August 15

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love Thee."—Psalms 122:6.

WHY was Jerusalem so dear to the godly Jew?

Because of the beauty of its situation, and the stately majesty of its buildings. Because in it he found the beating and pulsing centre of the national and religious life of Israel. Because it was a place dedicated to an unworldly and spiritual career. Because it had passed through the fire and the flood of sorrow. These were some of the reasons which made the old city among the hills of Judah a place honoured and beloved.

Should I not hold in high esteem the Church of Jesus Christ, the spiritual Jerusalem, for reasons close akin?

It is beautiful with the presence and the glory of God the Holy Ghost, and it is filled with the fair temples of living souls, which He is building up from day to day. It is the centre from which thought and hope and inspiration and power go out to the world. Take away the great Christian names from the centuries,—Augustine and Anselm and Luther and Hooker and Wesley and Chalmers,—and how little is left! When it is true to its mission, it stands forth distinct and separate from the fashion and feverishness and folly of society around it. And it has been baptized in tears and blood.

"Oh, when I get there," cried David Brainerd, twelve days before he went to be with Christ, "how will God's dear Church on earth be upon my mind!" Let me be glad that I stand within the gates of the Holy City. Let me pray for its prosperity and increase. Let me live and die for its King. I ought not only to be concerned for the welfare of my individual soul; I ought to be the enthusiastic lover and soldier of God's commonwealth.