August 11

are above law and none below it; where liberty has so long fixed her abode; where religious opinions produce no civil disabilities; where all persecution is excluded; and where every man sits under his own vine and vineyard, and none can make him afraid. Let me think of a country where charity and compassion reign not only in numberless personal acts, but in a thousand institutions to meet every kind of distress, and lessen the sum of human woe. Let me think of a country possessing not only so many natural, intellectual, civil, and social advantages, but so many moral and religious privileges; where not only the darkness of paganism, but of superstition is past, and the true light shineth; where the Scriptures are found in our own language, and all are allowed to read them, and able to procure them; where the word of life is preached, and we can hear the joyful sound of the truth as it is in Jesus; where the Gospel of Christ is not only spreading widely among ourselves, but zealous and persevering efforts are making by individuals and communities to convey it to others—Where shall I end? And can I glance at all this, and not say, "It is a good land which the Lord our God hath given us?" Ought I not to be thankful to him who determines the bounds of my habitation, and performeth all things for me? Ought I not to bear with patience and cheerfulness a few difficulties and trials inseparable from a condition so favoured and indulged? Ought I not to be concerned to improve my privileges, and to fear the danger arising from so great a responsibility? Where much is given, will not much be required? Was not Capernaum that was exalted unto heaven thrust down to hell? Did not God say to the Jews, You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore you will I punish? And ought I not to dwell in the land, and to do all in my power to promote the righteousness which exalteth a nation? And should not I pray for its safety, and peace, and prosperity? "Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it."

AUGUST 11.—"The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage."—Psalms 16:6.

WE may put this acknowledgment into the mouth of A CHRISTIAN WITH REGARD TO HIS SPIRITUAL CONDITION.

Read the preceding verse: "The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot." What wonder then that the possessor should exclaim, "The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage." He uses but one word in describing his estate, but it is the most comprehensive. Had he written volumes, and enumerated all the treasures of heaven, and earth, and sea, he would have said less, and to far less purpose, than in saying, "The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance." The greater includes the less. If He be mine, what is the substance of my portion but his fulness? and the measure of my portion but his immensity? and the duration of my portion but his eternity? Yet this is the truth of the case; in the

everlasting covenant ordered in all things and sure, he has been pleased to make over himself to his people, with all he is, and all he has. "I will be thy God. I will pardon thy sins. I will sanctify thy nature. I will supply all thy need. I will be light to thy darkness. I will be strength to thy weakness. I will bless thy bread and thy water. All my ways towards thee shall be mercy and truth. All things shall work together for thy good. I will guide thee with my counsel, and afterward receive thee to glory."

This is no more than the meanest Christian may claim and exult in. Meanest did we say? We retract the term. A Christian may be afflicted and poor; but he cannot be mean—He is one of the excellent of the earth, of whom the world is not worthy. Let the rich and the great bring together all their claims, and make their boast, the poorest Christian beggars them all; for he can say, "God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever." And he ought to preserve a sense of this in his mind. He ought to live nobly. He ought to feel contentedly in whatsoever state he is. He ought not to envy others their good things; nor sink like others under losses and trials. When their lamps are put out they are in utter darkness; but the Sun of righteousness arises upon him. When their vessels are broken all their comforts are gone; but he has the fountain of living waters—They have no God; but "the Lord is the portion of his inheritance."

If from viewing his state essentially he examines it comparatively, he will have fresh reason to exclaim, "The lines are fallen to me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage." For what should we value a heritage? We should commend it for healthfulness. No heritage would be deemed pleasant and goodly that was injurious to health, without which we can relish nothing. The apprehension of losing this all-important blessing would alone induce us to resign any situation, unless we were compelled to remain in it. But such is the Christian's heritage, that all those who have lived upon it, however disordered before, have been restored to a miracle, and each of them could say, I am a wonder unto many. We should commend it for fertility. Hence Moses extols Canaan as a land flowing with milk and honey, and in which there was no scarceness. In like manner he says of Joseph; "Blessed of the Lord be his land, for the precious things of heaven, for the dew, and for the deep that coucheth beneath, and for the precious fruits brought forth by the sun, and for the precious things put forth by the moon, and for the chief things of the ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the lasting hills." No earthly inheritance can yield the possessor every thing he wants; but God's riches in glory by Christ Jesus can supply all the Christian's need. We should commend it for safety. The best heritage would fetch little that had no defence, but was open to invasion and injury. There is nothing that adds so much to the enjoyment of a possession as a sense of security: sitting under our own vine and fig tree, and none making us afraid. Upon all the Christian's glory there is a defence. His soul dwells at ease: and he is in quiet from the fear of evil. An heritage would not be deemed pleasant or goodly if cut off from the privilege of intercourse. Christians have the communion of saints. There is an open and constant communication between