Unto thee, O God, do I lift up my soul" Psalm. XXV.

Unto thee, O God, do I lift up my soul" Pf. XXV. 1. It is not easy to do this. We are naturally sluggish and grovelling. Who has not reason to acknowledge with shame and sorrow, "my soul cleave unto the dust?" It is easy enough, in duty, to lift up our hands, and our eyes, and our voices; but it is another thing to come even to his seat, to enter into the secret of his tabernacle, and to hold intercourse with the God of heaven. And yet, without this, what is devotion? And how unanswerable will all our services be to the requisition of Him who is a Spirit, and such to worship him as worship him in spirit and in truth? And without this, a real Christian is no more satisfied than God. He will not, indeed, from a principle of duty, undervalue the means of grace, and neglect private and public devotion; but he is disappointed unless he can lift up his soul unto God. And this marks the spiritual worshipper. He is not distinguished by always enjoying liberty and fervour in his holy exercises; but he mourns the want of them —while the formalist looks no further than the performance itself, and returns from the House and Throne of God without ever enquiring whether he has had communion with Him. It is the spirituality of religion that befriends enjoyment. Nothing yields us pleasure but in proportion as the heart is engaged in the pursuit. How dull, how tiresome are those tasks, in which "In vain to heaven we lift our cries, "And leave our souls behind." But it is good to draw near to God. Then there is a sacred charm that keeps our thoughts from wandering. Then we attend on the Lord without distraction. Then we feel no weariness of spirit. We call the Sabbath a delight. We find his words, and eat them. And our meditation of Him is sweet. And when such a worshipper comes forth, he will be ready to say to all he meets, "That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you; that ye may have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.** And His recommendations are likely to have some effect. For his profit will appear unto all men. His face shines. His heart speaks. His life speaks. His character speaks. He must be impressive and influential. He will be felt—in the family—in the Church—and in the world. He cannot but do good, even without pretension—without effort. "When such a roan, familiar with the skies, "Has filled his urn where those pure waters rise; "And once more mingles with us, meaner things; "Ti's e'en as if an angel shook his wings— "Immortal fragrance fills the circuit wide, "Which tells, whence his treasures are supplied."William Jay

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