May 22

Jonah iii. — 3. So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh according to the word of the Lord. Now, Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey.

4. And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey; and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.

5. So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.

6. For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.

7. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing; let them not feed, nor drink water:

8. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God; yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.

9. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?

10. And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way: and God repented of the evil that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

Matthew xi. — 20. Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not.

Men sometimes say, "If we had lived in the time of Christ, we should have believed;" or, "If we could witness a miracle, we should now believe." Yet multitudes who saw the miracles of Christ were so blinded by prejudice, by passion, or by sin, that they did not receive him; and, if miracles were repeated to meet such demands, their frequency would so impair the impression of the supernatural, that they would come to be regarded as common events. The nature of the truths contained in the gospel and their moral effects are the abiding evidence of their divine origin; and this evidence addresses itself to a humble, sincere mind, to a childlike state of feeling. The mysteries of Providence, which lie beyond the analysis of reason, may lie open to the higher vision of faith.

21. Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for, if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

22. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment than for you.

23. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell; for, if the mighty works which have been done in thee had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.

24. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom, in the day of judgment, than for thee.

25. At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth! because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes:

26. Even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.

27. All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.

28. Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

29. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me: for I am meek, and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

30. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

A meek and lowly mind will rest in the word of Christ, in the wisdom and love of the Father, and cannot be disquieted by that which for the present baffles the understanding. The true rest comes, not from outward circumstances, nor from the decision of vexed problems, but is within the soul, — in its moral convictions, in its spiritual affections, in its trust and hope; and, when these are fixed upon God, no disturbance of affairs, no perplexities of providence, no mysteries of faith, can really disquiet the mind. In such a frame, Christ becomes manifested to the consciousness as the embodiment of divine truth, love, and grace; and so the Father is revealed in the Son. With the cumulative evidence of the gospel in its effects, how great must be our condemnation if we reject it!

APPROPRIATE HYMNS.]

Thou, Lord, art the God of the evening and the morning, and every day renews the testimony of thy tender mercies which are over all thy works. We bless thee for thy mercy unto us in the night-season; for the refreshment of sleep: for the health and comfort with which we enter upon another day. Remembering that life is thy gift, may we spend it in thy service and to thy glory! We pray thee to preserve us from evil, and keep us from sin. Oh! save us from unbelief, and hardness of heart. May we obey the word of the Lord Jesus, and trust in his grace!

Prayer.

[Nos. 44, 59, 103, 134.

May thy blessing rest upon this household, and all that pertain to it; upon the families of all who are allied to any of us; upon the community in which we dwell; upon our country; upon all kindreds and peoples of the earth, the creatures of thy power, the children of thy love! Bring all men to repentance, and to the acknowledgment of the truth. Make perfect, we beseech thee, the new creation which thou hast begun in Christ Jesus our Lord: and blessed be thy glorious name forever; and let the whole earth be filled with thy glory. Amen.