A Goodly Heritage

 Prayer is designed not only to be serviceable to man, but honourable God. It is a tax (redounding indeed with unspeakable benefits to the tax-payer, but still a tax) laid upon our time; just as almsgiving is a tax laid upon our substance; and if we would render unto God the things that are God's, the tribute-money must be faithfully and punctually paid. 1.  Think of yourself before you kneel down, not simply as a suppliant for help, but as a priest addressing himself to offer sacrifice and to burn incense. The time of the morning or evening oblation is come; the altar is ready; the incense is at hand; the sacerdotal robe of Christ's righteousness waits to be put on; array thyself in it; and go into the sanctuary of thy heart, and do the priestly ministration. 2.  It was the quaint but excellent saying of an old saint that a man should deal with distractions in prayer as he would deal with dogs who run out and bark at him when he goes along the street, — walk on fast...

In the cabinets of antiquaries is often to be seen a small bottle found in ancient tombs. It is called a lachrymatory, or tear-bottle, and is supposed to have contained the tears of some bereaved relative of the departed one who was laid in the tomb. The heathen believed that the gods loved to see a good man struggling with adversity, for then the greatness of the human soul comes out. And our God loves to see the faith and patience of His sorrowing servants. But we desire to speak of Jesus, whose language the psalmist, by prophetic anticipation, speaks. The tears of Jesus, then, are our subject. His life was characterized by sorrow. But He did not weep at His crucifixion — there was never moral weakness in His tears. Ha was full of sympathy, and He was full of tenderness, but He was never moved to tears by the cruelty of men. But He wept in the Garden of Gethsemane. The Epistle to the Hebrews tells us of "His strong crying and tears." There are tears which we cannot fully u...

It is for the want of keeping this end steadily in view that many persons make so little progress. Their efforts are misdirected. They confound the means and effects of religion with its life. Digging, manuring, pruning, and fruit-bearing are not the life of a tree. What, then, is the soul of religion towards which all efforts are to be directed. I.  THE LIFE OF TRUE RELIGION IS AN EXPERIMENTAL KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. Such an appreciation of the excellence of His character as satisfies the soul. Philip said, "Show us the Father, and it sufficeth us." No earthly source of happiness does suffice. The pursuit of earthly desires is like the countryman's chase after the rainbow. They one after the other disappoint those who attain them. Their prismatic colours all vanish when we come close to them, and some new rainbow is seen ahead to lure us into another fruitless pursuit. But our Creator does not mock us by implanting great yearnings after happiness which have nothing to corre...