Get thee up into the high mountain Isaiah chapter 40 verse 9 each believer should be thirsting for God for the living God and longing to climb the hill of the Lord and see him face to face we ought not to rest content in the mists of the valley when the summit of Tabor awaits us My soul thirsteth to drink deep of the cup which is reserved for those who reach the mountain's brow, and bathe their brows in heaven. How pure are the dews of the hills! How fresh is the mountain air! How rich the fair of the dwellers aloft, whose windows look into the new Jerusalem!

Many saints are content to live like men in coal mines who see not the sun. They eat dust like the serpent when they might taste the ambrosial meat of angels. They are content to wear the miner's garb when they might put on king's robes. Tears mar their faces when they might anoint them with celestial oil. Satisfied I am that many a believer pines in a dungeon when he might walk on the palace roof and view the goodly land and Lebanon.

Rouse thee, O believer, from thy low condition. Cast away thy sloth, thy lethargy, thy coldness, or whatever interferes with thy chaste and pure love to Christ, thy soul's husband. Make him the source, the center, and the circumference of all thy soul's range of delight. What enchants thee into such folly as to remain in a pit, when thou mayest sit on a throne? Live not in the lowlands of bondage, now that mountain liberty is conferred upon thee. Rest no longer satisfied with thy dwarfish attainments, but press forward to things more sublime and heavenly. Aspire to a higher, a nobler, a fuller life. Upward to heaven, nearer to God.

When wilt thou come unto me, Lord? O come, my Lord most dear. Come near, come nearer, nearer still. I'm blessed when thou art near.

Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty. Isaiah chapter 33 verse 17 The more you know about Christ, the less will you be satisfied with superficial views of him, and the more deeply you study his transactions in the eternal covenant, his engagements on your behalf as the eternal surety, and the fullness of his grace which shines in all his offices, the more truly will you see the King in his beauty. Be much in such outlooks. Long more and more to see Jesus. Meditation and contemplation are often like windows of a gate and gates of carbuncle through which we behold the Redeemer. Meditation puts the telescope to the eye and enables us to see Jesus after a better sort than we could have seen him if we lived in the days of his flesh. would that our conversation were more in heaven and that we were more taken up with the person, the work, the beauty of our incarnate Lord. More meditation and the beauty of the King would flash upon us with more resplendence.

Beloved, it is very probable that we shall have such a sight of our glorious King as we never had before when we come to die. Many saints in dying have looked up from amidst the stormy waters and have seen Jesus walking on the waves of the sea and heard him say, it is I, be not afraid. Ah yes, when the tenement begins to shake and the clay falls away, we see Christ through the rifts and between the rafters the sunlight of heaven comes streaming in.

but if we want to see face to face the king in his beauty we must go to heaven for the sight or the king must come here in person

oh that he would come on the wings of the wind

he is our husband and we are widowed by his absence

he is our brother dear and fair and we are lonely without him

Thick veils and clouds hang between our souls and their true life.

When shall the day break and the shadows flee away?

Oh, long-expected day begins.

The Lord's portion is his people. Deuteronomy chapter 32 verse 9.

How are they his?

by his own sovereign choice.

He chose them and set his love upon them.

This he did altogether apart from any goodness in them at the time, or any goodness which he foresaw in them.

He had mercy on whom he would have mercy, and ordained a chosen company unto eternal life.

Thus, therefore, are they his by his unconstrained election.

They are not only his by choice, but by purchase.

He has bought and paid for them to the utmost farthing.

Hence, about this title, there can be no dispute.

Not with corruptible things, as with silver and gold, but with the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Lord's portion has been fully redeemed.

There is no mortgage on his estate.

No suits can be raised by opposing claimants.

The price was paid in open court, and the church is the Lord's freehold forever.

See the blood mark upon all the chosen, invisible to the human eye, but known to Christ.

For the Lord knoweth them that are his.

He forgeteth none of those whom he has redeemed from among men.

He counts the sheep for whom he lay down his life, and remembers well the church for which he gave himself.

They are also his by conquest.

What a battle he had in us before we would be won!

How long he laid siege to our hearts!

How often he sent us terms of capitulation!

But we barred our gates and fenced our walls against him.

Do we not remember that glorious hour when he carried our hearts by storm, when he placed his cross against the wall and scaled our ramparts, planting on our strongholds the blood-red flag of his omnipotent mercy?

Yes, we are indeed the conquered captives of his omnipotent love.

Thus chosen, purchased, and subdued the rights of our divine possessor are inalienable.

We rejoice that we never can be our own and we desire day by day to do his will and to show forth his glory.

Underneath are the everlasting arms. Deuteronomy chapter 33 verse 27

God, the Eternal God, is Himself our support at all times, and especially when we're sinking in deep trouble. There are seasons when the Christian sinks very low in humiliation. Under a deep sense of his great sinfulness, he is humbled before God, till he scarcely knows how to pray, because he appears, in his own sight, so worthless. Well, child of God, remember that when thou art at thy worst and lowest, yet underneath thee are everlasting arms. Sin may drag thee ever so low, but Christ's great atonement is still under all. You may have descended into the deeps, but you cannot have fallen so low as the uttermost. and, to the uttermost, he saves. Again, the Christian sometimes sinks very deeply in sore trial from without. Every earthly prop is cut away. What then? Still, underneath him are the everlasting arms. He cannot fall so deep in distress and affliction, but what the covenant grace of an ever-faithful God will still encircle him. The Christian may be sinking under trouble from within through fierce conflict. But even then, he cannot be brought so low as to be beyond the reach of the everlasting arms. They are underneath him. And while thus sustained, all Satan's efforts to harm him avail nothing. This assurance of support is a comfort to any weary but earnest worker in the service of God. It implies a promise of strength for each day, grace for each need, and power for each duty. And further, when death comes, the promise shall still hold good. When we stand in the midst of Jordan, we shall be able to say with David, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. We shall descend into the grave, but we shall go no lower, for the eternal arms prevent our further fall. All through life, and at its close, we shall be upheld by the everlasting arms. Arms that neither flag nor lose their strength. For the everlasting God fainteth not, neither is weary. Behold I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands. Isaiah chapter 49 verse 16. No doubt a part of the wonder which is concentrated in the word behold is excited by the unbelieving lamentation of the preceding sentence. Zion said the Lord hath forsaken me and my God hath forgotten me. How amazed the divine mind seems to be at this wicked unbelief! What can be more astounding than the unfounded doubts and fears of God's favored people? The Lord's loving word of rebuke should make us blush. He cries, How can I have forgotten thee when I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands? How darest thou doubt my constant remembrance, when the memorial is set upon my very flesh? O unbelief, how strange a marvel thou art! We know not which most to wonder at, the faithfulness of God, or the unbelief of his people. He keeps his promise a thousand times, and yet the next trial makes us doubt him. He never faileth. He is never a dry well. He is never as a setting sun, a passing meteor, or a melting vapor. And yet we are as continually vexed with anxieties, molested with suspicions, and disturbed with fears, as if our God were the mirage of the desert. Behold is a word intended to excite admiration. Here indeed we have a theme for marveling. Heaven and earth may well be astonished that rebels should obtain so great a nearness to the heart of infinite love as to be written upon the palms of his hands. I have graven thee. It does not say thy name. The name is there, but that is not all. I have graven thee. See the fullness of this. I have graven thy person, thine image, thy case, thy circumstances, thy sins, thy temptations, thy weaknesses, thy wants, thy works. I have graven thee. Everything about thee. All that concerns thee. I have put thee all together there. Will thou ever say again that thy God hath forsaken thee, when he has graven thee upon his own palms? Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the companions hearken to thy voice. Cause me to hear it. Song of Solomon chapter 8 verse 13. My sweet Lord Jesus remembers well the garden of Gethsemane. And although he has left that garden, he now dwells in the garden of his church. There he unbosoms himself to those who keep his blessed company. That voice of love with which he speaks to his beloved is more musical than the harps of heaven. There is a depth of melodious love within it which leaves all human music far behind. Tens of thousands on earth and millions above are indulged with its harmonious accents. Some, whom I well know and whom I greatly envy, are at this moment hearkening to the beloved voice. Oh, that I were a partaker of their joys! It is true, some of these are poor, others bedridden, and some near the gates of death, but, O my Lord, I would cheerfully starve with them, pine with them, or die with them, if I might but hear thy voice. Once I did hear it often, but I have grieved thy spirit. Return unto me in compassion, and once again say unto me, I am thy salvation. No other voice can content me. I know thy voice, and cannot be deceived by another. Let me hear it, I pray thee. I know not what thou wilt say, Neither do I make any condition, O my beloved, Do but let me hear thee speak, And if it be a rebuke, I will bless thee for it. Perhaps the cleanse my dull ear May need an operation very grievous to the flesh, But let it cost what it may, I turn not from the one consuming desire cause me to hear thy voice bore my ear afresh pierce my ear with thy harshest notes only do not permit me to continue deaf to thy calls tonight lord grant thine unworthy one his desire for I am thine and thou has bought me with thy blood thou has opened mine eye to see thee and the sight has saved me Lord open thou mine ear I have read thy heart now let me hear thy lips I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought, Hosea 13, verse 5. Yes, Lord, thou didst indeed know me in my fallen state, and thou didst even then choose me for thyself. When I was loathsome and self-abhorred, thou didst receive me as thy child, and thou didst satisfy my craving wants. Blessed forever be thy name for this free, rich, abounding mercy. Since then, my inward experience has often been a wilderness. But thou hast owned me still as thy beloved and poured streams of love and grace into me to gladden me and make me fruitful. Yea, when my outward circumstances have been at the worst, And I have wandered in a land of drought, Thy sweet presence has soulless me. Men have not known me when scorn has awaited me, But thou hast known my soul in adversities, For no affliction dims the luster of thy love. Most gracious Lord, I magnify thee for all thy faithfulness to me in trying circumstances, and I deplore that I should at any time have forgotten thee and been exalted in heart, when I have owed all to thy gentleness and love. Have mercy upon my servant in this thing. My soul, if Jesus thus acknowledged thee in thy lowest state be sure that thou own both himself and his cause now thou art in thy prosperity. Be not lifted up by thy worldly successes so as to be ashamed of the truth or of the poor church with which thou has been associated. Follow Jesus into the wilderness Bear the cross with him when the heat of persecution grows hot. He owned thee, O my soul, in thy poverty and shame. Never be so treacherous as to be ashamed of him. Oh, for more shame at the thought of being ashamed of my best beloved. Jesus, my soul cleaveth to thee. I'll turn to thee in days of light as well as nights of care. Thou brightest amid all that's bright, thou fairest of the fair. and knew not until the flood came and took them all away. So shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. Matthew 24, verse 39. Universal was the doom. Neither rich nor poor escaped. The learned and the illiterate, the admired and the abhorred, the religious and the profane, the old and the young, all sank in one common ruin. Some had doubtless ridiculed the patriarch. Where now their merry jests? Others had threatened him for his zeal, which they counted madness. Where now their boastings and hard speeches? The critic who judged the old man's work is drowned in the same sea which covers his sneering companions. Those who spoke patronizingly of the good man's fidelity to his convictions but shared not in them have sunk to rise no more, and the workers who for pay helped to build the wondrous ark are all lost also. The flood swept them all away and made no single exception. Even so, out of Christ, final destruction is sure to every man of woman born. No rank, possession, or character shall suffice to save a single soul who has not believed in the Lord Jesus. My soul, behold this widespread judgment and tremble at it. How marvelous the general apathy! They were all eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, till the awful morning dawned. There was not one wise man upon earth out of the Ark. Folly duped the whole race. Folly as to self-preservation, the most foolish of all follies. Folly in doubting the most true God, the most malignant of fooleries. Strange, my soul, is it not? All men are negligent of their souls till grace gives them reason. Then they leave their madness and act like rational beings, but not till then. All, blessed be God, were safe in the ark. No ruin entered there. From the huge elephant down to the tiny mouse, all were safe. The timid hare was equally secure with the courageous lion, the helpless coney as safe as the laborious ox. All are safe in Jesus. My soul, art thou in Him. I am the Lord, I change not. Malachi chapter 3 verse 6 It is well for us that amidst all the variableness of life, there is one whom change cannot affect, one whose heart can never alter, and on whose brow mutability can make no furrows. All things else have changed, all things are changing. The sun itself grows dim with age. The world is waxing old. The folding up of the worn-out vesture has commenced. The heavens and earth must soon pass away. They shall perish. They shall wax old as doth a garment. But there is one who only hath immortality, of whose years there is no end, and in whose person there is no change.
The delight which the mariner feels, when after having been tossed about for many a day, he steps again upon the solid shore, is the satisfaction of a Christian when, amidst all the changes of this troublous life, he rests the foot of his faith upon this truth, I am the Lord, I change not.
The stability which the anchor gives the ship when it has at last obtained a holdfast is like that which the Christian's hope affords him when it fixes itself upon this glorious truth.

With God is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

Whatever his attributes were of old, they are now.

His power, his wisdom, his justice, his truth are alike, unchanged.

He has ever been the refuge of his people, their stronghold in the day of trouble, and he is their sure helper still.

He is unchanged in his love.

He has loved his people with an everlasting love.

He loves them now as much as he ever did.

And when all earthly things shall have melted in the last conflagration, his love will still wear the dew of its youth.

Precious is the assurance that he changes not.

The wheel of providence revolves, but its axle is eternal love.

Death and change are busy ever.

Man decays and ages move, but his mercy waneth never.

God is wisdom. God is love.
For my strength is made perfect in weakness. 2 Corinthians chapter 12 verse 9

A primary qualification for serving God with any amount of success, and for doing God's work well and triumphantly, is a sense of our own weakness.

When God's warrior marches forth to battle, strong in his own might, when he boasts, I know that I shall conquer, my own right arm and my conquering sword shall get unto me the victory, defeat is not far distant.

God will not go forth with that man who marches in his own strength.

He who reckoneth on victory thus has reckoned wrongly.

For it is not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.

They who go forth to fight, boasting of their prowess, shall return with their gay banners trailed in the dust, and their armor stained with disgrace.

Those who serve God must serve him in his own way, and in his strength, or he will never accept their service.

That which man doth, unaided by divine strength, God can never own.

The mere fruits of the earth he casteth away.

He will only reap that corn, the seed of which was sown from heaven, watered by grace, and ripened by the sun of divine love.

God will empty out all that thou hast before he will put his own into thee.

He will first clean out thy granaries before he will fill them with the finest of the wheat.

The river of God is full of water but not one drop of it flows from earthly springs

God will have no strength used in his battles, but the strength which he himself imparts.

Are you mourning over your own weakness?

Take courage, for there must be a consciousness of weakness before the Lord will give thee victory.

Your emptiness is but the preparation for your being filled, and your casting down is but the making ready for your lifting up.

When I am weak, then am I strong.

Grace is my shield and Christ my song.

I will pour water upon him that is thirsty. Isaiah chapter 44 verse 3.

When a believer has fallen into a low sad state of feeling he often tries to lift himself out of it by chasting himself with dark and doleful fears.

Such is not the way to rise from the dust but to continue in it.

As well chain the eagle's wing to make it mount as doubt in order to increase our grace.

It is not the law, but the gospel which saves the seeking soul at first.

And it is not legal bondage, but gospel liberty which can restore the fainting believer afterwards.

Slavish fear brings not back the backslider to God, but the sweet wooings of love allure him to Jesus' bosom.

Are you this morning thirsting for the living God, and unhappy because you cannot find him to the delight of your heart?

Have you lost the joy of religion, and is this your prayer?

Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation. Are you conscious also that you are barren like the dry ground, that you're not bringing forth the fruit unto God which he has a right to expect of you, that you're not so useful in the church or in the world as your heart desires to be, then here is exactly the promise which you need. I will pour water upon him that is thirsty. You shall receive the grace you so much require, and you shall have it to the utmost reach of your needs. Water refreshes the thirsty. You shall be refreshed. Your desires shall be gratified. Water quickens sleeping vegetable life. Your life shall be quickened by fresh grace. Water swells the buds and makes the fruits ripen. You shall have fruit to find grace. You shall be made fruitful in the ways of God. Whatever good quality there is in divine grace, you shall enjoy it to the full. All the riches of divine grace you shall receive in plenty. You shall be, as it were, drenched with it. And as sometimes the meadows become flooded by the bursting rivers, and the fields are turned into pools, so shall you be. The thirsty land shall be springs of water. His place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks. Bread shall be given him. His waters shall be sure.

Isaiah chapter 33 verse 16

Do you doubt, O Christian, do you doubt as to whether God will fulfil His promise? Shall the munitions of rock be carried by storm? Shall the storehouses of heaven fail? Do you think that your Heavenly Father, though He knoweth that you have need of food and raiment, will yet forget you? When not a sparrow falls to the ground without your Father, and the very hairs of your head are all numbered, will you mistrust and doubt Him? Perhaps your affliction will continue upon you till you dare to trust your God and then it shall end. For many there be who have been tried and sore vexed till at last they've been driven in sheer desperation to exercise faith in God and the moment of their faith has been the instant of their deliverance. They have seen whether God would keep his promise or not.

Oh, I pray you, doubt him no longer. Please not Satan. And vex not yourself by indulging any more those hard thoughts of God. Think it not a light matter to doubt Jehovah. Remember, it is a sin. And not a little sin either, but in the highest degree criminal. The angels never doubted him, nor the devils either. We alone out of all the beings that God has fashioned dishonor him by unbelief and tarnish his honor by mistrust. Shame upon us for this! Our God does not deserve to be so basely suspected. In our past life, we have proved Him to be true and faithful to His word, and with so many instances of His love and of His kindness as we have received and are daily receiving at His hands, it is base and inexcusable that we suffer a doubt to sojourn within our heart.

May we henceforth wage constant war against doubts of our God. Enemies to our peace and to his honor. And with an unstaggering faith, believe that what he has promised, he will also perform. Lord, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief.

The eternal God is thy refuge.

Deuteronomy chapter 33 verse 27

The word refuge may be translated mansion or abiding place which gives the thought that God is our abode, our home. There is a fullness and sweetness in the metaphor for dear to our hearts is our home although it be the humblest cottage or the scantiest garret and dear afar is our blessed God in whom we live and move and have our being. It is at home that we feel safe. We shut the world out and dwell in quiet security. So, when we are with God, we fear no evil. He is our shelter and retreat, our abiding refuge.

At home, we take our rest. It is there we find repose after the fatigue and toil of the day. And so our hearts find rest in God when, wearied with life's conflict, we turn to Him and our souls dwells at ease. At home also we let our hearts loose. We're not afraid of being misunderstood nor of our words being misconstrued. So, when we are with God, we can commune freely with him, laying open all our hidden desires. For if the secret of the Lord is with them that fear him, the secrets of them that fear him ought to be, and must be, with their Lord.

Home, too, is the place of our truest and purest happiness. And it is in God that our hearts find their deepest delight. We have joy in him which far surpasses all other joy. It is also for home that we work and labor. The thought of it gives strength to bear the daily burden and quickens the fingers to perform the task. And in this sense, we may also say that God is our home. Love to him strengthens us. We think of him in the person of his dear son, and a glimpse of the suffering face of the Redeemer constrains us to labor in his cause. We feel that we must work, for we have brethren yet to be saved, and we have our Father's heart to make glad by bringing home his wandering sons.

we would fill with holy mirth the sacred family among whom we dwell. Happy are those who have thus the God of Jacob for their refuge. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master. Matthew chapter 10 verse 25 No one would dispute this statement, for it would be unseemly for the servant to be exalted above his master. When our Lord was on earth, what was the treatment he received? Were his claims acknowledged, his instructions followed, his perfections worshipped by those whom he came to bless? No, he was despised and rejected of men. Outside the camp was his place. Cross-bearing was his occupation. Did the world yield him solace and rest? Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the son of man hath not where to lay his head. This inhospitable country afforded him no shelter. It cast him out and crucified him.

Such, if you are a follower of Jesus and maintain a consistent Christ-like walk and conversation you must expect to be the lot of that part of your spiritual life which in its outward development comes under the observation of men. They will treat it as they treated the Savior. They will despise it. Dream not that worldlings will admire you, or that the more holy and the more Christlike you are, the more peaceably people will act towards you. They prize not the polished gem. How shall they value the jewel in the rough? If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household? If we were more like Christ, we should be more hated by his enemies. It were a sad dishonor to a child of God to be the world's favorite. It is a very ill omen to hear a wicked world clap its hands and shout, well done to the Christian man. He may begin to look to his character and wonder whether he has not been doing wrong when the unrighteous give him their approbation. Let us be true to our master. and have no friendship with a blind and base world which scorns and rejects him. Far be it from us to seek a crown of honor where our Lord found a coronet of thorns. He shall choose our inheritance for us. Psalm 47 verse 4. Believer, if your inheritance be a lowly one, you should be satisfied with your earthly portion, for you may rest assured that it is the fittest for you. Unairing wisdom ordained your lot and selected for you the safest and best condition. A ship of large tonnage is to be brought up the river. Now in one part of the stream there is a sandbank. Should someone ask, why does the captain steer through the deep part of the channel and deviate so much from a straight line? His answer would be, because I should not get my vessel into harbour at all if I did not keep to the deep channel. So it may be you would run aground and suffer shipwreck if your divine captain did not steer you into the depths of affliction where waves of trouble follow each other in quick succession. Some plants die if they have too much sunshine. It may be that you are planted where you get but little. You are put there by the loving husbandman. Because only in that situation will you bring forth fruit unto perfection. Remember this. Had any other condition been better for you than the one in which you are divine love would have put you there. You are placed by God in the most suitable circumstances. And if you had the choosing of your lot you would soon cry, Lord, choose my inheritance for me. For by my self-will I am pierced through with many sorrows. Be content with such things as you have, since the Lord has ordered all things for your good. Take up your own daily cross. It is the burden best suited for your shoulder and will prove most effective to make you perfect in every good word and work to the glory of God. down, busy self, and proud impatience. It is not for you to choose, but for the Lord of love. Trials must and will befall, but with humble faith to see love inscribed upon them all, this is happiness to me. The Trial of Your Faith 1 Peter 1 verse 7 Faith untried may be true faith, but it is sure to be little faith, and it is likely to remain dwarfish as long as it is without trials. Faith never prospers so well as when all things are against her. Tempests are her trainers, and lightnings are her illuminators. When a calm rains on the sea, spread the sails as you will, the ship moves not to its harbour. For on a slumbering ocean the keel sleeps too. Let the winds rush howling forth, and let the waters lift up themselves. Then, though the vessel may rock, and her deck may be washed with waves, and her mast may creak under the pressure of the full and swelling sail, It is then that she makes headway towards her desired haven. No flowers wear so lovely a blue as those which grow at the foot of the frozen glacier. No stars gleam so brightly as those which glisten in the polar sky. No water tastes so sweet as that which springs amid the desert sand. And no faith is so precious as that which lives and triumphs in adversity. Tried faith brings experience. You could not have believed your own weakness had you not been compelled to pass through the rivers, and you would never have known God's strength had you not been supported amid the water floods. Faith increases in solidity, assurance, and intensity the more it is exercised with tribulation. Faith is precious and its trial is precious too. Let not this, however, discourage those who are young in faith. You will have trials enough without seeking them. The full portion will be measured out to you in due season. Meanwhile, if you cannot yet claim the result of long experience, thank God for what grace you have. Praise Him for that degree of holy confidence whereunto you have attained. walk according to that rule and you shall yet have more and more of the blessing of God till your faith shall remove mountains and conquer impossibilities. The branch cannot bear fruit of itself. John chapter 15 verse 4. How did you begin to bear fruit? It was when you came to Jesus and cast yourselves on his great atonement and rested on his finished righteousness. Ah, what fruit you had then! Do you remember those early days? Then indeed the vine flourished, the tender grape appeared, the pomegranates budded forth, and the beds of spices gave forth their smell. Have you declined since then? If you have, we charge you to remember that time of love, and repent and do thy first works. Be most in those engagements which you have experimentally proved to draw you nearest to Christ, because it is from Him that all your fruits proceed. Any holy exercise which will bring you to him will help you to bear fruit. The Son is no doubt a great worker in fruit creating among the trees of the orchard and Jesus is still more so among the trees of his garden of grace. When have you been the most fruitless? Has it not been when you've lived farthest from the Lord Jesus Christ? When you've slackened in prayer? When you've departed from the simplicity of your faith? When your graces have engrossed your attention instead of your Lord? When you have said, My mountain standeth firm, I shall never be moved, and have forgotten where your strength dwells? Has it not been then that your fruit has ceased? Some of us have been taught that we have nothing out of Christ by terrible abasements of heart before the Lord. And when we've seen the utter barrenness and death of all creature power, we have cried in anguish from Him All my fruit must be found for no fruit can ever come from me. We are taught by past experience that the more we simply depend upon the grace of God in Christ and wait upon the Holy Spirit the more we shall bring forth fruit unto God. Oh, to trust Jesus for fruit as well as for life. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul. Lamentations chapter 3 verse 24 It is not the Lord is partly my portion nor the Lord is in my portion but he himself makes up the sum total of my soul's inheritance. Within the circumference of that circle lies all that we possess or desire. The Lord is my portion. not his grace merely, nor his love, nor his covenant, but Jehovah himself. He has chosen us for his portion, and we have chosen him for ours. It is true that the Lord must first choose our inheritance for us, or else we shall never choose it for ourselves. But if we are really called according to the purpose of electing love, we can sing, Loved of my God, for Him again, with love intense I burn, Chosen of Him, ere time began, I choose Him in return. The Lord is our all-sufficient portion. God fills Himself. And if God is all-sufficient in Himself, He must be all-sufficient for us. It is not easy to satisfy man's desires. When he dreams that he is satisfied, anon he wakes to the perception that there is somewhat yet beyond. And straightway the horse-leech in his heart cries, Give! Give! But all that we can wish for is to be found in our divine portion. So that we ask, whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. Well may we delight ourselves in the Lord, who makes us to drink of the river of his pleasures. Our faith stretches her wings and mounts like an eagle into the heaven of divine love as her proper dwelling place. The lines have fallen to us in pleasant places. Yea, we have a goodly heritage. let us rejoice in the Lord always let us show to the world that we are a happy and blessed people and thus induce them to exclaim we will go with you for we have heard that God is with you To him be glory forever. Amen. Romans chapter 11 verse 36 to whom be glory forever. This should be the single desire of the Christian. All other wishes must be subservient and tributary to this one. The Christian may wish for prosperity in his business, but only so far as it may help him to promote this, to him be glory forever. He may desire to attain more gifts and more graces, but it should only be that to him may be glory forever. You are not acting as you ought to do when you are moved by any other motive than a single eye to your Lord's glory. As a Christian, you are of God and through God. Then live to God. Let nothing ever set your heart beating so mightily as love to Him. Let this ambition fire your soul. Be this the foundation of every enterprise upon which you enter, and this your sustaining motive whenever your zeal would grow chill. Make God your only object. Depend upon it where self begins, sorrow begins. But if God be my supreme delight and only object, to me it is equal whether love ordain my life or death. appoint me ease or pain.

Let your desire for God's glory be a growing desire. You blessed him in your youth. Do not be content with such praises as you gave him then. Has God prospered you in business? Give him more as he has given you more. Has God given you experience? Praise him by stronger faith than you exercised at first. Does your knowledge grow? Then sing more sweetly. Do you enjoy happier times than you once had? Have you been restored from sickness and has your sorrow been turned into peace and joy? Then give him more music. Put more coals and more sweet frankincense into the censer of your praise. practically in your life give him honor putting the Amen to this doxology to your great and gracious Lord by your own individual service and increasing holiness

A spring shut up, a fountain sealed. Song of Solomon chapter 4 verse 12. In this metaphor, which has reference to the inner life of a believer, we have very plainly the idea of secrecy. It is a spring shut up, just as there were springs in the east over which an edifice was built so that none could reach them save those who knew the secret entrance. So is the heart of a believer when it is renewed by grace. There is a mysterious life within which no human skill can touch. It is a secret which no other man knoweth, nay, which the very man who is the possessor of it cannot tell to his neighbor. The text includes not only secrecy, but separation. It is not the common spring of which every passerby may drink. It is one kept and preserved from all others. It is a fountain bearing a particular mark, a king's royal seal. so that all can perceive that it is not a common fountain but a fountain owned by a proprietor and placed specially by itself alone. So it is with the spiritual life. The chosen of God were separated in the eternal decree. They were separated by God in the day of redemption and they are separated by the possession of a life which others have not. and it is impossible for them to feel at home with the world or to delight in its pleasures.

There is also the idea of sacredness. The spring shut up is preserved for the use of some special person and such is the Christian's heart. It is a spring kept for Jesus. Every Christian should feel that he has God's seal upon him. And he should be able to say, with Paul, from henceforth let no man trouble me for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Another idea is prominent. It is that of security. Oh, how sure and safe is the inner life of the believer. if all the powers of earth and hell could combine against it that immortal principle must still exist for he who gave it pledged his life for its preservation and who is he that shall harm you when God is your protector Thou art from everlasting Psalm 93 verse 2 Christ is everlasting.

Of him we may sing with David, thy throne, O God, is forever and ever. Rejoice, believer, in Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever. Jesus always was. The babe born in Bethlehem was united to the word which was in the beginning, by whom all things were made. The title by which Christ revealed himself to John in Patmos was, Him which is, and which was, and which is to come. If he were not God from everlasting, we could not so devoutly love him. We could not feel that he had any share in the eternal love which is the fountain of all covenant blessings. But since he was from all eternity with the Father, We trace the stream of divine love to himself equally with his father and the blessed spirit.

As our Lord always was, so also he is forevermore. Jesus is not dead. He ever liveth to make intercession for us. Resort to him in all your times of need, for he is waiting to bless you still. Moreover, Jesus our Lord ever shall be. If God should spare your life to fulfill your full day of three score years and ten, you will find that his cleansing fountain is still open. and his precious blood has not lost its power. You shall find that the priest who filled the healing fount with his own blood lives to purge you from all iniquity. When only your last battle remains to be fought, you shall find that the hand of your conquering captain has not grown feeble. The living Savior shall cheer the dying saint. When you enter heaven, you will find him there, bearing the dew of his youth. And through eternity, the Lord Jesus shall still remain the perennial spring of joy and life and glory to his people.

Living waters may you draw from this sacred well. Jesus always was, he always is, he always shall be. He is eternal in all his attributes, in all his offices, in all his might, and willingness to bless, comfort, guard, and crown his chosen people.

Avoid foolish questions. Titus chapter 3 verse 9 Our days are few and are far better spent in doing good than in disputing over matters which are, at best, of minor importance. The old schoolmen did a world of mischief by their incessant discussion of subjects of no practical importance. And our churches suffer much from petty wars over abstruse points and unimportant questions. After everything has been said that can be said, neither party is any the wiser. and therefore the discussion no more promotes knowledge than love, and it is foolish to sow in so barren a field. Questions upon points wherein Scripture is silent, upon mysteries which belong to God alone, upon prophecies of doubtful interpretation, and upon mere modes of observing human ceremonials, are all foolish, and wise men avoid them.

Our business is neither to ask nor answer foolish questions but to avoid them altogether and if we observe the Apostles precept Titus chapter 3 verse 8 to be careful to maintain good works we shall find ourselves far too much occupied with profitable business to take much interest in unworthy contentious and needless strivings

There are, however, some questions which are the reverse of foolish, which we must not avoid, but fairly and honestly meet, such as these. Do I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? Am I renewed in the spirit of my mind? Am I walking not after the flesh but after the spirit? Am I growing in grace? Does my conversation adorn the doctrine of God my Savior? Am I looking for the coming of the Lord and watching as a servant should do who expects his master? What more can I do for Jesus? Such inquiries as these urgently demand our attention and if we've been at all given to caviling let us now turn our critical abilities to a service so much more profitable. Let us be peacemakers and endeavor to lead others both by our precept and example to avoid foolish questions. Oh that I knew where I might find him. Job chapter 23 verse 3 In Job's uttermost extremity, he cried after the Lord. The longing desire of an afflicted child of God is once more to see his father's face. His first prayer is not, O that I might be healed of the disease which now festers in every part of my body, nor even, O that I might see my children restored from the jaws of the grave and my property once more brought from the hand of the spoiler. But the first and uppermost cry is, O that I knew where I might find him who is my God, that I might come even to his seat. God's children run home when the storm comes on. It is the heaven-born instinct of a gracious soul to seek shelter from all ills beneath the wings of Jehovah. He that hath made his refuge God might serve as the title of a true believer. A hypocrite, when afflicted by God, resents the infliction and, like a slave, would run from the master who has scourged him. But not so the true heir of heaven. He kisses the hand which smote him and seeks shelter from the rod in the bosom of the God who frowned upon him. Job's desire to commune with God was intensified by the failure of all other sources of consolation. The patriarch turned away from his sorry friends and looked up to the celestial throne just as a traveler turns from his empty skin bottle and betakes himself with all speed to the well. He bids farewell to earth-born hopes and cries, Oh, that I knew where I might find my God. Nothing teaches us so much the preciousness of the Creator as when we learn the emptiness of all besides. Turning away with bitter scorn from earth's hives where we find no honey but many sharp stings, we rejoice in Him whose faithful word is sweeter than honey or the honeycomb. In every trouble we should first seek to realize God's presence with us. Only let us enjoy his smile and we can bear our daily cross with a willing heart for his dear sake. Fellowship with Him. 1 John 1, verse 6. When we were united by faith to Christ, we were brought into such complete fellowship with Him that we were made one with Him, and His interests and ours became mutual and identical. We have fellowship with Christ in His love. What He loves, we love. He loves the saints, so do we. He loves sinners, so do we. He loves the poor, perishing race of man, and pants to see the earth's deserts transformed into the garden of the Lord, so do we. We have fellowship with him in his desires. He desires the glory of God. We also labor for the same. He desires that the saints may be with him where he is. We desire to be with him there too. He desires to drive out sin. Behold, we fight under his banner. He desires that his Father's name may be loved and adored by all his creatures. We pray daily, let thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, even as it is in heaven. We have fellowship with Christ in his sufferings. We're not nailed to the cross, nor do we die a cruel death. But when he is reproached, we are reproached. And a very sweet thing it is to be blamed for his sake. To be despised for following the master. To have the world against us. The disciple should not be above his Lord. In our measure, we commune with him in his labors, ministering to men by the word of truth and by deeds of love. Our meat and our drink, like his, is to do the will of him who hath sent us, and to finish his work. We have also fellowship with Christ in his joys. We are happy in his happiness. We rejoice in his exaltation. Have you ever tasted that joy, believer? There is no purer or more thrilling delight to be known this side heaven than that of having Christ's joy fulfilled in us that our joy may be full. His glory awaits us to complete our fellowship for his church shall sit with him upon his throne as his well-beloved bride. Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep. So shall thy poverty come, as one that traveleth, and thy want as an armed man. Proverbs 24, verse 33 and 34. The worst of sluggards only ask for a little slumber. They would be indignant if they were accused of thorough idleness. A little folding of the hands to sleep is all they crave, and they have a crowd of reasons to show that this indulgence is a very proper one. Yet by these littles the day ebbs out, and the time for labour is all gone, and the field is grown over with thorns. It is by little procrastinations that men ruin their souls. They have no intention to delay for years. A few months will bring the more convenient season. Tomorrow, if you will, they will attend to serious things, but the present hour is so occupied and altogether so unsuitable that they beg to be excused. Like sands from an hourglass, time passes, life is wasted by driblets, and seasons of grace lost by little slumbers. Oh, to be wise, to catch the flying hour, to use the moments on the wing. May the Lord teach us this sacred wisdom, for otherwise a poverty of the worst sort awaits us, eternal poverty, which will want even a drop of water and beg for it in vain. Like a traveler steadily pursuing his journey, poverty overtakes the slothful, and ruin overthrows the undecided. Each hour brings the dreaded pursuer nearer. He pauses not by the way, for he is on his master's business and must not tarry. As an armed man enters with authority and power, so shall want come to the idle, and death to the impenitent, and there will be no escape. Oh, that men were wise the times, and would seek diligently unto the Lord Jesus. Or ere the solemn day shall dawn, when it will be too late to plough, and to sow, too late to repent, and believe. In harvest, it is vain to lament that the seed time was neglected. As yet, faith and holy decision are timely. May we obtain them this night. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. Romans chapter 9 verse 15. In these words, the Lord in the plainest manner claims the right to give or to withhold his mercy according to his own sovereign will. As the prerogative of life and death is vested in the monarch, so the judge of all the earth has a right to spare or condemn the guilty, as may seem best in his sight. Men, by their sins, have forfeited all claim upon God. They deserve to perish for their sins. And if they all do so, they have no ground for complaint. If the Lord steps in to save any, he may do so if the ends of justice are not thwarted. But if he judges it best to leave the condemned to suffer the righteous sentence, none may arraign him at their bar. Foolish and impudent are all those discourses about the rights of men to be all placed on the same footing. Ignorance, if not worse, are those contentions against discriminating grace, which are but the rebellions of proud human nature against the crown and scepter of Jehovah. When we are brought to see our own utter ruin and ill-desert and the justice of divine verdict against sin we no longer cavil at the truth that the Lord is not bound to save us. We do not murmur if he chooses to save others as though he were doing us an injury but feel that if he deigns to look upon us it will be his own free act of undeserved goodness. for which we shall forever bless his name. How shall those who are the subjects of divine election sufficiently adore the grace of God? They have no room for boasting for sovereignty most effectually excludes it. The Lord's will alone is glorified and the very notion of human merit is cast out to everlasting contempt. There is no more humbling doctrine in Scripture than that of election, none more primitive of gratitude, and consequently none more sanctifying. Believers should not be afraid of it, but adoringly rejoice in it.