February 10

pleasing and peaceful, we shall peradventure repent when we see war, and return into Egypt. Hence many have taken up a profession of godliness, and soon lays it down again, to the disgrace of the cause of Christ, and the enhancement of their own condemnation; for the last state of such men is worse than the first.

But this should not discourage those that are heartily disposed for the warfare. There is enough to justify their choice, and to animate them to go forward, notwithstanding all they ought to look for in the divine life.

And if you are already engaged, and you are constrained to say, Whatever others find it, I feel it to be a conflict truly serious and trying: I feel daily and hourly the sentiment of Paul: "So fight I, not as one that beateth the air:" remember that it is the same with all your brethren in the world, and has been so with all the glorified now before the Throne—

"Once they were mourning here below, And wet their couch with tears; They wrestled hard, as we do now, With sins, and doubts, and fears."

It would be awful if you were not acquainted with this conflict. But your experience is a token for good. The strong man armed keepeth his palace and his goods in peace. It is the delivered soul that is the subject of this contest. Say not, why am I thus? You are thus, because the Lord has chosen you to be a soldier; because his grace has produced in you principles alien to nature, and which have roused all the powers of darkness. And you shall be furnished with supplies and succours. And as your day, so shall your strength be. And armour is provided for you the most tried and complete. And it is a good fight in which you are engaged: it will bear examination; every review will afford you pleasure; every good being in the universe is on your side, and wishes you success. And your victory is sure and near. Earth is a tiresome place; but you are not to live here always. Now, if one temptation is overcome, another succeeds. But the warfare will soon be accomplished. Death will proclaim the triumph. How sweet will rest be after toil; and peace after such a fight!

FEBRUARY 10.—"For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely, in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him."—Psalms 32:6.

DAVID knew there was a general sameness of views and feelings in the subjects of divine grace. Hence from his own experience he inferred the disposition and conduct of the godly in all future ages—they would do what he had done, and find the same relief. He refers, however, to the result of his case when he had been brought into a proper state of mind, and not to the commencement of it, which he himself censures. For we are here furnished with a fact which does not appear in the history of David. It is commonly supposed, that after his grievous fall, till Nathan reproved him, he had been careless and stupified; and this has often been adduced as a proof of the hardening nature of sin. But the thing was far otherwise. He was all the while tortured in his mind, yet unwil-

ring to humble himself before God, and condemn himself before men, as he ought to have done—He kept silence, and endeavoured to pass off the distress by time, palliation, and excuse. But the repression and concealment of his anguish preyed not only upon his peace, but his health, and endangered life itself. At length he was reduced to the deepest penitence, and threw himself, by an unqualified confession, on the compassion of God. This was a wise course, and we shall do well to follow his example. Under a sense of guilt we should not keep away from God, but enter his presence, and cry, “God be merciful to me, a sinner.” This will melt the heart into “godly sorrow” better than all legal terrors; and we know who hath said, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Hence, says David, “When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.”

He then adds: “For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee.” Here we see not only that all the godly pray, but every one of them prays for pardon. This is the very thing which our Saviour teaches his disciples: “When ye pray, say—forgive us our trespasses.” And this praying does not only regard the manifestation of forgiving mercy, as some would have it, but the exercise of it. For in many things we offend all; yea, in every thing we come short of the glory of God. If He should mark what we do amiss, we could not stand before him, even for the sins of our holy things. A faithful examination of the most innocent hour of our lives, and the devoutest act of our worship, must bring us upon our knees, crying, “Enter not into judgment with thy servant, O Lord, for in thy sight shall no flesh living be justified.” From the beginning to the end our hope must be a “looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”

But here is a season of audience—“In a time when thou mayest be found.” There is a time, therefore, when he will not be found. Hence the force of the admonition, “Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near.” Life is the time not only to serve, but to seek the Lord,—

There are no acts of pardon passed In the cold grave to which we haste.”

At death, the bridge is drawn; the door is shut. Yet, during life, there are some periods more favoured than others. Paul sought the Lord thrice for deliverance before the promise of all-sufficient grace was given him. God heard Moses at one time, not another. How long did Abraham and Isaac pray before they received the answer? But the time of finding, when we pray for pardoning grace, is the hour in which David found it; which was the moment he entirely condemned himself and justified God—God is always more ready to pardon than we are to confess.

And blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven. He is free from all condemnation; and in whatever condition he is found, he

dwells safely, and may be in quiet from the fear of evil—"Surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him." Floods of great waters mean numerous and pressing calamities, from which few are exempted in this vale of tears—But how is it said, they do not come nigh unto the godly? Are not the afflictions of the righteous many? Did they not come nigh Joseph when he was cast into the pit, and when in prison he was fettered with irons? "Not come nigh me," says many a living Christian: "they have washed away half my comforts already, and I fear my heart will be overwhelmed within me"—The language of the Scripture is bold, and often requires to be qualified; but it is always founded on truth. It is undeniable that God in public and general sufferings has frequently secured his servants; as we see in the case of Noah, and Lot, and the Jews in Egypt. And God is always able to do this for his people. And nothing shall befall them without his permission and appointment. Nothing shall injure them. Yea, every loss and trial shall conduce to their welfare. But hear David's own explanation subjoined: "Thou art my hiding-place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance." Thus the believer is like a man in a strong hold built upon a rock. In the flood, the water may surround him, but does not touch him. It will also roll off, and he will walk abroad again. Thus it is said, "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed." And in the final disaster that will carry away every thing, it shall not come nigh unto him, but only with his eyes shall he see the reward of the wicked—

"When desolation, like a flood, On the proud sinner rolls; Saints find a refuge in their God, For he redeemed their souls."

FEBRUARY 11.—"The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness."—Jeremiah 31:2.

THE expression, "the people which were left of the sword," refers to the perils the Israelites escaped before their journey began. In Egypt they were in danger of being cut off by excess of toil, and the bloody decree which doomed all their male children to destruction. They were also likely to be cut off at once, when Pharaoh pursued them to the Red Sea. From all these jeopardies the Lord's hand saved them. "But," you say, "he brought them into a wilderness." He did—Yet they had no reason to complain of their condition: they "found grace in the wilderness." And such, Christians, has been your experience.

What the Jews did not derive from their condition, they yet received in it—They "found grace in the wilderness." This was essentially the presence of God with them, according to the prayer of Moses: "If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth." Hence no nation was so great, because they had God so nigh unto them in all that they called upon him for.