A Goodly Heritage

Psalm 117v2.         The merciful kindness of the Lord is a boundless theme . We see it inscribed on all the works of creation . We see it shining in the glories of redemption . What could have been done more for his people that the Lord hath not done for us ? The great God , evenjesus , is our full salvation . Their is pardon in his precious blood for every sin . There is a covering robe in his righteousness for every transgression . There is sanctification and renewal in his Spirit for our cold hearts . The cup of grace , of mercy , and of love verily overflows . It could scarcely hold another drop . The promises of the covenant are all yea and amen in Christ . Could God give more ? Let , then , our grateful cry ever swell . Praise ye the Lord.

Proverbs 3:33. The contrast between the sinner and the saint , affects us , not only personally but relatively. The curse or blessing of the Lord follows us to our homes . Shall we then envy the wicked , with his cup of earthly joy filled to the brim ?"The curse of the Lord is in his house ."Let him think - It is my Maker's curse  - how awful , that my being and my curse should come from the same sacred source !. It is not the impotent wishing of ill . Could we trace its deadly work ,we would see the man wasting , withering , consuming under it . Is this an idle dream ? Surely -  but for the blindness of the heart , the wicked would see the naked sword hanging by a hair over his head , or the awful "handwriting on the wall ," solemnly proclaiming - "There is no peace - saith my God -- unto the wicked ."Vainly will the proud worm resist . Ahab multiplied his house beyond all human average , as if to set at defiance the curse pronounced against it . Yet...

When I try to discover the meaning of the sorrow of Christ on the cross , I cannot escape the conclusion that He is somehow involved in this deep and dreadful darkness by the sins of the race whose nature He has assumed . If the dread with which He anticipated His death , and if the Divine desertion which made His death so awful , are to pass into doctrine , I can conceive of no other form in which they can appear than that which they assume in the Apostolic Epistles  -" He was delivered for our offences ." -" He died for our sins ." - He "suffered .....the just for the unjust ;  "He was made a curse for us ."  As I look , as I listen , I am driven to exclaim , "Surely He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows . He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities ; The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all ."  In no other way are His sufferings explicable .  To fulfil these words of ancient prophesy , He can en...

Under the old covenant , when the church was still in its childhood , it was necessary to employ to a large extent the outward and material ; carnal elements had a prominent place in the immediate service of God ,and they could not fail to be much resorted to in the administration of the kingdom , so long as it had a political existence in the world . His people had then often to defend themselves with a carnal sword , and often in the successful exercise of this did God's power and goodness appear to his people . But the revelation of God in the person and work of Christ introduced an entire change in this respect . The spiritual element in the Divine character came thereby into fuller manifestation , and , as a necessary consequence , everything carnal fell into the background . Not that the Lord's people must therefore cease to operate upon the outward and material things around them , but that in doing so they  must bring more into exercise the higher elements of power . Th...

Of all the institutions designed by heavenly mercy to promote the temporal and eternal welfare of mankind , there is no one of such immense importance , and productive of such immense benefits , as the Sabbath . "Wherever the Sabbath is not , there is no worship , no religion , . Man forgets God , and God forsakes man ." Where the Sabbath is not regarded , man degenerates to a brute , a heathen , an infidel or an atheist ; he hastens , with a rapid step , to the scene where he will bear all the character , and all the features of a fiend . Where the Sabbath is loved , venerated , and improved , peace smiles , hope blooms , piety matures and ripens , and the soul hastens on to the period when the Sabbaths of time shall be exchanged for the long Sabbath of eternity.

Perhaps God permits you to walk in darkness , that he may exercise and brighten your graces . Faith and love are exercised most in the dark and cloudy day of sorrow . To believe when all is pleasing , and peace smiles on the soul , and comforts bestrew the way , is an easy thing ; but to believe when all is dark and dreary , when no comfort is felt within , when no light is seen without  - this is the faith that God values . To love when the soul feels the assurance of God's love , and the joy that love imparts , is easy ; but to love when his love is withdrawn , when doubts and fears infest the soul , when hope is languishing , and comforts apparently dead  - this is love of a stronger , nobler kind . God doubtless often  exercises his children with spiritual trials , to call faith and love into such exercise . Thus they who are in heaviness through manifold temptations , are said to be so  "That the trial of their faith might be found unto praise , and honour , and...

Prayer must be the key of the morning, and the lock of the night . We show not ourselves as Christians if we do not open our eyes with prayer , and shut them again with the same key when we lie down at night . Pray as often as you please besides .