A Goodly Heritage

  In Thy presence is fulness of joy. Heaven is often described by negatives, but here we have positive statement as to that in which it consists. Therefore consider its perfection. I.  IN EXTENT. The state contemplated will be after the resurrection, as it was for our Lord after His resurrection. Hence St. Paul says, "Our conversation is in heaven." And he tells us also of the "glorious body," the "spiritual body" which shall be ours then ( 1 Corinthians 15:44 ). And the mind also will partake in this glory, this fulness of joy. How much will result from memory. Also from survey of the present — the heavenly city, the glory of God, the Saviour, And the future, too, will minister to this joy. And the affections likewise, profound admiration, ardent gratitude, entire confidence, perfect love. II.  ITS DEGREE. This, too, will be perfect. There will be difference of capacity, and so of degree, which will be determined mainly by character. All that hinders full...

  Preserve me, O God: for in Thee do I put my trust. Psalm 16 This term suggests that the Psalm is one of strongly marked, incisive thought. It is a Psalm doubly notable — 1.  Because it contains one of the brightest and most unhesitating expressions of faith in the presence of God, as extending through and beyond death, and preserving the life both of soul and body. It therefore stands in marked contrast with the desponding doubts of such passages as  Psalm 88  — basing itself on the conviction, which our Lord declared to underlie the whole covenant, that "God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." 2.  Because it is quoted most explicitly in the New Testament as a Messianic prophecy, an inspired utterance, which was no doubt in some degree applied by the Psalmist to himself as having unity with God, and therefore defying death, but which could be in its full meaning spoken of the Messiah alone (Acts 2:25-31; 13:85). For in Him alone was the, unity with...

1.  Had we no other motive but our own personal happiness, we should find it "a good thing to be thankful." When we have reviewed the mercies of past years, traced the hand of Providence in all our course from infancy onwards, and seen goodness following us all the way, and then have fallen down before our God, with melting hearts and tender eyes, or have poured forth our feelings in some sacred hymn of praise, have we not at such times known the highest luxury this earth can afford? A friend of mine in travelling, happened to lodge in one of the hotels of a neighbourhood city, and in the middle of the night he heard some one in an adjoining room singing in a low but earnest tone of voice, Addison's hymn, "When all Thy mercies, O my God," etc., the whole of which he went through, evidently supposing that none heard him but his God. He proved to be a governor of one of our Western States, suffering under an incurable disease, of which he soon after died. But what...

I.  A DECLARATION. God has said in positive terms, "He shall call upon Me." It therefore does not rest with the creature, whether he will call upon Him or not; it is not a matter poised in the balances of the creature, whether he shall pray or not. God has not left it to man, whether he shall take up prayer or lay aside prayer, but He has made it a part of His own sovereign appointments, of His own eternal decrees, which can no more be frustrated than salvation itself. Therefore this soul, that "dwells in the secret place of the Most High" — "he shall call upon God." "He shall call upon Me." When shall he call? Why, when. the Lord pours out "the Spirit of grace and of supplications"; when the Lord lays wants upon his heart; when the Lord brings conviction into his conscience; when the Lord brings trouble into his soul. Then to call upon the Lord is no point of duty, which is to be attended to as a duty; it is no point of legal constrain...

Homilist. This cry is — I.  One of the DEEPEST CRIES OF UNIVERSAL MAN. This cry, in some form or other, goes up to Heaven in every language udder the sky. "Arise, O God." "There is no hope but in Thee, Thine arm is mighty," etc. II.  Implies the WANT OF CONFIDENCE IN ALL CREATURE HELP. Men have tried to put the world right. Moralists, statesmen, philanthropists, saints, have all tried. Every age has been rife with remedial schemes, but all have proved ineffective. "Arise, O God," etc. III.  INVOLVES A CONFIDENCE IN THE POSSIBILITY OF SECURING DIVINE INTERPOSITION. What rational spirit would cry to Him if it believed that His assistance was unattainable. Men have an instinctive faith in the power of prayer. Thank God, we have abundant evidence of its efficiency, in the Bible, in the memoirs of the good, and in our own experience. "Call upon Me in the day of trouble," etc. ( Homilist. ).

  He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I.  THE SOLITARY VOICE OF FAITH. "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High" — how high up that "secret place" must be; how deep the silence up there; how pure the air! How far above the poisonous mists that cling to the low-lying swamps; how far out of the reach of the arrows or shots of the foeman, is he that dwelleth with God by communion, by constancy of desire, by aspiration, and by clear recognition of the Divine goal of all his work! "He that dwelleth" thus, "in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty" — and since He is Almighty the long shadow that that great rock casts will shelter him who keeps beneath it from the burning rays of the fiery sunshine, in every " weary land." Let me keep myself in touch with God, and I keep myself master of all things, and secure from the evil t...

At a fashionable party a young physician present spoke of one of his patients, whose case he considered a very critical one. He said he was "very sorry to lose him, for be was a noble young man, but very unnecessarily concerned about his soul, and Christians increased his agitation by talking with him and praying for him. He wished Christians would let his patients alone. Death was but an endless sleep, the religion of Christ a delusion, and its followers were not persons of the highest culture or intelligence." A young lady sitting near, and one of the gayest of that company, said, "Pardon me, doctor, but I cannot hear you talk thus and remain silent. I am not a professor of religion; I never knew anything about it experimentally, but my mother was a Christian. Times without number she has taken me with her to her room, and with her hand upon my head, she has prayed that God would give her grace to train me for the skies. Two years ago my precious mother died, and the r...