David's Prayer. Keep me as the apple of thine eye; hide me under the shadow of thy wings. PSALM XVII. 8. Divine Answer. He shall cover thee with his feathers; and under his wings shalt thou trust. His truth shall be thy shield and buckler. PSALM Xci. 4. HERE is none, O LORD, that has more need continually to keep close to thee in prayer and faith; and at the same time none is more unable to do it than I, the least of all thy flock! 0, that thou wouldst be graciously pleased to incline and enable me to this blessed work! and grant that thy good Spirit, according to his own pleasure, may never suffer me to be faint and backward in the same! Whilst I truly rest my faith under the wings of thy grace, I am sure of defence, power, and comfort; but as soon as I wander from thee, I am in danger of losing the comfortable sense of these privileges, and falling into various errors and perplexities. "Guide me, O LORD, by thy counsel in this world, and at last receive me into glory! Amen." Psalm lxxiii. 24. He that has made his refuge GOD Just as a hen protects her brood From birds of prey that seek their blood, Thrice happy man! thy Maker's care From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. MATT. iv. 17; iii. 2. Rend your hearts and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God. JOEL ii. 13. THE HE kingdom of heaven appertains to those who repent; and the first mark of repentance is poverty of spirit; whence JESUS saith, Matt. v. 3," Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." John preached repentance; JESUS preaches it here, and so did his apostles afterward. This true repentance is necessary for all; and the beginning of it is to acknowledge ourselves poor miserable sinners, depraved by nature, and totally void of any righteousness or worth of our own-to confess our nakedness-to drop all the fig-leaves of vain excuses and false comforts to lay open our poverty and wants before GOD to accuse ourselves, and plead guilty of all our sins, but seek mercy from CHRIST. If we do this we are blessed, and the kingdom of heaven is ours. This poverty of spirit is both the first and last foundation laid in the heart; for the faithful are more and more grounded in poverty of spirit the nearer they approach to their consummation. I dwell, saith He whose name is holy, with him who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and the heart of the contrite ones. Isa. lvii. 15. Pure are the joys above the sky, These holy gates for ever bar Pray without ceasing. 1 THES. v. 17. Men ought always to pray and not to faint. Luke xviii. 1. Continuing instant in prayer. Roм. xii. 12. IF we have not got grace enough, it is because we do not pray enough; for most true it is, we need not strive to move GOD to compassion, and extort, as it were, the blessings from him by our prayers, which he has promised. Very far . from it. He is every minute communicating himself to us; in every word he holds forth ČHRIST and every good thing to us; but we must always have a soul hungering after CHRIST, and by incessant prayer stretch out the hand of Faith to receive him. This is chiefly to be understood of the inward desires and groanings of our spirit; but we must not omit to pour out our supplications daily, as often as we can, by words, else our secret mental prayers at last may become so secret as to cease perhaps entirely. We must always remember that we are dependent on GOD for every good; without him we can do nothing. Let us feel that dependence at all times, and we shall always be in the spirit of prayer. Nor let us cease praying till we have received a full answer to our prayers. "Ye people, pour out your hearts before him: GOD is a refuge for us." Psal. lxii. 8. Holy Father, lend an ear Whilst I sue in Jesu's name; Let me for adoption stay, Grant me comfort or deny ; ABBA, Father, in my heart! Abide in me. JOHN XV. 4. Lord, to whom shall we go?-thou hast the words of eternal life. JOHN vi. 68. It is good for me to draw near to God. I have put my trust in the Lord God. PSALM lxxiii. 28. To abide in CHRIST, who is our righteousness and strength, and not to be moved from him, is the very life and power of Christianity; we do this when our thoughts are going out after him, our hearts cleaving to him, and our minds stayed upon him. Now, to know CHRIST, and thus to abide in him, as our righteousness, brings peace and joy; which joy in the LORD is certainly followed with strength to overcome sin and the world, which believers renounce the more readily, as they have found something better in CHRIST. May the LORD give me grace likewise immoveably to abide in him! May he strengthen me with might in the inner man, even with the might of the Holy Spirit, that I may not only abide in CHRIST while here, but may abide with him for evermore in the New Jerusalem which is above. CHRIST is my light, my life, my care, My limbs, my bowels, or my eyes! The strings that twine about my heart, But they can never, never part With their dear hold of CHRIST my love. My GOD, and can a humble child, That loves thee with a flame so high, Be ever from thy face exiled, Without the pity of thine eye? Impossible! for thine own hands Have tied my heart so fast to thee, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree; that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. GAL. iii. 13, 14. Tpect according to the foreknowledge of HE spirit of sanctification is the gift of CHRIST. GOD the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of CHRIST." 1 Pet. i. 2. Consequently, there is a great difference between moral actions done by our own strength, and true sanctification of the spirit. The latter cannot take place before the soul truly receives CHRIST, and abides in him as its only propitiation, righteousness, and peace; for he being first made to us of GOD our righteousness, will then be made our sanctification likewise (1 Cor. i. 35), and the kingdom, work, and image of GOD will go on best when we trust least to our own strength. Sanctification is now become a more easy task, since CHRIST lives and works in us, and we in a child-like temper live henceforth to him who died for us. Let me always be as a little child, as a new-born babe, with a heart hungry for the sweet milk of the word of GOD, without malice, without guile, without hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings. 1 Pet. ii. 1, 2. The law commands and makes us know But 'tis the gospel must reveal The law discovers guilt and sin, And shows how vile our hearts have been, Only the gospel can express Forgiving love and cleansing grace. Ꮐ |