffered under his government 
absolutely innocent ; but either as personally or relatively guilty; 
bearing his own desert, or the desert of others. But in him was 
no sin — yet he was esteemed stricken, smitten of God, and af- 
flicted. And so he was — " But he was wounded for our transgres- 
sions, he was bruised for our iniquities ; the chastisement of our 
peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed." 

But without this, he could not have been qualified for his work. 
He had immediately to approach Infinite Purity. His sacrifice 
would not have been accepted, unless he had oflTered himself with- 
out spot to God. Such a High Priest became us, who was harm- 
less, holy, undefiled, and separate from sinners, and who needed 
not to suffer for his own sins, dying only for those of others, 

— What a character is here ! others are lovely, but he is altoge- 
ther lovely. And see what humanity can become, and will be- 
come, in all his followers. For they are predestinated to be 
conformed to him. The spirits of just men will be made perfect ; 
and though they will be re-embodied, their bodies \vill have no seed 
of corruption in them : for they also will jio4, be derived, but pro- 
duced. They could not have full communion with hmi, without 
complete likeness to him— But this we know, that when he shall 
appear, we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is. '-And 
every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he 
is pure." 



146 SEPTEMBER 21. 

September 21. — ''My presence shall go with thee, and I will give the* 
rest." — Exodus, xxxiii, 14. 

This exceeding great and precious promise belongs to the Chris- 
tian, as well as to Moses. What is he authorised to expect from it ? 

My presence shall go with thee to guide ihee, and I will give 
thee rest from ferplexity. How miserable would a man be in 
travelling, if his journey were important, and yet he was igno- 
rant of the way, and every moment liable to err ! In this case 
nothing could relieve him so much as a guide who was willing 
to go with him, and able to show him the course he should always 
take. And his satisfaction would be in proportion to the confi- 
dence he reposed in the disposition and capacity of his leader. 
Nothing can equal the importance of the journey we are taking ; 
life or death, salvation or perdition, depends upon the issue ; and 
" the way of man is not in himself ; it is not in man that walketh 
to direct his steps." If left to himself, he will err at every step, 
and in the greatness of his folly go for ever astray. The Chris- 
tian feels this, and therefore prays, '• Lead me in thy truth, and 
guide me, for thou art the God of my salvation ; on thee do I -wait 
all the day." And does God disregard his cry '? •' Thus saith the 
Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I am the Lord thy 
God which teacheth thee to profit ; which leadeth thee by the 
way that thou shouldest go." This extends to doctrine, to expe- 
rience, to all his temporal concerns. He is not indeed to ]ook for 
miracles, but he is under the conduct of God : and he has given 
no promise but can be, and shall be fulfilled. When the Jews 
were marching to Canaan, they had a pathless desert to go 
through : but they were free from all perplexity, because they 
had a fiery, cloudy pillar, to regulate all their movements. We 
have the same. For " this God is our God for ever and ever : he 
will be our guide even unto death." 

My presence shall go with thee, to guard thee, and I will give 
thee rest from apprehension. A Christian has not only a pilgrim- 
age, but a warfare to accomplish. No sooner has he set his face 
Zion-ward, than he has reason to exclaim, " Lord, how are they 
increased that trouble me ! Many there be which rise up against 
me ; many there be that say of my soul. There is no help for 
him in God." And what wonder if, while without are fightings, 
within are fears? And how is he to rise above them? He knows 
that, if left to himself, he must perish long before he reaches that 
better country. But he is not alone. There is One at his right 
hand, who says, '* Abide with me; for he that seeketh thy hfe, 
seeketh my hfe ; but with me thou shalt be in safeguard. '^At 
the sound of this, his mind is relieved, his confidence rises, and 
he sings, " The Lord is my light and my salvation ; whom shall 
I fear ? The Lord is the strength of my life ! of whom shall I 
be afraid ?" 

" A Friend aud Helper so divine I " He makes the glorious vict'ry mine, 

"Does my weak courage raise; | " And his sliail bo the praise." 

My presence shall go with thee, to provide for thee, and I wiU 
give thee rest from anxiety. The manna was not to be hoarded, 



SEPTEMBER 21. 147 

but gathered daily : and we are to feel our constant dependence 
upon God for the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. And is 
this trying ? Could we wish it to be otherwise ? 

" Though in ourselves we have no stock, I " The door flies opeu when we knock, 
*' The Lord is nigh to save : • "And 'tis but ask and have." 

" They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength." " My 
grace is sufficient for thee."' What more can we desire ? When 
we have trusted in God for the soul, it migiit be imagined easy to 
trust in him for the body. But temporal things are sensible, and 
near, and pressing ; and some cases would be enough to awaken 
all their forebodings ; but he has said, " I will never leave thee 
nor forsake thee." " Fear the Lord, ye his saints ; for there is no 
want to them that fear him. The young lions do lack and suffer 
hunger ; but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good 
thing." Jehovah-jireh ! The Lord will provide. 

My presence shall go with thee, to comfort thee, and I will give 
thee rest from sorrow. However you may be stripped, you shall 
not be destitute of consolation ; though the fig tree shall not 
blossom, nor fruit be in the vine — you shall rejoice in the Lord, 
and joy in tlie God of your salvation. His presence is a substi- 
tute for any creature ; it more than repairs every loss. Some leave 
lis from rottenness of principle ; some from infirmity, rather 
than depravity. Death abridges our circles. Who can look back 
over a few j'ears, and not exclaim, " Lover and friend hast thou 
put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness ?" Yet if 
the lamps be extinguished, the sun continues. If the streams 
fail, M-e have the fountain. Are the consolations of God small 
with thee ? In the multitude of thy thoughts within thee, do not 
his comforts delight thy soul ? 

But there is an event that must take place. Oh ! when I shall 
gather up my feet into the bed, and turn my face to the wall- 
then, all creatures withdrawn, and flesh and heart failing— Oh ! 
what can support me in the prospect, and, above all, in the 
reality ? Be of good courage. He who is with thee in the wilder- 
ness, will be with thee at the swellings of Jordan, and open a 
way through the flood, and give thee a dr}' shod passage over, into 
the land flowing with milk and honey. He who has been with 
thee in hfe, will be still more with thee in death. And therefore 
you may boldly say, with one before you, " Yea, though I walk 
through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for 
thou art with me ; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me." 

From this hour let me never forget this blessed promise. " My 
presence shall go with thee ; and I will give thee rest." Let me 
believe it with a faith unfeigned. Let me ascertain my title to it. 
Let me plead it before the throne of grace. Let me apply it m 
my perplexities, and apprehensions, and anxieties, and sorrows. 
Let me bind it about my neck, and write it upon the table of my 
heart— that when I go, it may lead me ; when T sleep, it shall 
keep me ; and when I awake, it may talk with me. Amen. 



148 SEPTEMBER 22. 

Skptkmber 22, — " Thy Maker is thine husband." — Isaiah, liv, 5. 

The relation in which God stands to us must be all-important. 
If we are his people, he is related to us, not only as the God of 
nature and providence, but as the God of grace. This spiritual 
connexion is held forth under various forms — none of which is 
more common, simple, or well known, than the marriage union. 

The marriage union is honorable in all. It is exemplified in the 
larger part of the human race. It was establislied in paradise, 
wliere it was not good for man to be alone ; and in commendation 
of it our Savior wrought his first miracle. But applied to God 
and us, it is a metaphor ; and therefore to be soberly explained. 
For while we are not to overlook the wisdom and kindness of the 
Holy Ghost in meeting our weakness of apprehension, we are not 
to press every circumstance of the comparison into an article of 
allusion. The relation into which God enters with his people, is 
analogous to that which subsists between the husband and the 
wife. This could be easily explained and understood. 

But let us take the reality of the connexion itself to show us 
tliree things. First. The condescension and goodness of God. 
Nothing will bear a comparison with it. Consider what He is ; 
his independence, his greatness, and his glory. And view them 
in their unworthiness, lowness, vileness. How w^onderful that He 
should thus magnify them — and set his heart upon them ! They 
had neither birth, nor relations, nor wealth, nor wisdom, to re- 
commend them. It cannot, indeed, be denied that they are dis- 
tinguished by all these attributes now : but this is the consequence 
of the relation, and not the cause of it. " Since thou hast been 
precious in my sight, thou hast been honorable, and I have loved 
thee." 

Secondly. 7'he privilege of believers. Blessed are the people 
who are in such a case ; yea, happy is the people whose God is 
the Lord. They have one, in the nearest of all relations to them, 
who is love itself; and will bear with their infirmities, and in all 
their afRictions be afflicted — who is infinitely wise, and knows 
their frame, and will never mistake their welfare — who is almighty, 
and able to defend them from every danger, and to make all 
things work together for their good — who is faithfulness and 
truth, and Avill never leave them nor forsake them — who lives 
for ever, and renders the union eternal and indissolvable. 

Thirdly. Their duty. They must mind their husband's concerns. 
They must regard properly his relations. They must obey him — 
the wife promises this in marriage ; and the apostle enjoins it : 
Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands. He extends 
it to every thing ; but this must be qualified with one condition — 
every thing reasonable and righteous. Vashti refused Ahasuerus, 
when he sent for her to corne and exhibit herself before a compa- 
ny of intoxicated lords and officers, in violation of all decency, 
and the laws of veiled concealment in which women then lived ; 
and we justify her disobedience. But, with regard to us, the will 
of God is absolute, not only because he has a propriety in us 
which one creature can never have in another, but because all his 



SEPTEMBER 23. 1 (9 

commandments are right. The wife is required to reverence her 
husband. This must be a hard saying in some cases, seeing there 
are sometimes so few materials to excite veneration in the head 
of the wife — But this should have been thought of before j and 
persons should not voluntarily contract relations, the duties of 
which they cannot perform, and dare not neglect. But God's ex- 
cellencies are infinite. It is delightful to give him the glory that 
is due to his holy name. The wife, also, must be faithful to her 
husband : " She is for him, and not for another," And we are 
only the Lord's. There is such a thing as spiritual adultery ; to 
avoid which we are to keep ourselves from idols. Milton's wife 
departed home again; but she returned and humbled herself, and 
was re-admitted to favor. But here is the duty of the church — 
"Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; for- 
get also thine own people, and thy father's house ; so shall the 
King greatly desire thy beauty ; for he is thy Lord ; and worship 
thou him.' 



September 23. — " I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be 
of the same mind in the Lord. And T entreat thee also, true yoke-fellow, 
help those women which labored with me in the Gospel, with Clement also, 
a?ia with other my fellow-laborers, whose names are in the book of life. Re- 
joice in the Lord alway ; and again I say, Rejoice." — Philippians, iv, 2 — 4. 

The apostle much valued and commended the Philippian con- 
verts. He here calls them — his "brethren;" his " dearly beloved ;" 
" and longed for ;" his "joy and crown." Many people disU'ess 
and disgrace their ministers ; but these yielded Paul both com- 
fort and honor. He does not, however, deem them above the 
need of exhortation ; yet, though he might have been bold to 
enjoin what was convenient, for love's sake he beseeches and en- 
treats. The subject is threefold. 

First. Unanimity and concord. This regards a particular in- 
stance of disagreement in the church. " I beseech Euodias, and 
beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord." 
Here were two women, obviously of some note, who were at va- 
riance. We are not informed whether the ground of difference 
was civil or religious. Perhaps it was owing to a tale bearer ; for a 
lale bearer separateth true friends. Perhaps it was a mere trifle in 
the outset. In our mistakes, prejudices, passions, and infirmities, the 
enemy of souls always finds materials for exciting dislike and con- 
tention. Perhaps they were both to blame — this is commonly the 
case ; and therefore the Scripture says, forgiving one another. The 
feelings of females are quick ; and their imaginations too often give 
importance to a real or supposed offence. And two such indivi- 
duals at variance, may draw in others, form parties, and embroil a 
wliole church. When this is the case, their own edification is at 
an end ; and from others is driven that union of soul which is ne- 
cessary to give efficacy to social prayer, when we meet together 
in one place, with one accord, waiting for the promise of the Fa- 
ther. The apostle, therefore, would not that Euodias and Syn- 
tyche should oppose, or keep shy of each other ; but composing 
their difference, keep the peace, and live in love. The Savior is 



150 SEPTEMBER 23. 

tlie Lamb of God ; and if we have the mhid that was in iiim, we 
shall display ''■ the meekness and gentleness of Jesus Christ." The 
Holy Ghost descended upon the Head, and enters his followers, 
as a dove : and 

" The Spirit, like a peaceful dove, 

" Flies from tlie realms of noise and strife; 
* Why sliould we vex and grieve his love, 

" Who seals our souls for heavenly life ? " 

— We read in ecclesiastical history of two Christians who had 
quarrelled in the morning; but in the evening one of them sent a 
note to the other — " Brother, the sun is going down" — referring to 
the apostle's words, " Let not the sun go down upon your wrath" — 
and the hint produced reconciliation. When President Edwards 
had preached one of his first sermons after the remarkable out- 
pouring of the Spirit upon his labors, he observed two families, 
when the congregation had withdrawn, remaining, as if by joint 
consent. — Upon approaching them, he found they had, to that 
day, been in a state of variance ; but owing to the influence they 
were now under, they could not depart from the House of God 
till they were reconciled. 

— Secondly. Mutual assistance. "And I entreat thee, also, 
true yoke-fellow, help those women which labored with me in the 
Gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellow laborers, 
whose names are in the book of life." Some have imagined that 
those woman here alluded to were Euodias and Syntyche. If it 
were so, we should learn that persons who have been betrayed into 
improper temper and conduct in a partial instance, may yet have 
been worthy and useful characters ; and they are not to be reject- 
ed, but restored, in the spirit of meekness. But such a limitation 
is unnecessary. Whoever these females were, they had co-operated 
with Paul and his associates in the ministry — not in public preach- 
ing, for this our apostle had expressly forbidden ; but in various 
offices suited to their sex and condition ; by their devotion, and 
example, and conversation; by their privately instructing the ig- 
norant ; by their bringing up children ; washing the saints' feet : 
attending benevolent institutions; ministering to the wants of the 
apostles. All who wish to be useful, may be employed without 
violating any of the decorums of life, or quitting their proper 
stations. On their behalf, Paul addresses his " true j^oke-fellow." 
It is absurd to suppose this means, as some have thought, Paul's 
wife. For it seems more than probable that he never was married : 
and the gender of the adjective here used, is masculine. Was it 
the jailor ? He had been one of the apostle's first converts at 
Philippi ; and had much assisted him in the Gospel. Or was it 
Epaphroditus? But he was not at this time at Philippi. Perhaps 
it was one of the bishops or deacons mentioned in the be- 
ginning of the Epistle ; with whom Paul had been peculiarly con- 
nected in travelling, and preaching. Whoever he was, he was to 
lielp those females who had been so serviceable to Paul, and Cle- 
ment, and their comrades : by his prayers and consolations, and 
every kind of attention their personal or relative, temporal or 
spiritual, circumstances would require. How honorable was it 



SEPTEMBER 24. 151 

to be ihns distinguished and recommended by the apostle I Who 
was ever a loser by any thing he did for the cause of the Redeem- 
er ? He that watereth shall be watered also. God is not un- 
righteous to forget the work of faith and labor of love. Where- 
soever the Gospel is preached, that wiiich these women did shall 
be told for a memorial of them. 

Thirdly. Constant joy — " Rejoice in the Lord alway : and again 
I say, rejoice." Rejoicing is a pleasing exercise; but it is not so 
easy a one. In a vale of tears; in an enemy's country; without, 
fightings; within, fears; pressed down with a sense of unworthi- 
ness ; burdened with infirmities ; wearied with a body of sin and 
death : what wonder if we hang our harp on the willows ? oi, at 
least, that we cannot always sing the Lord's song? Yet we are 
enjoined to rejoice "always." We are. But how? In what? 
In whom ? In the world ? In creatures ? In ourselves ? Then 
would it indeed be impracticable. But it is "in the Lord." And 
in him there is enough at all times, and in every condition, to en 
courage and delight. W"e are empty, but in him all fullness dwells. 
In him is all the wisdom, pardon, righteousness, strength, and 
hope, we need. His grace is sufficient for us — He is an infinite 

RESOURCE. 

Therefore says the apostle — I have not spoken thoughtlessly — 
I know what I have said ; and why I have said it — I know that "the 
thing is possible — And I know, also, that it is proper — that nothing 
becomes a Christian more : and that by nothing can he be more 
useful — I therefore repeat it — And again I say Rejoice. 



September 24. — "He that saitli he abideth in him, ought himself also so 
to walk, even as he walked." — 1 John, ii, 6. 

The state here spoken of, is abiding in Christ. A man's say- 
ing he is thus in him, is done two ways. The one is to himself — 
and so it is belief. The other is to his fellow-creatures — and so it 
is profession. The rule of such a man's life, is the example ot 
Christ — walking as he icalked. And to this he is under an obliga- 
tion to conform — He ought to walk even as he walked. The ob- 
ligation is fourfold. 

First. He ought to walk even as he walked, from a principle of 
evidence. Deception in religious concerns is not only possible, 
but common ; and the consequences, if the delusion continues, 
will be dreadful Hence we should be anxious to know "whether 
our hope is any thing better than presumption; or our safety is 
any thing more than self-security. If from self-confidence,' we 
contemn such solicitude, let us remember that the Sacred Writers 
command us not to be high minded, but fear ; and to examine and 
prove, whether we be in the foith. Tliere are, indeed, many 
proofs of a gracious state : and there are some of a more experi- 
mental nature to Avhich we do well to take heed : but none Of them 
can afford us relief, if they are unaccompanied by an imitation of 
Christ. " Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things 
whicli I say?" "If any man have not the spirit of Christ, he Is 



152 SEPTEMBER 24. 

none of his." "He that is joined to the Lord is of one Spirit.-' 
" If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature." 

Secondly ; he ought to walk even as he walked, from a princi- 
ple of consistency. The relations and conditions in which we are 
found determine the propriety of our conduct. When we know 
what a man is, we conclude what it becomes him to do. A stew- 
ard is expected to be found faithful ; and dishonesty draws upon 
liim censure and condemnation from all. Every one is sensible 
that a king and a bishop should not act like common men ; but 
that a dignified and sacred line of conduct is required by their 
rank and office. Christians are kings and priests unto God ; and 
therefore they must walk worthy of the vocation wherewith they 
are called. The man who advances peculiar and superior claims 
to any thing, has no reason, no right to complain, if he be judged 
by his pretensions. He who wishes to pass as a Christian, avows 
himself related to Christ ; and by his doctrine and character he 
must be tried : he ranks himself above the world, and challenges 
the inquiry. What do ye more than others ? 

Thirdly. He ought to walk even as he walked, from a princi- 
ple of usefulness. He will thus put to silence the ignorance of 
foolish men. He will wipe off the reproach attached to the Gos- 
pel. He will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things. 
He will be the means, by his good works which they behold, of 
inducing those that are without, to enter the way everlasting. No 
one can imagine the influence and efficiency of a life entirely 
Christian. It is a blessing to the whole neighborhood in which 
it is displayed. It is like a dew from the Lord, and as showers 
upon the grass. But by an unworthy and unbecoming conduct, 
a professor of religion can destroy much good. He causes the 
way of truth tobe evil spoken of. He hardens transgressors. He 
perplexes the weak. He grieves the strong. He opposes and dis- 
courages all those who are laboring to win souls. Wo to the 
world, because of offences ? And w^o to that man by whom the 
offence cometh ! 

Fourthly. He ought to walk even as He walked, from a princi- 
ple oi gi^atitude. W'e feel and acknowledge the kindnesses shown 
us by our fellovv^-creatures ; and, in consequence of it, we endea- 
vor to meet their wishes, and to avoid whatever pains or displeases 
them : for actions speak louder than words. What has not Christ 
done for us ? See his condescension, when, in the form of God, he 
took upon him the form of a servant. See his grace, when he was 
rich, and for our sakes he becomes poor. See him in the mange r, 
and in the garden. See him upon the cross, dying : and upon the 
throne reigning for us, and making all things work together for 
our good. And surely w^e shall feel that a peculiar, a supreme 
love to him become us. And how are we to show it 1 Shall we 
ever grieve his Holy Spirit? Shall we not ask, Lord, what wilt 
thou have me to do ? Shall we not pray, " Let the words of my 
mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, 
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer?" He that hath my com- 
mandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me. He thai 
offereth praise, glorifieth jue j and to him that ordereth his con- 



SEPTEMBER 25. 153 

versation aright, will I show the salvation of God. Upon which, 
Philip Henry observes, Thanksgiving is well, but thanksliving is 
better. 

If we walk like him now, we shall walk like him hereafter. It 
is his own promise — " Thou hast a few names even in Sardis, 
which have not defiled their garments ; and they shall walk with 
for they are worthy." 



Skptember 25. — " I will hasten ray escape from the windy storm and tem- 
pest.*' — Psalra Iv, 8. 

Such was the language of David — And it may be the language 
of any other good man in the depth of distress. But is it allowa- 
ble and proper ? There is no perfection here ; and there is nothing 
concerning which we should indulge more tenderness of censure, 
than hasty expressions, uttered under the pressure of pain or grief. 
Perhaps it was to prevent our severity here, that the cases of Job 
and Jeremiah are recorded, both of whom, though eminent in 
piety, cursed the day of their birth. The Scripture is not harsh 
upon them ; and it is observable, that when James refers to one of 
these bitterly complaining sufferers, he only says, " Ye have heard 
of the patience of Job." They who have never been in a state of 
peculiar distress, know little of the feelings of human nature under 
it. But there are others who can respond to the invitation of 
sympathy, " Pity me, pity me, O ye my friends, for the hand of 
God hath touched me !" And the Father of mercies knows our 
frame, and remembers that we are dust. We are not required 
to choose suffering for its own sake ; or to be indifferent to ease 
and deliverance. Our Savior himself had not that fortitude 
which mocks at pain ; but that which he deeply felt, and yet sub- 
mitted. With strong cryings and tears he prayed, " Father, if it 
be possible, let this cup pass from me : nevertheless, not my will, 
but thine be done." 

But what allow^s of excuse, truth does not require us to com- 
mend. It was his infirmity that induced David to long for 
death to hasten his escape from the stormy wind and tempest : 
and an old writer tells us, it would have been more honorable for 
him to have asked for the strength of an ox, to bear his trials, than 
for the wings of a dove, to flee from them. Is not such language 
unworthy and ungrateful ? Should we overlook and forget all our 
comforts '? Haoe not these been great and numerous ? And did we 
then long to flee aM-ay ? Yea, are they not many and various, even 
Tioia? And shall we only dwell on the dark side ? Let us examine 
again ; and let truth and thankfulness stand by the v/hile. And 
may they not yet be many and great ? Afflictions are not immuta- 
ble dispensations. What changes often take place, to the sur- 
prise, as well as joy, of desponding sufferers ? 

*' The T.ord can change the darkest skies: I "Make drops of sacred sorrow rise 
*' Can give us day for uight : 1 " To rivers of delight." 

And is there not unbelief in the case ? You are afraid of all 
your sorrows ; and not only of their continuance and increase 
but of their mfluence and effects. You dread lest you should not 



154 SEPTEMBER 25. 

bear them properly, so as to glorify God ; but" sink in the day of 
adversity, and— sin too. Yet, O thou of little faith ! wherefore 
dost thou doubt ? Is not lie able to preserve, and support, and 
comfort thee ? And has he not engaged to do it ? Has he not 
said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee ? " Vv hen thou pass- 
est through the waters, I will be with thee ; and through the ri- 
vers, they shall not overflow thee ; when thou walkest through 
the fire, thou shalt not be burnt : neither shall the flame i'iidie 
upon thee." And has not his conduct always accorded with 
this assurance, both with regard to others, and with regard to 
yourselves ? 

" Did ever trouble yet befall, I " And has he not HJs promise past, 

" And He refuse to hear thy call ? | •' That thou shalt overcome at last ?" 

More than once you have been appalled in the prospect of a trial ; 
but when the evil day came, there came with it mercy and grace 
to help in time of need. Perhaps you even gloried in tribu- 
lation — and you would not refuse to pass through some of those 
distressing exercises again, to enjoy the same peace and comfort. 

Is there not much ignorance and inconsideration in this impa- 
tience ? How do you know that it is better to escape from these 
troubles than to bear them ? Not one of them has befallen you by 
chance ; and may you not infer the righteousness of them all, 
from their very Author ? Is not his work perfect, and his ways 
judgment ? He doth all things well. Does he detain you in dis- 
tress because he does not love you ? Yea, he loved you with an 
everlasting love, and withheld not his own Son from you. You 
may therefore entirely, confide in him, assured that if he does 
not release you, it is because he waits to be gracious ; and also 
equally assured, that blessed are all they that wait for him — for 
it is good for a man, not only to hope, but quietly wait for the 
salvation of the Lord. 

First. Your own welfare may require the process. The Savior 
was made perfect through suffering ; and the character of every 
Christian is more formed and improved from his afflictions, than 
his enjoyments. What would some of you have lost, had you 
fled away before such a trying dispensation enriched your faith 
and hope I How much of your happiness in heaven will arise 
from a review of your present conflicts on earth ! The \'ery trial 
of your faith is precious ; and the crown of life is promised, not 
to him that escapes, but to him that endureth temptation. Afflic- 
tions arc heavenly agents, and work out for you a far more ex- 
ceeding and eternal weight of glory. 

i Secondly. The welfare of others may require it also. We are 
detained here to be useful ; and we are often most useful in our 
trials. Nothing strikes like facts. The passive graces are the most 
impressive. They are better than a thousand sern;ons— better, to 
arrest the careless, to instruct the ignorant, to encourage the timid, 
to comfort the desponding. It was well Bunyan did not escape 
from the prison at Bedford, or we should not have had his Pil- 
grim's Progress and his Holy War. Paul was a prisoner, and 
knew that to depart and be with Christ was far better ; neverthe- 
iessj because it was more needful for the Philippians, he -was wil- 



SEPTEMBER 26. 155 

ling to abide in the flesh, and acquiesced in the adjournment of 
his deliverance and bliss. And here you also may be wanted. 
Perhaps you have a venerable motlier, and are required to rock 
the cradle of her age, who rocked the cradle of your infancy. 
Perhaps you are a parent, and a rising family is dependent on 
your care, instructed by your wisdom, edified by your example. 
\Ve are all placed in circumstances where we may prove a bless- 
ing ; and this is our only opportunity. We may glorify God in 
heaven ; but not in the same way as now — not by submission, 
patience, and self-denial. This is an advantage we have above 
tlie glorified. They cannot exercise candor, and forgive injuries, 
and relieve distress, and save souls. Life is ours, as well as death. 
Therefore, all the days of our appointed time let us wait, till our 
chanse comes. 



September 26, — " And he brought him to Jesus." — John, i, 42. 

These are few words ; but they are very instructive and im- 
proving. "VVe may ask three questions. 

To whom was he brought ? " He brought him to JesiisP To 
whom should he have been brought, but unto him ? He had the 
words of eternal life. In vain would he have been brought to the 
princes of the world ; to the philosophers of antiquity ; to the 
moralists of the age ; to the scribes and Pharisees ; to Moses ; to 
the law. Moses wrote of him ; and the law was a school master 
to bring men to Christ, that they might be justified by the faith 
of Christ, and not by the deeds of the law. To him, says Isaiah, 
shall men come. To him, said the dying Jacob, shall the gather- 
ing of the people be. There alone they can find the wisdom they 
need ; the pardon they need ; the peace they need ; the strength 
they need. In him they are blessed with all spiritual blessings 
ill heavenly places — neither is there salvation in any other. 

Who was brought ? It was Simon Peter — '• He brought him to 
Jesus." He is a character frequently and largely noticed in the 
sacred history. For, in consequence of this introduction, he be- 
came, not only a disciple of Jesus, but a preacher of the Gospel, 
and an apostle ; and, from the low occupation of a fisherman, he 
was made a fisher of men j and, by one cast of his net, he gained 
three thousand souls. Let us endeavor to bring men to the Sa- 
vior, remembering that we know not what he will do, not only in 
them, but for them, and by them. While he saves them, he may 
also employ and dignify them. However unlikely they at present 
appear, Ave may by-and-by observe them, with' jo}ful surprise, 
and adoring gratitude, not only as Christians, but as ministers in 
his church, and extensively serving their generation according to 
the will of God. Whatever condition they may fill, or office they 
may discharge, they will be, must be useful. Like their father 
Abraham, they will be not only blessed, but blessings. In con- 
verting one, we do good to many. "Who ever went to heaven alone ? 

We may also ask — icho brought him ? It was Andrew — " He 
brought him to Jesus." Andrew had been for some little time 
M'ith Jesus himself; and he immediately evinces the influence of 



156 SEPTEMBER 26. 

the intercourse on liis own mind, by his concern to bring others 
to the same Savior. And there is nothing peculiar in this ? They 
who have seen his glory, will be sure to proclaim his worth. 
They that have tasted that the Lord is gracious themselves, will, 
be always constrained to invite others — O taste and see that the 
Lord is good: blessed is the man that tr-usteth in him. And they 
always speak of him best who speak from experience. 

Andrew was not only acquainted with Jesus, but he was also 
related to Peter. He first find eth his own brother Simon, and saitk 
unto him — We have found the Messias. The expression intimates 
that he also prevailed upon others, but that he began with him. 
His finding \nm. first, might have been accidental ; but it is much 
more probable that it was by design. He thought, and he thoughv 
justly, that his own brother had, though not an exclusive, yet a 
prior claim to his attention, and therefore, while many lead their 
friends and relations, their own flesh and blood, into the haunts 
of dissipation, the counsel of the ungodly, the way of sinners, the 
seat of the scornful, and so bring them to the Devil ; Andrew in- 
stantly performed toward Simon, his own brother, a brother's 
part — And he brought him to Jesus. 

Let us not forget this. We are to disregard none of our fellow- 
creatures ; but surely those who are connected with us by the 
ties of friendship and of nature, have the first right to our solici- 
tude. How is it possible for us to think of them, and not exclaim 
with Esther, in the dread of a more tremendous perdition — How 
can I bear to see the destruction of my kindred ? In endeavoring 
to do good to these, we have also greater opportunities and advan- 
tages, by reason of our influence, and ease of access. Let, then, 
Grace sanctify and engage in her service, all the force and endear- 
ment of natural affection. Let the pious sister pray for, and plead 
with an irreligious brother. Let the godly wife strive to save her 
own husband. Let the husband allure to accompany him, the 
desire of his eyes. And oh ! let parents awaken, and blend their 
anxieties and efforts, to bring to Jesus their children. "When 
Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, all the wounded 
were to obtain cure by looking. But children were bitten, as well 
as men and women. Had we been there, we should have seen 
many a father leading along his little daughter to a place of vision ; 
and many a mother, pressing near with her infant son in her arm, 
and pointing his eyes to catch the shining remedy. So has the Son 
of Man been lifted up, that whosoever believcth on him should not 
perish, but have everlasting life — and the young need him ; and 
the sooner they are brought to him the better. The sooner will 
they be prevented from injuring society : the sooner will they 
enter on a course of usefulness, during which they will scatter a 
thousand blessings. If we do good to an old man, it is all-im- 
portant to himself; but then it goes off* with him. Whereas, the 
good communicated to a child, is not only valuable personally 
but relatively. It descends from him, and is spread by him, as 
he rises up and multiplies in life : and the result of the whole 
cannot be estimated. 

And if we bring them to him, will he reject or despise them^ 



SEPTEMBER 27. 157 

Let his command determine this — " Feed my lambs.'' Let his 
conduct decide it — " And 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. And 
he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and bless- 
ed them." 

Let those that have children, and let those that are children, 
think of this, and be encouraged. 

" A flower, whea oflFereJ in the bud, | " Is no vain sacrifice." 

Another flower thus offered, can never arrive at perfection. It 
must wither and die. But this flower shall live and blossom as a 
rose. The Redeemer will put it into his bosom ; and the fra- 
grance shall spread through the Church below, and Temple above. 



September 27. — "And he brought him to Jesus." — John, i, 43. 

What Andrew here did with Simon, we are to do with our 
fellow creatures — We are to bring them to Jesus. 

But can men be brought to him now 7 Did he not say, I am no 
more in the M'orld ? How happy M'ere they who lived when he 
was on earth ! They could repair to him in every trouble, and tell 
him every distress. Ye benevolent neighbors ! you could carry 
the paralytic, and place him beneath the very eye of Mercy. You 
anxious father ! you could go to him, and say, " Sir, come down 
ere my child die." You, Martha and Mary, as soon as Lazarus 
was afflicted, you could send to him, saying, " Lord, behold, he 
v/hom thou lovest is sick." And cannot you, my dear readers, 
cannot you apprise him of your desire or your grief ? Have not 
you, at your disposal, a messenger, that you can dispatch to him 
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye ? " While they call, I will 
answer ; and when they speak, I will hear." And has'he not said, 
Lo ! I am with you always, even unto the end of the world ? and 
wherever two or three are gathered together in my name, there 
am I in the midst of you ? If these words be true, he can be, he 
must be, he is, with his ministers and people now. Though no 
longer visible, he is accessible. We may apprehend him as to his 
essential presence, by which he fills heaven" and earth. We may 
apprehend him also, as to his peculiar presence, by which he is 
nigh to them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of 
a contrite spirit. He is to be found in the Scriptures. In his 
House. At his Table. On his Throne. In the garden and the 
field— 

" Where'er we seek him he is found, | " And every place is holy g^round " 

But can we bring souls to him ? Not efficiently. This is the 
work of God only. " No man can come unto me, except the Fa- 
ther^hath sent me draw him." And the sooner we are convinced 
of this, the better. We shall then make all our attempts in de- 
dendence on the agency of his Spirit : and thus honoring him, 



158 SEPTEMBER 27. 

he will honor us. But we may do this instrumentally. For God 
makes use of means : and he employs men ; and employs them 
not only to do good to their fellow creatures temporally, but 
spiritually— Not only to relieve their bodies, but to save their 
souls. And various and many are the ways in which we may 
thus bring men to Jesus. We may do it by intercession : for he 
hears prayers for others, as well as for ourselves. We may do it 
by the influence of example. Nothing speaks so loud as the silent 
eloquence of a holy, consistent, and lovely life. By this, M'ives 
may win their husbands without the word ; and servants may 
adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things. By this, all 
may be useful. All cannot be learned ; all cannot be rich ; but all 
may be exemplary. We may do it by instruction. Thus Andrew 
brought Peter — We have found, says he, the Messias. And thus 
the woman of Samaria brought her neighbors, saying. Come, see 
a man that told me all that ever I did ; is not this the Christ ? By 
a word fitly spoken — a letter — an invitation to hear the Gospel — 
the commendation of a good book — the diffusion of the Bible — the 
sending forth missionaries — the supporting of ministers, whose 
office it is to turn men from darkness to light. By all these, and 
many more, we may be the means of introducing souls to Jesus. 
But why should we be concerned to bring them ? Four things 
should make us alive to this work. First. To feel a concern for 
it, is an evidence of grace. There cannot be a better. Indeed, 
every other evidence is fallacious without this: and this is always 
to be found in a real Christian. For however he may walk in 
darkness, as to a knowledge of his own interest in divine things, 
and draw the conclusion that he has no part nor lot in the matter ; 
he never is insensible and indifferent to the success of the Gospel 
and the salvation of souls. This makes the eye sparkle upon 
whose lid hangs the shadow of death. Secondly. To attempt 
it is a duty. A duty that cannot be declined, without the 
greatest guilt. A duty arising from the relation in which we 
stand to our fellow-men, as bone of our bone, and flesh of our 
flesh, A duty enforced by the will of God, clearly made known 
in the injunction, As we have opportunity, let us. do good unto 
all men — for what good can equal this? Thirdly. To accomplish 
it, is the most glorious enterprise. What is the rescue of a whole 
nation from civil bondage, compared with the deliverance of one 
soul from the power of darkness, and translating it into the king- 
dom of God's dear Son ! Can a trifle throw heaven into ecstacy ! 
But there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one 
sinner that repenteth. The work, therefore, is its own motive ; 
its success is its own recompense. And so the apostle deemed it : 
*' If a man err from the truth, and one convert him, let him 
know that he which converteth a sinner from the error of his 
ways, shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of 
sins." Fourthly. To fail in it is no disgrace. Yea, failure here 
is infinitely more honorable than success in any other enterprise. 
But wise and good efforts are never in vain. If they are useless as 
to the direct object, they do good collaterally. If they relieve not 
the beneficiary, they bless the benefactor. His prayers and endea- 



SEPTEMBER 28. 159 

vors reluru not void into his own bosom. We arc a sweet savor 
of Christ, not only in them that are saved, bnt in them that also 
perish. The promise is not made to success — for this does not 
belong to us ; but to exertion. " Be thou faithful unto death, and 
I will give thee a crown of life." 

But Avhile we endeavor to bring others to Jesus, let us see to It 
that we have come to him ourselves. It is awful to think of being 
the instruments of his grace, while we are not the subjects — 



Great King of grace ! my heart subdue ; I 
" I would be led in triumph too : 



A willing captive to my Lord, 
"And sing the victories of his word. 



Septembek 2G. — " The precious sons of Zioa, comparable to fine gold, 
hov/ are they esteemed as eartheu pitchers the work of the hands of the 
potter ?" — Lamentations, iv, 2, 

Such is the difference between the judgment of God and the 
.spirit of the world, concerning tlie precious sons of Zion. In the 
estimation of God, (and his judgment is always according to truth,) 
they are comparable to gold, yea, fine gold. And they are so for 
their rareness, and tlieir purity, and their value, and their durabi- 
lity, and for their bearing the severest probation, and, instead of 
being injured b}^ the trial, deriving improvement, and lustre, and 
usefulness from it. 

But, as that which is highly esteemed among men is abomina- 
tion in the sight of God ; so that which is approved and com- 
mended of God is undervalued and despised by men. The world, 
inerefore, knoweth them not. It knew Him not. Their Lord 
and Savior was despised and rejected by them. And they, as his 
followers, are esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands 
of the potter. They judge only from sense and outward appear- 
ances ; and Christians are often poor and afflicted. They see the 
outside of the tabernacle ; and this is covered with goats' skins, 
and badgers' skins, dj^ed red : but they never enter the holy place, 
nor approach Him who sitteth between the cherubims. They are 
sensual, not having the Spirit ; and spiritual things are spiritually 
discerned. They do not feel their need of blessings wh ich constitute 
the happiness and glory of the children of God, and therefore 
prize not the possessors of them. Yea, the carnal mind is enmity 
against God, and causes them to dislike every thing that bears his 
impression and likeness. 

Yet even tliese despisers shall behold, and wonder, and perish. 
When the delusions of time shall give place to the unveiled reali- 
ties of eternit}^, they will be compelled to exclaim, We fools 
counted their lives madness, and their end to be without honor. 
How are they numbered with the saints, and their lot is among 
the children of God 1 Yea, even now there are moments, when, 
if we could witness the workings of conviction, we should hear 
many a Balaam admiring, and praying — How goodly are thy 
tents, O Jacob ! and thy tabernacles, O Israel ! Let me die the 
death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his ! 

Christians should not be uneasj^ and impatient under the mis- 
lakes and reproaches of their adversaries. It is a light thing to 
be Judged of man's judgment— He that judgeth them is the Lord. 

Vol. H. " 19 



160 SEPTEMBER 29 

Their praise is not of man but of God. They should know that 
this is not their day. Their day is coming. It will be the mani- 
festation of the sons of God. Yea, conscious of what, by the 
grace of God they are, they should learn in whatsoever state they 
are. therewith to be content. In every thing tliey should give 
thanks. Their souls should make their boast in the Lord. They 
.should never scruple to extol and recommend their privileges and 
excellencies. That which we have heard and seen, says the apos- 
tle John, declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship 
with us. And is this desirable ? And truly our fellowship is with 
tie Fatiier, and with his son Jesus Christ. 

Who is on the Lord's side ? O my soul ! art thou ? Dost thou 
love and admire those whom God approves and honors? Canst 
thou call the saints that are in the earth. The excellent? and say, 
In them is all my delight? Moses chose rather to suffer affliction 
with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a 
season ; and esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than 
the treasures of Egypt. 

" Oh! may I see thy tribes rejoice, I '• Tiiis is m}' glory, Lord, to be 

" And aid their triumphs with my voice : | " JoiiiM to t!iy saints, and near to Thee." 



September 29. — ^" Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest." 

Micah, ii, 10. 

One of the old divines, in his pastoral admonitions to his people, 
exhorts them — not to look for that in tlie Law, which can only 
be found in the Gospel — not to look for that in themselves, which 
is only to be found in Christ — not to look for that in the creature 
which is only to be found in the Creator — and not to look for that 
on earth, which is only to be found in heaven. 

The present is not our rest — It was not designed to be our rest — 
It is not fit to be our rest — And if we are Christians, we have re- 
linquished it as our rest, and have chosen another. Yet who does 
not need this exhortation ? Our souls naturally cleave unto the 
dust. Many, Like Reuben and Gad, prefer an inheritance on this 
side of Jordan. And even the godly them.selves, who have not 
their portion in this life; but have said. As for me I will behold thy 
face in righteousness, I shall be satisfied when I awake M'ith thy 
likeness; even these need to have their pure minds stirred up, by 
v/ay of remembrance. " My people," says God, " have forgotten 
their resting place." 

He, therefore, who takes pleasure in the prosperity of his ser- 
vants, sends them this message, "Arise ye, and depart, for this 
is not your rest." And there are five messengers by which he 
sends it. 

The first, is his word. And we should read and hear it for this 
very purpose. It meets us in our complaint and inquiry, "Who 
will show us any good?" and says, "Acquaint now thyself with 
Him, and be at peace ; thereby good shall come unto thee." It 
forbids us to lay up treasures on earth. It com.mands us to 
seek those things that are above. It denounces the curse and 
misery of making flesh our arm. It proclaims the grandeur of the 
soul : and sets before us what alone is worthy of it. It leads us 



SEPTEMBER 29. 16! 

into all truth ; and places us at the foot of the cross, by wliich 
the world is crucified unto us, and we unto the Avorld ; and then 
we are enabled to say — 

» Farewell, world! thy gold is dross , 1 '• Jesus died, to set me free 

" Now I see the Savior's Cross : | " From th< law, and sin, and thee. 

The second, is affliction. God speaks by the rod, as well as by 
the word. While he chastens us with his hand, he teaches us out 
of his law. Has he not, by events, plainly addressed us, " Ye have 
dwelt long enough in this mountain ; turn ye, and take your jour- 
ney ?" Has he not by repeated frustrations of our hope, plainly- 
said to us, " Let it suffice thee : speak no more to me of this mat- 
ter ?" Perhaps our purposes have been broken off, even the 
thoughts of our hearts; or we have been made to possess months 
of vanity ; or lover and friend has been removed far from us, and 
amidst the wreck of every thing dear to us, a voice, though we 
knew not at first that it came from Heaven, said, " What hast thou 
here? and what dost thou here ?" And if we are so much attached 
to the world, with all our losses and distresses, what should we 
have been without them ? If the pilgrim be ever seduced from his 
way, it is by flowers and prospects ; if ever he sits down and smgs 
himself asleep, it is in a pleasing scene, and in fine weather— not 
when the sky is dark and stormy, and the road is rough and 
j^h.y_for then, by contrast, the thought of home becomes dearer; 
and he feels an excitement to quicken his pace. 

The third, is Avorldly success. This, in some respects, may 
convince us more of the insufficiency and emptiness of every 
thing here, than even our deprivations. When a man is disap- 
pointed ill attaining his object, he may still imagine that there is 
happiness in what he misses ; and that he is miserable because he 
misses it. But when he has gained the prize, he is convinced 
that the ditsatisfaction he feels arises from the nature of the thing 
itself. We long for certain acquisitions, with all the fondness of 
hope ; and feel no apprehension, unless on the side of failure. 
W^e cannot believe, from the acknowledgments of others, that 
these things will belie expectation, and still leave a void withii:. 
But when we have made the trial ourselves — when we have form- 
ed the connexion, filled the office, gained the fortune, we desired 
—and in the midst of our sufficiency, we are in straights, we 
sigh over our indulgences themselves ; and enjoyment, as well as 
affliction, cries, All is vanity and vexation of spirit— Arise, and 
depart ; for this is not 3'our rest. 

The fourth, is the earnests and foretastes of a better world. 
And such Christians are favored with, in the comforts of the Holy 
Ghost ; in accesses to the throne of Grace ; in the power and 
glory of God which they see in the sanctuary ; and in those 
sacred moments of divine communion, alone, Mhen they can say 

" Willie such a scene of sacred joys I " Here we could sit a.id gaze away 

" Our raptur'd eyes and soul employs, ] " A long, an everlasting day." 

And these not only call, but allure and M'in the heart, ^iway. 
When the clusters of grapes Avere brought to the Israel of God in 
the wilderness, they said, ia very intelligible language — W)iat 



162 SEPTEMBER 30. 

does your present condition supply like this ? Sec what grows in 
the land that is before you. Taste ; and go up and possess it. 

The last, is death. Every apprehension and approach of this 
cries—" It is high time to awake out of sleep, for now is vour 
fealvation nearer than when you believed.'" But it orders us to 
depart really, as well as morally. Thus God indeed sends, by it, 
not only to his people, but for them. And it seems surprising 
that they should ever be ready to turn away from the messenger, 
A child at school welcomes every messenger from home to him ; 
but he desires most the messenger that comes for him. Joseph 
sends to Jacob, and for him, at once ; and his father not only 
heard the words, but saM' the v/agons — " Oh ! these are really to 
carry me to him — I shall soon see my son — and die in peace." 

Such a messenger, Christian, is death to you. Come, says God, 
3-0U have toiled long enough — you have feared long enough — you 
have groaned long enough — your warfare is accomplished — enter 
the rest which the Lord your God giveth you — come; for all 
things are now ready. 

Yes; 5'ouwill soon hear the voice saying — O Israel! you must 
this day go over Jordan. And why should you be unwilling to 
exchange the desert for the land flowing with milk and honey ? 
Is not this the purpose of your travels ? the end of your desires ? 
the completion of your hopes ? 

" But the swelling river rolls between." Fear not. The ark of 
the covenant will go before you, and divide the waves; and you 
shall pass over dry-shod. And then let the streams reunite, and 
continue to flow on — you will not wish them to reopen for your 
return. AYliat is misery to others is joy to you — " I shall go the 
way whence I shall not return." 



Septlmber 30. — '' If then I be a father, where is mine honor?" — Mai. i, 6. 

We admire the Scripture mode of allusion and comparison. 
Its miages are taken from the most obvious and simple things ; 
and while they illustrate the spiritual subjects to which they are 
applied, they also impart moral lessons. While they enjoin the 
duties we owe to God, they remind us of tliose we owe to our 
fellow creatures : and the child is instructed and reproved, by the 
address which informs and admonishes the Christian. 

In the words before us, here is, first, a principle supposed— In- 
deed it is expressed in the foregoing sentence : •• A son honoreth 
his father." It is a dictate of nature, of custom, of observance in 
all ages and countries. The child, as soon as he can reason, findrf 
liimself under the control of a superior, at once dear and venera- 
ble ; to whom he is obliged, and on whom he is dependent: ho 
nsks of him information ; he looks to him for provision. ; he con- 
fides in his care and M'isdom ; he obeys his orders, and submits to 
his discipline. If stricken, he docs not reproach, or think of 
striking again. What says Solomon? '-The eye that mockeili at 
his father"; and despiseth to obey his motlier, the ravens of the 
valley shall pluck it out, and the young eagles shall rat it." A 
modern writer has made free to turn these words in'.o iidicule. bv 



SEPTEMBER SO. 163 

ranking iliem with lliosc senseless bugbears by wliich mirses 
often terrify children. But if the ignorance of infidels, with regard 
to every thing scriptural was not extreme, he might have known 
that under the Jewish law, filial disobedience was a capital offence. 
** For every one that curselh his lather or his mother shall be 
surely put to death : he hath cursed his father or his mother ; his 
blood shall be upon him." And Moses mentions also the mode. 
" If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not 
obey the voice of his father, or the voice of liis mother, and that, 
when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them : then 
shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him 
out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place ; and 
they shall say unto the elders'of his city, This our son is stubborn 
and rebellious, he will not obey o\n- voice ; he is a glutton ; and a 
drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, 
that he die : so shalt thou put evil away from among you ; and 
ail Israel shall hear, and fear.'' Hence, what is threatened, might 
have been literally accomplished. But when we consider how 
figuratively the Easterns expressed themselves, we may admit 
the reality' of an awful penalty on the transgressor, without plead- 
ing for the literal execution. We have a remarkable instance of 
fili'al honor in the regard the Rechabites paid to the authority of 
their father. '* They said, we will drink no wine : for Jonadab 
the son of Rechab our father, commanded us, saying. Ye shall 
drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons, for ever : neither shall 
ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any ; 
but all your days ye shall dwell in tents : that ye may live many 
da3'S in the land where ye be strangers. Thus have we obeyed 
the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he 
rharged us, to drink no wine ail our days, we, our wives, our sons, 
nor our daughters : nor to build houses for us to dwell in : nei- 
ther have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed : but we have dwelt in 
tents, and have obeyed, and have done according to all that Jona- 
dab our father commanded us." It is lamentable to think how 
little of this obedience is to be found in children now. Yet there 
is far less piety in the v%^orld, than morality. 

Here is, secondly, an obligation inferred — it is, that if other fa- 
thers are to be honored, vve are ranch more bound to honor God. 
For he is a Father far above the truth of the relation in all other 
oases. We have had fathers ; but they were fathers of our flesli 
— but he is the Father of our spirits. They w^ere fathers only 
subordinately, and neither the sex, or the form, or the talents of 
the child resulted from their choice — but he is supremely, effi- 
ciently, absolutely our Father — he made us — and endued us with 
all our powers — and from him must spring all our hopes. 

And, therefore, not only is the reality of the relation found in 
him, but the perfection too. He always acts the part of— a wise 
and good Father — completely — divinely. Other fathers often 
chastise their children for their ov/n pleasure ; but He for our pro- 
fit. They may be implacable ; but He is ready to forgive. They 
may neglect to educate or provide ; but He teaches us to profit, 
end suffers us io want no good thing. 



164 OCTOBER 1. 

Tlie duty also is enforced by the eminence of his characfer, 
and the grandeur of his condition. His understanding is infinite. 
His power is ahiiighty. His dominion is everlasting. He is Lord 
of all. " It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the 
inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers ; that stretcheth out the 
heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell 
in ; that bringeth the princes to nothing : he maketh .the judges 
of the earth as vanity." To this consideration he himself appeals, 
in the close of this chapter. " But cursed be the deceiver, which 
hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the 
Lord a corrupt thing ; for 1 am a great King, saith the Lord of 
liosts, and my name is dreadful among the Heathen." 

Thirdly. Here is a complaint alleged. " If I am a Father, 
where is mine honor ?" And has he no ground for this inquiry ? 
Men often complain without cause. They are unreasonable in 
their demands and expectations. They may be mistaken M-ith 
regard to the nature and design of many actions, because they 
judge after outward appearance. Rut God's claims are unlimited. 
He sees motives. He looketh to the heart. He takes our meaning. 
And passing by our mistakes and infirmities, accepts and com- 
mends our aims and endeavors. And yet he complains. And 
how deeply deserved ! and how extensively applicable is the 
charge he brings ! See the generality of mankind — have they any 
concern to please him ? Take the professors of his religion — 
what do they more than others ? Take even the subjects of his 
grace — even in them, where is the honor ? Is it here ? in con- 
stantly asking. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ? Is it here 1 
in meekly submitting to his rebukes ? Is it here ? in speaking 
M'^ell of his name, and recommending him to others 7 

Let us make the deficiencies and sins of others a mirror in 
which to behold our own. Do I meet with ingratitude in a fellow 
creature, that I have relieved ? Let it soften my resentment, and 
keep me from resolving to do no more for him. Let me inquire 
how / have behaved toward my heavenly Benefactor. Do I re- 
flect on an undutiful child, and perhaps justly too ? Yet let me 
ask whether my heavenly Father has not much more reason to 
condemn me — if thov, Lord, shouldest mark iniquity, O Lord. 
w?io should stand ! 

How necessary is it for us to fall down at his footstool ; and 
pray. Enter not into judgment with thy servant, O Lord ; for in 
thy sight shall no flesh living be justified ! 

What a blessing is the Gospel, that assures us, with the Lord 
there is mercy, and that his grace is sufficient for us ! 

But O let this make us the more concerned to honor him — and to 
be harmless and blameless; the children of God — without rebuke ! 

OcTOBKR 1. — "Wo unto you that desire the day of the Lord! To Avhat 
end is it for you ? The day of the Lord is darkness and not light." 

Amos, V, 18. 

We may apply this to the day of death. How often do men, 
when in trouble and disappointment, express a wish that God 
would now take away their life from them, supposing that it 



OCTOBER 1. 165 

belter for them to die than to live ! We can)"iot, indeed, be always 
sure of the sincerity of their desire ; and they may not be sure 
of it themselves. Under the pressure of present feeling, they may 
imagine that death would be welcome ; when, perhaps, if it ac- 
tually appeared, they would decline his aid. And if iheywoidd 
not, they oic^ht. For tJteir fleeing from trouble is as if a man did 
flee from a lion, and a bear met him ; or went into the house, and 
leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. 

Let me, then, beg these sons of sorrow to inquire, whether the 
event they long for will be a real remedy for their complaints. Are 
they sure" that^death will be annihilation ? perfectly sure that there 
is nothing beyond the grave ? Can they prove that there is no future 
state, and that in this state there is no misery, but happiness only? 
Judas hanged himself. And what then ? He went to his own place ; 
which was far worse than his former condition, even under all the 
horrors of remorse. 

If the Scripture be true, all are not happy at death. Yea, 7ione 
are then happy w^ithout a title to heaven, and a meetness for it. And 
have you this title '? Where is it? What is it? " He that believeth 
on the Son, hath everlasting life ; and he that believeth not the Son, 
shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him." Have you 
this meetness? What is it? Do you love holiness? Without this, 
coidd vou be happy in a holy place ? in a holy state ? in holy com- 
pany f in holy engagements ? in holy enjoyments? Is the Redeemer 
precious to your souls ? and do 3^ou delight in him ? Without this, 
coidd you be happy, to be for ever in his presence, and hearing for 
ever his praise ? Could a man, without an ear or taste for masic, be 
happy, by being removed into a world of melody and harmony ? 
Need you be told, that happiness does not arise from the excellency 
of the object, but from its adaptation to our disposition ? That nothing 
can make us happy, but what relieves our icants 7 fulfills our desij'es 7 
and satisfies our hope 7 Without holiness, therefore, no man can see 
the Lord. 

How absurd, then, is it to wish to leave this world for another, be- 
fore you are sure the exchange will be for your advantage ! For your 
advantage it cannot be, if you die unpardoned and unrenewed. 
Bie^ed are the dead that die in the Lord. But out of him you are 
out of the city of refuge, and the avenger cf blood is upon }'ou. Out 
of Him, you are out of the ark, and in the midst of the deluge. No ; 
the day of your death is not better than the day of your birth. What- 
ever your privations, and losses, and distresses here may be, they are 
only the beginnings of sorrow, and all you suffer from them is only 
as a drop to the ocean, compared with the damnation of hell. And, 
once gone from time, there is no return. As the tree falleth, so it lies. 

Lnstead, therefore, of wishing this only and all-important season 
ended, you should be thanklul that it is prolonged, if it be continued 
even in a vale of tears ; and account that the long suffering of Grod 
is your salvation, for he is not willing that any should perish. 

Remember, also, that these disappointments and sorrows, which 
make you so impatient, may prove the greatest blessing, and the 
valley of Achor be given you for a door of hope. For God does not 
afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of m.en. He renders eartli 



166 OCTOBER 2. 

desolate, to induce you to seek a better country. He strikes away 
every human prop, and puts failure and vexation into every -worldly 
gcheme, that you may turn from idols to the Supreme Good. 

'* What should I wait or wish for, then, I " Now I forbid my carnal hope, 

" From creatures, eartli, and dusf | " My fond desires recall ; 

" They make our expectations vain, I " I give my mortal interest up, 

" And disappoint our trust. | " And make my God my all." 

—-Away, then, with every thought of the rope or river. Sa}', •' 1 
will arise, and go unto my Father." He is in sight, waiting to 
receive thee graciously, and to love thee freely. Repair to the throne 
of the heavenly grace. You cannot spread your sorrows tliere in 
vain. If tempted to despair, try his word. No one ever trusted, and 
■was confounded. Cry, " Lord, I am oppressed ; undertake for me." 
" Come," says the Reliever of every burden, " Come unto me, all 
ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." 

The Athenian said, •' I should have been lost, if I had not been 
lost." What made the prodigal think of home, but want? Where 
did Manasseh find his father's God, but in affliction ? We often ^qqI 
for those who have been reduced, and say, They have seen bettei- 
days; but if in their prosperity they forgot God that made them, and 
lightly esteemed the Rock of their salvation, and in their adversity 
have ihrown themselves into his arms ; these, these are the best days 
they ever saw, and they will draw forth their praise for ever. This, 
my suffering friend, may be your case, and will be, if you seek unto 
God, and unto God commit your cause. He can, he will turn the 
shadow of death into the morning, and you shall join the multitude 
\#io are saying, It is good for me that I have been afflicted. 



October 2. — " I will bear what God the Lord will speak." — Psalm 
Ixxxv, 8. 

And surely if He speaks, in whatever way he expresses himself, 
it becomes us to hear, and to hear immediately. To-day, if ye v/ill 
hear his voice, harden not your hearts. Let us not, therefore, " be 
unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is." There are 
lour cases in which we should adopt this resolution. 

First. I Avill hear what God the Lord will speak as to doclrinal 
truth. If error were harmless, Ave should not be commanded to 
" buy the truth, and sell it not ;" to " prove all things, and to hold 
fast that which is good." It is of unspeakable importance to have 
proper sentiments on all religious subjects. But concerning all thcjo 
subjects different opinions prevail, and it is certain that all these 
opinions cannot be true. Hence persons are often perplexed, espe- 
cially at the beginning of the Christian life. What, in this case, are 
we to do? One cries, Lo I here is Christ; and another, Lo! there. 
Be it so. We are not left without witness. It would be sad and 
dangerous had we no rule to go by ; no standard to which^ we can 
appeal. But we have such an advantage. And in things of moment 
it is plain and obvious. And it is accessible — it is in our possession. 
It is the testimony of God recorded in the Scriptures. I will, there- 
fore, make no system of divinity, drawn up by fallible creatures lilce 
myself, my oracle, but enter at once the temple of Revelation, anil 
inquire there. I will call no man ma.ster upon earth ; one is my mas- 



OCTOBER 2. 167 

ier. even Christ ; and all besides are only brethren. I need not 
ask what Arminius or Calvin speaks-they themselves are to be 
judged out of this Book; and what they dehver is no fmthe 
bindiiicT upon me than as they can say, - Thus saith the Lord 
- To the law and to the testimony : if they speak not according to 
tills word, it is because there is no hght in them " "I will hear 
what God the Lord will speak.-' In this inspired volume I have 
the judgment of God himself upon every subject with which it is 
necessary for me to be acqnainted. And 1 will go to it ; not wi h 
a previous bias, but open to conviction ; not to dictate, but to 
learn : not full, but to be filled. I will not be influenced to em- 
brace a doctrine, because it is easy of comprehension ; or to 
reject it, because it is mysterious. It is infinitely reasonable lo 
believe whatever God speaks ; and my only concern is to ascertam 
what he has spoken. 

Secondly. I will hear what God the Lord will speak, as to my 
mox^emeabi in life. How ignorant and short sighted are we ! How 
liable to mistake! How incapable of distinguishing between ap- 
oearancesand reahties ; and of deciding what will be good or 
evil for us ! Surely we have erred and suffered enough already, to 
convince us that " the way of man is not in himself.'' How much 
depends on one wrong step, as it regards our comfort, usefulness 
and reputation ! Even when the iniquity is pardoned, Ihe natural 
consequences may be long left to operate. They cannot often be 
remedied; and so repentance is quartered upon the offender all 
his days. How frequently has this been exemplified in irreli- 
gious marriages ; and changes of residence and business, through 
lancy, pride, or avarice ; or even good, but mistaken motives . A 
Christian, therefore, should take every step of importance— and 
what step may not be important ? feeling a responsibility tliat 
makes him tremble ; and an anxiety that urges him to seek coun- 
cil from above—" I will hear what God the Lord will speak- —and 
re emulate my marches by the cloud. But while I wait upon God, I 
must also wait for him : and integrity and uprightness are to pre- 
serve me while I do so. For He tells me, that if a luan sets up 
idols in his heart, and comes to inquire of him, he will answer 
him, but " according to his idols." And this is done, not only by 
a penal influence, but by natural effect ; for every thing will be 
colored according to the passion through which I view it. If 
therefore I do not consult God sincerely, it would be better for me 
not to do it at all ; for it can only dishonor him, and delude my- 
self. But if I go in simplicity, and say, " Lord, what wilt thou 
have me to do V' I come with'n the reach of the promise, '' In all 
thv ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." 

Thirdly- I vvill hear what God \\\i Lord will speak, as to 
the dispensations of his provhUnce. Nothing is more trying than 
what an old divine calls " a dumb aflliction :" so that when we put 
our ear to it, we can seem to hear nothing, as to what it implies, or 
intends. Varying the metaphor a little. Job was in such a state 
of ignorance and perplexity : '"Behold, I go forward, but he is 
not there ; and backward, but I cannot perceive him ; on the left 
hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him : he hideth 



168 OCTOBER 3. 

himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him." In such a con- 
dition, it affords relief to be able to add : " but he knoweth the way 
that 1 take." Yet duty requires that we should have some know- 
ledge of it ourselves. A natural man is only concerned to escape 
from trouble : but the Christian is anxious to have it sanctified and 
improved. He is commanded to bear the rod. While God chas- 
tens, he teaches. I must therefore be in a learning frame of 
mind. I must say unto God, " Show me wherefore thou contend- 
est with me"—" I will hear what, by this event, God the Lord 
will speak." 

Fourthly. I will hear what He will say also, in answer to prayer. 
Here is a thing, I fear, generally disregarded. How many peti- 
tions are never thought of after they have been delivered ? We 
knock at the door, and go away, and never even look back to see 
whether it be opened unto us. Can we expect that God will at- 
tend to those prayers which we contemn ourselves ? Are such 
addresses any thing better than a mockery of the Supreme Being 1 

Let us therefore hear what he says in reply to our requests. Is 
it not pleasing to know that we are not forsaken nor forgotten of 
our best friend ? To be able to rectify a gloomy conclusion ? To 
reason from the past to the future ? And like a beggar to derive 
encouragement from success ? " For I said in my haste, I am cut 
off from before thine eyes ; nevertheless thou heardest the voice 
of my supplications, when 1 cried unto thee." " I cried unto him 
with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue. If I regard 
iniquity in my licart the Lord will not hear me : but verily God 
liatli heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. 
Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his 
mercy from me." " I love the Lord, because he hath heard my 
voice, and my supplications. Because he hath inclined his ear 
unto me, therefore uill 1 call upon him as long as I live." 

OcroBKR 3. — " Let your moderation be knoAvn unto all men. The Lord is 
at hand." — I'hilippians, iv, 5. 

— W^HAT moderation ? Moderation with regard to your appe- 
tites. Some make a God of their belly, and glory in their shame. 
Many indulge in eating and drinking, beyond the demands of 
bodily refreshment, or the allowances of health. Your modera- 
tion, with regard lo your passions. You are to be angr}^, and sin 
not. The sun must not go down upon your wrath. The fear, 
the joy, the love, the grief, allowable in themselves, may become 
excessive in tlie degree. Your moderation with regard to the 
distinctions of life. These are to differ from " the pride of life"— 
in apparel, in furniture, in servants. Your moderation, in profes 
sion^l pursuits, and the cares of trade— diligent in business, bul 
not '' entangling yourselves in the affairs of this life;" content 
with sober and solid gain ; and not by hazard and speculations, 
making haste to be rich. Your moderation, in the exaction ol 
rights; whether pecuniary — in deciming the rigor of the law, for 
debt; or personal— in waiving the claims of authority and prefer- 
ence, as Abraham did in the case of Lot. Your moderation m 
your opinions and zeal. Many things in religion arc of far lens 



OCTOBER 4. 60 

importance than other.-?, even if true— But as to the trutli of them, 
this is not easily ascertained; and we see men of equal talent and 
piety on each side of the question. The truth generally lies in the 
middle j and he is commonly nearest to it who is abused by both 
the opposite parties. 

And what a reason is there to enforce this admonition ! " The 
Lord is at hand." The word signifies nigh, either as to place or 
time. If we take it as to place— it refers to his presence— I am a 
God at hand, and not afar off. He is about our path and our lying 
down, and is acquainted with all our ways. Thus he is always 
nigh to see and observe, to aid or oppose, to bless or to punish. 

'• O may these thoughts possess my breaet, I " Nor let my weaker passions dare 
'• Where'er I rove, where'er I rest : | «' Consent to sin— for God is there !" 

— If we take it as to time — it refers to his coming — "The coming 
of the Lord drawing near." This is true, not only as to the cei*^ 
tainty of the event, and the confidence of faith ; but as to his 
real approach. If the Lord was at hand when Paul wrote this 
Epistle, how much more now two thousand years have rolled 
away ! But he comes by death— and this, as to consequences, is the 
same to us as his coming to judgment. And there is but a step 
between us and death. 

— If a multitude of people were assembled together, and behaved 
tumultuoush^, and the king was coming along the road—" The 
king is at hand," would instantly reduce them to order and si- 
lence ; and every eye would be turned toward him. If a number 
of criminals, forgetful of their condition, were improperly amu- 
sing themselves, or striving together, and a signal told them the 
judge wa5 entering the town to try them — what an effect would 
this instantly have upon their mind and their conduct ! But what 
is your case ? He is not only your Sovereign but your Judge — 
and, " behold, the Judge staxdeth before the door !" 

How lamentable is it, that to enforce what is wise and just, and 
good, in itself, we should need such motives — and that these mo- 
tives, after all. should have so little influence over us ! That we 
should be constantly reminded of such a Being — led back to the 
grace of his first coming — and forward, to the glory of his second 
coming — and think, and feel, and speak, and act, and live, as we 
do ! " So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our 
hearts unto wisdom." 



October 4. — " The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth 
more and more unto the perfect day." — Proverbs, iv, 18. 

What does this fine image imply ? What does it express ? So- 
lomon traces the resemblance between the path of the just and 
the rising light, in three articles. Each shines. Each shines more 
and more. Each shines more and more unto the perfect day. 

The rising light shines. It is the very nature of it to do so. It 
thus shows itself, and renders other things visible : for whatso- 
ever doth make manifest is light. Without this, the works of the 
field, and the human liice divine, would be all a blank — but the 



170 OCTOBER 4. 

shining of the light lays open their beauties, and fills lis with ad 
miration and praise. Thus the Christian's path breaks out of 
obscurity ; the darkness is past ; and the true light shineth. His 
religion is not only real, but apparent. And as it need not, and 
should not be hid ; so it will not, and cannot be hid. Its opera- 
tion v/ill evince its existence. Its principles will display them- 
selves in its practice. There will be the work of faith, and the 
labor of love, and the patience of hope, and the fruit of the Spi- 
rit. Pity will get into the e5^e. Meekness M'ill smile in the fea- 
tures. The law of kindness will dwell upon the tongue. The 
hand, ready to communicate, will unawares slide into the pocket 
— they that were in darkness will show themselves ; and, in a 
thousand ways, their light will shine before men. 

But the sliining of the rising light is noble and glorious. It is 
one of the most splendid appearances in nature. The rising sun 
is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber — we hardly won- 
der the poor heathen, in the absence of revelation, should worship 
it — the lustre is often too powerful for the naked eye. And how 
was it with Moses, after communion with God ? His face shone 
so that the Israelites could not steadfastly behold the glory of his 
countenance. He was not aware of it himself, till, seeing the 
people dazzled he was obliged to take a veil. And the humility 
of the Christian may keep him from perceiving his own excel- 
lencies : but others will take knowledge of them ; and his profit- 
ing will appear unto all men. And nothing is so impressive 
and influential as the life of a Christian, when he walks v.orthy 
of the vocation wherewith he is called. It was not necessary for 
the first believers at Jerusalem to lay down rules to exclude im- 
proper characters from their communion — their purity, their dig- 
nity, their majesty, repelled them — " And of the rest durst no man 
join himself to them ; but all the people magnified them." 

— Yet the shining- of the rising light is not mere lustre. It is a 
source of usefulness, as well as of admiration. It warms and 
enlivens. It fertilizes the gardens and the fields. It makes the 
valleys to stand thick with corn, and the little hills to rejoice on 
every side. And so Jesus went about doing good. And so Chris- 
tians are blessings in all the places wherein they move. Let us 
make this image our model in our endeavors to serve our gene- 
ration. The sun says nothing — it does good without noise — it 
shines unasked, constantly, impartially — it rises on the evil, as 
\vell as on the good — so may we be merciful. 

But the shining light shines wore and more. — So does the palh 
of the just. His religion is a gradual and progressive thing. We 
therefore read of growing in grace, and in the knowledge of our 
Lord and Savior. Of the Thessalonians, it is said, Their faith 
grew exceedingly ; and the love of every one of them toward 
each other abounded. As far as we are stationary in our attain- 
ments, we are censured and condemned by the image. But to 
derive comfort from it, it is not necessary that we should be every 
thing at once. Nothing in nature reaches its perfection suddenly, 
nriie babe proceeds, by slow degrees, into tlie man. The blade 
precedes the full corn in the ear. Let us not despise the day of 



OCTOBER 0. 171 

small things. What was the oak once, but an acorn ? Wliat is 
the dawn, to the noon ? 

But the shining light shines more and more unto the perfect day. 
The allusion is not taken from a meteor, that blazes for a moment, 
and then disappears. Nor from the morning cloud and early dew, 
that soon passeth away: but from the rising sun, that always 
attains its end, and completes what it begins — rising upward — 
and shining — onward till it is day — perfect day. 

When did the sun ever make a dawn, and not carry it into full 
day ? Who can drive him back or stop his course ? If it had ene- 
mies, and they cursed its beams, the rage would be as vain as un- 
reasonable — " He rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His 
going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto 
the ends of it : and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof." 
So shall it be with all those who are set in motion for eternity by 
divine grace. " They that love Him shall be as the sun when he 
goeth forth in his might." There is no enchantment or divina- 
tion against them. In all opposition they shall be more than con- 
querors. He who is the author, shall also be the finisher of their 
faith. They shall soon lose all their infirmities. They shall 
emerge into perfect knowledge, holiness, and joy — And " then 
shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their 
Father. He that hath ears to hear, let him hjear." 

But who can help recalling the beautiful lines of Dr. Watts, 
which, though written for the infant mind, are worthy the peru- 
sal of angels ? 

" How fine has llie day been, bow bright was the sun, 
" How lovely aud joyful the course that he run ; 
" Though he rose in a mist when liis race he begun, 

" And there followed some droppings of rain ! 
" But now the fair traveller's come to the west, 
" His rays are all gold, and his beauties are best ; 
" He paints the sky gay, as he sinks to his rest, 

" And foretells a bright rising again. 

•• Just such is the Ciiristian — his course he begins, 
" Like the sun in a mist, while he mourns for his sins, 
" And melts into tears ; then he breaks out aud shines, 

" And travels his iieavenly way : 
" But when he comes nearer to finish his race, 
" Like a fine setting sun, he looks richer in grace, 
" .4nd gives a sure hope, at the end of his days, 

*' Of rising in brighter array." 



October 5. — " Who is goue into heaven." — 1 Peter, ui,22. 

—Many had gone there before. Abel w^as the first that entered : 
and it is encouraging to think, that the first victim of death was a 
partaker of glory — ^human nature being found in heaven, before 
it was seen in hell. How long he was alone there, we know not. 
But others soon followed :. and our Savior must have found there 
a multitude which no man could number. 

But though many had gone into heaven before, none of them 
had gone in the same way and manner with himself. Others had 
entered without their bodies ; but he had entered incarnately. 
Two had indeed entered embodied ; but they did not take their 
bodies from the grave. Enoch and Elias died not, but were only 



172 OCTOBER 5. 

changed. Jesus died and was buried ; and passed to glory from 
the tomb. Others entered heaven by mere favor, presenting no 
claim from their worthiness and obedience; but he entered by 
merit — He deserved all the glory he obtained — It was no more 
than the reward of his doing and suffering. Others entered as 
private individuals ; and their entering did not insure the entrance 
of others — not even of their friends and relations. Religion is a 
personal thing : and it could not be inferred, that because the hus- 
band or the father was glorified, the wife or child would follow. 
But he entered as a public character, as the head and representa- 
tive of his people : and because he lives, they shall live also. 
Hence says the apostle, " He hath quickened us together with 
Christ, and raised us up and made us sit together Avith him in the 
heavenly places." 

It is expedient for us, therefore, that he went away ; and as 
Joseph's going from the prison to the palace was not only his own 
advancement, but the salvation of his father's house, so Jesus is 
gone into heaven, not only to be crowned with glory and honor, 
but +0 execute the remainder of his mediatorial work, on behalf of 
the redeemed. " For if, when we Vv^ere enemies, we were recon- 
ciled to God by the death of his Son ; much more, being recon- 
ciled, we shall be saved by his life." But did he not say, when 
lie expired, "It is finished ?" He did — and it was finished — and 
nothing could be added to it. But what was finished ? The pro- 
curing of salvation onl}^ — not the application of it. The former 
was done upon the cross ; the latter is done upon the throne. 
What he suffered to acquire, he is exalted to bestow. He is exalt- 
ed to be a Prnice and Savior ; to give repentance unto Israel, and 
forgiveness of sins. 

Even in his priestly character, it behooved him not only to suf- 
fer, but to enter into his glory. The apostle therefore says, If he 
were on earth, he could not be a priest ; because he could then 
only have fulfilled one part of the ofllce. For the high priest 
not only offered the sacrifice, but entered the holy place— and 
sprinkled the blood upon the mercy-seat and burned incense — 
and made intercession for the people. Jesus therefore, after dy- 
ing for us, entered into heaven itself, there to appear in the pre- 
sence of God for us. By his own blood he entered in once into 
the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us — 
" Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that 
come unto God by him, seeing he ever livetli to m.ake intercession 
for them." 

He?-e he fought, and overcame ; but the Conqueror must have 
his triumph— displaying his spoils, and enriching the multitude. 
He therefore ascended on high, leading captivity captive, and re- 
ceived sifts for men, even for the rebellious also, that the Lord 
God might dwell among them. " And he gave some, apostles ; 
and some, prophets ; and some, evangelists ; and some pastors 
and teachers ; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of 
the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." 

He was a prophet, by his own preaching. But how local, and 
confined, and successless, was his personal ministry ! The work 



OCTOBER 6. l-TS 

was to be done by another ministry. Corporally, he was to with- 
draw : " But," said he, " the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, 
whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all 
things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I 
have said unto you." " I have yet many things to say unto you, 
but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit, when he, the Spirit of 
truth, is come, he will guide 5'Ou into all truth : for he shall not 
speak of himself ; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he 
speak ; and he will show you things to come." Thus he consi- 
dered his personal presence and agency far inferior to the dispen- 
sation of the Spirit. And yet some are looking for his bodily ad- 
vent again, as if this was to effect what the Holy Ghost could not 
accomplish. -What purpose is to be executed in the spread of the 
Gospel ; or the conversion of souls ? or glorification of the 
Church ? to which the energy of the Spirit is not adequate ? Not 
by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord. Were 
he here in his body, he would be confined to one place at a time, 
and many would envy the honor of seeing him in vain. But in 
his Spirit, he can be everywhere, and enjoyed of all. 



October 6. — " I am a stranger with Thee, and a sojourner, as all my fa- 
thers were." — Psalm xxxix, 12. 

So life was viewed and felt by David. He was very superior to 
many of his ancestors. He had wealth, and power, and honor, 
and reigned the greatest monarch of the east. But no condition 
can make the heir of immortality a citizen here. Others are 
strangers and sojourners, as to the transitoriness of their conti- 
nuance in this world, and the certainty of their removal from it ; but 
not as to their disposition — they mind earthly things ; and would 
be glad to live here always. But the child of God is, in principle, 
what he is in fact ; and in^experience, what he is in destination. 
He is also born from above and bound for glory. And though he 
is detained here in a foreign land for a v/hile, for the discharge 
and the management of certain duties and interests ; yet he thinks, 
even while thus engaged, of leaving it, in due time, for his own 
country — where his best relations reside — where lies his inherit- 
ance — and where he is to dwell for ever. 

" There is my house, my portion fair ; 
" My kindred and my friends are there, 
" And my abiding tiome: 

Am I a stranger and a sojourner with God ? Let me realize, 
let me exemplify the condition. Let me look for the treatment 
such characters commonly meet with. Like widows and orf)hans, 
they are often imposed upon, and wronged, and injured. They 
are turned into ridicule and reproach, because of their speech, 
their dress, their manner, and usages. And Christians are a pe- 
culiar people. They are men wondered at. The Savior tells them 
not to marvel, if the world hates them, for they are not of the 
world even as he is not of the world. This treatment is, in reality, 
a privilege, rather than a matter of complaint. It is when I am 
admired and caressed, and I find every thing agreeable in my cir- 



" For me my elder brethren slay, 
"And angels beckon me away, 
*' And Jesus bids me come." 



174 OCTOBER 7. 

cumstances ; it is then I feel something of the settler. But the 
disadvantages of my state make me think of home ; and induce 
me to arise, and depart hence, because this is not my rest. 

And surel}', if any of my own nation be near me, I shall be in- 
timate with them. We all know the heart of strangers. We all 
feel the same preferences. The same hope inspires us. The same 
end unites us. And we shall speak often one to another ; and 
contrast our present with our future condition ; and inquire when 
we heard from home, and when we think of departing for it — 
and thus beguile the hours, and relieve the absence. 

And let me not be entangled in the affairs of this life. Let me 
keep myself as detached as possible from things which do not 
concern me. Let me not embarrass myself, as an intermeddler 
and busy-body, in other men's matters. But study to be quiet, 
and to do my own business. And pray for the peace of the coun- 
try through which I am passmg. And be thankful for every ad- 
vantage I enjoy in my temporary exile. 

And let my affection be set on things that are above, and my 
conversation be always in heaven. Let me not be impatient for 
home ; but prizing it ; and longing for it ; and judging of myself 
by my relation to it. Who has not joined in the proverbial senti- 
ment, " Home is home, however homely ?" We read of some 
Swiss soldiers on foreign service, M-ho were so affected with a 
song that vividly recalled to mind their native valleys, and the 
houses in which they were born, that the officers were obliged to 
forbid the use of it. But, Oh ! my Father's house ! Here, toil ; 
there, rest. Here, trouble ; tliere, joy and gladness. Here, dark- 
ness ; there, light. Here, sin ; there, spotless purity. Here, the 
tents of Meshech and Kedar ; there, the spirits of just men made 
perfect, and the innumerable company of angels, and the Lord of 
all. " With such views," says Dr. Goodwin, " let who will be 



October 7. — "I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, 
saith the Lord God." — Ezekiel, xxxiv, 15. 

This is spoken of the subjects of divine grace. 

Indimdually considered, they are called sheep, to remind us ol 
their personal qualities ; their weakness, meekness, gentleness, 
harmlessness, patience, and submission. Some, in their affliction, 
toss like a wild bull in a net. Lay hold of a swine, and the neigh- 
borhood is alarmed. But observe the fleecy sufferer. She indeed 
palpitates. And the Christian may palpitate — and tremble — and 
be ready to faint ; but his very manner silently says, I know, O 
Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness 
hast afTIicted' rae. Let thy loving-kindness be for my comfort, 
according to thy word unto thy servant. 

—Distinctively considered, they are not all sheep. Many of 
them are lambs. But these are sheep in nature and degree ; and 
arc equally dear to the Shepherd, with the older parts of his 
charge. Yea, he gathers the lambs with his arm, and carries 
them in his bosom ; and gently leads those that are with young, 



OCTOBER 7. 175 

\ or have young, as the margin is, and leads tliem thus because ol 
j Ihe lambs. Lowth renders it, " The nursing ewes he will gently 
^ lead." And we are persuaded that the force of this tender image 
applies to the lambs, and not to the mothers. If the latter were 
driven on fast, the former could not keep up with them, especially 
in rough ground ; and tlius losing their maternal supplies, would 
droop and perish. 

— Collect iveli/, they are a flock. And one flock only, according 
to our Savior's words. '• One fold and one Shepherd." Whatever 
differences there are among them, they are only the differences of 
sheep, and of lambs. What difficulty is there in believing this ? 
Essential sameness is not destroyed by circumstantial distinction 
Unity is not incompatible with variety. Many branches make 
but one tree : many members but one body. Bigots would banish 
harmony from the church of God : for there can be no harmony 
where all the sounds are the same. God promised that he would 
give his people one heart and one way. And our Lord prayed that 
his followers might be one. Have this prayer and tliis promise 
been fulfilled ? We dare not suppose the contrary ; but if they 
have, v/e may see what kind of oneness was intended. Not a one- 
ness of opinion ; not a sameness in forms of worship, and modes 
of discipline — for these never have been found — but a oneness, a 
sameness consistent with the variations that have obtained among 
them. A unity of spirit. A community of principles. A fellow- 
ship of privileges — all being redeemed by the same blood, justi- 
fied by the same righteousness, renewed by the same grace, and 
joint heirs of the same glory. "There is neither Jew nor Greek, 
there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female ; 
for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." 

And is this flock ever forsaken or forgotten by Him ? " I wOl 
feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord 
God." But tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou 
feedest ; where thou makest thy flock to j-esi at noon. For why 
should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy com- 
panions ? 

" Fain would I feed among thy sUeep ; | "Among thera rest, among them sleep." 

What says David ? " The Lord is my shepherd ; I shall not 
want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth 
me beside the still water." 

This is grace. What is glory ? What said the angel to John ? 
" niey shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more ; neither 
shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb, which 
is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them, and shall lead them 
unto living fountains of wateis ; and God shall wipe away all tears 
from their eyes." 

There is another flock in the world. This consists of goats 
They also have a shepherd. It is the devil : and they are taken 
captive by him at his will. He has also under shepherds to do 
his work ; and to him they are amenable ; and what a reward 
will he render them ! But his flock, his direful flock — what food, 
what repose have they ! What in time, or eternity I The way ol 
transgressors is hard. The end of these things is death— the 



176 OCTOBER 8. 

second death. And if any of them should be intermixed with the 
flock of Christ, and escape detection here — '' before Him shall be 
gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another, 
as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats : and he shall sei 
the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left." "And 
these shall go away into everlasting punishment ; but the right- 
eous into life eternal." 



October 8. — " But in every thing, by prayer and supplication, with thanks- 
giving, let your requests be made knoAvn unto God." — Philippians, iv, 6. 

This is a simple and pleasing account of prayer. It is the 
making of our requests known unto God. He, indeed, knows 
them perfectly before we express them. But he will know them 
from us, that we may be properly affected with our own wants, 
and prepared for the display of his goodness and grace. And the 
apostle reminds us of three things very worthy of our attention, 
with regard to prayer. 

First. It is the prevention and cure of care. " Be careful for 
nothing — but in every thing, by prayer and supplication, with 
thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." All 
feel anxiety to be rid of a galling load. But the question is, how 
are we to disencumber ourselves of the burden ? All acknowledge 
the disorder, and many methods have been prescribed by way of 
remedy ; but if some of them touch the paroxysm of the com- 
plaint, none of them reach the root of the malady. The common- 
ness of the case, the brevity of time, the uselessness of giving way 
to solicitude, and the injurious effects of it; all these are true and 
proper — but they do njt go far enough. The fact is, if we are not 
to be careful, some one must care for us. And the thing is — and 
nothing less than this can tranquilize the mind — to be under the 
management of Him, who loves us better than we love ourselves, 
knows unerringly what is good for us, and is able to make every 
thing conduce to our vv'elfare — " Casting all our care on Him ; for 
he careth for us." And this is done by prayer. Hezekiah took 
the letter, and went and spread it before the Lord. Hannah 
poured out her heart before God, and her countenance was no 
more sad. In whatever has befallen or foreboded him, every be- 
liever has made the trial, and been able to say, with Asaph, " But 
it is good for me to draw near to God." 

Secondly. It is to be very extensively, yea, universally per- 
formed. Not in some things, or in many things — but in evenj 
thing, by prayer and supplication, we are to make known our re- 
quests unto God. Some only pray when God's chastening hand is 
upon them. In their affliction they seek him early. And this, as 
far as it goes, is not to be censured. Many, like Manasseh, have 
first sought God in trouble. Prayer is peculiarly seasonable in 
distress. But though prayer may commence in affliction, it is 
not to cease with it, or l3e confined to it. Prayer is equally need- 
ful to preserve and sanctify us in prosperity. It is not praying on 
extraordinary occasions, but on common ones, that evinces a 
pious frame of mind. Do we delight ourselves in the Almighty ? 
Do we always call upon God ? In all thy ways, says Solomon, 



OCTOBER 8. 177 

acknowledge Hiiii. It is thus alone we give God the glory of his 
universal providence ; not thinking with the Assyrians, that he is 
the God of the hills only, but also of the valleys ; and that a spar- 
row falleth not to the ground, without our heavenly Father ; and 
that the very hairs of our head are all numbered. Some imagine 
that many things are too little to be the subject of prayer. A dis- 
tinction is indeed to be made between the particularity and mi- 
nuteness of private and public prayer — But let us remember, that 
we are not to consider any thing too little for our prayer that God 
does not deem beneath his notice : and, also, that it is difficult, if 
not impossible for us, in many cases, to ascertain what is little ; as 
events the most important often hinge on circumstances apparent- 
ly the most trivial. Joseph's going to inquire after the welfare of 
his brethren on the plain, seemed a slight thing. Yet he, that 
morning, took leave of his father for more than twenty-one years ; 
and went a way by which he never returned. Saul sought his 
father's asses — a thing that seemed devoid of consequence ; but 
perhaps he is now in hell, owing to it, for then began his prosperi- 
ty, which destroyed him — then Samuel met him, and anointed 
him king over Israel. You go out, not knowing what a day may 
bring forth, as to your happiness or misery — Before the evening, 
you may meet accidentally with a connexion that shall prove a 
source of joy or suffering through life. '' Why this is enough to 
make one live and move in constant trembling." This is not the 
design of it — but it is designed to induce you — in every thing to 
commit 3'our way and your works unto the Lord. 

Thirdly. It is to be alwa3''s attended with a pleasing compan- 
ion. But in every thing, by prayer and supplication, vjith thanks- 
givings let your requests be made known unto God. And does 
not this imply, that we can never approach God without having 
cause for gratitude ? Hence it is said, in every thing give thanks. 
Whatever be our condition, we have much more to be grateful 
for, than to complain of — Complain ! What can ever justify this ?' 
Why should a living man complain, a man, for the punishment of 
his sin ? Let our losses and afflictions be what they may. He has 
not dealt with us after our desert, nor rewarded us according to 
our iniquity. Yea, the trials themselves are the effects of love, 
and designed to work together for our highest welfare. 

— And does it not teach us, that whenever we go to God to ask 
for fresh favors, we should be sure to acknowledge the reception 
of former ones ? How seldom is this the case ! How much selfish- 
ness is there even in our devotion ! How much more of them is 
occupied in petition than in praise ! Urged by our necessities, we 
go, and call upon God in prayer ! but when we have succeeded, 
we forget to return to give him the glory that is due unto his holy 
name. Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the ninel 
Where is even Hezekiah ? He rendered not according to the bene- 
fit done him. 



178 OCTOBER 9. 

October 9. — '•! did know thee iu tlie Wilderness, in the laud of great 
drought." — Hosea, xiii, 5. 

This " Yv ilderness" means the vast desert in ^vhicll the Jews 
wandered for forty years, betvveen Egypt and Canaan. It io 
characterized by one attribute—" A land of great drought." And 
this was enough to render it trying. But it was in every respect 
formidable and repulsive. Witness (lie language of Jeremiah ; 
" Neither said they, Where is the Lord that brought us up out of 
the land of Egypt, that led us through the Wilderness : through a 
land of deserts, and of pits ; through a land of drought, and of 
the shadow of death ; through a land that no man passed through, 
and where no man dwelt." 

But here God says, " I knew thee." It cannot mean a mere ac- 
quaintance with their condition and circumstances j for what can 
be hid from Him ? But it intends two things. 

First. He knevv them there, so as to provide for them. Thus it 
marks his goodness ; and forms a contrast with the conduct of 
many of our fellow creatures. A friend is born for adversity : 
and to him that is afflicted, ^'liy slwiild be showed from his friend. 
But, alas ! this is rarely exemplified. They who were intimate 
enough Avith their connexions before, scarcely know them when 
they are in distress. The flower which, when fresh and fragrant, 
was put into the bosom, is, when withered and dry, thrown awaj\ 
The garden, which, while yielding every kind of gratification, is 
constantly visited, is deserted in winter. But it is othervuse with 
God. Thouglifae never leaves his people, he has peculiarly pro- 
mised to be with them in trouble. And David acknowledged this : 
" Thou hast known my soul in adversities." And has he not 
known our souls in the same state ? Has he not been better to us 
than our fears ; and proved himself " a very present help in trou- 
ble ?" So it was with Israel — he found them in a desert land, in a 
waste howling wilderness ; and though the situation aflforded 
them no supplies, he allowed them to want no good thing. He 
led them by a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night 
— healed the bitter waters of Marah — fetched them honey out of 
the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock — rained down manna upon 
them — suffered not their raiment to wax old upon them, nor their 
foot to swell in travelling — vanquished their enemies— gave them 
ordinances — and sent his Holy Spirit to instruct them — so that 
Moses well said, '• Happy art thou, O Israel ; vviio is like unto 
thee, O people saved of the Lord I" 

Secondly. He knew them there, so as to approve of them, and 
acknowledge them. It is undeniable that the word hwiv has this 
meaning, when it is said, '• The Lord knoweth the way of the 
righteous." " If any man love God, the same is known of him." 
'• Know them that labor among you." But did God thus know 
them in the v.ilderness ? Not absolutely, but comparatively. They 
followed him out of Egypt and not one lingered behind. At the 
Red Sea they sang his praise. At Sinai they cheerfully and un- 
reservedly acceded to his covenant. And though they were 
guilty of many perversenesses and rebellions, yet they never 



OCTOBER 10. 179 

wholly reiiuqiiished his worship and established idolatry and 
wickedness by a law, as they afterwards did in Canaan. While 
we dwell on imperfections, God loves to make the best of things. 
Surali spake unadvisedly with her lips 5 but she uttered one good 
thing— she called Abraham, Lord; and this only is mentioned. 
Job cursed the day of his birth : but when James refers to him, 
we hear only of the patience of Job. And observe God' ti gracirms 
testimony concerning Israel at this period: "Go, and cry in the 
ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord, I remember thee, 
ihe kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou 
wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. 
Israel was holiness unto the Lord, and the first fruits of his in- 
crease : all that devour liim sliall offend 3 evil shall come upon 
them, saith the Lord.*' 

Adversity will not, of itself, secure godliness. Persons may be 
reduced, and not humbled : they may be afilicted, and God not 
know them in -heir distress. Yet, in general, if you observe 
others, and review your own experience, you will find times of 
affliction have been more friendly to religion than seasons of case 
and prosperity. 

First. When has God known your conscience most wakeful, 
and your heart most watchful against sin? Before I was afflicted; 
says David, I went astray: but now have I kept my word. 

Secondly. When has God known your souls most weaned from 
the world, and willing to leave it ? When all was agreeable and 
inviting ? or v/hen every thing conspired to tell you, that this is 
not your rest ? 

Thirdly. WTien has he known you value most the communion 
of saints ; the means of grace ; the preaching of the word ? AV'heii 
did your eye bedew your Bible ? Wlien pressing the sacred vo- 
lume to your bosom, did you say, I'nless thy laws had been my 
delight, I should have perished in mine affliction ? 

Fourthly. When has he known you most frequently and ear 
nestly addressing the throne of his Grace ? In their affliction they 
will seek me early. In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord. 
Even the Savior himself, being in an agony, prayed more earnestlv. 
'• O my people," says he here, " you and I were better acquainted 
in the wilderness, when you were in a low condition ; and left to 
my immediate care; and you lived daily by faith. Then 3'ou 
made me many a visit — but now we seldom meet.** Such is the 
effect of indulgence under fullness. He therefore immediately adds, 
" According to their pasture, so they were filled ; they were filled, 
and their heart was exalted ; therefore have they forgotten me." 



October 10. — " And the children of Israel took tlieir journeys out of the 
wilderness of Sinai; and tlic cloud rested in tiie wilderness of Paraii." 

r\umbers, x, V^. 

If the Jews, as the apostle assures us, were our ensamples, in 
nothing do they more represent the experience of Christians than 
ill their progress from Egypt to Canaan. 

— They had now conlinucd many months in the wilderness of 



180 OCTOBER 10. 

Sinai, whore the law was given, and all the ordinances of divine 
worship were established. There they had committed idolatry 
and provoked the Most High to anger; and there he proved him- 
.self the just God and the Savior. He forgave their iniquities, but 
took vengeance on their inventions. They were now to enter the 
wilderness of Paran, a vast desert of nine days' journey ; and 
where the greater part of their subsequent stations were fixed, 
*' And the children of Israel took their journeys out of the wil- 
derness of Sinai ; and the cloud rested in the wilderness of Pa- 
ran." Thus they only marched from one \oilderness into another. 
And is not this the case with all our changes in this world ? Let 
us look at a few of them ; and we shall see, that whatever they 
may promise — as to satisfaction and happiness — they leave us 
much the same as they find us. 

' It is not so when we pass from one period to another ? Every 
age has been full of complaints ; and here it is remarkakle, in- 
stead of supposed improvement, the inquiry has always been. 
" What is the cause that the former days were better than these?" 
We end one year with a kind of gloom, and hail the arrival of 
another; but the months are found the same with those v.hich had 
previously passed away. The winter is not without cold, nor the 
summer without heat. W^e feel in our early days the confine- 
ment ofschool, and the restraints of a father's house ; we long to 
be at our own disposal, and to enter life for ourselves. But where 
is the man that has not exclaimed, " O that I was as in the days of 
my youth !" Much is said of an agreeable and peaceable old age. 
W ho does not desire many days, that he may see good ? yet is 
their strength labor and sorrow. Another girds, and leads us 
whither we would not. In vain we look around for our cariy 
and endeared connexions — lover and friend is put far from us, 
and our acquaintance into darkness. The days are come in which 
we may say, " I have no pleasure in them." '' All that cometh is 
vanity." 

Is it not the same when vve pass from one residence to another ? 
There are few but have known local changes ; and some, by a 
train of events, have been led to pitch their tents in situations the 
most remote from all their former expectations. Sometimes a 
removal is not at our own option. In other cases it seems very 
inviting and desirable. It may have preferable claims. But still 
it is a removal in the wilderness, and not out of it. To Abraham, 
God said, " Get thee out of thy country, and from thy father's 
house, into a land that I will tell thee of :" and this was the land 
of Promise. Yet even there he shared in the troubles of his ne- 
phew. Lot — went for years without an heir to his wealth — was 
tried in offering up his son Isaac — and buried his Sarah out of 
sight, in The cave of Machpelah. There, by faith, he sojourned 
as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles — not at home 
but looking for a city which had foundations, whose builder and 
maker is God. 

Is it not the same when we go from one condition to anotlier ? 
Many deem it a fine thing to pass from obscurity to splendor — 
forgetful that distinction and fame will draw forth envy, and ex- 



OCTOBER 10. 181 

cite evil speaking, and deprive us of the sweets of retirement and 
leisure. David rose from a shepherd's cottage to the grandeur of 
a palace — and then sighed, " O that I had wings like a dove ; for 
then would I fly away and be at rest." How wise was the Shu- 
naniite ! When Elisha offered to speak for her to the king ; " I 
dwell," said she, " among mine own people." Some deem it a 
great thing to rise from indigence to wealth. By their eagerness 
to acquire it, all seem to think, if they could have affluence, they 
should v\'ant-noi]iing. But does a man's life consist in the abun- 
dance of the things which he possesseth ? His desires increase 
with his means ; and in the midst of his sufficiency he is in 
«tr.aits. The same may be said in passing from activity to leisure. 
" Oh !" says one, " when I have acquired so much, and can with- 
draw from the world, where I have been so tried, I shall be hap 
py." But to withdraw from the world is not so easy. Habits 
form a second nature. Few are qualified, either to improve or to 
enjoy solitude. No kind or degree of exertion is so much at va- 
riance with happiness, as having nothing to do. Ennui is an insect 
that preys upon all bodies at rest. 

" And Satan finds some mischief still, [ " Tor idle hands (o do." 

He found David alone : and Eve alone. It is the v/ill of nature 
•and Providence that we should pass from individual into social 
life ; and Solomon says. He that findeth a wife, findeth a good 
thing, and obtaineth favor of the Lord. And the conjugal condi- 
tion, wisel}^ and piously entered, in a general way, admits of more 
happiness than any other. But it may produce the keenest an- 
guish. At best, it cannot yield pure and unalloyed felicity— our 
affections become sources of anxiety and fear — we share the 
pains, as well as the pleasures, of those who are one with us— 
and every delightful tie is mortal. How impatient are some to 
enter the parental relation ! Lo ! cliildren are a heritage of the 
Lord, and the fruit of the womb is his reward. But the Proverb 
truly calls them, certain cares, and uncertain comforts. How often 
do the father and mother mourn over undutifulness, depravity, 
an early grave. Childhood and youth are vanity. 

" This is a very gloomy view of things ;" but is it not a true 
one ? a Scriptural one ? And if so, should it not check presump- 
tion and vain confidence 7 Should it not inspire sober and m.ode- 
rate expectation, with regard to every earthly scene— in those 
who are just entering life ? or those who are on the verge of any 
change in it ? 

Is there, however, nothing to encourage and comfort under 
such a dispensation ? Much every way. Such a state of things 
is not Cfl5z<a7— " And the children of Israel took their journeys 
out of the wilderness of Sinai ; and the cloud rested in the wil- 
derness of Paran." Therefore, though they removed from one 
desert into another, it was under the Lord's guidance and con- 
duct. He determines the bounds of our habitation, and admini- 
sters all our comforts and our crosses. Such a state af tilings we 
are not 7(nappnsed of; and therefore, if we go on, buoyed up 
with hopes which miist issue in disappointment, the fault is our 
own ; as all history, observation, experience, and Scripture tell us 



182 OCTOBER 11. 

enough to prevenl it. Such a state, too, is not peculiar to us — it 
has been known by all our brethren who were before us in the 
world, and will be realized by all those who come after us. Nor 
is it ovw final state. Another is discovered and promised. There 
remaineth a rest for the people of God ; a better, even a lieavenly 
country — a few more stages, and we shall remove to the glory of 
all lands — no thorns there, no dangers there — after all our move- 
ments in the wilderness, we shall move out of it : and the days 
of our mourning will be ended. Neither is it an vnmi.rcd state. 
If this earth is not heaven, it is not hell : if we are not in Canaan, 
the Desert we are in is not like Egypt, from whence we came 
out. Like the Jews, we have many advantages and comforts, 
though the place itself yields us nothing. We have the fiery 
cloudy pillar ; and water from the rock ; and the manna ; and 
Moses, Aaron, and Miriam ; and the grapes from Eshcol ; and 
God, w^ho is nigh unto us in all that we call upon him for. Yea, 
the very difficulties, mortifications, and distresses of the state are 
useful. The)' try us, and humble us, and do us good with regard 
to our latter end. But for these, how unwilling should we be to 
go. How vain would the admonition be, " Arise, and depart ;" 
unless it were enforced with the conviction, " This is not our rest." 
Let this, therefore, keep us from the murmurings of discontent, 
and the forebodings of despondency. Though serious, let us not 
be gloomy. And while free from delusive hopes, let us not yield 
to unbelieving fears — but thank God, and take courage. 



OcTOBKR 11. — " And he led them out as far as Bethany; and he lifted his 
hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he 
V* as parted from them, and carried up into heaven." — Luke, xxiv,50, 51. 

— From another Scripture, it would seem that he ascended from 
Mount Olivet. But there is no contradiction here. The same 
eminence is intended — on the one side of it, in the garden of 
Gethsemane, he suffered ; on the opposite side, stretching down to 
Bethany, he was received up into glory. And we see the latter 
was some considerable distance from the former : for, of the attend- 
ants at his ascent, it is said, " Then returned they unto Jerusalem 
from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a Sabbath- 
day's journey." 

Thither he seems to have led his disciples, and for the sake of 
abstraction and privacy ; for he had said before his death. " Tlie 
world seeth me no more," They had seen him and believed not. 
To v/hat purpose should other proofs be displayed before those 
on whose minds all his miracles had made no impression ? And 
here was a sufficient number to attest the fact : and reason cannot 
question the competency of these witnesses, either as to capacity 
or sincerity. 

But how wonderful and pleasing is the manner in wiiich he 
took his leave! His disciples had often tried him. They had 
always betrayed great imperfections ; and, after their professions 
of attachment to him, as soon as he was apprehended, they all 
forsook him, and fled. He might well have cast them off, but he 
loved them even unto the end. He might have forgiven them ; 



OCTOBER 11. 183 

and yet have lefi them unseen — r»r silently — or with a frown — or 
with a rebuke — and this would almost have hrokeii their hpans: 
but '• he lifted up his hands, and blessed them !" Thus proclaiming 
the most cordial forgiveness; thus assuring them, that they might 
rely on his remembering them when he was come into his kingdom. 
Dr. Priestly is much perplexed about his present residence and 
employment. It would appear, he says, from some intimations 
in the Epistles, as if he still had occasionally something to do with 
the church; but what this is v/3 cannot conjecture. And there is 
no doubt, says he, but he is now somewhere on earth : for what 
relation can he have to any other planet? But we are assured that, 
while he blessed his disciples, he was parted from them, '• and 
carried up into heaxeny Where this is, we are not infonm-d : 
but it is obviously a place ; for he was clothed in a body like cur 
own ; and, corporeally, he cannot be every where. But wherever 
he thus is, there is heaven, x^nd this accords with his own lan- 
guage — "1 go to prepare a place for you." And though heaven is 
to be considered more as a state than a place ; and thougli even 
now our happiness does not depend essentially upon local situa- 
tioiis, yet these have their importance— And what beautiful and 
enchanting places have we seen, and heard of, and imagined ! But 
" eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the 
heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that 
love him." What a residence was Eden, before the fall of the 
first Adam I But this fell infinitely short of the excellency of the 
abode of the second Adam, the Lord from heaven — 

' Oh ! the 'ielights, the heavenly joys, I " Where Jesus sheds the brightest beams 

"The glories of the place, | "Of his o'ertiowlng grace!" 

Well, let us think of him v\diere he now is, and inquire what is 
our duty with regard to him. Hear Paul : " Seeing then that we 
have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the 
Son of God, let us hold fast our profession." We need not be 
afraid to own him — for he is able to take care of us, however we 
may be exposed. We need not be ashamed to avow him— for he 
has every thing to induce us to glory in him. Some comparative 
excuse might be made for Peter. When he denied him, he was a 
prisoner at the bar, and going to be crucified as a malefactor. But 
wliere is he v/hen v/e deny him ? In the midst of the throne — 
crowned with glory and honor — the Lord of all. 

Let us follow him in our thoughts and affections. Why seek 
we the living among the dead. He is woiliere. He is in heaven ; 
and where our treasure is, there should our hearts be also. Let us 
therefore have our conversation in heaven, and seek those th.mgs 
that are above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. 
There, some of us have much to interest us now. We seem more 
related to another world than this— and, reflecting i;pon our losses, 
we sigh and say, " What do 1 here! and what have I here?^^ How 
many among the blessed can we reckon up, who we feel are 
drawing us after them ! But here is the principal attraction. 

" .Tnsus, my all. to heaven is ?one : I '• Hi? track I see, and I'll pur.sue 

" He whom I fix my hopes upon : | " The n'irrow path till him 1 view '» 

Vol. II. 20 



181 OCTOBER 12. 

And let us rejoice in the expectation of being for ever with 
liim. " Whicli hope we have as an anchor to the soul, both sure 
and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the vail ; whi- 
ther the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus." The anchor 
that holds the ship is cast out of it ; and our hope must go out of 
ourselves. The anchor lays hold of something invisible ; and our 
liope enters heaven. Yet it would find nothing as the groimd of 
its grasp thei-e^ if he was not tjiere. But he is there— and there 
for us — and his being there, insures ours. He is the forerunner 
of the whole company ; and said he, as he entered, " I am come ; 
and all my people are coming." Unless we are there also, he 
would be disappointed— for he prayed, Father, I will that they 
whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, to behold my 
glory. He would be unfaithful — for he said, " Where 1 am, there 
shall also my servants be." He would be imperfect — for he is the 
bridegroom, and they are the bride; he is the head, and they are 
the members of his body. 

O blessed confidence '? let me feel thy influence in every duly 
and in every trial. Henry, after a sweet representation of the 
place, exclaims, "If this be heaven, O that 1 was there !" How 
matchlessly simple and affecting does Bunyan end his story of 
Christian and Hopeful, after they had passed the river, and ap- 
proached the Shining City, the object of all their solicitude ! — 
" Now, just as the gates were opened to let in the men, I looked 
in after them, and behi^d.^the city shone like the sun : the streets, 
also were paved with gold ; and in them walked many men, with 
crowns on their heads, palms in their hands, and golden harps to 
sing praises withal. There were also of them that had wings, 
and they answered one another, without intermission, sajdng, 
•' Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord.' And after that, they shut up tlie 
gatee ; which when I had seen, I v.ished myself a.-^iong them." 



OcTOBKR 12. — " I am the good Shepherd. "<— John, x, 14. 

To prove, or rather to exemplify his goodness, let us consider 
his sheep in three periods and conditions, and observe his conduct 
toward them in each. 

First. See them in their natural state. Thus they were fallen 
and guilty creatures, in want and danger, and ready to perish. 
Here his goodness appeared in undertaking their cause, and en- 
gaging to be their Shepherd. For nothing but goodness coidd 
have induced him to do this. He was under no po^ver or autho- 
rity to constrain him. He was influenced by no application or 
desire in the subjects of his pity. And he was not ignorant of 
what the interposition would cost him. lie knew that if he would 
be their shepherd, he must bleed and die. What sa}s the church ? 
"All we, like sheep, have gone astray ; we have turned every one 
to his own way ; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us 
all." What says he himself? The good sliepherd giveth his life 
for the sheep." And all this he suffered, not complainingly, but 
with inexpressible alacrity and pleasure. I delight to do thy will. 
How am 1 straitened till it be accomplished ! Nor was this all. 



OCTOBER 12. 185 

^fter he had redeemed them by his blood, he had to search and 
find them, and bring them from their wanderings mto Ins fold, 
llear his own representation. He goeth after that winch is lost 
in the wilderness until he find it. Well, and when he has traver- 
sed the desert, weary, and wounded by the thorns and briars, and 
has found it, what does he ? Does he complain of his privations, 
fatigues, and sufferings? No ; he layeth it on his shoulder re- 
jO'c^NG ; andwhenhecometh home, he calleth together his friends 
and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me j for 1 have 
found the sheep which was lost. ^r i • j 

Secondly. View them in their restored estate. Here nis good- 
ness appears in making such ample and rich provision for tliem. 
For he does not bring them into barrenness. They shall not 
want. I will feed them in a good pasture. It appears in aflord- 
iRcr them repose, as well as food. For they want rest, as well as 
supplies, especially at noon. And, says he, I will not only feed 
my flock, but cause them to lie down. He maketh them to lie 
down in green pastures. It appears in recalling them when 
wandering. He restoretli my soul, says David. It appears in 
dcfendin^T them. They shall never perish, says the shepherd, 
neither shall any pluck them out of his hand. It appears in ac- 
commodating himself so kindly and tenderly to their age and 
weakness. " He shall feed his flock like a shepherd ; he shall 
gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, 
and shall gently lead those that are with young." 

Thirdly. See them in their/??a^ state. Here he does much tor 
them • and they are often deeply affected with it, especially when 
they consider where he found them, and what they once were. 
But when they took him in his promises they see that he intends 
to do infinitely more. How great is the goodness which he has 
laid up for them that fear him ! Earth is too narrow to contain 
it Time is too short to display it. It doth not yet appear what 
they shall be. There is a land of pure delight ; a better, a hea- 
venly country, prepared to receive them. There is, indeed, a 
dark valley to pass before they can enter it. But it is safe— and 
short— and their Shepherd is with them there, and his rod and his 
staff" will comfort them. And when they are over, " they shall 
hunger no more, neither thirst any more ; neither shall the sun 
liaht on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is m the 
midst of the throne, shall feed them, and shall lead them unto 
livinfT fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears 
from^their eyes." Blessed Jesus ! how well hast thou said, • I am 
the good Shepherd !" 

Oh ! let those that belong to him, love him, and honor him with 
their confidence. Trust in him at all times, ye people. Resign 
to him all your interests. It is enough that he careth for you. 
You know his aim. And you know that all his ways are mercy 
and truth. ^ . . 

But are we a part of his charge ? Are we sheep ? Are we 
Iambs? How may I know this 7 They are marked— marked in 
the ear— and marked in the foot. My sheep hear my voice— and 
iheyfoUoio me. 



186 OCTOBER 13. 

October 13. — "And I will spare tbem, as a man spareth his own son 
that serveth him."— Malachi, iii, 17. 

If a man spares any one, it will surely be his own son. The 
very relation pleads for him. Even a faulty child is a child still, 
and is not easily turned out of doors, like a servant. Absalom had 
risen in rebellion against his father ; and Uavid was compelled to 
fight with his own son — But Oh ! said he, on the eve of the bat- 
tle, deal gently, for my sake, with the young man, even with Ab- 
salom ! Who can imagine his feelings while thinking of the ac- 
tion ! With Vv'liat hope and fear was his parental bosom fluttering 
when the messenger arrived Vv'ith the result 1 Who does not seem 
to hear his very heartstrings break, as he goes up into the cham- 
ber, weeping, " O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom ! 
would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son?" 
But when a son is dutiful, and the father sees that he desires, and 
aims, and endeavors to please him! Now this is the image God 
here employs, to raise our confidence the more. I will spare them, 
as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. In the same 
strain is our Savior's tender appeal : '-If ye then, being evil, know 
how to give good gifts un^o your cliildren, liow much more shall 
your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask 
him ?" God's ov/n children who serve him, need sparing mercy. 
It is exercised toward them four ways. 

First. He spares them as to exemption. This has often been 
seen in times of public and general calamity. Does the flood 
come and sweep away the world of the ungodlj^? An ark is pro- 
vided for the saving of Noah and his house. Are the cities o; the 
plain destroyed? Lot is sent forth out of the overthrow. Dark- 
ness that might be felt enveloped the Egyptians; but the Israelites 
had light in all their dwellings. V/hen tlie executioners Vvcre ap- 
proaching Jerusalem, Set a mark, said God, upon the foreheads of 
the men that sigh and that cry for the abominations that are done 
in the midst of the land. Some of his servants are taken away 
from the evil to come. Pious connexions removed b}^ death, are 
often spared the sight of relative troubles, under which, perhaps, 
they would have sunk. Many a pious youth, like Abijah, has 
(^ome to an early grave in peace, and been housed from storms 
after. The heathens said. They v/hom tlie gods love, die young. 
How often has he spared ns— spared our lives, our senses, our 
limbs, our substance, our relations and friends — with re;jard to all 
of which we must gratefully acknowledge, It is of the Lord's 
mercies that we are not consumed. 

— Secondly. He spares them as to correction. As liis word 
tells lis, " He that spareth the rod hateth his son?" Ke will not 
himself refuse to strike when it is needful. Whom the Lord 
loveth, he therefore chasteneth. But how? What is the prayer 
of his people? O Lord, correct me, but with judgment: not in 
thine anger, lest thou bring me to notliing. And he hears them, and 
spares them as to the degree of the affliction. " In measure, when 
it shooteth forth, tliou wilt debate with it: he stayeth liis rough 
wind in the day of the east wind." They are afihcted, but thev 



OCTOBER 13. 187 

have alleviations. It might have been much worse ; it is so ^vith 
others. One comfort is gone ; but many remain. Cast down, but 
not destroyed, "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord 
pitieth thein that fear him. For he l<.nowelh our frame ; he re- 
membereth that v/e are dust.'' For the same holds with regard 
to continuance — he will not always chide, neither will he keep 
his anger for ever. '• I will not contend for ever, neither will I be 
always wroth : for the spirit should fail before me. and the souls 
which I have made." See an instance of this sparing goodness 
expressed with incomparable tenderness with regard to Ephraim . 
" 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 w^ill surely have mercy upon 
him, saith the Lord." 

Thirdly. He spares them as to exertion. He considers their 
strength, and v/ill not require of some what he ordains for others. 
A father, in his family, would not impose upon an infant the ser- 
vice he v/ould lay upon the young man. To some, in Thyatira, the 
Lord said, I will put upon you none other burden. The children 
are tender, says Jacob, and the flocks and herds with young are 
with me ; and if men should over-drive them one day, all the flock 
woidd die. Hov/ much does this remind us of another, of whom 
it is said, " He shall feed his flock like a shepherd; he shall gather 
the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall 
gently lead those that are with young. When our Savior was 
blamed for not enjoining fastings on his disciples, he replied, "No 
man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment ; for that 
which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent 
is made worse. Neither do men put new wine into old bottles ; 
else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles 
perish ; but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are pre- 
served." There is, says Henry, in well-doing an over-doing, and . 
such over-doing as may prove undoing. Many religious people i 
are blamable here. They expect too much to be given up before \ 
persons have realized the comforts of the Holy Ghost. They | 
vv^ant to effect every thing at a stroke. They forget their own ig- i 
norance and slowness when God began to deal with them. They 1 
forget Him who does not despise tire day of small things : and \ 
who said to his followers, I have yet many things to say unto you, \ 
but ye cannot hear them novv'. ' 

Fourthly. He spares thein as to acceptanee. Their best actions 
are imperfect. Their holiest duties are defiled. Their obedience 
needs pardon. To whom does not this apply ? Nehemiah had 
done much for the cause of God; but does he appeal to justice 
to reward him? No; but to mercy, to forgive him : "Remem.ber 
me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to 
the greatness of thy mercy." Paul, after extolling Onesiphorus 
so highly, prays that even he may find mercy of the Lord in that . 
day. I am looking, says the great John Howe, dying, for eter- / 
nailife: not as a profitable servant, but as a pardoned sinner. 
Where is the Christian, however distinguished his attainments, 
whOj even in looking over his sabbaths, and liis communions at 



168 OCTOBER 14. 

the Lord's table, and every alms-deed he ever performed, is not 
constrained to pray, " Enter not into judgment with thy servant, 
O Lord ; for in thy sight shall no flesh living be justified ?" Well ; 
he will spare you, as to your deficiencies in duty. He takes the de- 
sign. He regards the motive. He lookcth at the heart. He will 
pardon wiiat is yours ; and revvard what is his own, For he views 
you and your services through the mediation of his dear Son, in 
wliom he is well pleased. Ah ! he spared not him, that he might 
spare you. If we sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, 
Jesus Christ the righteous ; and he is the propitiation for our sins. 
And as God said to Job's friends, so he says to us . "My servant 
shall pray for you, and him will I accept ; lest I deal with you ac- 
cording to your folly.-' 

— Never forget the goodness and kindness of God. He is your 
Father — and he will spare you. 

But spare not yourselves. Mind no labor or expense in his 
cause. Deny yourselves, and take up your cross, and follow him 
fully — follow him whithersoever he goeth. 

October 14. — " Accordiug to their pasture, so were they filled; they were 
filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten me." 

Kosea, xiii, 6. 

In this and the former verse, God places Israel before us in two 
situations and conditions— The Wilderness, and Canaan. He re- 
minds us of his knowledge of them in the former 5 and of their 
disregarding him in the latter. He commended them in their 
low estate ; but had to complain of them in their prosperity ; " I did 
know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great "drought." 
But delivered from the privations and hardships of the desert, they 
entered the Land of promise — the glory of all lands — a land of 
wheat and barley — a land of vineyards, and fig-trees, and pome- 
granates — a land wherein there v.'as no scarceness — a land flowing 
with milk and honey. And what was the consequence ? 

First, Selfish indulgence — ^^ According to their pasture, so were 
they Jilled.-'' And was this sinful? We plead for no monkish 
austerities. " Every creature of God is good, and nothing to be 
refused, if it be received with thanksgiving ; for it is sanctified by 
the word of God and prayer." He " giveth us richly all things to 
enjoy." But the enjoyment of Christians difl'ers from the ex- 
cess of the sensual. We are not to feast ourselves without fear. 
We are not to make provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts 
thereof. We are not to throw the reins on the neck of appetite : 
and feed ourselves to the full. The mistake of many is, that they 
suppose every thing is their own. They are only stewards of 
the manifold grace of God. They think they may sleep as much 
as they like ; dress as much as they like ; consume as much as 
they like : but the Scripture is our rule, and not our own inclination. 
There is the cause of God, and of the poor, to be thought of, as 
well as our own gratification. The first lesson in the school ol 
Christ, is self-denial— Where, in the lives of some, does this ever 
appear? Temperance is one of the graces of the Spirit— And 
does this consist only in avoiding the grossness of drunkenness 



OCTOBER 14. 189 

and gluttony ? No ; but in not '^fuling ourselves according to 
our pasture." 

Secondly. Pride—" They were filled, and their heart icas ex- 
ailed.''' This was the case even with Hezekiah : even he rendered 
not according to the benefits done him ; for " his heart was lifted 
up." And, by charging them that are rich in this world not to be 
high-minded," nor to " trust in uncertain riches," the apostle 
shows the tendency there always is in worldly success, to gender 
vanity and false confidence. Hence it is said, " Pride compasseth 
them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment." 
They even think more highly of their understanding — as if their 
wisdom grew with their \vealth. They speak with authority ; and 
answer roughly. 

Thirdly, Unmindfulness of God — " Therefore have they for- 
gotten me." And hew common is it for men, in the midst of 
their sufficiency, to lose the sense of their obligations to God, and 
dependence upon him, and need of him. Hence Agar prayed 
against being rich ; "■ lest I should be full, and deny thee, and say, 
♦vho is the Lord ?" Hence the caution to the Jews, at their taking 
possession of all the good things in Canaan : " Then beware lest 
thou forget the Lord which brought thee forth out of the land of 
Egypt, from the house of bondage." But, alas 1 the admonition 
was unavailable. " Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked. Thou art 
waxen fat, thou art grow^n thick, thou art covered with fatness : 
then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the 
Kock of his salvation." 

I This' gives us a very humbling view of our human nature. It is 
possible for us to consider it so innocent, so amiable, so noble, as 
some would represent it to be ? View it, not as it appears in the 
dregs of society, but as it is seen in common and reputable life, 
and in what are called, " the better sort" of people. See men able 
to bear nothing without abuse — evil, because God is good — drav.n 
from him by the very things which should lead to him — ungrate- 
ful, in proportion as they should love and praise him — and even 
converting his gifts into weapons of rebellion against him! Lord, 
what is man ! 

Let the fact arouse us to caution and circumspection, if Provi- 
dence smiles upon us, and we are placed in easy and agieeable 
circumstances. Yea, let us not only watch, but pray, lest we 
enter into temptation. Let us seek that grace which can alone 
enable us to manage a full estate properly, so as to elude its snares^ 
and discharge its duties. Then we shall see, that what is impos- 
sible to men is possible to God. It was said of Vespasian, that lie 
was even the better man for being an emperor. So there are some, 
whose prosperity, instead of destroying them, displays and in- 
creases their excellency; and they are not only rich in temporal 
things, but rich in faith, and rich in good M'orks. These instances, 
however, are rare. 

— And the perils of the condition should check our eagerness 
after worldly influence and ease. Why do we envy those that 
rise ? Because we attach an undue value and importance to their 
acquisitions. " Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, v.hen 



190 OCTOBER 15. 

the gloiy of his house is increased ; for when lie dieth he shall 
carry nothing a^vay ; his glory shall not descend after him." These 
possessions are not only transient, but unsatisfying ; and vexa- 
tious ; and corrupting. Vet, regardless of the testimony of Scrip- 
ture, and all history and experience, how many, even professors of 
religion, crave and pursue them as if they were the supreme good. 
But seekest thou great things unto thyself? seek them not. — 
Bring your mind unto your condition; for you never will be ablo 
to brmg your condition to your mind. Your desires will enlarge 
with your indulgence ; as fuel adds to the fierceness of the flame. 
Therefore let your conversation be without covelousness, and be 
content with such things as ye have ; for He hath said, I w ill 
never leave thee nor forsake thee. 

Learn also resignation under afflictive dispensations, either in 
crossing your schemes, or in reducing your resources. " Because 
they have no changes, therefore they fear not God." It was said 
of Moab, " IVIoab hath been at ease from his youtn, and he hath 
settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to ves- 
sel, neither hath he gone into captivity; therefore his taste re- 
mained of him, and his scent is not changed." The Prodigal was 
more favored — a famine drove him home. Manasseh w^as merci- 
fully ruined — in his affliction he sought the Lord God of his father, 
and he was found of him. And he gives you the valley of Achor 
for a door of hope. Do not think hardly of him, under vdiose 
discipline you now are. He knew your danger, and interposed to 
prevent it. He has hedged up your way with thorns, but it is to 
keep you from following lying vanities, and forsaking your own 
mercies. He tries you, but it is for your profit. He sees what 
you can bear. And he who loved you, so as to give his own Son 
for you, will suffer you to ^vant no good thing. 

October 15. — " And the Lord said unto me, I have heard the voice of the 
words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee ; they have well 
said all that they have spoken." — Deuteronomy, v, 28. 

Thus He expressly mentions his having heard what they had 
said to Moses. It is equally true that he hears all we say ; and 
has heard all we have ever said. This is a solemn thought ; es- 
pecially as he has heard ail our words, not as an unconcerned 
auditor, but as a witness and a judge. Hov/ many of them have 
Vv'e forgotten ! But they are all in the book of his remembrance. 
And, says the faithful W^itness, " For every idle word that men 
shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judg- 
ment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy 
words thou shalt be condemned." 

Here, the words which God had heard were the words of reli- 
gious avowal — '• Speak thou unto us all that the Lord cur God 
shall speak unto thee ; and ue loill hear it, and do it." And he 
has heard all our religious resolutions and engagements. First. 
Our more private ones ; when we have been impressed alone — 
with regard to such a temper, that \ve would watch against it — 
with regard to such a temptation, that we would pray for grace to 
resist it— with regard to our time, that we would redeem it— with 



OCTOBER 15. 191 

regard to our substance, that we would honor the Lord with it. 
And, secondly, with regard to our more public and solemn ones ; 
when we joined ourselves to his people, and went to his table ; 
and, over tae memorials of dying love, said, " Henceforth, by thee 
only v.'ill I make mention of tiiy name." 

" Here, w ih}' house, I leave my vow, I " Witness, ye saints, who hear me now, 

*' And Uiy ricli grace record ; t " If 1 forsake the Lord." 

/ have hecird., says he, the voice of the v/ords of this people. And 
adds, with approbation, containing in it complaint, "Ihey have 
well said all that they have spoken." But talking and doing are 
two thnigs ; and even, with regard to ourselves, one of them goes 
a very little way without the other. Yea, it rather offends — it 
adds insult to injury. We scorn a flattering profession, contradict- 
ed by actions. Actions, we say, speak louder than words. What 
is lip service in religion ! Judas gave our Lord the lip — called him 
Master — and kissed him — and betrayed. Ezekiel's hearers extol- 
led his preacliing, and brought others to admire him j but their 
hearts went after their covetousness. They heard his words, but 
did them not. So David testifies of these Jews, " ^Vhen he slew 
ihem, then they sought him ; and they returned, and inquired 
early after God. Nevertheless, they did flatter him with their 
mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues. For their 
heart was not right with him, neither were they steadfast in his 
covenant.-' And so here. They spoke well in expressing their 
readiness to hear and do. But God, v/ho knew them better than 
tJiey knew tliemselves, immediately exclaimed, " that there was 
s'jch a heart in tliem." 

— Speech is one of the most uncertain criterions by which we 
can judge of character, either as to the reality or degree of reli- 
gion. From education, reading, and hearing, persons may easily 
learn to talk well. They may even surpass others, who are far 
better tlian themselves ; as an empty vessel, when touched, sounds 
louder than a full one ; and as a shallow brook is more noisy than 
a deep river. Some speak little, especially concerning themselves, 
from a fear of deception, and a concern lest they should appear 
to others above what they really are. Baxter, inliis life of Judge 
Hale, says, For a time, I feared he was wanting in experimental 
religion, as he seldom spoke of his own spiritual viev/s and feel- 
ings. But upon acquaintance I found I v/as mistaken. He had 
heard from many in his times so much hypocrisy and fanaticism 
that he was urged tow^ard the extreme of silence. And it is the 
better extreme of the two. Christians feed on the hidden manna, 
and have a white stone, with a new name in it, which no man 
readeth save he that receiveth it. Would it not be better for some 
to talk less of their high confidence, and their wonderful ecstacies, 
before those who are weak in faith and comfort, and who arc in 
danger of being depressed by comparison ? How assuredly do 
i?ome speak of the time when they were " enlightened," or " con- 
verted," as if they could ascertain the period of the second birth 
as exactly as that of the first ! Might it not, sometimes at least, 
be better to speak of the fact with less decision ? and always to 
consider the work not so much done as doing ? or to pray that it 
20* 



^ 



192 OCTOBER 16. 

might be done— as David did — " Create in me a clean heart, O 
God, and renew a right spirit within me ?" 

To how many individuals will the words before us apply ! 
Here is a champion for the truth. He has defended its purity and 
importance. He has contended earnestly and, as far as argument 
and evidence goes, wisely, for the faith once delivered to the 
.saints. He has well said all that he has spoken. But where is 
the spirit of truth ? the meekness of wisdom ? the mind of Christ ? 
Every page of controversy ought to have at the top, " The wrath 
of man Vv'orketh not the righteousness of God :-' and at the bot- 
tom, " If any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of 
liis." Another has entered the sanctuary of God, and, in lan- 
guage equally beautiful and true, has acknowledged. We have 
erred and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep — we have followed 
too much the devices and desires of our own hearts — there is no 
health in us. And he has well said all that he has spoken. But 
where is the broken heart, and the contrite spirit ? How often, 
after these confessions, is the sermon, founded upon them, dis- 
liked, and the preacher of it condemned ! Here is a third. He has 
gone to his brethren in distress, and justified the ways of God to 
man. But does he justify God's dealings with himself in trouble? 
He has well said all that he has spoken; but he reminds us of the 
language of Eliphaz to Job : " Behold, thou hast instructed many^ 
and thou hast strengthened the weak hands. Thy words have 
upholden him that was failing, and thou hast strengthened the 
feeble knees. But now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest ; 
it toucheth thee, and thou art troubled." 

But men may mistake themselves, when they do not mean to 
deceive others. They are often, at the time, as sincere as they are 
earnest. The young, the afflicted in the hour of distress, the 
sick, and the dying, express many things which are as true as 
they are good, according to their present feelings. But they 
do not distinguish between impulse and disposition, between out- 
ward excitement and inward principle. Hazael, at the prediction 
of his cruelties, ignorant of the change that power v/ould pro- 
duce in him, really execrated the character he became. Peter 
was presuming, but not false, when he said. Though ail shall be 
offended because of thee, yet will 1 never be offended. The dis- 
ciples supposed themselves established in the faith, beyond the 
danger of temptation to forsake him, when they said, " Now we 
believe." But Jesus answered them, O that there was such a 
heart in you ! " Do ye now believe ? Behold the hour cometh, 
ye-d, IS now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his 
own, and shall leave me alone : and yet I am not alone, because 
the Father is with me." 

OcTOBKR 16. — " And there are also many other things which Jesus did, 
the which, if they ehould be written every one, 1 suppose that even the 
world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen." 

John, 2xi, 25. 

This is the language of the writer of this Gospel, in conclu- 
ding his narrative. After all that he had brought forward, much 



OCTOBER 16. 19?. 

more remained behind. He had composed a memoir, rather than 
a histon/ : and only furnished a few specimens of a subject, 
boundless in itself. 

Yet the expression he employs in asserting this, may seem lo 
manv surprising, if not confounding. ITiere are two ways of 
solving the difficulty. First. The language is a figure ; a strong 
hyperbole. This was very common in the east. Indeed, it is 
frequent with writers and speakers in all countries. Even .'n our 
familiar discourse we often, without being aware of it, express 
ourselves as remotely from truth, if absolutely considered — " I am 
tired to death." " I have no strength left." *' Every body knows 
it." Such a thing is—" provided at the shortest notice"— 'which 
would be a moment. But no deception is intended : and no dan- 
ger of mistake follows. 

— Yet, secondly, though, this meets the difficulty, some have 
also a little altered the rendering, and read — not, the world would 
not contain ; but would not receive^ the books that would be writ- 
ten. So Doddridge and others. This is allowable in criticism ; 
but let us observe the justness of the inference. If all the parti- 
culars of his birth, and infancy, and youth, and manhood ; if all 
the occurrences of his private and public life ; if all his actions, 
Jiis miracles, his speeches, his prayers, with all their relative cir- 
cumstances ; if all these had been recorded — instead of a book, 
we must have had books ; and books so large, and many, that the 
design must have been counteracted. For then there were no books ; 
but were in manuscript. And who would have had leisure to 
transcribe them ? "Who would have taken the trouble '? If they 
were purchased from transcribers, who would have endured the 
expense 7 They could only have been the property of the very 
rich. And when they ha:l become their own, v\'ho could have 
had time to read them ? Who could have remembered them all ? 
How multiplied Avould have been the difficulties requiring expla- 
nation ! All these would have been with men, reasons or excuses 
for not procuring ; or not perusing ; or not understanding them. 

Therefore, each of the inspired lives of our Savior himself, is 
not so long as many a sermon ; and the four put together are far 
shorter than the published account of manj'- a modern, insignifi- 
cant character. But let us not complain or lament, that the whole 
is so compendious and brief. It is not a defect, but an excellency. 
The wisdom and goodness of God appear in it. It meets the 
more, our situations, engagements, and capacities. More would 
only have perplexed us, or multiplied our diversions. 

— And let us remember also, that we do not want the aid of 
traditional supplement, or liuman additions to the Scriptures of 
truth. Though short, they are sufficient. They leave nothing 
obscure as to oar duty, or welfare — they are able to make us wise 
unto salvation, through faith that is in Christ Jesus. 

— And may we not suppose that it will be a part of om- engage- 
ment and blessedness in heaven, to derive from those acquainted 
with them, or from the Savior himself, the knowledge of a thou- 
sand thin 
ignoiant 



J 94 OCTOBER 17. 

— Above all, let us rejoice in what has been furnished. Let us 
rejoice that it is so divinely proved — and that it has been preserved 
uncorr;ipted down to our own time — and that we have it in our 
own language— and are allowed, and able, to read it. And let us 
keep the end of the whole in view, and never be satisfied till it be 
accomplished in our experience. " And many other signs truly 
did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written 
in this book : but these are written, that ye might believe that 
Jesus is the Christ, the son of God ; and that, believing, )^e might 
have life through his name." 



October 17. — " It is high time to Avake out of sleep." — Romans, xiii, 11. 

These words regard Christians themselves. This is undeniable, 
from the motive subjoined — '' For now is our salvation nearer 
than when we believed." Are believers^ then, asleep 7 Not in 
the sense they once were — this would be impossible. But there 
are found, even in them, some remains of then- former depravity. 
1'hough the good work is begun in them, it is far from being ac- 
complislied. While the bridegroom tarried, even the wise virgins 
slumbered and slept. Yes, Christians, alas! are often in a drowsy 
state ; and oftener in a drowsy frame. This is sadly reproachful. 
What ! drowsy, in examining themselves whether they be in the 
faiih ? Drowsy, in praising the God of their salvation ? Drows}-, 
in seeking mercy and grace, to help them in time of need? Drowsy, 
in serving their generation, by the will of God ? Are they not the 
disciples of Jesus? Did he ever speak an idle word? Did he 
ever lose a useful moment ? " I must work," said he, "the works 
of Hiin ihal sent me while it is day ; the night cometh when no 
man can work." 

Yet, if the address be proper for Christians, how much more 
necessary is it for those who are entirely regardless of the things 
that belong to their peace ! Surely for them " it is high lime to 
awake out of sleep." 

— If we consider hov/ long they have been sleeping.. We ought 
to lament that we have lost anj^ of our precious hours and oppor- 
tunities. However short it may have been, the time past of our 
life should more than suffice, wherein we have lived to the will of 
man. W hat, then, should those feel who have sacrificed the whole 
of their youth ? Perhaps the vigor of mature age? Perhaps 
have grown gray in the service of sin and the world ? The later 
we begin, the more zealous should wc be to redeem the advantages 
we have lost ; and to overtake those who were wise enough to set 
off early. When Csesar, in Spain, met with a statue of Alexander, 
he wept at the thought that this illustrious conqueror had 
achieved so much before he had even begun. High time, 

— If we consider that the day is arrived, and the sun is risen so 
high. " The night is far spent, the day is at hand ; let us there- 
fore cast off llie works of darkness, and let us put on tlie armor 
of light." We can say more than the Apostle. The night is 
spent. The day is //<//// co'^ie. And v/e are all the children of the 
li^ht, and the children of the day: we are not of the n-ght, nor 



OCTOBER 17. 195 

of darkness — Tliertfo/'elet ns not sleep as do others. They that 
sleep, sleep in the night. Look into nature. The sun ariseth — 
and man goeth forth unto his work and to iiis labor until the even- 
ing. The sun shines, not for us to sleep by its lustre, but dis- 
charge the duties of our stations. And why is the Gospel given 
us 1 Why is our duty so plainly made knov/n, but that we may 
follow it ? And why are blessings of divine grace so clearly set 
before us. but that we may seek them. Our obligations always 
increase with our advantages. To him that knoweth to do good, 
and doeth it not, to him it is sin. And tlie servant that knew his 
lord's will, and prepared not himself, shall be beaten with many 
stripes; for where much is given much v/ill be required. High 
time, 

— if we consider the business they have to do. I am doing, said 
Nehemiah to some who woidd have interrupted him — I cannot 
come down to you ; 1 am doing a great work. How much more 
may a Christian say this ! He has an enterprise connected with 
the soul, and God, and eternity. Some things are desirable, and 
some are useful ; but this is aosolutely indispensable — 

" Sufficient in itself alone ; | " And needful, were the world our own." 

Neglect in many a concern is injurious ; but here it is ruinous — 
of every thing — and for ever. High time. 

—If we consider the nature of the season in which this difficult 
and all-important work is to be accomplished. It is short: and 
there is but a step between us and death. It is uncertain in its 
continuance : and may be terminated every moment by some of 
those numberless dangers, internal and external, to which we are 
exposed. And once gone, it can never be renewed. No place will 
be found for repentance, though we seek it carefully with tears. 
High time, 

— If we consider the danger they are in. If a man was sleep- 
ing in a house, and the fire was seen, not only to be kindled, but 
raging over his apartment ; or approaching rapidly to his door or 
ready to catch the very curtains of his bed ; who would not find 
it high time for him to awake, and escape for his life ? This is 
but a weak representation of the danger of sinners. They are 
condemned already. The wrath of God abideth on them. They 
are nigh unto cursing. Their end is to be burned. Their de- 
struction is not only insured, but begun. And we are required to 
save with fear, pulling them out of the fire. High time to awake 
out of sleep, 

—If we consider, that all beside are awake. God is awake- 
Angels are awake — Glorified saints arc awake— Brutes are avsake 
—The children of this generation are awake — Devils are awake — 
Death is av/ake — Damnation is awake— Their damnation slumber - 
Gth not. It is high time to awake out of sleep ! 

— Is it not too late ? Have I not reason to fear that I have passed 
the bounds of Divine patience? that the Lord hath shut to the 
door ? that in resentment of my neglects and provocations, he hath 
given me over to a reprobate mind? that he hath poured upon me 
the spirit of slumber ? And hence it is that I hear so often with 
indifference, and that nothing affects me now as it once did. 



100 OCTOBER 18. 

—Yet may I not hope that his long suffering will yet be my 
salvation ? that he has spared me so long to afford space foi re- 
pentance ? that the seriousness of this- retirement is another call of 
mercy ? that the uneasiness, the dread, the desire I now feel, are 
a token for good ? the lingering of pity still cries, How shall I give 
-I perish! 



October 18.—" He will speak peace unto his people, aiid to his saiuts; bat 
let them not turn again to folly." — Psalm Ixxxv, 8. 

How encouraging is this expectation ! " He will speak peace unto 
his people, and to his saints." 

3Iark the blessing itself— Peoce. It does not mean outward ease 
and prosperity. He nowhere engages to speak this : but spiritual 
comfort ; the composure of the conscience ; the satisfaction of the 
heart : by which the ^^ soul shall dwell at ense 5" the effect of con- 
fidence in God : " Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind 
is stayed on thee, because he trustetli in thee." How relieving is 
it, under a sense of guilt, to believe in the blood that cleanseth from 
all sin ! How soothing is it, in the various changes of life, to be 
avssured that all things shall work together for our good ! How 
confirming is it, in the prospect of every duty, to know that his 
strength shall be made perfect in weakness! This is the rest 
wherewith we are to cause the weary to rest ; and this is the re- 
freshing. 

Observe the author of the communication — //e will speak peace. 
And unless Ha speaks it, it will be spoken in vain. Friends may 
address us ; but tliey will be found miserable comforters. Minis- 
ters may attempt to bind up the broken heart ; but they will prove 
physicians of no value. Ordinances may be regarded ; but they 
will be wells without water, and clouds without rain. But " when 
He giveth quietness, then who can make trotible ?" We can only 
implore, or announce peace: but His word produces, conveys it. 
He commandeth the blessing, even life evermore. Nothing is 
beyond the reach of Him who turncth the shadow of death into 
the morning. 

Observe the heirs of the privilege — He will speak peace to his 
people, and to his saints. These are not different characters, but 
different representations of the same persons ; and the one expla 
natory of the other. He has a people for his name : and if we ask, 
who they are, we are told they are saints ; that is, they are holy 
ones. They are not perfectly holy ; but they are really so. The 
principles of sanctification, of which they are the partakers, will 
soon gain the entire possession of them ; but even now they have 
the ascendency in them. Their love of holiness is evmced even 
with regard to their remaining corruptions. These are their bur- 
den and distress, and for these they abhor themselves. They long, 
above all things, to walk so as to please God ; and constantly pray, 
Create m me a clean heart, O God, and renew aright spirit witbin 
me. And what have others to do with peace? "There is no 
peace, saith my God, unto the wicked." 

Mark also the certainty of the assurance — He will speak peace 



OCTOBER 19. 197 

unto his people, and to his saints. Every thing tends to confirm 
it. His name : He is tlie God of peace. His thoughts : they are 
the thoughts of peace. The mediation of ihe Son of his love : He 
made peace by the blood of his Cross. His dealings with us: Had 
he a mind to kill us, he would not have shown us such things as 
these. The truth of his word : 'J'he Scripture cannot be broken. 
But when will he do this ? He will speak peace to his people, and 
to his saints: partially through life : specially in affliction • pre- 
eminently in death : and completely hi heaven. 

And how reasonable is the caution, " But let them not turn again 
unto folly." 

— Here we sec the character of sin : it is folly. Such the God of 
truth pronounces it to be now. Such, every transgressor will ac- 
knowledge it to be at last. Should not this be enough to deter us 
from it : that it perfectly befools us 7 and will fill us with everlast- 
ing shame and contempt ? 

— Here we are reminded, that the people of God, though saints 
now, were once chargeable with it. The command not to tm-n 
again to folly, proves this. Their being made to differ^ supposes 
former sameness. They were by nature children of wrath, even 
as others ; and they are willing to own it : and it does them no 
hurt to look to the rock whence they were hewn, and to the hole 
of the pit whence they were digged. 

— We are also taught that they are still in danger, and need 
warning. A haughty spirit goes before a fall : and therefore they 
who are offended with admonition, or deem themselves above it, 
show how much they stand in need of it. Let him that thinketh he 
standeth, take heed lest he fall. We are always exposed to a subtle 
and invisible enemy ; we live in a wicked world, and carry within 
us an evil heart The best, in an hour of temptation, have turned 
again to folly. 

— But against this we should feel ourselves peculiarly concerned 
to guard, iclien God has appeared for us, and spoken peace to our 
soals. We should be alike ungrateful and infatuated were we not 
— ungrateful: for the more he does for us, the more anxious 
should we be lest we offend and grieve his Holy Spirit — infatua- 
ted : for having known tlie evil of sin, and the bitterness of repent- 
ance, and the joy of God's salvation ; shall we again cause him to 
hide his face from us ? and wrong our OM'n souls ? For the back- 
slider in heart shall be filled with his own ways ; He will speak 
peace to his own people, and to his saints — but let the:,i not 

TURN AGAIN TO FOLLY. 



October 19.—" Seeing many tilings, but thou observest not." — Is.xliL 20. 
This charge is as applicable to us as it was to the Jews. No- 
thing is more common than the want of wise and proper observa- 
tion. The objects and events adapted to excite it, and which 
would also reward it, are various and numberless. And some of 
them daily and hourly strike our senses ; yet they engage none of 
our notice and attention as rational and moral beings. From an 
immense multitude, let us select two of these occurrences, by way 
of example — The birth, and the death, of our fellow creatures. 



198 OCTOBER 19. 

How little attention is excited by the birth of a child. It ma) 
perhaps, if it takes place in respectable life, be announced in the pa 
per — inquiries may be made concerning its sex and form — it may 
be viewed and embraced by the friends who call ceremoniously- 
on the mother who has been delivered. But what moral or reli 
gious reflection is ever indulged by those who are informed of the 
event? or even by the parents themselves ? The interesting sufferer 
herself may be pleased Avith the congratulations paid her ; and 
forget her anguish for joy that a man is born into the world ; and feel 
a Uvely gratitude for tlie mercy she has experienced : but no one 
thought may arise in the mind respecting the ail-important result, 
in the production of a new being : and such a being, too ! Yet the 
birth of a child can scarcely be deemed less than a miracle of 
rSfature and Providence. That child is a piece of Divine work- 
manship, fearfully and wonderfully made; and as fearfully and 
wonderfully preserved and endowed. When the Creator m.ade it, 
he did a far greater thing than wlien he made the sun. The sun is 
a mass of unintelligent matter. It sees not its own hght. It feels net 
its ovv'u heat, and is not destined to shine and burn for ever : But 
there is a spirit in that child ; and the inspiration of the Almighty 
giveth him understanding. He is a moral being. He is the sub- 
ject of reas9n and conscience. These principles are not yet de- 
veloped, but they are lodged in him. They are in him, as the 
flower is in the seed ; and the oak in the acorn. He is an heir of 
immortality ; and though his existence began yesterda}', it will 
never end. He will hear the heavens pass awa^/ with a great noise, 
and see the elements melt with fervent lieat. He will stand before 
the judgment seat of Christ, and go away into everlasting punish- 
ment, or into life eternal. 

lie is also to be vie^\ed relatively, as well as personally. And 
what an awful interest docs he acquire from the evil he may 
occasion, as well as suffer ! And from the good he may produce, 
as well as experience ! He may prove a viper in the bosom that 
feeds him, a disgrace to his family, a curse to the nation. Many 
may be vitiated by his exam.ple, and led into hell by liis influence. 
One sinner destroyeth much good. Or he may make a glad fa- 
ther, and prove a blessing to the neighborhood, and serve his 
generation by the will of God, and levy a tax of gratitude on 
future ages. Who that had seen Isaac AVatts in the arms of his 
mother, sitting at the door of the prison in which his father was 
suffering for conscience sake, could liave divined that this precious 
babe was the sweet Psalmist of the Christian Israel ; and that the 
little hand that i^troked her cheek was ordained to hold the pen 
that should instruct and edify the world to the end of time ! Had 
weheard when the babe wept, andlookedinto the ark of bulrushes, 
we should have seen the scholar, learned in all the wisdom of 
Egypt — the scourge of Pharaoh, the deliverer of the Hebrews, the 
king in Jeshurun, the lawgiver, and the prophet of the Lord, with 
whom he spake face to face. What says the Lord of all? "De- 
spise not one of these little ones ; for I say unto you, that in heaven 
their angels do always behold the face of my heavenly Father." 

Let us pass to the second article, Death. This is perpetually 



OCTOBER 19. 199 

taking place around us : j^et how little it is noticed, it was long 
ago remarked by Eliphaz : " They are destroyed from morning to 
evening : tliey perish for ever withont any regarding it." 'I'his 
indifference is one of the most astonishing things in a world of 
wonders, especially v/hen taken in connexion with those conse- 
quences, that, in general belief, ire supposed to result from it. If 
a tovvcr fell, if a mountain was swallowed up by an earthquake, 
we should notice it, and make it a subject of conversation for 
days and weeks — Yet, what is this, compared with the removal of 
a fellow creature, detached from all union with visible nature, 
excluded from every thing that once pleased or engaged him be- 
low the. sun, severed from ail his endeared connexions, his flesli 
seeing corruption, while his soul has entered into an entirely new 
state of existence, in immediate and perceptible communion 
with the Lord of all ! Death is the niost serious and momentous 
event that can befall the children of men For it is not the ex- 
tinction of being, but only the termination of one mode of it, and 
the commencement of another ; the transition from time to eterni- 
ty, from a course of action to the sentence of retribution. When 
the dust returns to the dust, v/hence it was, the spirit returns to 
God, who gave it ; and then tlie divine fiat runs, " He that is un- 
just, let him be unjust still ; and he that is filthy, let him be filthy 
still ; and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still ; and he 
that is holy, let him be holy still." 

And yet who considers it ? When the bell tolls, we hardly ask 
whose doom it announces. Wlien we see a funeral in the street, 
we scarcely look toward it, unless it be accompanied with the 
pomp of mortality. We see new names on the doors of the 
houses ; but we pass without thinking that the places which once 
knew the owners, know them no more for ever. A neighbor dies, 
and, from civility, we attend the burial, and lend him our last as- 
sistance ; but return into the busy or trilling concerns of life as 
careless as before. Death enters our own dwelling ; we feel deep- 
ly; but we reflect slightkr. W^e mourn our loss, but the heart 
is not made better : we miss them for a time ; but we soon furnish 
substitutes, or grow insensible to the want ot them. When every 
duty the utmost decorum can exact, or the most perfect affection 
dictate, is discharged toward the deceased : where is the concern 
of the living to derive from the decease itself the spiritual profit 
which it is designed to 3-ield .^ Where is the earnestness of tlie 
prayer, " So teach us to number our days, that we may apply 
our heart unto wisdom ?" 

Every death — the death of the young, and the death of the old ; 
the death of the rich, and the death of the poor ; the death of the 
saint, and the death of the sinner — has something not only serious, 
but appropriate to impart. But to the generality of mankind each 
of them says nothing — or speaks in vain. 

Much of this disregard is from the frequency of the occurrence. 
Nothing seems to affect us strongly, but what is sudden or rare. 
The most important object, and the most interesting events, wnen 
they become familiar, awaken neither wonder nor attention. Yet, 
if we cannot regulate our impressions, we can govern our ideas ; we 



200 OCTOBER 20. 

can apply our thoughts to any subject we please ; and we should 
not suffer what is so full of instruction to pass without just reflec- 
tion. We cannot be always thinking of death ; but we should never 
be so absent from a proper condition of mind as not to be easily 
recalled to the improvement of an event which must soon happen 
to all, and for which we may prepare, though we cannot prevent. 

It is not only the commonness of the subject, but our aversion to 
it, that keeps us from attending to it. It is, above all things, iik- 
«ome to flesh and blood: we, tbicrefore, are always endeavoring 
to put the evil day far away. But since we cannot put it off, let us 
pray for that grace which will turn the enemy into a friend, and 
the curse into a blessing. Then, to die, will be gain: and we may 
live rejoicing in hope of the glory of God. 

" If there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these 
things." 

October 20. — " Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty." — Is. xxxiii, 17. 

— Yet what was the sight of Hezekiah, released from his afflic- 
tion, and appearing cheerfully in his royal robes, to his subjects, 
after the destruction of the Assyrian army, compared with another 
sight ! " But we see Jesus, who, for the suffering of death, was 
crowned with glory and honor." Some, in the days of his flesh, 
with their bodily eyes, beheld his glory. And perhaps we are 
ready to envy them the privilege. But this sight of him was not 
accompanied with salvation. " Ye also," said he, " have seen me, 
and believed not;" and to those who were then before him, he 
complained, " Ye will not come unto me, that ye might have life." 

On the other hand, there is a substitute for this sight of him, and 
it is infinitely more available. And he is the subject of it who 
sees him, not with the eye of the body, but with the eye of the 
mind ; not with the eye of sense, but with the eye of faith. " He 
that seeth the Son, and believeth on him, hath everlasting life." 
There is spiritual perception of him, as much distinguished from 
common knowledge as the taste of a thing is from tlie report of 
it. Thus the apostle says, " It pleased God to reveal his Son in 
me:" and, speaking of all Christians, as well as of himself, he 
adds, He " hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the 
knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." 

The sight of the Savior will be evinced by certain effects. Self 
will be lowered. What can he think of his own excellencies who 
has been at the court above, and seen the King in his beauty? 
Self-admiration and self-dependence will then be at an end. " The 
proud looks shall be humbled, and the lofty looks shall be laid low ; 
and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day." So it was with 
Job : " Now mine eye seeth thee ; wherefore I abhor myself, re- 
penting in dust and ashes." So it was with Isaiah ; Wo is me, 
for I am undone ; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell 
among a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the 
King, the Lord of hosts." The world will fade away, and lose 
its charms. The Sun of Righteousness will shine it out; as the 
luminaries of the night disappear in the effulgence of day. At- 



OCTOBER 20. 201 

tacliment wul result from it. Love enters by the eye. And faith 
is the same to the soul as this sense is to the body : therefore, to 
them " that believe, he is precious." He " dwells in the heart by 
faith." There will also necessarily arise a desire after more ac- 
quaintance and intercourse vvith him. Thus Paul, not because he 
was ignorant of him, but because he knew him, said, " That I 
may know him." There will also be an earnest desire to recom- 
mend him to others. As soon as Andrew knew him, he found 
his brother Simon, and brought him to Jesus. So did Philip his 
friend Nathaniel. And so did the woman of Samaria her fellow 
citizens. 

This sight of him is a very distinguished privilege : and as it is 
said of his immediate followers, "Then were the disciples glad 
when they saw the Lord ;" so we, believing, rejoice with joy un- 
speakable, and full of glory. There is enough in him, perceptible 
to the view of faith, to induce us to rejoice in the Lord always. 
But how delightful is the sight of him in the hour of conviction ! 
A drowning man, seeing a deliverer in a boat, hastening to his as- 
sistance — a debtor, on his way to prison, seeing a surety at hand, 
to undertake for him — a man dying of hunger, seeing the most 
delicious food — never saw what I saw, when, sensible of my state 
and danger, and feeling myself ready to perish, my heart revived 
at the view of such a Savior — in his suitableness to my condi- 
tion—in his all-sufficiency for my rehef— and I was enabled to 
hope in his mercy. 

— How delightful is the sight of him in the hour of desertion ! 
If he withdraws from me, it is not to show his sovereignty, but to 
correct for sin : and when he hides his face I am troubled. Then 
creatures are all miserable comforters. Then T sigh, O that it was 
with me as in months past ! Then I pray. Restore unto me the 
}oy of thy salvation. But when he appears, and smiles again, it is 
more than the joys of morning after a darksome night : or of 
spring, after the dreariness of winter. How delightful is the 
sight of him in the hour of trouble ! It is then, when our pur- 
poses are broken off", even the thoughts of our hearts ; when ene- 
mies oppose ; when friends fail or betray ; when health declines ; 
it is then we look toward Him, who is the consolation of Israel, 
and say, " This same shall comfort us :" ''' This man shall be the 
peace, when the Assyrian cometh into the land." How delightful 
is the sight of him in the hour of death ! It loosened Simeon from 
all below, and made him more than willing to depart — wishing 
now he had seen him, to defde, to vex his eyes with nothing el«e. 
And how many have since said, 

■' Jesus the vision of thy face I " Tlien, while ye bear my heart-strings break 

"liath overpowering cliarms ; | "How sweet my inlDutes roll ! 

♦♦.Scarce shall I fe-I death's ccld embrace, I "A mortal paleness on my cheek, 
" If Chritt be in my arms. | " And jjlory iu my soul 1" 

Such are the influence and the blessedness of a sight of him, by 
faith, here. But what is heaven ? " His servants shall serve 
him ; and they shall see his face." " Father, I will that they 
whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am to behold my 
glory ■' But how superior will that sight be to all our present 



202 OCTOBER 21. 

apprcliensioiis of him I It will be clear. It v,' ill be ceaseless., li 
v.iil be uninterrupted. It will be perfect. It will be immediate. 
Yvliatevcr we have read or heard of him before, we shall then 
exclaim, with the queen of Sheba at the sight of Solomon, "The 
half was not told me !'' 

»• 'Tis pleasant to believe thy grace, j "We would l)c absent from the flesh, 
"llui we woulJ ratlicr see ; | " And prcbcut, Lord, with ihce." 



October 21. — " O that there were such a heart in them, that they would 
fear me, and keep all my commandineuts, always, that it might he well with 
them, and with their children for ever." — Deuteronomy, v, 29. 

Here we see the character of real religion. The seat of it u 
the heai'l — The principle of it is the fear of God — the expression 
of it is keeping His comivandments ; all of them ; SivAaida?/s. 

We have also the benefit resulting from it. The good is per- 
sonal — that it might be well with them. And relative — and with 
iheir children. And durable — for ever. 

But how lovely does God appear in the concern he here ex- 
presses I " O that there w^ere such a heart in them, that they 
would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it 
might be v/ell with them, ana their children, for ever !" It is the 
language of complaint. It is as much as to say, " But I do not 
fmd it so." Is He then disappointed 7 Not as to fact — for he 
knows all things. But he is, as to right. Surely He may justly 
expect from us an attention to his voice, and the improvement of 
the means and advantages with which we are favored. And when 
he meets with nothing of this, he has reason to complain — And 
this is the meaning when he says, " What more could have been 
done for my vineyard, and I have not done it? Wherefore when 
I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild 
grapes ?" " These three years I came seeking fruit, and findmg 
none," 

— li is the expression of desire. We arc aware that when the 
Scripture ascribes human attributes and feelings to God, they must 
be understood according to the perfection of his nature. They 
cannot mean precisely the same in him they do in us. Yet 
there is always a truth which is the basis of all such metaphorical 
representations. And a slavish adherence to systemalic divinity 
has much injured some of the finest passages of Revelation ; and 
which were intended to be felt, rather than criticised. liCt it not 
therefore be objected, that "our God is in tho- heavens, ho hatli 
done whatsoever he pleaseth ;" and asked, ".Who hath resisted 
liis will ?" for this is his ov/n language, " O that there was such a 
hcait in them !" " O that thou hadst hearkened to my command- 
ments ; then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness 
.like the Vvavcs of the sea !" " How often would I have gathered 
thee as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wing, and ye 
would not !" Yes, these are his own v.'ords — the expressions of a 
God that cannot lie. This affords me every encouragement I 
\?ant. Unworthy as I am, I see that he does not abandon me. He 
is willing to save me. He is waiting to be gracious; and exalted 
to have mercy upon me. What is the inabilily of men to bar- 



OCTOBER 22. 203 

monize snch declarations, and some other parts of their creed, to 
the oath of the hvitig God—'- As 1 live, saith the Lord, I have no 
pleasure in the death of him that dieth ; wherefore, turn and 
live ye." 

— It is the dictate of parental solicitude. It is the voice, not of 
a severe legislator or judge, but of a Father ; a Father who spared 
not his own son, but delivered him up for us all ; a Father who 
does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men ; a Fa- 
ther who says of the refractory child, " How shall I give thee up, 
Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel? liow shall I make thee 
as Admah ? how shall I set thee as Zeboim ? mine heart is turned 
within me, my repentings are kindled together ;" a Father who 
says of the relenting, self-bemoaning child, "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." 
How often does he assume this relation, in order to deprive his 
greatness of terror ; and to render it our encouragem.ent and our 
confidence ! And not only has he said, " Like a father pitieth 
his cliildren, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him :" but he 
has taken for an image of his tenderness the heart of a mother — 
and surely ail that is parental indwells there : "As one whom his 
mother comforteth so will I comfort you." " Can a woman forget 
her sucking child, that she should no'^t have compassion on the son 
of her womb ? She may." Ah ! ye mothers, your affection is ice ; 
your heart is iron, compared with his ! " yet will I not forget 
thee." 

—Surely, " he that loveth not, knoweth not God— for God is 
love." Can this encoufige us to sin ? Can we grieve A?.? Holy 
Spirit ? Can we hear lum saying in vain, " O do not that abomi- 
nable thing which I hate?" " Or despisest thou the riches of his 
goodness, and foi-bearance, and long suffering ; not knov/ing that 
the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance : but, after, thy 
hardness and impenitent heart, treasurest up unto thyself wrath 
against the day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous iudff- 
ment of God ?" o j *= 



October 22.—" I am come that they might have life."— John, x, 10. 
Though men have differed in their definitions of life, they have 
all agreed in their estimation of it. Even the father of lies spake 
truth when he said. Skin for skin, yea, all that a nian hath will 
he give for his life. Yet what is this life v/hich we so liighly 
prize? nourish with so much care ? and to preserve which, we 
are ready to make every kind of sacrifice ? Vv'hat is it in dura- 
tion ? " A vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then vanish- 
eth away." What is it in dignity ? " We spend our years as a 
tale that is told." What is it in enjoyment ? Hear Jacob—" Few, 
and full of evils, have been the days' of the years of my pilgrim- 
age." '• But his was, perhaps, a peculiar case." What says Job? 
" Man, that is born of a woman, is of few days, and full of trou- 
ble " " But lie expressed himself under depression and gloom." 



204 OCTOBER 22. 

What then says Solomon, who withheld his heart from no joy? 
" All is vanity and vexation of spirit." But here is a life that de- 
serves the name ; a life, spiritual in its nature ; endless in its con- 
tinuance ; consisting not of an immortality of being only, but of 
blessedness ; commencing in grace, completed in glory ; and em- 
phatically called, The Life of God. Of this life, the Lord Jesus 
here speaks ; " I am come that they might have life." 

— He came to procure it for us'. The blessing comes every way 
free to us— but it cost him dear. If we live, he must die. "The 
bread," said he, " which I give, is my flesh, which I shall give 
for the life of the world." Princes have often sacrificed the lives 
of their subjects to their own : yea, and where their own have 
not been in danger, they have offered thousands of victims on the 
altar of their vanity or revenge — but the Prince of Peace gave 
liis life a ransom for many. He v/as poor. He was a man of sor- 
rows. You see him agonizing in the garden ; a:id hear him ex- 
claiming on the cross, " My G'od I my God ! why hast thou for- 
saken me?" Why is all this ? Is he guilty ? " In him was no sin." 
Yet he was esteemed stricken, smitten of God, and afilicted. And 
so he was — but " he was w^ounded for our transgressions; he was 
bruised for our iniquities : the chastisement of our peace was 
upon him, and by his stripes we are healed." " One died for all.' 

— He came to announce it to ns. We can derive no benefit from 
him, without a dependence upon him ; an application to him ; a 
connexion with him. But all this requires the knowledge of him: 
and therefore says God, " By his knowledge shall my righteous 
servant justify many ; for he shah bear their iniquities." It is 
true, we are justified by faith — but " how can we believe in him. 
of whom we have not heard ? and how can we hear, without a 
preacher ?" He therefore " came and preached Peace." " I am 
come," said he, " a light into the world, that whosoever believeth 
on me should not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." 
He proclaimed the nature of his life ; the source of it ; the me- 
dium of it ; the certainty of it ; the present enjoyment of it. His 
disciples, therefore, well said, To whom should we go, but unto 
thee ? thou hast the words of eternal life. And these words he 
dispensed, not only by his personal ministry, but by the instru- 
mentality of others. What the Apostles did, he did ; because he 
sent them, and qualified them : he inspired them, and commanded 
them to preach the Gospel to every creature, and also to record 
it, for the use of all future ages ; so that we can read what they 
delivered. 

— He came to prodnce it in us. " The Son quickeneth whom he 
will." He received, in consequence of his death, the whole dis- 
pensation of the Holy Ghost ; and hence it is called, " The Spi- 
rit of Christ." And this Spirit is, as the Apostle calls it, the Spi- 
rit of life in Christ Jesus, which makes us free from the law of 
sin and death. Nothing less than this can insure the result. It 
is above the efficiency of education ; of example ; of moral sua- 
sion ; and of all the means of grace — without the grace of the 
means. The gospel cannot accomplish it, if it comes in word only 
— it is the Spirit that giveth life. The servant, of the Lord is like 



OCTOBER 23. 205 

Gcliazi : he went and laid the staff upon the child, but no life ap- 
peared till his master himself came. Who, then, is Paul ? and 
who is Apollos ? but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the 
Lord gave to every man ? And they who were once dead in tres- 
passes and sins, but are now walking in newness of life, will ac- 
knowledge that he quickened them ; and will readily give him 
the glory that is due to his holy name. 

— In this blessed business, therefore, he is all in all — he came 
that we might have life — came to procure it for us, as our Priest 
— to announce it as our Prophet — to produce it, as our King. To 
obtain it, by his blood. To publish it by his Gospel. To bestovv' 
it by his Spirit. He is therefore called, as well he may, this life 
itself in the abstract — when he who is our life shall appear, we 
shall also appear v,ith him in glory. 

But how many neglect him, and compel him to complain. Ye 
will not come unto me that ye might have life ! Hence the hein- 
ousness of their guilt, and the dreadfulness of their condemnation. 
Whatever difficulties attend this truth — in connexion with any 
other, they attach only to the explanation ; not to the fact itself. 
Nothing can be clearer, from the Scripture, than that they who 
tims perish will destroy themselves, and be treated as spiritual 
suicides. i 

But if we desire this life, can we suppose the Savior will refuse 
us, when we go to him for the very purpose for which he 
came ? Did he ever refuse any? Can he refuse any ? He cannot. 
He has bound himself, " Him that cometh unto me, I will i:< 

NO WISE CAST OUT." 



October 23. — "And that they might have it more abundantly." — John, x, IC. 

Thus he not only informs us of the design of his advent -, " I am 
come that they might have life ;" but, like himself, adds the exten- 
siveness of it, " and that they might have it more abundantly." 
This may be exemplified in three comparisons. 

— W^e have life more abundantly than Adam. His life, before 
the Fall, was a noble life ; but it is surpassed by the Christian's. 
This is firmer as to its tenure. The life of innocency was preca- 
rious. It was suspended on the fallible will of man. The stock 
w^as in Adam's own hands : and he failed, and ruined all his pos- 
terity. But this life can never be destroyed. The Head of the 
new Covenant ever liveth ; and because he lives, his people shall 
live also ; I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never pe- 
rish. It is richer as to its quality. The first man is of the earth 
earthy ; the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the 
earthy, such are they also that are earthy : and as is the heavenly, 
such are they also that are heavenly. It is not the primeval body 
of Adam which is to be the model in our resurrection, but the 
glorious body of the Savior. We are to bear the image of the 
heavenly. Had Adam remained innocent, though he would never 
have died, yet must he have experienced a change before he could 
have been capable of enjoying tlie blessedness which the poorest 
Christian expects : for flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom 



2C»G OCTOBER 23. 

of God. After a proper trial of his obedience, he uoiild have 
been removed to a highei- state : but even then he must have been 
a stranger to many interesting feehngs and delightful enjoyments, 
arising from all the operations of divine grace in our recovery from 
the depths of the Fall, to the glories of heaven. Eden was not equal 
to the Paradise above. The creation of man is excelled by his 
redemption. The righteousness of a perfect creature is far below 
the righteousness of God, in which we are not only justified, but 
"exalted." 

— We have life more abundantly than the Jewish Church. They 
derived their life from the same source with us ; and it was essen- 
tially il'.esamesource with ours : but we have it more plenteously 
as to knowledge, liberty, and enjoyment. We are fully justified 
in considering our spiritual advantages as very superior to their 
privileges, by our Savior himself, who said to his disciples, 
" Blessed are your eyes, for they see : and your ears for they 
hear. For verily I say unto j^ou. That many prophets and right- 
eous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have 
not seen them ; and to hear those things v/hich ye hear, and have 
not heard them." They had the types and shadows ; v/e have 
the very image of the thing. They saw the Messiah afar off, and 
under a veil; he is with us, and we behold him with open face. 
They had the first-fruits ; we have the v/hole vintage. 1 hey had 
the dawn; Vv'e have the full day— God having provided some bet- 
ter thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect. 
They, from their comparative darkness, were inspired with more 
disquiet; they received the spirit of bondage to fear; we receive 
the Spirit of adoption, wliereby we cry Abba, Father. The way 
into the holiest was not then made manifest ; the people never 
entered where God dwelt between the Cherubim ; the high Priest 
only went in ; and he onl}^ once a year. But we have all bold- 
ness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus : and rhay 
draw near in full assurance of faith. They came to a material 
mountain, and that burned with fire, and unto blackness and 
darkness, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; 
which voice they that heard entreated that the word should not be 
spoken to them any more. " But we are come unto mount Sion, 
and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and 
to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly 
and Church of the first-born, which are written in heaven, and to 
God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, 
and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood ol 
sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel." 

— We have life more abundantly than we had it ourselves be- 
fore. Vital religion, though imperfect, is growing and progres- 
sive. Under the influences of the Holy Spirit, we go from strength 
to strength in our course, and are renewed day by day in our expe- 
rience. There is life in an acorn, but the oak has it more abundantly. 
There is wheat in the blade, but how much more in the full 
corn in the ear ! What a difference between Sir Isaac Newton 
when a babe on his mother's knee, and a philosopher measuring 
the distances of the planets ! " Why a man can but live." Indeed 



OCTOBER 24. 207 

do you sometimes say, I am all languor ; I have no life in me? 
At other times you are all vigor and alacrity. How you live then ! 
What a difference between a man confined in a hospital, and a 
man at large, able to fill and enjoy his station. A man may 
be alive, and be blind, and deaf, and lame, and able to eat nothing 
with a relish. Some real Christians are little better than this— 
they are— this is all— just alive ! But they are to be suspected who 
only are anxious to "know that they have the reality of divine 
grace, while they are regardless of increase in the divine life. 
More is desirable, more is attainable. He came not only that sve 
might have life — but have it more abundantly. 

^7hcrefore . pray, "that he would grant yon, according to the 
riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in 
the inner man ; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith ; that 
ye, being rooted and grounded" in love, may be able to comprehend 
with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and 
height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, 
that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God." 



OcTOBKR 24.— "And I -will give him the morning star."— Revelations, ii. 28. 

If we found any difficulty in determining the subject of this pro- 
mise, we could refer to the Sj^aker's own declaration, in another 
part of this Book—" I am the root and offspring of David, the bright 
and the morning star." Here we see the advantage of comparing 
one passage of Scripture with another. What is general in one 
is particularized in another ; and what is darker in one is clearer 
in another. 

Does he then promise himself— I will give him the morning star? 
Yes. He is the guide and the way: the teacher and the lesson: 
the priest and the sacriQce : the giver and the gift. He is all in ail. 
By promising himself, he would teach us to look for happiness in 
himself, and not in the creature. He also knew that nothing else 
could satisfy the minds of his people, who would be sure to say, 

" Without thy graces and thyself, 
" I were a wretch undone." 
" Give what thou canst— without thee, we are poor ; 
"And with thee, rich, take vviiat thou wilt away." 

And thus also he would encourage their expectations: lor what 
will he withhold, if he gives himself? Therefore, because he could 
promise no greater, he promised himself. The bestowinent of 
heaven would have been less than the bestowment of himself: for 
heaven is, so to speak, but a part of him. He that buildeth the 
house hatli more honor than the house. 

But has he not already given himself to his people ? And yet he 
speaks as if the donation was future— I will give him the morning 
star. Yes ; as soon as they believed on him they received him^ 
and had the privilege of becoming the sons of God. But as to their 
knowledge, experience, and enjoyment ; he communicates himsell 
to them by degrees. The apostle therefore says, after many years 
of communion with him, That I may win Christ, and be found in 
him : that I way know him. The promise must be principally 

Vol. n. •" 21 



208 OCTOBER 25. 

accomplished hereafter. We could not receive him in all his full- 
ness now. Our place, onr condition, onr powers, forbid. Flesh 
and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. 

— But let me survey the image— I will give him the morning 
star. The morning star, to our view, is the most beautiful and 
luminous. It is distinguished by its sparkling brightness. Many 
resemble Christ; but in all things he has the pre-eminence. Pro- 
phets, priests, and kings, have been anointed, as well as he ; but 
he was anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows. O how 
gjeat is his beauty: He is fairer than the children of men ; fail or 
than the children of God ; fairer than tlie sons of God who shouted 
for joy at the creation — Yea, he is altogether lovely. 

But the thing is, that this luminary is the harbinger of day: 
therefore it is called the day star; and the morning star. The 
truth of the image, therefore, is to assure us, that to those who 
see Christ, and believe on him, there is a glorious season drawing 
on. The night of ignorance, and error, and sin, and sorrow, ^\ith 
them, is rapidly terminating. Weeping may endure for the night ; 
but joy Cometh in the morning. Look — look. Christians! There 
is the shining pledge. It never failed yet — It cannot deceive. 
Now is your salvation nearer than when you believed. The mgkt 
is far spent, the day is at hand. And then ycur sun shall no more 
go down. 

Let this promise put me and keep me in a proper frame of 
mind. Let it raise me above the world. Let it teach me, in what- 
soever state I am, therewith to be content. Let it induce me to 
rejoice evermore; yea, in every thing to give thanks. To the up- 
right there ariseth light in the darkness. If in the world I have 
tribulation, in him 1 have peace. Many things are denied me ; 
but I can dispense with them, since he is mine. Wh}" should I 
ciwy others ? They succeed, they gain, they have. But / have 
the morning star. 

" WUat others value, I resign : I " ^ •*'^'''^ l)eliokl tliy blissful fico, 

* Lord, 'tis enough that thou art mine : | " And stand, coinpletp, in rightcoitsucss I** 



October 25. — ^"I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be 
saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture." — John, x, 9. 

A DOOR is a very familiar and striking representation of the 
Lord Jesus. It seems hardly necessary to remark, that it must be 
a metaphor. Yet the papists, from taking literally what is spoken 
in a similar instance, have introduced the monstrous doctrine of 
transubstantiation. Because, when he took the bread and the 
wine, our Savior said. This is my body, and this is my blood ; 
they believe that the disciples received his very body and blood ; 
and that every communicant does the same now, when the priest ■ 
has consecrated the elements : and, say they, we only lake him 
at his word — nothing can be plainer. Upon the same principle, 
we may say he is timber and nails : for he says — what can be 
clearer ? I am the door. But can any man of common sense — 
can a child suppose, that he means any thing more than that a 
door is an image of him l 



OCTOBER 25. 209 

—And tlie design of the allusion is obvious, A door is the me- 
ditim of passage — And Jesus stands between God and us. He is 
the mediator of the new covenant. God comes to us through 
him : and all his blessings are conveyed to us by him. And we ap- 
proach God throuirli him. 1 am the way. said he — No man conieth 
unto the Father, hj*, by me. And as with regard to our persons, 
w^e come unto God by him; so, with regard to our services, we 
offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. 
And .with regard to both, we have boldness and access, with confi- 
dence, by the faith of him. 

— But how is the person described, who derives benefit from 
him? He makes use of him for this purpose—" By me if any man 
enter in " This supposes a spiritual concern. Many are careless 
about their souls. They have never been convinced of sin : nt^ver 
induced from an apprehension of their danger, to cry. What must 
I do to be saved ? They are me'i of the world ; and all their 
anxieties are confined within the narrow bound of tin>e and sense. 
Others, if in a degree awakened, are not enlightened. Their con- 
cern is erroneously directed — for there is a way which seemeth 
right unto a man ; but it ends in death.- There is a refuge that can- 
not abide tiie storm. There is a hope that is like the spider's web — 
as curiously wrought, and as easily destroyed. The case is this. 
There is salvation in none other than in Him, who was d,elivered 
for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. In the 
Lord alone have w^e righteousness and strength. To him there- 
fore must men come. And to him the Christian does come. He 
knows, not only that there is no salvation for him out of Christ, 
but that there is no salvation in him, without a dependence upon 
him, and an application to him. He knows that, as a medicine 
never taken can never cure ; and as food never eaten can never 
nourish, so an unapplied Savior is no Savior to him. He there- 
fore makes use of Christ for every end he is revealed to answer. 
He builds upon him, as a foundation. As a way, he walks in him. 
As a door, by him he enters in. 

— And what are the advantages he obtains when admitted ? Safe- 
ty — " He shall be saved." Saved from the curse of tho law, and 
the wrath to come — Saved from the roaring lion who goeth about 
seeking whom he may devour — Saved from the Jvingof Terrors — 
Saved from a world lying in wickedness — Saved from an evil 
lieart of unbelief, in departing from the living God — Saved in the 
Lord, with an everlasting salvation. Liberty — "He shall go in 
and out." A man is free in his own house. He goes in and out 
at his pleasure — and when he goes out, he is not shut out like a 
stranger ; and when he goes in, he is not shut in like a criminal. 
This, too, is the privilege of sheep under the care of a good shep- 
herd. They go in — but if they could not go out, the fold would 
be a prison. They therefore, at night, go in for protection ; and 
in the morning, go out for food The expression, therefore, is 
used in the Scripture as significant of freedom: and the meaning 
is, that what is done for the Christian's safety does not compro- 
mise his liberty. He knows the truth ; and the truth makes him 
free : and he is free indeed — free, to go wherever he pleases 



210 OCTOBER 25. 

in Immanuers land— free, to partake of all tlie privileges of Jjie 
sons of God. Plenty — "And find pasture." Ah! said one of them, 
realizing this, " The Lord is my shepherd ; I shall not want. He 
make th me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside 
the still waters." So Isaiah — "They shall feed in the ways" — the 
ways of his commandments, ordinances, and dispensations — " and 
their pasture shall be in all high places" — where they cannot be 
hid ; but where they may seem unlikely to find supplies; aseleva. 
lions, especially in warm countries, are commonly barren — but he 
feels them, while he lifts them up. for ever. Religion raises them ; 
but not into regions of empty speculation — for it is added, " They 
shall not hunger nor thirst : neither shall the heat nor sun smite 
them, for he that hath mercy en them shall lead them, even by the 
springs of v/ater shall he guide them." 

October 26. — " O Jerusalem ! wash thine heart from 'wickedness, that 
thou mayest be saved." — Jeremiah, iv, 14. 

Though these words are addressed to Jerusalem : by a principle 
of the fairest reasoning they extend to every individual who needs 
the same purification and deliverance. And who does not ? — Yea, 
the circumstance strengthens the argument. Jerusalem was called 
the Holy City; the City of the living God : there stood his tem- 
ple ; there were his sei'vants to make known his will ; they had 
Moses and the prophets. If they stood in need of such an address, 
is it needless for us ? With all their unbelief and ingratitude, disobe- 
dience and perverseness, they were fair specimens of the human 
race. In Adam, all died ; and from him we derive a mortal, and 
therefore a depraved nature — What is man, that he should be clean, 
or he that is born of a woman, that he should be righteous ? All, 
therefore need pardoning mercy, and sanctifying grace — All need 
to be saved by the washing of regeneration, and tlie rencMing of 
the Holy Ghost. But here are two difficulties. 

First. God himself is represented as concerned for the success 
of the measure ; " O Jerusalem ! wash thine heart from wicked- 
ness, that thou mayest be saved." This interjection, witli us, of- 
ten implies weakness and grief, as well as desire. We must tliere- 
fore take care how we apply such expressions to God, lest we de- 
grade the perfections of his nature. He speaks to us after the man- 
ner of men : but his condescension must not rob him of his glory. 
Yet his language is not devoid of truth. However metaphorical 
it may be, there is in it a reality thfjt more than justifies it. To 
which we m.ay add, that even grief and weaknesss had better be 
ascribed to God than insincerity. Let us be assured of this, that 
he means what he says. While he hates our sins, he loves our 
souis, and is not willing that any should perish, but that all should 
come to repentance. He is not only the righteous Governor, but 
the knid Father. This is the lovely character under which he 
delights to display himself. Hence his expostulation with himse]f, 
"How shall I give thee up, Ephraim ? How shall I deliver thee, 
Israel? Howshall Imake thee as Admah? How shall I set thee as 
Zeboim ? Mine heart is turned within me, my repontmgs are kin- 



OCTOBER 27. 211 

died together." Hence the oath he has taken—" As I live, saith 
the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth : where ■ 
fore turn and live ye." Hence the sacrifice of the cross — " He 
tliat spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how 
shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" Hence all 
the means he is incessantly employing to awaken and engage our 
attention to the things that belong to our peace. Hence he has 
established the ministry of reconciliation, and sends forth his ser- 
vants to beseech us, in his name, to be reconciled unto God. 

Secondly. The work is considered as of our own achieving ; 
and we are called upon to cleanse our hearts from wickedness. It 
would be a contradiction of the whole Bible, were we to be re- 
garded as the authors. But we are the instruments. God not only 
worketh in us, but by us. And hence, though all is of grace, yet 
we " will and do." We believe and repent, and hold on our way, 
and wax stronger and stronger. It would be an abuse of the lan- 
guage to infer from it that we have po^yer to do this naturally, or 
of ourselves — yet the address would be absurd, had we not the 
ability in some other way. God has the right to command, 
though we have lost the power to obey ; but this is not the ground 
of the injunction. If in him our help was not found, he would 
not thus speak to us. But it is. His grace is sufficient for us. 
Every thing necessary for our deliverance from sin is provided 
and presented in the Gospel : and we must have recourse to it in 
the use of the means which he has ordained. The address, there- 
fore, is not like a command to a man to fl!y — a thing unnatural ; 
and which he cannot enable himself to do : but like a command to 
a man, who was ready to perish for want, to take and eat. Though 
he has nothing of his own, he has shown him at hand every kind 
of supply, and he is welcome to partake of it. Or, like a com- 
mand to a sick man to be cured : he cannot indeed heal himself, 
but he has one near him who is able and willing to heal him, and 
asks, Wilt thou be made whole ? And to this remedy he is to 
submit. All such com'mands are designed to make us sensible of 
our wants and weakness, and to bring us upon our knees. Then 
every thing is possible. Forgiveness and sanctification are attain- 
able — are certain. And having this hope in us, we purify our- 
selves even as he is pure. Having these promises, we cleanse our- 
selves from all filthiness of tlcsh and spirit, perfecting holiness in 
the fear of God. Let the work itself furnish our next meditation. 



October 27. — " O Jerusalem^ wash thine heart from thy wickedness, that 
thou may est be saved." — Jeremiah iv, 14. 

The words remind us that sin is of a defiling nature. It is there- 
fore held forth by every kind of uncleanness — by wounds, and 
bruises, and putrifying sores; by leprosy and plague; by mire 
and dirt ; by the rottenness and corruption of the grave. It defiles 
every thing it touches. In consequence of it, the whole creation 
groaneth ; and all our eyes behold is doomed to perish, like the 
house of the leper, under the law, because of the infection of the 
inhabitant. "O do not," says God, "the abominable thing I hate." 



212 OCTOBER 28. 

" JMy soul loathed them." How great must that evil be which can 
induce the Creator to loathe the work of his own hands! The 
Father oi all to loathe his very offspring ! And even the " God of 
love, the very essence of mercy, to say to them at last, '' Depart, ye 
cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels !" 
O my soul, does not sin appear to thee, as it does to Him — exceed- 
ing sinful ? 

Secondly. That the purification we need extends to the hearV. 
" "Wash thine heart from wickedness." The reason is, because thi? 
is the very seat of the pollution. Some, who know tlieir lives are 
open to censure, will yet plead for the goodness of their hearts. 
r»ut a good heart will always produce a good lile, as naturally as 
a good tree yieldeth good fruit. Others contend that our corrup- 
tion is not innate, but acquired ; derived, not from within, but from 
without. Yet says the faithful and true Witness, " From within^ 
out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, forni- 
cations, murders, thefts, covetousness. wickedness, deceit, lasci- 
viousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness : all these evil 
things come from within, and defile the man. Hence, 

" No outward forms can make us clean, | " The leprosy lies deep withia." 

And we must be pure in heart. How is this to be ascertained ? 
By our deliverance from the lace of sin. The love of sin defiles 
even more than the practice. But every man that is renewed in 
tiie spirit of his mind not only avoids sin, but hates it. He feels 
it to be his burden and his grief. And, while any of the abomina- 
tion continues adherent to him, he exclaims, O wretched man 
that I am ! who shall deliver me from the body of this death ! 

Thirdly. This purification is connected with salvation, "Wash 
thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved." It is 
necessary to salvation. Without holiness no man shall see the 
Lord. If I w^ash thee not, thou hast no part with me. The un- 
righteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Indeed, in such 
a state, and with such a disposition, the enjoyment of heaven is as 
impossible as the attainment. The exclusion, therefore, is not 
arbitrary, but unavoidable. — It will certainh/ terivinate in salva- 
tion. This is not only implied in the declaration, but it is made 
the matter of express promise: "Let the wicked forsake his way, 
and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto 
the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him. and to our God, foi 
he will abundantly pardon." It is a pcn-t of salvation. The man 
■who has experienced it is not only an heir, but a subject of the 
blessedness. He has, not indeed the perfection of the tiling, but 
lie has more than the title and the pledge — he has the beginning. 
Being made free from sin, and become the servant of God, he hus 
his fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 



October 28.—" If any man love God, the same is known of him.' —1 Cor. viii, 3. 
There is nothing so mortifying to men as inattention and neg- 
lect. Many would rather be hated than neglected. The one im- 
plies that they are deemed something; the other shows that they 
are considered as beneath notice. The one rouses, the other anni- 



OCTOBER 28. 213 

hilates. Hence we are anxious to be known of our fellow crea- 
tures, especially those who are placed above us— and can take us 
by the hand— and raise us up— and put us forward in life. Yet, 
as men of low degree are vanity, so men of high degree are a lie. 
After all our servile attentions and compliances, we are never 
sure of gaining their regard. And what could even their zeal do 
for us in our most important interests ? O let us turn our anxiety 
another way. Let us sanctify it. Let us make it the medium of 
our happiness. Let us be concerned to please God. Then we 
shall be sure to succeed, and success will be every thing. For 
in his favor is life. " If any man love God, the same is known of 
liim." 

This knowledge being spoken of as the highest privilege, it must 
intend much more than a mere acquaintance with the subjects of 
it : for thus all are known of him. 

The least thing intended is discernment. The Lord knows their 
condition. Knows all their walking through this great wilder 
ness. Knows all their trials. Knows the pressure of every bur- 
den they bear. Knows their frame ; and remembers that they 
are dust. He perceives all their dangers : their enemies may plot 
against them, but they do it unconsciously in the sight of their 
Father and Friend. And, as to their persons, the Lord knoweth 
them that are his. He never overlooks them in the crowd. If 
there was only one of them in a village, or city, or nation, he 
would have his eye upon him. However misrepresented and 
reproached, he recognizes them as upright before him. However 
obscure their condition, he views them as the excellent of the 
earth. However little their faith, he watches the tears with 
which they cry. Lord, I believe ; help thou mine unbelief. How- 
ever encompassed with infirmities which sometimes perplex others, 
he who knows what is the mind of the Spirit, knoweth that they 
love him. We can only judge of motives by actions. But God 
judges of actions by motives. He seeth the heart ; in conse- 
quence of which, ill estimating the services of his people, he 
admits into the amount, not only all they do, but all they design 
to do, and wish to do, when they"^ are hindered ; and accepts them 
according to what they have, and not according to what they 
have not. Even this is a source of satisfaction to the Christian. 
— But this knowledge, also, takes in approbation. The Lord 
knoweth the way of the righteous. So he does the way of the 
ungodly. But the meaning is, he approves it; he commends it. 
The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in them that 
hope in his mercy. He regards them with complacency, as the 
work of his own hands. He esteems them as his jewels, his 
bride, his offspring. Their prayer is his dehght; their alms, the 
odor of a sweet smell. Approbation must be valued according 
to the condition and character of the being from whom it comes. 
It would be a reproach to pass for the favorite of Satan. The 
first Christians M'ould also have deemed the friendship of the 
world no recommendation ; for they were satisfied to say, " The 
world knoweth us not; for it knew him not." A great personage 
reflects a lustre upon a near object ; a person would be ambitious 



2U OCTOBER 29. 

to be seen intimate ^vith the king. And to live in the affections 
of the wise and good, says a fine writer, is like breathing in an 
eastern spice grove. What a dignity is it, then, to walk with 
God ! What a blessedness to hear him say, " Since thou wast pre- 
cious in my sight, thou hast been honorable, and I have loved 
thee !" And what shall be done for the man whom the King of 
kings delighteth to honor ? 

— For this knowledge is acknowledgment. The apostle, ad- 
monishing the Thessalonians, says, " Know them that labor 
among 5^ou,and are over you in the Lord" — that is, own them with 
respect, and verbally and practically treat them as their office 
requires. Thus God claims his people. He owns them in the 
dispensations of his providence, and in the agency of his grace. 
He signalizes them in life. He does it often more peculiarly in 
death, so that his saints are joyful in glory, and shout aloud upon 
their beds, and induce their very enemies to exclaim. Let me die 
the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his ! But, 
above all, they shall be mine, saith the Lord, in that day, when I 
make up my jewels. He will confess them before the assembled 
earth and heavens, and place them nearer the throne than angels. 

Of what importance, then, is the love of God ! And how care- 
fully should we inquire whether it be shed abroad in our hearts ! 
If any man love Him, the same is known of him — But no other. 
Nothing can be a substitute for this affection. Without it our 
knowledge, our gifts, our faith itself, are vain. If we have any 
thing like devotion, it is formality. If we have peace, it is delu- 
sion. If we have safety, it is a refuge of lies. And though we may 
go to the very door of heaven, and knock, and say. Lord, Lord, 
open unto us — he will profess, "I never knew you — Depart." 

" Let me love thee more and more — 1 " If I have not loved before, 

" If I love at all I pray ; | " Help me to be^u to-day." 



Im 



October 29. — " In the day of my trouble I -will call upon thee." — Vs'c 
Ixxxvi, 7. 

This was the language of David. David was a king, and a 
saint. He was pre-eminently great and good — yet neither does 
his rank or his godliness exempt him from trouble. But it is well 
to see what such a man does when trouble cometh upon him. 
And here Ave have his resolution: "In the day of my trouble I 
will call upon thee." 

This was the m' isest thing he could do ; and it is the best thing 
we can do. For, first, Prayer is enjoined upon us in trouble. The 
will of God is our rule. And who can be ignorant of his com- 
mand? W'ho has not read, "Is any afflicted ? Let him pray." 

Secondly. Prayer is the design of trouble. He does not alTlict 
willingly, or .grieve the children of men. He has an end worthy 
his wisdom and his goodness, to answer by every trial. It is to 
bring us to himself — and to bring us nearer to himself. It is to 
quicken us to pra}^ more frequently, more earnestly; "I will go 
and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence and 
seek my face — In their affliction they will seek me early." 



OCTOBER 30. 215 

Thirdly. Prayer is the evidence that trouble is sanctified. It is 
a great thing not to lose a trial. It is never neutral in its effect. It 
always injures, or improves. It is worse than nothing when it 
sends us to the creature, either in a way of accusation or relief. 
But when we turn to Him that smiteth us ; and acknowledge that 
his judgments are right, and cast ourselves at his feet, resolved, 
if we perish, there to die — we need not say, with Job, " I am afraid 
of all my sorrows," but confess, with David, '* It is good for me 
that I have been afflicted." 

Fourthly, Prayer is the solace of trouble. There is some re- 
lief in tears, and therefore Natui*e is provided with them. It eases 
and soothes the bursting heart, to pour our grief into the ear of a 
friend, v/ho, having rejoiced wdien we rejoiced, w^ill weep when 
we weep. But oh ! how good is it to draw near to God ! How 
delightful is it, like Job, to pour out our tears unto him, and re- 
semble the child that sobs himself asleep in his mother's arms, 
and on his mother's breast! "A glorious high throne from the 
beginning," says the church, " has been the place of our sanc- 
tuary." A temple that no evil enters ; an asylum that no enemy 
invades. There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the 
vv'eary are at rest. 

Fifthly. Prayer is the medium of our deliverance from trouble. 
For this release we are allowed to be concerned. But we must 
seek it from God. And in doing this, we have not only his pcwer 
to encourage us, and nothing is too hard for him — He can turn 
the shadow of death into the morning: but his goodness and 
love ; and like as a father pitietli his children, so the Lord pitieth 
tliem that fear him. Yes, more : we have his faithfulness and 
truth ; that we shall not, cannot, seek him in vain. He has en- 
gaged to appear to our joy ; not indeed in our time and way, but 
in his own. He has bound himself, and put the bond into our 
hand: and we can produce it; and plead it; and be surer of the 
ful.Gliment, than the continuance of heaven and earth. For heaven 
and earth shall pass away, but his word shall not pass. And here 
it is, " Call upon me in the day of'trouble, and I will deliver thee 
and tliou shalt glorify me." " Because he hath set his love upon 
me, therefore will I deliver him : I will set him on high, because 
he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will an- 
swer him : I will be with him in trouble ; I will deliver him and 
honor him." 



October 30. — " Messiah the Prince." — Daniel, ix, 25. 

This is not the only character of the Messiah. But we must 
connect it with every representation we have of him, that his 
glory may not be injured by his condescension ; nor his authority 
diminished by his kindness. Is he exalted at the right hand of 
God. It is to be " a Prince," as well as " a Savior." Is he a 
Priest ? He is " a Priest upon his throne." 

How is this Prince designated ? 

He is "the Prince of the kina-s of the earth:'' They often think 
little of him ; and imagining themselves their own, say, Who is 
21* 



216 OCTOBER 30. 

lord over us? But wherein they deal proudly, he is above them. 
They are all raised by his power, and controllable by his will; and 
subservient to his designs : and amenable to his tribunal. Hence 
his avowal — " By me kings reign, and princes decree justice. By 
ine princes rule, and nobles, even all the' judges of the earth. 
Hence the admonition, "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." 

He is " the Prince of Peaces He came to mediate between 
lieave-n and earth : and we are reconciled unto God by the death 
of his Son. Men talk of making their peace with God. If our 
tears, or works, or alms, could have availed for this purpose, the 
world would never have witnessed the siiflferings of Christ. But 
he made peace by the blood of his Cross. One died for all — And 
he was more than all. The value of his sacrifice was infinite 
and every end that could have been answered by the destruction 
of a world of sinners, has been equally and better answered by 
the death of the Savior. Nothing will effectually satisfy an 
awakened conscience but what satisfied the justice of God. Yet, 
surely this will suffice ! When, therefore, it is apprehended and 
applied by faith, we enter into rest ; and feel a peace within which 
passeth all understanding. By his grace, too, he reconciles us to 
our duty, and to our condition. He frees us from those anxieties 
and fears which an idolatrous regard to creatures excites ; and 
enables us to be careful for nothing, by casting all our care upon 
him, who careth for us. Also, by subduing our pride and selfish- 
ness, by which alone come contentions ; and inp.niring us with 
love — the bond of perfectness ; we live in harmony with our fel- 
low creatures. Yea, we are m league with the stones of the field ; 
and the beasts of the field are at peaco with us. 

He is " the Prince of Z///^." Other princes, however powerful, 
are mortal : and this is a reason why we should not put our trust 
in them. Their breath goeth forth, they return to their dust ; in 
that very day their thoughts perish. Ikit Jesus liveth for ever : 
and because he lives, his people live also. Other princes, while 
they are living themselves, cannot impart life to others — though, 
alas ! they often take it away ; and sacrifice thousands of their 
subjects to their own lusts. But Jesus had not only life in him- 
self, but came that we might have life ; and have it more abun- 
dantly. He procured, and communicates, and sustains a life ^u- 
perior to that of Adam in Paradise, and of angels in glory. Tl is 
IS the promise that God hath promised us, even efenxd life. And 
this life is in his Son. He therefore that hath the Son hath life; 
and he that hath not the Son liatli not life. 

He has other designations ; and all come short ol his praise. 
But these are sufficient \'o show liow safe? and how happy all they 
are who have become his subjects. It was a fine compliment 
that Hiram paid Solomon, when he said, " Surely, bemuse the 
Lord loved Israel, therefore made he thee king over them.'' How 
much more has God shown his goodness to his people, m setting 



OCTOBER 31. 217 

this King upon his holy hill of Zion ! Let the children of Zion 
be joyful in their King. Let them make their boast in the Lord ; 
and ill his righteousness be exalted. 

Let them also be concerned to approve themselves wise, and 
good, and loyal subjects, to the best of Princes : so that instead 
uf disgracing him, they may be to him for a name and a praise 
among all those who shall hear of so great a people. 

But wo to those who reject his sceptre. As for these mine ene 
mies who would not that I should reign over them, bring them 
forth, and slay them before me. 



October 31. — " Prayer shall be made for him continually." — Psalm Ixxii, 15. 

We are not only to pray ; but to pray without ceasing. We are 
not only to pray for ourselves, but for others. We are to pray 
for kings, and all that are in authority — for ministers — for all 
saints — for even our enemies, who despitefully use us, and per- 
secute us — and what may seem strange — we are to pray for Jesus 
Christ. '•' Prayers also shall be made for him continually." 

Is prayer then necessary for him 7 Is he not above the reach of 
danger, pain, and want ? Yes. He who once had not where to 
lay his head, has all power in heaven and in earth ; and he dieth 
no more ; death hath no more dominion over him. The meaning, 
therefore, cannot be, that prayer should be continually made for 
him personally ; but relatively. Owing to the interest he has in 
certain objects ; what is done for them, is done for himself; and 
so he esteems it. We therefore pray for him, when we pray for 
his ministers ; his ordinances ; his Gospel ; his Church — in a 
word, his cause. David, therefore, exemplifying what he had fore- 
told, immediately breaks forth, and says, " And blessed be his 
glorious Name for ever : and let the whole earth be filled with 
his glory. Amen, and amen. The prayers of David, the son of 
Jesse, are ended." 

But zo/iai! should we pra^ for on his behalf? Our prayer sliould 
vary with the state of his'cause ; bat we should always bear four 
things upon our minds. First. The degree of its resources ; that 
there be always a sufficiency of suitable and able instruments to 
carry on the work — to this the Savior himself directs us : " The 
harvest truly is great ; but the laborers are few : pray ye there- 
fore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers 
into his harvest." Secondly. The freedom of its administration ; 
that whatever opposes or hinders its progress may be removed. 
" Pray for us," says the Apostle, " that the word of the Lord may 
have free course and be glorified." Thirdly. The diffusion of its 
principles ; that they may become general and universal ; spread- 
ing through every family, neighborhood, aud province, and realm. 
So prayed of old^even the pious Jew : " That thy way may be 
known on earth ; thy saving health among all nations. Let the 
people praise thee, 6 God ; yea. let all the people praise thee." 
Fourthly. The increase of its glory, as well as its extent ; that it 
may abound more in wisdom, purity, spirituality, charity, and 
zeal : that the light of the moon may be as the light of the sun ; 



218 OCTOBER 31. 

and the light of the sun be sevenfold as the light of seven days : 
that for brass, he would bring gold j and for iron, silver ; and for 
wood, brass ; and for stones, iron. Thus, they that make men- 
tion of the Lord are to " give him no rest" — not only until he 
" establish" — but " make Jerusalem a praise in the whole earth." 
But luhy should we be concerned to pray for Him ? Consistency 
requires it. We are the professors of Christ. We profess to be 
his servants — but can we be wise and good servants, if we are ne- 
glectful of our Master's affairs ? We profess to be his subjects^ — 
but can we be his loyal subjects, if we are indifferent to the glory 
of our Sovereign ? We profess to be his friends — but can we have 
true and faithful friends, unless we make his interests our own j 
mourn over his dishonor, and rejoice in his prosperity? Benevo- 
lence requires it. The Gospel is the greatest of all blessings to 
the children of men. Wherever it enters, the wilderness and the 
solitary place is made glad, and the desert rejoices and blossoms 
as the rose. It is the power of God to salvation to every one that 
believeth ; and where it does not save the soul, it yields a thou- 
sand advantages to the community. Who would not wish him 
success ? His career is the march of truth, and righteousness, 
and peace. He makes the widow's heart to sing for joy. In him 
the fatherless findeth mercy. 

" Blessings abound where'er He reigns, I " The wear}' find etornal rest ; 

" The pris'uer leaps to lose his chains : | " xind all the sons of want are blest." 

Gratitude requires it. Hov/ m.uch do we owe him ! When we 
consider Vv'hat he has done, is doing, and will do for us : all we 
are, and all we have, appear to be his by a thousand claims ; and 
nothing can equal our vileness, if we are not led hourly to ask. 
What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits ? Lord, 
what wilt thou have me to do ? 

But what reason have we to conclude that these prayers for 
him .will be heard? Much every way. The prayers, indeed, 
even of good men, are not always answered. Sometimes they 
know not what they ask. And Mhen they implore what would 
prove evil, God's wisdom and kindness lead him to refuse. But 
whatsoever we ask according to his will, he heareth us. And has 
he not commanded us to pray, that his kingdom may come ? 
Has he not promised it? Is not the grand condition fulfilled — 
"When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see 
his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord 
shall prosper in his hands ?" Can his death be unavailable ? Can 
the engagements of the everlasting covenant be made void? We 
cannot pray for him in vain. 

— But what is necessary to evince that our praying for him is 
sincere? For there is much prayer that is a mere mockery of 
God. Out of their own mouths many will be condemned here- 
after; and they would feel themselves condemned alread)'', were 
it not that the heart is deceitful above all things, as well as despe- 
rately wicked. A man prays to redeem his time, and to have his 
conversation in heaven, and goes and sits in the play-house for 
the answer. A father prays for the salvation of his child ; and 
does all in his power to leave him affluent, and surrounded with 



NOVEMBER 1. 219 

temptations that render his conversion a miracle. A third 
prays to be damned ; for he prays, " forgive us our trespasses, as 
we forgive them that trespass against us :" and he is implacable. 
When a man sincerely desires a thing, in proportion as he de- 
sires it, he will seek after it, and use all the means placed within 
his reach to obtain it. When, therefore, a person professes a great 
concern for a thing, and negl-ects whatever is necessary to it, we 
make no scruple to tax him with folly and falsehood. Let us do, 
in religious matters, what we do in other cases — let us judge of 
our faith, by our practice ; and of our hearts, by our lives. 

What then, you say, must we do to prove that our prayers in 
the cause of Christianity are sijicere ? Do ! Some of you should 
come forward and offer to go forth as missionaries. What hin- 
ders ? Nothing in your condition ; nothing in your connexions ; 
Nothing but the love of ease, and the fear of suffering, and the 
want of the spiiit of the prayer—" Arise, O Lord, and plead thine 
own cause." Do ! Live for him. All cannot go abroad ; but all 
have a sphere in which they may be useful. They may hold 
forth the word of life, by their temper and conversation. Do ! 
Employ all your influence with others, provoking them to love 
and to good works. Do ! Give according to your opportunity 
and ability — exercising self-denial, to enlarge your ability. Read 
the v/hole verse of our text — " And he shall live : and to him shall 
be given of the gold of Sheba ; prayer also shall be made for him 
continually ; and daily shall he be praised." 



NovExMEER 1.— "How rcadest thou ?"— Luke, x,26. 

It is well to be able to read. Thousands are not ; and so can- 
not thus agreeably fill up their leisure moments, nor improve their 
minds by the written communications of others. But whatever 
a thing be in itself, the use we are to make of it, is to determine 
whether it be, to us, good or evil, a blessing or a curse. 

Some will lament for ever, that they were taught to read. They 
never improved so great a talent. Yea, they perverted and 
abused it ; reading books which undermined their principles, de- 
filed their imaginations, and demoralized their lives. But others 
are thankful for such an attainment. It has afforded them not 
only gratification and profit, but spiritual improvement and con- 
solation. One, in reading, has been converted from the error of 
his ways. Another has been guided in his experimental and 
practical doubts and difficulties. A third has been revived while 
walking in the midst of trouble. 

— And if this has been the case while reading other books, how 
much more while reading the Scriptures of truth ! This volume 
you are bound, above all other books, to read. It is your dutv ; 
it IS your privilege— But how readest thou ? How ought you 'to 
read it ? 

—First. You ought to read it, as the dictates of Inspiration. 
You do not, perhaps, deny or question tliis ; but you ought, actu- 
ally and frequently, to impress the mind with it, that when you 
open these pages, you may say, " I will hear what God the Lord 



220 NOVEMBER 1. 

will speak." " Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth." Tlie 
Apostle admonishes the Hebrews not to turn away from Him 
that speaketh from heaven. He does not say, who spake — but 
who speaketh. The address is to be considered as immediate. It 
is so to us, as well as to those who originally heard it. Had it 
been just written it could have had no more authority, and have 
been no more deserving of attention than now. How much de- 
pends upon this advice ! For as we receive the word, so shall we 
be affected by it. If we regard it as false, it will produce no re- 
sult. If as human, it will influence as human. Lut if divine, it 
will operate divinely. Hence, says the Apostle to the Thessaloni- 
ans, " For this cause also thank we God without ceasing ; because, 
when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye re- 
ceived it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of 
God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe." 

Secondly. Let him that readeth understand. The eunuch, 
returning from Jerusalem in his chariot, was reading ; and reading 
even the Prophecies of Isaiah ; but Philip said to him, " Under- 
standest thou what thou readest ?" To know the meaning of the 
Scriptures, it is a good thing to read on, till we come to the end of 
a paragraph or subject, regardless of the divisions in chapters and 
verses. These breaks are useful, and they are generally made in 
their proper places, but not always, in consequence of which the 
sense is injured or darkened by the writer's closing before he has 
finished : or commencing sometimes in the m.iddle of the argu- 
ment. Neither should we lay too much stress on a particular 
word or phrase ; but be guided by the natural current of the pas- 
sage ; and endeavor always to apprehend what is the present de- 
sign of the sacred writer. Here good common sense will often 
do more than the learned affectations of expositors, who frequently 
elude the solution of a diflicult text, and throw doubts into a 
clear one. While we ought to avail ourselves of every assistance 
from the labors of others ; and above all, to exercise our own 
minds ; we must be humble in our inquiries, and feel and ac- 
knowledge our need of divine guidance, to lead us into all 
truth. " Open thou mine eyes, that I may see wondrous things 
out of thy laws ;" so prayed David — and so must we. " If 
any of you lack. wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all 
men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him." 
Thus the wayfaring man, though a fool, shall not err : and with- 
out this, the scholar and the genius will for ever go astray. The 
great impediment to divine knowledge is the state of the heart: 
and as soon as we are made deeply sensible of our need of what 
the Gospel is designed to afford, and willing to be saved in the 
Lord's own way, and to walk so as to please him, every thing 
opens easily and delightfully; and the path of the just is as the 
shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. 
But this can only be obtained from " the Spirit of truth." 

Thirdly. We should read with a view of self-application. In- 
stead of thinking of others — which is too frequently the ca.se — 
we should think of ourselves ; inquiring how it bears upon our 
character and condition ; and how, as Lord Bacon says, it comes 



NOVEMBER 2. 221 

Aome to our own business and bosoms. If I read a threatening, 
•' O my soul, do I stand exposed to this danger ?" If I read a pro- 
mise, " May I claim this blessing ?" If I read a reproof or a com- 
mendation, " Am I censured by the one, or encouraged by the 
other ?" "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" 

Fourthly. We should read with a determination to reduce 
what we read to experience and practice. The design of all the 
instruction contained in the Scripture is, to bear upon the con- 
science and the life. The doctrine is not only according to grace, 
but according to godliness. If ye know these things, happy are 
ye if ye do them. This is the way to increase with ali the mcrease 
of God. To him that hath shall be given, and he shall have more 
abundantly. If a man do his will, he shall know of his doctrine. 
We may apply to reading what the apostle James has said of hear- 
ing : " But be ye doers of the word, and not readers only, deceiv- 
ing your own selves. For if any be a reader of the word, and 
not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural'face in a 
glass : for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway 
forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into 
the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a 
forgetful reader^ but a doer qf the work, this man shall be blessed 
in his deed.'' 



November 2. — " His time in the flesh." — 1 Peter, iv, 2. 

" Flesh" is not to be taken here morally, but physically. It is 
not here used to signify our corruption, but our present existence : 
as when Paul says. The life that I now live " in the flesh," I live 
by the faith of the Son of God. It intends, therefore, our life 
while in. the body. For we shall not be in it always — a period is 
approaching, when the dust shall return to the earth as it was. and 
the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. 

Our " time" in the flesh varies in circumstances, with regard to 
individuals. But it has four general characters, applicable to all 
the human race. 

First. Our time in the flesh is chequered. The young may look 
forward and view life in the fascinations of hope ; and the aged 
may look back, and more congenially dwell on the gloomy than 
on the cheerful ; and the same maUj in the hour of present impres- 
sion, may feel himself too much elated, or too much depressed 
with his condition — but the truth is the same. It is neither a par- 
adisiacal nor a wilderness scene. It is neither entirely dark nor 
light, but intermingled sunshine and shade. Who ever found life 
so smooth as to have no roughness 1 And who ever had sickness 
without ease, or sorrow without comfort ? And who is now au- 
thorized to say, To-morrow shall be as this day, and much more 
abundant ; or, Mine eye shall no more see good ? 

Secondly. It is short. And short, not only as to eternity and 
the ages of men before the flood, but absolutely short. The gen- 
eral duration is threescore years and ten. But much of this is 
nothing to the superior purposes of our being. We do not mean 
business : this may not only be rendered consistent with religion, 
but is made, by a Christian who abides with God in his calling, a 



222 NOVEMBER 3. 

part of it. But there is the weakness of infancy, and the child- 
hood of age. There are the deductions of needful sleep, and 
allowed recreation, and unavoidable intercourse. It is often also 
cut short. How few reach seventy ! and those who do, com- 
monly look in vain to find any of the associates of their youth or 
maturity. Every thing expressive of brevity is seized by the 
sacred writers to hold forth the brevity of our time in the flesh — 
a flower; a flood; a tale; a dream; a vapor; a ship before the 
wind; an eagle pouncing on his prey. There is but. a step be- 
tween us and death. 

Thirdly. It is uncertain. How can it be otherwise, when we 
consider the diseases and accidents to which we are continually 
exposed ; and the feebleness o^ our frame ; and the number and 
delicacy of the organs of which the body is composed? Sixty 
times every minute, as our pulse tells us, the question is asked, 
whether we shall live or die. The fool in the Gospel said, I have 
much goods laid up for many years; soul, take thine ease, eat, 
drink, and be merry ; but that very night his soul was required of 
him. Persons just ready to enter connected life, have been called 
from marriage rites to attend funeral solemnities. The owners 
have been just ready to take possession of a new mansion, but 
have been carried to their long home. And the traveller, starting 
for his journey, has gone the way of all the earth. 

But fourthly. It is important; yea, all-important, by reason 
of its relation to another, and an eternal state. *"It is not only an 
introduction to this state, but a preparation for. it. It is influen- 
tially connected with it, as the sowing with the harvest. Our 
thoughts, words, and actions, are the seed ; ^nd whatsover a man 
soweth, that shall he also reap. The present is the only season of 
obtaining justification and renovation : a title to heaven, and a 
meetness for it. Now is the accepted time; now is the day of sal- 
vation. 

The same will apply to our doing good. Our time in the flesh 
is the only season in which we can glorify God and serve our 
generation. What a treasure then is life ! And how concerned 
should we be to work while it is day, seeing the night comelh, 
wherein no man can work ! In this one article the saints below 
are more privileged than the saints above: and v/e are persuade!, 
that those who have entered-their rest would be wihing, were it the 
pleasure of God, to come down and re-enter this vale of tears, to 
ha"e the opportunities of usefulness we enjoy — who can be candid 
toward those v/ho differ from us ; forgive injuries ; visit and re- 
lieve the afflicted ; spread the Gospel ; teach the ignorant ; save 
souls from death, and hide a multitude of sins. " Whatsoever thy 
hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor 
device, nor knowledge in the grave whither thou goest." 



November 3.—" As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing."— 2 Corinthians, vi, 10. 

This is the duty, this is the privilege of the Christian. Whether 

he considers andYeels himself in a state of exile— or warfare— or 

perplexity — or penury—or varying experience— or misapprehen- 



NOVEMBER 4. 



223 



sion from others ; if " sorrowful," he may, and he ought to be able 
to say, " Yet always rejoicing." 



Though dwelling with strangers around, 

And foreign and weary the land, 
I homeward lo Zion am bound — 

The day of release is at hand. 
Then, Meaecu and liedar, farewell, 

To enter my welcome abode ; 
With friends and with angels to dwell, 

VV^ith Jesus, my Savior and God ! 

Though hourly summoned to arms, 

And legions against me combine, 
I'm calm in the midst of alarms : 

My weapons and cause are divine. 
A Captain almighty I own , 

And l)anner'd by faith in his name, 
I shout ere the battle is won — 

1 more than a conqueror am ! 

Perplexings though often I feel. 

And mazy the paihs that I tread, 
My Goa has been leading me still, 

And etdl he haa promised to lead. 
The crooked shall all be made straight, 

The darkness shall beam into light ; 
I have but a moment to wait, 

And faith shall be turned into sight. 



If small my allotment below, 

1 will not at others repine ; 
Their joy is the gilding of wo. 

Their wealth t!iey must quicldy resign. 
Though poor, how much richer am II 

In want, 1 liave all I desire ; 
My treasures the soul can supply, 

And last when the stcrs shall expire ! 

If, weeping and fearing, I pass. 

Through changes, in state and in frame ; 
Yet constant in power and giace, 

My Savior is always the same. 
No shadow of turning he knows, 

Whose -bliss is the fountain of mine; 
And while his eternity flows. 

My happiness cannot decline. 

How little the multitude know, 

Or knowing, how little they prize 
The spring whence my joys ever flow, 

Or source of my bitterest sighs I 
But both the dear secret reveal. 

That Jesus hath soften'd this heart; 
And soon all my joys will fulfil, 

And lull the last sigh from my heart. 



-Matthew 



November 4. — " Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.' 

viii, 7. 

We may consj^der these words as 

— An answer to prayer. And let us observe whose prayer it 
was. He never said to the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain. 
But this centurion was an alien from the commonwealth of Israel; 
a Roman ; a Gentile. Yet he is immediately heard. For whoso- 
ever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved : for 
there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek ; for the 
same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. Whoever 
I am, let me therefore apply, animated by the assurance, "Him that 
Cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out". Let us observe, also, 
lohat prayer it was. It was not a prayer for the petitioner him- 
self : but for another. As he never refused any who addressed 
him on their own behalf; so he never refused any that addressed 
him on the account of others. Let this teach and encourage us to 
pray for others. Let friends pray for friends; and parents for 
their children ; and masters and mistresses for their servants. We 
are even commanded to pray for all men. 

— We may consider the words as an instance of condescension. 
He was fairer than the children of men ; higher than the kings of 
the earth; and all the angels of God worshipped him: yet no 
sooner is his goodness implored, than, in a moment, he is ready to 
go and stand by the side of the pallet of a poor sick slave! — I will 
come and heal him. The master was very humane and compas- 
sionate, or he would not have taken the trouble to send to our 
Lord, on the behalf of one consitlered so much below him. What 
is a slave to many an owner ? No more tlian a beast of burden. 
David found an Egyptian in the field, who had eaten no bread nor 
drunk any water for three days and three nights: "And Duvid 



224 NOVEMBER 4. 

said unto him, *to whom belongest thou? and whence art Ihou? 
And he said, 1 am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite ; 
and my master left me, because tlirte days agone I fell sick " 
A wretch ! How unlike him was this centurion! But he, even 
he^ is surprised, and scarcely knows how to accept of the Savior's 
offer. \ea, he- deems it a condescension to himself^even I am 
not worthy that thou shouldest come under wy roof. And shall 
not we condescend to men of low estate? " Did not He that made 
me in the womb, make him, and did not one fashion us in the 
womb ?" 

— We may consider the words as a display of power. I will 
come and attend him — would be the language of a friend. I will 
come and pray with him — would be the language of a minister. I 
will come and examine his case, and see if I can afford him relief — 
would be tlie language of the physician. But Jesus speaks like 
himself — I will come and heal him. He knew his own sufficiency. 
And the centurion knew it. It was the principle of his reasoning — 
" Though I am not the commander in chief, but a subordinate 
officer, yet it is not necessary even for me to go to a place in order 
to act — my word is enough, I say to one of my soldiers. Go, and 
he goeth ; to another. Come, and he cometh ; and to my servant. 
Do this, and he doeth it. How much more, O Lord ! are all crea- 
tures and events under thy control ! Thy word runneth very 
swiftly; and neither disease nor death can withstand it." So our 
Savior understood him. He therefore admired him, and said, I 
have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And we should 
have the saiPijs strong confidence in his ability — That he is mighty 
to save— able to save to the uttermost, them that come unto God 
by him. For 

— We may consider the words as affording an emblem of the 
salvation of the sinner. Whatever some may think of human 
nature, w^e are fallen creatures — we are spiritually diseased — and 
there is no health in us — and we are ready to perish — and are in- 
capable of recovering ourselves. And 

•' The help of men and angels joined, I " Nor can we hope relief to find, 

** Can never reach our case ; | " But iu his boundless grace." 

But he says, Lo ! I come. I will come and heal him. It was the 
design of his coming in the flesh. The Son of man is come to 
seek and to save that which was lost. It is the purpose of his 
coming now in the agency of his grace. I will bring them, says 
he, health and cure. He heals them, meritoriously, by his strijes; 
efficiently, by his Spirit; instrumentally, by his v/ord, ordinances, 
and providences. The recovery, indeed, he is pleased to carry on 
by degrees. He could by one application, yea, by one volition, re- 
move all their complaints: but it does not comport with his wis- 
dom. His people, therefore, continue his patients; and are no 
more than convalescents all through life. But if slow, the re- 
covery is sure. Nothing can elude his skill, or baffle his remedy. 
When dying, they may say, with Baxter, "Almost well;" and 
when they enter Immanuel's land, there the inhabitant shall no 
more say, I am sick. 



NOVEMBER 5. 225 

November 5.—" This God is our God for ever and ever."— Ps. xlviii, 14. 

This is the language of a proprietary in God. And it is founded 
in truth In the covenant of grace, estabUshed not with them, but 
with the surety, he has, so to speak, made over himseli to his people, 
saYiu<^— I will be thy God. I am thine, and all that I have— my 
perfections, my relations, my works, my word my ordinances, 
my dispensations-I am thy salvation-to tliee I am all and in all. 
Hence there is no property like this, not only for the value of it, 
but the reality too. Justly speaking, nothing else is our own Our 
time is not our own. Our wealth is not our own. Our children 
are not our own. Our bodies, cur souls, are not our own— But 
God is our own— And God, even our own God, shall bless us. 

It is the language of an assured proprietary— This God is our 
God The relation may be known and claimed. And with what 
a repetition does David express it ! " I will love thee, O Lord, wi^ 
strength. The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer : 
mv G°od, my strength, in whom I will trust ; wy buckler and the 
horn of my salvation, and my high tower." Here are no less in a 
few words, than eight appropriations. And how desirable is 
it to be able to ascertain and express our own interest m all his 
engagements ! 

" When I can say. my God is mine, I " t tread the world beneatK my (ect, 

•« When 1 can feel thy glories sbiue, | " And all tliat earth calls good and great. 

Then I am satisfied with his goodness. But can the thing be made 
out?— and how ? Thev mistake, who suppose this relation results 
from our choosing Him, and giving ourselves to him. ^^e do 
this, indeed ; but it is by his grace. And, in us, this is the effect 
and not the cause. But as it is the effect, it is therefore the evi- 
dence. \nd in this way we are to trace back the stream to the 
fountain; making our calling, and thereby our election, sure. If 
we have chosen Him, we may be assured he has chosen us ; and if 
we love him, we may be assured he loves us: for one is the con- 
sequence of the other— We love Him, because he first loved us 

It is the language of a permanent proprietary— This our God is 
our God for ever and ever. Without this, the blessedness would 
make us miserable : for the dearer and greater a treasure is, the 
more alive we are to anxiety and fear ; and nothing but the as- 
surance of its safety can enable us cordially to enjoy it. No con- 
fidence is so well founded as the Christian's. Every other pos- 
session is precarious ; every other relation is breaking up. But 
he may, he can say, "I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, 
nor ant^els, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor 
thincrs lo come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, 
shalf be able to separate us from the love of God which is in 
Christ Jesus our Lord." 

It is the language of an exulting proprietary. Boasting is ex- 
cluded by the law of faith. But what boasting ? All glorying m 
ourselves, but not in God. "My soul," says David, "shall make 
her boast in the Lord : the humble shall hear thereof, and be 
elad " So the Church boasts and proclaims the Savior—" This 
is my belov6d, and this is my friend, O ye daughters of Jerusa- 



226 NOVEMBER 6. 

lem" — What is yours ? So here — This God is our God for ever 
and for ever — What is yours, O ye sons of men ? 

Their rock is not as our rock ; our enemies themselves being 
iudfjes. 



NovKMBER G. — " There is a God in heaven, that revealetb secrets." — Dan 
iel, ii, 28. 

Daniel was perhaps the most blameless character recorded in 
the Scriptures. Of course He is excepted from the comparison, 
who was " fairer than the children of men." Neither do we mean 
lo intimate that he was sinless. He had an evil heart to lament 
before God ; but, with regard to his conduct before men, as a pro- 
fessor of religion, nothing is laid to his charge. And v/hat an 
honor was it to be spoken of, while living— and while young, too, 
by a prophet— in company with Noah and Job — as one of those 
who were most likely to have power with God, as intercessors ! 

Here we see his humility. The king said unto him, "Art thou 
able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and 
the interpretation thereof ?" Daniel answered in the presence of 
the king, and said, " The secret which the king hath commanded, 
cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsay- 
. ers, show unto the king. But there is a God in heaven that re- 
vealeth secrets." Why does he mention this, but because he 
would prevent the commendation of himself ! and that the only 
wise God might have the glory that was due unto his holy name ? 
And thus another fine character, jealous of the divine honor, said 
to his sovereign, " It is not in me. God shall give Pharaoh an an- 
swer of peace." The most emijient of-all characters in the Chris- 
tian church also said, " By the grace of God I am what I am : and 
his grace v/hich Avas bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I 
labored more abundantly than they all : yet, not I, but the grace 
of God which was with me." Contrast with these, two of the most 
famous of the Heathen philosophers and moralists : one of whom 
said, " That we have riches, is of the gods ; but that we have wis- 
dom, is of ourselves." And the other, " A good man is, in one 
respect, above the gods themselves ; for they are good by the 
necessity of nature ; but he is good by choice !" 

But what is the praise that Daniel transfers from himself to 
God ? The revelation of secrets. Men are fond of secrets. With 
regard to themselves, they are always wishful to pry into futurity. 
Almanacs must therefore have something to feed this humor, or 
would not sell half their number. INIistresses, as well as servant 
maids ; the old, as well as the young ; would show their palms to 
the fortune-teller, were it not for the fear of ridicule. W^ere the 
witch of Endor alive, many would repair to her, and, like Saul, 
consult the devil himself at second-hand. People, too, are fond 
of being intrusted with secrets concerning others. But they should 
not. The very injunction of silence, excites propensity to trans- 
gress : and the breach of confidence, Vvdien known, often produces 
disgrace and strife. Envy makes us inquisitive, with regard to 
rivals ; fear, with regard to enemies ; and love, with regard to 
friends. It was curiosity, operating in a way of attachment, that 



NOVEMBER 6. 227 

led Peter to inquire after the destination of John—" Lord, and 
what shall this man do ?" But the Lord did not even encourage- 
t/iis^^^ What is that to thee? Follow thou me." 

The secret things belong unto God ; things that are revealed, are 
for us, and for our children. Concerning many things he is silent ; 
and where he says nothing, we are not be wise above what is 
written. 

— But He can reveal secrets. His understanding is infinite. 
Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering. 
*' Neither is there any cjreature that is. not manifest in his sight; 
but all thmgs are naked and open unto the eyes of Him with 
whom we have to do." 

— He has revealed secrets. He enabled Daniel to explain the 
import of Nebuchadnezzar's dream, and foretell the succession of 
the four monarchies. He showed Moses what the Jews would be 
at this very hour. What a divine prerogative was prophecy ! We 
may conjecture, but we really know not what a day ma}^ bring 
forth. We may argue from causes to effects ; but the existence 
and operation of the causes themselves depend upon the will of 
another. We may infer from probabilities ; but the natural ten- 
dencies of things are liable to accidental derangements — and the 
race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. Be- 
sides, as to the predictions of Scriptuio, many of them regarded 
things so remote, that what immediately preceded them could not 
possibly be discerned. And others regarded events the most un- 
likely to take place of all occurrences in the world. And yet, 
when we look into history, we see how it accords with these an- 
nouncements. How can we account for this, but by admitting 
that prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but hciy 
men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost ? 

— He does reveal secrets. How many now living has he called 
out of darkness into his marvellous light ! Not that he has com- 
municated to their minds things new in themselves— but they were 
new to them. The sun had been shining ; but they had been in 
the dark, because they were blind. All the doctrine was in the 
Bible before ; but he now leads them into all truth, and shows 
them not only the reality of divine things, but their importance 
and glor5^ Give a man a taste for a book of music, or science of 
any kind, and he will see a thousand things entirely new to him, 
though he possessed the work before. So " the natural man re- 
ceiveth not the things of the Spirit of God ; for they are foolish- 
ness unto him ; neither can- he know them, because they are 
spiritually discerned : but the spiritual judgeth all things." So 
the secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he shows 
them his covenant, as to their interest in its engagements and pro- 
visions. And what a discovery is this ! How anxious will every 
awakened mind be to possess it ! 

"O! twll me that my worthless name I "Show mc some promise Ln thy book 

"Is graven oa thy hatids; 1 Where my salvation stauds," 

Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation. And what is the pro- 
mise? "I will give him to eat of the hidden manna; and will 
give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, 



228 NOVEMBER 7. 

which no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it." lie also 
shows them the secrets of his providence, as well as of his grace. 
They know what he is doing, and what he will do. They know 
that he is fulfilling his own word, and making all things to work 
together for their good. They know that " behind a frowning pro- 
vidence he hides a smiling face ;" and that even when he slays 
them, they have reason to trust in him. "Who is wise, and he 
shall understand these things ; prudent, and he shall know them. 
For the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in 
them : but the transgressors shall fall therein." 

— He will reveal secrets. Yes ; there i^ " a day, in the which," 
says the apostle, " God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus 
Christ, according to my Gospel." Then will be developed, dread- 
ful secrets. Then many, who had a name here, will be disowned. 
They had honored Him with their lips, and gained the notice of 
their fellow-creatures ; but their hearts had been far from Him. 
And what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, 
when God taketh away his soul ? Pleasing secrets. Then they 
who are now deemed the enemies of the cross of Christ, will be 
found to have been its friends. Then they who are now consi- 
dered as indifferent to holiness and good works, will appear to 
have mourned for sin, and prayed for purity. Then the tear 
dropped upon the Bible in the closet, the private act of charity, 
the frequent intercession for others, will be displayed and com- 
mended. He will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, 
and make manifest the counsels of the heart ; and then shall every 
man have praise of God. Divine secrets. He will show why he 
permitted the entrance of moral evil ; delayed so long the coming 
of his Son ; suffered his Gospel to be so impeded, and his church 
to be so afflicted ; and more than justify all his ways to men. 
What is now perplexing, will be made plain. W'hat now seems 
disorderly, will be arranged. What now seems jarring, will be 
harmonized. What now seems defective, will be complete. And 
then, not as now, from faith, but from sight, the acknowledgment 
will be made, " He is the Rock ; his work is perfect ; for all his 
ways are judgment: a God of truth, and without iniquity: just 
and right is he." To many these mysteries are already explained. 
When sliall we have an inheritance with the saints in light ? 



November 7. — "For neither did his brethren believe in him." — John 
vii, 5. 

How is this charge to be understood ? Two distinctions or limi- 
tations are necessary. First. It cannot be taken literally as to 
the name — " his brethren." Even those who very properly reject 
the notion of her perpetual virginity, do not suppose that these 
were rcallj^ the children of Mary, our Lord's motiier. The ques- 
tion which divides the ancients and the moderns turns upon this; 
whether they were the offspring of Joseph, by a former marriage ; 
or whether they were born of Salome, Mary's sister, and so were 
our Lord's rousins-german. The latter is the more probable con- 
clusion. Among the Jews, kinsmen in various degrees were 



NOVEMBER 7. 229 

called brethren. Abraham and Lot were uncle and nephew ; yet 
says the former to the latter, "We are brethren." The meaning 
therefore is, that our Lord's more near and remote kindred did 
not believe on him. But secondly, this cannot be taken univer- 
sally, as to the fact. For three of his brethren, at least, were found 
in the number of his apostles — Simon, and Jude, and James the 
less, who is expressly the Lord's brother. The Scripture does 
not gratify our curiosity ; we know but little of Mary's or Joseph's 
relations; they seem to have been numerous; and the language 
before us must intimate that not only some, but comparatively 
many of them, had not real faith in him. 

This is a very surprising announcement: but it is very instruc- 
tive. Does it not favor tlie truth of Christianity? Had all our 
Lord's relations recommended and followed him, his cause might 
have looked human and suspicious. We know what advantage 
Mahomet derived from the attachment and employment of his kin- 
dred. But here every appearance of family contrivance is ex- 
cluded ; and we see that our Lord did not act by rules of carnal 
policy : his kingdom was not of this world ; his Gospel was left to 
its owa evidence and energy, and derived no assistance from the 
auxiliaries of error, superstition, or idolatry. 

We see also what evidence may be resisted, and what means 
may be rendered meffectual, by the depravity of human nature. 
These men had attended his preaching, and he spake as man never 
spake : they had often heard his conversation. They had re- 
ceived many instructions, reproofs, and encouragements from 
him, in a manner the most adapted to insure success. They had 
gone up with him to the festivals, and had seen his devotion. 
Some of them were present when he turned the water into wine. 
They had seen him open the eyes of the blind. Yes, these very 
men, " his brethren, therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and 
go into Judea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou 
doest. For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he 
himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, 
show thyself to the world." As his relations, they must have 
known the circumstances of his birth; the appearance of the 
angel to the shepherds ; the journey of the wise men ; the pro- 
phecying of Simeon and Anna: the testimony of John; the 
descent of the Huly Ghost in his baptism ; his holy and heav- 
enly life — Nevertheless, such were their prejudices and worldly 
dispositions, that they did not believe on him. It was not evulenct 
they wanted ; nor is it a want of evidence that induces persons to 
reject him now. The source of infidelity is not intellectual, but 
moral. Were it not criminal, it would not be punishable. But 
this is the condemnation, that light has come into the world ; but 
men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are e\il. 
We think some means must be irresistible — but we forget that the 
heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Neither 
will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. 

And from hence we need not wonder if inferior characters are 
unsuccessful in their pious attempts. Ministers may be faithful 
and zealous, and yet be constrained to complain, " Who hath be- 



230 NOVEMBER 8. 

lieved our report ?" Masters may be wise and good ; yet what a 
servant had Elisha, in Gehazi ! Parents should do every thing h\ 
their power for the spiritual welfare of their children ; and, in a 
general way, they may hope for success ; but let them not wondei 
if, in some instances, even their tears, and examples, and entrea- 
ties, are in vain ! 

Let those who have irreligious relations think of Jesus. He 
was in this point tempted as they are. He can sympathize with 
them. He remembers the feelings of his heart, when even his 
own kindred turned away from him. 

Hence none will be saved from mere relationship. Let none 
say, therefore, within themselves. We have Abraham to our father. 
The parable tells us of one in hell, who called Abraham father ; 
and was refused by him the least gratification. It is a mercy to 
have pious connexions ; but religion is a personal thing, and if we 
refuse to tread in their steps, the blessing will turn into a curse : 
and there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when we shall 
see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of God, and we 
ourselves shut out. 

1^ Finally. It is better to be of the spiritual kindred of Jesus, 
than of his family according to the flesh. When, therefore, the 
woman exclaimed, " Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the 
paps which thou hast sucked ;" he himself replied, " Yea, rather 
iDlessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it." " The 
spiritual relation to him can never be dissolved : and it will in- 
sure every thing essential to our -safety, honor, wealth, power, 
and happiness for ever. As the natural relation to him was not 
saving, so it was necessarily confined to few. But this lies open 
to all. " Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy 
brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. But he 
answered and said unto him that told, Who is my mother ? and 
who are my brethren ? And he stretched forth his hand toward 
his disciples, and said. Behold my mother and my brethren ! For 
whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the 
same is my brother, and sister, and mother.'' 

Novembers. — "And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disci- 
ples, Why eateth your Master with Publicans and sinners ?" — Matt, ix, 11. 

This is connected with a concise narrative of the conversion of 
the writer of this Gospel. For the account r/himself is furnished 
fo^/ himself. It is a delicate thing for a mail to write concerning 
himself, but the sacred authors are above all suspicion. They are 
always faithful and impartial, and their only aim is truth. Though 
Matthew here speaks of himself, the reference here was unavoida- 
ble, and he only introduces the servant, for the sake of the Master. 

The case was this. After leaving the privacy of Nazareth, our 
Lord came and dwelt in Capernaum. This town, as it was situa- 
ted on the Lake of Galilee, gave him an opportunity to pass easily 
in the fishing boats of his followers to any part of the adjoining 
country. "And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man 
sitting at the receipt of custom :" that is, he was receiving the tolls 
from the goods landed and embarked on the quay. As Luke tells 



NOVEMBER 8. 231 

us he made a great feast and bade many, it is probable he was 
possessed of considerable property ; and, from the common 
character of Publicans, we might be tempted to conclude that it 
was the produce of illegal exaction. But it would be mvidious 
to draw such an inference. Even a Publican was not necessarily 
wicked : and the consciousness Zaccheus had of freedom irom 
extortion, is obvious from his appeal ; "And if I have taken any 
thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. 
It is even the duty of official agents to be exact and full in lawful 
demands. We will therefore take it for granted that Matthew 
was rightfully engaged when our Savior took knowledge of him ; 
and as'^divine favor has been shown toward many others recorded 
in the Scripture, while filling up the duties of their station, we 
learn that diUgence in our calling is acceptable to God, as well as 
approved of men. The angel of the Lord appeared to the shep- 
herds while keeping their flocks by night, and announced the 
birth of the Messiah. Saul was seeking his father's asses when 
Samuel met him, and anointed him king over Israel. \\hile 
drawing water at the well, Rebecca and Rachel, and Zipporah, 
found each a husband. The woman of Samaria found the Savior 

of the world. . .11.^1 

Here it may be asked, Was our Lord's thus meeting with Mat^ 
thew, the effect of chance, or of design ? To this question we 
boldly answer— Of design. There is nothing accidental m the 
conversion of a sinner. If a man be saved, and called with a holy 
calhng in time, it is according to God's purpose and grace given 
him in Jesus Christ before the world began. 

— " And he saith to him. Follow me. And he arose and follow- 
ed him." He hath a mighty voice. He upholds all things by the 
word of his power. By the same word he made them all : he 
spake, and it was done ; he commanded, and ii stood fast : he said, 
Let there be light, and there was light. So it was in the old 
creation ; and in the new, he calleth things which are not, and 
they appear. As the address was instantaneous, so the obedience 
was immediate. What a change did the call produce in the soul 
of this man ! How did it enlighten his mind, and inflame his 
heart 1 Doubtless his head was filled with worldly cares ; but this 
voice, like a charm, dispossesses him. The meanness of our Sa- 
vior's appearance, and the lowness of his attendants, weigh no- 
thinf^ with him. He was now in prosperity; he was to leave a 
gairlul office, and perhaps saw before him only reproach and per- 
secution : but he is satisfied, and would rather be a poor minister 
of Christ, than a rich officer of Coesar. In a case of such magni- 
tude, it might be supposed that he would have required some time 
to consider and examine matters. But, like Paul, he confers not 
with flesh and blood. The king's business requires haste. True 
obedience is always prompt and unreserved— He immediately fol- 
lowed him. O blessed Jesus, may thy call to us be so effectual, 
that when thou sayest, " Seek ye my face," our hearts may answer, 
'• Thy face. Lord, we seek." And at thy bidding may we arise, 
and forsaking every carnal pursuit and worldly attachment, fol- 
low the Lamb whithersover he goeth ! 
Vol. II. 22 



232 NOVEMBER 8. 

Though Matthew formally surrendered his office, and all its 
concerns, we have no reason to believe that he sacrificed his ef- 
fects ; rather, we are persuaded that he carefully secured them, to 
be properly used and applied. Whatever we possess at the time 
of our calling, may be consecrated to the Redeemer, and advanta- 
geously employed in his service and the cause of benevolence. 
And when the heart is open, the hand and the house cannot be 
shut. Matthew therefore makes an entertainment for our Lord, 
and " behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down 
with iiim and his disciples." These persons had formerly visited 
Matthew, partly for business, and partly for pleasure : now they 
came, invited by him with the hope of their deriving benefit from 
our Savior's conversation. " W ho knows," says he, '" but the voice 
that has reached my heart, may also call them by his grace ?" 
How invariably is such a disposition found in every subject of 
divine grace ! Come whh us, said Moses to Ilobab, and we will 
do thee good ; for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel. 
O taste and see, sa3's David, that the Lord is good : blessed is the 
raan that trusteth in him. Come and see him, said the woman of 
Samaria to her neighbors. In the same spirit Matthew makes a 
feast, to which he calls his old friends and companions And our 
Savior gave them the cheerful, though not the sinful meeting : 
teaching us thereby not to be repulsive in our manners, nor re- 
fuse -social intercourse. Of two things, hov/evcr, we should be 
careful — To design good as our Savior did, when we enter com- 
pany — and also to remember the diflerencc iiicie is between him 
and us. He had no corruption within, for temptation to operate 
upon ; while we are easily receptive of corrupt impressions, and 
must always watch and pray, lest we enter into temptation. 

— But the Pharisees, (pious souls !) when they saw this, were 
scandalized. Yet as Satan always loves to get over the hedge 
wheie the fence is the lowest; and as he assailed Eve apart from 
her husband ; so they from fear, do not express their dissatisfac- 
tion to our Lord himself; but " said unto his disciples, Why eat- 
eth your Master with Publicans and sinners ?" What did*^ they 
mean ? It was the tradition of the elders, tliat the sanctified and 
devout should never be seen in company Vv ilh the v/icked. Affect- 
ing superior sanctity, they acted upon this principle themselves, 
and said, " Stand by thyself; come not near to me ; 1 am holier 
than thou." And they here insinuate, that if , Jesus was what he 
professed to be, he would shun such characters as lie was nov/ 
with. And they seem even to feel a concern for his honor. Ail 
this was a mere pretence, supported by malice and envy. Tliey 
were strangers to every feeling of piety or benevolence. 1 hey 
strained at a gnat, and swallowed a cftmel. They made long 
pia^-ers for a pretence, and devoured widows' houses. They 
were wolves in sheep's clothing : sepulchres painted without, and 
full of rottenness within. 

If we are Israelites indeed, in whom there is no guile, we shall 
be severe toward ourselves, and cpndid toward otliers. W'e shall 
gee more evil in our own hearts, than we can ever see in the con- 
duct of our fellow creatures : and though in proportion as we are 



NOVEMBER 9. 233 

pure and heavenly, we mu5^ feel whatever is contraij thereto- 
we shall bewail it before God, rather tiian complain of it to men. 
And never shall we, when the character is fair, and the life blame- 
less go a motive-hunting, and indulge in the vilencss of suspi- 
cion Let us not judge, tliat we he not judged. Let us remem- 
ber that he who knows vvhaus in man, represents censoriousness 
as the o.Tsoring and proof of hypocrisy. " Why beliolaest thou 
thr mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam 
that is in thine own eye ? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, 
].et me pull out the mote out of thine eye ; and, benold a beam is 
in th=ne own eye ? Thou hypocrite 1 first cast out ihe beam out of 
thinJown eve, and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the 
mote out of thy brothers eye." O for more of that charity, that 
" thhiketh no evil ; that rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in 
the truth-beareth all things, bclieveth all things, hopeth all 
things, endureth all things T' 

Nov.-MBVR 9.—" But when Jesu. heard that, he said unto them, They 
that be" whole need not a phvsician, but they that are sick. -Matthew, 
is, 12. 

To perceive the force of these words, we must remember the 
desicrn of them. They are in justification of our Lord's conduct. 
MatUiew, having been called by his grace to follow him, made an 
entertainment, to which he invited his former friends and com- 
panions : hoping that thev might derive advantage from tae in- 
tercourse. But when the Pharisees saw it, they were offended, 
and said to his disciples, " Why eateth your Master with Publi- 
cans and sinners ?" Though the murmur was not addressed to 
himself, it concerned himself: and he was acquainted with it : and 
thouirh the complainers were undeserving of his notice— and he 
was under no obligation to vindicate what he was doing— he said, 
" I am about my proper business. I have not mistaken the ob- 
jects of my attention. I came to seek and to save that which 
was lost. I could now have been enjoying the company of angels 
in heaven. My mixing, on such an occasion, with publicans and 
sinners, is not agreeable in hself— but I entered the world as a 
physician : and where should a physician be, but among the dis- 
ordered and dying ? They that be whole need not a physician, 
but thev that are sick." , ■ -, rru 

The vindication insinuates the real condition of mankind. 1 iiey 
are diseased. \Ve refer to their moral m.aladics. The soul has its 
disorders, as well as the bolv— and the disorders of the soul are 
worse than those of the body : they vitiate a nobler part ; they 
expos? to a oreater danger, the consequence of the one is only 
temporal death ; the result of the other is death eternal. These 
maladies are the effects of the fall ; and they may be seen m the 
errors of the judgment —the rebellion of the wiil— the pollution 
of the conscience— the sensuality of the affections— the debase- 
ment and violence of the passions. We are sometimes blamed 
for decrrading human nature. But we do not undervalue it, as the 
workmanship of Gcd ; or as to its physical and intellectual pow- 



234 NOVEMBER 9. 

ers : but only as to its moral state and propensities. And here, 
not only the language of the liturgy, but all Scripture, and history, 
and observation, and experience, proclaim, that " there is no 
health in us." 

It also gives an implied character of himself. He is every thing 
that fallen^ perishing creatures can need ; and he stands in the 
same relation to them as a physician to Jiis patients. " I am the 
Lord that healcth thee," is a proclamation that well becomes his 
lips. Job disclaimed his friends as " physicians of no value." 
But this can never be applied to the Lord Jcsus. In all things, in 
this office, he has the pre-eminence. Yea, he not only stands 
without comparison, but alone — there is salvation in none other. 
But he heals every complaint. No case, however difficult, baffles 
his skill ; or however desperate, resists the power of his applica- 
tions. He is always at home , always acccessible ; always de- 
lighted to attend. He only requires our submission to his man- 
agement. He cures, without money and without price. 

It also describes those who disregard, and those who value him. 
They who reject him are " the whole." None are reallij whole : 
for there is none righteous ; no, not one. But the)'^ are so, as to 
apprehension and experience. And such have always been aw- 
fully numerous. Such was Paul, " while alive without the law 
once." Such was the Pharisee that went up into the temple to 
pray. Such were all the Pharisees, who trusted in themselves 
that they were righteous, and despised others. Such were the 
Laodiceans, who said. We are all rich, and increased with goods, 
and have need of nothing. Such were Solomon's generation, who 
were pure in their own eyes, and not washed from their nlthiness. 
Such, also, are they who, though they make no pretensions , to 
self righteousness, are satisfied with themselves — the careless, the 
worldly, who live without one serious thought of their souls and 
eternity. Yea, such, too, are they who receive the charge in the- 
ory, and acknowledge it as they do any other Bible sentiment, 
but there rest— not impressed with the truth, so as to urge them 
to the Savior— and so he will profit them nothing. 

— They who value him are " the sick." They are sensible of 
their malady. They have a clear and deep conviction of their 
guilt, and depravity, and helplessness. They are thro^^'n into the 
consternation persons would feel if they discovered they had 
taken the plague. They feel pain. They forebode deatli. They 
exclaim. What must I do to be saved ! They no longer relish 
their former pursuits and pleasures. They loathe sin, and can 
never be reconciled to it again. Their cure engages all their so- 
licitude. And, findmg that there is a Savior, and a great one, they 
are soon at his feet, crying, " Heal my soul ; for I have sinned 
against thee." How infinitely desirable and delightful does the 
pTiysician now appear ? Who but He ? They clieerfully put 
themselves under his care. Tliey implicitly follow his orders. 
Their motto is, " If by any means"." Their inquiry, " Lord, what 
wilt thou have me do ?" With what eagerness do they inquire 
after symptoms of cure ! AVith what pleasure do tliey perceive 
and feel signs of returning health ! " I bless God I have a little 



NOVEMBER 10. 235 

appetite for the bread of life— I have a little strength for spiritual 
exercises. Perfect that which concerneth me. Thy mercy, O Lord, 
endureth for ever. Forsake not the work of thine own hands." 



November 10.—" I am the resurrection and the life."— John, xi, 25. 

There is a spiritual resurrection and life, which all the subjects 
of divine grace derive from him. But here the sense is deter- 
mined bv the connexion. " Thy brother," said he to Martha, 
" shall rise again." But as he did not specify the time, she feared 
to apply the assurance to her present distress, or supposed that 
the consolation was to be drawn from the general resurrection. 
" Martha said unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the re- 
surrection at the last day." To excite her immediate hope, he 
reminds her of his own character and resources, and says, " / am 
the resurrection and the life." There must be a very peculiar 
relation between him and the resurrection to life, to justify the 
strength of this language. It may be exemplified in various illus- 
trations. 

He is the resurrection and the life, as he is the announcer of the 
doctrine. For it is a truth of pure revelation. Reason could never 
have discovered it. The men of wisdom at Athens, the stoical 
and the epicurean philosophers, however widely they differed from 
each other, agreed in deriding this sentiment, and deemed Paul a 
babbler for preaching it. How inexplicable the re-union and re- 
animation of our scattered dust ! Where now are the bodies that 
trod the earth before the flood ! But even these bodies, through 
whatever changes they have passed, shall be restored and revived! 
Even Adam and Eve in their flesh shall see God, and be clothed in 
higher perfection than Eden ever knew ! But who abolished death, 
and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel ? It 
is true that David, and even Job, rejoiced in the expectation of this 
glorious event; and many allusions and expressions in the Old 
Testament show, that the* Jewish church not only believed in a 
future state, but in the redemption of the body from the grave. 
But the book in which they are contained is called " the word of 
Christ," and the Spirit that testifieth these things is called " the 
Spirit of Christ." For as the sun scatters some light before his 
rising, so the Savior commenced his discoveries before his incar- 
nation ; he rejoiced in the habitable parts of the earth, and h'is de- 
lights ^vere with the sons of men. But by-and-by he came in 
person, and preached the kingdom of heaven. How^ simjile and 
sublime were his discourses ! And with what an awful motive 
did he commend his doctrine to every man's conscience in the 
sight of God ! He drew back the veil that hid the future, and 
presented the elements on fire, the opening tombs, and the dead 
rising to meet their judge, "Marvel not at this: for the hour is 
coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 
and shall come forth ; they that have done good, unto the resur- 
rection of life ; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrec- 
tion of damnation." He also ordered his apostles to go forth and 



236 NOVEMBER 10, 

publish, and also record it ; and they did so, the Lord working 
with them, and conhrmhig their word with signs following. 

He is the resurrection and the iiie, as he aifords the pledge. 
Under each of the three distinguishing periods of the world, the 
body, as well as the soul, had been received up into glory. Be- 
fore the flood, Enoch was transhated that he should not see death; 
and he was not, for God took him. The law beheld Elijah elevat- 
ed to heaven in a cliariot of fire. In the days of the gospel, Jrsua 
Christ passed tlirough the regions of the dead, and reached the 
ciown he now wears. And there is a union between him and his 
ppople, as betw^een the head and the members ; and because he 
lives, they shall live also. Yea, says the* apostle, "God, who is 
rjr'h 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 3^e are saved.) and hath raised us up together, 
and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." 

He is the resurrection and the life, as he procures the privilege. 
To him we meritoriously owe all the blessings we possess. In the 
Lord we have righteousness and strength. And are we raised 
from the dead ? *' Since by man came death, by man came also 
the resurrection of the dead. As in Adam all die, even so in 
Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: 
Christ the first fruits ; afterward they that are Christ's at his com 
ing." He has redeemed our whole nature; and the body being 
ransomed, as well as the spirit, by no less a price than his owai 
blood, shall be equally claimed, and renewed, and glorified. 

'' This living hope wc owe I " We would adore liis grnce below, 

" To Jesus' dyiaj: love ; I " ^"i' sing his power above." 

He is the resurrection and the life, as he is the pattern. For 
we shall rise, not like Adam, but hke him. "The first man is of 
the earth, earthy : the second man is the Lord from heaven. As 
is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy; and as is the 
heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have 
borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the 
heavenly." In his rising from the dead, we sec the model of our 
own resurrection ; and the grandeur of our destiny. We imagine, 
says Paul, wdiatever is admirable and splendid in his glorified hu- 
manity; and we look for nothing less in ourselves; "..We look 
for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall chaiige our vile 
body,. that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, accord- 
ing to tlie working whereby he is able even to subdue all things 
uiUo himself." At present the body is vile ; not as the workman- 
ship of God, but as defiled by sin, as degraded by disease, and 
especially as the spoil of worms, and in the corruption of the 
grave. VVhat a hindrance! what a burden! what a loathsome- 
ness is the body of this death ? But then, by a change the most 
marvellous, it will have the same excellencies as tlie body of God. 
" So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corrup- 
tion; it is raised in incorruption : it is sown in dishonor; it is 
raised in glory : it is sown in weakness ; it is raised in power : it 
is sown a°natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a 
natural body, and there is a spiritual body." 



NOVEMBER 11. 237 

He IS the resurrection and the life, as he achieves the work. 
Hence he said to his hearers, " This is the will of Him that sent 
me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, 
may have everlasting life : and I will raise him up at the last day." 
What a power will tiiis require ! But nothing is too hard for him. 
His almighty fiat will, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, 
pervade the depths of the sea ; penetrate the recesses of the 
earth ; and gather the remnants of death, and give them organi- 
zation and life, and sight, and voice, for ever ! 

Happy they who are the children of the resurrection ; and 
who will be able to welcome the restorer of all things— Lo ! this 
IS our God, we have waited for him 3 we will be glad to rejoice in 
his salvation. 

For though, as an event, the resurrection will be uuiversal ; as 
a privilege, it will be limited. Every eye will see him. But how 
many will wail because of him ! " And the kings of the earth, 
and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and 
the mighty men, and every bondman, and every freeman, shall 
hide themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains ; 
and shall say to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us 
from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the 
wrath of the Lamb : for the great day of his wrath js come ; and 
who shall be able to stand '?" 

NovE3iBER 11.—" I rejoice in thy salvation."— 1 Samuel, ii, 1. 
These are the words of Hannah, a very pious and highly ac- 
complished female, to whom the Jews were much indebted for 
one of their best public characters. For Samuel was given in an- 
swer to her prayers ; he was trained and formed by her instruc- 
tions ; and he was early dedicated to God, at the expense of her 
self-denial. She also edified her own generation, and she con- 
tinues to edify ours, by her composition. " And Hannah prayed, 
and said. My heart rejoiceth in tlie Lord ; mine horn is exalted in 
the Lord ; my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies, because I 
REJOICE IN THY SALVATION." Let US iiotice this part of her song, 
and let us take the subject in the highest sense of which it is sus- 
ceptible. For ihere are many salvations which God accomplishes ; 
but there is one that excelleth in glory, and to which the term is 
pre-eminently, if not exclusively, applied. In this salvation every 
believer rejoices. 

He rejoices in the discovery of it. He is pained indeed to think 
that as yet multitudes of his fellow creatures have never heard of 
it ; and he prays that his way may be made known on earth, his 
saving health among all nations. But he is grateful that to him 
is the word of this ^salvation eent. There was a time, indeed, 
M'hen he treated it with indifference ; but when he began to see 
and feci his perishing condition, and to exclaim, with the jailer, 
What must I do to be saved? he received this intelligence as Ha- 
gar did the angel's kindness, when he opened her eyes and sho\ved 
her a well : or as the Grecians heard the Roman consul's procla- 
mation of liberty, when they cried for hours, Soter, Soter— Savior, 
Savior I 



238 NOVEMBER 11. 

He rejoices in the properties of this salvation. In the freeness 

of it — that it requires no qualifications, no conditions, and is with- 
out money, and without price. In the purity of it, that it not 
only contains pardoning mercy, but sanctifying grace ; and is de- 
signed to save him from his sins, which he now feels to be his 
worst enemies. In the perpetuity of it— that He who begins a 
good work will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ ; that he 
who believes hath everlasting life, and shall never come into con- 
demnation. In the extensiveness of it — that Jesus gave himself a 
ransom for all, to be testified in due time ; and that this salvation 
is prepared before the face of all people, a light to lighten the 
gentiles, and the glory of his people Israel. 

He rejoices in the hope of it. This hope admits of various de- 
grees, and the joy will be influenced by them. The lowest degree 
of it may serve to keep the mind from despair, as a weak bough 
will sustain a man drowning, till a firmer support comes to his 
relief. But there is a lively hope ; there is an abounding in hope ; 
there is the full assurance of hope — this will fill us with joy un- 
speakable, and full of glory. Thousands rejoice in hope who will 
never obtain possession of the object of it. But the hope of 
Christians maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed 
abroad in the heart by the Holy Ghost which is given unto them. 

He rejoices in the experience of it. For he not only appre- 
hends it as a desirable and future good, but he has a present actual 
participation of it. He feels the influence of it in his conscience, 
in his heart, in his life. If a man be not saved on this side the 
grave, he will never be saved on the other. " We," says the apos- 
tle, ''who have believed, do enter into rest." And "Blessed," 
says David, " is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall 
walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance; in thy name shall 
they rejoice all the day : and in thy righteousness shall they be 
exalted." 

He rejoices in the completion of it. For, though now he is en- 
lightened, yet it is with the illumination of the dawn, not of the 
day. Though now he is sanctified, he is renewed but in part. 
Though justified and adopted, he does not alwa^'s know his condi- 
tion, and never enjoys all the privileges of it. He has the ear- 
nests, but not the inheritance ; a few of tlie grapes of Eshcol, but 
not the vineyards of Canaan. But when that which is perfect 
shall come, then that which is in part shall be done away. In 
pursuit of which, he can say, with David, " Thou wilt not leave 
my soul in hell; neither wilt thou sufffer thine Holy One to see 
corruption. Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence 
is fullness of joy ; at thy right hand there are pleasures for ever- 
more. " As for me, I will beheld thy face in righteousness : I 
shall be satisfied^ when I awake, with thy likeness." 

And yet the enemy of souls tells the young, that religion is an 
titter enemy to enjoyment! yet the world supposes that Zion is 
the metropolis of gloom and sadness. But "as \vell the singers, 
as the players on instruments, are there.^' And they who have 
made the trial, know that her ways are ways of pleasantness, and 
all her paths are peace. And the God of truth has said, " Be- 



NOVEMBER 12. 239 

liold. my servants shall sing for joy of heart ; but ye shall cry for 
sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit.-' Chris- 
tians have a thousand things to rejoice in; but this is the chief, 
the salvation of God, And there is enough in this to inspire joy . 
in the midst of every loss and trial, " Although the fig-tree shall \ \ 
not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines ; the labor 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 vv-ill joy in the God of my salvation. 



November ]2. — " So the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no strange 
God with him." — Deuteronomy, xxxii, 12. 

Consistency is a quality which a writer finds it no easy thing 
to maintain, when he brings forward a character. The higher, 
and the more peculiar, and the more original the character be, the 
more is the difficulty increased. But when God is introduced, the 
diflficulty becomes supreme. For " to whom will ye liken me, or 
shall I be equal ?" saith the Holy One. From their knowledge ot 
the general principles of their nature, which are the same in all, 
men may, M'ith tolerable accuracy, speak of men ; and describe 
how an individual would act in a given relation or condition. But 
for men to speak of God, and so represent him in all his attri- 
butes and actions, as that nothing shall fall short of an infinitely 
perfect Being, is v.hat never would have been accomplished with- 
out inspiration. But we find this in the Scriptures ; because holy 
men of God wrote as the^/ were moved by the Holy Ghost. And 
hence, though the sacred v^'riters bring God forth in every page, 
we may almost say, in every sentence, he always appears in 
character, that is, in character with himself. 

One thing, however, must be admitted — and it is by no means 
inconsistent with this — that, in the revelation with which we have 
been favored, God has conformed himself to our modes of appre- 
hension and expression. But this was necessary to render him at 
once intelligible and impressive. This therefore shows us, not 
only his wisdom, but condescension — and dignity is never degra- 
ded by condescension. Thus he speaks unto us, as unto children, 
with whom imitation is every thing; and levies a tax upon all the 
world of nature, to furnish images of himself. 

There is no relation he so commonly assumes as the parental. 
Nor need we wonder at this, when we consider — that there is com- 
bined in it every thing at once venerable and endearing— that it 
appeals to the present sympalliies of the heart — and aids our devo- 
tion by means even of our very instincts. And observe how he 
assumes it. Sometimes he takes the affection of the father ; and 
we read, " Like as a ffitlierpitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth 
them that fear him." "I will spare them as' a man spareth his 
own son that serveth him." Sometimes he appropriates the ten- 
derness of the mother; and we read, " As one whom his mother 
comforteth, so v/ill I comfort you." At other times he descends 
lower, aud borrows from the animal, and especially the feathered 
tribes : and we read, " He shall cover thee with his feathers : anA 
22* 



240 NOVEMBER 12. 

under his wings slialt tliou trust." " How often would I have 
gathered thee, as a hen gatheretii her cliickens inider iier wings, 
and ye would not." As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth 
over her young, spreadelh abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth 
them on her wings, so the Lord alone did' lead him, and there 
was no strange god v.ith him." 

Observe a divine agency — the Lord led him. The allusion is to 
the Jews ; and the meaning is, that God conducted them in their 
journeyings to Canaan. 'I'hey were very numerous ; but the ag- 
gregate of them all was to him like an infant. '' I took them 
by the hand to lead them out of Egypt." " He led them by thf» 
right way, that they might go to a city of habitation." " He 
led them about, he instructed them, he kept them as the apple 
of his eye." 

See, also, the exclusive application of this work. " The Lord 
alone did le^id him, and there was no strange god with him." The 
idols of the heathen were acknowledged to be limited in their 
powers. None of them could do every thing — there were there- 
fore lords many, and gods many. There was a god for every 
exigency : a god for the sea — a god for the winds — a god for the 
field — a god for the garden — a god for marriage — and a god for 
war — and so of the rest. But, said the church, "Our God is in 
llie heavens ; he hath done whatsoever lie pleased." And he him- 
self said, " () Israel I the Lord thy God is one Lord." He wrought 
out every deliverance for them. //«e conferred every blessing upon 
them — and, having done the work without any helper, he de- 
served all the praise, and assigns this as the reason why they 
should not divide their regards between him and any other. " / 
removed his slioulder from the burden : his hands were delivered 
from the pots. Thou calledst in trouble, and 7 delivered thee ; / 
answered thee in tlie secret place of thunder ; / proved thee at the 
waters of Meribah. Selah. Hear, O my people, and I will les- 
tify unto thee : O, Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me — there 
shall no strange god be in thee, neither shalt thou worship any 
strange god." 

Here is also a resemblance of the manner in which it was per- 
formed. " So the Lord alone did lead him, and there was no 
strange god with him." How? " As an eagle stirreth up her nest, 
flutlK3reth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh 
them, beareth them on her wings." 

All this is not to be confined to the Jews. There is also a spi- 
ritual Israel, whom they were intended to prefigure ; the circumci- 
sion, who worship God"^ in the J^pirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, 
and have no confidence in the flesh. And such a pco})le he now 
has fftrhis name; and he is leading them; leading them alone, 
without anyone to divide with him the work, or share with him 
the glory. And how does he this ? Let us not torture the image, 
but let us improve it. Three things arc here ascribed to the mother 
eagle— not in providing for her young; for this is not the subject 
in question— but' in educating them ; in teaching them to fly. She 
stirreth up her nest. She fluttereth over her young. She spreadeth 
abroad her wings, and taketh them, and beareth them on her 



NOVEMBER 13. 241 

wings. And all this is applicable to God, in his deahng with us, 
and preparing to seek those things that are above. 



November 13.—" As an eagle stirreth up her nest."— Deut. xxxii, 11. 

— She sees the eaglets nestling, blinking and dozing, and she 
wishes iheni to fly. Arise, says she— but they refuse. She then 
stirs up the nest — shakes it ; turns out the inside : separates, scat- 
ters the parts. That is she either destroys the nest, or makes it so 
uncomfortable that the young ones move out upon the neighbormg 
boughs, where they are in a posture for flight. God does the 
same with us — He stirs up our nest. 

First. As to our outward condition in the world. This was 
the case with the Jews. Egypt had been their abode, where, in 
the infancy of their state, they were lodged like birds in a nest ; 
and though it was an impure one, and much straitened and confined 
them, thej^ evinced no care to leave it. And it is easy to see, that 
if they had been well treated, and enjoyed the smiles of the 
government, and the former advantages of Goshen, Moses might 
have called long enough before they Avould have come out. But 
there arose another king, that knew not Joseph, who evil entreat- 
ed them, and made their lives bitter by reason of cruel bondage. 
Their burdens were intolerable ; their tasks impracticable ; their 
complaints were turned into insults ; their daughters were for 
slaves, and their sons for slaughter. And now they sigh for de- 
liverance, and are willing to go forth, even into a wilderness, at 
the divine call. Thus God stirred up their nest. Manasseh was 
the son of good Hezekiah : but every pious principle of his edu- 
cation had been corrupted by power, wealth, and pleasure. He 
became proverbial for wickedness, and would have gone on till he 
had filled up the measure of his iniquity. But God stirred up his 
nest. '■' And when he was in afiliction, he besought the Lord his 
God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, 
and prayed unto him : and he was intreated of him, and heard 
his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his 
kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord he Avas God." 
What brought the prodigal to his senses, and made him think of 
home-? A mighty famine in the land — ^he began to be in want. 
How many now living can say, "It is good for me that I have 
been afflicted : before I was afflicted I went astra}^, but now have I 
Kept thy word !" You had health : but sickness invaded youi 
frame ; and you have been made to possess months of vanity, and 
have had wearisome nights appointed for you. You prospered in 
business: but your purposes were broken off; your schemes 
failed ; you weVe put back in life, and compelled to begin the 
world afresh. Yoit had a wife of your bosom : but the Lord took 
away the desire of youY eyes with a stroke. You had a favorite 
child on whom you placed many a flattering expectation ; but at 
an early grave you sighed, "Thou destroyest the hope of man" — 
and now, at your meals, you see David's seat is empty — and you 
often retire, and sigh, "Childhood and youth are vanity." And 
what is all this, but his stirring up your nest, and, by a sadj but 



242 NOVEMBER 13. 

salutary necessity, constraining you to turn from time to eter- 
nity from the creature to Himself, the supreme good ? And what 
a mercy if you can now say — 

" iVoicto the shilling realms above, 
" I stretch my bauds, and glance mine eyes : 

" O 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 drown the sorrows of the soul." 

Secondly. As to our self-righteous confidence and security. 
We have naturally a good opinion of ourselves ; and the enemy 
of souls loves to cherish it. He therefore keeps his palace and 
his goods in peace. He dreads a stir in the conscience. He 
knows that we must be humbled, before we are exalted ; wounded, 
before we can be healed ; and be'emptied of self, before we can be 
filled with all the fullness of God. This state of mind must 
therefore be disturbed and destroyed before any thing like genuine 
religion can commence. And what does God '? By the conviction 
of sin, like a general at the head of an army, he enters the soul — 
and the man no more says. Peace, peace— his hopes are fled — he 
is reduced to self-despair — and his only cry is, " What must I do 
to be saved ?" His worldly friends are alarmed for him ; but they 
who know what is the way of the Spirit, rejoice— not that he is 
made sorry, but that he now sorrows after a godly sort. And the 
subject of the change himself may mistake the nature and design 
of the operation, and conclude that he is going to be destroyed. 
But if the Lord had a mind to kill him he would not have shown 
him such things as these. Thus it was with Paul. See how his 
nest was feathered with self-righteousness; and see ho v\^ it was 
stirred up— " I was alive without the lav/ once: but when the 
commandment came, sin revived, and I died." " For I through 
the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God." 

Thirdly. As to our departure from life. Vie are not to remain 
here always ; and it is no little diflicully to break up our attach- 
ment to the present state, and to make us willing to leave it. But 
see how this is done. After a number of years, we have a feel- 
ing persuasion that this is not our rest; that creatures are broken 
reeds: that the earth is a vale of tears ; that the world is vanity 
and vexation of spirit ; and having looked through every scene 
here, we wish for another and a nobler region of existence. Then, 
too, our powers begin to fail us. Pains and infirmities grow upon 
us. Our decaying senses shut us out by degrees from former ob- 
jects and pursuits. The days are come wherein we have no 
pleasure. Hearing fails. They that look cut of the window are 
darkened. Fear is in the way. The grasshopper is a burden. 

" Our vitals, with laborious strife, I *' And drag the dull remains of life 

" Bear up the crazy load ; | •' Along the tiresome road." 

— And when we look around, where now are the relations and 
friends that once rendered life delightful ? Lover and friend he 
has put far from us, and our acquaintance into darkness. We seem 



NOVEMBER U. 243 

more and better related to another world than this. We feel the 
drawinas of those who are gone-" What have I here? and what 
do I he°re?" and now the hope of ^^^fulness ceases to detain us 
How can I glorify God, or serve my generation 7 W hyshoud 1 
m^ain a cumberer of the ground, when so many fme and fruit ul 
Irees are cut down ? And now we become better acquainted wim 
the heavrnlv world we have more nearly approached— O what 
darkness'heLl and what sunshine there! What bondage herej 
and what liberty there ! There no law m the n^f^^b^^^X.n 7 
against the law of the mind. There no complaint. When! 
w'ould do good, evil is present with me. Is not t^^s^vorth dymg 
for? Then the earnest and foretastes of the glory to which we 
are going render every thing else comparatively msipid ; and the 
grapes of Eshcol makes ns long for the vineyards of Canaan 
And thus the Lord stirs up the nest of life itself, and gets the 
heir of immortality upon the perch for his departure-where he 
is able to say, 

November 14.—" FlutteretU over her young."-Deuteronomy, xxxii, 11. 

—This she does to excite and teach them by her own example. 
And God does the same with regard to us. The eye does much 
more than the ear. The advantage derivable froni example is 
universally allowed. It not only aids in the illustration of a sub- 
ject but also in the impression and influence of it ; as it helps the 
meiiiory, strikes the fancy, reproves indolence, encourages hope, 
aiid fires zeal. Wise teachers will therefore always teach as much 

"iHt^'saYi'sThe's^ate of those who are destitute of this advan- 
tage in religion I And there are those to be found who have scarcely 
an instance of godliness within their reach. We pity the son who 
has ndeed a father who instructs him, and by his own example 
Too-but it is to swear; to profane the Sabbath; to despise the 
house of God. We pity the daughter who has indeed a mother 
Z leads her, a^dbyher own example too-but it is to idolize 
her person ; to read novels and romances-not the words of eter- 
nal Ufe to'repair to places of dissipation-not to the throne of 
the heavenly grace. Is there an individual perusing tnis page 
who is stationed in a neighborhood or a family, where he can find 
no one with whom he can unite m any religious exercise who 
moves on alone ; and even perhaps, through reproach and o^^^^^^^^ 
sition? Let him remember, that this may not be the case always. 
If he wafe in wisdom toward them that are without h^ 

in time may be available ; and his prayers be heard ; a^d though 
he has been denied the advantage of hamngjxn example, he may 
have the honor of becoming one, and of leading others in the way 

everlastino". 

-But there a few places now, in which there are not some in- 
stances of Divine grace, sufficient to condemn the world, and to 
encourage those whose faces are Zionward. Some, perhaps, have 
m^y godly persons around them-and they see how superior 



244 NOVEMBER 14. 

these are to other men. How content ! How grateful ! How sup« 
ported in trouble I How hopeful in death ! Some have pious 
friends and relations. You have, perhaps, a sister, who often in- 
treats you. Or a wife, who endeavors to win you. Or a father, 
who says, My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice^ 
even mine. Or a mother, who weeps over you, and exclaims, 
What, my son ! and the son of my womb I and the son of my 
vows ! And what is all this, but God teaching and exciting you 1 
And if you can read, you have an additional advantage. How- 
many excellent lives have been published ! How many fine cha- 
racters are portrayed in the Scriptures ! And. by the perusal of all 
these, you bring a cloud of witnesses and examples before you. 
And when you see them in the exercise and display of whatsoever 
is lovely and of good report, do you not see God in all this, like 
the eagle fluttering over her young ? 

But look at him in his more personal conduct. See how he 
not only teaches and excites by his word, but by his own example. 
Does he command us to be merciful '? He is merciful j rich in 
mercy — he delighteth in mercy. Does he enjoin us to give? He 
daily loadeth us with his benefits. He gives us richly all things 
to enjoy. He spared not his own Son. Does he require us to 
forgive 7 He is ready to pardon. He abundantly pardons ; " Love 
your enemies," says he; " bless them that curse 3'ou. do good to 
them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you 
and persecute you ; that ye may be the children of your Father 
which is in heaven : for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and 
on the good, and sendeth rain on the jast and on the unjust." 
*•' Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven 
is perfect." This is not an optional thing with us — we mttst resem- 
ble him ; and are only religious, in proportion as we are like him, 
and are one spirit with him. 

To render his example the more engaging, we were going to 
say, he humanized it. And God was manifest in the flesh. And 
this rendered his example, not only the more attractive, but the 
more suitable, and even complete. For it is obvious tliat he 
could not have been our example, and have gone before us, in the 
exercise of any of those graces, or the performance of any of 
those duties, which imply dependence, submission, and suffering, 
unless he had became incarnate. The Word, therefore, was made 
flesh, and dwelt among us. Divine goodness walked up and 
down the earth, for three-and-thirty-years in human form. Here 
was visible the Image of the invisible God. The sovereign comes 
down, and goes before his subjects, to excite and allure them — See, 
saj^s he : I obey, to teach you to obey — I suffer, to teach you 
how to suffer — I die, to make you fearless of death. " Be ye there- 
fore followers of God, as dear children ; and walk in love, as Christ 
also loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sa- 
crifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor." 

Let ministers learn from hence to be parental, rather than ma- 
gisterial ; and to do more by influence than authority — "Neither as 
being lords over God's heritage ; but being ensamples to the 
flock." This is what Paul enjoined on his son Timothy : " Be 



NOVEMBER 15, 245 

thou an example to the believers, in word, in conversation, /n 
charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." And what was his own 
practice ? '• As ye know how we exhorted, and comforted, and 
charged every one of you, as a father doth his children." " We 
were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherishelh her chil- 
dren. So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to 
have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our 
own souls, because ye were dear unto us." 

And let parents remember this image. Do, as well as teach. Be 
amiable. Render your religion inviting. Let your children see it 
rather than hear it. Come near them— attach them— draw them. 

" Aud as the bird each fond endearment tries, 
'•To teaipt her new-fledfred ofFqjring to tlie skies; 
" Employ each art ; reprove each dull delay 1 
"Allure to brijrhter worlds, and lead the way." 



f November 15. — " Spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them 
oa her wiugs." — Deuteronomy, xxxii, 11. 

This is to aid, and also to secure them. When they mount 
her back, they are little aware of her design ; but away she sails 
with them, and sometimes she shakes them off. Then they must 
fly themselves ; but she follows after — She hovers near them ; and 
when their pinions flag, and they are unable to keep longer on 
the wing, with surprising speed and skill she darts, and places 
herself underneath them ; and thus receiving their whole weight, 
she prevents their fall, succors their weakness, and refreshes 
them for another flight. The Lord never entirely leaves his peo- 
ple — and it is well he does not : for without him, they can do 
nothing. He does, however, in a degree, leave them, to make 
them more sensible of their weakness, and induce them to reh'' 
more upon himself; but not so as to hazard their safety. Thus 
the mother, when her infant, beginning to walk, is too venture- 
some, leaves him alone — not to go over a plank across a river, 
but in the room with her, and upon the carpet, where the fall will 
alarm and caution — not kill, or fracture him — and she soon takes 
him up, and presses him to her bosom and her lips. God has 
himself (how much more we need to teach and affect us I) em- 
ployed another tender image. When young and feeble, the day 
perhaps warm, and the ground rough, the little lambs are unable 
to keep pace with the flock, and would be left panting and bleat- 
ing behind : but the Shepherd of Israel gathers them with his 
arms, and carries them in his bosom. 

Many are not convinced of their weakness, because they have 
never made, in earnest, a trial of their strength. But when a man 
begins to apply himself to the purposes of the divine life, he feels 
how unable he is to do anj^ thing as of himself: and he would 
never be induced to take one step, effectually, in a religious course, 
without such an assurance as the Gospel presents. Possibility, 
probability, is not enough; he must hear the voice that cries, 
" My grace is sufficient for thee ; for my strength is made perfect 
in weakness.'"' And he does hear this. And, though much is re- 
quired and expected of him, he sees all the means necessary to 



24G NOVEMBER 16. 

the end. He sees a cause more than adequate to the effect. It is 
a great thing to be a Christian : but " our sufficiency is of God." 

He has said, " I will strengthen them in the Lord ;" and " as 
thy day, so shall thy strength he." He aids them by his provi- 
dence. And by communion with each other. And in the ordi- 
nances of religion. Ministers are "helpers of their joy." His 
word quickens them. His statutes help them. In the holy as- 
semblies, and at the table of their dying Lord, while they wait 
upon him, he renews their strength; and they mount up with 
wings, as eagles ; and they run, and are not weary ; and walk, 
and not faint. But all these are only the means — the Holy Spirit 
is the agent. Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith 
the Lord. Our dependence upon Him is entire. "We pray in the 
Spirit ; we live, we walk in the Spirit. He leads us into all truth. 
He seals us unto the day of redemption. But for his influence, 
who would not every moment despond and sink ? 

But the eagle, by taking and bearing her young on her wings, 
not only sustains and supports them, but protects and secures 
them. Is an anemy in sight? She soars with them above his 
reach. Does the archer discharge his arrows from below ? They 
must pierce through her body before they can touch them. " The 
path of life is above to the wise, to depart from hell beneath." 
And God is the refuge, as well as the strength of his people. And 
to each of them, he says what David said to Abiathar, when he 
fled to him from the slaughter of Saul, "Abide wiih me; fear 
not : for he that seeketh thy life, seeketh my life ; but with me 
thou shalt be in safeguard." When they can realize this, their 
soul dwells at ease. This is sometimes their privilege — it ought 
to be always their experience. Their security is always the 
same: but Paul was persitaded of it — "I am persuaded," says he, 
" that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor 
powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor 
depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from 



November 1G.— " Thy hidden ones."— Psalm Ixxxiii, 3. 

This representation of God's people is worthy our notice. It 
may be taken two waj's. 

First. As referring to their safety. We often hide, only to pre- 
serve. This is the meaning of the word in the parable, with regard 
to the discovery of the treasure in the field, "which, when a man 
hath found, he hideth it." His aim is not to conceal, but to se- 
cure : and the cause is put for the effect. Thus God's people are 
hidden. He hid Noah in the ark, and the waters that drowned 
the world could noi find him. When his judgments were coming 
over the land, " Come, my people," said He, " enter thou into thy 
chambers, and shut thy doors about thee ; hide thee also for a lit- 
tle season, until the indignation be overpast." Hence the promise, 
"Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the 
pride of man; thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from 
the strife of tongues." Hence the confidence expressed by David, 



NOVEMBER 16. 247 

*'In the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the 
secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me ; he shall set me npon a 
rock." The Savior could say, " In the shadow of his hand hath 
he hid me." And, " All the saints are in his hand." They are 
kept by the power of God, through faith, unto salvation. For He 
himself is their "refuge," their "hiding-place." They are his 
hidden ones. 

Secondly. As intimating their concealment. This is not abso- 
lute; but it holds in various respects and degrees. It is true with 
regard to the nature of their spiritual life. Our life, says the 
apostle, is hid with Christ, in God; and that he refers to its invisi- 
bleness, rather than to its safety, is obvious from the words fol- 
lowing : " When he who is our life shall appear^ we also shall 
appear with him in glory." The source, principles, and actings 
of this life, are unintelligible to natural men; neither can they 
knov/ them, because they are spiritually discerned. The heart of 
the believer only feels his own bitterness, and a stranger inter- 
meddleth not with his joy. The manna upon which he feeds is 
hidden manna. And no one knoweth the new name in the white 
stone given him but the receiver. His grief is too deep to be 
noisy. He sitteth alone, and keeps silence. The stricken deer 
leaves the herd. Other warriors appeal to the senses, and get 
fame ; but his conflicts are carried on within, visible to God 
onl}'- ; and his laurels are all future. Others may give alms to 
be seen of men ; but his left hand is not to know what his right 
hand doeth. 

They are sometimes hidden by persecution. For though this 
does not prevent their being Christians, it hinders them from ap- 
pearing as such, especially by secluding them from their social 
and public assemblies. This is not our case. Our teachers are 
not put into a corner. We can go to the house of God in company. 
We can feed in the ways ; and our pasture is in all high places. 
But call to remembrance the former times, when they wandered in 
deserts, and in mountains, and dens, and caves of the earth ; or were 
confined in prisons ; or prayed and preached under the cover of 
night. But they were dear to God — they were his hidden ones. 

— They are sometimes hidden by the obscurity of their stations. 
Not many of the wise, and mighty, and noble, are called : but 
when they are called, they are also exhibited. They are like 
cities set on hills, which cannot be hid. A little religion in high 
>ife goes a great way, and is much talked of, because it is so often 
a strange thing. But God hath chosen the poor of this world ; 
and they are often rich in faith. Yet how is their moral wealth 
to be known? How few opportunities have they for religious 
display or exertion I There may be the principle of benevolence 
where there is no ability to give; and the Lord seeth the heart. 
But men can only judge from actions. Many who are great in 
the sight of the Lord, are living in cottages and hovels, and are 
scarcely known, unless to a few neighbors equally obscure. 

— They are sometimes hidden by their disposition. They are / 
reserved, and shrink back from notice. They are timid and self- ^ 
diffident. This restrains them in religious conversation, espe-j 



248 NOVEMBER 17. 

cially as it regards their own experience. This keeps them from 
making a profession of religion, and joining a Christian church. 
Joseph of Ariniallica was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear 
of the Jews. And Nicodeinus, from tlie same cause, came to 
Jesus by niglit. Tliey had difficulties in their situations, from 
which others were free. They ought to liave overcome them j 
and so they did at last ; but it was a day of small things with them 
at first. Others are circumstanced and tried in a similar way; 
and we must be patient toward all men. 

They are sometimes hidden by their infirmities. We would 
not plead for sin ; but grace may be found along with many im- 
perfections. The possessors have wliat is essential to religion in 
them ; but not what is ornamantal, and lovely, and of good report. 

— The same also will apply to errors. Here, again, we are far 
from undervaluing divine truth. It is a good thing that the heart 
be established with grace. But it is impossible for us to say how 
much ignorance, and how many mistakes may be found, even in 
the ls4-aelite indeed, in whom is no guile. How little did Peter 
know of the most important of all subjects, when our Savior 
pronounced him blessed : and said he v.'as a partaker of divine il- 
lumination ! We extend this even to congregations and com- 
munities. There may be individuals in them, wiser than their 
teachers ; and no strangers to communion Avith the God of all 
grace. Who can entertain too bad an opinion of popery? Yet 
we findaNicol, a Pascal, a Fenelon, in that most corrupt church. 
Where may not God have his hidden ones? Let us not judge of 
the real number of his people, by tilings tliat do appear. It is not 
only candor, but truth, that tells us we may enlarge our hopes; 
M'hile we ought to pray always, "The Lord add to his people, 
how many soever they be, a hundredfold." " Wot ye not what 
the Scripture said of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God 
against Israel, saying, Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and 
digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my 
life. But wliat saith the answer of God unio him? I have re- 
served to myself seven thousand men, wlio have not bowed the 
knee to the image of Baal." 



NovEMBKU 17. — " His seed shall endure for ever." — Psalm Ixxxix, 36. 

David was peculiarly related to the Messiali. He wrote, as a 
poet, and a prophet, much concerning him. He yielded the most 
varied and complete type of him ever exhibited. He was at once 
his Lord and his Son. Hence tlie name of the former is often ap- 
plied to the latter; and what is spoken of the one, is often to be 
extended to the other — and inKst be so applied, to do any thing 
like justice to the force of the language. Andin tliis case we are 
more than justified, by numerous appropriations of men in the New 
Testament, who spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, 

Upon this principle, the words before us insure the perpetuation 
of his people. " His seed shall continue for ever." W^e shall say 
nothing of their number ; though if Ave were asked the question, 
" Are there few that shall be saved ?" we could boldly answer. No 1 



NOVEMBER 17. 249 

Ignorance and bigotry have always diminished them ; but they 
shall be found, wiien gathered together, a countless muUitude. 

But why are they'called his seed? Because they derive their 
being, as new creatures, from him. " Every one that doeth 
rigtiteousness. is born of him.*' In such a relation, we look for 
resemblance. ' This, indeed, is not invariably the case with re- 
gard to (-hildren. Som^ of them have little of the father's like- 
ness, either in features or in temper. But all Christians resemble. 
Christ. They bear the image of the heavenly ; and if any man 
have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. The relation in- 
fers duty. It does away, indeed, with all servileness; but not 
with service. " A seed shall serve him.-- " And I will spare them." 
says he, "as a man spareth his own son that serveth him." " A 
son honoreth his father." Every Christian, therefore, will ask, 
" Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?" The relation confers 
honor. His seed are descended from One who is higher than the 
kings of the earth ; in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom 
and knowledge ; and whose holiness and goodness are infinite. 
Sucli honor have all his saints. But what a privilege does it be- 
speak ! There is an amazing instinct in the brute creation toward 
their young. It seems to transform the very nature of some oi 
thein. The timid sheep, and the fearful bird, become bold and 
daring on behalf of their young. As to man, if he were not to 
provide for his own, he would be contemned by all around him : 
and were he a pretender to religion, he would be considered as 
denying the faith, and be deemed v/orse than an infidel. Will the 
Lord Jesus neglect his offspring ? Will he suffer them to want 
any good thing ? Will he not educate them ? Chastise them ? 
Resent every injury that is done them ? Acknowledge and defend 
them ? 

But observe, not only their relation to him, but their perpetuity 
— "They shall continue for ever." They die, as well as others — 
they often die earlier. But, consistently with this obvious and 
undeniable fact, they shall continue for ever, in three senses. 
First. In the succession of their race to the end of the world. It 
will never be cut off. The church in danger ! ^Mlat church ! 
" Upon this rock," says he " I will build wy church ; and the gates 
of hell shall not prevail against it." Yea, his people shall con- 
tinue to increase in number and excellency. We shall leave the 
world better than we entered it: and so will our cldldren — til] 
Jerusalem shall be established, and be made a praise in the whole 
earth. Secondly. In their religious character to the end of life. 
If left to themselves, we could not be sure of their persevering to 
the end of a day or an hour. But they are kept by the power of 
God, through faith, unto salvation. He upholdeth them with his 
hand. They shall hold on their way. In their dangers they 
shall be more than conquerors. Thirdly. In their glorified 
state, through eternal ages. The world passeth away, and the 
lusts thereof; but he that doeth the will of God, abideth for ever. 
All other greatness is only for life ; frequently is not so long ; 
but at death, it ends. But then, the Christian's greatness — I 
will not say begins 5 for it began the moment he prayed— but 



250 NOVEMBER 18. 

then it continues — increases — and is perfected. Death only af- 
fects one part of him : the body is dead, because of sin; but the 
spirit is hfe, because of righteousness — and even the body shall be 
revived, and improved — and made like the Savior's own glorious 
body — and be as immortal as the soul. Every thing here is varia- 
ble, fading, perishing — 

" All, all on earth, is shadow j all beyond, 
" Is substance— the reverse is Folly's creed — 
" How solid all, where change shall be no more !" 

— Where we shall have not only endless existence, but endless 
existence beatified. Where, if we have treasure, moth and rust 
will not corrupt, nor thieves break through and steal. Where, if 
we have a house, it will not be a house made with hands, but eter- 
nal in the heavens. Where, if we have friendship, we shall part 
no more. Where, we shall be for ever with the lord. 



November 18. — " Open thy mouth wide." — Psalm Ixxxi, 10, 

Though we cannot find out God perfectly in his essence or his 
works, v/e are not left in total ignorance concerning him. W^e 
have all the information our duty and our consolation require. 
Though he be a God that hideth himself, yet he is the God o/ 
Israel, the Savior. He has been pleased to reveal himself as the 
hearer of prayer. Yea, more — as exciting it — as encouraging it — 
as concerned for the enlargement of our desires in the perform- 
ance of it. " Open thy mouth wide." 

This is no easy thing, with the consciousness we feel, as sin- 
ners. But, to aid us herein, let us consider his greatness and all- 
suihciency. We should expect more from a prince than from a 
pauper. Many have benevolence without resources — and in vain 
we address them. They may grieve to deny us, but they cannot 
relieve. When the woman cried, "Kelp, O king!" he said, 
" Whence should I help thee ?" But we kneel before One, whose 
greatness is unsearchable — who is Lord of all. His giving a 
world would be less than our giving a crumb of bread. When 
Alexander had bestowed a very valuable present on a poor 
man, his modesty would have declined it. " It is too much," 
said he, " for me to receive." " But," said the emperor, " it is not 
too much for me to give." God gives like himself, and he is to 
be addressed in character with himself. We believe in God, the 
Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. Is it comfort we 
want? He is the God of all comfort. Is it deliverance? Nothing 
is too hard for the Lord. Is it renovation ? He can make all 
things new — He is able to do for us exceeding abundantly above 
all we ask or think, according to the power that Avorketh in us. 

Let us consider his goodness. Nothing tends to contract us 
more than a sense of unworthiness. We ought to feel this— ♦ 
but we ought not to be discouraged by it ; since he is the God of 
all grace, the Father of mercies; since he is rich in mercy, and 
delighteth in mercy. We are not to judge of Him by a human 
standard. It is an injury to us, when we are applying to him, to 
think of the benevolence of the most generous of our fellow 
creatures — so far short do they come of his glory. " My thoughts 



NOVEMBER 19. 251 

are not your thaiiglils, neither are your ways my ways, saith the 
Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my 
ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your 
thoughts." And the reference here is to his thoughts and ways 
of mercy, and especially pardoning mercy. 

— Let us remember, also, the medium through which we im- 
plore his favors. We have boldnesss and access with confidence, 
by the faith of him : we have boldness to enter into the holiest, by 
the blood of Jesus; having such a High Priest over the house of 
God, we draw near in full assurance of faith. In saving and 
glorifying us, through the Son of his love, we do not ask God to 
deny his truth, or dishonor his name, or trample upon his law — 
yea, he magnifies his law in doing it. He declares his righteous- 
ness. While he redeems Jacob, he . glorifies himself in Israel : 
and glory to God in the highest, is combined with peace on 
earth, and good will toward men. Let us think of this : and ask 
and receive, that our joy may be full. Whatsoever, said he, ye 
shall ask the Father in my name, he will do it. 

— Review, also, the manner in which he has answered the 
prayers of his people. Has he ever refused ? Has he ever given 
sparingly ? Jacob asked for bread to eat, and raiment to put on, 
and a return in peace to his father's house : and, lo : he becomes 
two bands ! Solomon asked for a wise and understanding heart : 
and he obtained not only this, but life, and riches, and honor ! 
Abraham left off asking before God left off giving. Why did 
he stop at ten ? Had not God complied with every preceding 
proposal, without the least reluctance ! But Abraham was 
ashamed — he had not courage to go on. 

— But is it not sufficient that he has commanded it ? Having h.s 
authority, you cannot be chargeable with presumption, if you ask 
much. Yea, if you do not, you will be guilty of rebellion. How 
did he punish the guests who refused the invitation to the feast, 
'' Come, for all things are now ready !" 

— Here is also an express assurance— a promise, not only that 
we shall receive, but be filled. Open thy mouth wide, and " I v;ill 
fill it." He will supply all our need from his riches in glory. He 
will bless us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. 

W^here is the Christain who lives up to his duty ?— to his privi- 
lege ? For God not only answers prayer really, but proportiona- 
bly. He says, " Be it unto thee even as thou wilt." 

Let not him, therefore, who prays rarely and coldly, think to 
succeed like the frequent and fervent petitioner. Flonor God, and 
God will honor you. He does not despise the day of small things ; 
but the hand of the diligent maketh rich." 



November 19. — "Dost thou believe on the Son of God ?" — John, ix, 35. 

This question was addressed to a man that had been blind. Some 
are blind by accident, and some by disease ; but this man was 
born blind. He had never seen even the face of her who bore 
liim, and who, as she fed him at her breast, would often look upon 
him, and weep over her orbless boy. Blindness is always a suffi- 



252 NOVEMBER 19. 

cient affliction in itself; but here it is probable, penury was added 
to it. Like others of the same class of sufferers mentioned in the 
Gospels, he seems to have sat by the way-side, begging. Many 
had passed him without notice : but Jesus had compassion on liim. 
Some had given him alms — which was all he implored ; but Jesus 
gave him eyes, and did for him beyond all that he could ask or ' 
think. The cure was notorious. The common people acknow- 
ledged it ; and they brought the man to the Pharisees, supposing 
they would be equally ready to confess it too. But see how the 
plainest truth can be perplexed or doubted, when it comes before 
those whose interest it is to deny or conceal it. First they admit 
the fact ; but turn it against our Savior, because he had done it on 
the Sabbath day. This did not satisfy the people, who justly re- 
marked, that, had he violated the Sabbath hereby, he would have 
been a transgressor, and God would not have thus honored a sin- 
ner. Then they pretend to question the fact it?elf. They set 
aside the man's ow'n testimony, and call in his parents. His pa- 
rents affirm that he was their son, and that he had been born 
blind ; but, fearing lest they should be put out of the synagogue, 
they affect to be ignorant of the mode of his cure. How stub- 
born is truth ! How hard is it to suppress evidence ! The attempt 
is like trying to keep fire under ashes out in the wind — it is much 
if some sparks do not escape. Again they call in the man him- 
self; and, after an artless relation, which they could not resist, 
and an invohmtary address, which they could not endure, "they 
cast him out" — that is, they drove him from their presence, and 
excommunicated him as a member of the Jewish synagogue. In- 
formed of this, Jesus sought, and found him — and said unto him, 
" Dost thou believe on the Son of God ?"' 

There are many foolish and useless questions asked by every 
individual. In the company of some persons, we are in a per- 
fect inquisition: we are tortured with inquiries concerning every 
body and every thing. It would be well if many professors of 
religion were aware that they are accountable, not only for their 
time, but their tongues ; and would remember the language our 
Savior, "By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words 
thou shalt be condemned." Many of the inquiries in the theolo- 
gical world, which have engrossed so much attention, and injured 
so much temper, have turned on subjects too deep to be fathomed, 
or too trifling to merit regard. AVhen Peter, wishing to know his 
designs concerning John, asked, "Lord, and what shall this man 
do?" he replied, "What is that to thee? Follow thou me." A 
man in the road asked, " Lord, are there few that shall be saved ?" 
But Jesus " answered and said unto them" — for he would not no- 
tice the trifler himself; but said unto them that were about him — 
"Strive to enter in at the straight gate; for I say unto you, that 
many shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able." If it be said, 
This was no answer to the question itself, we reply that it uoa an 
ansAver, and the only pr-ope?- answer — an answer, by way of re- 
buke — an answer, informing iheiv, and informing ns — that "the 
secret things belong unto God; but things that are revealed arc 
for us. and for our children" — and that, whatever be the number 



NOVEMBER 19. 253 

of the saved, we may be included in it, if we earnestly and imme- 
diately seek It. 

But the question before us is founded in importance. We may 
infer this from the character of the inquirer: he never trifled, 
never spoke an idle word. And we may infer it also, from the 
nature of the case itself. For what can be so important as faith 
in Christ? It is the principle of all religion. It is the only me- 
dium through which we can enjoy the blessings of the Gospel. 
Do wc live ? We "live by the faith of the Son of God."' Do we 
walk? "We walk by faith." Do we stand ? " By faith we stand."' 
Do we conquer ? " This is the victory that ovcrcometh the world, 
even our faith." There is no justification without it, "Being jus- 
tified by faith." There is no sanctification without it, "Sanctified 
by faith, that is in me." There is no consolation without it, " In 
whom, believing, we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of 
glory." In a word, there is no salvation without it ; "Believe on 
the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. The same things, 
therefore, in the Scripture, which are ascribed to Christ, are also 
ascribed to faith. The reason is, because it is only by faith Vv'e 
can make use -of Christ, for all the purposes which he is appointed 
to accomplish. It is only by faith we can receive him as the gift 
of God: enter him, as the refuge; apply him, as the balm of 
Gilead ; and feed upon him as the bread of life. 

And unless we believe on him, we not only incur the greatest 
loss we can incur, but we contract the greatest guilt we can con- 
tract. We disobey the express command of God ; his dearest 
command; the command v/hich involves all his glory in the 
highest. For "This is his commandment, that we should believe 
on the name of his Son Jesus Christ." We make him a liar. We 
throw unspeakable contempt tipon his wisdom and goodness. He 
has, at an infinite expense, provided a Savior, and brought him 
near, and pressed us to avail ourselves of him. And hovr can we 
eontemn God so much as by making light of it, and rejecting it? 
"He that believeth not shall be damned." "He that despised 
Moses- law died without mercy under two or three witnesses : of 
how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought 
worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath 
counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, 
an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace V 

What, then, can be so momentous as this question, " Dost thou 
believe on the Son of God ?" And 3'et many never give it a serious 
thought. They can live on year after year, without ever once in- 
quiring, "Am I a believer, or an unbeliever?" though their 
everlasting all depends upon it — though now is the accepted time, 
now is the day of salvation — though their breath is in their nos- 
trils, and they know that their only opportunity is as uncertain as 
it is sliort. Oh ! the deceitfulness of sin ! Oh ! the madness of 
sinners ! Oh ! the influence of the god of this world, who blind- 
cth the hearts of them that believe not, lest the light of the glo- 
rious Gospel of Christ, who is the image of the invisible God, 
should shine unto them. 



254 



NOVEMBER 21. 



November 20. — "Did I not see thee 
xviii, 26. 

While within my garden roving, 

And my senses all are fnd ; 
Rising from these lov'd attractions, 
I'm to nobler subjects led : 

Other Gardens 
Here, in musings, oft I tread. 

First, I enter Edeii's garden. 
Yielding pain, and profit too : 

Adam here, while sinless standing, 
Nought of fear, or sorrow knew : 

But what changes 
Did from his offence ensue ! 

Then with hope and joy reviving. 

To Gethsemane I go ! 
And approach, in that dread garden, 

Jesuh bearing all my wo : 
From his anguish 

All my ease and safety flow. 

In the Garden where they laid him, 

With the Marys, there I sit ; 
Weeping, till I see him rising, 



in the garden with him?" — John^ 

And embrace his pierced feet : 

King of Terrors, 
Now I can thy frowning meet ! 

In the Church, tlie Savior's garden- 
Trees, and plants, and fiowers I see ; 

Guarded, wat^er'd,traiu'd,andcherish''J, 
Blooming immortality! 

All, O Calvary! 
All derived alone from thee. 

But, above all gardens precious, 
See the Heavenly Paradise ; 

There the Tree of Life is bearing; 
There the springs of glory rise : 

And the richness 
Ev'ry want and wisli supplies. 

There the foot no thorn e'er pierces. 
There the heart ne'er heaves a sigh , 

There in w hite we walk with Jesus ; 
All our loved connexions by • 

And, to reach it, 
Tis a privilege to die ! 



November 21. — " NowElisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he 
died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto hira, and wept over hia 
face, and said,0 my father! my father! the chariot of Israel and the horse- 
men thereof !"— 2 Kings, xiii, 14. 

Elijah was spared the common doom of mortality, and was 
taken to heaven in a chariot and horses of fire, without dying. But 
Elisha, who had honored God so much longer, goes the way of all 
the earth. Why was this difference ? Even so, Father ; for so it 
seemed good in thy sight. 

But he does not die of natural infirmity. Neither does he die 
suddenly. He had fallen sick. This mode of dissolution was less 
desirable, with regard to comfort ; but it was more favorable to 
usefulness. It afforded him opportunity for glorifying God, and 
instructing and impressing his attendants. And " the chamber 
where the good man meets his fate," has often been to others, as 
well as to the dying individual himself, the house of God and the 
gate of heaven. We are therefore glad to find Joash, the king of 
Israel, with EUsha in this situation. Such a scene is generally very 
uninviting to persons in the upper ranks of life. They love not, 
in the midst of flattery and dissipation, to be reminded of the 
days of darkness. But "it is better to go to the house of mourn- 
ing than to go to the house of feasting; for that is the end of all 
men ; and the living will lay it to his heart. The heart of the 
wise is in the house of mourning ; but the heart of fools is in the 
house of mirth. Sorrow is better than laughter ; for by the sad- 
ness of the countenance the heart is made better," more serious, 
and more soft. 

But who was this Joash 1 " He did that which was evil in the 
sight of the Lord. He departed not from all the sins of Jero- 
boam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin: but he walked 
therein." Who would have looked for such a man here ? Yet 
see the trouble he takes. He does not send to inquire after the 



NOVEMBER 21. 255 

dying prophet, but personally visits him. See his condescension 
and humility, in entering "a little chamber on the wall, with abed, 
and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick." See his tenderness, in 
hanging over the expiring saint, and weeping. See his knowledge 
of the value and importance of Elisha — " Ah ! what shall I do, 
and what will my people do, when thou art gone ? My father ! 
my father ! the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof!*' How 
much like a pious man does Joash now appear ! How little can 
we judge of men by particular conditions, events, and feehngs? 
Who has not had powerful convictions? Who has not often ex- 
claimed. Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last 
end be like his. Who has not, like Felix, trembled under the 
preaching of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come? 
Of whom has it not, in some period, been said, as it was of the 
young man in the Gospel, Thou art not far from the kingdom 
of God. 

— What brings Joash here now ? He had disregarded and de- 
spised Elisha before. But Elisha is now going. "How mercies 
brighten as they take their flight !" How an undutiful child prizes 
a parent, when he is following him to the grave ! How many would 
listen to the voice of the preacher, when they can hear him no morel 
Even the Jews, who so often would have stoned Moses, mourned 
for him many days — and sincerely too. Who would have thought 
that all these fine impressions would have worn off? But Joash 
leaves the dying room, and the honored prophet, and enters ordi- 
nary life, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was; 
enters the tempting scenes of greatness ; and his iniquities, like 
the wind, take him away ! And who would have thought, that 
after the wreck of all his worldly substance ; or the loss of Joseph 
and Benjamin; or the taking away of the wife of his bosom with 
a stroke ; or the awfulness of a disease that led him down to the 
gates of death, and induced him to cry. Oh ! spare me a little 
longer ! who would have imagined, that after such lessons, any 
man could turn again to folly, and walk more eagerly according 
to the course of this world ! "O Ephraim!" says God, "what 
shall I do unto thee? O Judah ! what shall I do unto thee ? for 
your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth 
away." 

The devotion of natural men depends upon external excitements. 
They pour out a prayer when God's chastening hand is upon 
thom ; but they do not delight themselves in the Almighty— they 
do not always call upon God. The summer-brook may, by a 
storm, be swelled into a flood ; but having no permanent source, 
it soon rolls off, and the bed is dry. A Christian's devotion may 
be aided by outward helps ; but it does not depend upon them. 
His practice flows from principle : and he exemplifies the promise, 
" The water that I will give him, shall be in him a well of water, 
springing up into everlasting life." And "he only that endureth 
to the end, the same shall be saved." 

Vol. H. 23 



256 NOVEMBER 22. 

November 22. — " And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou 
shouldest have smitten five or six times, then hadst thou smitten Syria till 
thou hadst consumed it; whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice." — 2 
Kings, xiii, 19. 

Elisha was now on his dying bed ; and being visited by Joash, 
the king of Israel, w^ho was deeply affected w^ith the interview, he 
gave him two orders, the one to shoot, and the other to smite. 
Both these were doulDtless delivered under a prophetic impulse ; 
and, though they seem strange to us, they were well understood 
by the parties. 

— " And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he 
took unto him bow and arrows. And he said to the king of Is- 
rael, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it, 
and Elisha put his hand upon the king's hands. And he said, 
Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha 
said shoot. And he shot. And he said. The arrow of the Lord's 
deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria; for thou 
shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them." 
The Romans were accustomed to declare war against an enemy 
by shooting an arrow into their territory. Alexander also did 
this when he entered Persia. This order, therefore, was an inti- 
mation of war. Accordingly, it was tiischarged " eastward ;" that 
is, toward Syria. But the man of God arose and stood behind 
him, while he held the bow — and put his left hand upon the king's 
left hand, and his right hand upon the king's right hand. For 
what purpose? Elisha w^as the representative of God, in whose 
name he now spake ; and he thus teaches the king — that though 
he should use means, he should not depend upon them — that the 
excellency of the power was not of the weapons, but of God — and 
that, if his bow abode in strength, the arms of his hands were made 
strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob. It is therefore 
called the arrow of the LorxVs deliverance, and by which the 
Syrians were to be vanquished in Aphek. 

And is it not so with us ? When w^e work, God must work with 
us. If his hand be not with us for good, what is our prudence, 
our resolution, our energy ! " Not by might, nor by power ; but 
by my Spirit, saith the Lord." Thus the apostles Avent forth, 
preaching : and " the hand of the Lord was with them ; and many 
believed and turned unto the Lord." 

Again, he said, " Take the arrows. And he took them. And he 
said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he 
smote thrice, and stayed. And the man of God was wroth with 
him, and said. Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times — then 
hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it ; whereas 
now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice." Joash was conscious that 
the action was a sign, or he could not have been blamable. The 
action, therefore, betrayed remissness, and lukewarmness ; it was 
expressive of his disposition, and it indicated the event. He there- 
fore showed that he was not willing to push the war to a complete 
issue; he was only for injuring and enfeebling the enemy he 
might and ought to have destroyed. And so the prophet viewed 



N0VE3IBER 22. 257 

it. He saw that lie was half-hearted, and would not improve his 
advantages. He should have resembled David, who could say, 
" I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them ; neither did 
I turn again till they were consumed. I have wounded them 
that they are not able toYise : they are fallen under my feet. Then 
did I beat them small as the dust before the wind : I did cast them 
out as the dirt in the streets." But Joash was more disposed to 
imitate Ahab, who, when Benhadad was delivered into his hands, 
suffered him to escape, and to recover his power and means of 
annoying again — in consequence of which, God said, " Because 
thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter 
destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and thy people 
for his people." 

Elisha, therefore, was offended with Joash: And was it not 
enough in such a case to grieve a man of God, burning with holy 
zeal for his cause ? And is it not grievous to God's ministers now, 
when ice are not strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus ? We 
have his promises and invitations : and we have the experience of 
his people, living and dying — all showing us how willing he is to 
help, and to make us more than conquerors. But, alas ! we are 
satisfied with little — not in temporal things— where contentment 
is a virtue ; but in spiritual things — where moderation is a crime. 

Say not, Why, O why did not Joash continue smiting till the pro- 
phet said, " Enough?" Are you not chargeable with the very same 
ofTence '? Are not you satisfied with slightly wounding your spirit- 
ual enemies, instead of breathing after an entire victory over 
them ? Are not you disposed to live on a little corner of 5^our es- 
tate, when there remains yet very much land to be possessed ? 

— Look at your desires ! Are they not formal and few ? Do you 
hunger and thirst after righteousness ? Do your souls break for 
the longings they have unto God's judgments at all times ? Do 
you open your mouth wide, that God may fill it ? Do you pray, 
that, according to the riches of his glory, he would strengthen 
you with might by his vSpirit in the inner man ? that you may 
know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge? that you 
may be filled with all the fullness of God ? 

— Look at your expectations ! Are they not few and faint 1 Is 
your hope a lively hope ? Is it vigorous enough to counteract the 
impressions of the world ? Do you abound in hope ? Does it bear 
any proportion to the exceeding great and precious promises ? 

— Look at your exertions ! Are they not few and languid ? An 
occasional retirement — a hasty performance of private devotion 
— a formal service at the family altar — a forgetful hearing of the 
word — without early rising — without self-denial — Avithout taking 
up your cross — without laboi^ing for the meat that endureth unto 
everlasting life — without striving to enter in at the straight gate — 
\\\i\iOVi\. fighting the good fight of faith— and taking the kingdom 
of heaven by force. O this vile moderation ! This guilty relaxa- 
tion ! This smiting thrice only, instead of going forward, and 
deeming nothing done while any thing remains to do! 

WTierefore, " giving all diligence, add to your faith, virtue ; and 
to virtue, knowledge ; and to knowledge, temperance ; and to teni- 



258 NOVEMBER 23. 

perance, patience , and to patience, godliness ; and to godliness, 
brother!}'' kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity. For if 
these things be in you and abound, they make j^ou that ye shall 
neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these 'things is blind, and can- 
not see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his 
old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make 
your calling and election sure ; for if ye do these things ye shall 
never fall : for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abun- 
dantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus 
Christ. 



November 23. — " And Elisha died. And they buried him. And the bands 
of the Moabiles invaded the land at the coming in of the year. And it came 
to pass, as they were burying a man, tliat, behold they spied a band cf men : 
and they cast the man into the sepulchre ; and Avhen the man Mas let down, 
and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet." — 2 
Kings, xiii, 20, 21. 

Here we see the Moabites did not come in a large army, but in 
particular bands, to pillage and alarm : and it shows us in how un- 
defended a state, at this period, the country must have been. But 
what has this to do with the death and burial of Elisha ? The one 
is mentioned in connexion with the other, and has a reference to the 
exclamation the king made in his dying chamber, " O my father I 
my father! the chariot of Israel, and the horseman thereof.'' And 
see — would the historian say — see how soon this began to be ex- 
emplified ! Does this cause seem inadequate to the rtfcct? Who 
has not observed the importance of individuality ? When Goliath 
came forward challenging, all the army of Israel lied. What a 
terror was Samson to the Philistines ! They conld do nothing till 
they could get rid of him. There are persons who are the life, 
the soul of a party er a community. What enterprises for the 
glory of God, and the spread of the Gospel, have originated from 
one Christian ! The death of a minister has been the signal for 
the division and- dispersion of a congregation raised by his talents 
and zeal. "I know," says Paul, " that, after my departing, shall 
grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also 
of your own selves, shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to 
draw away disciples after them." 

Wliat is there pecuhar here? the intimation of the historian ifj 
constantly and variously held forth in the Scripture at large. 
There we see the regard God pays to his people. "Thus saith the 
Lord, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith. De- 
stroy it not, for a blessing is in it : so will I do for my servants' 
sake-s, that I may not destroy them all." 

" Oft have our fathers told, } " How well our God secures the fold. 

» Our eyes have often seen, [ " Where his own sheep have been." 

The ungrateful world despises them. But how much do even 
they owe to the presence and the prayers of the saints ! For them 
blessings have been obtained or continued. They have withholden 
or removed judgments. They have been the ''healers of the 



NOVEMBER 23. 259 

breach, the restorers of paths to dwell in." Shall not we men 
love them ? and pray for their increase? 

But here was a thing very accidental, as to the persons employ- 
ed. They were a funeral party, and were going to carry the 
corpse further; but, seeing a number of their invaders, and wish- 
ing to make a timely escape, they hastened to lay it in the grave 
of Elisha, which happened to be at hand. But how M'onderful 
was the result! "When the man \vas let down, and touched the 
bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet !" Here the 
papists come (and to what other place can they come so well ?) 
to find something to favor the doctrine of relics. Which of their 
churches is not furnished with the supposed remains of saints? 
Some of these saints, too, would have made tolerable demons. 
But, allowing them to have been real saints— what profit is there 
in their bones when they go down to the grave ? The virtue here 
was not in the bones of Elisha, but in the power of God. And 
what a stupendous miracle was it ! " Surely, had not tlie people 
been blind and impenitent, they must have been brought to re- 
pentance." So we think— but who said, " If they hear not Moses 
and the prophets, neither would they be persuaded though one 
rose from the dead V WTiether there were, as yet, any Sadducees 
ill Israel, we know not. If there were, we here see a proof and an 
instance that the dead can be reanimated — and it matters not, as 
to the miracle of the fact, whether it took place two days after 
death, or two thousand 3'ears. Grod alone could have done it. And 
why should it be thought a thing incredible that God should raise 
the dead ? His power is Almighty : and we see what changes and 
revivals it is continually producing in nature. But, with us the 
subject admits of no doubt. We believe (the Lord prepare us 
for it !) " that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the 
just and unjust." 

The fathers— where are they '? and the prophets— do they live 
for ever ? No. The dearest, the greatest, the most useful, of his 
servants, die. But " precious in the sight of the Lord, is the death 
of his saints." We are losers ; but to^hem, to die is gain. They 
are privileged in it. They are privileged by it. And it is desira- 
ble to be near them, living, dying and dead ; in time, and in eter- 
nity. " Gather not my soul with sinners." I would " take hold 
of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, I will go with you, for 
I have heard that God is v/ith you" — " Entreat me not to leave 
thee, or to return from follov/ing after thee: for whither thou 
goest, I will go, and where thou lodgest. I will lodge ; thy people 
shall be my people, and thy God my God. Where thou diest will 
I die, and there will I be buried ; the Lord do so to me, and more 
also, if aught but death part thee and me." 

God can honor his servants, not only before they are in their 
graves, but after they are in them. The memory of the just is 
blesssd, and useful, too. Yes, you may be the means of awaken- 
ing and enlivening persons after your death — not by quickening 
their mortal bodies ; but their souls which were dead in trespasses 
and sins ; not by your bones, but by your examples, which shall 
still operate ; by your instructions, which shall still speak — by 



260 NOVEMBER 24. 

the prayers you offered ; by the books you gave ; by the minister 
you educated ; by the place of worship you built, while you were 
yet living. 

— Every thing should lead us to the Savior. How much any 
of the Jews, of this time, knew of the Messiah, we cannot ascer- 
tain. But we know, that because he died, we shall live — we know, 
that if we are planted together in the likeness of his death, we 
shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection. He made the 
grave his own, by residence and consecration — Behold the place 
where the Lord lay ! Into this grave we must descend — but we 
shall arise from it, not only living, but immortal : not. like this 
man, to die again, but to die no more ; death having no more do- 
minion over us. " Thy dead men shall live; together with my 
dead body shall they rise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust ; 
for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the 
dead." 



NoVEMCKR 24.-^" The righteous shall flourish." — Psalm xcii, 12» 

Prosperity in the divine life is the Christian's duty — and there- 
fore he is commanded to grow in grace, and in the knowledge of 
our Lord and Savior. It is his desire-^and hence he prays, 
Strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us. It is his 
privilege— and thus it is provided for, and secured by Divine pro- 
mise — " The righteous shall hold on his way, and he that hath 
clean hands shall wax stronger and stronger." Thus David here 
tells us, that " the righteous shall flourish." And he tells us — 

How he shall flourish — " He shall flourish like the palm tree: 
he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon." Of the wicked he had 
said just before, " When the wicked spring as the grass, and when 
all the workers of iniquity do flourish ; it is that they shall be 
destroyed for ever." They flourish as the fii'i-ass, which to-day is, 
and to-morrow is cast into the oven. What a contrast with the 
worthlessness, the vveakness, transitoriness, and destiny of grass, 
in a warm country too — are the palm tree, and the cedar in Leba- 
non ! They are evergreens. How beautifully, how firmly, how 
largely they grow ! How strong and lofty is the cedar I How up- 
right, and majestic, and tall, the palm tree— The palm also bears 
fruit — dates, like bunches of grapes. It sometimes yields a hun- 
dred weight at once. 

He tells us lohere he shall flourish—" Those that be planted i*: 
the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our Gsd.'* 
The allusion is striking. It compares theliouse of God to a gar- 
den, or fine well-watered soil, favorable to the life, and verdure 
and fertility, of the trees fixed there. The reason is, that in the 
sanctuary we have the communion of saints. There our fellow- 
ship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. Tlicre 
are dispensed the ordinances of religion, and the word of truth. 
T}iere God commandeth the blessing, even life for evermore. 
" Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, 
waiting at the posts of my doors." They that wait upon the 
Lord renew their strength. Hence, from "their own experience, 



NOVEMBER 25. 261 

as well from the word of promise, they are increasingly induced to 
say with David—" I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." 
He also tells us when he shall flourish—" They shall still bring 
forth fruit in old age." This is to show the permanency of their 
principles — and to distinguish them from natural productions — 

' The plants of grace shall ever live ; I " Time, that doth all things else impair, 

' Nature decajs, but grace must thrive : | " Still makes them flourish strong and fair." 

The believer does not escape all the effects of years. The eye 
may grow dim ; the ear become dull of hearing. But as the out- 
ward man perisheth, the inward man is renewed day by day. 
The young Christian is lovely, like a tree in the blossoms of 
spring : the aged Christian is valuable, like a tree in autumn 
bending with ripe fruit. We therefore look for something supe- 
rior in old disciples. More deadness to the world, the vanity of 
which they have had more opportunities to see— more meekness 
of wisdom — more disposition to make sacrifices for the sake of 
peace — more maturity of judgment in divine things — more confi- 
dence in God — more riclmess of experience. 

He also tells us lohy he shall flourish—" They shall be fat and 
flourishing, to show that the Lord is upright." We might ra- 
ther have supposed, that it was necessary to show that Ihey were 
upright. But, by the grace of God they are what they are — not 
they, but the grace of God which is in them. From him is their 
fruit found. Their preservation and fertility, therefore, are to the 
pi aise and glory of God : and as what he does for them, he had 
engaged to do ; it displays his truth, as well as his mercy, and 
proves that he is upright. This cleaving also to him with purpose 
of heart, and not turning away from him, whatever temptations 
the world presents — shows that they had found him to be, what 
he had given himself out to be, and what they had taken him to 
be. Had he deceived or disappointed them, they would have for- 
saken him. But he has always dealt well with them — he has sur- 
passed their hopes. They therefore love their Master and his 
work— and are willing to follow him to prison or to death — to 
show that he is upright. 

David, therefore, attests this from his own experience — " Let 
every one speak as he finds. I cannot but magnify his name ; and 
recommend him to those who want a dependence that will not, 
cannot, give way. I have tried him ; and tried him much, and 
long. I never served him for nought. I never called upon him in 
vain. I never trusted in him and was confounded — He is my rock, 

AND THERE IS NO UNRIGHTEOUSNESS IN HIM." 



November 25.—" Dost thou believe on the Son of God?"— John, ix, 35. 

The question concerns us, as well as the man who had been re- 
stored to sight. And it admits of solution. Indeed, the inquiry 
would be absurd if an answer were impossible. Some very mistaken 
notions are entertained of divine influence. One thing is unde- 
niable. The grace of God, in renewing us, engages and employs 
us : so that we are not like wood and stone, under the operation of 
the saw and the chisel, merely passive, insensible,unconscious. God 
does not work upon us, but in us 3 and in us,io wilt and to do of hii 



262 NOVEMBER 25, 

good pleasure. He is the author of repentance, by enabling t(s to ex- 
ercise repentance. And cannot a man know whether he repents of 
any course or action in which he has been engaged ? He is the 
giver of faith, as he teaches and aids us to believe. This faith, 
therefore, does not act in us like a charm ; nor is it a mysterious, 
unintelligible thing, of which we can give no account. We are 
always to be ready to give a reason of the hope that is in us. 

How then is an answer to be returned ? Let us away with acci- 
dental occurrences, and dreams, and sudden impulses, and repair 
to the Scriptures at once ; and, by their decisions, examine our- 
selves, whether we be in the faith, and prove our own selves. Three 
evidences may be adduced of our believing on the Son of God. 
First. Much anxiousness and uneasiness concerning it, in distinc- 
tion from the temper of those who can readily and easily take it 
for granted. This is not the disposition of awakened souls : they 
find how hard it is to abound and rejoice in hope. This results 
from the importance and dearness of the object. It is not true, 
as it is often said, that it is easy to believe what we wish. Yea, in 
proportion as we love and value a thing, we become the more 
apprehensive, and require every kind of proof and assurance con- 
cerning its safety. And here the case is interesting and beyond all 
comparison. It is to ascertain my claims to everlasting life ! What 
if I should be mistaken ! And my heart is deceitful above all 
things, as well as desperately wicked! And I learn, from the 
word of truth, that many are imposed upon to their remediless 
ruin ! And what if I am informed, but not enlightened ! con- 
vinced, but not converted ! almost, but not altogether a Christian ! 
No v/onder, in such a case, solicitudes often revive ; and the prayer 
be daily made — " Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation." Let me 
yiot be ashamed of my hope. These doubts and fears are a token 
for good, and may be compared to smoke, which indeed is not 
fire, but proves its existence ; and is never found where it is not. 

Secondly. The estimation in which we hold the Savior. Hence, 
says the apostle, " To you, therefore, that believe, he is precious." 
He does not say how precious — this would have been impossible. 
But faith makes him more precious to the soul than sight is to the 
eye, or melody to the ear, or food to the hungrj", or health and life 
to the sick and the dying. Oh ! says the believer, when I see 
him, as he is revealed in the word; Mhen I see in him all I want ; 
when I see how he becomes my Savior ; that, when he was rich, 
lor my sake he became poor; and died, that I might live ; when I 
know that he is remembering me still, now he is come into his 
kingdom, appearing in the presence of God for me ; and mak/ngall 
things to work together for my good, how can I but exclaim. Thou 
art fairer than the children of men I His name must be as oint- 
ment poured forth — His cause must lie near my heart— I must 
dedicate myself to his service. I must hourly ask. Lord, what 
wilt thou have me to do ? 

« My God ! and can an humble cliild, [ " Imposeible— for tliy own hands 

" That loves thee with a flame so high, | " Have tied my heart so fast to thee - 

** Be ever from thy face exiled, j " And, in thy Book the promise stands— 

" Without the pity of tliine eye ? | " That where thou art, thy friends must be.*" 



NOVEMBER 26. 263 

Thirdly. A life of obedience. Without this, an Orthodox 
creed, clear knowledge, high confidence, much tallying of divine 
things, great zeal for a party, will all in vain be called in to de- 
nominate you believers in Christ. Nothing can be more certain, 
than that as a man is not wise who calls himself so, while all his con- 
duct proclaiitis him a fool ; and as he is not a benefactor who never 
gives — unless, indeed, words, so he is not a believer who thinks 
and professes himself to be such, but he who acts and lives as such. 
We read of the work of faith. Where is this ? By faith Noah 
built an ark. By faith Abraham left his own country, and his 
father's house. Read the eleventh chapter of the Eoistle to the 
Hebrews, and see whether faith is a mere notion, or a vital prmci- 
ple. " As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without 
works is dead also." " What doth it profit, my brethren, though 
a man say he hath faith, and hath not works ? Can such faith 
save him ?" Therefore, says James, " Show me thy faith with- 
out thy works" — show me a sun that never shines; a fire that 
never burns; a fountain that never flows, "and 1 will show thee 
ray faith by my works." I will show thee the spring in the streams: 
the cause, in the effects; the principle, in the practice. Though 
faith can alone justify the soul : works can alone justify faith, and 
prove it to be of the operation of God. 



NovEJiBER 26. — "3Ij people — have forgotten their restiag place." — Jere 
miah, 1, 6. 

God has provided every creature he has made with some con- 
venient good, in the possession of which it reposes. Natural bo- 
dies have their proper places, toward which they arc carried, and 
declare, by resting in them, that they are where they ought to be. 
Sensitive beings are led toward sensitive, and animal beings to- 
ward animal indulgence, as agreeable to their nature; and they 
look no farther. But God himself is the resting place of man : 
and it has justly been remarked, that herein lies man's excellency, 
that he alone, of all creatures in this lower world, was made capa- 
ble of communion with his Maker, and designed for it ; and being 
designed for it, and made capable of it, he is necessaril}'' unsatis 
fied and restless without it. For though he has been turned away 
from God by sin, he retains the same natural relation to God as 
his end, so that he can enjoy no true repose till he meets with 
God again. He feels not only sentiments of misery, but of gran- 
deur: and whatever may be employed to quiet and content him, 
will be found perfectly inadequate ; and from every fruitless expe- 
riment to supply the cravings of a fallen, yet immortal mind, he 
will ever be asking, " Who will show us any good ?" 

There was a time when '• the people of God" themselves at- 
tempted to live without him in the world. But they were dead 
while they lived. They were strangers to every thing like satis- 
faction, till they happily inquired, "AVhere is God my Maker, 
who giveth songs in the night ?" But since they sought and found 
him, they have been able to make their boast in the Lord. " Tlie 
Lord is my portion, saith mv soul : therefore will I hope in him." 
" 23* 



264 NOVEMBER 26. 

" Tliou slialt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me 
to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none 
upon earth that I desire besides thee. My flesh and my heart 
faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for 
ever.'" jHe, therefore, is '-'■ their resting-place," actually, and by 
conviction, and choice, and enjoyment. And what a resting place 
is He ! There is no repose like that \vhich we possess in Him. It 
is a peace that passeth all understanding. How then can it be 
described ! Who can express the blessedness of viewing him as 
our own God, in the covenant of his dear Son, ready to pardon, 
able to enlighten, to renew, to support, to defend — presiding over all 
our affairs, and making the most adverse events conduce to our wel- 
fare ; and promising, on oath, that his grace shall be sufficient for us, 
and that he will supply all owx need from his richness in glory, by 
Christ Jesus ! All we can' do is to invite others to come, and 
learn (it is the only way to know) by experience. " O taste and 
see that the Lord is good ! Blessed is the man that trusteth in 
him." Incomparable as this resting-place is, it is equally secure 
and durable. Nothing can destroy : nothing can injure ; nothing 
can invade it. We live in the midst of uncertainty and change j 
but the Lord changes not. There is, therefore, somethmg sure, 
something lasting. It is that very one thing, O Christian ! upon 
which thou hast laid all thy hope, and from which thou drawest 
all thy comfort. The eternal God is thy refuge j and underneath 
are the everlasting arms. 

— And yet they are charged \Y\\h forget Ling their resting place. 
The charge cannot be taken without limitation. As fainting is 
not death, and as backsliding is not apostacy, so this forgetfulness 
is not constant and total. But, alas ! it cannot be denied that it is 
occasional and partial. Our ingratitude shows it. This is at 
once the effect and the proof of our forgetfulness of God, and is 
therefore expressed by it. "Thou hast forgotten the God that 
formed thee." 

It sometimes appears with regard to the means of grace. In 
proportion as we feel our need of Him^ we shall value them^ be- 
cause it is in these that God is to be found and enjoyed. Hence if 
is said "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you." But 
we may read the scriptures less than we did, and be less alone 
and less regardful of the Sabbath, and suffer excuse to keep u? 
from the sanctuary that once would have had no influence over us 

It shows itself in our looking to ourselves for what we want, 
when in the Lord we have righteousness and strength, and from 
him is our fruit found. 

We betray it in our creature dependence. Instead of commit- 
ting our way unto the Lord, and waiting patiently for him, we 
"weary ourselves for very vanity, in ruiming from creature to crea- 
ture for help; and learn, by our folly and suffering, that our 
strength is to sit still. " In returning and rest shall ye be saved 
in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength." And do 
we not forget Kim when we faint in the day of adversity ? " Oh !" 
says one. " if such a comfort was removed, mine eye would no 
more see good." " Oh '" says another, "my loss is irreparable j 



NOVEMBER 27. 265 

my wound is incurable." We do not wish you to be insensible, 
or to undervalue your deprivations; but is it a lamp, or the sun, of 
which you have been deprived? David, in the desolations of 
Ziklag, did not forget his resting place. " Then David encouraged 
liimself in the Lord his God." 

Our regard to the world will also show our regard to God. We 
forget him, just in proportion as the world strikes and allures us; 
in sight of Him, it can do nothing with us. But where is the 
spring, when we stoop to the puddle ? Are not the consolations 
of God small with us, when we repair to worldly attractions and 
delights? But the charge is too obvious to require proof; and 
every Christian will readily confess, 

" Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; 
" Prone to leave the God I love." 

But how humiliating is the fact! And how wonderful too! 
" Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire ? Yet 
my people have forgotten me days without number," " who am 
their beauty, their glory, all their salvation, and all their desire." 
How little would they themselves have supposed this possible, 
when they first returned to him, from darkness to light ; from 
bondage to liberty : from a wilderness to the garden of the Lord 1 
"Thus saith the Lord, I remember thee, the kindness of thy 
youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in 
the wilderness, in a land that was not sown." And still, after re- 
newed manifestations, and under lively impressions, they are often 
ready to think they never can be the same dull and ungrateful 
creatures they have often been. 

" Wlien my forgetful soul renews 1 " Wretch that I am to wander thus, 

" The savor of thy grace, | " In chase of false delight ! 

" My heart presumes I cannot lose " Let me be fasten'd to thy cross, 

" The relish all my days." | " Rather than lose the sight ! 

" But ere one fleeting hour is past, " Make haste, my days, to reach the goal, 

" The flattering world employs | " And bring iJiy soul to rest 

** Some sensual bait to seize my taste, 1 " On the dear centre of my soal — 

"And to pollute my joys." | " My God, my Savior's breast." 



November 27. — "Faith and love which is in Christ Jesus." — 1 Tim. i, 14 
These two are often spoken of in the Scriptures. And, if we 
observe the passages in which they occur, and especially the 
words of the apostle John, " This is his commandment, that we 
believe on the name of his Son — and love one another, we shall 
see, that the first regards Christ, and the second, our brethren. 

But let us remark their order. Faith is placed before love^ 
and this is the case without any exception, v/henever they are 
coupled together by the sacred writers. And there is reason for 
it. The order of the words is the order of the things. Faith 
precedes all true obedience. It necessarily goes before repentance. 
I cannot grieve for what I have doiie amiss, unless I believe I 
have done wrong : and I cannot sorrow after a godly sort, unless 
I look on him whom I have pierced, and mourn for him. Faith is 
a radical principle. It is the root of the tree ; and all the rest is 
branch, blossom, and fruit. It is the spring from which every 



266 NOVEMBER 27. 

thing else in religion flows, as a stream. Love does not produce 
faith, but faith, love. 

Yet there is a connexion between them ; and their union is also 
as invariably expressed as their order. In truth, they are insepa- 
rable. Is it conceivable, that when such a scheme as Christianity 
gets into the soul, it can lie there dead, or even asleep ? Is it not 
compared to a well of water, springing up into everlasting life ? 
to a fire, that converts every thing combustible into its own na- 
ture ? to leaven hid in meal, that leavens the whole lump ? Ob- 
serve all the believers, who, in the Scripture, encompass us as a 
great cloud of witnesses. Was their faith a notion ? a profession, 
a form of godliness without the power ? Could such faith have 
saved them ? True faith overcomes the world. It purifies the 
heart. And it works by love — not exclusively indeed. It works 
by hatred, when it regards sin; and by fear when it regards 
danger — So Noah, by faith, being warned of God, was moved with 
fear. But love is the disposition the Gospel peculiarly requires. 
It is the end of the commandment, out of a pure heart, and a good 
conscience, and faith unfeigned. It also is pre-eminently suited 
to produce it. What is God ? God is love. From what princi- 
ple did he act in our salvation? God so loved the world that he 
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should 
not perish, but have everlasting life. And if God so loved us, we 
ought also to love one another. What do we see in the life and 
death of the Savior, but Divine compassion embodied ? a love that 
passeth knowledge ? And what is the inference ? " Be ye there- 
fore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as 
Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us, an offer- 
ing and a sacrifice to God, for a sweet-smelling savor." 

Let us not pass over this. Some people's faith seems to \vork 
by selfishness, censoriousness, wrath, malice, and all uncharitable- 
ness. But we have no reason to conclude that we have "the 
faith of God's elect," unless, " as the elect of God, holy and be- 
loved, we put on bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, 
long-suffering, forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, 
if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave 
you, so also do ye." 

It is lamentable to think, how many of our fellow creatures are 
destitute of these graces. Art thou, O my soul ! a stranger to the 
influence of this faith and love ? Let me remember that they are 
infinitely important and indispensable. " He that bolieveth on 
the Son hath everlasting life : and he that believeth not the Son 
shall not see life ; but the wrath of God abideth on him. ' " We 
know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love 
the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death." 

But shall I be satisfied with the reality of this faith and love, 
regardless of the degree? How desirable — how necessary — how 
attainable, is more of their vital prevalency I O let me resemble 
the Thessalonians ; of whom the apostle could say, " We are 
bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, be- 
cause that your faith groweth exceedingly, and charity of every 
one of you ail toward each other aboundeth." 



NOVEMBER 28. 267 

November 28.—" Be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long."— Pro- 
verbs, xxiii, 17. 

The mistake of many persons is, that tliey view religion as 
something separate from common life, and which can hardly be 
made to agree with it. But we are to render every thing, not only 
consistent with godliness, but even a part of it. If Gains was to 
bring friends on their way, it was to be done so as to render it not 
only an act of civility, but of piety. It was to be done " after a 
godly sort." " On Thee," says David, " do I wait all the day." 
And Solomon enjoins us to be " in the fear of the Lord all the day 
long." The day, here, is to be taken, not abstractedly, as a mere 
period of duration, but in reference to its concerns. There are 
several things, into contact with which we may expect to come 
every day. Let us see how the fear of the Lord will influence us, 
with regard to each of them. 

First. It will influence us as to the devotions of the day. If 
there be an opportunity of repairing to the house of God, and 
hearing his word, it will dispose us to avail ourselves of it, and so 
to regulate our affairs as to be able to attend. It will produce 
morning and evening worship at the family altar. It will also 
lead us to enter our closets. The principle, also, will not only 
excite us to the performance of devotion, but aid us in it — throw- 
ing off* mere formality, or causing us to mourn over our want of 
spirituality and life. 

Secondly. It will influence us as to the business of the day. 
It will require us to have some profession or calling in which we 
are to be employed ; and in this it will induce us to be diligent. 
An idle man cannot be under the power of religion, and lies open 
to temptation. It will also make us conscientious ; governing our- 
selves by the fair rules of trade; not having divers weights and 
measures, or different kinds of goods and prices for friends and 
strangers, the knowing or the ignorant. It will allow us to aim 
at lawful advantage, but it will regulate and moderate our desire 
of gain. It will make us content with subsistence and compe- 
tency, without wealth and independence : " He that maketh haste 
to be rich shall not be innocent." It will make us feel our re- 
liance upon God for his blessing, without which we may rise 
early, and sit up late, and eat the bread of sorrows. Upon the 
same principle it will make us grateful for success, and keep us 
from burning mcense to our own net, and sacrificing to our 
own drag. 

Thirdly. It will influence us as to the relaxations of the day. 
These we need. Who could bear unceasing, unbending drudgery? 
The machine would soon be worn out by perpetual friction. All 
indulgencies are not innocent. We shall, therefore, avoid those 
that would stain the mind, and wound the conscience, and unfit 
us for prayer. We shall shun expensive entertainments ; the most 
agreeable and useful recreations are the cheapest ; and who can 
ever be at a loss for these, if they will follow nature instead of 
fashion ? And we shall indulge in none to excess, as to time — of 
lirae we must always be frugal. Like the swallow, we must skim 
the water as we fly ; or, like Gideon's followers, we must, in our 



268 NOVEMBER 29. 

pursuit, lap with the hand rather than kneel down. The fear of 
the Lord will make us always watchful with regard to indulgence^ 
and especially in things lawful ; for here we are most liable to be 
ensnared. God giveth us richly all things to enjoy ; but we are 
not to feast ourselves without fear. 

Fourthly. It will influence us as to the company of the day. 
Are we called to intermix with the wicked ? We shall walk in wis- 
dom toward them that are without. We shall endeavor to render 
our religion, not only impressive, but attractive. We shall keep 
our mouth as with a bridle : or, if we speak, it will be a word in 
season. Do we meet with pious connexions ? We shall feel toward 
them as brethren. We shall speak of the things touching the 
King. We shall not off"end against the generation of the upright. 
Among our immediate relations, and in our family circle, M-e shall 
let the Christian appear, and maintain our consistency ; but if we 
rebuke, it will be in the spirit of love. We shall not threaten, 
but rather entreat. Our religion will be seen much oftener than 
it is heard ; and we shall expect to succeed, not so much by direct 
effort, as by keeping our charge constantly under the exhibition 
of whatsoever things are lovely and of good report. 

Finally. It will influence us as to the trials of the day. It will 
not fill us with forebodings, and prevent our enjoying the present 
comforts of Providence ; but it will keep us from forgetting that 
this is a vale of tears, or thinking it strange if we are called to 
endure. It will teach us to look beyond instruments — to see and 
own the hand of God in our afflictions — to inquire wherefore he 
contendeth with us — to implore grace, not only to support, but to 
sanctify ; and to enable us to honor God, and edify others, by our 
sufferings ; and, avoiding all improper means to escape from 
trouble, not only hope, but quietly wait, for the salvation of God. 

A concern to exemplify all this, is the best evidence of our reli- 
gion. It is the way of safety, and honor, and advantage. The 
eye of God is upon us all the day long. He is doing us good 
all the day long. We may die all the day long — let us, therefore, 
be in the fear of the Lord all day long. 



NoVKMBER 29. — " This is his commandment, That we should believe on 
<i the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us cora- 
f mandment." — 1 John, iii, 23. 

The injunction of the latter of these has given rise to no diffi- 
culty. But much dispute has been occasioned by the command- 
^ ing of the former. It is undeniable, however, that the one is en- 
;^^ joined as well as the other, in the same passage, and by the very 
same authority. He that commands us to love one another, com- 
"••f^mands us equally to believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ. 
And if so, then faith is a duty. Indeed, if it be not a duty, we 
are not bound to obey God. If it be not a duty, unbelief is not a 
. 1 - sin. Yet the Holy Ghost convinces us of sin — and of sin because 
i j.l we believe not on Christ. Accordingly, in conviction, with the 
lj» discovery of this guilt, we are principally affected ; and look on 
— i? him whom we have pierced, and mourn for him. Hence, unbelief 
is punishable, and destroys the soul. Indeed, nothing else destroys 



NOVEMBER 30. 269 

the soul, under the Gospel. For provision is there made for our 
fallen condition, and pressed upon our acceptance ; but we neglect 
so great salvation, and turn away from Him that speaketh from 
heaven. It is true divine influence is necessary. But why is it 
not possessed ! It is sinfid to he without it, if there be any truth in 
the Bible. But why should we seek after, or be thankful for as- 
sistance, to enable us to do what ice wer-e under no ohligation to do 7 

This justifies ministers, in calling upon sinners to believe. 
There are some who condemn and ridicule them for this. But 
Ezekiel, in the name of God, prophesied to the dry bones, and 
said unto them, " Live." Paul made no scruple to admonish Simon 
Magus, though in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity, 
to repent and pray. And to the jailer he said, Believe on the 
Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved — for he then was not. 

As the love of God renders our duty our privilege, so the au- 
thority of God renders our privilege our duty. And is not this 
an advantage ? For thus we are not left to the calls of self-love, and 
our own interest ; but are bound to pursue our wellfare by the 
command of God, and a peril arising from a neglect of it. 

This also meets the state of the conscience, and affords encou- 
ragement to awakened sinners. These, under a sense of their un- 
worthiness and guilt, will be sure to ask, " But may I go to him, 
and trust in him ? What warrant have I ?" Now here is the war- 
rant—the command of God. I may doubt my title to a promise ; 
but I cannot question my obligation to obey a divine command. 
This fully authorizes me — Yea, it not only secures me from pre- 
sumption if I comply, but renders me chargeable with disobedience 
if I refuse. I am not afraid to love another— I never inquire. May 
I do it — I know that I ought to do it j because he has commanded 
it. Why then should I fear to apply to the Savior ? And why 
ask. May I believe on him to life everlasting ? since this also is his 
commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Sen 
Jesus Christ ? 

Lord, I believe — help thou mine unbelief. 



November 30.—" Dost thou believe on the Son of God ?"— John, ix, 35. 

Whoever thou art that readest this page, allow the writer to ad- 
dress this question to thee. 

Art thou young — Dost thou believe on the Son of God ? O that 
you did ! How the Scripture extols and recommends early godli- 
ness I They that seek me early, says the Savior, shall find me — 
find me — for there is an emphasis in the promise; find me, as 
others never will, never can, find me — find me, in a thousand pe- 
culiar preservations, honors, advantages, and delights. And what 
a favorable season do you now enjoy ? the body in health and 
strength — the mind in vigor — the memory retentive — the affec- 
tions warm — the heart tender — the cares and troubles of life 
scarcely begun — the days distant in which you will say, " I have 
no pleasure in them !" Oh ! redeem the time. Remember thy 
Creator in the days of thy youth. Enter immediately a course 



270 NOVEMBER 30. 

that is profitable unto all things ; having promise of the life that 
now is. and of that which is to come. 

Art thou old — Dost thou believe on the Son of God ? Thy age 
demands, respect ; and I readily pay it— but thy state ! Ah ! thy 
state demands all my fidelity. And art thou at the end of sixty, 
seventy, eighty years, ignorant of the Redeemer, whom to know is 
life eternal ? Have all these departed seasons been passed only in 
vanity and vice ? Is thy day rapidly closing ; and thy work, thy 
journey, not even begun? Does thine eye in looking back, meet 
with nothing but guilt; and, in looking forward, nothing but 
gloom ? How I pity thy condition ! It is time— it is high time — 
to awake out of sleep. And, blessed be God, it is not too late. 

•* And, while the lamp holds out to burn, | " The vilest sinner may return." 

I announce a Savior who is able to save unto the uttermost ; and 
who converted and pardoned the thief at the eleventh hour— Oh ! 
seek him while he may be found : and call upon him while he is 
near. But if thou art old in grace, as well as in age, thy hoary 
head, being found in the way of righteousness, is a crown of glory. 
And thy salvation nearer than when thou believedst. The night, 
with thee, is far spent, and the day is at hand. Yet a little while, 
and what a blessed deliverance — 

" All thy sorrows left below, | " And earth exchanged for heaven !" 

Till then, let faith and patience have their perfect work. Speak 
well of his name. Recommend his service to others, from your 
own knowledge of its excellency. Take a fresh and firmer hold of 
him, from the proofs you have had of his faithfulness and care ; 
and leaning upon his arm as you descend, say — 

"By long experience I have known I " At thy command I venture down 
" Thy sovereign power to save , | " Securely to the grave.' 

Art thou indulged by Providence? Dost thoicheVieve on the Son 
of God ? Perhaps sickness led 3'^ou down to the very gates of 
death ; and you looked into eternity, and without hope in that 
world — you trembled, and cried. Take me not off in the midst of 
my days — Oh ! spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go 
hence, and be no more. And he heard your cry, and said. Return 
again, ye children of men. And have you returned again to folly ? 
And have you forgotten that the vows of God are upon you ? And 
what is a recovered body, while the soul is full of moral disease ? 
A reprieve, too. is not a pardon. Dust thou art, and unto dust 
shall thou return — is the sentence still suspended ; the delayed 
execution of which will be attended with added terror and re- 
morse. Perhaps thy business flourishes; thy grounds bring 
forth plentifully ; thy cup of prosperity runneth over. We do not 
wish you to despise the bounties of nature and providence ; yea, 
you ought to be thankful for them. As to their use, they are valua- 
ble — but what art they as a portion ! How melancholy is the 
thought that you must leave them ! And you know not how soon 
you may be torn from all your treasure, And, even in the midst 
of your fullness, are you not in straits ? Do you not sigh over your 
very enjoyments ! Does not success, as well as disappointment, 
tell you, that this is not your rest ? Ah ! these failures of hope, 



NOVEMBER 30. 271 

these inward uneasinesses, are the inspirations of the Almighty, 
to give you understanding. They are designed to turn you from 
creatures, Avhich are all vanity and vexation of spirit, to a Savior 
who is full of grace and truth. Acquaint now thyself with him, 
and be at peace ; thereby good shall come unto thee. 

Art thou subject to affiiction ? Dost thou beheve on the Son of 
God ? To be poor in the world, and be destitute of true riches ; 
to have no friend below, and no God above ; to pass from the soi - 
rows of time into a more miserable eternity, is a state so dreadful, 
that every feeling of benevolence must be concerned to find a re- 
source for its victims. And such we can open. There is the hope 
of Israel — the Savior thereof in t-lie time of trouble. His Gospel 
is sent to bind up the broken-hearted. Perhaps you are at your 
wit's end. Perhaps ready to curse the day of your birth. Per- 
haps tempted to destroy yourself. Beware of the devil's relief: 
that cure will be far worse than the disease. And you need it not. 
There is One near you whom you know not — O that you did ! He 
is now stretching forth his soft hand ; he is now saying, " Come 
unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you 
rest." This man shall be the peace when the Assyrian cometh 
into the land. 

Art thou a professor of religion 7 Dost thou believe on the Son 
of God? "Why should you address the inquiry to me? Had 
not the church been satisfied with my character, and deemed me 
a believer, they would not have admitted me to their communion." 
But they might have been mistaken. They could only judge from 
outward appearance : and it became them to be candid. There is 
no certainty from this quarter. " But if I had not hoped that I 
was a real believer in Jesus, I should not have proposed myself as 
a member of a Christian church, and have come to the Lord's 
table, where I should have eaten and drunken unworthily. Why, 
then, do you suspect me ?" My friend, I do not suspect you ; but 
I love you — and love, though not suspicious, is cautious. As mis- 
takes are possible, and common, it cannot be improper for you to 
examine yourself, and prove whether you are in the faith. If the 
house be built upon the sand, it is well to know it before the storm 
comes. But if it be built on the rock, the discovery will yield 
fresh satisfaction, and you will be encouraged to say " I know 
whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep 
that which I have committed to him against that day." 

Or art thou a real Christian ? Dost thou believe on the Son of 
God ? "I know that thou believest." Yet, as pride blends with 
the humihty of the most humble, and impatience with the resigna- 
tion of the most patient, even so, as an old writer says, what un- 
believing believers are the best believers I When our Savior had 
expressed himself more fully and clearly, his disciples exclaimed, 
"Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not 
that any man should ask thee : by this we believe that thou camest 
forth from God. Jesus answered them. Do ye now believe?" You 
think so: but imagination is not reality. I know you better than 
you know yourselves. And you yourselves, in a little time, will 
see that you have much less faith than you now profess. " Be- 



273 DECEMBER 1. 

hold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattei«d 
every man to his own, and shall leave me alone ; and yet I am not 
alone, because the Father is with me." And, all may cry out, with 
tears, Lord, I beheve; help thou mine unbelief. 



December 1.—" Doth Job fear God for nought."— Job, i, 9. 

These are the words of Satan. Some deny the agenc}^, and 
even the existence of such a being. But the denial renders the 
language of the Scripture inexplicable, or absurd ; and furnishes 
a proof of the fact itself, for the god of this world blindeth the 
minds of them that believe not. 

These are the words of Satan. And let us not refuse to consi- 
der them, because he is the speaker. Truth is the same, whoever 
utters it. 

" Seize upon truth, where'er 'tis found— 

" Among your friends, among your foes •' 
" On Christian, or on heathen ground, 

" The flower's divine, where'er it grows, 

" Refuse the prickles, and assume the rose." 

Alluding to the Scribes, our Savior said to his hearers, " What- 
soever they command you to observe, that observe ye : but do not 
after their works; for they say, and do not." 

These are the words of Satan. But though we should not refuse 
the truth because it comes from him ; yet it surely becomes us to 
examine whether what he says is truth ; and also for what pu?^- 
<pose he says it. For even truth may be misapplied and abused. It 
is thus Antinomians are so injurious; by the most precious doc- 
trines of the Gospel, they turn the grace of our God into lasci- 
viousness, and make Christ the minister of sin. In our Lord's 
temptation, Satan had a Bible with him, and turned to the pas- 
sages; or he showed a good memory of the Scripture, for he quoted 
it very readily ; but it was for the vilest design. 

Now it is easy to learn his meaning here. God had been ex- 
tolling his servant Job. "The Lord God said unto Satan, Hast 
thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the 
earth, a perfect and an upright man ; one that feareth God and 
escheweth evil ! Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, " He 
is, I acknowledge, a worshipper of thee ! And no wonder. He has 
found it the way to grandeur and wealth. It has procured for him 
seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hun- 
dred she asses, and a very great household: so that he is the 
greatest man in the East. He has found godliness gain, and now 
makes gain godliness. Doth Job serve God for nought ?" 

Here we see how well Satan is called the accuser of the brethren. 
He accuses them to God ; and, as manj^ of the articles are true, 
they would have reason to fear; but they have one in court to 
nonsuit them — thay have an Advocate with the Father. " Who 
is he that condemneth ? It is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is 
risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh 
intercession for us ?" He accuses them before men. We see, from 
the early defences of Christianity, how much they were defamed. 
At their private suppers they devoured their own infants. At their 



DECEMBER 1. 2T3 

nocturnal meetings they committed every crime that could dis- 
grace human nature. If there was a fire, or a famine, they caused 
tlie one, and occasioned the other. In the Acts of the Apostles 
we read, that Christians were a sect every where spoken against. 
It is so still ; and some of the brightest characters that have 
adorned the church, and served their generation in modern times, 
have been blackened by every vileness of imputation. 

See the malignant cunning of this adversary, who goeth about 
seeking whom he may devour or distress. He can bring nothing 
against Job's conduct, this was undeniably fair and righteous ; he, 
therefore, insinuates a charge against his motive. Are there none 
that follow his example ? " He is so and so ; he does so and so, 
and this would be very well ; but it is to please his connexions, to 
aid his business, and to gain a name. Ah ! were it real ; but it is 
all outside — all show — all pretence." Now nothing can be more 
devilish than this. There is a great difference between judging 
ourselves, and judging others. In the one case we cannot be too 
severe ; in the other we cannot be too candid. Yet the reverse 
of this commonly prevails. We should not judge ourselves only, 
or principally, by our actions ; but by our motives, which enter so 
essentially into their morality. But we should judge others wholly 
by their conduct, and not by their motives, for these are cogniza- 
ble only to God. It is his prerogative to search the heart. He 
will not condemn us for our ignorance of it. Charity thinketh 
no evil. It will always be far more honorable to be mistaken in 
any of our fellow creatures, than to be suspicious of them. 

Satan was right in the principle of his insinuation, viz. That 
there was little to admire in Job's excellency, had he been a mere 
mercenary wretch, who, in all he did, had no regard for God, but 
to his own advantage only. Such actors there have always been. 
Thus Laban pressed Jacob to continue with him, not from affec- 
tion or respect, but because, says he, I have learned by experience 
that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake. In the same way the 
Shechemites reasoned : " Shall not their cattle, and their sub- 
stance, and every beast of theirs, be ours ? only let us consent 
unto them, and they will dwell with us." Jehu said, " See my 
zeal for the Lord ;" but it was to aggrandize himself and his 
family ; and he was even punished for actions which fulfilled the 
will of God. Our Savior did not commend those who followed 
him, because they did eat of the loaves and fishes, and early ap- 
plied a test which would evince a regard for himself in those that 
adhered to him. He that forsaketh not all that he hath, cannot 
be my disciple. And we always, in the conduct of our fellow 
creatures, value a trifle that is done from pure regard, while we 
despise the splendid service that aims at the performer's own ad- 
vantage. Yet, though there was force in Satan's reasoning ; first, 
nothing could be more vile and false than his application of it to 
Job. And, therefore, God permitted him to be tried, that his rec- 
titude might be found unto praise, and glory, and honor. Satan 
said, '• Put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and 
he will curse thee to thy face." Then says God, Behold, all he 
hath is in thv power j only upon himself put not forth thine hand. 



274 DECEMBER 2. 

But he bears well the destruction of the whole. Then said Satan, 
" Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath, will he give for his life. 
But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, 
and he will curse thee to thy face. And the Lord said unto Satan, 
Behold, he is in thine hand, but save his life." And he is now 
covered with sore boils from the crown of his head to the sole of 
his foot. But in all this he sinneth not, nor charges God foolishly; 
and instead of cursing him to his face, he exclaims, " Blessed be 
the name of the Lord !" 

And, secondly, we must distinguish between unprincipled sel- 
fishness, and excitements to gratitude and encouragement. The 
supreme reason, as well as the grand rule of obedience, is the will 
of God. And the language of the Christian is. Lord, what wilt 
thou have me to do ? And the providence of God will often afford 
him opportunities to evince that the divine glory is dearer to him 
than his secular advantage. But it cannot be wrong to think of 
the promises, and be animated in our difficulties by the view of 
what the Scripture has proposed to us for the very purpose. Thus 
Moses is not censured for having respect unto the recompense of 
the reward. And Jesus, for the joy that was set before him, en- 
dured the cross, and despised the shame. 

And, thirdly, though we ought not to serve God for gain as the 
motive, we cannot serve God for nought as to the result. He is a 
good master ; and while his work is honorable and glorious, he 
deals well with his servants ; and in keeping his commandments 
there is great reward. " Godliness is profitable unto all things, 
having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to 
come." 



December 2.—" And she said, Truth, Lord; yet the dogs eat of the crumbs 
which fall from their masters' table."— Matthew, xv, 27. 

To Him, said the dying Jacob, shall the gathering of the peo- 
ple be. To him, said the evangelical Isaiah, shall men come. He 
is the centre of all attraction, because he is the only source of re- 
lief. To whom, in all our ignorance, should we go, but to Him 
who has the words of eternal life ? To whom, in all our guilt and 
weakness; but to Him in whom we have righteousness and 
strength ? To whom, in all our dangers and misery ; but to Him 
who is the hope of Israel, the Savior thereof in the time of trou- 
ble ? And, blessed be his name, he is not only mighty to save, but 
has been pleased to assure us, " Him that cometh unto me, I will 
in no wise cast out." 

— But he may try the confidence. He has bound himself not to 
disappoint. We have here an application made to him by a wo- 
man of Canaan, who cried to him, saying, "Have mercy on me, 
O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with 
a devil." But observe the discouragements she meets with. First, 
his silence ; "He answered her not a word." Secondly, the ad- 
dress of his disciples. It is not certain that they pleaded for her 
relief at all ; but if they did, it was in a spirit that we cannot ad- 
mire • betraying impatience, and a wish to get rid of her impor- 



DECEMBER 2. 275 

tunity. " His disciples came and besought him, saying, Lord, 
send her away, for she crieth after us." Then here is, thirdly, a 
kind of exclusion, which seems to place her beyond the reach of 
his commission, if not his pity. " He said, I am not sent but unto 
the lost sheep of the house of Israel." All this not driving her 
away, he, fourthly, speaks as if he would add insult to rejection, 
•' Is a dog to be treated like one of the family ? It is not meet to 
take the children's bread, and cast it to dogs ?" " And she said, 
Truth, Lord : yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their 
masters' table." Let us consider this as the language of a sinnei, 
applying for mercy, in the prayer of faith. 

First. He allows the truth of God's word, however it may re- 
flect upon him — "Truth, Lord." He had in effect, called the 
woman a dog ; and nothing could have been more reproachful. 
We see this in the question of Hazael ; and the offer of Abishai, 
with regard to Shimei — Among the Jews, too, a dog was an animal 
unclean, and forbidden in sacrifice ; and God's utmost abhorrence 
of a victim was expressed by cutting off a dog's neck — Yet she 
says, "Truth, Lord," I acquiesce in the censure. A sinner is 
called every thing that is vile in the Scripture — a fool, a madman, 
a rebel, a traitor, unworthy of the least of all God's mercies, and 
deserving that his wrath should come upon him — And, Lord, saj^s 
he, it is all true. And thou art justified when thou speakest, and 
clear when thoujudgest. 

" Should sudden vengeance seize iny breath, I " And should my soul be sent to hell. 
" I must pronounce thee just in death ; | " Thy righteous law approves if well." 

Here, others stand out ; but the convinced sinner is brought to 
add his amen, not only to the truth of God's word in general, but 
the truth of it with regard to his own personal guilt, depravity, 
and condemnation. And till we are brought to this, the Gospel 
can have nothing to do with us. It is a remedy : but a remedy is 
for the sick, and not for the healthful. The way to attain relief 
and comfort is, not to deny, conceal, or extenuate our sins, but to 
confess them in all their heinousness ; and, in deahng with God, to 
stand where his word places us. 

Secondly. He draws encouragement from seeming repulse — 
"Yet, Lord." This is an exercise of spiritual understanding: but 
the absolute importance of the case makes trhe man alive to every 
opening of hope ; and he is now under the influence of the Spirit, 
that is teaching him to be wise unto salvation. Thus, darkness is 
made light, and crooked things straight. Thus, he rises above dif- 
ficulties, which would otherwise be insuperable. He distinguishes 
between appearances and reality. " I know that, behind a frown- 
ing providence, he hides a smiling face." Though he slay me, 
yet will I trust in him. If he wounds, it is to heal. I hope I am 
his, because I am thus. As long as he tries me, he is not saying, 
Let him alone. He would not thus prune the tree, if he had sen- 
tenced it to be cut down. I see what once I did not, and the dis- 
covery is painful ; but if he was minded to kill me, he would not 
have showed me such things as these. That be far from him, to 
trifle with my misery. In vain the enemy says. But thy sins are 
so numerous and aggravated. They are ; but this is the very rea- 



276 DECEMBER 3. 

son why I should apply for mercy — Pardon mine miquity, for it is 
great — 

" Yet, save a trembJing sinner, Lord. I " Would light on some sweet promise there, 

" Whose hope, still hovering round thy word, j " Some sure defence against despair." 

Thirdly. He prizes the least communicalion from the Savior, 
"Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from 
their masters' table ;" and this is all I crave. The very same sen- 
timent is put into the mouth of the prodigal — There is bread 
enough in my father's house, and I perish with hunger; he never 
thought of the fatted calf, or the best robe, or of the ring on his 
hand, or shoes on his feet. Oh ! let me return to thy dear abode, 
and I shall not covet the chief room, or the highest seat — Make 
me as one of thy hired servants. Moses esteemed the reproach of 
Christ. David wished to be a door-keeper in the house of his 
God. The least grace is infinitely precious. It is connected with 
salvation, and makes us the heirs of promise. Blessed are the 
poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

Fourthly. He perceives the affluence and all-sufficiency of the 
Lord Jesus. Though what I implore is much for me to receive, 
it is nothing for thee to give. It is no more than a crumb from a 
king's table — What is this to the viands on his board, and the re- 
sources of his wealth ! What I implore, thou wilt not miss ; and 
I shall not rob thy children of their portion and plenty. 

— Come, therefore, to him, remembering that he is Lord of all ; 
that he is not only rich, but that his riches are unsearchable ; not 
only that he "Tias fulfilled the law, but magnified it, and made it 
honorable — that his righteousness is the righteousness of God, by 
faith — that his blood cleanseth from all sin — that in him all full- 
ness dwells. 

— And he will give you, not a dog's place, and a dog's portion ; 
but he will put you among the children : he will seat you at his 
own table : he will say, Eat, O friends, and drink ; yea, drink 
abundantly, O beloved. Was it not so here? Was he not charmed, 
instead of being displeased with her earnest and continued appli- 
cation ? Does he not commend her for not taking a denial ; and 
for urging him, apparently, against his will ? " O woman ! great 
is thy faith" — not, great is thy humility, thy importunity, thy 
perseverance — these were great; but /aM was the root of them 
all. This, therefore, was what he admired in her. And this is 
the one thing needful for us. This alone will keep us steady to 
our purpose, and carry us through all our difficulties. But this 
will insure our final success, and crown us with praise, and glory, 
and honor, at the appearing of Jesus Christ. An^ he said unto 
her, " Be it unto thee, even as thou wilt." So will he say to you. 
And you will be loolish indeed, if you do not avail yourselves of 
the offer, and ask, and receive that your joy may be full. 



December 3. — " Behold, I am vile." — Job, xl, 4. 

Vile, says Johnson's Dictionary, signifies mean, worthless, basei 
despicable, impure. There is nothing in the world to which this, 
applies so well as sin. And it is to sin the excl aimer here refers. 



DECEMBER 3. 277 

He does not call himself "vile," because he was reduced and 
poor. By this, no man of reflection would ever feel himself de- 
graded. A horse is not valued for his trappings, but for his 
strength or speed. Character is a personal thing, and indepen- 
dent of outward circumstances. If poverty, as some fools seem 
to judge, made a man vile, how vile were the apostles, who could 
say, " We hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeied, and 
have no certain dv/elling-place !" And how vile was He who 
had not where to lay his head ! Nor does he call himself " vile," 
because he was diseased, and full of sore boils Irom the crown of 
his head to the sole of his foot. The Scripture, indeed, calls the 
body — " this vile bod)^ ;" and it is truly humbling, not only in the 
putrefaction of the grave, but frequently, also, even in life. How 
low are some of its appetites ! how mortifying some of its infirmi- 
ties ! while some of its diseases are so trying as to require all the 
force of friendship to discharge the common duties of humanity. 
But there are no " wounds, bruises, putrefying sores," to be com- 
pared with the effects of sin — nothing is so " vile" as this — This 
makes us abominable to God himself ; and is the only thing that 
does so. And how loathsome must that be, that causes the Crea- 
tor to abhor the work of his own hands, and the Father of mer- 
cies to punish it with everlasting destruction from his presence, 
and to refuse to pardon it without the sacrifice of his own Son I 

But who makes this confession ? Is it a profligate wretch, whose 
iniquity in its effects has been found to be hateful, even to himself? 
Is it a penitent, newly awakened, and looking into ITls own heart, 
that had been concealed from him before ? No : but Job, a saint, 
and a saint of no ordinary magnitude. You have heard of the 
patience of Job; and know how he is mentioned by Ezekiel. along 
with Noah and Daniel, as one of three who were pre-eminently 
righteous, and how God, the Judge of all, calls him "a perfect 
and an upright man." Yet this is he who cries, " Behold, I am 
vile !" And what do we learn from hence, but this : that the 
most gracious characters are the most remote from vain-glory, 
and are always more affected with their imperfections, than their 
excellencies ? The nearer we approach completeness in any thing, 
the more easily we shall discern, and the more sensibly we shall 
feel our remaining deficiencies. A little learning puffeth up ; but 
modesty and diffidence attend profound science. The advancing 
in knowledge is like sailing down a river, which widens as we 
proceed, till we find ourselves launched on the sea, and losing 
sight of the shore. Whoever vaunts himself as sinless, Paul did 
not: "I have not attained," says he, " I am not already perfect,' 
I am less than the least of all saints," " I am the chief of sinners." 
Not that there is no diflference between a saint and a sinner. Job 
does not mean that he loved sin, or lived in it. His friends ac- 
cused him of this, but he denied it ; and, turning to God, could 
say, '• Thou knowest that I am not wicked." But he knew that 
in many things he offended, and in every thing came short of the 
glory of God. He was aware of the remains of sin opposing, 
hindering, vexing, polluting, his renewed mind ; and though they 
appeared not to the view of others m gross transgressions, thev 



278 DECEMBER 4. 

♦vere constantly felt by himself in an evil heart of unbelief, prone 
to depart from the living God, and constraining him to sigh, " O 
wretched man that I am ! who shall deliver me from the body of 
this death !" 

— And let us observe also when this acknowledgment was 
made. It was immediately after God's interposition, and appear- 
ance, and address : " Then the Lord answered Job out of the 
whirlwind, and said, Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words 
without knowledge? Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I 
will demand ©f thee, and answer thou me." Then he displayed 
before him some of his works and perfections. " Moreover the 
Lord answered Job and said, shall he that contendeth with the 
Almighty instruct him ? He that reproveth God, let him answer 
it. Then Job answered the Lord, and said, Behold, I am vile" — 
Teaching us, that the more we have to do with God, the more we 
shall see and feel our nothingness and unworthiness. What can make 
us so sensible of our ignorance, as His wisdom ; of our weakness, 
as His power ; of our pollution, as His purity— the purity of Him 
in whose sight the very heavens are not clean ! Those are struck 
with little things who have never been abroad to see greater ones. 
But travelling enlarges the mind, and fills it with new and supe- 
rior images ; so that, on our return, we think nothing of the river, 
and the hill, and the plain of our native village. The Queen of 
Sheba prided herself upon her magnificence, till she came to Je- 
rusalem, and had seen Solomon in all his glory. He that has 
been introduced to the Lord of all, and has had communion with 
him, will never think highly of himself again." "The loftiness 
of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be 
made low ; and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day." Ah ! 
said Job, " I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear ; but 
now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent 
in dust and ashes." 

" The more thy glories strike mine eyes, 
" The humbler I shall lie." 

— And I need not be afraid of this ; my pride is the only pre- 
vention of my happiness : 

" Thus, while /sink, my joys shall rise, 
«' Unmeasurably high." 



Decfmber 4.—" Make me to know my transgression and my sin."— Job, 
xiii, 23. 

The desire of knowledge seems natural to every man. The eye 
is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear with hearing. But who 
wishes to know himself? Yet this is the knowledge we want, 
And there are two things concerning ourselves, which it argues a 
gracious state of mind to be willing to know— our morality, and 
our depravity. A natural man turns away from both these. But, 
says David, " Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure 
of my days, what it is ; that I may know how frail I am." And, 
says Job, " Make me to know my transgression and my sm." 
To explore the offences of others is a common wish. The infer- 



DECEMBER 4. 279 

mation not only gratifies curiosity, but feeds malevolence, and 
furnishes the salt which seasons the conversation of tlie mulu- 
tude. But, says Job, " Make me to know my transgression and 

^" And what does he wish to know concerning them ? Their ex- 
istence. Their number. Their guilt. Their pollution. Their 

^°AnrthS'knowledge he seeks from God. He alone can teach 
us to profit. Conviction is the work of his own Spirit. But he 
uses means, and shows us our transgression and our sin-by ho 
law, and by the gospel, and by friends and enemies and by tho 
dispensations of his providence. But he does it gradually. \Ve 
could not bear all the disclosure at once. It would drive us into 
distraction or despair. He, therefore, tells us to turn again into 
the chamber of imagery, and we shall see greater abominations. 
And this will serve to explain a case in the Christian's experience. 
He supposes himself to grow worse, because he gf^^^^s wiser 
He seems more sinful, because he is more enlightened. Iheie is j 
not more evil in him, but he sees more. 

The effect of this knowledge, in the first instance, wi 1 be ^\on- 
der. It calls us out of darkness into God's marvellous light. We 
are astonished that He has borne with us so long. We are as- 
tonished that we have acted such a foolish, such an ungrateful 
nart We are astonished that Ave did not see these things before ; 
for they now strike us with all the force of evidence. And we are 
astonished that we see them now ; since the thousands around us 
are blind still, and we were once blind also. But the result of the 
discovery will be as important and useful as it is surprising. 

Self-knowledge will produce self-annihilation. Self-vindication 
will be at an end, and we shall condemn ourselves. Self-comp a- 
cency will be at an end, and we shall loathe ourselves. Self-de- 
pendence will be at an end, and we shall have no confidence m the 
flesh " The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haugh- 
tiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be 
exalted in that day." 

—Hence will arise the endearment of the Savior. How pre- 
cious is the refuge, now the danger is seen! How inviting the 
healing fountain appears, now we feel our disease ! For want of 
this sensibility, many read and hear of the Lord Jesus with ii du- 
ference. How can it be otherwise 7 They that are w-hoe need 
i,c4 the Physician, but they that are sick. The full soul loathes 
Ihe honeycomb ; but to the hungry, every bitter thing is sweet 

-Hencaalso, submission, under afflictive dispensations. I will 
bear the indignation of the Lord, said the church, because I have 
sinned against him. Why, says Jeremiah, should a living m^^ 
complain ? Aaron's making a calf just before, ^eP^^ ^mi dumb in 
the loss of his sons. And David felt, from his adultery and mur- 
der, how well it became him to say, in Absalom's i-ebellwn, Here 
I am : let the Lord do what seemeth him good. If a Christian 
has nothing criminal in particular to fix upon, he ^lU see enough 
in his general temper and walk, to keep him from thinking that 
God deals hardly with him. The wonder with him will be, not 
Vol. IL 24 



280 DECEMBER 5. 

that his trials are so many, but so few — not that so many of his 
comforts are taken ; but that any are left. 

— Another advantage will be habitual gratitude. The proud are 
never thankful. Heap whatever favors upon them, and what 
reward have ye ? They think they deserve it. You are only doing 
your duty — you are doing justly, rather than loving mercy. But 
when we are humble, in the same proportion we shall be grateful. 
When we feel that we are not worthy of the least of all God's 
mercies, how thankful shall we be for the bread we eat, and the 
water that we drink ! What, then, for the word of his truth ! and 
the Son of his love I 

Finally. As we are sensible of our depravity, we shall be ten- 
der toward others. Faithful dealing with ourselves will always 
be accompanied with candid dealing with our fellow creatures. 
When we are much at home we cannot live much abroad. When 
we are employed in pulling the beams out of our own eyes, we 
shall not have much time for finding beams in those of others. If 
there be a difference between us and them, we shall ascribe it, 
when we know ourselves, to the mercy and grace of God; He 
has made us to differ, and we have nothing but what we have re- 
ceived. If we meet with things which are really wrong, and 
which we cannot deny, we shall not rejoice, but weep. And if a 
brother be overtaken in a fault, we shall restore such a one in the 
spirit of meekness, considering ourselves, lest we also be tempted. 

Maundrell, in his Fable of the Bee, and Rochefoucault, in his 
maxims, and many Infidel writers, have shown great acquaint- 
ance with the depravity of human nature. But they learned it 
from the devil — and the scholars felt like the teachers. They de- 
lighted in the subject. They love to expose it. It was their in- 
terest to degrade and vilify human nature, to draw from it argu- 
ments for hatred, injury, selfishness, and distrust. But God leaches 
lis the depravity of human nature, principally through our own 
depravity. And, with his teaching, he communicates his own 
Spirit. We therefore pity our common nature. We mourn over its 
dishonor. We pray for our fellow sinners. ^Ve long to save them. 

December 5. — " This man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall 
come into our laiid." — Micah, v, 5. 

That the Messiah is the person here intended will not be denied 
by those who read the verses immediately preceding, and whicli 
speak so expressly of his incarnation and glory. The word ma7i, 
indeed, as the italics apprize us, is not in the original. The sen- 
tence therefore reads, " And this shall be the peace"-i— /. e., tJiis 
person, of whom the prophet had been just speaking ; he who was 
born as the ruler in Bethlehem, and whose goings forth were from 
everlasting — " He shall stand and feed in the strength of tlie 
Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God; and they 
shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth." 
The translators therefore, should rather have put in the word 
ruler, or shepherd. But, whatever be the supplement, it all comes 
to the SRUie, providied He himself be understood; who is all our 
salvation and all our desire— For " this shall be the peace, when 



DECEMBER 5. 281 

the Assyrian shall come into our land." But who is this Assyrian ? 
The word cannot be taken literally ; for the Assyrians never en- 
tered Judea after the birth of Christ. It is therefore used meta- 
phorically, for some enemy; nothing being more common than 
for the sacred writers to express, by the name of Egypf, Assyria, 
or Babylon, any significant adversary; as those powers had dis- 
tinguished themselves by their hatred, oppression, and enslaving 
of the Jews. The intimation therefore, is better than if it had 
been more definite; as we may now include every thing that an- 
noys and alarms; every thing that would injure or destroy — Be 
tlie case what it may, he is our principal, our only relief. He does 
not exempt ns from trouble and conflict ; but he affords us assist- 
ance, comfort, and deliverance. Storms may arise : but he is our 
strong hold ; enemies may assail us ; but he will give us victory 
at last, and even now keep our minds in perfect peace, being stayed 
on him. 

Let us think of several of these Assyrians ; and see how when 
they invade us, and would swallow us up, he is our peace. Does 
the broken law of God threaten us? I say, the broken law ol 
God — for a man has nothing to fear from it, when it is perfectly 
kept ; For the man that doeth these things, shall live in them— but 
the soul that sinneth, it shall die. The curse enters through every 
breach of transgression. And who is not, therefore, exposed ? 
Who can be so ignorant as to suppose, that he has continued in all 
thmgs written in the book of the law to do them ? Now here is a 
condition to be in ! The commandment coming — sin reviving — 
hope dying— and nothing expected, but a certain fearful looking 
for of judgment ! But he is our peace who died for our offences 
and rose again for our justification — 

" Go, ye that rest upon the law, I " But I'll retire beneath the Cross — 

" And toil and seek salvation there, | " Savior, at thy dear fe€t I lie ; 

" Forth to the flames that Moses saw, I " And the keen sword that justice draws, 

" And fear, and trend)le, and despair. ' " Flaming and red, shall pass me by I' 

Or, does our adversary the devil terrify ? Oh ! you say when I 
think of his wiles, and strength, and his success for near six thou- 
sand years: and when I consider myself— here is enough to fill 
me, not only vv^th dread, but despair— what am I, to the powers 
of darkness 1 No more than a " worm to a mountain ?" Well be 
it so : the promise is, " Fear not, thou worm Jacob; for thou shalt 
thrash the mountains, and beat them small as the dust." In the 
Lord you have not only righteousness, but strength. Think of 
liim — and take courage. In all these things you are more tlian 
conquerors, through him that loved you. 

Or do we complain of the sin that dwelleth in us ? A christian 
must feel this, and ought to feel it, and be deeply humbled before 
God on account of it. Paul felt it ; and felt it more than all his 
sufferings. " O wretched man that I am ! who shall deliver mo 
from the body of this death ?" But where does he find relief? 
" I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord" — " He will save 
me from my sins ; and no-t only from their dominion— but their 
very being. He has begun a good work in me, and he will finish 
it. My sanctification will be as completCj as my justification now 



282 DECEMBER 6. 

is. He is not only able to keep me from falling, but to present me 
faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy." 

Or do we consider the troubles of life '? In accordance with this 
very case, he said to his disciples, In the world ye shall have tribu- 
lation ; but in me ye shall have peace. And they found it so ; and 
could acknowledge, " As the sufferings of Christ abound in us, 
so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ." Modern Christians 
may not be called to suffer perseciUions as they did ; but they 
may be the subjects of personal and relative trials, which require 
the same support and solace; and they equally belong to him; 
and are never dearer to his heart than in the hour of affliction : 
and ho will not leave them comfortless. Is it nothing to know, 
that he has removed every thing penal from thy sufferings? that 
lie will never leave thee nor forsake thee? that his grace shall be 
sufficient for thee ? and that all thy sorrows shall yield the peacea- 
ble fruits of righteousness? 

—But death ! Ah ! death is called the King of Terrors. Who 
can wonder that we should feel at the approach of it ? And -where 
would be the triumph of faith, if we did not? But it is possible 
to rise above this enemy. We'know it from Scripture. We know 
it from observation. But whence comes the victory ? Persons 
may die insensibly, or they may banish the subject from their 
minds ; but if a man thinks of it, and thinks of it properly, there 
is only one relief when this Assyrian approaches us. It is to see 
him that has " abolished death." It is to hear him saying, " He 
that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live ; and 
he that liveth and believeth in me, shall never die." And this is 
not all. The enemy is not only disarmed by him, but turned into 
a friend. The curse is converted into a blessing. To die is gain ; 
and gain, too generally, in the experience, as well as always in 
the result. Well, therefore, could David say, " Yea, though I 
walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no 
evil; for thou art with me: thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." 

— Here behold the consolation of Israel. Whatever would dis- 
may us, let us look toward him, and say, " This same shall com- 
fort us." Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. 



December 6. — " Hast thou not made a hedge about him ?'' — Job, i, 10. 

This was the question of Satan. The design of it was crafty 
and cruel. It was to insinuate that Job's religion was all merce- 
nary. Therefore, no sooner had God extolled him, (who can 
stand before envy?) than " Satan answered the Lord, and said, 
Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast thou not made a hedge 
about him ?" But though the motive he ascribes to Job is false, it 
is otherwise with the condition he represents him to be in. It 
was true, that God had m.ade a hedge about him; and the same 
hedge surrounds all believers. Three things may be inferred 
from it. 

First. God's people must be dear and valuable, otherwise he 
would not make a hedge about them. Men do not incur expense, 
and take pains to fence in a wilderness, a common, or a duiighiil, 



DECEMBER 6. 283 

but only what they set a price upon. " Since," says God, " thou 
hast been precious m my sight, thou hast been honorable, and I 
liave loved thee."' This love " passeth knowledge." His vineyard, 
his garden, his jewels, his children, his bride, are not so dear and 
precious to their owner, as all the subjects of divine grace are to 
(rod. " The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him ; in them I 
that hope in his mercy." 

Secondly. They must be liable to danger and injury; why 
else should he make a hedge about them ? They are exposed to 
the same perils with others, but they have many which are pecu- 
liar to themselves, because of their new state, and character, and 
])rivileges. David admits this. " Thou preparest a table before 
me, in the presence of my enemies." They were all around him, 
looking on, ready to seize his comfort, and destroy his person. 
What is the language of every awakened soul ? " Lord, how are 
they increased that trouble me ! Many there be that rise up against Z' 
me." And as they are numerous, so they are malicious, wise, and 
powerful, and would soon overcome him ; but his help cometh 
from the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 
^ Thirdly. They must be safe, whatever evils encompass them, • 
For they do not lie open and unguarded — God has made a hedge I 
about them. We have often heard the remark, and it is as true \ 
as it is common, " They are well kept whom God keeps." What ^ 
he does for the safety of his people must be effectual. Therefore, 
the church says, " Save me, and I shall be saved ; for thou art 
my praise." His power is almighty ; and he saveth by his right 
hand them that put their trust in him, from them that rise up 
against them. He keeps them as the apple of his eye. He that 
keepeth Israel never slumbers nor sleeps. Lest any hurt them. 
says he, I will keep them night and day. But how far does this ( 
hedge extend? It reaches to his estate, his business, his dwelling 1 
place, his family, his reputation, his body, his soul. " Hast not 
thou made a hedge about him? and about his house? and about I 
all that he hath on everj/ side ?" 

But here it may be asked. How does this subject harmonize 
with observation and experience ? Do not his people sometimes 
suffer losses and injuries, as well as others } We must distinguish 
between their spiritual and their temporal condition. With regard 
to the former their security is absolute. They are kept by the 
power of God, through faith, unto salvation. But as to the latter, 
their preservation is conditional. It is never absolutely promised ; 
and the reason is, that it is not essential to their welfare. Yea, 
sometimes the removal of a temporal good is a greater blessing 
than the continuance of it, and is even indispensable to some 
liigher advantage. But, with regard to every injury or loss in 
their temporal interests, there are two things which should alwavs 
be remem.bered, and they ought to be sufficient to set their hearts 
at rest. The one is, that the loss or injury is entirely under the 
divine permission. Nothing can touch a hair of their head with- 
out leave from their heavenly Father. Satan could do nothing 
against Peter till he had " desired to have him, that he might sift 
him as wheat." And so here. Satan walked around this hedge, 



284 DECEMBER 7. 

and peeped tlirough, and stood tip-toe to look over, with envy 
and malice, but could not touch his body, no, nor even one of 
his servants or sheep, till God, for the trial of Job, allowed him. 
The other is, that the permission is always, and invariably regu 
lated by the wisdom and goodness of his God, who loves them 
infinitely better than they love themselves. He that spared not 
his own Son, will withhold no good thing from them. He does 
not afflict willingly ; but every trial he employs has a purpose to 
serve, that will evince, in due time, even the kindness of the dis- 
pensation, and enable the sufferers to acknowledge, with praise, 
It is good for me that I have been afflicted. 

Let his people, therefore, hearken unto Him, and dwell safely; 
and be quiet from the fear of evil. 



Decembkr 7. — " And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, 
and tare him."— Luke, ix, 42. 

— Fearful of losing his prey, hating to have him cured, and 
wishing to prevent the display of the Savior's goodness and 
power. He could not, indeed, hinder the deliverance, but he did 
what he could. 

There is no coming to our Savior now, as persons came in the 
days of his flesh ; for he is no more in the world, as to his bodily 
presence — But we may come to him spiritually, by faith and prayer. 
x\nd, in the suffering of this patient, we have an emblem of what 
w^e may meet with, as we are approaching. We can never seek 
him in vain: but our case may seem worse before relief arrives. 
We may be thrown down and torn in the way. God saw the af- 
fliction of Israel, and resolved to save them ; but before they left 
Egypt, their bondage was more sorely felt ; and as soon as they 
had escaped, Pharaoh pursued them, and hemmed them in. As 
long as people remain regardless of Christ, the enemy keeps them 
in peace ; but when they begin to inquire in earnest after him, 
then commences the conflict ; and this is the language of many 
an applicant, as " he is a coming" — " O my God ! my soul is cast 
down within me." 

Some of his difficulties and discouragements may arise from 
the opposition of friends and relations. Marvel not, said the Sa- 
vior, if the world hate you. We have no reason to believe, oui 
religion is the religion of the Bible, if it be palatable to the taste 
of carnal minds. How often, as soon as a man becomes decided, is 
he had in derision of all around him, and like one mocked of his 
neighbor! And is it not trying to proceed in a course that will 
break up connexions otherwise agreeable ? and draw upon him 
the sneer, or the laugh? the ridicule, or the menace? Yet he 
must go forth to him without the camp, bearing his reproach. And 
he ought to rejoice that he is counted worthy to suffer shame for 
his name. But every thing cannot be expected at first. Tho trial 
is greater when a man's foes are those of his own house, when 
the persecution comes from those he loves, and ought even to 
obey, only in the Lord. But the trial is greatest, at least to a 
grateful and ingenuous mind, when the persecution results, not 
from violence or threatenings, but from kindness, and entreaties 



DECEMBER 7. 285 

and tears. Yet through all this he must press. He that loveth 
father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me; and he that 
forsaketh not all that he hath, cannot be my disciple. 

Sometimes the coming soul has difficulties arismg from igno- 
rance of the method of salvation. These, indeed, will not remain 
long, when the heart is brought into a proper state, and the man 
crie°s, What must I do to be saved ? But some are alarmed before 
they are enlightened, as a person may be awakened in the dark, 
and not know which way to flee. Or as a patient may be sensible 
of the danger of his disease, before he knows the physician or the 
remedy. Some have not had parents who taught them the truth, 
as it is in Jesus ; and they have no access to evangelical preach- 
ing, and they are not blessed with such Christian companions as 
can guide their feet into the path of peace. What wonder, there- 
fore, if such, for a while, should betake themselves (for some- 
thing, in such cases, will be done, they cannot sit still) to improper 
expedients, and self-righteous means of relief ? For all legalists 
are not of the same kind. Some are such from disposition, and 
these are the bitterest adversaries of the Gospel ; and the presenta- 
tion of the truth only draws forth their enmity. But others are 
such from want of better information only ; and when they find the 
light, they rejoice in it—" Oh ! this is what my soul was follov/ing 
hard after— O that I had known it earlier ; and, instead of work- 
ing, had believed on him that justifieth the ungodly ; and, instead 
of attempting to build up a wretched shelter of my own, I had 
only fled for refuge to the hope set before me !" 

Allied to this is another discouragement the coming sinner 
feels, springing from doubts and fears, when he does perceive the 
way, and is informed that there is salvation in no other. Pressed 
down with such a sense of his unworthiness, and with such views 
of the number and heinousness of his sins, as he never had before, 
he is ready to conclude, that such immense blessings cannot be 
for him; and that Jus claiming them would be no better than pre- 
sumption. Let not such a desponding soul refuse to be com- 
forted. Let him ask, AMiat recommendation had Manasseh ? 
Where am /excluded from hope ! Does he not say, Look unto 
me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth ? If I have nothing 
with which to purchase, am I not invited to '• buy without money, 
and without price ?•' 

'• Retreat beneath bis w iiiffs, | " This more exalts tlie King of kings, 

•' And ia his grace confide; | •' Than all your works beside." 

An apprehension, too, of the arduous duties of the Christian 
life, is frequently very dismaying. The Scripture tells him,thit 
this life is a building and a warfare; and enjoins him, before he 
begins, to count the cost of the one, and the resources of the 
other. He does this, and feels himself perfectly inadequate to 
both. And so he may feel, and ought to feel : for when he is poor, 
then is he rich ; and when he is weak, then is he strong. But fear 
not, says the Savior ; for, I am vrith thee. My grace is sufficient 
for thee. As thy day, so shall thy strength be. '' Even the 
youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly 
fall J but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; 



286 DECEMBER 8. 

they shall mount up with wings, as eagles; they shall rim, and 
not be weary ; and they shall walk, and not faint." 

Finally. There are things among the professors of religion^ 
which often perplex and scandalize yomig converts. Such are 
the diversities of opinion among them. And thgir alienation from 
each other, because of their little distinctions. And the falls of 
some ', and the backslidings of others. Older and wiser Chris- 
tians know how to account for all this, without shaking their faith 
and hope — though it often is grievous even to them : but the weak 
find them stumbling-blocks, over which they often fall. For which 
reason, the apostle says, to the believing Hebrews, " Lift up the 
hands which hang down, and the feeble knees ; and make straight 
paths for your feet, lest' that which is lame be turned out of the 
way : but let it rather be healed." 

Two things must now be fixed in the mind. The one is— thai 
whatever would impede our coming to Christ, is from Satan ; and 
should be resisted accordingly. The other is — that whatever diffi- 
culties we may encounter — come to him we must. It is not a 
matter of indifference — It is the one thing needful— We perish 
without it — " Ye will not come unto me that ye might have life.'^ 



Dece3iber 8. — "If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things whicl 
concern mine infirmities." — 2 Cor. xi, 30. 

We ma}^ consider these infirmities under two classes : 
First ; as outward and natural. Thus they include bodily weak 
nesses and indispositions. Some, by reason of a healthful and 
firm constitution, know little of these infirmities, and can scarcely 
sympathize with those who are the subjects of them. But Paul 
was no stranger to them. I was with you, says he to the Corin- 
thians, in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. They also 
include all other external afflictions — Avhatever lowers a man's 
condition, and weakens him in the opinion of the world, who al- 
ways judge after outward appearances. If it were necessary to 
prove this, w^e might refer to the apostle's sufferings, as recorded 
in the preceding verses, and to which he obviously alludes : and 
also to what he immediately subjoins, as an illustration — in his 
escape from Damascus, by the wall in a basket ; and the thorn in 
the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet him— ending with his 
noble avowel, "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in re- 
proaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's 
sake; for when I am weak, then am I strong." 

There is something wonderful in this. For all these things' are 
viewed as disadvantages, and give rise to emotions of grief and 
sliame, rather than of joy and glory. People glory in their beau- 
ty, not in their deformity; in their strength, not in their weak- 
ness; in their dignity, not in their meanness; in their praise, not 
in their disgrace; in their successes, not in their disappointments. 
But Paul says, "If I must needs glory /will glory of the things 
which concern mine infirmities." Let us make a distinction here. 
Absolutely considered, these things are evils in themselves : and it 
does not become a Christian to pray for them, or go out of his 



DECEMBER 8. 287 

way to meet with them. But when he is called to suffer them ac- 
cordin-T to the will of God, he should remember that there are pur- 
poses t^ be answered by them, which render them rehUw^yv^^l^- 
ble and excellent. If medicine be regarded only as to its taste, we 
s ly it is offensive, and we should decline it : but when the necessi- 
ty and usefulness of it are perceived, and we think of the health 
10 be restored, and the life to be prolonged by it, we not only con- 
s'^rt to take it, but thankfully pay for the otherwise disagreeable 
remedy. " Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, 
but grievous: nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit 
of ri crhteousness unto them which are exercised thereby, bo it is 
here^ Paul ^lories in things which concern his infirmities. What 
are these? °We may consider them as preservatives or preven- 
tions-Thus when Israel was going astray after her lovers says 
God, " I will hedge up her way with thorns, and make a wall that 
^he shall not be able to find her paths," And as restorers. Thus 
David says, "Before I was afliicted, I went astray; but now 1 
have kept thy word." I was sick, he bled me, and I recovered. 
\nd as probations, to evince and display the reality and degree of 
onr religion: the tenderness of God's care, the supports of his 
arace, and the truth of his word. Of this quality were Job s suf- 
Ferinffs. And as preparatives— for usefulness here, and heaven 
hereafter. How these views of faith alter our estimate of the dis- 
pensation, and our feelings under it ! • i , 
But, secondly ; we may consider these infirmities as inward and 
spiritual. Thus they comprise all those weaknesses and deficien- 
cies of <^race under which the best now labor ; and which leiui 
them to pray, " Strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought 
for us." Something is v/anting in their faith, hope, courage, pa- 
tience, and spiritual understanding. Even Paul could say. I have 
not attained: I am not already perfect. But are not these infirmi- 
ties matt er of humiliation, rather than of glorying ? \ es ; the be- 
liever blushes and groans over them. Nor will an apprehension 
of his security reconcile him to his remaining imperfections. 
Yea, a persuasion of God's constant love toward him will induce 
him the more to bewail them. Yet tlicre are things which con- 
cern these infirmities, for which he feels thankful, and in which he 
rejoices. Four of these may be mentioned. 

First. The means of grace are things which concern our infir- 
mities. Thev are rendered necessary by them, and are designed 
to relieve them. In heaven they are laid aside ; there they are 
needless. But the Christian now cries, Send us help from the 
sanctuary, and strengthen us out of Zion. And by waiting upon 
the Lord, he renews his strength. 

Secondly. The promises are things which concern our infirmi- 
ties. " To him that hath shall be given." " As thy days, so 
shall thy strength be." " The righteous shall hold on his way, 
and he that hath clean hands shall wax stronger and stronger." 
WTien we read- all this, let the weak say, I am strong. But lor 
these assurances we must despond: but now we read and go on ; 
rsad, and fight on ; read, and suffer on. We rejoice at his word, 
as one that findeth great spoil. 

24* 



288 DECEMBER 9. 

Thirdly. The influences of the Spirit are things which con« 
cern our infirmities. How is a Christian to live, or walk ? He 
lives in the Spirit, and walks in the Spirit. How does he pray? 
In the Holy Ghost. " The Spirit also helpeth our infirmities : for 
we know not what we should pray for as we ought ; but the Spirit 
itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be 
uttered. And He that searcheth the hearts, knoweth what is the 
mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints 
according to the will of God." Observe the ground of the apos- 
tle's hope, with regard to himself, in the issue of all his sufferings : 
'• I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayei-, 
and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ." And with him 
here is rich abundance : and in him all fullness dwells ; and to 
him we have always a free and invited access. 

Fourthly. The last thing that concerns our infirmities, is the 
removal of them by death. A certain removal. A removal nigh 
at hand. An entire removal. Every one of them will be done 
away with and for ever ! 



December 9. — " I am a burden to myself." — Job, vii, 20. 

And perhaps this is not all— perhaps you are a burden to 
others also. 

— But we will leave this, and inquire whether you are a burden 
to yourself. We may put the complaint into the mouth of four 
classes. 

It is sometimes the language of the aflflicted. Thus it was the 
exclamation of Job. We talk of trouble. He could say, " Behold, 
and see if there was sorrow like unto my sorrow." Read the 
affecting relation ; dwell on all the dismal items ; and wonder not 
that he should say, " I am a burden to myself." If we cannot 
approve of the strength of his complaint, we hardly know how to 
condemn it. God himself overlooks it, and only holds him forth 
as an example of patience. All sufferers cannot, indeed, say, 
truly, as he did, " My stroke is heavier than my groanings." Yet 
the heart's bitterness is known only to itself. We cannot deter- 
mine the pressure of another's mind under suffering, for the feel- 
ing of affliction may be actually much greater, than we should 
have supposed from the degree of it. But afflictions may be 
great in themselves, from their number, and frequency, and sud- 
denness, and subject. Is this thy case? Yield not to impatience 
and despondency. Such afflictions have often introduced a train 
of mercies, and the Valley of Achor has been a door of hope. 
How many in heaven, how many on earth, are now thanking 
God for their trials ! He knows how to deliver. Say— Lord, " I 
am oppressed ; undertake for me." Cast thy burden upon the 
Lord, and he shall sustain thee." 

It is sometimes the language of the disengaged and idle. None 
so little enjoy life, and are such burdens to themselves, as those 
who have nothing to do— for 

" A want of occupation is not rest— | " A mind quite vacant, is a miiid difitress'd." 

Such a man is out of God's order, and opposing his obvious de- 



DECE:MBER 9. 289 

%i(rn in the faculties he has given, and the condition in which he 
has placed him. Nothing, therefore, is promised in the Scripture 
to the indolent. Take the indolent, with regard to exertion— 
What indecision! What delay ! What reluctance ! What appre- 
hension ! " The slothful man saith. There is a lion without ; 1 
shall be slain in the streets." " The way of a slothful man is as a 
hedcre of thorns; but the way of the righteous is made plain. 
Take him with regard to health— What sluggishness of circula- 
tion 1 What depression of spirits ! What dullness of appetite ! 
What enervation of frame ! Take him with regard to temper and 
enjovment— Who is pettish and fretful? Who feels wanton and 
childish cravings ? Who is too soft to bear any of the hardships 
of life ? Who broods over every little vexation and inconve- 
nience ! Who not only increases real, but conjures up imaginary 
evils? and gets no svmpathv from any one in either? Who feeis 
time wearisome and irksome ? Who is devoured by ennui and 
spleen! Who oppresses others with their company? and their 
questions, and censorious talk? The active only have the true 
relish of life. He who knows not what it is to labor, knows not 
n-hat it is to enjoy. Recreation is only valuable as it unbends us 
—the idle know nothing of it. It is exertion that renders rest de- 
lightful, and sleep sweet and undisturbed. That the happiness 
of life depends on the regular prosecution of some laudable pur- 
nose or lawful calling, which engages, helps, and enlivens, all our 
oowers ; let those bear witness who, after spending years m ac- 
tive usefulness, retire, to enjoy themselves. Prayers should be 
offered up for their servants and wives ; and for themselves too— 
they are a burden to themselves. 

It is the language of the wicked. Not always, indeed : but 
much oftener than they are willing to own. It may not come 
from them in the circle of their companions ; but it is sighed out 
in private, when the charm of amusement has ceased, and con- 
science tries to be heard. They may pretend (for hypocrisy is 
not confined to religion) to be peaceful ; but they know that one 
thought of God is suilicient to destroy all the calm. They may 
profess to admire the world ; but they know it affords them no 
satisfaction. They know they return jaded from all their excur- 
sions of avarice, ambition, and sensuality, still asking. Who will 
show us any good ? They know that, in this uncertain state, they 
are alwavs trembling for the idols of their hearts ; that they look 
for no support in trouble; and dread the approach of death— to 
the fear of which they are all their life-time subject to bondage. 
Sin and sorrow are inseparable. God himself has told us that tlie 
way of transgressors is hard, and that there is no peace to the 
wi« ked. Manv sins bring their own punishment along with them. 
Envy is the rottenness of the bones. " Pride is restless as the 
wind." What a torment is the spirit of revenge ! What must be 
the apprehension of the thief! and the terror of the murderer! 
What the remorse of a villain who has seduced a fellow creature 
from the path of virtue, and made her ignominious and wretched 
for life ! What the feelings of a drunkard, who has ruined his busi- 
ness, and covered his wife and children with rags ! How often does 



290 DECEMBER 10. 

the sinner become the contempt of the neighborhood ? How often 
does he contract infirmities and diseases, which lie down with him 
in the dust ! Yes. he may well say, I am a burden to myself— and 
to got rid of the intolerable load, he not rarely lays violent hands 
upon himself; saying with Cain, my punishment is greater than 
I can bear. 

It may be the language of the godly. We mean, not only or 
principally as they are afflicted ; then they ^vould coincide with 
the first class of complainants. Many, indeed, are the afflictions 
of the righteous, and they are not required to be insensible under 
them. But there are things which they feel more painfully than 
outward trouble. The temptations of Satan. A world lying in 
wickedness. The imperfections of their graces. The remains of 
corruption within them. Wanderings in duty. An evil heart of 
unbelief. Distrust of their best Friend. The grievings of the 
Holy Spirit. Another cannot enter into all this. It requires the 
feelings of a renewed mind ; but this induces the believer to say, 
" I loathe it — I would not live always." O WTCtched man that I 
am ! said Paul ; who shall deliver me from the body of this death ? 

Is there any relief? The very experience is a token for good. 
Your case is not peculiar. All your brethren, while in this taber- 
nacle, groan too, being burdened. You Avill not be a burden to 
yourself always, or long. You now say, Behold, I am vile : 
wherefore I abhor myself in dust and ashes. But you will soon 
be reconciled to yourselves, without pride. Your knowledge will 
be without obscurity ; your services, without imperfections ; your 
pleasure, without pain. And he who is now keeping you from 
falling, will present you faultless before the presence of his glory, 
with exceeding joy. 



December 10. — " I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day." — Rev. i, 10. 

This proves how early, among Christians, one day in the week 
was distinguished from the rest. And it is obvious, that the day 
thus distinguished was the first day of the week, for no other is 
ever styled " the Lord's day," in the New Testament, or by any 
of the ancient writers. It is called '* the Lord's day," not only 
by way of distinction, but excellency, being appropriated to his 
service, and consecrated to his honor, as the day of his resurrec- 
tion from the dead, and entering into his rest from the works of 
redemption. 

To be in the Spirit, often signifies, to be inspired, or to receive 
communications immediately from God, and it is certain that John 
was thus honored. But the phrase may be used in reference to a 
spirituality of mind ; and doubtless John experienced this also, 
and it prepared him for the sublime discoveries he was favored 
with. Though miracles have ceased, the Spirit is still given in 
his ordinary influences ; and if any man have not the Spirit of 
Christ, he is none of his. We are required to pray in the Holy 
Ghost ; to worship God in the Spirit ; to live and walk in the 
Spirit. Hence the common notion of our being in the Spirit on 
the Lord's day is perfectly scriptural. But w« must distinguish 



DECEMBER iO. 291 

between our being in the Spirit, and the Spirit being in us. The 
latter denotes the reahty of his influence, the former, the abun- 
dance. Thus we say, a man is in love, or in liquor, or in a pas- 
sion, to intimate that he is entirely seized and governed by it. We 
are not only to possess the Spirit, but to be possessed by it. " Be 
ye filled with the Spirit." It is not enough for us to be in a spiritual 
state — but frame. 

We must not, however, confine the import of this expression as 
some do, who never think of their being in the Spirit on the Lord's 
day. but when they are relieved, comforted, delighted. We love 
feeling in religion ; but religious feelings are many and various. 
It is desirable to pass the Sabbath in liveliness, liberty, and joy; 
and we read of the Spirit of life, and of a free Spirit, and of the 
comfort of the Holy Ghost. But a mournful Sabbath may be a 
very profitable one ; and we are never more in the Spirit than 
when we are deeply sensible of our unworthiness, and exclaim, 
at the foot of the Cross, Behold, I am vile, and hunger and thirst 
after righteousness. For, is he not the Spirit of truth? the con- 
vincer of sin? the Spirit of grace and supplication? And does he 
not lead us to look upon him whom we have pierced, and to mourn 
for him ? 

Who does not know, by experience, that the day and the Spirit 
are not always thus united? Who has not had Sabbaths devoid of 
all proper religious affections ? This should be a matter of deep 
humiliation. How piercing should be the thought of a lost Sab- 
bath ! Lost, never to return ! Lost, yet to be accounted for ! But 
what is a dull and formal attendance on the services of the season, 
without those influences which the day requires, and is in itself 
adapted to produce. 

As the richest Sabbath, with regard to means and ordinances, 
may be passed without the Spirit, so we may be in the Spirit on 
the Lord's day, w^hen the day is attended with few, or none of 
these advantages. And was it not thus with the beloved disciple ? 
Oh ! there are Sabbaths when every thing is attractive ; when Ave 
go to the house of God in company ; when our eyes see our 
teachers ; when our ears hear the joyful sound of salvation by 
grace ! But John's Sabbath was a day of suffering, of privation, 
of exile, of solitude, in a desert isle — 

" Where the sound of the church-going bell, 

" Those rocks and those valleys ne'er heard ; 
" Never sighed at the sound of a knell, 

" Or sniUcd when a Sabbath appeared." 

But heaven was opened unto him ; and perhaps he never had 
such a Sabbath on earth before. A Christian may never be less 
alone, than when alone. His consolations may equal, j'-ea, exceed 
his sufferings. While his body is fettered, his soul may range in 
all the glorious liberty of the sons of God. 

Yes, you may be in the Spirit on the Lord's day, when denied 
the privileges of the sanctuary. If you keep away, from indiffer- 
ence, or indolence, or to save expense, when you have the ability 
to procure accommodation, or from any of those excuses which 
would detain you from nothing else, you have no reason to ex- 



292 DECEMBER 11. 

pect the Divine sanction. But sometimes travelling, even on the 
Lord's day, by land or by water, may be imavoidable; or accident, 
or disease, or infirmity of age, may" confine you : in which case 
the Lord will not despise his prisoners ; and they shall i^now the 
blessedness of those whose strength is in him, and in whose hearts 
are the ways of them. It is better to want opportunity and power, 
than the will, when we serve Him who looketh at the heart. No- 
thing can be a subctitute for him ; but he is a substitute for every 
thing, and he is always accessible ; and " if ye, being evil, know 
how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more 
shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask 
himl" «.««__ 

Dkcember 11 .— " And the Lord turned the captirity of Job, when he prayed 
for his friends." — Job, xiii, JO. ^ 

Job was once the greatest man in the East. But he was stripped 
of every thing, but life ; and became as a sufferer, proverbial for 
ever. How long his calamities continued, we cannot determine. 
But, at length, the shadow of death was turned into the morning. 
His troubles were all removed ; his losses all repaired ; and his 
latter end blessed more than his beginning. Hence, says the Apos- 
tle James, " Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen 
the end of the Lord ; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender 
mercy." 

—His state of affliction is called " his captivity." Did, then, 
ihe Chaldeans and Sabeans, when they robbed him, make him also 
a prisoner ? The term is metaphorical. Yet there is a striking 
reality, as the foundation of it. By the permission of Providence, 
Satan, for a while, had him in his possession, to go as far as he 
pleased in destroying his substance, and afflicting his body. In 
consequence of this, a troop of woes seized him ; and his feet, as 
he says, were made fast in the stocks. David also, expresses him- 
self much in the same way — " Bring my soul out of prison." He 
despises not his prisoners. A state of aflSiction is not only un- 
pleasant, but confining. Losses in property abridge a man of his 
former excursions of pleasure, and curtail his entertainments. 
Sickness arrests a man, and leads him away from company and 
business, and confines him to a bed of languishing. Yea, it de- 
tains a good man from the Sanctuary ; and when he thinks of his 
former freedom and privileges, he pours out his soul in him : for 
he had gone to the house of God with the voice of joy and praise, 
with a multitude that kept holy-day. 

—His deliverance was of the Lord — "The Lord turned away 
his captivity." " He that is our God, is the God of salvation; and 
unto God the Lord belong the issues from death." Some ascribe 
their deliverances to chance ; some to the favor of their fellow 
creatures; some to their own wisdom and care — all of which is no 
better than idolatry. Faith will lead us to see and acknowledge 
the agency of God's hand, whatever means may have been em- 
ployed. And, till God command deliverance, vain is the help of 
man. "Behold, he breaketli down, and it cannot be built again ; 
he shuttethup a man, and there can be no opening." But he 



DECEMBER 12. 293 

knows how to deliver: and Avhen his time is come, he not only- 
can, bill he will, make a way for our escape. " Therefore," says 
the Church, "I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God 
of my salvation : my God will hear me." 

— But it is peculiarly worthy of our remark, that the deliver- 
ance was accomplished " when he prayed for his friends." These 
friends had acted a very unkind part. They had not only mis- 
taken his case, but charged him with hypocrisy, and loaded him 
with reproach. This was no easy thing to bear. He labors to 
convince them, but in vain. Yet he felt no resentment, but even 
prayed for them ! This is the best thing Ave can do, in such cases. 
It will keep us more than any thing else from the effects of unhal- 
lowed passion, and enable us to comply with the command, " Love 
your enemies." We cannot love them as we love others; but if 
we can sincerely pray for them, it is a proof we love them, in the 
sense of the injunction. 

But we here see, not only the forgiving temper of Job, but the 
efficacy of prayer. And it is said, the Lord turned again his cap- 
tivity when he prayed for his friends ; it would seem, that the de- 
liverance commenced while he was engaged in the exercise. This 
is no unusual thing: for, says God, " While they call, I will 
answer." But, if it did not take place in the exercise, it followed 
immediately after : and thus it affords a proof, that he is a God 
hearing prayer, and encourages us to come to the Throne of his 
Grace. 

— And not only for ourselves, but for others also : 

— And not only on their behalf, but on our own. Not only be- 
cause it may avail much for them, but also for ourselves. Thus 
Job's praying not only obtained pardon for his friends, but deliver- 
ance for himself! And though he had often prayed under his 
afflictions, the prayer honored with his deliverance was not a per- 
sonal, but relative prayer. Let us forget this, and let us extend it 
to all other cases of beneficence. If we do no good to those who 
are the objects, we must do good to those who are the agents. It 
cannot be in vain, with regard to ourselves. Our prayer, if not suc- 
cessful, will return into our own bosom, and leave a blessing be- 
hind it. " Into whatsoever house ye enter, first say. Peace be 
unto this house. And if the son of peace be there, your peace 
shall rest upon it ; if not, it shall turn to you again." 



December 12.—" And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary 
sitting over against the sepulchre." — Matthew, xxvii, 61. 



*« While upon the Cross He hung, 

" The Marys near him staid ; 
" And when from the tree relcas'd, 

*' Beheld vviiere he was laid : 
" Fearless to the place tiiey ran ; 

" All their hope was buried there ; 
" And, with grief and wonder, sat 

" Before the sepulchre. 

" Love it was detain'd them here ; 

" And sacred was the spot- 
" Soon the scene reviv'd their faith 

" And mem'ry ne'er forgot. 



" From the crowd I glad withdraw, 
" And, with them, to muse I'mcomo , 

" And prefer to Eden's bliss, 
" One tear at such a tomb. 

" Here, within this grave, now sleeps 

" The best, the only Friend ; 
" Here, the lips of truth are seal'd, 

" And mercy's journeys end. 
" Here, the light, the life of men, 

" Is early quenc'h'd, and dead ; 
" How deserveless now appear 

" All otlier tears I've shed. 



294 



DECEMBER 13. 



' Ah ! how low his sacred head 

" Reposes here for me ! 

And how deep, though once so rich, 

" Is now his poverty ! 
' Nought of earth, in life or death, 

" His own he never knew ; 
■ Borrow'd w is his place of birth ; 

•' His grave was borrow'd too ! 

But what terrors seize my frame ! 

" A trembling shakes the ground; 

And the door, though thrice secured, 

" Is now wide open found; 
' On the stone the angel sits, 

" And frowns the guard to flight ; 
• Yet his looks, and words, to me, 

' Speak safety and delight. 



" ' He thou seekest is not here ; 

" ' Come, view his lowly bed ; 
" ' And, with haste, go tell his friend* 

" » lie's risen from the dead.' 
" As I go, himself I meet — 

" ' All hail,' he greeting cries! 
" ' I havecrush'd sin, death, andhbll, 

" ' And open'd Paradise ! 

" ' I'm alive for evermore ! 

" ' And all that mourn v/itii thee, 
" ' Like myself, their Head, shall live, 

" ' For evermore with me.' 
" 'Tis enough— in every state 

" This truth myhope revives— 
" And, should every comfort die, 

" I know my Savior lives." 



December 13. — " And this I pray, That your love may abound yet more 
and more inkuowiedge, and in all judgment."— Philippians,i, 9. 

According to this prayer there is nothing in which we should 
abound more than love. It is the fulfilling of the law ; the end of 
the gospel commandment ; the bond of perfectness. Without it, 
whatever be our attainments, professions, or sacrifices, we are 
NOTHING. Yet we are to abound in it wisely. This is not found 
in all religious characters. In one we perceive zeal ; in another 
discretion. One is clear, but cold ; another is warm, but incon- 
siderate. If we could meet with an individual who, in his expe- 
rience and practice, blended these qualities ; who had the heart as 
well as the head, and the head as well as the heart, of the Chris- 
tian, lie would be the prayer of the apostle fulfilled : " I pray, 
That your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge, 
and in all judgment." 

Our love does not thus abound when we do not distinguish 
between what is supreme and what is subordinate. There are 
things in religion which are essential, and things which are only 
circumstantial. Am I to lay as much stress upon the latter as 
upon the, former ? Is the form of the railing of a bridge to be 
compared with the foundation of the buttresses, or the key-stones 
of the arch? Is the finger, though useful, of the same importance 
to the continuance of life, as the heart and the lungs? "What is an 
article about church government, or the mode of administering 
an ordinance, compared with the doctrine of justification by faith, 
or redemption by the blood of Christ ! I venerate a man who is 
all diligence to convert sinners from the error of their way, and 
save souls from death; but I cannot feel the same toward the 
zealot of bigotry, whose aim is to make proselytes to his own 
peculiarities, and who regards his community, not as a part, but 
as a parti/. 

Persons may not be judicious in their devotional exercises. By 
the frequency of public attendances they may exclude or abridge 
the duties of the family, or the closet. They may so lengthen out 
the worship at the domestic altar, as to produce in children and 
servants, weariness and aversion. Persons may hazard their health 
by going forth under bodily indisposition; forgetting that God 
requires mercy, and not sacrifice ; and that when He deprives us 
of the ability, he accepts the ready mind. 



DECEMBER 13. 296 

Nor does our love abound in knowledge, and in all judgment, 
when it carries us out of our own places and stations to be useful. 
Grace always gives us the desire to do good, but Providence must 
furnish the opportunities. We are not to be unruly, or break the 
ranks, as the word is ; but to march orderly, as good soldiers of 
Jesus Christ. The Lord puts us where we ought to be, and enjoins 
us to abide in our calling. There are, indeed, occasional devia- 
tions from this rule; but they are exceptions, and must be justified 
by their own circumstances. When Saul's courtiers reflected 
upon the Shepherd of Bethlehem as a restless, ambitious young 
man, who wished to struggle out of obscurity into public life, he 
was conscious that he followed only the providence of God, and 
could make this appeal, " Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor 
mine eyes lofty ; neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or 
in things too high for me." But there is danger, not only of im- 
patience, but pride, in all changes attended with the hope of 
elevation ; and surely it becomes a man to consult some one besides 
Idwself concerning them. A man, by acting unlawfully, may do 
good ; but the result does not justify the means. Whatever ex- 
citements persons may have to act irregularly, they are, upon the 
whole, far most useful by consistency. Their example, in the 
latter, must do good ; but, in the former, it may lead astray. I 
have known men who have been stunned for life by striking their 
head against a pulpit. I have known preachers who have neglect- 
ed thei^ families, and left their children to rove wild in the street 
or the field, while they were teaching in the villages. I have 
known females who have disregarded their husbands and house- 
hold affairs, to run unseasonably after favorite ministers. " The 
wisdom of the prudent," says Solomon, " is to understand his 
way," i. e. what becomes }iim to do ; whether as a master, or a 
servant ; as a father, or a child ; as rich, or as poor— in every re- 
lation and condition of life, asking. Lord, what wilt thou have 
me to do ? 

Many err much in the discharge of the duties they owe to 
others. Reproof may be more than thrown away, owing to the 
manner in which it is applied. It is done in anger ; but it should 
flow from the spirit of meekness. It is done in public ; but we 
should tell him his fault alone. We should distinguish, also, be- 
tween one disposition and another ; and become all things to all 
men, if by any means we may gain some. He that winneth souls 
is wise — We must therefore walk in wisdom toward them that are 
without. Wisdom must regulate our discourse. We must know 
when to speak, what to speak, how to speak — "A word fitly 
spoken, is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." We shall 
not talk discouragingly before those that are weak in the faith; 
nor perplex them with doubtful disputations. We may give strong 
meat to strong men ; but babes require milk. 

We may also err in cases of charity. Since we cannot relieve 
all the necessitous, we must endeavor to ascertain the most proper 
objects. Alms may become immoral by encouraging vice or 
idleness. Religious societies are to be encourged and supported ; 
but God abhors robbery, for a burnt-offering. And many an an- 



296 DECEMBER 14. 

nual subscription, 'printed^ robs not only the tradesman, but the 
poor. Nothing is to incapacitate us to succor the domestic and 
personal distress which Providence itself brings immediately be- 
fore ; and by M'hich some sublimely pass, to attend public meet- 
ings— "Whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have 
need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how 
dwelleth the love of God in him ?" 

These are not all the instances in which our love is to abound m 
knowledge and in all judgment. But these are sufficient to show 
us, that wisdom is profitable to direct. Wherefore, let us not be 
unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. Let us 
cultivate our minds. Let us faithfully review our own conduct, 
and see where we have been mistaken. Let us keep observation 
alive and awake. Let us walk with wise men. Let us be fami- 
liar with the Holy Scriptures, which can furnish us thoroughly 
unto all good works. Let us often read and study the Proverbs of 
Solomon. Let us constantly keep in view the life of Jesus, who 
dealt prudently, and so was exalted, and extolled, and was very 
high. Above all, let us seek the Spirit of Truth — " If any of you 
lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all men liberally, 
and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him." 



December 14. — " I will say unto God, do not condemn me." — Job, x, 2. 

He could have resolved on nothing better in his affliction than 
betaking himself to God. It was turning to him that smote him, 
and resembling the child who, when corrected by the mother, al- 
ways clings to her knee. We are too fond of talking our com- 
plaints to men — 

" Were half the breath thus vainly spent, | " Our cheerful cry would oftener be — 
" To heaven in supplication sent ; | " Hear what the Lord hath done for me." 

" If I weep," says Job, " mine eye poureth out tears ur to God:" 
and if I speak, "I will say unto God" — 

But what does he say? "Do not condemn me." Now there 
was no real ground for this fear. Job could say, I know that my 
Redeemer liveth ; and there is no condemnation to them that 
are in Christ Jesus. Their sins once pardoned, if sought for, 
shall never be found ; and their afflictions, however distressing, 
have nothing penal in them, they are only like the fire to the gold, 
and pruning to the vine, and medicine to the patient, and correc- 
tion to the child. They are chastened of the Lord, that they may 
not be condemned with the world. 

But the language implies, that he knew God could charge 
h'm with guilt enough to condemn him, if he should deal with 
him after his desert. And every child of God feels this. In re- 
viewing even the most innocent periods of his life, and the de- 
voutest services in which he was ever engaged, he exclaims, "En- 
ter not into judgment with thy servant, O Lord; for in thy sight 
shall no flesh living be justified." 

— It shows us also, that a child of God is prone to fear the dis- 
pleasure of God in his afflictions. The people of the world, as 
we see in the case of the Barbarians, with regard to Paul's viper; 



DECEMBER 14. m 

and the caution of our Lord, with regard to men on whom the 
tower fell ; deem their fellow creatures sinners, because they suf- 
fer such things. And though we are much more disposed to 
judge others by this erroneous rule than ourselves ; there is some- 
thing in calamity, says Madame de Stael, that tends to make all 
minds superstitious. We would rather say, that tends to revive 
the remembrance of a moral providence, and the belief of a con- 
nexion between sin and punishment. And this is more the case 
when afflictions are sudden, and unlooked for, and great, and re- 
peated, or have any thing that looks peculiar in them. And even 
good minds have not been able always to resist such impressions 
and conclusions. Gideon said, " If the Lord be with us, why then 
is all this evil befallen us ?" And the pious widow of Zarephath, 
upon the loss of her child, said unto Elijah, " What hare 1 to do 
with thee, O thou man of God ? art thou come unto me to call my 
sin to remembrance, and to slay my son ?" The Poet tells us, and 
very truly, " Behind a frowning providence, he hides a smiling 
face" — But he does hide it. The frown is visible enough — sense 
can see this ; but the smile can only be apprehended by faith — 
and whose faith is always in exercise ? 

We may also remark, that gracious souls deprecate nothing so 
much as censure from God — Therefore they say unto God, " Do 
not condemn me. To any thing else I bow. But I cannot bear 
exclusion from thee. Whom have I in heaven but thee ? and 
there is none on earth I desire besides thee. Thy loving kind- 
ness is better than life. In thy presence all my happiness is 
placed. Use the rod of a father, but let me not feel the sentence 
of the judge. Correct me ; but do not abandon me. Cast me not 
away from thy presence, and take not thy Holy Spirit from me." 

Yes, nothing can relieve the gloom of a follower of God, but 
the light of his countenance. Nothing can make melody in his 
troubled conscience, but the sound. Go in peace j thy sins be for- 
given thee. O seek such an assurance of divine favor before the 
evil days come, wherein you will say, we have no pleasure in 
them : If trouble-^nd man is born to it as the sparks fly upward'X 
if trouble-Z^and you are not for a moment secure^should fall 
upon you rrefore you have a good hope, through gra^, that God 
is pacified toward you, your condition will be the most pitiable. 
You must either stupify the mind with the devil's opiates, or 
faint in the day of adversity. 

And let those that have it, preserve and cherish this sense of 
divine favor and acceptance. Beware of grieving the Holy Spirit 
of God. Beware, not only of sin, but of the world. Beware of 
sloth and sleep. Christian slept, and lost his roll out of his bosom. 
And while Saul slept, he was deprived of his spear and his cruse. 
When trouble comes, you should not have to seek what, above all 
things, you want immediately to use. Without his smiles, even in 
prosperity, your comforts ^vill not cheer you — but in adversity, 
without his approbation, how heavily will every stroke fall ! and 
how deeply will every wound be felt ! 

Let me know always that he is near that justifieth me ; that all 
is well with my soul, and for eternity ; that he will support me 



298 DECEMBER 15. 

iindfer my burden ; that though he afflicts me, he loves me— and 
afflicts me because he loves me. And I will sing 

" Trials must and will befall, I *' Love incribed upon them all, 

" But with humble faith to see | " This is liappiness to nie." 



December 15.—" The Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed 
them." — Revelations, vii, 17. 

The Lamb. This is an application given the Lord Jesus, for 
two reasons. The one alluding to his personal qualities ; such as 
purity, innocency, gentleness, meekness, patience : for he was 
led as a lamb to the slaughter. The other, in reference to the 
design of his death. Abel offered to God a firstling of the fiock. 
Familiar with the use of such a victim, Isaac asked, " Where is 
the lamb for a burnt-offering 7" Under the law, a lamb was of- 
fered every morning and every evening ; and on the Sabbath-day, 
two were offered in the morning, and two in the evening. There 
was also the Paschal lamb, whose blood was sprinkled, and whose 
flesh was eaten, at the deliverance of the Jews from the Destroying 
Angel. And " Christ our passover," says Paul, " is sacrificed for 
us." And John cried " Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh 
av/ay the sin oi the world 1" And it is worthy of our observa- 
tion, that the name is applied to him, not only in his abasement, 
but in his exaltation ; and that no less than twenty eight times he 
is called the Lamb, in this Book of the Revelation ! 

— His glory is much spoken of in the Scripture, but never in 
stronger language than here ; " The Lamb which is in the midst 
of the Throne" — a station of dignity, dominion, government, full 
supremacy. Surely, if the sacred writers intended to intimate, 
that he was a mere creature only, they have expressed themselves 
in a manner very unguarded and ensnaring. Well ; there he is 
— not only near the throne, but in it — and in the midst of it, in 
spite of all opposition. Let his enemies tremble, and bewail. 
They may make war with the Lamb, but the Lamb shall over- 
come them; for he is a King of kings, and Lord of lords. But 
let his followers boldly profess him. Why should they be 
ashamed of a leader that is in the midst of the throne ? And why 
do they not rejoice in his salvation? Surely they must, if tliey 
love him, for love always exults in the prosperity of its object. 
Surely every feeling of their heart prompts the desire — 

'• Let him be crown'd with majesty, I " And be his honors sounded high, 

" That bowed his head to death ; I " By all tilings that have breath." 

Well ; there he is, in the possession of all power in heaven and m 
earth, able to save them, to preserve them, to make all things 
work together for their good. 

— And, as is his greatness, so is his condescension and kindness. 
The Lamb that is in the midst of the throne "shall feed them." 
The imagery is pastoral. His people are held forth as sheep ; 
and he performs the ofhce of a shepherd. His concern with 
them begins here. He seeks after them when lost, and brings 
them to his fold, and furnishes them with supplies. They can 
rely on the extensiveness of his care, and the continuance of it j 



DECEMBER 16. 299 

and may individually say, "The Lord is my Shepherd ; I shall not 



" While he affords his aid, 
" I cannot yield to fear : 
" Though I should walk through death's dark shade, 
" My Shepherd's with me there." 



Nor is this all. When they shall come out of great tribulation ; 
and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood 
of the Lamb— when they shall be before the throne, and serve him 
day and night in his temple, then, even then, he shall feed them, 
and not as now, by ministers and ordinances, but immediately — 
not, as now, in the wilderness ; but in the heavenly Canaan— not 
as now, surrounded with enemies ; but where all shall be quiet- 
ness and assurance for ever. The Lamb shall feed them. He 
shall be the dispenser, and source of their happiness. It will flow 
from his presence and communications. Therefore, Paul desired 
to depart, to be with Christ, which was far better. " He that sit- 
teth on the throne shall dwell among- them. They shall hunger no 
more, neitlier thirst anymore ; neither shall the sun light on them, 
nor any heat : for the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne 
shall feed them., and shall lead them unto living fountains of wa 
ters : and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." 

Poor Burns ! This is the representation of heaven, w hich he 
says, he could never read from a child, without tears. Oh ! let me 
not admire the description only, but seek after the enjoyment of 
the blessedness. The language is pathetic, and the scenery is in- 
viting; but is the subject itself more interesting than cither ? I 
must be made meet for the inheritance of the saints in light. I 
cannot hope to attain hereafter what I do not desire and delight 
in now. A natural man may long for a heaven of release from 
toil and pain. Do I, O my soul, prize a heaven of m liich Christ 
is— all in all ! 



December 16.—" And Jonathan, Saul's son, arose, and went to David into 
the wood, and strengthened his hand in God."— 1 Samuel, xxiii, 16. 

We here see, in the experience of David, that the most eminent 
of God's people may need encouragement. He was now dejected 
and dismayed. And we learn from his complaints, in the book of 
Psalms, that he was frequently the subject of depressions. And 
to which of the saints recorded in Scripture can we turn, whose 
hands never hung down, whose knees never trembled ? These, we 
are prone to consider as peculiar in their religious attainments: 
but thej/ also were only enlightened and sanctified in part. Thev 
also had in them nature, as well as grace. Thev too, were men 
of like passions with us, and compassed with infirmities. All those 
perfect beings now before the throne, were previously in a vale of 
tears ; the spirit indeed willing, but the flesh weak ; sometimes re- 
joicing in God their Savior, but sometimes saying, " I am cast out 
of his sight." 

" Once they were mourning liere helow, I " Thev wrestled hard, as we do now, 
" And wet their couch with tears ; | " With sins, and doubts, aud fears." 

In the conduct of Jonathan, we see the duty of real friendship. 



300 DECEMBER 16. 

A friend is born for adversity: and to him that is afflicted, pity- 
should be shown from his friend." This, however, is not always 
the case. Many pretenders fail when the day of trial comes ; and 
he who relied upon their attendance, and sympathy, and succor, 
in trouble, finds his confidence, as Solomon expresses it, " like a 
broken tooth, or a foot out of joint." Yet let us not say in our 
haste, all men are liars. See Jonathan, a young prince — sur- 
rounded with every indulgence — undertaking, without applica- 
tion, to repair to David — to see and serve his friend at the hazard 
of his life. 

— In the relief derived from this visit, we learn the advantage 
of pious intercourse. " Come," said Jonathan, " Come, David, 
remember God's promise. Is it not faithful and true ? Think of 
the anointing oil Samuel poured upon thy head — Can this be in 
vain? Who enabled thee to conquer Goliath? Who delivered 
thee from the paw of the lion and the bear ? He can turn the 
shadow of death into the morning. He saveth, by his right hand, 
them that put their trust in him, from them that rise up against 
them. He keeps them as the apple of the eye — Encourage thy- 
self in the Lord thy God." The address availed — " He strength- 
ened his hand in God." We have a similar instance in the expe- 
rience of Paul. He had appealed unto Caesar, and was now ap- 
proaching the scene of his trial ; and his heart was cast down 
within him — but the brethren from Rome came down as far as 
Appii Forum to meet him ; " whom, when Paul saw, he thanked 
God, and took courage." " Two. are better than one ; because they 
have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, the one will 
lift up his fellow ; but wo to him that is alone when he falleth ; for 
he hath not another to lift him up." Who, when dull, has not 
found a Christian visiter a quickening spirit ? " As iron sharp- 
eneth iron, so doth the countenance of a man his friend." Who, 
in sadness and gloom, has not found refreshment and delight from 
godly communion ? Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart ; so 
doth a man his friend by hearty counsel. Who, like Hagar, has 
not sometimes been ready to expire with thirst, till some minister- 
ing spirit has opened the eyes, and shown him a well ? 

— And who does not perceive, in the strange circumstances of 
this consolation, that God can never be at a loss to comfort his 
followers? He knows, not only how to deliver the godly out ol 
temptation, but to cheer them in it — He is called the God of all 
comfort. David was now in a state of concealment. Of the few 
who were with him, no one perhaps knew the state of his mind ; 
for good men, from their regard for the honor of religion, are not 
always at liberty to lay open many of their distressful feelings. 
But his God knew what he now suffered, and what his frame of 
mind required — And what was the instrument He employed? 
Jonathan, " Saul's son," as it is added ; and wisely added. The 
son of David's bitterest foe. The son, too, that was interested in 
David's destruction. He was the heir-apparent ; and Ive comforts 
the man who was going to fill a throne, which, by the law of suc- 
cession, belonged to himself! How wonderful was this! How 
obviously the work of God ! All hearts are in his hand, and he 



DECEMBER 17. 301 

can turn them as he pleases. It is he that gives us favor in the 
eyes of others ; and he can raise us helpers and friends as un - 
likely to aid us as the ravens were to feed Elijah. Many a situ- 
ation, also, the most improbable, has been made, by his communi- 
cations, none other but the house of God and the gate of heaven ; 
and, filled with surprise, we have exclaimed, with Jacob, " Surely 
God is in this place, and I knew it not !" When are we inaccessi- 
ble to him? "From the end of the earth," says David, "will I 
cry unto thee when my heart is overwhelmed." And no wonder, 
he remembered that Jonathan, Saul's son, arose, and came to him 
into the wood, and strengthened his hand in God. Did he never 
come to you in a similar condition ? " They shall dwell safely in 
the wilderness, and sleep in the woods." " I will allure her, and 
bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. 
And I will give her vineyards from thence ; and the Valley of 
Achor for a door of hope." 



December 17. — " And a certain Scribe came, and said unto hira, Master, I 
will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus saith unto him, I'he 
foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man 
has not where to lay his head." — Matthew, viii, 19, 20. 

The god of this world deludes his followers. He conceals from 
them every difficulty and danger to which they are exposed in his 
service, and raises in them expectations which he knows will ne- 
ver be fulfilled — Like Jael, he welcomes in, and spreads the couch, 
and brings forth butter in a lordly dish — he keeps out of sight the 
hammer and the nails. Take a man, whose object is to gain a 
name, to become a leader, and to draw away disciples after him; 
he courts popularity; he flatters; he employs any means ; and he 
accommodates himself to every disposition, as far as he can, with- 
out risking discovery. But it was far otherwise with the Founder 
of Christianity. His Character was as original as it was excel- 
lent. His kingdom was not of this world. His professed object 
was to instruct, and save, and bless ; and no selfish aim was hid- 
den under it. He showed, in his own person, how little his fol- 
lowers were to mind earthly things; and, in dealing with those 
who came to him, we see that it was not his concern to draw un- 
principled crowds into his train. He would form a peculiar 
people, who should be actuated by the noblest convictions and 
purposes. He therefore, in order to discriminate, applied a test ; 
he warned them to sit down first and count the cost; and assured 
them at once, that if any man would be his disciple, he must deny 
himself, and take up his cross, and forsake all that he had. 

— Our Lord now "saw great multitudes about him," so that " he 
gave commandment to depart unto the other side." But as, in 
the midst of all these, he was stepping toward the ship, "a cer- 
tain Scribe came, and said unto him. Master, I will follow thee 
whithersoever thou goest." A noble resolution, if it had been 
made from a good motive. But he apprehended our Savior to be 
a temporal Messiah, who, as he appeared able, from his miracle, to 
carry every thing before him, would soon have promotions at his 
disposal ; and he hoped to gain some of the loaves and fishes. Our 



302 DECEMBER 17. 

Lord well knew his thoughts, and said unto hirr.. " The foxes have 
holes, and the birds of the air have nests ; but the Son of man hath 
not where to lay his head" — What say you now ? It is easy to 
determine what would have been his reply, if he had been sin- 
cere and earnest in his application. " O Lord, I come, not to pre- 
scribe, but to resign myself entirely to thee. Every thing appears 
to me less than nothing and vanity, compared with the salvation of 
my soul ; and if, by any means, I can attain it, I shall be satisfied. 
Whatever — dear and useful as i have deemed it, I cannot retain 
in following thee, I cheerfally give up. All I fear is, separation 
from thyself — Entreat me not to leave thee, nor to return from 
following after thee — Lord I will follow thee to prison and to 
death." But alas ! his mean and mercenary temper was now de- 
tected, and we hear no more of him — he left him, having loved 
this present world. 

But the narrative is recorded for our admonition ; and the fact 
which,, by Avay of trial, our Savior addressed to this pretender, is 
worthy of our attention. It is very affecting and instructive — It 
is the indigence of Jesus, appearing in the homelessness of his con- 
dition. This, as a part, is put for the whole of his abasement ; and 
it is held forth, enhanced, by contrast. The inferior creatures 
have dwellings, convenient for them, in which they secure them- 
selves, and enjoy repose, and breed up their young. Some of 
these, man takes, as inmates, under his own roof; such are the 
faithful dog, and the feathered songster in the cage. He furnishes, 
also, shelter, as well as provender, for his cattle. But animals 
that live at large, have also accommodations suited to their kinds. 
" Foxes have holes." " The young lions gather themselves to- 
gether, and lay them down in their dens." " The high hills are a 
refuge for the goats, and the rocks for the conies." " The spider 
taketh hold with her hand, and is in kings' palaces." " The birds 
of the air have nests." " The eagle mounts up," and, in rocks in- 
accessible, "makethher nest on high." "As for the stork, the 
fir-trees are her house." Some build on the ground; some in 
dense thickets ; some in boughs depending over the flood ; some 
in isles, secured by water. Some repair to the habitations of men ; 
there the sparrow finds a house, and the swallow a nest for her- 
self, where she may lay her young. And who, in all this, can 
help admiring the wisdom and kindness of Providence? His 
tender mercies are over all his works. As he made all, so he 
careth for them. He giveth their meat in due season. He fur- 
nishes them with their powers of defence, or flight ; and actuates 
the skill they display in all their surprising economies. And will 
he disregard his rational offspring ? He teacheth them more than 
the beasts of the earth, and maketh them wiser than the fowls of 
the air. There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Al- 
mighty giveth him understanding. How superior is reason to 
instinct! How boundless in improvement is human ingenuity ! 
What abodes has it provided for us ! And with what conveniences, 
comforts, pleasures, has it replenished them ! From hence, springs 
the idea of home. We cleave to a place where we received our 
birth, passed the days of infancy, indulged in the sports cSf youth , 



DECEMBER 18. 303 

where sleep has refreshed our wearied bodies ; and where we have 
smiled at the descending storm, and the piercing cold. 

" Home is 

" Thelov'd retreat of peace and plenty; where 
" Supporting and supported, polished friends, 
" And dear relations meet, and mingle into bliss." 

Well may the same poet represent the man returning at eve, 
buried in the drifted snow, " Strong with thoughts of home." 

A homeless condition, therefore, is the most pitiable. And was 
this the condition of the Lord Jesus ? Not absolutely. During his 
private life he lived with Joseph and Mary at Nazareth. And after 
he entered on his public ministry he had friends, who, like Martha, 
gladly afforded him the accommodations of their own dwellings. 
But these advantages were occasional, and were of the nature of 
hospitality. He never possessed a habitation or an apartment he 
could call his own. lie was born in another man's house, and 
this was a stable, and he was laid in a manger. How often, when 
my children were about me, have I said, while viewing my sleep- 
ing babe : 

" How much better tlmu art attended 1 •" Soft and easy is thy cradle- 

" Than the Son of God could be, 1 " Coarse and iiard the Sa\ior lay, 

" When from heaven he descended, I " When his birth-place was a stable 

" Ana became a child like thee ! 1 " And his sottest bed was hay . 

How soon was he driven an infant exile into Egypt ! Widows 
ministered to him of their substance. Wearied with his journey, 
he ''at on the well, and said to the woman, Give me to drink. A 
fish furnished him with money to pay the temple tribute. One 
night he slept in a fishing boat. Another he continued all night 
in prayer in a mountain. We read only once of his riding— 
though he went about doing good ; and this was upon a borrowed 
ass and a colt, the foal of an ass. He partook of the last passover 
in a borrowed chamber ; and he was wrapped in linen, not his 
own, when taken down from the Cross, and was buried m ano- 
ther man's garden, and another man's tomb ! What does all this 
teach us ? ^^ 

Deceaiber 18.—" And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the 
birds of the air have nests ; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his 
head."— Matthew, viii, 20. 

The fact is affecting : but is it not instructive too ? 

—We ir.ay take from it a standard by which to judge of the 
acre and country in which he appeared. Nothing reflects more 
upon a people than suffering characters, distinguished by tlie 
greatest goodness and usefulness, to want. It will always be a 
reproach to the Corinthian converts, that they allowed such a 
man as Paul, while preaching and working miracles among them, 
to work night and day at tent making ; but we love and commend 
the Philippians, who, once and again, when he was in Thessa- 
lonica sent to his necessity. Surely we should have said, men 
will reverence God's Son. At his coming nobles and princes will 
offer their mansions and palaces. What preparations are made to 
receive a superior! Yet the honor of the visit is deemed a recom- 
pense for the trouble and expense. But he was in the world, and 
Vol. H. 25 



3(H DECEMBER 18. 

the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He 
came to his own, and his own received him not. What is man ? 
Let Judea furnish an answer. See the Lord of. ail, the friend of 
misery, possessed of every moral perfection, the image of the 
invisible God, yet not having " where to lay his head ! !" But is 
human nature the same now? Some censure others, and think 
well of themselves, merely because they have not been tried by 
the same circumstances, which w^ould equally have displayed their 
own depravity. '•' Oh ! had we been then living there he should 
not have been destitute of any accommodation we could have 
yielded him." Yet you follow the multitude, and the reproach of 
a name will keep you from owning his truth, and you are back- 
ward in giving in the support of his cause. But, by the disposi- 
tion which you exercise toward his gospel, and house, and minis- 
ters, and members, he judges of his attachment or indifference to 
himself; He that receiveth you, receiveth me — Inasmuch as ye 
did it not to one of the least of these my brethren, ye did it not to 
me — Depart. 

— Pause, and admire the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, how 
that though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor, that 
we through his poverty might be rich. Do not imagine that he 
did not feel his condition. He was really a partaker of flesh and 
blood, and knew the sensations of hunger, and weariness, and 
cold, as well as any other man. But the conveniences and com 
forts which he required, he often found not. Think of his preach- 
ing and traveling all the live-long day, and at night not having 
where to lay liis head ! The sensibility of his condition ^^'as en- 
hanced by his former state of dignity and enjoyment. We are, 
therefore, more affected when we see a prince reduced, than when 
we behold an individual suffering who was always indigent. Jesus 
was higher than the kings of tlie earth, and had given them all 
their thrones. Heaven had been his dwelling place, and all the 
angels his attendants, and adorers too. What condescension was 
here ! Let us remember that he made himself of no reputation, 
and took upon him the form of a servant. There was no com- 
pulsion — it was all voluntary. And not for himself, but for us. 
And did we deserve such an interposition, such an expensiveness 
of sacrifice for our comfort ? We were viler than the earth — we 
were enemies by wicked works. Yet he never repented of his 
engagement ; but said, as he was entering all this abasement, Lo ! 
I come! I delight to do thy will ! And as his agony approached, 
he said, " I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I 
straitened till it be accomplished !" It was, therefore, as the apos- 
tle calls it, grace — grace the most free and unparalleled. And 
shall not this love, which passeth knowledge, fix our minds, and 
fill our hearts? Where is our gratitude, unless we are willing to 
deny ourselves for hmi, and to walk worthy of such a divine 
Benefactor unto all well-pleasing? The lower he descended to 
save me, the higher shall he rise in my esteem for ever. He is 
always, and altogether lovely, but never so adorable as when his 
face is marred more than any man's j and he has not where to 
lay his head 



DECEMBER 19. 30t) 

— Let us also learn not to judge of worth by external advan- 
tages. True greatness is personal, and does not depend on power, 
titles, or wealth. Is a man the more valued of God, because he 
has a larger fieFd, or a longer purse than his neighbor '? Does it 
give him more virtue, or understanding ? A fool, a child of the 
devil, may be set on the high places of the earih ; while the 
apostles were hungry and naked, and the Son of God had not 
where to lay his head. AVhile we view him who is higher than 
the heavens in such an estate, let us learn the vanity of worldly 
distinctions. Let us see how foolish it is to pride ourselves in a 
fine house, and splendid furniture, or any of the meanness of the 
pride of life. Let us despise ourselves, if we have esteemed a 
man the more for the gold ring and gay clothing, or regarded the 
poor the less, because he is poor; and remember, that if we had 
lived in Judea we should have courted Pontius Pilate, and shun- 
ned Jesus Christ, who had not where to lay his head. 

— Let the Lord's poor take this truth, and apply it, to produce 
resignation under the privations of life. You talk of penury, but 
he was poor. You have many a comfort you can call your own, 
but he had not a place where to lay his head. But allowing that 
your trials were much greater than they are ; remember, this is 
not your rest, and you are rich in faith, and have the honor of 
conformity to the Lord Jesus. You only know the fellowship of 
his sufferings. Is it not enough that the servant be as his Master, 
and the disciple as his Lord ? Can the common soldier complain, 
when he sees the commander-in-chief sharing the same hardships 
with himself? 

— Let it lead us to rejoice in the Savior's present condition. He 
that descended, is the same also that ascended. He who was 
crowned with thorns, is crowned with glory and honor. He who 
had not where to lay his head, has all power in heaven and in 
earth. How delightful is this assurance to those who love him ! 
for love glories in the exaltation of its object. It is also interest- 
ing to their hopes. They are one with him. And because he 
lives, they shall live also. 



December 19. — " I will make mention of Raliab and Babylon to them 
that know me : behold Fhillstia, and Tyre, and Ethiopia : this man was born 
there. And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her." 
Psalm Ixxxvii, 4,5. 

The Jews, partly from their ignorance, and partly from their 
aversion to Christianity, strangely pervert this passage, contend- 
ing that it is designed to intimate, that while other places would 
produce only now and then a man of note, Jerusalem should 
abound with all kinds of illustrious characters. But the meaning 
is this. Zion, in whose name the writer speaks, is foretelling the 
vocation of the Gentiles, and viewing with ecstacy the accessions 
that should be made to her of such as should be saved. 

Observe to whom she addresses the intelligence : " I will make 
mention to them that know ?7?e." That is, to her friends and ac- 
quaintances. To such it is natural for us to divulge any thing 
that is interesting and delightful ; as the^ are likely to receive it 



306 DECEMBER 19. 

wilhoiit envy, and to partake of the pleasure. In tlie parable 
the shepherd, having succeeded in his search, not only rejoices 
himself, but when he cometh home, calls together his neighbors 
and friends, saying unto them, Rejoice with me, for I have found 
my sheep which was lost. The Church well knew the mind of 
the godly^ that they would understand such news, and that it 
would be to them like cold water to a thirsty soul, or as life from 
the dead. Thus, in the Acts, when the brethren were informed 
of the extension of the gospel to the Gentiles, " they glorified 
God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles gran{ed repcn- 
tanr e unto life." 

Observe the places from which these additions should come. 
" I will make mention to them that know me, of JRahab and ^o- 
bi/lon; behold Philisiia, and Tyre^ with Ethicpia.^^ These are 
parts put for the whole of the Gentile world -, and they are very 
strikingly put. For all these had been strangers or enemies. 
Some of them had been her bitterest persecutors, and vilest op- 
pressors. They were all this time lying in wickedness, enveloped 
in ignorance, and enslaved to idolatry. Eut they should cast 
away their idols ; and beholding theglory of the Church, abandon 
their enmity, and take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, say- 
ing. We will go with you, for we hnxe heard that God is v.ith 
you. " One shall say, I am the Lord's ; and another shall call 
himself by the name of Jacob; and anotiier shall subscribe with 
his hand unto the Lord, and surname himself by the name of 
Israel." 

— Mark the change they should experience. ''Tliis man was 
horn there. And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man v/as 
born there?'' They were born, naturally, in Eg3'pt, Philistia, 
Tyre, and Babylon : but they were to be born, morally, in Zion, 
by the Word and Spirit of God. They should become new 
creatures. They should undergo such a conversion in their 
minds, and hearts, and lives, as should constitute a new birth. 
For every subject of Divine grace is " born again." And this is 
properly the date of our existence. W^e have not lived a moment 
longer than we have lived " the life of God." " Ye must be born 
again." 

By this, therefore, we are to judge whether we are children of 
Zion, and may rejoice in her King. If we have experienced this 
change, we are written among the living in Jerusalem. We are 
enrolled : and though once aliens from the commonwealth of Is- 
rael, we shall be regarded as citizens, and have all the honor and 
advantage of natives : "The Lord shall count, when he writeth 
up the people, that this man was horn tliere." 

It was formerly deemed a most enviable privilege to be free of som.e 
royal and distinguished city. But what was a citizen of Babylon, 
or of Rome, compared with a denizen of Mount Zion, the city of 
the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem ? Yea, were you an apos- 
tle officially considered only; could you prophesy, and work mi- 
racles, and raise the dead ; and the Savior met you, elated with 
your endowments, he would say, " In these things rejoice not, 
but rather rejoice that your names are written in heaven." 



DECEMBER 20, 307 

December 20.—" What thiuk ye, that he will not come to the feast?"— 
John, xi, 56. 

This was the language of many of the Jews who had ascended 
from the country to Jerusalem, to purify themselves against the 
passover. It is not easy, or perhaps possible, to determine the 
principle from Avhich the words were uttered. Perhaps malice 
uttered them : and they came from persons who wished to disco- 
ver and apprehend him ; for " both the Chief Priests and the 
Pharisees had given a commandment, that if any man knew 
where he were, he shouid show it, that they might take him." 
Perhaps curiosity uttered them ; and they came from persons 
who were anxious to see whether he had courage enough to ap- 
pear in public after the threatening of the rulers. Besides this, 
he was a very extraordinary character, the fame of whose mira- 
cles and preaching had spread far and wide ; and they naturally 
desired to see a personage of whom they had heard so much. 
Perhaps affection uttered them. For, though he was generally 
despised and rejected of men, there were some who knew his 
value, and believed him to be the only begotten of the Father, 
full of grace and truth. They therefore longed for the pleasure, 
and honor, and advantage of an interview with him at the ap- 
proaching solemnity. And this is the principle from which, if 
partakers of divine grace, we are seeking for Jesus. " For Christ 
our passover," says the apostle, " is sacrificed for us. Let us there- 
fore keep the feast" And it is in reference to the communion 
of his body and blood, to wliich we are going to repair, that we 
issue the inquiry, " What think ye, that he will not come to the 
feast ?" 

This is above every thing desirable. Ordinances are not bene- 
ficial, necessarily and of themselves. They derive all their ex- 
cellency and influence from Him : a truth we learn, not only 
from Scripture, but experience. What a difference, as to light, 
and life, and joy, do we feel in the same ordinance — when he is 
absent cr present ! This is nothing to the formalist. He is satisfied 
with the outward signs and the service itself. But as to the 
Cliristian, intercourse with Christ is the one thing needful. He 
feels it pleasing to hold communion with the saints : but what he 
principally wants is fellowship with the Savior. He alone can 
fill them all: and without him, they would have nothing for each 
other, or for themselves. 

But the inquiry implies doubt. Doubt has two aspects and 
bearings — the unlikely and the probable — the one exciting fear, 
and the other encouraging hope. Let us look at each. 

— What is there, then, to awaken our supicio.i and fear that he 
will not be at the feast ? And is there not much every way ? 
Without going back to our unconverted days, how have we lived 
since we have made a profession of his name ? Have we walked 
as those who are not of the world? Have we borne his correc- 
tions without murmuring? Have we Inas been grateful under his 
mercies ? Has he lived in our warmest thoughts ? Has he been the 
chief theme of our conversation ? Have we not frequently been 



308 DECEMBER 21. 

ashamed of Jus cause ? Have we recommended him earnestly to 
others ? After all this, how can we expect that he will honor us 
with his company ? Should we thus honor any fellow creature, 
who has treated us as we have treated him ? But the cause of 
alarm is increased, when we consider, not only our conduct at 
large, hut our behavior toward him, with regard to this very feast 
itself? Have we not suffered trifling excuses to keep us away, 
when he has been there waiting for us, but waiting in vain ? Have 
we not approached it with the indifference of custom and forma- 
lityj thougli angels were there intensely desiring to look into these 
things ? Have we not passed through the divine memorials, mysti- 
cally eating the flesh, and drinking the blood of the Son of God, 
with the exercise of no more faith in his death, or love to our 
brethren, than in an ordinary meal? We need not go on. O 
blessed Jesus! when we consider all this, and this onli/, we may 
well question whether thou wilt — ever meet with us again. 

But let us look at the other side. Let us see, not only what there 
is to excite fear, but to encourage hope. Now to induce us to con- 
clude that he will be at the feast. We have his character, his dis- 
position — " His heart is made of tenderness; his bowels melt with 
love" — "A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall 
he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory." W^e 
have his past dealings with us. He has tried us, but not forsaken 
us. We have been often cast down, but never cast off. We have 
his promise. " Where two or three are gathered together in my 
name, there am I in the midst of them." In a word, we are sure 
of the blessing, if we seek it, " Whatsoever ye shall ask in my 
name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." 
But is it possible to ascertain when he is with us at the feast ? It is. 
As he is not there corporeally, we cannot apprehend him with our 
bodily senses. But, as he is there spiritually, we may apprehend him 
spiritually. They who are new creatures, have new senses, which 
are exercised to discern both good and evil. They have ears to 
hear his voice ; and eyes to see his glory. They have a holy taste, 
and holy feehngs. Thus his people can be sensible of his arrival. 
Indeed, he sai/s, "I am come." He is not inactive when there. 
" While the King sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth 
the smell ihereof." 

" And faith, and love, and joy, appear ; | " And every grace is active here." 

There are impressions and effects which cannot be mistaken, 
owing to their holy, humbling, heavenly influence. The assur- 
ance he has of communion with the Lord in his ordinances, is not 
evidence for others; but to the believer himself it affords satisfac- 
tion ; and he is neither to be ridiculed or reasoned out of the con 
viction. He has the witness in himself. 



December 21. — "Show me wherefore thou contendest with mc."— Job, 
X, 2. 

— A GOOD man perceives, and acknowledges the hand of God 
in his afflictions. Job sees God contending with him. Though 
his sufferings were principally from creatures, he said, " The 



- DECEMBER 21. • 309 

Lord hath taken away." " Thou hast taken me by my neck, and 
shaken me to pieces." Whatever may form the twigs of the rod, 
God is the chastiser, He has a right to correct, and can never err 
in using it. To reahze this is the way, not only to prevent de- 
spondency, but to repress ail murmuring passions. This satisfied 
Eli: "It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him good." " Oh!" 
says the gardener, as he passes down the walks, and priding him- 
self on the beds and borders which he has so carefully cultivated, 
"who removed that plant? who gathered this flower?" His fellow - 
servant says, " The master," and he is dumb, and opens not his 
mouth, because he did it. 

— Again — God has an end to answer by his contention with us. 
It is not the display of his sovereignty. There is a distinction be- 
tween bestowing favors, and inflicting penalties. If a judge con- 
demned a man to show that he. teas a judge, or a king imprisoned 
a man to show that he was a king, every one would cry out against 
them; but they would be more than justified in employing such 
measures for the display of justice, and for the advantage of en- 
sample. Paul conveys a degree of censure where we should have 
looked only for tenderness. The fathers of our flesh chastened 
us for a few days after their own pleasure. But God, says he, al- 
ways does it for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holi- 
ness. Why is the ship in danger ? Because Jonah has fled from 
the presence of the Lord ; and the wind is sent after him. Why 
does Israel flee before the men of Ai ? There is an Achan in the 
camp. Thus God explains the thing himself: "Behold, the 
Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save ; neither his ear 
heavy, that it cannot hear ; but your iniquities have separated be- 
tween you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from 
3^ou, that he will not hear." He therefore does not afllict -willingly, 
nor grieve the children of men. There is some sin indulged, some 
duty neglected, some idol adored. But his aim may be, not only 
to rebuke for actual evil, but to hedge up our way with thorns, to 
keep us from forbidden ground, toward which we were advancing, 
or to prune us, as vines, that we may bring forth more fruit. 

— God alone can discover his own intention in his rebukes. But 
m doing this, we are not to suppose that he will employ miracles : 
or speak in an audible voice from heaven, or by a sudden impulse. 
He acts in a way suited to the nature and improvement of a ra- 
tional and moral being. He may, therefore, in showing us, use 
even an enemy. WTien Shimei cursed him, David considered him 
as much sent of God to reprove him, as Nathan had been. The 
will of God may be made known by the admonitions of a pious 
friend, who sees what we overlook, from habit, or self-love. We 
should therefore be thankful when the righteous smite us, and not 
deem them enemies because they tell us the truth. Sometimes 
the nature and circumstances of the aflSiction itself proclaim the 
secret; and we can read the cause in the effect, the sin in the pun- 
isnment. The faithful word, read or preached, comes home to our 
case ; and conscience cries. Thou art the man. Sometimes the 
difficulty of discovery is great. But if v/e address ourselves to the 
Father of lights, sincerely and importunately, to show us where- 



310 DECEMBER 22. 

fore he contendeth with us, we shall not seek him in vain; but the 
promise given to Jeremiah shall be fulfilled in us : " Call unto me, 
and I will answer thee, and sliow thee great and mighty things 
which thou knowest not." 

— And very desirable it is that we should know why He con- 
tendeth with us. Indeed a good man cannot be satisfied without 
it. For while the wicked are only anxious to escape from trouble, 
he wishes to profit by it. He desires this knowledge, therefore, 
not to gratify curiosity, but to enable him to justify God in his 
dispensation, and to know how to pray, and to exercise the graces 
of the condition he is in, and to apply to present duty ; and that 
he may confess whatever is wrong, and watch against it in 
future, saying, " Surely it i? meet to be said unto God, I have 
borne chastisement, I will not offend any more. That which I see 
not teach thou me : if I have done iniquity, I will do no more." 
For there is a tenderness in the conscience of a renewed man 
that readily responds to God. No sooner did our Lord turn and 
look upon Peter, than he went out and wept bitterly. 

As for an unconverted man to ask God, in his aflfliction to show 
wherefore he contends with him, it is absurd, and would defeat 
the end of his suffering, which is not to make him leave a par- 
ticular sin, but ail sin, and to draw him into a new course, and a 
new state. 

But, perhaps, though living in sin, you say, God is not con- 
tending with you. So much the worse. He is saying, " They 
are joined to idols, let them alone." Though he spares you now, 
he will deal with you hereafter. And the longer the arrear, the 
severer the reckoning. '• And if the righteous scarcely be saved, 
where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear !" 



December 22.— "And call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, 
honorable." — Isaiah, Iviii, 13. 

This is to characterize the heirs of an exceeding great and pre- 
cious promise here subjoined. They are to be known, not by 
their observance of the Lord's day only, but by their endeared 
and exalted regard for it. They call the Sabbath a delight, and 
the holy of the Lord, honorable. And what reason they have 
for all this will appear from its leading aspects and bearings. 

Let us connect it with the brute creation. Any thing that tends 
to make them happier, will be pleasing to a benevolent mind , 
especially since we knoM^ that the whole creation groaneth and 
travaileth in pain, and was made subject to vanity, not willingly, 
but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope. 
Though man is lord of this lower world, and all creatures are 
put under his dominion, he is not to oppress and enslave them. 
If his power over them be abused, and his tender mercies toward 
them be cruel, God will resent it ; these helpless beings are his 
creatures, and his care. I love to hear him telling the fretful pro- 
phet, as a reason why he spared Nineveh, that there were in it, 
not only " more than threescore and six thousand persons that 
could not discern between their right hand and their left," bui 



DECEMBER 22. 311 

" also miicli cattle." I love to hear him forbiddinfr the Jewish 
husbandmen to muzzle the ox while treading out the corn. I love 
to read the tenderness of the fourth commandment, " That thine 
ox and thine ass may rest as well as thou." If the brutes had 
reason, they would bless God for the Sabbath. 

We may view the Sabbath in reference to the business of life. 
In the sweat of thy brow thou shalt eat bread, till thou return to 
the dust ? was the sentence passed upon man for sin ; but, in judg- 
ment, God remembers mercy. Who could bear the incessant ap- 
plication and toil ? Some change is obviously wanting, to unbend 
the mind and the body. And man goes forth to his work and to 
his labor until the evening, when he returns home, and retires to 
rest, and his sleep is sweet, whether he eats little or much. But 
this is not all. The Sabbath furnishes a fixed pause, a needful re- 
laxation. Those who are in easy circumstances, and, like the 
lilies of the field, toil not, neither do they spin, feel little interest 
in the S?vbbath, on this account. But let them think of thousands 
of their fellow creatures. Let them think of those who, by men- 
tal pursuits and professional engagements, get their bread by the 
sweat of the brain. Let them think of those that sit at the loom, 
stand at the forge, work in the field, drudge under ground. What 
a relief, what a privilege, is one day in seven, felt by them ! How 
dull would be the monotony of their time, without the break and 
variety of the Sabbath ! What a drag would their life be, if they 
were to carry their loads unloosened even to the grave ! But the 
day of repose returns — the worn laborer lays down his burden, 
stretches his limbs, refreshes himself by cleanliness and change 
of raiment ; and after six days, during which time he is almost 
reduced to the brute, on the seventh he feels himself to be a man. 
And O ye rigid, if not sanctimonious souls, envy not the sons and 
daughters of drudgery and confinement a little of the fresh air of 
heaven, which you, perhaps, can always breathe ! nor be too 
severe with those who only once a week can look forth, and 
glance on the beauties of nature 5 the works, too, of Ilim who 
ordained the Sabbath ! 

This day also contributes to the harmony of families. The mem- 
bers may be much divided and dispersed through the week, and 
have few or slender opportunities of social intercourse. But the 
Sabbath brings them more fully together, and produces and che- 
rishes those feelings which endear and unite them relatively, and 
dispose them, by love, to serve one another. Persons and families 
are, especially among the common people, always unkind, and 
rude, and savage, both in their temper and manners, where the 
Sabbath is neglected. But they are respectful, and humane, and 
tender, where it is observed ; because they see each other to ad- 
vantage, and mingle under moral and religious im.pressions, which, 
though not always powerful enough to sanctify, contribute to 
soften and civihze. 

The Sabbath is also a period of devotion and reflection. If we 
are godly, we shall not go through the week without God. Some 
pious thoughts and feelings will blend Avith our busy concerns. 
But week days are, in a sense, worldly ones, and even our allowed 

25* 



312 DECExMBER 22. 

contact with earthly things tends to impair our heavenly impres- 
sions, and to make us forgetful of our highest good. We want a day 
of retreat from this world, that we may think of another, and have 
opportunities to compare the claims of the objects that court our 
hearts. We want a day of silence from the passions, to consider 
more deeply the principles and motives of religion ; and. to have 
excited, and carried upward, those affections which cleave unto 
the dust. To a man concerned, to advance in the divine life, how 
welcome is the return of a day, all for his soul and eternity! in 
which, by waiting on the Lord, his strength is renewed, his heart 
is enlarged, and he obtains fresh preparations to meet the tempta- 
tions, the duties, and the troubles of life. 

Again : without the aid of sach a day, hoAv would even the face 
of religion be maintained in the community at large ? We may 
learn from an enemy. When the French wished to destroy every 
thing like Christianity, they were wise enough to know how much 
the Sabbath stood in their way ; and therefore abolished it, and es- 
tablished their decades. Let any one imagine the Lord's day 
given up for ten years in our own country. The effect would be 
a thousand times more injurious to the interests of piety and mo- 
rality, than all the writings and attempts of infidelity. Let this 
fence of every thing sacred and useful be broken down, and what 
an inundation of ignorance and vice of every kind would over- 
spread the land ? It is in the services of this day, the rich and the 
great are reminded of their accountableness ; their dependence on 
God, and their being only on a level with those below them, in 
their origin and end. This they are too prone to forget : but once 
in the week, the master is a servant; the king, a subject; the 
judge, a criminal, crying for mercy. And as to the poor and 
working classes, how httle time have they for religious exercises 
but the Sabbath ! It is then, principally, the Bible is taken down 
from the shelf; and the child, placed between the knees is heard 
to read it. Then the children of our Sunday schools cry Hosannas 
in our temples. Then the family goes to the house, of God in 
company. Then the poor have the Gospel preached unto them, 
and the common people (unless the preacher mispersonates him) 
again hear the Savior gladly. How, without these auxiliaries, 
would a sense of the divine presence, and the moral providence 
of God, and of a future state, be kept alive on the minds of the 
multitude ? Is not all the knowledge of religion thousands pos- 
sess, derived from what they read and hear on the Sunday ? 

And how impressive and interesting is the Sabbath, as the 
chief period of divine operations ! How distinguished will it be 
in the annals of eternity ! How many thousands, how many 
millions, on this day have been awakened, enlightened, and con- 
verted, made new creatures ! What triumphs has the cross gained 
over the powers of darkness ! What noble schemes and enter- 
prises, for the glory of Ood, and the welfare of mankind, have 
t&ken their rise, from some impression in the closet, or excitement 
in the church, on this accepted time, this day of salvation ! 

Nor is it less delightful and honorable, as an emblem of heaven, 
and a preparation for it. Philip Henry would often say, at the 



DECEMBER 23. 31^ 

close of his sabbatli devotions, Well, if this be not heaven, it must 
be the way to it. Yes ; it is then Christians often feel themselves, 
like Jacob in his vision, at the gate. They have earnests and 
foretastes of the glory to be revealed. Perhaps they are never so 
willing as then, to go. Many of them have wished to be released 
on thil day: and some have been gratified. But if they do not 
leave on the earthly sabbath, they enter on the heavenly one. 
For there remaineth a rest, a sabbatising, as the word is, to the 
people of God. And what an exchange, for the better ! Here we 
woi-ship with a few ; and these like ourselves are imperfect. Here 
we groan, being burdened ; and if we are not weary ol our divine 
work we are soon wearied in it. And when satisfied with favor 
and filled with the blessing of the Lord, we can say, 

"My willing soul would stay, \ " In such a frame as this ;" 

the world calls us down, and leads us out into its cares, and griefs, 
and dangers, again. Oh ! why do we not sing— 



<' Thy early Sabbaths, Lord we love , 
" Bui there's a nobler rest above : 
" To that our lab'ring souls aspire 
" With ardent pangs and strong desire. 

" No more fatigue, no more distress, 

*' Nor sin, nor hell, shall reach the place; 



-' No groans to mingle with the songs 
" That warble from immortal tongues. 

" O long expected day be^in ; 
«' Dawn on these realms ot wo and sin 
" Fain would we leave this weary load, 
" And sleep in death, to rest with God!" 



Df.cember 23.—" As well the singers as the players on instruments shall b« 
there; all my springs are in thee."— Psalms Ixxxvii,?. 

This is spoken of Zion ; and shoAVS us the joy, and the attach- 
ment, of her inhabitants. 

The joy is expressed in language according with the forms ot 
service in the Jewish worship. They had, in addition to the 
praises of individuals and families, orders of men, established ex- 
pressly for the performance of psalmody in the Temple : some 
vocal, and some instrumental—" As well the singers as tlie players 
on instruments shall be there." The meaning is— that Zion, 
which the world considers the metropolis of sadness and gloom, 
should be the residence of cheerfulness and mirth; or, in other 
words, that the church of God should abound with spiritual joy 
and gladness. This joy may be considered two ways. First, as 
promised: and so it is to be viewed as a privilege ; and we are to 
look after it in the history and experience of his people. And if 
we turn, and this is the fairest way, to those whom God has him- 
self described in his word, we shall find them distinguished by 
nothing more than this experience. They walked in the comfort 
of the Holy Ghost. Though they had losses and afflictions, yet, 
believing, they rejoiced with joy unspeakable and full of glory, 
Secondly, as commanded. Thus they are enjoined to shout aloud 
for joy, to rejoice in the Lord always, to be fiUed with the Spirit, 
speaking to themselves in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs, 
singing°and making melody in their hearts to the Lord. And 
thu's it°becomes a duty : and, as such we are bound to seek and to 
preserve it— to study the grounds of it— to guard against every 
thing tliat would invade and injure it— to endeavor, by all means, 
to increase our joy in the Lord— and never refuse to be comforted. 



314 DECEMBER 23. 

All must be singers and players on instruments here. All cannot 
perform equally well ; but all must do something — and pray and 
strive to show that the religion of Christ is able to make its pos- 
sessors happy ; that it can set their roving hearts at rest ; that it 
can enable tliem to dispense with the dissipations of the world ; 
that it can sustain them under the trials of hfe, and raise them 
above the fears of death — and thus adorn the doctrine of God 
their Savior in all things. 

But here is attachment, as well as joy — "All my springs are in 
thee." No affection was ever more sincere than that which tl e 
pious Jews bore to their native land. Jerusalem was the source 
of their hope and glory ; the circle and the centre of all the en- 
dearments of life. They breathed out their very soul when they 
said, " Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy pa- 
laces." They deemed nothing too dear to be parted with, for its 
ornament or defence. In its welfare, they forgot their personal 
and relative sorrows ; and when it was taken and destroyed, they 
abandoned themselves to grief, hung up their harps upon the wil- 
lows, and felt life a burden. Even in its reduced state, they "took 
pleasure in her stones, and favored the dust thereof" — Each of 
them sighing, " If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand 
forget her cunning ; let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, 
if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy." And is there 
less intenseness of regard in Christians, toward Jerusalem, which 
is above, and free, and the mother of us all? No — all their 
springs are there — All that refreshes me — can each of them say ; 
all that revives, all that enlivens, all that inspires, " all my springs 
are in thee." 

Where are all the springs of a worldly man? In the world. To 
all his interests there he is alive; his heart is glad when his corn 
and wine increase; and his joy fails with them. His losses are 
the taking away of his gods — and what has he more ? But what 
is the experience of the Christian ? In the word of God, and the 
ordinances of his house, and communion with his people, and the 
consolations of his Spirit— here it is, says he, I find my Heaven ! 
If this cannot touch and animate him, nothing for the time can. 
On the other hand, this can make him joyful, even in tribulation. 
This seems to indemnify him under every earthly disappointment. 
What is it, says he, that my schemes fail, if His flourish ? Yea, in 
spiritual darkness ; and when he is ready to conclude that he has 
no part or lot in the matter, and that his heart cannot be right in 
the sight of God, his countenance is illumined, and the tear of joy 
starts into his eye, when he hears that the word of the Lord hath 
free course and is glorified ; that sinners are fleeing to the Savior, 
as doves to their windows ; that the order to Zion is issued. En- 
large the place of thy tent, lengthen her cords, strengthen her 
stakes. In this, says he, I rejoice ; yea, and will rejoice. And so, 
when there are apostacies anid backslidings, and professors cause 
the way of truth to be evil spoken of, he is " sorrowful for the 
solemn assembly, and the reproach of it is his burden." And his 
fear, as well as his hope, and his grief as well as his pleasure, show 
where the attraction of his heart lies. And if any thing is to be 



DECEMBER 24. 315 

done for Zion, he feels a courage that is not natural to him. His 
tongue is as the pen of a ready writer. His hand gets unawares 
into his pocket; and to his power, yea, and beyond his power, 
he is willing to communicate; and his zeal, as well as all his 
other feelings, justify his saying, "All my springs are in thee." 



December 24. — "Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the 
dayspring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them tliat sit in dark 
ness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet in the way of peace." — 
Luke, i, 78, 79. 

"Well," said David, " what is man, that thou art mindful of 
him ; and the son of man, that thou visitest him ?" He does this 
in a thousand ways ; and each of us may acknowledge, with Job 
" Thou hast granted me life and favor, and thy visitation hath 
preserved my spirit." But what a visit is here! Twice does 
Zacharias, under different allusions, expressly mention it in his 
thanksgiving song. "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he 
hath visited and redeemed his people, and hath raised up a horn of 
salvation for us in the house of his servant David." "Through 
the tender mercy of our God, whereby the dayspring from on high 
hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the 
shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." 

Observe the image under which he views the coming of the Sa- 
vior — "The dayspring from on high." The springing of the day 
is produced, and only can be produced, by the rising of the sun. 
There is only one sun in nature, and there is only one Sun in grace ; 
and to them that fear my name, said God, by the prophet Malachi, 
shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings. 

— See the state in which he finds us — " Sitting in darkness and 
the shadow of death." Darkness is ignorance, Some ignorance 
is of little importance; but here we are destroyed for lack of 
knowledge. The darkness is connected with the shadow of death, 
a state of terror and danger, and nearness to perdition ; for the 
shadow cannot be far from the reality. It is not only vain, but in- 
jurious, to deny the truth of this representation, when there is so 
much to prove it ; and, without the admission, Christianity must 
be needless and absurd. 

But see the benefit he is designed to communicate, " To give 
hght" to them that are in darkness, and the shadow of death. 
Accordingly, his coming has shed a lustre upon every subject in- 
teresting to our duty and welfare. So that every individual under 
the gospel knows far more than all the heathen philosophers put 
together, and also far more than the most illuminated among the 
Jews. Hence our Savior " turned unto his disciples, and said 
privately. Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see : 
for I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see 
those things which ye see, and have not seen them ; and to hear 
those things which ye hear, and have not heard them." It is, 
therefore, called, not only " the true light," but " a great light." 
It has two properties. It is practical. It is " to guide our feet." 
We were " sitting" before ; inactive, like persons in the dark, and 
afraid to inove; but when the light comes we arc set in motion, 



316 DECEMBER 25. 

and in motion with our feet. The doctrine ot Christ is not a 
mere speculation; he that receives it feels an influence like that 
of the orb of day, which is vital, as well as enlightening. He 
walks in the Spirit. In the fear of the Lord. In the truth. It is 
also blessed. It is to guide our feet " into the path of peace." 
There is something very pleasing in the word peace, as it intends 
reconciliation, and especially reconciliation with God. And God 
was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing 
their trespasses unto them. And being justified by faith, we have 
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. This peace is 
essential to every other blessing, and every other blessing is sure 
to follow it. The word, therefore, is often used for every kind of 
good and of happiness. It is finely expressed by the apostle, 
" We who have believed do enter into rest ;" and yet more fully 
David, " Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound ; they 
shall walk, O Lord, in the light of thy countenance. In thy name 
shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they 
be exalted. For thou art the glory of their strength : and in thy 
favor our horn shall be exalted." 

But what is the source of all this blessedness? " The tender 
mercy of our God." As we are guilty and condemned creatures, 
every gift we enjo)'^ must be from mercy. This is true of our 
daily and outward comforts ; and, therefore, Jacob calls them all 
" mercies," and acknowledges that he is not worthy of the " least" 
of them. How true it is, then, that, not by works of righteous- 
ness which we have done, but by his mercy he saved us ! Neither 
are we to imagine, that God was made merciful by the incarnation 
and sufferings of Christ. It is from injudicious representations of 
this kind, that the enemies of the atonement are furnished with 
their strongest objection. But, in the Scripture, we are told, that 
God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that 
whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlast- 
ing life. What he requires he provides. He would not pardon 
Job's friends, but through his intercessions ; but he prescribed his 
prayer for the very purpose, and accepted it, and thus we are 
"justified freely by his grace, ^Aroz<;^^ the redemption that is in 
Christ Jesus." 

Let us bless God for this tender mercy. " God is the Lord, 
which hath showed us light : bind the sacrifice with cords, even 
unto the horns of the altar." Let us improve the advantages it 
has afforded us, and walk as children of the light. Let us pray 
that his way be made known on earth, and his saving health 
among all nations. ^^^^^^^^^^ 

December 25. — " And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a 
decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this 
taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went 
to be taxed, every one into his OAvn city. And Joseph also went up from 
Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which 
is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the liouse and lineage of David ;) 
to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. A'^d so it 
was, that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should 
be delivered." — Luke, ii, 1 — 6. 

The birth of Christ is so wonderful and important, that every 



DECEMBER 25. 317 

circumstance attending it is worthy of our attention, and capable 
of improvement. We are here informed of the time and the place. 

As to the time^ it was under the reign of Augustus. Luke could 
not have distinguished it by a more illustrious mark than the 
name of a man, the greatest prince then in the world, as he 
governed the Roman empire, which had extended itself over the 
largest and fairest portions of the inhabited earth. What is re- 
lated indefinitely is liable to dispute and mistake, whereas par- 
ticularity tends to gain credence, and renders falsehood easier of 
detection. Hence the evangelist mentions a remarkable fact 
attending the period : " And it came to pass in those days, that 
there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world 
should be taxed," and adds, " And this taxing was first made 
when Cyrenius was governor of Syria." Here, however, a difii- 
culty occurs, which infidelity, always alive to the worst of causes, 
and feeling the paucity and poverty of its resources, has readily 
laid hold of. 

It must be granted that Cyrenius, as Josephus, and all the Greek 
and Latin historians agree, was not governor of Syria, till eleven 
years after. But, first, it is supposable, that though he was not 
the actual governor, he presided on this occasion by a special 
commission from Augustus, This agrees with the history of the 
emperor, which shows us that, in several instances, he sent his 
particular friends to superintend the enrolment, without leaving 
it to the care of the ordinary governors of the province. Did not 
David do the same when he wished to number the people 7 There 
were rulers over all the tribes of Israel ; yet he sent Joab, who 
M'ent through all the land, and brought him the result at the end 
of nine months and twenty days. Secondly ; Dr. Campbell ren- 
ders it, " And this enrollment j^rs^ took effect when Cyrenius was 
governor of Syria." Though our version reads taxing, it is, in 
the margin, enrolling. There was some difference between these. 
For though the registering was generally with a view to the 
taxing, yet the latter did not always immediately follow the 
former ; it only laid the foundation for it, by showing the number 
and wealth of his subjects, whenever he chose to demand soldiers 
or money. Now, though the decree for enrollment was issued 
eleven years before, it was not acted upon till Cyrenius was go- 
vernor of Syria; and the Roman power, on the expulsion of 
Archelaus from Judea, first levied the tax on the Jewish people. 
We have a similar instance in our own history. William the 
Conqueror wished to make a survey of the kingdom ; this was 
done in what is called the Doomsday Book, and which is still 
extant ; it was six years in viaking in England, onhj, and no 
payment of taxes was made upon it till twelve years after. Eithei 
of these solutions is perfectly satisfactory, and there is no incon- 
sistency between them ; the one does not invalidate the other. 
And when to this we add, that the fact itself was notorious, and 
that Luke could not be deceived, and must have known that he 
could not be misunderstood at the time, we see another instance 
of the weakness of infidel objections. But Luke mentions this 
affair, not onlv to authenticate the truth of his narrative, but the 



318 DECEMBER 25. 

Messiahship of Christ. His coming had not only been foretold, 
but the time of it. We allude to the prophetical declaration oi 
the dying Jacob, when, speaking of Judah, he said, " The sceptre 
shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his 
feet, until Shiloh come ; and unto him shall the gathering of the 
people be." That is — when he should come, the supreme power 
should be dislodged from their possession. And here we see the 
accomplishment : for the supreme power had now fallen into the 
hands of Herod the Idumean, Avho was exercising his vile tyranny 
imder the favor of the Roman Sovereign, master of Syria and 
Palestine. 

The place was Bethlehem. It is called the city of David be- 
cause there David was born. But the word city, which the Jews 
used so diflferently from us, should not mislead us : it v\^as only a 
small village, in which nothing had occurred to aggrandize it. 
Here he was brought forth, and not in Jerusalem, or Rome, or any 
other illustrious place. Was this to intimate, that his king,dom 
was not of this world ? What cannot ennoble greatness, greatness 
can ennoble. How has the birth-place vi' the Mantuan Bard been 
noticed ! How many cities contended for the honor of Homer's 
birth ! The birth of Jesus instantly drew to this village a new star, 
and sages from the East, and the angel of the Lord, and a multi- 
tude of the heavenly host, and has made it to be remembered in 
all generations. Therefore, said the prophet Micah, " Thou, 
Bethlehem, Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands 
of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto me that is to 
be ruler in Israel ; whose goings forth have been from old, from 
everlasting." That he was to be born here, was known and 
expected, not only by the chief priests and scribes, as we see in 
their answer to Herod, but also by even the common people, who 
argued against him., when they supposed that he was not born 
there. " Hath not the Scripture said. That Christ cometh of the 
seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David 
was ?" But let us not forget the occasion of the event. For it 
was, humanly speaking, the most unlikely thing in the world, that 
Jesus should be born here. For Bethlehem was not the place ol 
Joseph's residence ; but Nazareth, in Galilee. But, the decree 
requiring that every one should repair to his own patrimonial 
city to be enrolled, Joseph, being of the house and lineage of Da- 
vid, goes up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, 
unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, and Mary with 
him, being great with child: and so it was, that while they were 
there, waiting for his registry, the days were accomplished that 
she should be delivered ! Mary thought of nothing, but accompa- 
nying Joseph. Joseph thought of nothing, but obeying the order 
of the Governor. The Governor thought of nothing, but the 
mandate of the Emperor. The Emperor only obeyed his vanity 
and pride; and yet all these ignorantly, but unitedly, conduced to 
fulfill the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. How 
ir^ly men can act ! and yet how necessarily ! How real, and yet 
inexplicable, is the concord between human liberty, and the cer- 
tainty of events ! What is contingent, where divine veracity is 



DECEMBER 26. 319 

concerned? How impossible is it that the Scriptures can be bro- 
ken ' How wonderful is the providence of God \ By what me- 
thods does it conduct its plans to their completion 1 How easily, 
and yet how uncontrollably, does it bend to its pleasure all the 
dispositions and movements of creatures, who, like men in a boat, 
look one way, and row another ! 

December 26.-" And there were in the same country shepherds abiding 
in the field, keeping v.atch over their flock by night : and lo, the angel of 
Se Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about 
them , and they were sore afraid."— Luke, ii, 8, 9. 

Two classes of men were led to Bethlehem, to witness the new 
born Messiah. The wise men from the East, and the shepherds. 
The former were versed in the works of nature ; they were espe- 
pecially astronomers and star gazers : and God conducts them by 
a star The latter were Jews ; they had the Scriptures m their 
hands ; and these were directed by an angel. God has various 
methods of manifesting himself to his creatures : but none of 
them are arbitrary. They all evince his " wisdom and prudence,' 
and are adapted to the state and circumstances of the beings with 
whom he has to do. . xu x, • 

Angels are all ministering spirits. And if they attend the heirs 
of salvation, how much more the Author of it ! if they wait on the 
servants, how much more on the Son, who is Lord ol alK \V hen 
he brinaethh his first begotten into the world, he saith, \ea, and 
let all the angels of God worship him. He was seen of angels. 

—We mit^ht have expected that this glorious messenger would 
have been sent to persons of rank and authority— to the rulers ; 
to the doctors of the law ; to the ministers of the sanctuary ; to 
Herod ; to the High Priest. But God's thoughts are not our 
thoucrhts. He seeth not as man seeth. Man judgeth after the 
outw°ard appearance ; but the Lord looketh to the heart. He 
is no respecter of persons. The distinctions of life, which, owing 
to folly are the sources of so much pride to some, and envy to 
others, are nothing to Him. He is equally " nigh unto all them 
that call upon him," whatever be their outward condition ; as the 
sun shines in the valley as well as on the hill. It was to these 
shepherds the angel of the Lord appeared. And may not this be 
considered an intimation of the persons for whom the dispensa- 
tion was principally designed, and by whom it would be chiefly 
received 7 Hence we read, " The poor have the Gospel preached 
unto them"—" The common people heard him gladly"—" Have 
any of the rulers beheved on him ?" " Thou hast hid these 
thmf^s from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto 
babel" Not that the rich and great are excluded. And there 
always have been a few who have humbled themselves, to be ex- 
alted • but " not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, 
not many noble, are called : but God hath chosen the foolish 
things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen 
the weak things of the world to confound the things Avhich are 
mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are de- 
spised hath God chosen ; yea, and things which are not, to bring 



320 DECEMBER 26. 

to nought things that are : that no flesh should glory in his pre- 
sence." 

— We have much reason to conclude, that these shepherds were 
among the number of those who were looking for redemption in 
Jerusalem. While many of their countrymen, in ceiled houses, 
were seeking their consolation in the world, they, like Simeon, 
were waiting for the consolation of Israel. Perhaps at this very 
moment they were silently musing, or perhaps conversing with 
each other (for they were obviously together) " when the king- 
dom of God should come ;" and sighing out the words of David, 
" that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion ! When 
God bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, 
and Israel shall be glad" — when, " lo ! the angel of the Lord came 
upon them ! and the glory of the Lord shone round about them !" 

And this angel, by his example, teaches us, however much we 
may be placed above them, not to overlook the poor, nor refuse to 
visit them, especially God's poor ; for they are rich in faith, and 
heirs of the kingdom which he has promised to them that love 
him. It is a character of the citizen of Zion, that in his eyes a 
vile person is contemned, however high ; but he honors them that 
fear the Lord, though they may not have the gold ring, and the 
gay clothing. 

The sacred historian has not failed to tell us how these men 
were engaged, at the time of their being thus distinguished. They 
were in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night. Thus 
they were abiding in their calling, and faithfully and actively dis- 
charging the duties of it. Never mind how humble your occu- 
pation may be, 

" Honor and shame from no condition rise ; 
"Act well your part— there all the honor lies." 

Be attentive and diligent, and you are useful and respectable. 
They ought to blush, who do nothing, or have nothing to do. 
Their mode of living is as inconsistent with the life of a Christian 
required in the Gospel, as a life of vice. The tree that bringeth 
forth no frood fruit, is hewn down and cast into the fire. The 
servant that hid his Lord's talent in a napkin, did not abuse it ; 
but because he was an unprofitable servant, he was a wicked one, 
and therefore punished. The case of these shepherds is not a 
solitary one. Go through the Scriptures, and make out a list of 
all those whom God favored and dignified with his visits ; and 
show me one among thein all that was a drone in the community, 
or not properly and usefully employed. Other beings are more 
likely to appear to the useless and idle. " Our idle days," says 
Bishop Hall, " are the devil's busy ones." 

" For Satan finds some mischief still, 
'• For idle hands to do." 

It was well said by an old Puritan, "I find diligence the best pre- 
servative from temptation : for when Satan comes to me with his 
proposals, I say to him, I cannot attend to thee now — I am so 
busy." 
" The labors of the righteous tend to life." " The soul of the 



DECEMBER 27. 321 

sluggard desireth, and hath nothing; but the soul of the diligent 
shall be made fat." 

December 27. — "Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing 
which is come to pass." — Luke, ii, 15. 

This was the language of the Shepherds. And it was not a vain 
curiosity that led them. While keeping their flocks by night, the 
angel of the Lord appeared to them, and said, " Fear not : for be- 
hold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, M^hich shall be to all 
people. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Sa- 
vior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto 
you. Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying 
in a manger." This they considered as it really was, an order to 
repair, thither, and ascertain the fact. And they would have set 
off instantly. But there suddenly descended a multitude of the 
heavenly host, praising God and saying. Glory to God in the high- 
est ; on earth peace, good will toward men. We know not how 
long this melody continued ; but who can wonder at their staying 
till it was over ! But no sooner were the angels gone away into 
heaven, than "the shepherds said one to another. Let us now go 
even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing Avhich is come to pass." 
Let us accompany them, and contemplate a scene which will in- 
duce us to exclaim, with Moses, on a very marvellous, but very 
inferior occasion—" For ask now of the days that are past, which 
were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the 
earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether 
there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been 
heard like it ?" 

In this thing which is come to pass, we behold a very striking 
display of divine truth. The coming of the Messiah was called, 
" The truth of God." Many things evinced the divine veracity: 
but this was the main pledge. It was the chief promise ever given 
to man. It was also the earliest assurance ; it was given as early 
as the Fall. And what a length of time the assurance seemed to 
hang in suspense; a year — a hundred years — a thousand years — 
another thousand, and another, rolled away before the seed of the 
woman appeared ! Hath he forgotten to be gracious '? Doth his 
promise fail for evermore ? But at the end of four thousand years 
it was proclaimed. His councils of old are faithfulness and truth. 
How many also were, what we may call the minute parts of the 
promise. It was foretold that he should descend from a particular 
nation — the nation of the Jews : a particular tribe — the tribe of 
Judah : a particular family — the family of David : a particular 
mother — a virgin. On how many things does the veracity of 
God now depend, the failure of any one of which would prove 
him a liar. The place of his residence was foretold — it was 
Bethlehem. The prophecy had been recorded for ages, and was 
acknowledged at the time of his birth. But how many things 
were necessary to this ; and how accidental seemed the fulfillment ! 
For Joseph and Mary were residing at Nazareth. And had not 
Judea been under the Roman dominions; and had not Caesar Au- 
gustus proudly wished to know the number and wealth of his sub- 



322 DECEMBER 27. 

jects ; and had Mary been delivered a few days sooner or later : he 
would have been born elsewhere, and the word of God would 
have been of none elFeet. All these occurrences appear casual, 
and they were so to the parties themselves ; but not to God, v/ho 
knows all his works from the beginning. All these events seemed 
loosely connected, but they v»'ere links, making an adamanline 
chain. The truth of God was the pivot on which all turned ; the 
centre in which all united ; the end to which all referred. Let us 
see here, not only how willing, but how able he is to accomplish 
hir- word; and be strong in faith, giving glory to God. Let no 
apparent delay, no opposing difficulties, no interfering interests, 
affect our minds. His purpose is secretty, yet uncontrollably, 
moving on; and the jnost unlikely instruments are contributing 
to its execution. How much depends on our confidence in the 
truth of God! 

We see in the thing which has come to pass, a wonderful com- 
bination. A combination of natures — I admit his humanity; and 
why should I question his divinity ? I find many things ascribed 
to him, which cannot belong to him as God ; and I find others 
ascribed to him, which cannot pertain to him as man : and here 
is the solution of the difficulty — " God was manifest in the flesh." 
A combination of grandeur and abasement. Whose birth could 
have been more obscure and degrading ? What welcome was 
given him ? What preparation was made for him ? " The world 
was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto 
his own, and his own received him not." A poor young female 
was his mother ; a stable his chamber, and a manger his cradle — 
because there was no room at the inn. But whose birth was ever 
so glorious ? Ye gods of the earth, bring forth your first born — 
but no new star sparkles over where the young child is, no wise 
men come miraculously from the east to worship him, no angel 
comes down, no heavenly choir sing his birth, no command is 
given, Yea, and let all the angels of God worship him, no spirit of 
prophecy breathes inspiration ; no Simeon waits for him as the 
consolation of Israel, no A.nna speaks of him to all those who look 
for redemption. 

We also see a prodigy of benevolence. Every thing says be- 
hold a love which passeth knov/ledge. His former condition — he 
was rich and became poor. His independence and choice : he was 
not constrained to enter such a state — Lo ! I come, says he: he 
gave his life a ransom for us. The principle that moved him — 
it was not our desert, but his own mercy. He came into the world 
to save sinners: he died for the ungodly: in his love and pity he 
redeemed us. His not waiting for our application, arising from a 
sense of our need of him — His engaging, in foresight of all the 
degree and extent of his sufferings — His going through the whole 
without, repenting of the expensive undertaking — His accom- 
plishing it with delight. 

" Oh I for this love let rocks ami hills I " And all harmonious human tongues 

" Their lasting silence break ; I " The Savior's praises speak !" 

Here, also, we see an example for our imitation. Did he thus 
despise worldly distinctions? and shall we admire them ? Shall 



DECEMBER 28. 323 

we seek great things for ourselves ? Such a Cliristian by the side 
of the manger ! Having food and raiment, let us be therewith 
content. Shall we find it difficult to condescend to men of low 
estate, and to exercise self-denial in doing good ? " Let this mind 
be in you which was also in Christ Jesus: who being in the iorm 
of God, thought it not robbery to be equal v/ith God : but made 
himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, 
and was made in the likeness of men." Bid he not only stoop so 
low, but suffer so much for us ; and shall we not be willing to en- 
dure any privations, and incur any sacrifices for our brethren? 
" Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children ; and walk in 
love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us, 
as an offering and sacrifice to God for a sw^eet-smelling savor." 

Great as this thing is which has come to pass, there are many 
who will refuse to take a step to see it. Even at the very festival, 
which is the commemoration of it, they will be found any where 
rather than at Bethlehem ; and be attracted to every thmg, rather 
than to that sight, which the Shepherds left their flocks, and made 
haste to see ; which the Eastern sages came such a vast distance 
to behold; and which drew all heaven down to earth. Some, 
while they observe the day by a freedom from labor, not only 
netrlect, but insult the subject of it ; and by intemperance and 
rioT, revive the works of the devil, which the Son of God was 
maifested to destroy. 

But let us call off our attention from the little, debasing, vexing, 
defiling things of the world, and repair to the Infant of Bethle- 
hem, the desire of all nations. Let us give him the glory which 
is due unto his holy name, and say, " Unto us a child is born, unto 
us a son is given ; ^and the government shall be upon his shoul- 
der; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The 
mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." Let 
us behold in him provision made for our recovery, the most suita- 
ble to our wants, and adequate to our relief, and placed entirely 
within our reach. Let us embrace him, and exclaim, " Lo, this 
is our God; v/e have waited for him, and he will save us: this is 
the Lord; we have waited for him ; we will be glad, and rejoice 
in his salvation." 

And let our zeal and gratitude be equal to our joy. And let us 
follow the -shepherds, not only in our going, but in our return : 
" And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying 
which was told them concerning the child ;" '• And they returned 
glorifying and praising God for all things that they had heard 
and seen." _„=.■_-_— o™- 

Decembek 28.—" And they were both righteous before God, walking in ail 
the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless."— Luke, i, 6. 

Tnis worthy couple are known as the father and mother of a 
very illustrious personage, of whom the Judge of all said, " Among 
them that are born of women, there hath not risen a greater than 
John the Baptist." But while Zacharias and Elizabeth derive dis- 
tinction from their son, they are worthy of attention, personally 
considered. Though not distinguished by v/orldly grandeur, they 



324 DECEMBER 28. 

were great in the sight of the Lord; and though their names are 
not recorded in the annals of national history, their characters 
will be had in everlasting remembrance in the Scriptures of truth. 
Five things are here said of their piety. 

— It was sincere ; they were righteous before God. Many are 
righteous before men, who only look on the'outward appearance; 
but the Lord, who searcheth the heart, and sees actions in their 
motives, disowns them. A large assembly may be convened 
together, and be engaged in the same exercises ; but they only 
worship Him, who worship him in Spirit and in truth. What 
are we in His estimation? He that judgeth us is the Lord. 

— It was practical; they walked in the commandments and ordi- 
nances of the Lord. Divine truth is important ; yet, if we know 
these things, happy are we only if we do them. Practice is nothing 
Without principle ; and what proof have we of the reality and 
excellency of principle without practice ? " I will put my Spirit 
within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall 
keep my judgments, and do them." We do not midervalue expe- 
rience; but the Scripture requires something more than good 
feelings : " Let your light so shine before men, that they may see 
your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." A 
good conscience will always be accompanied with a good conver- 
sation. He is a vain man v/ho says he has faith, and hath not 
works. Can such faith save him ? 

— It was impartial ; they walked in all the commandments and 
ordinances of the Lord. None are universally wicked. Vices are 
often inconsistent with each other ; prodigality opposes avarice, 
and covetousness complains of extravagance. All do something, 
for conscience must be appeased ; but they are determined in their 
selections by the easiness of the thing, or its relation to some one 
of their interests. They have no regard to the will of God; for if 
their observance sprang from a regard to his pleasure, this would 
lead them to avoid every thing which he has forbidden, and to 
inquire after every thing he has enjoined. " Then shall I not be 
ashamed, Avhen I have respect unto all thy commandments." 
" Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord, that walketh in his 
ways." 

—It was irreproachable; they walked in all the commandments 
and ordinances of the Lord, blameless. It is not said, they were 
sinless. The subjects of divine grace will always have enough to 
bewail before God, instead of saying, I have attained, I am already 
perfect. But it is a mercy (and this is possible) to be preserved 
from those falls which injure our reputation and influence ; and 
also from those imprudencies which draw upon a man the reproach 
of folly and weakness, when he is not taxable with sin, and from 
those veerings of opinion which are yet consistent with some 
degree of fixed principle in higher things. It is well when our 
good cannot be evil spoken of; and we are without offence till the 
day of Christ. 

— It was mutual ; they were both righteous before God, walkings 
in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless. 
This is not the case in every family. In some houses there is no 



DECEMBER 29. 325 

fear of God in either master or mistress, father or mother, husband 
or wife. In others, there is one of these relations godly, and only 
one They are joined together by marriage, but not ni the Lord. 
This ditference may be accounted for in three ways. One o the 
parties may have been called after their affinity, neither of them 
knowing God at the time of contracting it. Or one of the par les 
may have deceived the other; and some are guarded and cralty ; 
and those who are upright themselves, are generally free from 
suspicion. Or the religious individual was, perhaps, (how strange . ) 
careless upon this subject, and did not feel religion, in his choice, 
the one thing needful ; or was bribed, against his conviction, by 
other thincTs. The two former cases deserve pity ; but this, cen- 
sure— andTiis error will correct him. For nothing can be more 
desirable and important than the godliness of both parties. How 
near is the relation ! How constant and influential the inter- 
course ! How lamentable, in a course where we need every assist- 
ance, to meet with impediments ! How can two walk together, 
except they be agreed? And are there servants? are there chil- 
dren ? Each will have their adherents. And it is not difficu t to 
conclude, from the depravity of human nature, which will be 
more readily followed— the one who would lead into the world, or 
the one who would lead out of it. 

But the case would be more awful still, if one of the parties Mas 
an official character. Surely, a Zacharias should have an Elisabeth. 
What disgrace and injury may result from the union of a preacher 
with an irreligious or indiscreet companion ! The apostle there- 
fore describes the character of a minister's wife, as well as his 
own : and naturally concludes, that he who proclaims his want of 
piety and judgment in a case so plain and momentous, tells how 
unqualified he is for other matters—" For if a man know not how 
to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of 
God 2" 

December 29.—" Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him."— Job, xiu, 15. 

This is a noble resolution. It supposes suffering. Slaying here, 
stands for every loss and infliction he could suff"er or forbode. Slay- 
ing literally means death; and Job does not exclude this from 
his supposition. He more than once seems to apprehend it as the 
consequence of his present malady— I know thou wdt bring me 
to death— My breath is corrupt ; my days are extinct. The graves 
are ready for me. Indeed there is not much for him to slay. He 
has slain my cattle, my servants, my children ; he has slain the 
tenderness of my wife, and the confidence of my friends ; he has 
slain my health ; and if there be any thing more, let him slay it. I 
can trust him down to the grave, and through it— for I know that 
my Redeemer liveth, and that in my flesh I shall see God, though 
my reins be consumed within me. 

—It professes confidence— "Though he slay me, yet will I trust 
in him.'' It is obvious, from hence, that he did not think God was 
really his enemy. If he had, how could he have trusted in him ? 
He knew nothing of the language of a mystic— " Though I pe- 



326 DECEIVIBER 29. 

rish, 1 shall serve thee still — If thou send me to hell, I shall love 
thee there." These are the sayings of religious madness ; and 
one hour of the suffering they make so light of, would bring them 
to the use of their senses. By the very law of my nature, it is 
impossible for me to regard a Being that I believe "determined to 
make me miserable for ever ; and God himself has commanded me 
to seek after my salvation and happiness — I could not thcrelore 
acquiesce in my misery, without violating his will. Such a state 
of sublime self-annihilation, therefore, is not possible, if it were pro- 
per ; and it is not proper, if it were possible. But if it is both pro- 
per and possible to believe, that natural evil may be converted into 
moral good ; that bodily pain may conduce to spiritual profit ; that 
though no chastening for ihe present is joyous, but grievous, it may 
afterward yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness to them that 
are exercised therewith; that behind a frowning providence he 
may hide a smiling face ; that though he amputates a limb, it is to 
save life ; and that in ways beyond all my conceptions, he can, he 
will, make all things work together for good to them that love 
him. And this is what Job means by his confidence. 

— But it also intimates difficulty — Thovgh he slay me, yet v/ill I 
trust in^him. For there is much in searching and awful dispensa- 
tions to try and check confidence, and to awaken suspicion and 
fear. When things are agreeable and prosperous, we feel but com- 
paratively little difficulty. But when the scene is changed, and 
the sky overspread, and the clouds return after the rain ; when we 
are stripped, bereaved, abandoned, then we are cast out of his 
sight, our way is perished from the Lord; and we think our eye 
will no more see good ! When troubles befall others, we go to 
them, and strengthen their hands in God. We readily deal out 
the promises to them, and feel inclined to reprove, if they refuse 
to be comforted. 

We tell them, God is only waiting to be gracious ; and will ap- 
pear to their joy. But when we come into the same condition 
ourselves, we are unable to follow the advice we have given, and 
to receive the encouragements we have administered. Thus we 
incur the censure, " Behold, thou hast instructed many, and thou 
hast strengthened the weak hands; thy words have upholden him 
that was fallen, and thou hast strengthened the feeble knees'; but 
now it is come upon thee, and thou faintest; it toucheth thee, and 
thou art troubled." Let us not be too severe with people in afflic- 
tion. To trust God, \vhen we know not what he is doing : when 
he seems to oppose us, and his word too ; when he presents a 
sword even to our bosom, and we feel its point — it is then, verily, 
no easy thing to hope in the Lord, and wait patiently for him. 
But Job did this. Yea, says he, in the midst of every killing pro- 
vidence, though he slay me, yet will I trust in him. Let us theiefore 
seek after this confidence in God. For, first, there is nothing so 
honorable to God. Secondly, there is nothing so beneficial to 
ourselves. Thirdly, there is nothing so reasonable in itself— for, 
whatever view we take of God, whether we consider his perfec- 
tions, or his relations, or his promises or his past dealings with 
others and ourselves, the more we shall be induced to say, " What 



DECExMBER 30. 32T 

time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee." So true is it — They that 
know his Name, will put their trust in him. 



Dece^iber 30. — " Are not my days few ?" — Job, x, 20. 

— Not years, months, weeks, but days— Life is to be reck- 
oned by days. Are not my days few? They are so in every re- 
spect — relatively; comparatively; absolutely. It will not be ne- 
cessary to prove this ; as no one denies it — or can deny it. Yet 
how much depends upcn the proper use of a truth so obvious, and 
a reflection so simple ! Are not my da)^s few ? 

— But how came they so ? All men die, but not willingly. 
Skin for skin, yea all that a man hath, will he give for his life : but 
he cannot continue it. He hates, he dreads death — It is the king 
of terrors. The thought of it imbitters his comforts, and keeps 
him always subject to bondage. And could this have been the / 
natural state of man as he came from the hands of his Maker 1 I 
The Deist meets with this fact as well as we : and as he cannot 
deny it, let him account for it under the empire and agency of a 
Being who is " omnipotent benevolence." Revelation gives us 
the only rational and convincing account — " The body is dead 
because of sin." '• By one man sin entered into the M'orld, and 
death by sin ; and so death hath passed upon all men, because all 
have sinned." It is not "a debt due to nature." It is the conse- 
quence of a judicial and penal infliction : " For all our days are 
passed away in thy wrath." We are not struck with this, because 
we are accustomed to the result, and it gradually takes place. But 
could we have seen the Deluge destroying the whole world at 
once, we should not have questioned the provocation of God by 
some mighty cause. But where is the difference, as to primitive 
Justice, whether all the criminals are executed together, or led 
forth one by one ? Are not my days few '? 

— Do not then render them fewer. What! you are ready to 
exclaim, do you think we are going to turn self-murderers ? Yet 
how many are continually reported as having destroyed them- 
selves ! But violence is not the only mode of shorteninglife. One 
of our most eminent physicians has affirmed, that " the board de- 
stroys more than the sword." Another has said, " Though all 
men are mortal, not one in a thousand dies a purely natural 
death." Many enervate themselves by lying late in bed; and 
living (if it deserves the name of life) in lazy inactiveness, as inju- 
rious to health as to virtue. Envy is the rottenness of the bones. 
Fretfulness and anxiety corrode. Anger and malice consume. It 
is needless to mention intemperance and sensuality, the eftects of 
which so often lie down Avith the sinner in an early grave. Godli • 
ness has the promise of the life that now is. By freeing us from 
the malignant passions — which are always mjurious to ourselves, 
as well as to others ; and by inducing the affectionate and benevo- 
lent ones, which are always beneficial : by the peace it sheds 
abroad in the bosom, and the hope and confidence it authorizes and 
inspires, as well as by surrounding us with the care of Providence ; 
it is, as David calls it, " the health of the countenance :" and justi- 

VoL. II. 26 



328 DECEMiiER 30. 

fies the admonition of his son — " Fear the Lord, and depart from 
evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones." 
Are not my days few? 

— Why then moderate your attachment to every thing that de- 
pends upon their brevity. Who would set their hearl on that 
which is not? Who would load with treasure a vessel rotten or 
full of holes ? All the admired distinctions and possessions of the 
world are very uncertain in themselves, and often leave us. But 
if they continue with us, we cannot continue with them. We 
brought nothing with us into the world, and it is certain that we 
<;an carry nothing out — Yet, stripped and naked as we shall go — 
go we must — and the time of our departure is at hand. Oh ? what 
shall we think, a few " days*' hence, of those pursuits which 
now so much engross us ! " To-morrow we die ;" and v.iial 
will it signify, wii ether we are carried to the grave from a cottage, 
or a mansion ; or leave behind us much or little ? Endeavor to 
think always as you will feel soon. " Brethren, the time is short : 
it rcmaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had 
none ; and they that weep, as though they wept not ^ and they that 
rejoice, as though they rejoiced not , and they that buy, as though 
they possessed not ; and they that use this world, as not abusing it : 
for the fashion of this world passeth away." Are not my days few ^ 
— Then let us well employ and improve them. This is what Mo- 
ses prayed for : " So teach us to number our days, that we may ap- 
ply our hearts unto wisdom." And what is wisdom ? This must be 
determined by circumstances. What is wise conduct in one man, 
may be folly in another, because of their different relations and 
circumstances. But it is easy to determine what is wisdom 
in a man who mnnbers his days, and finds them to be few : and 
who has. during their continuance, an all-important interest to 
secure : and has no other opportunity. If he is guilty, it must be 
Avise in him to seek forgiveness. If he is lost, it must be wise in 
him to seek salvation : and if he be unable to save himself, it must 
be wise in him to apply to another who is appointed for the very 
purpose. And in our case, such a one there is. His name is Je- 
sus. He is mighty to save. He is willing to save. Instead of 
complaining of your application, he only complains of your neg- 
lect — Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. Many 
liave tried his power and his love, and recommended him from 
their own happy experience. He is now^ on the Throne of 
Grace; but he will not be always there — He will soon ascend the 
tribunal of justice. Oh ! seek him while he may be found, and 
call upon him while he is near. Behold, no\o is the accepted 
lime; behold now is the day of salvation. 

This part of our subject branches itself into another line of 
duty. As you are to gain good, so you are to Oo good. And this, 
too, is equally enforced by the fewness of your days. Life is 
yours ; and it affords you one privilege above the saints in light. 
It is the opportunity of beneficence — of relieving the poor, ol 
instructing the ignorant, of converting the sinner. But remem- 
ber two things. 77«err days are few, and therefore they will soon 
be gone beyond the possibility of receiving relief. And yow 



DECEMBER 31. 329 

daj-s are few ; and you will soon be placed beyond the possibility 
of affording it. Wing your zeal, therefore, with the thought, " The 
night Cometh, wherein no man can work." 

—Oh ! there is a way of lengthening life. It is— not by dura- 
tion, but by diligence— it is by " filling our days." It is by doing 
nnich business in a little time. Some live longer in a week than 
others do in a year. 



December 31.— "He thanked God and took courage."— Acts, xxviii, 15. 

Gratitude and confidence are individually excellent ; but their 
union is admirable. They adorn, and recommend, and aid, each 
othe-r. There is no one 'they so well become as the Christian. 
And when is he without cause for both ? When has he not, if 
truth examines his condition, a thousand excitements to praise, 
and encouragements lo hope ? 

It call never be more proper to exercise these, than at the inte- 
resting period of the last day of the year ; when we are naturally 
and unavoidably led to think of the past and the future. Let us 
therefore follow the example of Paul, when he met the brethren 
at Appii Forum. Let us thank God, and take courage. 

What can be more reasonable than to thank God when we re- 
view the past ? While many have been cut off— and not a few in 
their sins — we have been carried through another year in safety. 
We have been exposed to accidents and diseases, as well as they 
who are now in the dust ; and our frame has been as delicate, as 
frail as theirs. But we are the living, the living to praise Him, as 
it is this day : and all our bones can say. Who is a God like unto 
thee 1 While he has holden our souls in life, he has also continued 
our mercies— and these mercies have been new every morning. 
Of the least of all these, we have been unworthy. And had we 
been dealt with according to our desert, we should have been the 
most wretched beings on earth. But we have been fed at his table, 
and clothed from his wardrobe. We have had, not only the ne- 
cessaries, but the comforts and the indulgences of life. He has 
given us richly all things to enjoy. He has made the outgoings 
of our mornings and evenings to rejoice. He has given us the 
succession of the seasons. He has blessed the springing of the 
earth. He has charmed us in the field, and in the garden, with 
melody, and fragrance, and colwrs, and tastes. V.'hat relative 
attachment ! What endearments of friendship ! What pleasing 
interchange of solitude and society ! of labor and of rest ! We 
have not only to acknowedge private, but public mercies. How 
has he preserved and blessed our country, notwithstanding all our 
national provocations ! He has not only blessed us personally, 
but relatively. He has been the benefactor of our families and 
our friends. Yea, he has blessed us, not only in the kindness of 
his providence, but in the means of grace. We have had our 
Sabbaths. Our eyes have seen our teachers. We have been made 
joyful in his house of prayer. He has fed us with the finest of the 
wheat, and with oil out of the rock has he satisfied us. Bless the 
Loid, O mv soulj and forget not all his benefits ! 



330 DECEMBER 31. 

— We have had trials ; but even these, instead of checking gra- 
titude, if properly reviewed, will increase it. They have been few, 
compared with our comforts. They have been light, compared 
with the suflerings of others. They have been variously alle- 
viated. In measure, when they shot forth, he debated with them : 
}ie stayed his rough wind in the day of the east wind. They have 
all been founded in a regard to our welfare. They have imbit- 
tered sin, and endeared the Scriptures, and the Throne of Grace, 
and the sympathy of Him wlm is touched with the feelings of our 
infirmities. They have v> caned us from the world. They ha"\e 
told us that this is not our lOst. They have also told us that hft ' 
knows how to support and to deliver. Aaron's rod blossomed — so 
shall ours ; and yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness. There 
was honey at the end of Jonathan's rod — and there is sweetness 
at the end of ours. Yea, already we can say. It is good for me 
that I have been afflicted. Surely a gratitude is required, on this 
occasion, that will not expn-e on mere acknowledgments; but in- 
duce me to dedicate myself to his service, and walk before him in 
newness of life. 

And what can be more reasonable than to take courage when v/e 
look forward? We enter, indeed, on the year commencing, not 
knowing what a day may bring forth: and darkness is apt to gen- 
der dread. Duties icill arise; and we must meet their claims. 
Afflictions men/ arise — indeed they are almost unavoidable. Does 
not every path of life lead through a vale of tears? ^s not every 
thing here uncertain? My health may be assailed. My friends 
may be removed. This year I may die. 

— But I will pore on this no longer. I will not sour my present 
mercies, by suspicion, or fear, or anxiety. It is my duty, it is my 
privilege, to be careful for nothing ; but to cast all my care on 
Him who careth for me. I take courage from his former dispen- 
sations. Has he ever forsaken or forgotten me ? Because he has 
been my lielp, therefore, under the shadow of his wings will I re- 
joice. I take courage from liis providence. I am not in " a father- 
less world." Nothing is left to chance. My ways are continually 
before Him ; and the very hairs of my head are all numbered. I 
take courage from liis power. Nothing is too hard for him. He 
can make even mine enemies be at peace with me. He can ren- 
der every loss a gain. He can make all things work together for my 
good. I take courage from his promises. They are all faithful- 
ness and truth. And what case do they leave unnoticed, unpro- 
vided for, from which despondency can spring? I will theiefore 
trust, and not be afraid— but go forward, cheerfully — with Him 
who has said — I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 

"Rcueatli bis smiles my heart h;ts lived, 

" And part of heaven possessed : 
" I praise iiis name for grace received, 

" And trust him for the rest." 



THE END. 



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