June 25

Isaiah xl.—18. To whom, then, will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?

19. The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.

20. He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot: he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image that shall not be moved.

21. Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?

22. It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in;

23. That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.

24. Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown; yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither; and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.

25. To whom, then, will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.

26. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names, by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.

27. Why sayest thou, O Jacob! and speakest, O Israel! My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God?

28. Hast thou not known, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.

29. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

30. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:

31. But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

The true use of Nature is to teach us to observe God in his works, and so to help our faith in the higher sphere of spiritual religion. But men pervert Nature, on the one hand, to the displacement of God, by substituting its forces for his power, its laws for his Spirit; and on the other, to the degrading and caricaturing of the Divinity through material objects of worship. The prophet, having exhibited, even to the verge of ridicule, the folly and worthlessness of idolatry, and the emptiness and vanity of worldly rank and power, would have us regard the earth in the firmness of its foundations and the breadth of its circuit, the heavens in their widespread glory, the stars in their ordered beauty and majesty, as evidences of the inapproachable unity, power, and dominion of God. But this everlasting Creator and Lord, whose nature no image

could represent, whose understanding no philosophy could measure, will reveal himself to the consciousness of those who humbly wait upon his pleasure, and will communicate to them of his wisdom and strength. The highest power of man exhausts itself by its own exertion; the freshest vigor, after a little, grows weary and faint, and must be renewed by rest. But the strength that the Lord imparts to the trusting soul never exhausts itself, nor tires him who exerts it. It is perpetually self-renewing. And he who by faith so uses this divine power as to overcome the downward tendency of sense and sin will gain such freedom and vigor, that, as the eagle mounts to the sun, he will rise to the Source of all light and love.

APPROPRIATE HYMNS.]

Prayer.

[Nos. 140, 172, 192.

Most gracious God, who hast in thy good providence again permitted us to see the light of thy holy sabbath, do thou draw near to us in thy great mercy. Thou hast dispersed the darkness of another night. May the Sun of righteousness arise upon us, with healing in his wings! May our fellowship this day be with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ! May all sinful and unworthy thoughts be repressed! May the world be excluded, that we may be alone with God!

We pray for those who dishonor thy sabbaths and profane thy holy name; who reject the offers of thy grace, and continue in alienation and sin. Do thou turn them from their wickedness, and bring them to Jesus, the one and only Saviour.

Thou God of consolation, draw near to the afflicted. Sanctify unto all men the dealings of thy providence; and by thy Holy Spirit convince them of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment to

come. Bless all related to us in the bonds of earthly affection. Thou who leadest Joseph like a flock, may they be safe under thy guidance, and repose in thy love! Bless this day the lambs of the flock. As in the family, the Sunday school, the house of prayer, they shall hear of Jesus and his love, oh, may their hearts be drawn to him! Through his atoning sacrifice may our sins be forgiven, and our hearts prepared for thy service!

May thy mercy, O Lord! be upon us according as we hope in thee; and, when our sabbaths on earth are ended, may ours, at last, be an unending sabbath in thy presence and favor! And all that we ask is in the name and for the sake of Him whom thou hearest always; to whom, with thee, the Father, and thee, O Eternal Spirit! one God, be ascribed all blessing and honor and glory and praise, world without end. Amen.