November 30

"Dost thou believe on the Son of God?" John 9:35.

WHOEVER thou art that readest this page, allow the writer to address this question to THEE.

Art thou young—dost thou believe on the Son of God? O that you did! How the Scripture extols and recommends early godliness. They that seek me early, says the Saviour, shall find me; find me—for there is an emphasis in the promise—find me, as others never will, never can find me: find me in a thousand peculiar preservations, honors, advantages, and delights. And what a favorable season do you now enjoy; the body in health and strength, the mind in vigor, the memory retentive, the affections warm, the heart tender, the cares and troubles of life scarcely begun, the days distant in which you will say, "I have no pleasure in them." Oh, redeem the time! Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth. Enter immediately a course that is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

Art thou old—dost thou believe on the Son of God? Thy age requires respect, and I readily pay it; but thy state demands all my fidelity. And art thou, at the end of sixty, seventy, eighty years, ignorant of the Redeemer, whom to know is life eternal? Have all these departed seasons been passed only in vanity and vice? Is thy day rapidly closing, and thy work, thy journey not even begun? Does thine eye, in looking back, meet with nothing but guilt; and in looking forward, nothing but gloom? How I pity thy condition. It is time, it is high time to awake out of sleep. And, blessed be God, it is not too late. I announce a Saviour who is able to save unto the uttermost, and who converted and pardoned the thief at the eleventh hour. Oh, seek him while he may be found, and call upon him while he is near. But if thou art old in grace as well as in age, thy hoary head, being found in the way of righteousness, is a crown of glory. And thy salvation is nearer than when thou believedst. The night with thee is far spent, and the day is at hand. Yet a little while, and what a blessed deliverance! What a glorious elevation! Till then let faith and patience have their perfect work. Recommend his service to others from your own knowledge of its excellency. Take a fresh and firmer hold of him from the proofs you have had of his faithfulness and care; and leaning upon his arm as you descend, say,

"By long experience, I have known Thy sovereign power to save; At thy command, I venture down Secured to the grave."

Art thou indulged by Providence? Dost thou believe on the Son of God? Perhaps sickness led you down to the very gates of death, and you looked into eternity, and without hope in that world, you trembled, and cried. Take me not off in the midst of my days; spare me, that I may recover strength before I go hence and be no more. And he heard your cry, and said, Return again, ye children of men. And have you returned again to folly? And have you forgotten that the vows of God are upon you? And what is a recovered body while the soul is full of moral disease? And reprieve, too, is not a pardon. Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. Is the sentence still suspended? And the delayed execution will be attended with added terror and remorse. Perhaps thy business flourishes; thy grounds bring forth plentifully; thy cup runneth over. We do not wish you to despise the bounties of nature and providence; yea, you ought to be thankful for them. As to their use, they are valuable; but what are they as a portion? How melancholy is the thought that you must leave them. And you know not how soon you may be torn from all your treasure. And even in the midst of your fulness, are you not in straits? Do you not sigh over your very enjoyments? Does not success, as well as disappointment, tell you that this is not your rest? Ah, these failures of hope, these inward uneasinesses are the inspirations of the Almighty to give you understanding. They are designed to turn you from creatures, which are all vanity and vexation of spirit, to a Saviour who is full of grace and truth. Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace; thereby good shall come unto thee.

Art thou the subject of affliction? Dost thou believe on the Son of

God? To be poor in the world, and be destitute of the true riches; to have no friend below, and no God above; to pass from the sorrows of time into a more miserable eternity, is a state so dreadful, that every feeling of benevolence must be concerned to find a resource for its victims. And such we are happy enough to be able to open. There is the hope of Israel, the Saviour thereof in the time of trouble. His gospel is sent to bind up the broken-hearted. Perhaps you are at your wits' end. Perhaps you are ready to curse the day of your birth. Perhaps you are tempted to destroy yourself. Beware of Satan's relief. Beware of a cure that will be far worse than the disease. And you need it not. There is one near you whom you know not. He is now stretching forth his soft hand; he is now saying, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." This man shall be the peace when the Assyrian cometh into the land.

Art thou a professor of religion? Dost thou believe on the Son of God? "Why should you address the inquiry to me? Had not the church been satisfied with my character, and deemed me a believer, they would not have admitted me to their communion." But they might have been mistaken. They could only judge from outward appearance, and it became them to be candid. There is no certainty from this quarter. "But if I had not hoped that I was a real believer in Jesus, I should not have proposed myself as a member of a Christian church, and have come to the Lord's table, where I should have eaten and drunken unworthily. Why, then, do you suspect me?" My friend, I do not suspect you, but I love you; and love, though not suspicious, is cautious. As mistakes are possible and common, it cannot be improper for you to examine yourself, and prove whether you are in the faith. If the house be built upon the sand, it is well to know it before the storm comes. But if it be built on the rock, the discovery will yield fresh satisfaction, and you will be encouraged to say, "I know whom I have believed; and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him against that day."

Or art thou a real Christian? Dost thou believe on the Son of God? "I know that thou believest." Yet as pride blends with the humility of the most humble, and impatience with the resignation of the most patient, even so, as an old writer says, how unbelieving are the best believers! When our Saviour had expressed himself more fully and clearly, his disciples exclaimed, "Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee; by this we believe that thou camest forth from God." Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe? You think so; but imagination is not reality. I know you better than you know yourselves. And you yourselves, in a little time, will see that you have much less faith than you now profess. "Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered every man to his own, and shall leave me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me." All, all may cry out with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.