Chapter II: Part 2

Let a man truly know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and he will be a happy man; and the deeper he drinks into the Spirit of Christ, the happier will he become. That religion which teaches misery to be a duty is false upon the very face of it, for God, when He made the world, studied the happiness of His creatures. You cannot help thinking, as you see everything around you, that God has sedulously, with the most strict attention, sought ways of pleasing man. He has not merely given us absolute necessaries, He has given us more; not simply the useful, but even the ornamental. The flowers in the hedgerow, the stars in the sky, the beauties of nature, the hill and the valley--all these things were intended not merely because we needed them, but because God would show how He loved us, and how anxious he was that we should be happy. Now, it is not likely that the God who made a happy world would send a miserable salvation. He who is a happy Creator will be a happy Redeemer; and those who have tasted that the Lord is gracious, can bear witness that the ways of religion "are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace." And if this life were all, if death were the burial of all our life, and if the shroud were the winding-sheet of eternity, still to be a Christian would be a bright and happy thing, for it lights up this valley of tears, and fills the wells in the valley of Baca to the brim with streams of love and joy.

_Unchangeable._

There is one place where change cannot put its finger; there is one name on which mutability can never be written; there is one heart which can never alter--that place is the Most Holy--that heart is God's--that name is Love.

_Increase of Faith._

The way in which most men get their faith increased is by great trouble. We do not grow strong in faith in sunshiny days. It is in stormy weather that faith grows stronger. Faith is not an attainment that droppeth like the gentle dew from heaven; it generally comes in the whirlwind and the storm. Look at the old oaks; how is it that they have become so deeply-rooted in the earth? Ask the March winds, and they will tell you. It was not the April shower that did it, or the sweet May sunshine, but the rough wind shaking the tree to and fro, causing its roots to strike deeper and to take a firmer hold. And so must it be with us. We cannot make great soldiers in the barracks at home; they must be made amidst flying shot and thundering cannon. We cannot expect to make good sailors on the Serpentine; they must be trained far away on the deep sea, where the wild winds howl, and the thunders roll like drums in the march of the God of armies. Storms and tempests are the things that make men tough and hardy mariners. They see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep. It is thus with Christians. Great-faith must have great trials. Mr. Great-heart would never have been Mr. Great-heart if he had not once been Mr. Great-trouble. Valiant-for-truth would never have put to flight those foes, and have been so valiant, if the foes had not first attacked him. We must expect great troubles before we shall attain to much faith.

_Communion with Christ._

One hour with Christ is worth an eternity of all earth's joys; and communion with Him is the best, the surest, and the most ecstatic foretaste of the bliss of heaven.

_The Soul Satisfied in Christ._

He who delights in the possession of the Lord Jesus hath all that heart can wish. As for created things, they are like shallow and deceitful brooks; they fail to supply our wants, much less our wishes. "The bed" of earthly enjoyment "is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it, and the covering narrower than that he can wrap himself in it;" but in Jesus there is room for imagination's utmost stretch and widest range. When Jesus is enjoyed, He puts a fulness into all other mercies; His house is full when He is there; His throne of grace is full when He sits on it; and His guest-chamber is full when He is master of the feast. "The creature without Christ is an empty thing, a lamp without oil, a bone without marrow;" but when Christ is present our cup runneth over, and we eat bread to the full. A dinner of herbs, when we have communion with Him, is as rich a feast as a stalled ox; and our narrow cot is as noble a mansion as the great house of the wealthy. Go not abroad, ye hungry wishes of my soul--stay ye at home, and feast on Jesus; for abroad ye must starve, since all other beloveds are empty and undesirable. Stay with Christ, and eat ye that which is good, and delight yourself in fatness.

_The Lord's Jewels._

Goldsmiths make exquisite forms from precious material: they fashion the bracelet and the ring from gold. God maketh His precious things out of base material; and from the black pebbles of the defiling brooks He hath taken up stones, which He hath set in the golden ring of His immutable love, to make them gems to sparkle on His finger forever.

_Memorials of Jesus._

The love of the Church extends beyond the person of the Bridegroom, and reaches to everything connected with Him. "All _thy garments_ smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad." His very vestments are precious in her esteem. She rejoices to sing of Him in His priestly garments.

"The mitred crown, the embroidered vest,
With graceful dignity He wears;
And in full splendor on His breast
The sacred oracle appears."

Arrayed in His royal robes, He is not less glorious in her eyes: she loves to see His crown, and own her King. There is not a word which His lip hath uttered, nor a place whereon His foot hath trodden, nor a vessel which His hands have handled, which is not wholly consecrated in her esteem. We are no worshippers of the ragged relics so fondly hoarded by Rome; but we have other and far better memorials--holy things that are of inestimable worth. His written Word, over which, we even now see that loving hand moving as it did when, many a year ago, it wrote each character; the echo of his departed voice not yet buried in silence; his wine-cup not yet empty; his blood still flowing, and his benediction still breathing peace upon us: all these still remain, and are valued above all price. We esteem His ordinances, and we triumph in His teaching, however the world-wise may contemn it. His service is our delight; to stand at His gates is honor, and to run before His chariot is bliss. As for His people, we greet them as saints, we call them our brethren, and they are most near and dear to us for _His_ sake. The meanest beggar in His Church is of more account to us than the proudest monarch out of it. "Because he belongs to Christ," is always a sufficient reason for the outflow of our affection; for all that is His is dear to us.

"_Freely Give._"

O Christian, whenever thou art inclined to an avaricious withholding from the Church of God, think of thy Saviour giving up all that He had to serve thee! And canst thou then--when thou beholdest self-denial so noble--canst thou then be selfish, and regard thy dainties of more account than their necessities, when the claims of the poor of the flock are pressed upon thee? Remember Jesus; think thou seest Him looking upon thee, and saying, "I gave Myself for thee, and dost thou withhold thyself from me? For if thou dost, thou knowest not my love in all its heights, and depths, and lengths, and breadths."

_Religion--a Present Enjoyment._

Religion has its present enjoyments. Speak, ye that know them, for ye can tell; yet ye cannot recount them all. O, would ye give up your religion for all the joys that earth calls good or great? Say, if your immortal life could be extinguished, would you give it up, even for all the kingdoms of this world? O, ye sons of poverty, has not this been a candle to you in the darkness? Has not this lightened you through the heavy shades of your tribulation? O, ye sons of toil, has not this been your rest, your sweet repose? Have not the testimonies of God been your song in the house of your pilgrimage? O, ye children of sorrow, racked with pain, has not religion been to you a sweet _quietus_ in your sufferings? Is not religion worth having in the sick chamber? And ye men of business, speak for yourselves. You have hard struggles to pass through life. Sometimes you have been driven to a great extremity, and whether you would succeed or not seemed to hang upon a thread. Has not your religion been a joy to you in your difficulties? Has it not calmed your minds? When you have been fretted and troubled about worldly things, have you not found it pleasant to enter your closet, and shut to the door, and tell your Father in secret all your cares? And, O, ye that are rich, cannot you bear the same testimony, if you have loved the Master? What had all your riches been to you without a Saviour? Can you not say that your religion did gild your gold, and make your silver shine more brightly? For all things that you have are sweetened by this thought, that you have all these and Christ too. Was there ever a child of God who could deny this? We have heard of many infidels who grieved over their infidelity when they came to die: did you ever hear of any one on his death-bed looking back on a life of holiness with sorrow? Never, never did we know a Christian who repented of his Christianity. We have seen Christians so suffering, that we wondered that they lived; so poor, that we wondered at their misery; we have seen them so full of doubts, that we pitied their unbelief; but we never heard them say, even then, "I regret that I gave myself to Christ." No; with the dying clasp, when heart and flesh were failing, we have seen them hug this treasure to their breast, and press it to their heart, still feeling that this was their life, their joy, their all. O! if ye would be happy, if ye would be saved, if ye would strew your path with sunshine, and dig out the nettles and blunt the thorns, "Seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Seek not happiness first; seek Christ first; and happiness shall come after. Seek ye first the Lord, and then He will provide for you in this life, and He will crown it with everything that is glorious in the life to come.

"_Our Lord Jesus._"

Whatever blissful consequences flow from the perfect obedience, the finished atonement, the resurrection, ascension, or intercession of the Lord Jesus, all are ours by His own gift. Upon His breastplate He is now wearing our names; and in His authoritative pleadings at the throne He remembers us and pleads our cause. The advantages of His high position, His dominion over principalities and powers, and His absolute majesty in heaven, He employs for the benefit of them that trust in Him. His high estate is as much at our service as was His condition of abasement. He who gave Himself for us in the depths of woe and death, doth not withdraw the grant now that He is enthroned in the highest heavens. Christ hath no dignity which He will not employ for our exaltation, and no prerogative which He will not exercise for our defence. Christ everywhere and in every way is our portion, forever and ever most richly to enjoy.

_Providence._

The boundless stores of Providence are engaged for the support of the believer. Christ is our Joseph, who has granaries full of wheat; but He does not treat us as Joseph did the Egyptians, for He opens the door of his storehouse, and bids us call all the good thereof our own. He has entailed upon His estate of Providence a perpetual charge of a daily portion for us; and He has promised that one day we shall clearly perceive that the estate itself has been well-farmed on our behalf, and has been always ours. The axle of the wheels of the chariot of Providence is Infinite Love, and Gracious Wisdom is the perpetual charioteer.

_The Intercession of Christ._

The Lord Jesus has led captivity captive, and now sits at the right hand of God, forever making intercession for us. Can your faith picture Him? Like a Levitical high priest of old He stands with outstretched arms: there is majesty in His mien, and with authority He pleads. On His head is the bright shining mitre of His priesthood, and on His breast are glittering the precious stones whereon the names of His people are everlastingly engraven. Hear Him as he pleads--hear you not what it is? Is that your prayer which He is mentioning before the throne? The prayer that this morning you offered, Christ is now offering before His Father's throne. The vow which just now you uttered, He is now uttering there. He is the Altar and Priest, and with His own sacrifice He perfumes our prayers. And yet, mayhap, you have been praying long, and had no answer. Poor, weeping suppliant! thou hast sought the Lord and He hath not seemed to hear thee, or at least not answered thee to thy soul's delight, and thou art full of darkness and heaviness on account of this. "Look to Him, and be lightened." If thou dost not succeed, He will; if thy intercession be unnoticed, His cannot be passed away; if thy prayers can be like water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up, yet His prayers are not like that; He is God's Son--He pleads and must prevail. God cannot refuse His own Son what He now asks--He who once bought mercies with His blood. O, be of good cheer, continue still thy supplication, for Jesus "ever liveth to make intercession" for thee.

_Holiness._

Holiness is the architectural plan upon which God buildeth up His living temple.

_The New Heart._

God does not promise that He will improve our nature, or that He will mend our broken hearts. No; the promise is, that He will give us new hearts and right spirits. Human nature is too far gone ever to be mended. It is not a house which is a little out of repair, with here and there a slate blown from the roof, and here and there a piece of plaster broken down from the ceiling. No; it is rotten throughout; the very foundations have been sapped; there is not a single timber in it which is sound; it is all rottenness from its uppermost roof to its lowest foundation, and ready to fall. God doth not attempt to mend; He does not shore up the walls, and re-paint the door; He does not garnish and beautify, but He determines that the old house shall be entirely swept away, and that He will build a new one. It is too far gone to be mended. If it were only a little out of repair, it might be restored. If only a wheel or two of that great thing called "Manhood" were out of repair, then He who made man might put the whole to rights; He might put a new cog where it had been broken off, and another wheel where it had gone to ruin, and the machine might work anew. But no; the whole of it is out of repair; there is not one lever which is not broken; not one axle which is not disturbed. "The whole head is sick, and the whole heart is faint. From the sole of the foot to the crown of the head, it is wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores." The Lord, therefore, does not attempt the repairing of this thing, but He says, "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you."

_The Christian's Daily Cross._

Believer, Christ Jesus presents thee with thy crosses, and they are no mean gifts.

_Joy Over the Repenting._

The angels know what the joys of heaven are, and therefore they rejoice over one sinner that repenteth. We talk about pearly gates, and golden streets, and white robes, and harps of gold, and crowns of amaranth; but if an angel could speak to us of heaven, he would smile and say, "All these fine things are but child's talk, and ye are little children, and ye cannot understand the greatness of eternal bliss; and therefore God has given you a child's horn-book, and an alphabet, in which you may learn the first rough letters of what heaven is, but _what it is_ thou dost not know. O mortal, thine eye hath never yet beheld its splendors; thine ear hath never yet been ravished with its melodies; thy heart has never been transported with its peerless joys." Yes, we may talk, and think, and guess, and dream, but we can never measure the infinite heaven which God has provided for His children. But the angels know its glory; hence a reason that they rejoice over the repenting sinner who has thus become heir to such an inheritance.

_God's Tender Care._

How careful God is of His people; how anxious He is concerning them, not only for their life, but for their comfort. Does He say, "Strengthen ye, strengthen ye my people?" Does He say to the angel, "Protect my people?" Does He not say to the heavens, "Drop down manna to feed my people?" all that, and more also. His tender regard secures to them. But to show us that He is not only regardful of our interests, but also of our superfluities, He says, "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people." He would have us not only His living people, and His preserved people, but He would have us His happy people too. He likes His people to be fed; but what is more, He likes to give them "Wines on the lees well refined," to make glad their hearts. He will not only give them "bread," but He will give them "honey" too; He will not simply give them "milk," but He will give them "wine and milk." "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people:" it is the Father's yearning heart, careful even for the little things of His people. "Comfort ye" that one with a tearful eye; "Comfort ye" yon child of mine with an aching heart; "Comfort ye" that poor bemoaning one; "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God."

_The Christian's Crown._

Have Christians a crown? O, yes; but they do not wear it every day. They have a crown, but their coronation-day is not yet arrived; they have been anointed monarchs; they have some of the authority and dignity of monarchs, only they are not crowned monarchs yet. But the crown is made. God will not have to order heaven's goldsmiths to fashion it in after-time: it is made already, hanging up in glory. God hath "laid up for me a crown of righteousness."

_Obedience to God's Will._

To the Christian there is no argument so potent as God's will. God's will is the believer's law. He doth not ask what shall it profit him--what shall be the good effect of it upon others, but he simply says, "Doth my Father command it?" And his prayer is, "O Holy Spirit, help me to obey, not because I see how it shall be good for me, but simply because thou commandest." It is the Christian's privilege to do God's commandments, "Hearkening to the voice of His Word."

_The Gospel._

There is everything in the gospel that you want. Do you want something to bear you up in trouble? It is in the gospel: "As thy days, so shall thy strength be." Do you need something to nerve you for duty? There is grace all-sufficient for everything which God calls you to undergo or to accomplish. Do you need something to light up the eye of your hope? O! there are joy-flashes in the gospel which make your eye flash back again the immortal fires of bliss. Do you want something to make you stand steadfast in the midst of temptation? In the gospel there is that which can make you immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. There is no passion, no affection, no thought, no wish, no power which the gospel has not filled to the very brim. The gospel was evidently meant for manhood: it is adapted to it in its every part. There is knowledge for the head; there is love for the heart; there is guidance for the foot.

_Believing Prayer._

Prayers are heard in heaven very much in proportion to our faith. Little faith will get very great mercies, but great faith still greater. It was the custom in old times, for all the poor in the parish to call at every house with bowls for provisions; and whatever size the bowl was, every generous person would fill it. Faith is our bowl: if we have got only "little faith," we shall get that filled; but if we have got "great faith," we shall have that filled also. Little faith getteth much; but great faith is a noble and princely merchant, and doth a great trade--it obtaineth millions where little faith only gaineth hundreds. Great faith getteth hold of God's treasure.

_Warfare for Sin._

O Christian, never take hold of sin, except with a gauntlet on thy hand; never go to it with the kid-glove of friendship; never talk delicately of it; but always hate it in every shape. If it comes to thee as a little fox, take heed of it, for it will spoil the grapes. Whether it bounds towards thee as a roaring lion, seeking whom it may devour, or makes advances in an attractive form, with graceful mien, seeking by a pretended affection to entice thee into sin--beware; for its hug is death, and its clasp destruction. Sin of every kind thou art to war with--of lip, of hand, of heart. However gilded with profit; however varnished with the seemliness of morality; however complimented by the great, or however popular with the multitude, thou art to hate sin everywhere, in all its disguises, at every time, and in every place. Not one sin is to be spared, but against the whole is to be proclaimed an utter and entire war of extermination.

_How to Read the Bible._

You may read the Bible continuously, and yet never learn anything by it, unless it is illuminated by the Spirit; and then the words shine forth like stars. The book seems made of gold leaf; every single letter glitters like a diamond. O! it is a blessed thing to read an illuminated Bible lit up by the radiance of the Holy Ghost. Hast thou read the Bible, and yet have thine eyes been unenlightened? Go and say, "O Lord, illuminate it; shine upon it; for I cannot read it to profit, unless Thou enlightenest me." Blind men may read the Bible with their fingers, but blind souls cannot. We want a light to read the Bible by; there is no reading it in the dark.

_A View of Christ._

A view of Christ is always beneficial to a Christian--too much of Christ we cannot have--there can be no tautology where His name is mentioned. Give us Christ always, Christ ever. The monotony of Christ is sweet variety; and even the unity of Christ hath in it all the elements of harmony. Christ on His cross and on His throne, in the manger and in the tomb--Christ everywhere is sweet to us. We love His name, we adore His person, we delight to hear of His works--the theme is ever new.

There are some who complain that their love to the Saviour is faint and cold. But this would not be if they were more with Jesus. The closer you live to Christ, and the more you know Him, the better you will love Him. Do not try to produce in yourself a certain degree of love to Christ by some extraordinary means; but go into His presence, meditate upon Him continually, picture to yourself His sufferings for you, and then you will love Him--it will become easy to you, for _He_ will draw your poor heart closer to himself, as you thus think about Him; and your love to Him will grow just in proportion as you realize His love to you.

_The Author and Finisher of Faith._

O Lord! of what small account are the best of men apart from Thee! How high they rise when Thou liftest them up! How low they fall if Thou withdraw Thy hand! It is our joy, amidst distress, when Thou enablest us to say, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him;" but if Thou take away Thy Spirit, we cannot even trust Thee in the brightest day. When storms gather round us we can smile at them, if Thou be with us; but in the fairest morn which ever shone on human heart, we doubt and we miscarry if Thou be not with us still, to preserve and strengthen the faith which Thou hast Thyself bestowed.

_The Glad Command._

"Delight thyself in the Lord." This law of one command is no stony law to be written upon tablets of granite, but it contains a precept, for sparkling brightness worthy to be written on amethysts and pearls. "Delight thyself in the Lord." When delight becomes a duty, duty must certainly be a delight. When it becomes my duty to be happy, and I have an express command to be glad, I must indeed be foolish if I refuse my own joys, and turn aside from my own bliss. O, what a God we have, who has made it our duty to be happy! What a gracious God, who accounts no obedience to be so worthy of his acceptance as a gladsome obedience rendered by a joyous heart. "Delight thyself in the Lord."

_Untiring Delight._

Who ever called the sea monotonous? Even to the mariner, travelling over it as he does, sometimes by the year together, there is always a freshness in the undulation of the waves, the whiteness of the foam of the breaker, the curl of the crested billow, and the frolicsome pursuit of every wave by its long train of brothers. Which of us has ever complained that the sun gave us but little variety? What though at morn he yoke the same steeds, and flash from his car the same golden glory, climb with dull uniformity the summit of the skies, then drive his chariot downward, and bid his flaming coursers steep their burning fetlocks in the western deep? Or who among us would complain loathingly of the bread which we eat, that it palls upon the sense of taste? We eat it to-day, to-morrow, the next day; we have eaten it for years which are passed; still the one unvarying food is served upon the table, and bread remains the staff of life. Translate these earthly experiences into heavenly mysteries. If Christ is your food and your spiritual bread; if Christ is your sun, your heavenly light; if Christ is the sea of love in which your passions swim, and all your joys are found, it is not possible that you as Christian men, should complain of monotony in Him. "He is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever;" and yet He has the "dew of His youth." He is like the manna in the golden pot, which was always the same; but he is also like the manna which came down from heaven, every morning new. He is as the rod of Moses, which was dry, and changed not its shape; but he is also to us as the rod of Aaron, which buds, and blossoms, and brings forth almonds.

_Divine Teaching._

In the depth of troubles we learn the sufficiency of grace. Well may they "glory in tribulations also," who have learnt in them the most profitable lessons of grace--proved in them how ample is the provision of grace, and realized in them the certainty of the triumph of grace. I know not whether all soldiers love the thought of war--some do; there are many who pant for a campaign. How often an officer of low rank has repeated the murmur, "There is no promotion; no hope of rising; no honors; no prize-money, as if we had to fight. Could we rush to the cannon's mouth, there would be some prospect before us of gaining promotion in the ranks." Men get few medals to hang upon their breasts who never know the smell of gunpowder. The brave days, as men call them, of Nelson and Trafalgar have gone by; and we thank God for it. Still we do not expect to see such brave old veterans, the offspring of this age, as those who are still to be found lingering in our hospitals, the relics of our old campaigns. No, brethren, we must have trials if we are to get on. Young men do not become midshipmen altogether through going to the school at Greenwich, and climbing the mast on dry land; they must go out to sea. We must do business in great waters; we must be really on the deck in a storm, if we would see the works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep. We must have stood side by side with King David; we must have gone down into the pit to slay the lion, or have lifted up the spear against the eight hundred, if we would know the saving strength of God's right hand. Conflicts bring experience, and experience brings that growth in grace which is not to be attained by any other means.

_Seeking Christ._

Consider, O waiting soul, that the mercy is worth tarrying for. Is it not salvation--thy soul's deliverance from hell? A long tarrying at the gate of mercy will be well repaid, if the King, at last, will give thee this jewel of exceeding price.

Bethink thee, also, how utterly unworthy thou art of the mercy; therefore be not loath to humble thyself, or patiently to abide the sovereign will of Jehovah. Proud men must be noticed at once, or they will depart; but thou hast nothing to boast of, and shouldst feel that if He disregarded thee for a long season, thine unworthiness could demand no apology for his delay. Moreover, remember that He _will_ hear at last. His promise would be violated, if one praying soul could perish; for He has said, "Seek, and ye _shall_ find"--"Whosoever calleth on the name of the Lord _shall_ be saved." The delay may be for thy good, to lay thee lower in the dust of self-abasement, or to make thee more earnest for the blessing. Possibly the Lord intends to try thy faith, that, like the woman of Syrophenicia, thou mayst reflect honor on Him by thy confidence in Him. Pray on, for "the Lord is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him."

"_Christ in You._"

What is it to have "Christ in you?" The Romanist hangs the cross on his bosom; the true Christian carries the cross in his heart; and a cross inside the heart is one of the sweetest cures for a cross on the back. If you have a cross in your heart--Christ crucified in you, the hope of glory--the cross of this world's troubles will seem to you light enough, and you will easily be able to sustain it. Christ in the heart, means Christ believed in, Christ beloved, Christ trusted, Christ espoused, Christ communed with, Christ as our daily food, and ourselves as the temple and palace wherein Jesus Christ daily walks. Ah! there are many who are total strangers to the meaning of this phrase. They do not know what it is to have Jesus Christ in them. Though they know a little about Christ on Calvary, they know nothing about Christ in the heart. Now, remember, that Christ on Calvary will save no man, unless Christ be in the heart. The Son of Mary, born in the manger, will not save you, unless He be also born in your heart, and live there--your joy, your strength, and your consolation.

_Consolation._

Consolation is the dropping of a gentle dew from heaven on desert hearts beneath; it is one of the choicest gifts of divine mercy.

_Self-Examination._

"If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious." "_If_"--then there is a possibility that some may _not_ have tasted that the Lord is gracious, and it is needful to inquire whether we are amongst the number who know the grace of God by heart-experience. There is no spiritual revelation which may not be a matter of heart-searching. At the very summit of holy delight we meet the challenge of sentinel "If"--"If ye then be risen with Christ;" and at the very bottom of the hill, even at Repentance-gate itself, He meets us with a warrant of arrest, until He sees whether our sorrow is the godly sorrow which needeth not to be repented of. "If thou be the Son of God," is not always a temptation of the devil, but often a very healthy inquiry, most fittingly suggested by holy anxiety to men who would build securely upon the Rock of Ages. At the Lord's Table itself it is proper for us to pray, "Lord, is it I?" when there is a Judas in the company; and after the most intimate fellowship, Christ exclaimed, "Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?" Let no enjoyment of ordinances, let no high and rapt fellowship which we may have known, exempt us from the great duty of proving ourselves whether we be in the faith. Examine yourselves then in this matter, and rest not satisfied until you can say, "There is no 'if' about it; I _have tasted_ that the Lord is gracious."

_Heaven an Inheritance._

"The _inheritance of the saints_." So then, heaven, with all its glories, is an _inheritance_. Now, an inheritance is not a thing which is bought with money, earned by labor, or won by conquest. If any man hath an inheritance, in the proper sense of that term, it came to him by birth. And thus it is with heaven. The man who shall receive this glorious heritage, will not obtain it by the works of the law, nor by the efforts of the flesh; it will be given to him as a matter of most gracious right, because he has been "begotten again unto a lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead;" and has thus become an heir of heaven by blood and birth. They who come unto glory are sons; for is it not written, "The Captain of our salvation bringeth many sons unto glory?" They come not there as servants; no servant has any right to the inheritance of his master. Be he never so faithful, yet is he not his master's heir. But because ye are sons--sons by the Spirit's regeneration--sons by the Father's adoption--because by supernatural energy ye have been born again, ye become inheritors of eternal life, and ye enter into the many mansions of our Father's house above. Let us always understand, then, when we think of heaven, that it is a place which is to be ours, and a state which we are to enjoy as the result of _birth_--not as the result of work. "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." That kingdom being an "inheritance," until ye have the new birth ye can have no claim to enter it.

_The Sleep of Death._

"The sleep of death"--what is this sleep? We know that the surface idea connected with sleep is that of _resting_. The eyes of the sleeper ache no more with the glare of light or with the rush of tears; his ears are teased no more with the noise of strife or the murmur of suffering; his hand is no more weakened by long protracted effort and painful weariness; his feet are no more blistered with journeyings to and fro along a rugged road; there is ease for aching heads, and overtaxed nerves, and heavy hearts, in the sweet repose of sleep. On yonder couch, however hard, the laborer shakes off his toil, the merchant his care, the thinker his difficulties, and the sufferer his pains. Sleep makes each night a Sabbath for the day. Sleep shuts to the door of the soul, and bids all intruders tarry for a while. So is it with the body while it sleeps in the tomb. The weary are at rest: the servant is as much at ease as his lord. No more the worker leans on his spade, no more the thinker props his pensive head. The wheel stands still; the shuttle is not in motion; the hand which turned the one and the fingers which threw the other are quiet also. The grave shuts out all disturbance, labor, or effort. The toilworn believer quietly sleeps, as does the child weary with its play, when it shuts its eyes and slumbers on its mother's breast. O! happy they who die in the Lord; they rest from their labors, and their works do follow them. We would not shun toil, for though it be in itself a curse, it is, when sanctified, a blessing; yet toil for toil's sake we would not choose: and when _God's_ work is done, we are too glad to think that _our_ work is done too. The mighty Husbandman, when we have fulfilled our day, shall bid His servants rest upon the best of beds, for the clods of the valley shall be sweet to them. Their repose shall never be broken until He shall rouse them up to give them their full reward. Guarded by angel-watchers, curtained by eternal mysteries, resting on the lap of mother earth, ye shall sleep on, ye heritors of glory, till the fulness of time shall bring you the fulness of redemption.

_Foretastes of Heaven._

Is it possible for us to know anything whatever of our heavenly home? Is there power in human intellect to fly into the land of the hereafter, where God's people rest eternally? Our inquiry is met at the outset by what seems a positive denial: "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." If we paused here, we might give up all idea of beholding from hence that "goodly land and Lebanon;" but we do not pause, for, like the apostle, we go on with the text, and we add, "But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit." It _is_ possible to look within the veil; God's Spirit _can_ turn it aside for a moment, and bid us take a glimpse, though it be a distant one, at that unutterable glory. There are "Pisgahs" even now on the earth, from the top of which the celestial Canaan can be beheld; there are hallowed hours in which the mists and clouds are swept away, and the sun shineth in his strength, and our eye, being freed from its natural dimness, beholds something of that land which is very far off, and sees a little of the joy and blessedness which is reserved for the people of God hereafter. By the Holy Spirit there is given to them, even now, in seasons of blissful communion, such experiences, joys, and feelings, as seem to bring heaven down to them, and make them able to realize, in some faint measure, what heaven itself must be.

_The Work of the Spirit._

Let us ever remember that Christ on the cross is of no value to us apart from the Holy Spirit in us. In vain that blood is flowing, unless the finger of the Spirit applies the blood to our conscience; in vain is that garment of righteousness wrought out, unless the Holy Spirit wraps it around us, and arrays us in its costly folds. The river of the water of life cannot quench our thirst, till the Spirit presents the goblet and lifts it to our lips. All the things which are in the paradise of God could never be blissful to us, so long as we are dead souls--and dead we are, until that heavenly wind comes and breathes upon us, that we may live. We do not hesitate to say, that we owe as much to God the Holy Ghost, as we do to God the Son. Indeed, it were a high sin and misdemeanor to attempt to put one person of the divine Trinity before another. Thou, O Father, art the source of all grace, all love and mercy towards us. Thou, O Son, art the channel of Thy Father's mercy, and without Thee Thy Father's love could never flow to us. And Thou, O Spirit, art He who enables us to receive that divine virtue which flows from the fountain-head, the Father, through Christ the channel, and which, by Thy means, enters into our heart, and there abides, and brings forth its glorious fruit. Magnify, then, the Spirit. There never yet was a heavenly thought, a hallowed deed, or a consecrated act, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ, which was not worked in us by the Holy Spirit.

_Peace._

The believer enjoys, in favored seasons, such an intimacy with the Lord Jesus, as fills his heart with an overflowing peace. O! there are sweet words which Jesus whispers in the ears of His people, and there are love-visits which He pays to them, which a man would not believe, even though it should be told unto him. He who would comprehend it, must experience in his own heart what it is to have fellowship with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. There is such a thing as Christ manifesting Himself to us as He does not unto the world. All doubting thoughts are banished then, and we can say, "I am my Beloved's, and my Beloved is mine." This is the one all-absorbing feeling. And what wonder is it that the believer has such deep peace, when Christ thus dwells in the heart, and reigns there without a rival? It were a miracle of miracles, if we did _not_ have peace. But how is it that our peace is not more continuous? The only explanation of our frequent loss of peace is, that our communion is broken, and our fellowship is marred; else would our peace be like a river, and our righteousness like the waves of the sea. Live near the cross, and your peace shall be continual.

_Earth's Seasons._

The things which are seen are types of the things which are not seen. The works of creation are pictures to the children of God of the secret mysteries of grace. God's truths are the apples of gold, and the visible creatures are the baskets of silver. The very seasons of the year find their parallel in the little world of man within. We have our winter--dreary, howling winter--when the north wind of the law rusheth forth against us; when every hope is nipped; when all the seeds of joy lie buried beneath the dark clods of despair; when our soul is fast fettered like a river bound with ice, without waves of joy, or flowings of thanksgiving. Thanks be unto God, the soft south wind breathes upon our soul, and at once the waters of desire are set free, the spring of love cometh on, flowers of hope appear in our hearts, the trees of faith put forth their young shoots, the time of the singing-birds cometh in our hearts, and we have joy and peace in believing through the Lord Jesus Christ. That happy springtide is followed in the believer by a rich summer, when his graces, like fragrant flowers, are in full bloom, loading the air with perfume; and fruits of the Spirit, like citrons and pomegranates, swell into their full proportion in the genial warmth of the Sun of Righteousness. Then cometh the believer's autumn, when his fruits grow ripe, and his fields are ready for the harvest; the time has come when his Lord shall gather together his "pleasant fruits," and store them in heaven; the feast of ingathering is at hand--the time when the year shall begin anew, an unchanging year, like the years of the right hand of the Most High.

_Love Undeserved._

There is nothing which makes one love Christ, so much as a sense of His love balanced with a sense of our unworthiness of it. It is sweet to think that Christ loves us; but, O, to remember that we are black as the "tents of Kedar," and yet he loves us! This is a thought which may well wean us from everything else beside.

_The Infallible Commentary._

Those who would best know God's Word, must study it in its own light.

_A Place of Trust._

_Take care that thou puttest all thy dear ones into God's hand_. Thou hast put thine own soul there, put their souls and bodies likewise into His custody. Thou canst trust Him for temporals for thyself, trust thy jewels with Him. Feel that they are not thine own, but that they are God's loans to thee--loans which may be recalled at any moment--precious denizens of heaven, not entailed upon thee, but of which thou art only a tenant at will. Your possessions are never so safe as when you are willing to resign them, and you are never so rich as when you put all you have into the hand of the Lord. You shall find it greatly mitigate the sorrow of bereavements, if before bereavement you shall have learned to surrender every day all the things which are dearest to you, into the keeping of your gracious God.

"_Consider Him._"

O believer, who art weary and disheartened because of the roughness of the way, look at the Master's footsteps, and see how _He_ suffered. You are tried and troubled, and you ask for consolation. What better can be afforded you than what is presented to you in the fact that Jesus Christ is one with you in your nature--that He has suffered all that you are now suffering--that your pathway has been aforetime trodden by His sacred foot--that the cup of which you drink is a cup which He has drained to the very bottom--that the river through which you pass is one through which He swam, and every wave and billow which rolls over your head did in old time roll over Him. Come! are you ashamed and unwilling to suffer what your Master suffered? Shall the disciple be above his Master, and the servant above his Lord? Shall he die upon a cross, and will not you bear the cross? Must He be crowned with thorns, and shall you be crowned with laurel? Is He to be pierced in hands and feet, and are His followers to feel no pain? O, cast away the fond delusion. Look to Him who "endured the cross, despising the shame," and be ready to endure and to suffer even as He did. You have His example to guide you, and His sympathy to cheer you.

_The Joy of Pardon._

O what a joyous thing it is to have a ray of heavenly sunlight in the soul, and to hear the very voice of God as He walks in the garden of our souls in the cool of the day, saying to us, "Son, thy sins which are many, are all forgiven thee." The whisper of that heavenly voice may raise our heart to bliss almost divine. It confers a joy not to be equalled by all the pleasures, the riches, and the enjoyments of this world can afford. To have the divine kiss of acceptance, to be robed in the best robe, to wear the ring on the hand and the shoes on the feet, to hear the heavenly music and dancing with which returning prodigals are welcomed to their Father's house--this, indeed, is bliss and blessedness worth worlds to realize.

_Inexhaustible Promises._

God's promises are not exhausted when they are fulfilled, for when once performed, they stand just as good as they did before, and we may wait a second accomplishment of them. Man's promises, even at the best, are like a cistern which holds but a temporary supply; but God's promises are as a fountain, never emptied, ever overflowing, so you may draw from them the whole measure of that which they apparently contain, and they shall be still as full as ever.

_The Fulness of Christ._

At our very best we are strangers to much of the incomparable sweetness of Christ. We shall never exhaust His goodness by our praise, for He is ever so fresh, and has so much of the dew of His youth, that every day he has a new song to sing. We shall find Him a new Christ every day of our lives, and yet He is ever the same; His surpassing excellence and unexhausted fulness thus constantly renew our love. O Jesus! none can guess how great is the least of Thine attributes, or how rich the poorest of Thy gifts.

_True Blessing._

Christ, when He blesses, blesses not in word only, but in deed. The lips of truth cannot promise more than the hands of love will surely give.

_Faith and Feeling._

We are saved by faith, and not by feeling; yet there is a relation between holy faith and hallowed feeling like that between the root and the flower. Faith is permanent as the root which is ever embedded in the soil; feeling is casual, and has its seasons--the bulb does not always shoot up the green stem, far less is it always crowned with its many flowers. Faith is the tree, the essential tree: our feelings are like the appearance of that tree during the different seasons of the year. Sometimes our soul is full of bloom and blossom, and the bees hum pleasantly, and gather honey within our hearts. It is then that our feelings bear witness to the life of our faith, just as the buds of spring bear witness to the life of the tree. Anon, our feelings gather still greater vigor, and after we come to the summer of our delights, again perhaps, we begin to wither into the sear and yellow leaf of autumn; nay, sometimes the winter of our despondency and despair will strip away every leaf from the tree, and our poor faith stands like a blasted stem without a sign of verdure. And yet, so long as the tree of faith is there, we are saved. Whether faith blossom or not, whether it bring forth joyous fruit in our experience or not, so long as it be there in all its permanence, we are saved. Yet should we have the gravest reason to distrust the life of our faith, if it did not sometimes blossom with joy, and often bring forth fruit unto holiness.

_Near Home._

The best moment of a Christian's life is his last one, because it is the one which is nearest heaven; and then it is that he begins to strike the key-note of the song which he shall sing to all eternity. O! what a song will that be!

_Beauty in Christ._

There is a thing called _beauty_, which wins upon the hearts of men. Mighty men, not a few, have bowed before it, and paid it homage; but if you want true beauty, look into the face of Jesus, for there you have the concentration of all loveliness. There is no beauty anywhere but in Christ. O sun, thou art not fair, when once compared with Him. O, fair world, and grand creation of a glorious God, thou art but a dim and dusky blot compared with the splendors of His face. When we shall see Christ, we shall be compelled to say that we never knew what loveliness was before. When the clouds are swept away, when the curtains which hide Him from our view are drawn aside, we shall find that not anything we have seen or heard of, grand or graceful, in the wide universe, will bear a moment's comparison with Him, who was once seen as a root out of a dry ground, but shall presently fill heaven and earth with lustre, and gladden all hearts with His glory.

_The Savior's Legacy._