Robert Hawker, The Poor Man’s Morning Portions

“Thus saith the Lord; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.”—Jeremiah 2:2

Pause, my soul, over this condescending token of God’s love to Israel; and see whether it doth not hold forth to thee a blessed portion for thy encouragement. Israel had been most undeserving; but yet the Lord would put Israel in remembrance, by assuring his people that he remembered their love when God first formed Israel into a people. When he led them into the wilderness, and married Israel, they sung the praise of Jehovah in their love- songs, on the day of their espousals. ‘Now,’ saith the Lord, – ‘I remember thee in these things; for these were tokens of affection when thou wentest after me in following the pillar of cloud through the desert; in trusting to a harvest, though as yet the land was not sown.’ And may I, blessed Lord, sweetly interpret this precious portion with application to myself, as though my God so spake to me of the day of my espousals? Doth my God and Saviour remember me in the first awakenings of his grace, when, at the first mention of his name, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadab? Well, then, may my soul remember thee, Oh thou God of my salvation! The savour of thy past love and past experiences gives now, at this moment, new delight to my soul, and awakens new desires of communion with my God. The very recollection of what I then was, and how thou calledst me, and made my time a time of love; and how thou passedst by, and didst bid me live, and didst cleanse me, and take me home, and betrothedst me to thyself, and made me thine for ever; the very thoughts refresh my soul now; and these former experiences drive away present distresses and despondency. How is it, my soul, with thee now? Art thou less in frame – less in love? Hast thou not the same earnest liking to Jesus now, as then? Is the strength of thy love, and desires, and delights, abated? Look at this blessed scripture. Hear what God saith to Israel, in a time of Israel’s coldness. See how God’s love was not changed, though Israel’s was so abated. Art thou, my soul, conscious of the same? Art thou lamenting it; desiring, waiting for some renewed token of thy Jesus’s love? Is his name, his person, his righteousness still precious? Dost thou wait but for the whispers of his grace? See, here it is – I remember, though thou hast forgotten the day of thine espousals. Oh the wonderful condescersion of the Son of God! Behold, my soul, how, in this very way, he is preparing thine heart for the renewings of his love, and his sweet manifestations towards thee. Oh cry out with the church of old, under similar circumstances, “Draw me; we will run after thee.” Unless thou drawest, Lord, the distance will remain; but the desire of being drawn, shews the earnestness for union. Lord, I beseech thee, do this; bring me near to thyself, to thine everlasting embraces; then shall I run, nay, even flee to my beloved, and will hang upon thee as the vessel hangeth on the nail, and dwell, and remain with thee for ever.

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“Truly, our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.”—I John 1:3

Precious, blessed consideration! Art thou, my soul, at this time in the full enjoyment of it? Pause over the inquiry. Sometimes, for the want of this search of soul, and the neglect of it, deadness, or at least leanness, creeps in. Say then, my soul, how art thou dealing with thy God? and how is thy God dealing with thee? When were his latest manifestations? When did he take thee to his banqueting-house; or when didst thou sit under his shadow? Hast thou very lately heard his voice, saying, “Fear not, I am thy salvation?” The discovery of these things are among the sweetest exercises which flow from the indwelling Spirit. Go on further in the inquiry – how art thou dealing with thy God? When hadst thou fellowship and communion with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ? What petitions hast thou now awaiting for answers from the heavenly court? What grateful acknowledgments have lately gone up for mercies received? How is thine acquaintance there advancing? How art thou growing in grace, and in the knowledge of thy Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ? If these things are neglected by thee, will not a strangeness between thy God and thee come on; such as is induced by earthly friendships, when absence and time, where there is no correspondence kept up, wears out remembrance? My soul, rouse up, and consider the vast importance of keeping up constant intercourse with thy God and Saviour. Precious Jesus! do thou keep the flame of love alive; manifest to my soul the certainty and reality of my union with thee, thou sweet Saviour, by causing this blessed communion to be constant, unceasing, and full of divine communications. Let thy Spirit call forth in me the exercise of the graces he hath planted; and do thou come forth in refreshing manifestations of love; so that, while prayers go up, blessings may come down; and while thou art graciously saying, “Seek ye my face,” my heart may say unto thee, “Thy face, Lord, will I seek.” Oh, the blessedness of such a life to break the power of sin; to revive and strengthen the spirits; to open and to enlarge to my view the discoveries of thy Person, thy glory, thy riches, thy suitableness, thine all-sufficiency. If, dearest Jesus, thou wilt mercifully keep this fellowship, this partnership, alive in my soul, how will my poor soul be living upon thee, and with thee; and how shall I be exchanging with thee all my leanness, poverty, wretchedness, and weakness, for thy fulness, riches, righteousness, and strength? Come, then, Lord Jesus, and “until the day break, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe, or a young hart, upon the mountains of Bether.”

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“Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty.”—Isaiah 33:17

Who, my soul, but Jesus could be intended by this sweet promise? And who is beautiful and lovely in thine eyes but him? There was no beauty in him while thou wert in a state of unrenewed nature, that thou shouldest desire him; neither can any man truly love him, until that a soul is made light in the Lord. Is Jesus then lovely to thee? Hast thou seen him? Dost thou now know him, love him, behold him, as altogether fair, and the chiefest among ten thousand? Then, surely, this promise hath been, and is continually fulfilled in thy experience. Hast thou so seen him, as to be in love with him, and to have all thine affections drawn forth towards him? Dost thou, my soul, so behold him as to admire him, and love him above all; and so to love him, as never to be satisfied without him? Moreover – hast thou seen this King in his beauty, in his fulness, riches, and suitableness to thee as a Saviour? Surely, blessed Jesus, there are not only glorious, precious excellencies in thee, and thine own divine person, which command the love and affection of every beholder, as thou art in thyself; but there is a beauty indeed in thee, considered as thou art held forth by our God and Father, in all thy suitableness to thy people. In thy beauty, blessed Lord, there is to be seen a fulness of grace, and truth, and righteousness, exactly corresponding to the wants of poor sinners-thy blood, to cleanse, thy grace to comfort, thy fulness to supply; in thee there is every thing we can want-life, light, joy, pardon, mercy, peace, happiness here, glory hereafter. And do I not see thee, thou King, in thy beauty indeed, when I behold thee as coming with all these for my supply? So that, under the enjoyment of the whole, I feel constrained to cry out, with one of old,” I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my strength and my song; and he is become my salvation. “Neither is this all; for in beholding the King in his beauty, I behold him also in his love. Yes, blessed Lord, thou art indeed most beautiful and lovely; for thou hast so loved poor sinners, as to give thyself for them; and the conscious sense that our love to thee did not first begin, but thine to us was the first cause for exciting ours, and the shedding forth that love in our hearts, by thy blessed Spirit, first prompted our minds to look unto thee, makes thee lovely indeed. And now, Lord, every day’s view of thee increaseth that love, and brings home thy beauty more and more. The more frequent thou condescendest to visit my poor soul, the more beautiful dost thou appear. Every renewed manifestation, every view, every glimpse of Jesus, must tend to make my God and King more gracious and lovely to my soul, and add fresh fervour to my love. Come then, thou blessed, holy, lovely one, and ravish my spiritual senses with thy beauty, that I may daily get out of love with every thing of created excellency, and my whole soul be filled only with the love of Jesus; until, from seeing thee here below, through the medium of ordinances and grace, I come to look upon thee, and live for ever in thy presence, in the full beams of thy glory in thy throne above.

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“Oh that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his seat! I would order my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments. Will he plead against me with his great power? No; but he would put strength in me.”—Job 23:3,4,6

My soul, are these thy breathings? Dost thou really long, and, like David, even pant, to come before the throne of grace? Art thou at a loss how to come, how to draw nigh? Wouldest thou fill thy mouth with argumerits, and have thy cause so ordered as to be sure not to fail? Look to Jesus! Seek from him the leadings of the Spirit; and while thine eye is steadily fixed on thy great High Priest within the vail, still wearing a vesture dipped in blood, see to it that thy one great plea is, for a perfect and complete justification before God and thy Father, upon the sole footing of righteousness. Yes, my soul, plead earnestly, heartily, steadily; and, like Jacob, wrestling with God, upon the sole footing of righteousness: Wouldest thou fear on this ground? Yes, thou wouldest have cause enough to fear and tremble, if thy plea was with the least reference to any righteousness of thine. But, my soul, remember it is Jesus’s righteousness, and his only, with which, like Job, thy mouth must be filled with arguments. This is the strength thy God and Father will put in thee: and it is a strength of Jehovah’s founded in his justice. As a poor guilty sinner, thou couldest have nothing to plead but free grace and rich mercy. But when thou comest in Jesus, thy Surety’s righteousness, thou mayest appeal, and art expected so to do, to God’s holiness and his justice also. Oh, how sweet the assurance, how unanswerable the plea, how secure the event! Jesus hath fulfilled the law – Jesus hath paid the penalty of justice; and God hath promised to pardon and bless his seed, his redeemed in him. Hence, the apostle Paul, in the contemplation of death and judgment, while looking at his everlasting security in Jesus, cries out, “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them that love his appearing. “Behold then, my soul, thy vast privilege; and when, like Job, thou art desiring to approach a throne of grace now, or looking forward to a throne of judgment hereafter- never, never for a moment forget that this is the way, and the only way, (for a blessed sure way it is,) maintaining communion with God in Christ. Thy God, thy Father, will not plead against a righteousness of his own appointing; but he will put Jesus, his strength, in thee. Hallelujah!

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“And Israel strenghened himself, and sat up on the bed.”—Genesis 48:2

This was an interesting moment in the life, or rather the death, of the patriarch, and may serve, my soul, to shew what ought to be the conduct of the believer in his last expiring hours. The imagination can hardly conceive any situation equally momentous, in every point of view, both as it concerns a faithful God, a man’s own heart, and the church the dying saint is going to leave behind. What can form a more lovely sight than a dying saint, sitting up in the bed, (if the Lord permits the opportunity) and recounting, as Jacob did, the gracious dealings of the Lord, all the way along the path of pilgrimage – “The God which fed me,” said Jacob,” all my life long unto this day: the angel (and who was this but Jesus?) which redeemed me from all evil. “Pause, my soul. Anticipate such a day. Figure to thyself thy friends around thee, and thou thyself strengthened, just to sit up in the bed, to take an everlasting farewell. What hast thou to relate? What hast thou treasured up of God’s dealings with thee, to sweeten death in the recital, to bless God in the just acknowledgment, and to leave behind thee a testimony to others of the truth, as it is in Jesus? My soul, what canst thou speak of? What canst thou tell of thy God, thy Jesus? Hast thou known enough of him to commit thyself into his Almighty hands, with an assurance of salvation? Pause! Didst thou not in the act of faith, long since, venture thyself upon Jesus for the whole of thy everlasting welfare? Didst thou not from a perfect conviction of thy need of Jesus, and from as perfect a conviction of the power and grace of Jesus to save thee – didst thou not make a full and complete surrender of thyself, and with the most perfect approbation of this blessed plan of God’s mercy in Christ, to be saved wholly by him, and wholly in his own way, and wholly to his own glory? And as such, art thou now afraid, or art thou now shrinking back, when come within sight almost of Jesus’s arms to receive thee? Oh, no! blessed be God, this last act of committing thy soul is not as great an act of faith as the first was; for since that time thou hast had thousands of evidences, and thousands of tokens in love and faithfulness, that thy God is true. Sit up then, my soul, and do as the dying patriarch did; recount to all around thee thy confidence in the Son of God, who “hath loved thee, and given himself for thee.” Cry out, as he did, “I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord.” And as this will be the last opportunity of speaking a word for God, testify of his faithfulness, and encourage all that behold you to be seeking after an interest in Jesus, from seeing how sweetly you close a life of faith before you begin a life of glory, in blessing God, though with dying lips, that the last notes which you utter here below, may be only the momentary interruption to the same subject in the first of your everlasting song – “To him that hath loved you, and washed you, from your sins in his blood.”

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“Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations.”—I Peter 1:6

My soul! it is too difficult a task to flesh and blood, but it is among the most blessed triumphs of grace, to glory in tribulation, that the power of Jesus may rest upon the soul. Pause over the subject, and see whether in the little exercises of thy life, such things are among thine experiences. A soul must be truly taught of God the Father; truly acquainted with Jesus, and living near to him; and truly receiving the sweet and constant influences of the Holy Ghost; when, in the absence of the streams of all creature comforts, he is solacing himself at the fountain-head; and, amidst also the fiery darts of temptations! But, my soul, if this be thy happy portion, thou must have acquired it in the school of grace. There are some precious marks by which thou wilt ascertain these things. As, first – I must see that the manifold temptations, be they of what kind or number they may, are in the permissions of Jesus must trace the footsteps of Jesus in them, the hand Jesus directing me through them, the voice of Jesus must hear in them; and, in short, his sacred Person regulating and ordering all the several parts of them. If I see his love, his wisdom, his grace, his goodwill, in all the appointment; whatever heaviness the temptations themselves induce, there will still be cause left for joy – yea, for great joy. Moreover, it will be an additional alleviation to soften their pressure, if through the whole of their exercise, the soul be enabled to keep in view, that God’s glory, and my soul’s happiness, will be the sure issue of them. If I can realize Jesus’s presence, as I pass through them, and interpret, with an application to myself that blessed promise, in which the Lord saith, “I know the thoughts I think toward you, saith the Lord; thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end;” these mercies mingled with the trial, will sweeten, and almost take away all its bitter. And, lastly, to add no more – If, my soul, the Holy Ghost should lead out thine whole heart upon the Person of Jesus during the conflict, and by making thee sensible of thy weakness, to take shelter in him, and to lean altogether upon his strength; so that thou art able to believe and to depend upon the fulfilment of his promise, when, to the eye of sense, there doth not seem a way by which that promise may be fulfilled; these are foundations for rejoicing, and of great rejoicing too; because they are all out of thyself, and centered in Him, with whom there is no possibility of change. These are, like the Michtams of David, precious, golden things. For this is to live upon Jesus, to rejoice in Jesus, and to find in him a suited strength for every need. Blessed will be these exercises, my soul, if thou art enabled thus to act under manifold temptations.

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“The man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day.”—Ruth 3:18

Behold! my soul, in this scripture history, some sweet features by which the disposition of Jesus’s love, and the earnestness in his heart to relieve poor sinners, is strikingly set forth. When a poor sinner is made acquainted with the Lord Jesus, hath heard of his grace, goes forth to glean in his fields; at the ordinances of his house, and under the ministration of his word, lays down at his feet, and prays to be covered with the skirt of his mantle; Jesus not only takes notice of that poor seeking sinner, but gives the poor creature to know, by some sweet and secret whispers of his Holy Spirit, that he is not unacquainted with all that is in his heart. And when such have lain long, and earnestly sought, even through the whole night of doubt and fear, until the morning of grace breaks in upon the soul, yet may they be assured, the God- man, Christ Jesus, will not rest until that he hath finished the thing. It is one of the most blessed truths of the gospel, (and do thou, my soul, see to it, that it is written in thy best and strongest remembrance to have recourse to, as may be needed, upon every occasion,) that a seeking sinner is not more earnest to see Jesus, and enjoy him, than Jesus is to reveal himself to that seeking sinner, and form himself in the sinner’s heart, the hope of glory. For Jesus will not, cannot cease his love to poor sinners, until the object for which he came to seek and to save them is fully answered. And it is a thought, my soul, enough to warm thy coldest moments, that all the hallelujahs of heaven cannot call off thy Jesus’s attention from the necessities of even the poorest of his little ones here upon earth. In every individual instance, and in every case, Jesus will not rest until that he hath finished the thing, as well in the hearts of his people, as in the world, when he finished the work the Father gave him to do. Yes! Jesus will not rest until the last redeemed soul is brought home to glory. Precious consideration, how ought it to endear yet more the preciousness of the Redeemer!

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“Then went king David in, and sat before the LORD. And he said, Who am I, O LORD GOD! and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? And is this the manner of man, O LORD GOD?”—2 Samuel 7:18-19

The language of David, under the overwhelming views he had of divine goodness, as it concerned himself, is suited to the case of every child of God, as he may trace that goodness in his own history. Surely, every awakened soul may cry out, under the same impression, – “Who am I, O Lord God! and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? “My soul! ponder over the sweet subject, as it concerns thyself. Behold what manner of love the love of God is from the manner of man. View it in each Person of the Godhead. What is the highest possible conception any man can have of the love of God our Father to us? Was it not, when, as an evidence of the love he had to our nature, he put a robe of that nature, in its pure and holy state, upon the Person of his dear Son, when he gave him a body in all points such as ours, sin only excepted, that he might not only in that body perfect salvation both by his obedience and death, but also, that he might be our everlasting Mediator for drawing nigh to the Godhead, first in grace, and then in glory? Tell me, my soul, what method, in all the stores of Omnipotency, could God thy Father have adopted to convince thee of his love, as in this sweet method of his wisdom. God intimates, by this tender process, that he loveth the human nature which he hath created. And though, to answer the wise measures af his plan of redemption, he hath not as yet taken all the persons of his redeemed up to his heavenly court, yet he will have their glorious Head, their representative there, that he may behold Him, and accept the whole church in Him, and love them, and bless them in Him, now, and for ever. Oh! my soul, if this view of thy Father’s love was but always uppermost in thine heart, what a ground of encouragement would it for ever give thee, to come to thy God and Father in him, and his mediation; who, while he is one in the divine nature, is one also with thee in the human, on purpose to bid thee come. And as for thee, thou blessed Jesus, thy love and thy delights were always with thy people. From evertasting, thy tendencies of favour have been towards them; thine whole heart is ours. All thy grace, in being set up as the covenant-head for us, and all the after-actings of the same grace in time; all that thou didst then, and all that thou art doing now, – all, all testify the love of our Jesus. And may I not say to thee, thou dear Redeemer, as David did, “Is this the manner of man, O Lord God? “Yes, it is: but it is of the Glory-man, of the God-man, Christ Jesus. And no less, thou Holy Spirit, whose great work is love and consolation; what a thought is it to warm my soul into the most awakened contemplation and delight in the view of thy love, that though thou art of purer eyes than to behold iniquity, yet dost thou make the very bodies of the redeemed thy temples, for thine indwelling residence. My soul, do as David did: go in before the Divine Presence; fall down and adore in the solemn thought – “Who am I, O Lord God! and what is my Father’s house?”

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“And for their sakes I sanctify myself.”—John 17:19

Let thy morning thoughts, my soul, be directed to this sweet view of thy Saviour. Behold thy Jesus presenting himself as the surety of his people before God and the Father. Having now received the call and authority of God the Father, and being fitted with a body suited to the service of a Redeemer, here see him entering upon the vast work; and in those blessed words, declaring the cause of it – “I sanctify myself.” Did Jesus mean that he made himself more holy for the purpose? No, surely: for that was impossible. But by Jesus sanctifying himself, must be understood (as the Nazarite from the womb, consecrated, set apart, dedicated to the service to which the Father had called him), a voluntary offering-an holy unblemished sacririce. And observe for whom: “for their sakes;” not for himself; for he needed it not. The priests under the law made their offerings, first for themselves, and then for the people. “But such an High Priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; and who needed not daily, as those high priests, so to offer. For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the Son is consecrated for evermore. “My soul, pause over this view of thy Jesus; and when thou hast duly pondered it, go to the mercy-seat, under the Spirit’s leadings and influences, and there, by faith, behold thy Jesus, in his vesture dipped in blood, there sanctified, and there appearing in the presence of God for thee. There plead the dedication of Jesus; for it is of the Father’s own appointment. There tell thy God and Father, (for it is the Father’s glory, when a poor sinner glorifies his dear Son in him) that He, that Holy One, whom the Father consecrated, and with an oath confirmed in his high priestly office for ever, appeareth there for thee. Tell God that thy High Priest’s holiness and sacrifice was altogether holy, pure, without a spot; and both his Person, and his nature, and offering, clean as God’s own righteous law. Tell, my soul, tell thy God and Father these sacred, solemn truths. And while thou art thus coming to the mercy-seat, under the leadings of the Spirit, and wholly in the name and office-work of thy God and Saviour, look unto Jesus, and call to mind those sweet words, for whose sake that Holy One sanctified himself; and then drop a petition more before thou comest from the heavenly court: beg, and pray, and wrestle with the bountiful Lord for suited strength and grace, that as, for thy sake, among the other poor sinners of his redemption-love, Jesus sanctified himself, so thou mayest be able to be separated from every thing but Jesus; and as thy happiness was Christ’s end, so his glory may be thy first and greatest object. Yes, dearest Jesus, methinks I hear thee say, – Thou shalt be for me, and not for another: so will I be for thee. Oh! thou condescending, loving God, “make me thine; that whether I live, I may live unto the Lord; or whether I die, I may die unto the Lord; so that living or dying, I may be thine.”

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“Oh! thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt.”—Matthew 14:31

My soul, how sweet is it to eye Jesus in all things, and to be humbled in the recollection of his compassions to thy unaccountable instances of unbelief, after the many, nay, continued and daffy experiences, which thou hast had of his love and faithfulness. And doth thy Jesus speak to thee this day, in those expostulating words, “Oh! thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” What answer wilt thou return? Is there any thing in thy life to justify, or even to apologize for doubting? Look back – behold thy God and Father’s grace, and mercy, and love;—a Saviour so rich, so compassionate, so answering all wants, in spirituals, temporals, and eternals; – a blessed Spirit, so condescending to teach, to lead, and by his influences to be continually with thee! Surely, a life like thine, crowded with mercies, blessings upon blessings, and one miracle of grace followed by another – wherefore shouldest thou doubt? What shall I say to thee, Oh! thou that art the hope of Israel, and the Saviour thereof? Lord, give me to believe, and help thou mine unbelief. I beseech thee, my God and Saviour, give me henceforth faith to trust thee when I cannot trace thee: give me tohang upon thee, when the ground of all sensible comforts seems sinking under my feet. I would cling to the faithfulness of my God in Christ, and throw my poor arms around thee, thou blessed Jesus, when all things appear the most dark and discouraging. And thus, day by day, living a life of faith and whole dependance upon thy glorious Person and thy glorious work, pressing after more sensible communion with thee, and more imparted strength and grace from thee, until at length, when thou shalt call me home from a life of faith to a life of sight – then, precious Jesus, would I say to thee, with my dying-breath, ‘Oh! present me, washed in thy blood, and clothed in thy righteousness, among the whole body of thy glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that I may be without blame before thee in love.’

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“Followers of them, who through faith and patience, inherit the promises.”—Hebrews 6:12

How gracious is the Holy Ghost, in not only holding forth to the people of Jesus the blessedness and certainty of the promises, but opening to our view multitudes, who are now in glory, in the full enjoyment of them. My soul, dost thou ask how they lived, when upon earth, in the full prospect, before that they were called upon to enter heaven for the full participation of them? Hear what the blessed Spirit saith concerning it in this sweet scripture. “It was through faith and patience.” Now observe how these blessed principles manifested themselves. Another part of scripture explains—”they all died in faith, not having received the promises; but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them.” Now this is the whole sum and substance of the believer’s life: he sees them afar off, as Abraham did the day of Christ—as David, who had the same enjoyment in a believing view, with which his whole soul was satisfied: for he saith, “it was all his salvation, and all his desire; “a covenant which he rested upon, “as ordered in all things, and sure.” Pause, my soul, over this, and ask within, are your views thus firmly founded? What, though the day of Christ’s second coming be far off, or nigh, doth thy faith realize the blessed things belonging to it as certain, and as sure as God is truth. Pause, and see that such is thy faith—then go on. The faithful, who row inherit the promises, end which the Holy Ghost bids thee to follow, not only saw with the eye of faith, the things of Jesus afar off, but “were persuaded of them;” that is, were as perfectly satisfied of their existence and reality, as if they were already in actual possession. Pause here again, and say, is this thy faith? Are you perfectly persuaded “that God was, in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them?” Are you convinced that it is God’s design, God’s plan, God’s grace, God’s love, God’s mercy, in all that concerns Jesus? Art thou convinced that God’s glory is concerned in the glory of Jesus, and that every poor sinner gives glory to God in believing the record that God hath given of bis Son? Dost thou, my soul, believe heartily, cordially, fully, joyfully, believe these precious things; nay, that in fact, it is the only possible way a poor sinner can give glory to God, in looking, up to him as God, in giving him the credit of God, and taking his word as God concerning his dear Son Jesus Christ? Dost thou, my soul, set thy seal to these things? Then art thou “persuaded of the truths of God, “as the patriarchs were “who saw them afar off.” Once more—the faithful, whom the Holy Ghost calls upon thee to follow, embraced them also, as well as were persuaded of them. They clasped, by faith, Jesus in their arms, as really and as truly as Simeon did in substance. Their love to Jesus, and their interest in Jesus, their acquaintance by faith with Jesus, were matters of certainty, reality, delight; and their whole souls were, day by day, so familiarized in the unceasing meditation, that they walked by faith with Jesus while here below, as now, by sight, they are with him above in glory. Pause, my soul! Is this thy faith? Then, surely, Jesus is precious, and thou art indeed “the follower of them-who now, through faith and patience, inherit the promises.” And ere long, like them, thou shalt see him whom thy soul loveth, and dwell with him for ever!

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And behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord! if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth his hand and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.”—Matthew 8:2-3

Behold, my soul, in the instance of this leper, thine own circumstances. What he was in body, such wert thou in soul. As his leprosy made him loathsome and offensive before men, so thy polluted soul made thee odious in the sight of God! He would not have sought a cure, had he not been conscious of his need of it. Neither wouldest thou ever have looked to Jesus, had he not convinced thee of thy helplessness and misery without him. Moreover, he would not, though convinced how much he needed healing, have sought that mercy from Jesus, had he not been made sensible of Jesus’s ability to the cure. Neither wouldest thou ever have come to Jesus, hadst thou not been taught who Jesus is, and how fully competent to deliver thee. The poor leper did not doubt whether Jesus was able: though he rather feared that ability might not be exercised towards him. His prayer was, not if thou art able, but, “Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.” Now here, my soul, I hope, thy faith, through grace, exceeds the Jewish leper. Surely thou both knowest Jesus’s power and Jesus’s disposition to save thee. Unworthy and undeserving as thou art, yet his grace is not restrained by thy undeservings, no more than it was first constrained by thy merit. His love, his own love, his free love, is the sole rule of his mercy towards his children, and not their claims, for they have none, but in his free grace and the Father’s everlasting mercy. Cherish these thoughts, my soul, at all times, for they are most sweet and precious. But are these all the blessed things which arise out of the view of the poor leper’s case? Oh, no; the most delightful part still remains in the contemplation of Jesus’s mercy to the poor petitioner, and the very gracious manner the Son of God manifested in the bestowing of it. He not only healed him, and did it immediately, but with that tenderness which distinguished his character and his love to poor sinners. Jesus put forth his hand and touched him; touched a leper! even so, precious Lord, deal by me. Though polluted and unclean, yet condescend to put forth, thine hand and touch me also. Put forth thy blessed Spirit. Come, Lord, and dwell in me, abide in me, and rule and reign over me. Be thou my God, my Jesus, my Holy One, and make me thine for ever.

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“And hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy; and where is the fury of the oppressor?”—Isaiah 51:13

Pause, my soul, over those sweet expostulating words of thy God. Wherefore should the fear of man bring a snare? How much needless anxiety should I spare myself, could I but live, amidst all my changeable days and changeable circumstances, upon my unchangeable God. Now, mark what thy God saith of thy unreasonable and ill-grounded fears—”Where is the fury of the oppressor?” Can he take from thee thy Jesus? No! Shouldest thou lose all thy earthly comforts, Jesus ever liveth, and Jesus is thine. Can he afflict thee, if God saith no? That is impossible. Neither men nor devils can oppress without his permission. And sure enough thou art, thy God and Saviour will never allow any thing to thy hurt; for all things must work for good. And canst thou lessen the oppressor’s fury by anxious fears? Certainly not. Thou mayest, my soul, harrass thyself and waste thy spirits, but never lessen the fury of the enemy thereby. And wherefore, then, shouldest thou crowd the uncertain evils, and the may be’s of tomorrow, in the circumstances of this day’s warfare, when, by only waiting for the morrow, and casting all thy care upon Jesus, who careth for thee, his faithfulness is engaged to be thy shield and buckler? Peace then, my soul, thou shalt be carried through this oppression, as sure as thou hast been through every former; for Jesus is still Jesus, thy God, and will be thy guide even unto death.

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“But now in Christ Jesus, ye, who sometimes were afar off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ.”—Ephesians 2:13

Of all the vast alterations made upon our nature by grace, that which is from death to life seems to be the greatest. I do not think the change would be as great, if Jesus were to make a child of God, after his conversion, at once an archangel, as when, by his blessed Spirit he quickens the sinner, dead in trespasses and sins, and brings him into grace. My soul, contemplate the sweet thought this morning, that it may lead thee, with thy hymn of praise, to all precious Jesus! First then, my soul, think where you then stood, before this vast act of grace had quickened you. You stood on the very confines of hell— unawakened, unregenerate, uncalled, without God, and without Christ. Supposing the Lord had not saved you; supposing a sickness unto death had, by his command, taken you; supposing that any one cause had been commissioned to sign your death-warrant while in this state; where must have been your portion? And yet consider, my soul; how many nights and days did you live in this unconscious, unconcerned state? Oh! who, in this view of the thought, can look back without having the eye brimful of tears, and the heart bursting with love and thankfulness! Go on, my soul, and contemplate the subject in another point of view; and pause in the pleasing thought, “where you now stand.” You are now, saith the apostle,” made nigh by the blood of Christ.” You that was an enemy to God by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh, through death, to present you holy, and unblamable, and unreprovable, in his sight. And now, my soul, if death should come, it is but the messenger to glory. Precious, blessed thought! And Oh, how much more precious, blessed Jesus, the Author of it! Advance, my soul, one step more in this sweet subject, and pleasingly consider, where you soon shall be. Paul answereth; “So shall we be ever with the Lord.” “Ever with the Lord!” Who can write down the full amount of this blessedness? “Ever with the Lord!” Here we are, in Jesus, interested in all that belongs to Jesus; but there, we shall be also with Jesus. Here we see him but as through a glass darkly; but there, face to face. Here, even the views we have of him by faith, are but glimpses only—short and rare, compared to our desires; but there, we shall see him in reality, in substance, and unceasingly, the precious, glorious, God-man Christ Jesus. Here, our sins, though pardoned, yet dim our view, by reason of their effects; there, we shall for ever have lost them, and see, and know, even as we are known. And have these blessed changes taken place in my soul; and all by thee, thou gracious, precious, Holy One of Israel? Oh for grace to love thee, to live to thee, to be looking out for thee, dearest Jesus, that I may be counting every parting breath, every beating pulse, as one the less, to bring me nearer and nearer to Jesus, who is my everlasting home, and will ere long, be my never-ceasing portion and happiness in eternity.—Hallelujah!

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“From this day will I bless thee.”—Haggai 2:19

My soul, what day is the memorable day to thee from whence commenced thy blessings? No doubt from everlasting the Lord hath blessed his people in Jesus. But the commencement of thy personal enjoyment of those blessings, was at the time the Lord graciously laid the foundation of his spiritual temple in thee; the blessed, the gracious, the auspicious, the happy day, when the Lord made thee willing in the day of his power? Oh! blessed day, never, never to be forgotten! A day of light; when the light of Jesus first broke in upon me. A day of life; when the Lord Jesus quickened my poor soul, which before was laying dead in trespasses and sins. A day of love; when his love first was made known to my soul, who so loved me as to give his dear and ever-blessed Son for me: and his love was sweetly manifested, who so loved me as to give himself for me. A day of the beginning of victory, over death and hell, and the grave. A day of liberty; when the Lord Jesus opened my prison doors and brought me out. A day of wonder, love and praise; when my eyes first saw the King in his beauty, and my whole soul was overpowered in the contemplation of the grace, the glory, the beauty, the loveliness, the suitableness, the all-sufficiency of his glorious Person and glorious work. A day, Oh what dear name shall I term it to be? A day of grace, a jubilee, a salvation day! the day of my espousals to Jesus, and of the gladness of my Redeemer’s heart! And, my soul, did thy God, did thy Jesus say, that from that day he would bless thee? And hath he not done it? Oh, yes, yes; beyond all conception of blessing. He hath blessed thee in thy basket and thy store. All the blessings, even in temporal mercies, which were all forfeited in Adam, are now sweetly restored, and blessed, and sanctified, in Jesus: nay, even thy very crosses have the-curse taken out of them by thy Jesus; and thy very tears have the spiced wine of the pomegranate. And as to spiritual blessings, God thy Father hath blessed thee with all in his dear Son. Thy Father hath made over himself, in Jesus, with all his love and favour. And Jesus is thine, with all his fulness, sweetness, all-sufficiency. And God the Spirit, with all his gracious influences and comforts. And the present enjoyment of these unspeakable mercies becomes the sure earnest of blessings which are eternal. Jesus himself hath declared, that it is the Father’s own gracious will that he should give eternal life to as many as the Father hath given him; and therefore eternal life must be the sure portion of all his redeemed. “He that believeth in the Son hath indeed everlasting life; and Jesus will raise him up at the last day.” Pause, my soul, and view the vast heritage to which thou art begotten from the day of thy new birth in Jesus, Oh! most gracious Father, let me never lose sight of those sweet words, nor the feeling sense of my interest in them, in which thou hast said, “From this day will I bless thee.”

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“They shall hunger no more.”—Revelation 7:16

My soul! contemplate for a moment, before thou enterest upon the concerns of time and sense, in the claims of the world, the blessed state of the redeemed above. They are at the fountain-head of happiness, in their station, in their service, in their society, in their provision, in their everlasting exemption from all want, and above all, in the presence of God and the Lamb. “They shall hunger no more.” Sweet thought! Let me this day anticipate as many of the blessed properties of it as my present state in Jesus will admit. If Jesus be my home, my residence, my dwelling-place, will not the hungerings of my soul find supply? Yes, surely. A life of faith on the Son of God, is a satisfying life, under all the changes of the world around. Finding Jesus, I find sustenance in him, and therefore do not hunger for ought besides him. “Thou art my hiding-place,”said one of old; and my soul finds occasion to adopt the same language. And He that is’ my hiding-place, is also my food and my nourishment. In Jesus there is both food and a fence; there is fruit, as well as a shadow; and the fulness of Jesus needs vent in the wants of his people, for the pouring forth of his all-sufficiency. My soul, cherish this thought to the full. If thy hunger be really for Jesus, and him only, then will thy hunger be abundantly supplied in his communication. As long as I look at my wants, without an eye to Jesus, I shall be miserable. But if I consider those wants and that emptiness purposely appointed for the pouring out of his fulness, they will appear as made for the cause of happiness. Jesus keeps up the hungering, that he may have the blessedness OF supplying them; he keeps his children empty that he may fill them, and that his fulness may be in request among them. So far, therefore, is my hungering from becoming a source of sorrow, it furnisheth out a source of holy joy. I should never be straitened in myself, when I am not straitened in Jesus. Nay, it would be a sad token of distance from Jesus if a sense of want was lessened. While, on the other hand, the best proof’ I can have of nearness to Jesus, and living upon him, is, when my enjoyment of Jesus discovers new and increasing wants, and excites an holy hungering for his supplying them. By and by I shall get home, and then at the fountain head of rapture and delight, all hungering and wants will be done away, in the full and everlasting enjoyment of God and the Lamb!

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“And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him, and he became a captain over them.”—1 Samuel 22:2

My soul, was not this thy case when thou first sought after Jesus? Thou wert, indeed, in debt under an heavy load of insolvency. Distress and discontent sadly marked thy whole frame. Unconscious where to go, or to whom to seek, and no man cared for thy soul. Oh! what a precious thought it was, and which none but God the Holy Ghost could have put into thine heart —Go unto Jesus! And when I came, and thou didst graciously condescend to be my captain, from that hour how hath my soul been revived! My insolvency thou hast taken away; for thou hast more than paid the whole demands of the law; for thou hast magnified it, and made it honourable. My distress under the apprehension of divine justice thou hast removed; for God’s justice, by thee, is not only satisfied, but glorified. My discontent can have no further cause for exercise, since thou hast so graciously provided for all my wants, in grace here, and glory hereafter. Hail, thou great and glorious Captain of my salvation! In thee I see that Leader and Commander which Jehovah, thy Father, promised to give to the people. Thou art indeed, blessed Jesus, truly commissioned by thy Father to this very purpose, that every one that is in soul distress, by reason of sin, and debtors to the broken law of God, may come unto thee, and take thee for their Captain. And truly, Lord, thy little army, llke David’s, is composed of none originally but distressed souls. None would take thee for his Captain, whose spiritual circumstances are not desperate. None but the man whose heart hath felt distress, by reason of sin, and is sinking under the heavy load of guilt, will come under thy banner. Oh! the condescension of Jesus to receive such, and be gracious unto them. Oh! that I had the power of persuasion, I would say to every poor sinner, every insolvent debtor, every one who feels and knows the plague of his heart—would to God you were with the Captain of my salvation, he would recover you from all your sorrow. Go to him, my brother, as I have done; he will take away your distress by taking away your sin. He will liberate you from all your debt by paying it himself. He will banish all discontent from the mind, in giving you peace with God by his blood. Yes, blessed, Almighty Captain! thou art indeed over thy people, as well as Captain to thy people. By the sword of thy Spirit, which is the word of God, thou workest conviction in our hearts; thou makest all thine enemies fall under thee; thou leadest thy people on to victory, and makest them more than conquerors through thy grace supporting them. Lord, put on the military garments of salvation on my soul, and the whole armour of God, that under thy banner I may be found in life, in death, and for evermore!

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“Faint, yet pursuing.”—Judges 8:4

Surely what is said here concerning the little army of Gideon, suits my case exactly. I know that in Jesus the victory is certain; but I know also, that I shall have battlings all the way. From the moment that the Lord called me out of darkness into his marvellous light, my whole life hath been but a state of warfare; and! feel what Paul felt, and groan as he groaned, under a body of sin and death; “as sorrowful, yet rejoicing; as dying, but behold I live; as chastened, and not killed.” Truly I am faint, under the many heavy assaults 1 have sustained; and yet, through grace, pursuing as if I had met with no difficulty. Yes, blessed Jesus; I know that there can be no truce in this war; and looking unto thee, I pray to be found faithful unto death, that no man may take my crown. But, dearest Lord! thou seest my day of small things; thou beholdest how faint I am. Thou seest also, how the enemy assaults me! and- how the world and the flesh combat against me. While without are rightings, within will be fears. Yet, dearest, blessed Lord, “in the Lord I have strength;” and how sweet is the thought, that though I have nothing, though I am nothing, yet thou hast said, “in me is thy help.” Thou hast said, “the righteous shall hold on his way; and he that hath clean hands shall wax stronger and stronger.” The worm Jacob thou hast promised shall thresh the mountains. Write these blessed things, my soul, upon the living tablets of thine heart, or rather beg of God the Holy Ghost, the remembrancer of thy Jesus, to stamp them there for thee. “He giveth power to the faint; and to them which have no might, he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary; and the young men shall utterly fail. 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.”

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“How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?”—Psalm 137:4

Methinks, my soul, this strange land is the very place to sing the Lord’s song in, though the carnal around understand it not. Shall I hang my harp upon the willow, when Jesus is my song, and when he himself hath given me so much cause to sing? Begin, my soul, thy song of redemption: learn it, and let it be sung upon earth; for sure enough thou wilt have it to sing in heaven. Art thou at a loss what to sing? Oh, no. Sing of the Father’s mercy in sending a Saviour. Sing of Jesus’s love, in not only coming, but dying for thee! Are the redeemed above now singing, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain?” Join in the chorus, and tell that dear Redeemer in the loudest notes, that he was slain, and hath redeemed thee to God by his blood. Strike up thy harp anew to the glories of redeeming grace, in that he not only died for thee, but hath quickened thee to a new and spiritual life. Add a note more to the Lord’s song, and tell the Redeemer in thy song of praise, that he hath not only died for thee, and quickened thee, but he hath loved thee, and washed thee from thy sins in his own blood. Go on in thy song, my soul, for it is the Lord’s song. Sing not only of redeeming love, but marvellous grace; for both-are connected. He that redeemed thee, hath all grace for thee. He hath adopted thee into his family; hath made thee an heir of God, and a joint heir with Christ. He hath undertaken for thee in all troubles, under all difficulties, to be with thee at all times and all places, until he brings thee home to behold his glory, that where he is, there thou mayest be for ever. And are not these causes enough to keep thy harp always strung—always in tune? And wilt thou not sing this song all the way through, and make it the subject of thy continual praise and love, in the house of thy pilgrimage? Moreover, the several properties of the song are, in themselves, matter for keeping it alive every day, and all the day. Think, my soul, how free was this love of God to thee. Surely if a man deserved hell, and found heaven, shall he not sing? If I expected displeasure, and received love—if I was brought low, and one like the Son of Man helped me, shall I not say, as one of old did—”He brought me out of the horrible pit, and out of the miry clay; he hath put a new song into my mouth, even thanksgiving to our God?” If I think of the greatness of the mercy, of the riches of the mercy, of the sweetness of the mercy, of the all-sufficiency of the mercy, of the sureness and firmness, and everlasting nature and efficacy of the mercy—can I refrain to sing? No, blessed, blessed Jesus! I will sing and not be afraid; “for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song, and he is become my salvation.” I will sing now, I will sing for evermore. In this strange land, in this barren land, in this distant land from my Father’s house, I will sing, and Jesus shall be my song. He shall be the Alpha and the Omega of my hymn; and until I come to sing in the louder and sweeter notes of heaven, among the hallelujahs of the blessed, upon the new harp and new stringed chords of my renewed soul, will I sing of Jesus and his blood, Jesus and his righteousness, Jesus and his complete salvation. And when the last song upon my trembling lips, with Jesus’s name in full, shall be uttered; as the sound dies away, when death seals up the power of utterance; my departing soul shall catch the parting breath, and, as it enters the presence of the court above, the first notes of my everlasting song will go on with the same blessed note, “to him that hath loved me, and washed me from my sins in his own blood!”

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“That ye may be able to comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge.”—Ephesians 3:18-19

Did Paul pray that the church might be thus blessed? So should all faithful pastors. And there is enough in Jesus to call up the everlasting contemplation of his people. All the dimensions of divine glory are in Jesus. Who, indeed, shall describe the extent of that love which passeth knowledge? But, my soul, pause over the account. What is the breadth of it? Jesus’s death reaches in efficacy to all his seed—all his children: to thee, my soul; for thou art the seed of Jesus. And though that death took place at Jerusalem near two thousand years since, yet the efficacy of his blood, as from an high altar, as effectually washes away sin now, as in the moment it was shed. Remember, Jesus still wears the vesture dipped in blood. Remember, Jesus still appears as the Lamb slain before God. Indeed, indeed, Jesus was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. So that, in breadth, it is broader than the sea, taking in all the seed of Jesus, through all ages, all dispensations, all the various orders of his people. Neither is the length of it less proportioned. Who shall circumscribe the Father’s love, which is from everlasting to everlasting? Who shall limit Jesus’s grace? Is he not made of God, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption? Is he not all this, in every office, every character, every relation? “Jesus Christ; the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever!” And what is the depth of this love, but reaching down to hell, to lift up our poor fallen nature. And what is the height, but Jesus in our nature, exalted far above all principalities, and powers, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come! Precious God of my salvation! Oh, give me to see, to know, to entertain, and cherish, more enlarged views of this love; which hath no bottom, no bounds, no shore; but, like its Almighty Author, is from everlasting to everlasting. Shall I ever despond? Shall I ever doubt any more, when this Jesus looks upon me, loves me, washes me in his blood, feeds me, clothes me, and hath promised to bring me to glory? Oh, for faith “to comprehend, with all saints, this love of God which passeth knowledge.”

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“For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.”—2 Corinthians 8:12

Sweet thought this to comfort the soul under small attainments,” If there be first a willing mind.” Surely, Lord, thou hast given me this; for thou hast made me willing in the day of thy power. I feel as such, my soul going forth in desires after thee, as my chief and only good; though, alas! how continually do I fall short of the enjoyment of thee. I can truly say, “whom is there in heaven, or upon earth, that I desire in comparison of thee?” When thou art present, I am at once in heaven; it makes a very heaven in my soul: thou art the God of my exceeding joy. When thou art absent my soul pines after thee? And truly, “I count all things but dung and dross to win thee;” for whatever gifts thou hast graciously bestowed upon me, in the kindness of friends, in the affections and charities of life, yet all these are secondary considerations with my soul. They are more or less lovely, as I see thy gracious hand in them; but all are nothing to my Lord. Is not this, dearest Jesus, a willing mind? Is it not made so in the day of thy power? But in the midst of this, though I feel this rooted desire in me after thee, yet how often is my heart wandering from thee. Though there is at the bottom of my heart a constant longing for thy presence, and the sweet visits of thy love; yet through the mass of unbelief, and the remains of in-dwelling corruption in my nature, which are keeping down the soul; how doth the day pass, and how often doth the enemy tempt me to question my interest in thee. Dearest Jesus! undertake for me. I do cry out, “When wilt thou come to me,” though I am thus kept back from coming to thee? When wilt thou manifest thyself to my soul, and come over all these mountains of sin and unbelief, and fill me with a joy unspeakable and full of glory? And doth Jesus indeed accept from the willing mind, he hath himself given, according to what a man hath, and not according to what he hath not? – Doth my Redeemer behold, amidst the rubbish, the spark of grace he himself hath kindled? Will he despise the day of small things? No, he will not. It was said of thee, that” thou shouldest not break the bruised reed, neither quench the smoaking flax.” Mine, indeed, is no more. But yet Jesus will bear up the one, and kindle the other, until he send forth judgment unto victory. Peace, then, my soul! weak as thou art in thyself, yet art thou strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

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“And his name shall be called Wonderful.”—Isaiah 4:6

In the opening of the last month, the fragrancy of Jesus’s name, as Emanuel, gave a sweet savour to my soul. May He, whose name is as ointment poured forth, give a new refreshment to my spiritual senses this morning, in this name also as Wonderful; for surely every thing in him, and concerning him, of whom the prophet speaks, is eminently so. But who shall speak of thy wonders, dearest Lord! the wonders of thy Godhead, the wonders of thy manhood, the wonders of both natures united and centered in one Person? – Who shall talk of the wonders of thy work, the wonders of thine offices, characters, relations; thy miraculous birth, thy wonderful death, resurrection, ascension? – Who shall follow thee, thou risen and exalted Saviour, at the right hand of power, and tell of the exercise of thine everlasting priesthood? Who shall speak of the wonders of thy righteousness, the wonders of thy sin-atoning blood? What angel shall be found competent to proclaim the wonders of the Father’s love, in giving thee for poor sinners? What archangel to write down the wonders of thy love, in undertaking and accomplishing redemption? And who but God the Spirit can manifest both in the height, and depth, and breadth, and length, of a love that passeth knowledge? Is there, my soul, a wonder yet, that, as it concerns thee, and thine interest in him, whose name is wonderful, is still more marvellous to thy view? Yes, Oh thou wonderful Lord, for sure all wonders seem lost in the contemplation compared to that, that Jesus should look on me in my lost, ruined, and undone estate; for his mercy endureth for ever. Well might Jesus say, “Behold, I and the children whom thou hast given me, are for signs and wonders!” Isa. viii. 18. Well might the Lord, concerning Jesus and his people, declare them to be as men wondered at. Zech. iii. 8. And blessed Lord, the more love thou hast shewn to thy people, the more are they the world’s wonder and their own. Precious Lord, continue to suprise my soul with the tokens of thy love. All the tendencies of thy grace, all the manifestations of thy favour, thy visits, thy love-tokens, thy pardons, thy renewings, thy morning-call, thy mid-day feedings, thy noon, thy evening, thy midnight grace – all, all are among thy wonderful ways of salvation; and all testify to my soul, that thy name, as well as thy work, is, and must be, wonderful.

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“Leaning on Jesus’ bosom.”—John 13:23

Methinks I would contemplate for a while the privilege of this highly- favoured disciple John. Surely to sit at the feet of Jesus, to look up at his face, to behold the Lamb of God, and to hear the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth, what should I have thought of this but a happiness unspeakable and full of glory! But the beloved apostle leaned on Jesus’s bosom. Oh, thou condescending Saviour! didst thou mean to manifest, by this endearing token, how dear and precious all thy redeemed ones are in thy esteem? But stop, my soul. If John lay on Jesus’s breast, where was it Jesus himself lay, when he left all for thy salvation? The disciple whom Jesus loved lay upon Jesus’s bosom; but he, whom the Father loved, lay in the bosom of the Father – nay, was embosomed there; was wrapt up in the very soul of the Father from eternity. Who shall undertake to speak of the most glorious state of the Son of God, before he condescended to come forth from the bosom of God for the salvation of his people? Who shall describe the blessedness of the Father and the Son in their mutual enjoyment of each other? Jesus, when he was in the bosom of the Father, had not emptied himself of his glory. Jesus had not been made in the likeness of sinful flesh. Jesus had not put himself under the law. He was not then a man of sorrows. He was not then acquainted with grief. He had not then exposed his face to shame and spitting; neither to poverty, temptation, the bloody sweat, and the cross. And did Jesus go through all these, and more? Did Jesus leave the Father’s bosom; and did the Father take this only-begotten, only-beloved Son from his bosom; that John might lean on Jesus’s bosom, and all the redeemed, like him, one day, dwell with Jesus, and lean and rest in his embraces for ever? Oh, for hearts to love both the FATHER and the SON, who have so loved us; that we may be ready to part with all, and forsake all, and die to all, that we may live in Jesus, and to Jesus, and rest in his bosom for ever.

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“He will be very gracious unto thee; at the voice of thy cry, when he shall hear it, he will answer thee.”—Isaiah 30:9

Mark, my soul, what is here said; for every word in this sweet scripture tells. Thy God, thy Saviour, thy Jesus, knows thy voice, hears thy cry, and will assuredly answer. He will not only be gracious, but very gracious. He waits to be gracious; waits the most suited time, the best time, the praying time, the crying time; for he times his grace, his mercy, to thy need. And though thou knowest it not, yet so it is; when his time is near at hand, which is always the best time, he puts a cry in thine heart; so that the time of thy cry, and the time for the manifestation of his glory, shall come together. Is not this to be gracious; yea, very gracious? So that, while thou art looking after him, he is looking upon thee. And before thou callest upon him, he is coming forth to bless thee. Is not this very gracious? Now then, my soul, make a memorandum of this for any occasions which may hereafter occur. Put it down as a sure, unnering truth; thy Jesus will be very gracious unto thee. Never allow this promise to be called in question any more. Next, bring it constantly into use. Faith, well-grounded faith in Jesus, should always bring down general rules to particular cases and circumstances, as the soul’s experience may require. Hence, when God saith he will be very gracious unto thee, it is the act of faith to answer—if God hath said it, so it shall certainly be. And therefore, as that gracious God, who giveth the promise, giveth also the grace of faith to depend upon the promise, the mercy is already done, and faith enters upon the enjoyment of it. God’s faithfulness and truth become the believer’s shield and buckler.

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“As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness.”—Psalm 17:15

Is it refreshing to thee now, my soul, the least glimpse of Jesus’s face; the smallest manifestation of the glories of his Person and of his work; and the very sound of his voice, in his word or ordinances? Think, then, what will be thy felicity in that morning of the eternal world, when, dropping thy vail of flesh, he whom thou seest now by faith only, will then appear as open to thee as to the church above in glory! Pause, my soul, over the vast thought! What will be thy first sight Of Jesus? What will be thy feelings, when, without any intervening medium, thou shalt see him face to face, and know even as thou art known? Precious Lamb of God! grant me grace to feel the blessedness of this first interview. Appearing, as I trust I shall, in thine own garments, and the robes of thy righteousness, and which thou hast not only provided for me, but put on, what will be the burstings forth of my heart, in the full view of the glories of thy Person, and the perfection Of thy righteousness! Surely, Lord, when I thus behold thy face in righteousness, I shall be so fully satisfied, that the rest after which my poor soul, through a whole life of grace, since thou weft pleased to quicken me, hath been pursuing, will pursue no more. My immortal faculties will seek no more – will need no more. In thee, the whole is attained. In thee, I shall eternally rest. Thou art the everlasting centre of all happiness, glory, and joy. I shall be so fully satisfied when I awake to this view, that here, in thee, I shall be at home. And what is more, it will be an everlasting duration, not only in happiness, but in likeness. And as the coldest iron, put into the fire, partakes of the properties of the fire, until it becomes altogether heated and fiery like it, so in thee, and with thee, thou blessed Jesus, cold as my soul now is, I shall be warmed with thy love; and from thee, and thy likeness imparted, become lovely from thy loveliness, and glorious from thy glory. Precious, precious Jesus! Is the hour near? Are thy chariot wheels approaching? Dost thou say, “Behold, I come quickly.” Oh! for grace to answer, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”

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“Who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.”—1 Corinthians 1:30

What a sweet subject for my morning meditation is here! Who is it, my soul, is made of God to thee these precious things but Jesus? And mark how they are made so. I am a poor ignorant creature, grossly ignorant by reason of the fall. I knew not my lost estate, much less the way of recovery. Here Jesus became to me wisdom. By his illuminating the darkness of my mind, he led me to see my ruin and my misery. But this would never have brought me out of it; for though I saw my lost estate, yet still I had no consciousness by what means I could be recovered. Here again Jesus came to my aid, and taught me, that as I needed righteousness, he would be my righteousness, and undertake for me to God. But even after this was done, I felt my soul still the subject of sin; and how to subdue a single sin I knew not. Here Jesus came again, and gave me to see, that as he was wisdom to cure my ignorance, and righteousness to answer for my guilt, so he would be my sanctification also; purging, as well as pardoning and renewing, by his Spirit, my poor nature, when he had removed the guilt of it. Still I sighed for complete deliverance, and to make my happiness sure; and therefore Jesus came again, that by his full redemption from all the evils of the fall, I might be made free; and therefore he became the whole together—”wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.” And to stamp and seal the whole with the impression of God my Father, all that Jesus did, he did by God’s gracious appointment; for he was made of God to me all these, that all my glorying might be in the Lord. See to it, my soul, then, that this be all thy glory.

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“He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack.”—2 Corinthians 8:15

My soul! here is a delightful morsel for thee to feed upon this morning. Thou art come out to gather thy daily food, as Israel did in the wilderness. Faith had no hoards. Thou wantest Jesus now as much as thou didst yesterday. Well then, look at what is here said of Israel. They went out to gather—what? Why, in the morning bread—God’s gift. Such is Jesus, the bread of God, the bread of life. And as Israel would have been satisfied with nothing short of this, so neither be thou. And as Israel was never disappointed, so neither wilt thou, if thou seek it in faith, as Israel did. And observe, “they that gathered most had nothing over;” so “he that gathered least had no lack.” Yea, my soul, no follower of Jesus can have too much of Jesus; nothing more than he wants —nothing to spare. So the poorest child of God, that hath the least of Jesus, can never want. The very touch of his garment, the very crumb from his table, is his, and is precious. Dearest Lord, give me a large portion, even a Benjamin’s portion. But even a look of thy love is heaven to my soul.

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“Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.”—Jeremiah 11:11

Pause, my soul, over these words! Was it ever known that any nation changed their dunghill gods for others? Such regard had they for whatever ignorance had set up, that the veneration never after ceased. But Israel, above every other nation of the earth, manifested folly, and even exceeded the most senseless and stupid of men. My soul! dost thou not in Israel’s folly behold thy own? Was there ever one, when the Lord first called thee, less deserving? A transgressor, as the Lord knew thee, from the womb! And yet this did not prevent the Lord from calling thee. He loved thee because he would love thee; gave thee his Christ,—gave thee his Holy Spirit—gave thee the name, the privilege, the adoption of a son. What returns hast thou made? How often since hath thy backslidings, thy coldness, thy departures, been like Israel? What vanity, what pursuit, what unprofitable employment, hath not at times been preferred to thy God? Oh how do I see my daily, hourly, continual need of thee, thou that art the hope of Israel, and the Saviour thereof! Keep me, Lord, near thyself; for without thee I am nothing.

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“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”—2 Corinthians 3:17

What liberty, my soul! art thou brought into by thine adoption into the family of God in Christ? Not from the assaults of sin; for thou still carriest about with thee a body of sin, under which thou groanest. Not from the temptations of Satan; for he is still levelling at thee many a fiery dart. Not from outward troubles; for the world thou art still in, thou findest it a wilderness state. Not from inward fears; for thine unbelief begets many. Not from the chastisement of thy wise and kind Father: for then many a sweet visit of his love, under the rod, would be unknown. Not from death; for the stroke of it thou must one day feel—though, blessed be Jesus, he hath taken out the sting in his blood and righteousness. What liberty then is it, my soul, thou enjoyest? What hath the Spirit of the Lord, as a spirit of revelation, discovering to thee the glory of Jesus, and thy interest in him, brought thee into? Oh, who shall write down the vast, the extensive account of thy freedom? Say, my soul, hath not the sight of God’s glory in Christ freed thee from the curse of the law,—from the guilt of the law,—from the dominion of sin,—from the power of Satan,—from the evil of unbelief in thine own heart, —from the terrors of justice,—from the alarms of conscience, from the second death? Say, my soul, doth not the sight of Jesus dying for thee, rising for thee, pleading for thee, enlarge thine heart, and lose thy bonds, and shake off all thy fetters and all thy fears? Doth not Jesus in the throne give thee liberty to come to him, to call upon him, to unbosom thyself unto him, to tell him all thy wants, all thy necessities, and to lean upon his kind arm in every hour of need? Shout, my soul! and echo to the apostle’s words,—”Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty:” liberty to approach, liberty to plead, liberty to pray, liberty to praise and to adore the whole persons of the Godhead, for having opened the prison-doors, and given thee freedom in Christ Jesus!

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“Saw ye him whom my soul loveth.”—Solomon 3:3

Is Jesus still the object of my soul’s warmest affection; the subject of all my thoughts, all my discourse, all my inquiry? Oh, yes, my scul; whom else, in heaven or in earth, wilt thou seek after but him? Tell me, ye ministers of Jesus, ye watchmen upon the walls of Zion—”Saw ye him Whom my soul loveth?” Ye followers of the Lamb, can ye shew me where Jesus feedeth his flock at noon? Or rather, ye in the upper regions, where the Son of God manifesteth himself in the full glories of his Person; “ye spirits of just men made perfect,” ye who have known, while sojourning here below, what feeling of the soul that is, which, in the absence of Jesus, is longing for his appearance. Ye angels of light also—ye who see him without an intervening medium—tell him, I beseech you, how my soul panteth for his visits: tell him, that a poor pensioner, well known to my Lord, is waiting this morning alms: nay, tell him that I am sick of love, longing for a renewed view of his person, —his pardoning love,—the renewals of his grace. Jesus knoweth it all before you tell him, and he will send his gifts and mercies—nay, he will come himself; for he hath assured me of this. He hath said, “If a man love me, my Father will love him, and we will come and make our abode with him.” Behold my soul, thy Jesus is come! I hear his well-known voice: he saith, “I am come into my garden.” Now will I hold him, and not let him go, and pray him not to be as a wayfaring man that turneth in to tarry for a night, but abide with me until the breaking of the everlasting day.

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