THE THRONE OF GRACE. 25 25 difficulty and grace to turn my curse into a blessing. I have it "in time of need." I have it in temptation-I have it in adversity-I have it in sickness-I have it in death. When ready to sink, Grace says, "I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not." O the exceeding riches of his grace! Come then, my soul, to this throne of grace, for though thousands may be suppliants at the same moment, yet thou wilt as effectually engage his eye, and his ear, and his regard, as if thou wert the sole worshipper! "Pray to thy Father, who is in secret, and thy Father, who seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly." JANUARY 15. No Peace to the Wicked. "There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked."-Isa. xlviii. 22. LET us think of the characters-their misery-—and the certainty of it. The characters. "The wicked." They break God's laws. Though daily recipients of the Divine goodness, they do not see the hand of God in their enjoyments, and they do not admit his claim to their obedience. Their wickedness begins with ingratitude, and grows into rebellion. Surely it is true of the wicked that God is not in all their thoughts! They think not upon God, yet God thinks upon them. They neglect and reject Christ Jesus. His love pursues them, his mercy preserves them, and his gospel invites them, yet they will not have Christ to reign over them. O that his love may sink deep into my heart, and influence my whole life! They prepare not for a future world. The worth of the soul, and their responsibility for its salvation, are nothing in their eyes to the world 26 NO PEACE TO THE WICKED. and the pleasures of sin. Eternity is nothing, time is all. The future is nothing, if the present yields enjoyment. And heaven with all its joys is nothing, but earth is all in all. Their misery." There is no peace." No peace in sinning. If sin is sweet, it is but for a moment. Its enjoyments are like the crackling of thorns under a pota blaze for a moment, and then all is over. It cannot bear reflection, for, like Jonah's gourd, it breeds a worm in the conscience, that quickly mars the pleasure and blasts the hopes. No peace in the pursuits of life. Business has its cares and anxieties, and these press heavy on the mind. They are a barren wilderness to the wicked man, without any oasis to relieve or cheer. However successful, business cannot give peace nor satisfaction to the mind. It could not be satisfied though every grain of sand were a grain of gold, and every drop of dew a shining diamond. How happy we think that man, who can say of a fine house, or a fine estate, "This is mine;" but how much happier is he who can say, "Jesus is mine, heaven is mine!" No peace on a deathbed. The wicked lie down on a bed of thorns, without having the prospect of anything better. How terrible must be the approach of death to such a man! No peace beyond the grave. A day of reckoning to the ungodly is an alarming day. The sight of the Judge will so overwhelm him that, though he never prayed in earnest, he will pray now. And what a prayer! O rocks, O mountains, cover me from the face of the Judge, from the wrath of the Lamb. Man's sayings "He is of one The certainty of it." Saith the Lord." are often doubtful, but God's are all certain. mind, and who can turn him?" Facts prove it. Think of Belshazzar when he saw the handwriting on the wall His countenance changed, his thoughts troubled him, the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one NO PEACE TO THE WICKED. 27 against another. Think of Felix. He trembled on the bench, so that Paul the prisoner became the judge, and the judge became the convicted criminal. The judgmentday will confirm the truth that there is no peace to the wicked. Their sentence will be, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire." How awful their doom! "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." JANUARY 16. The Blessed Rest. "For we which have believed do enter into rest."-Heb. iv. 3. THINK of the blessed rest provided-the persons enjoying it-and the certainty of this enjoyment. The blessed rest.—It is a rest from sin: The sinner is like a frail bark on a stormy sea. He is in jeopardy every hour. Even the believer has a law in his members warring against the law of his mind, so that his rest is not complete till he reach his desired haven. In this blessed rest there is no sin. "There shall in no wise enter anything that defileth." It is a rest from toil: On earth man must labour. "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread." Those who do not need to labour for their bread have to labour in spending, while care and anxiety are pretty equal among rich and poor. But there is no toil in heaven. The traveller there reaches the end of his journey, and joins a happy circle of friends. It is rest from suffering: The inhabitant of heaven never says, "I am sick." The sweet composure of the mind is never disturbed by personal or relative distress. Life is without tears, without anxiety, without disease, and without death. It is eternal rest: 28 THE BLESSED REST. They who are once in heaven go no more out. When holy souls retire to rest! How gently heaves the expiring breast! So sinks the gale when storms are o'er, So dies a wave along the shore." The once The parties enjoying it." We who have believed." The true believer believes all that God reveals in his word, and fixes his faith exclusively on Jesus, who is the sum and substance of that word. The true believer receives all that God gives in his word, especially Christ and all saving blessings with him. The true believer claims all that God promises. In receiving Christ he has a charter for salvation and heaven, and he does not forget to claim them. The true believer obeys all that God commands, and thus his love, his obedience, and his efforts to do good, prove the reality and genuineness of his faith. "Blessed are they who have not seen, and yet have believed." The certainty of this enjoyment.-"Do enter." The rest is provided and promised. "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God." He who has promised is able to perform. Jesus is there already, and his promise is, "Where I am, there shall also my servant be." The Israelites in the wilderness came short of the promised land through unbelief, but the true Christian cannot come short of the rest of heaven. So certain is this rest, that many have been seen enjoying it. Peter, and James, and John saw Moses and Elias. The rich man in hell saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Stephen and Paul saw Christ in glory, and John saw a multitude which no man could number, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands. COMFORTABLE WORDS. 29 JANUARY 17. Comfortable Words. "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."-Isa. xli. 10. HERE we have cheering exhortations.—“Fear thou not; be not dismayed." Fear not sin: It is true that sin is the worst thing in the world, and binds us over to punishment, but it may be pardoned, and is no barrier in our way to the Saviour. "Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." Because Jesus "bore our sins," and "the chastisement of our peace was upon him," the greatest sinner may be forgiven, and forgiven now. "Whosoever believeth on him shall receive remission of sins." Once pardoned, we need fear no more, but exult in the prospect of heaven's joys. Fear not Satan: Through death, Christ has destroyed him that had the power of death, and every believer can not only resist him, but overcome him, and be more than a conqueror. Fear not wicked men: They may plot our ruin, but Christ has them under restraint, controls their minds as he controls the waves of the sea, and often makes our bitterest enemies to be at peace with us. Fear not death: To the believer death is not a curse, but a blessing. His sting is harmless, and he is no longer a king of terrors, but a messenger of peace. Fear not judgment: The day of reckoning is a great day, and will dawn in spite of infidelity; but there is nothing alarming in it, if the Judge is my friend. His eye shall recognise me among the overwhelming multitude, his beaming countenance shall warm my soul with love, and his approving sentence shall draw me to his right hand and consummate my bliss. |