Yes, He is altogether lovely!

Yes, He is altogether lovely!

(Samuel Rutherford)

Put the beauty of ten thousand worlds of paradises, like the Garden of Eden in one; put all trees, all flowers, all fragrances, all colors, all tastes, all joys, all loveliness, all sweetness in one. O what a lovely and excellent thing would that be! And yet it would be less compared to that beauteous and dearest well-beloved Christ — than one drop of rain, compared to the whole seas, rivers, lakes, and foundations of ten thousand earths!

"Yes, He is altogether lovely! This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend!" Song of Songs 5:16

   ~  ~  ~  ~

You should consider from whose hand it has been sent to you!

You should consider from whose hand it has been sent to you!

(James Buchanan, "Comfort in Affliction" 1837)

"In the day of prosperity be happy — but in the day of adversity CONSIDER: God has made the one as well as the other." Ecclesiastes 7:14

In the day of adversity, you should consider from whose hand it has been sent to you! It comes direct from the hand of God!

Intermediate agencies may have been employed in inflicting it:
  a cherished family member may have been the messenger of disease;
  a treacherous friend may have been the cause of bankruptcy;
  an avowed enemy may have been the author of reproach and shame;
  Satan himself may have been allowed to smite you! But through whatever secondary agency it may have been conveyed — adversity comes from God's hand! 

"I form the light — and create darkness; I make peace — and create evil. I the Lord, do all these things." Isaiah 45:7

"Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?" Lamentations 3:38

"Shall we receive good at the hand of God — and shall we not receive evil?" Job 2:10

"Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind?Is it not I, the LORD?" Exodus 4:11

"See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides Me. I put to death and I bring to life, I havewounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of My hand!" Deuteronomy 32:39

"The LORD brings death and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and raises up. The LORD sendspoverty and wealth; He humbles and He exalts." 1 Samuel 2:6-7

"This is what the LORD says: As I have brought all this great calamity on this people . . ." Jeremiah 32:42

"When disaster comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it?" Amos 3:6

"For He wounds, but He also binds up; He injures, but His hands also heal." Job 5:18

From these and many other passages, it is plain that temporal affliction is ascribed to God in the Holy Scriptures. No one who acknowledges God's Providence at all, can fail to believe that the numerous afflictions and calamities of human life are permitted, appointed, and overruled by the Supreme Governor of the world! 

This is a consideration of great practical importance, and should be seriously weighed in the day of adversity.

It assures us that our afflictions are neither imposed by a fatal necessity, nor produced by theuncertain vicissitudes of chance — but come forth from the hand of One who is infinitely wise and just and good!

It also teaches us in many of our afflictions, and those which it is indeed most difficult to bear — to look beyond, and to rise above, the consideration of the mere human agency by which they have been inflicted. I refer to such afflictions as are brought on us through the malice of our fellow-men, in regard to which we are too apt to alone consider the secondary agency through which they fall upon us — instead of steadily contemplating God as addressing to us, through human agency, the warningsand lessons which we need to learn and improve.

Whereas, did we consider all afflictions, of whatever kind, as emanating from the unerring heart of our loving Father — we would find, that even those which the hand or the tongue of man inflicts — are a wholesome discipline, and means of spiritual improvement.

Let us remember, then, that every affliction, through whatever channel it may flow — comes to us ultimately from God's loving hand!

   ~  ~  ~  ~

God's perfect wisdom in the management of our affairs!

God's perfect wisdom in the management of our affairs!

(James Buchanan)

"The Lord reigns!" Psalm 97:1

The Bible lays a solid ground for our comfort, when it assures us that all things are under the government of God. He superintends the affairs of this world, both as the provident parent and as themoral governor of His creatures.

The Bible declares that God created them, and that whatever beings He deigned to create — He does not disdain to care for. It assures us that no being is so great as to be exempt from His control — and none are so little as to be beneath His regard. And, in like manner, that His eye is directed to every event which may befall any one of His creatures — with no event being either so momentous, or soinsignificant — as to be beyond His management, or unworthy of His notice. The sparrow which falls to the earth — is not less an object of His regard than the seraph that stands before His throne!

That all His creatures in this world, and all the events of human life, of whatever kind they may be — are under God's regulation and control — is, of itself, fitted to banish that feeling of uncertainty and hopelessness which the aspect of events might otherwise awaken. And how important to know . . .

  that nothing happens by chance, 

  that everything is ordained and appointed according to certain divine principles which are fixed and stable,

  and that these principles will continue to be developed, until the grand end of God's government shall have been attained!

But, however important this information may be, it could ill suffice to cheer the heart amidst its sorrows, or to inspire that living hope which alone can bear us up under their heavy pressure — were we not further assured, that the government under which we live is conducted by . . .

  a God of infinite intelligence and wisdom;

  a being who cannot err — one who knows the end from the beginning; and 

  is alike incapable of choosing an improper end, or of employing unsuitable means for its attainment.

A persuasion of God's perfect wisdom in the management of our affairs is the more needful, in proportion as we feel our own helplessness, and are taught, by disappointments and trials — that our affairs are too high and too great to be managed by ourselves. And when assured of this precious truth, we shall the more readily submit to all God's appointments — satisfied, that although we know not the plan of His operations — yet it is known and approved of by One whose wisdom is the best guarantee of the universe.

And thus, too, will the idea of blind fate be excluded, not less than the idea of chance.

Still the heart desires something more. It is not enough that the world is neither left to the random vicissitudes of chance — nor governed by a blind and inexorable fate. It is not enough for our comfort to know that a God of infinite intelligence presides over its affairs, and that its laws are the emanations of His unerring wisdom. Great and glorious as these discoveries are, the heart longs to know the character, not less than the wisdom of that Almighty Being — and to be made acquainted, if not with His secret purposes, at least with the nature of His moral perfections, and His dispositions towards ourselves. "God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us!" Romans 5:8 

"Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns!" Revelation 19:6

   ~  ~  ~  ~

Heavenly Guidance!

Heavenly Guidance!

George Everard, 1868

"He led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation." Psalm 107:7

A General ordered a division of his army to a certain spot. Without giving his reasons, he advised them as to the route they should take. The direct route was much shorter than the circuitous one pointed out, and the captain of the division ventured to take it, contrary to the advice given him. After a while he discovered his mistake. The General had been wiser than himself. When last they had passed by that way, the little stream in the way had been easily forded, but now the mountain torrents had so swollen its waters that it had become impassable, and the soldiers had consequently to retrace their steps and take the road originally pointed out to them.

Too often the Christian has something of the same experience. He has preferred to take his own course, rather than that pointed out to him by the Great Leader whom he professes to follow — and then disappointment follows, and at length he discovers how far wiser he would have been had he more implicitly relied upon the counsel which Christ by His Word had given.

We have an example, and a very forcible one, of the danger of neglecting to seek guidance from above, in the case of Joshua and the Gibeonites. When the latter sought peace with Israel, professing to come from afar, the men hearkened to them, and asked not counsel of the Lord. Hence they were deceived. And in the reign of David, a famine came upon Israel for three years, in consequence of this league with Gibeon, and Saul's treatment of them; nor did the famine cease until seven of the sons of Saul were slain. Had but Joshua inquired of the Lord, all this evil, and much beside, would have been prevented.

And how many mistakes does the Christian make, and what a harvest of sorrow does he often reap — because he neglects to bring a matter before the Lord before he enter upon it. Perhaps he yields himself to a growing attachment for one who is not of the same mind with him in the highest matters. Or he enters upon a new position without considering first its responsibilities. Or he answers an important letter without spreading it, like Hezekiah, before the Lord. And then he finds that he cannot recede from the false step once taken, but must take the consequences as they come. Thus does the Christian often choose his own path, and finds, as an old writer has expressed it, that "children who carve for themselves are sure to cut their fingers."

But there is another way, and a yet more sinful one, of doing the same thing. If it is wrong to act without seeking direction from above — it is still worse to despise or ignore the counsel that has been graciously given.

The remnant of Israel in the days of Jeremiah besought him to make supplication to the Lord his God, that He would show them the way wherein they should walk, and the thing that they should do. They promise likewise that whatever the command is, whether it is good or whether it is difficult — that they will obey the voice of the Lord their God. After ten days Jeremiah brings back to them a message, that they shall abide in the land, and then the Lord will be with them, and save them from the hand of the King of Babylon. The guidance given was not according to the will of those who sought it; hence they refuse to believe the message, and determine to go down into Egypt. So the anger of the Lord is kindled against them, and He declares that those who go down thither shall die by the sword, the famine, and the pestilence. (See Jeremiah 42 and 43.)

And is there not a parallel to this spirit, in the conduct of many professed followers of Christ? They express a desire to be guided by the will of God. They ask that their way may be made plain before them, and in the reading of God's Word they find rules of conduct which they may apply to their own case. But then comes the difficulty. An enlightened conscience points in one direction — and self-interest or self-pleasing points in another.

In the choice of a new home, in sending children to school or into the world, in visiting friends or receiving visitors, in drawing the line as to the recreation which we judge right — in all this there is room for the exercise of Christian principle; and it is to be feared that too often it is sacrificed to mere expediency, or to that which is most in accordance with our natural tastes.

But in denying self and walking in the path marked out in God's Word, you may be assured that He who knows the end from the beginning will guide you aright, giving you a quiet peace that far outweighs any present advantage that might be found in a different course, and at length making all that is painful work together for good.

If your religion does not make you holy!

If your religion does not make you holy!

(Charles Spurgeon)

"Without holiness no one will see the Lord!" Hebrews 12:14 

If your religion does not make you holy, it will damn you!
It is simply painted pageantry to go to Hell in!

"God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life." 1 Thessalonians 4:7

"God who has saved us and called us to a holy life." 2 Timothy 1:9

   ~  ~  ~  ~

The Valley of Achor

The Valley of Achor

Preached at North Street Chapel, Stamford, on April 14, 1861, by J. C. Philpot

"Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and in the valley of Achor, a door of hope—and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt." Hosea 2:14, 15

The prophetical books of the Old Testament contain, stored up in them, a rich mine of instruction and edification for the Church of God. But though the mine is so rich, it is proportionately deep; though the ore is so precious, it is locked up in its darkest recesses. Thus we may say of this mine, as Job speaks of another no less deep and valuable, "The stones of it are the place of sapphires—and it has dust of gold." But we may add, with him, "There is a path which no fowl knows, and which the vulture's eye has not seen. For it is hidden from the eyes of all humanity. Even the sharp-eyed birds in the sky cannot discover it." (Job 28:6, 7, 21.)

But, besides these inherent difficulties of the prophetical scriptures, an additional hindrance arises to the right understanding of them from this circumstance—that people either do not know, or do not bear sufficiently in mind—that they are open to various kinds of interpretation. To explain my meaning more distinctly, let me observe that the interpretation of the prophetical books of the Old Testament is frequently, if not universally, of a three-fold nature—

First, there is the literal and historical interpretation, which was suitable to the time, place, and circumstances under which the prophecy was first and originally delivered.

Secondly, there is the spiritual and experimental interpretation, which the Holy Spirit has couched in the letter for the edification of the Church of God in all times.

And, thirdly, there is the future or prophetical interpretation, when these prophecies shall be accomplished in their full meaning, and every jot and tittle of them receive a complete fulfillment. Until, therefore, that period arrives, very much of the prophetical scriptures must lie buried in obscurity. This full accomplishment will take place in those times of which the apostle Peter speaks in the Acts of the Apostles, as, "The times of restitution of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began." (Acts 3:21.)

As it is the spiritual and experimental interpretation which chiefly concerns the Church of God, and that from which we are to draw our supplies of instruction and consolation, I shall this morning chiefly confine myself to that signification; and, in so doing, I shall, with God's help and blessing, bring before you the Lord's words in our text, and thus divide them by showing you:

First, the way in which God allures his people—by the drawings of his grace.

Secondly, where he brings them by means of these allurements—"into the wilderness."

Thirdly, what he does to them when he has brought them there—he speaks comfortably unto them; gives them their vineyards from thence; and opens in the valley of Achor, a door of hope.

Fourthly, what is the blessed fruit and effect of these gracious dealings of God with them in the wilderness—that "they sing there as in the days of their youth, and as in the day when they came up out of the land of Egypt."

We cannot, however, well understand these dealings of God with the souls of his people unless we first cast our eye upon the preceding part of the chapter. The Lord there lays open the sins that a soul, even a gracious soul, is capable of committing; what it does and ever will do when not restrained by his powerful grace—"For their mother is a shameless prostitute and became pregnant in a shameful way. She said, 'I'll run after my lovers and sell myself to them for food and drink, for clothing of wool and linen, and for olive oil.'"

Here is the opening up of what we are by nature, what our carnal mind is ever bent upon, what we do or are capable of doing, except as held back by the watchful providence, and unceasing grace and goodness of the Lord. These "lovers" of ours, are our old sins and former lusts that still crave for gratification. To these sometimes the carnal mind looks back and says, "Where are my lovers that gave me my food and drink? Where are those former delights that so pleased my vile passions, and so gratified my base desires?" These lovers, then, are the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—all which, unless subdued by sovereign grace, still work in our depraved nature, and seek to regain their former sway.

But the Lord here, for the most part, mercifully interposes, nor will he usually let his children do what they gladly would do, or be what they gladly would be. He says, "therefore I will block your path with thornbushes; I will wall you in so that your cannot find your way." (Hosea 2:6.) The Lord, in his providence or in his grace, prevents the carnal mind from carrying out its base desires; hedges up the way with thorns, by which we may spiritually understand prickings of conscience, stings of remorse, pangs of penitence, which are so many thorny and briery hedges that fence up the way of transgression, and thus prevent the carnal mind from breaking forth into its old paths, and going after these former lovers to renew its ungodly alliance with them.

A hedge of thorns being set up by the grace of God, the soul is unable to break through this strong fence, because the moment that it seeks to get through it or over it, every part of it presents a pricking brier or a sharp and strong thorn, which wounds and pierces the conscience. What infinite mercy, what surpassing grace, are hereby manifested! Were the conscience not made thus tender so as to feel the pricking brier, we can hardly tell what might be the fearful consequence, or into what a miserable abyss of sin and transgression the soul would not fall.

But these lacerating briers produce remorse of soul before God; for finding, as the Lord speaks, that "when she runs after her lovers, she won't be able to catch up with them. She will search for them but not find them," there comes a longing in her mind for purer pleasures and holier delights than her adulterous lovers could give her; and thus a change in her feelings is produced, a revolution in her desires. "Then she will say, I will go back to my husband as at first, for then I was better off than now."

The idea is of an adulterous wife contrasting the innocent enjoyments of her first wedded love with the state of misery into which she had been betrayed by base seducers; and thus the soul spiritually contrasts its former enjoyment of the Lord's presence and power, with its present state of darkness and desertion. "Where," she would say, "are my former delights, my first joys, and the sweetness I had in days now passed, in knowing, serving, and worshiping the Lord? Ah! He was a kind and loving husband to me in those days. I will return to him if he will graciously permit me, for it was better with me when I could walk in the light of his countenance, than since I have been seeking for my lovers, and reaping nothing but guilt, death, and condemnation."

The Lord then goes on to say, "I will strip her naked in public, while all her lovers look on. No one will be able to rescue her from my hands. I will put an end to her annual festivals, her new moon celebrations, and her Sabbath days—all her appointed festivals. I will destroy her vineyards and orchards, things she claims her lovers gave her. I will let them grow into tangled thickets, where only wild animals will eat the fruit. I will punish her for all the times she deserted me, when she burned incense to her images of Baal, put on her earrings and jewels, and went out looking for her lovers." (Hosea 2:10-16)

By this is intimated the Lord's chastising hand; that as literally he punished backsliding Israel by sending her into captivity, so will he put into bondage his backsliding people, and will cause their mirth, their feast days, their new moons, and their sabbaths to cease; meaning thereby that he will deprive them of the enjoyment of his presence and of his manifested favor.

But not to detain you too long upon the introduction to our subject, this work which I have thus hastily run through is all preparatory to those gracious dealings which are more especially and particularly unfolded in the words of our text.
 

I. The WAY in which God allures his people– by the drawings of his grace. We would, therefore, now come to the first point,"Behold, I will allure her." There is a gracious word in the prophet Jeremiah, the application of which has been blessed to many a soul that truly fears God. "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn you." (Jer. 31:3.) We need not only to be driven by the law, but to be drawn by the gospel; we need not only the thunders of Mount Sinai, but the dew and rain that fall upon Mount Zion; to enjoy the smile of God's love as well as experience the frown of his anger; for there are the "cords of a man and the bands of love" whereby the Lord draws the soul near unto himself, as well as those terrors of the Lord whereby it is driven. (Hosea 11:4; Psalm 88:15.) But how does God fulfill this word in the soul's happy experience, "Behold, I will allure her?"

1. First, he often sets before the eyes of the understanding, and reveals with grace and power to the heart, the Son of his love, Jesus, the Christ of God. But wherever there is a view of Jesus by faith, there is an attractive influence attending the sight, according to the words of our blessed Lord, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." (John 12:32.) Wherever, then, Jesus is graciously and experimentally manifested to the soul, and made known by any sweet revelation of his glorious Person, atoning blood, and finished work, a secret yet sacred power is put forth, whereby we are drawn unto him, and every grace of the Spirit flows toward him as towards its attractive center. Thus Jeremiah speaks of the saints of God as coming and singing in the height of Zion, and flowing together to the goodness of the Lord. (Jer. 31:12.) And thus Isaiah speaks to the church of God, "Then you shall see and flow together, and your heart shall fear [or, as the word rather means, shall "palpitate" with love and joy], and be enlarged." (Isaiah 60:5.)

This view of Christ by faith is what the apostle speaks of to the Galatians, as Jesus evidently set forth before their eyes. (Gal. 3:1.) As thus set before our eyes, he becomes the object of our faith to look at—"Look unto me and be saved, all the ends of the earth"—to "the altogether lovely One," to whom love flows; and the Intercessor within the veil in whom hope effectually anchors. As, then, the blessed Lord is revealed to the soul by the power of God, his glorious Person held up before the eyes of the spiritual understanding, his blood and righteousness discovered to the conscience, and his suitability to all our wants and woes experimentally manifested, the blessed Spirit raises up a living faith whereby he is looked unto and laid hold of, and thus he becomes precious to all who believe in his name. Is not all this in strict accordance with the scriptures? for does not our Lord say, "It is written in the prophets, and they shall be all taught of God. Every man, therefore, who has heard and has learned of the Father, comes unto me." (John 6:45.) And how true it is that without this heavenly teaching and this divine drawing no one can really and effectually come unto Jesus; for he himself says, "No man can come to me unless the Father who has sent me, draws him." (John 6:41.)

2. But besides this—for all are not favored and blessed with very clear manifestations of the Son of God to their souls—sometimes the Lord allures by sending his word with power into the heart. Thus the apostle speaks of his gospel coming to the Thessalonians, "Not in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit, and in much assurance." (1 Thess. 1:5.) Paul came and preached the gospel to them; he set forth salvation through the blood of the Lamb; the Holy Spirit attended the word with power; it came to their heart with much assurance that it was the very truth of God; and they received it as the very voice of God speaking to them through the apostle's lips. What was the effect? "They turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God." Was not this the fruit of his all-victorious grace, and were they not thus allured into his service by the power of God?

3. But again—sometimes the Lord, without applying his word with any great and distinguishing power to the heart, makes his truth to drop with a measure of sweetness into the soul. This is as rain or dew, according to his own gracious declaration, "My doctrine shall drop like the rain; my speech shall distill as the dew." (Deut. 32:2.) Thus the precious ointment upon the head of Aaron is compared to "the dew of Hermon and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion, for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore." (Psalm. 133:2, 3.) The dropping, then, of his doctrine, or, as the word means, his "teaching," as rain, and the distilling of his gracious speech as dew, kindle in the soul a love of the truth, and wherever this is felt there is salvation, for we read of those who perish—that "they perish because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved." (2 Thess. 2:10.)

There is a receiving of 'the truth', and a receiving of 'the love of the truth'. These two things widely differ. To receive the truth will not necessarily save; for many receive the truth who never receive the love of the truth. Professors by thousands receive the truth into their judgment, and adopt the plan of salvation as their creed; but are neither saved nor sanctified thereby. But to receive the love of the truth by the truth as it is in Jesus being made sweet and precious to the soul, is to receive salvation itself. It is in this way that the gospel is made the power of God unto salvation; and therefore the apostle, speaking of "the preaching of the cross," says that "it is to those who perish foolishness, but unto us who are saved it is the power of God." Now it is impossible that this power should be felt without its having an alluring effect upon the soul, whereby it comes out from every evil thing and cleaves to the Lord with purpose of heart.

4. But sometimes the Lord allures by applying a promise, an invitation, a sweet encouragement, an unfolding for a moment of his lovely face, and giving a transient glimpse of his grace and glory. Whenever he puts forth this sacred power it has a drawing influence. This made the spouse say, "Draw me, we will run after you;" feeling her need of this drawing power which God puts forth by the operations of his Spirit and grace upon a willing heart. We, therefore, read of God's people being "made willing in the day of his power" (Psalm 110:3); and to this points the ancient promise made to Japheth. "God shall enlarge [or, as it is in the margin, "persuade"] Japheth." (Gen. 9:27.) The word "enlarge" means literally to "open," and thus persuade or entice, or, as it is rendered in our text, "allure," for it is the same word in the original in both Genesis and Hosea.

In these, then, and various other ways the Lord allures his people, and by giving them a taste of his beauty and blessedness, with some sense of his dying love, allures them into the wilderness, according to his own words by the prophet Jeremiah, "Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus says the Lord, I remember you, the kindness of your youth, the love of your espousals, when you went after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown." (Jer. 2:2.)
 

II. But, to come to our second point, WHERE does the Lord by these dealings with their consciences, bring his people?—for these allurings are to bring them to a certain point. "Into the wilderness." They would not go there voluntarily—it is a place too barren for them to enter, except as allured in a special manner by the grace, and led by the power of God. Nor do they for the most part know where the Lord is taking them to. They follow his drawings; they are led by his allurings; they listen to his persuading voice, trusting to him as to an unerring Guide. But they do not know the 'place of barrenness' into which he is bringing them—this the Lord usually conceals from their eyes. He allures and they follow, but he does not tell them what he is going to do with them, or where he intends to take them. He hides his gracious purposes, that he may afterwards bring them more clearly to light.

Was not this true in a literal sense of the children of Israel in coming up out of Egypt? Were not they, in a sense, allured into the wilderness by eating the paschal lamb, by passing through the Red Sea, and being baptized in the cloud and in the sea, and especially by the cloudy pillar that went before them and led them into the wilderness? Thus the literal Israel was a type and figure of the spiritual Israel.

But look at the place where he brings his people—the WILDERNESS. This is a type and figure much used by the Holy Spirit, and conveys to us much deep and profitable instruction. Let us see if we can penetrate, with God's help and blessing, into the meaning of the emblem.

1. First, then, the wilderness is an isolated, solitary spot, far, far away from cities, and towns, and other busy haunts of men; a remote and often dreary abode, where there is no intruding eye to mark the wanderer's steps, where there is no listening ear to hear his sighs and cries. Adopting this idea, we may see from it how the Lord, when he puts forth his sacred power upon the heart to allure his people into the wilderness, brings them into a spot where in solitude and silence they may be separated from every one but himself.

The church is spoken of in this chapter as "following after her lovers," but "she could not overtake them;" as she could not find them, they would not seek for her. They have no inclination to follow her into the wilderness—if attracted by her charms they would seek again to entangle her in their embrace, they would immediately leave her upon the edge of the desert. No earthly lover follows her into the wilderness—such cannot bear its solitude. True religion is dull work to the carnal mind; to be alone leaves it too much open to the stings of conscience. To drive dullness and cares away by company and amusements, and shut out all thoughts of death and judgment, well suits the natural mind of man.

The wilderness, therefore, we take as an emblem of being alone with God—coming out of the world, away from sin and worldly company, out of everything carnal, sensual, and earthly, and being brought into that solemn spot where there are secret, sacred, and solitary dealings with God. Thus, our blessed Lord was in the wilderness forty days, and was with wild beasts. (Mark 1:13.) Far away from the haunts of men, tempted by Satan, ministered unto by angels, in the wilderness our adorable Mediator held holy fellowship with his heavenly Father. So John the Baptist, his forerunner, was in the wilderness with his "clothing of camel's hair, and a leather belt around his waist—and his food was locusts and wild honey." (Matt. 3:4.) All this was indicative of separation from the world, and a living in solitude, having no communion with any, but God. Until then we are brought into the wilderness, we have no withdrawal from the creature, no solitary dealings with the heart-searching Jehovah; nor are we separated in heart and spirit from the world without, or the world within, so as to have any real spiritual communion with the God of heaven.

2. But look at the wilderness under another character—it is represented throughout the word of God as a place of trial and affliction. It was so in an especial manner to the children of Israel of old. No sooner did they enter into the wilderness than their trials began—they had no water to drink, no food to eat—a burning sun above, a parched sand below, dried up, as they complained, to their very soul. They remembered the "fish which they ate in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic—but now, said they, our soul is dried away; there is nothing at all besides this manna before our eyes." (Num. 11:5, 6.)

So it is in grace. The wilderness is a place of trial and affliction; but when the Lord is alluring the soul into it by his teachings and manifestations, it little dreams of the trials and afflictions into which the Lord is bringing it. In the case of the children of Israel, we see how their faith was tried by the perils and hardships of the wilderness; we also see what rebellion and murmuring and fretfulness were manifested by them under it. They were not in themselves worse than other people; but the wilderness brought to light the sins of their heart. So it is with the people of God; their 'wilderness trials' bring to light the rebellion, unbelief, and fretfulness of the carnal mind; and it is this 'discovery of the evils of the heart under affliction' that makes the wilderness a place of such deep and continual trial.

THE BLESSED LIFE by F. B. Meyer

THE BLESSED LIFE by F. B. Meyer

There is a Christian life which, on comparison with that experienced by the majority of Christians, is as summer to winter; or, as the mature fruitfulness of a golden autumn to the struggling promise of a cold and late spring. And the blessedness of this blessed life lies in this: that we trust the Lord to do in us and for us what we could not do. And we find that He does not belie His Word, but that, according to our faith, so it is done to us. The weary spirit, which has vainly sought to realize its ideal by its own strivings and efforts, now gives itself over to the strong and tender hands of the Lord Jesus, and He accepts the task, and at once begins to work in it to will and to do of His own good pleasure, delivering it from the tyranny of besetting sin, and fulfilling in it His own perfect ideal. The Blessed Life should be the normal life of every Christian– in work and rest, in the building up of the inner life, and in the working out of the life-plan. It is God's thought not for a few, but for all His children. The youngest and weakest may lay claim to it equally with the strongest and oldest. We should step into it at the moment of conversion without wandering with blistered feet for forty years in the desert, or lying for thirty-eight years, with disappointed hopes, in the porch of the House of Mercy. 

THE NEW BIRTH 

The first chamber in the King's holy palace is the Chamber of the New Birth. By nature we are destitute of life- dead in trespasses and sins. We need, therefore, not a new creed, but a new life. The prophet's staff is well enough where there is life, but it is useless on the face of a dead babe. The first requisite is LIFE. This is what the Holy Spirit gives us at the moment of conversion. 

We may remember the day and place of our new birth, or we may be as ignorant of them as of the circumstances of our natural birth. But what does it matter that a man cannot recall his birthday, so long as he knows that he is alive? 

As an outstretched hand has two sides- the upper, called the back, the under, called the palm- so there are two sides and names for the act of entrance into the Chamber of the New Birth. Angels, looking at it from the heaven side, call it Being Born Again. Man, looking at it from the earth side, calls it Trusting Jesus. Those that believe in His name are born again; those that receive Him have the right to become the sons of God (John 1:12,13). If you are born again, you will trust. And if you are trusting Jesus, however many your doubts and fears, you are certainly born again and have entered the palace. If you go no further, you will be saved, but you will miss untold blessedness. 

Jesus Christ has bought us with His blood, but, alas, He has not had His money's worth! He paid for ALL, and He has had but a fragment of our energy, time and earnings. By an act of consecration, let us ask Him to forgive the robbery of the past, and let us profess our desire to be henceforth utterly and only for Him- His slaves, owning no master other than Himself. 

As soon as we say this He will test our sincerity, as He did the young ruler's, by asking something of us. He will lay His finger on something within us which He needs us to alter, obeying some command, or abstaining from some indulgence. If we instantly give up our will and way to Him, we pass the narrow doorway into the CHAMBER OF SURRENDER, which has a southern aspect and is ever warm and radiant with His presence because obedience is the condition of manifested love (John 14:23). 

This doorway is very narrow, and entrance is only possible for those who will lay aside weights as well as sins. A weight is anything which, without being essentially wrong or hurtful to others, is yet a hindrance to ourselves. We may always know a weight by three signs: first, we are uneasy about it; second, we argue for it against our conscience; third, we go about asking people's advice whether we may not keep it without harm. All these things must be laid aside in the strength which Jesus waits to give. Ask Him to deal with them for you, that you may be set in joint in every good work to do His will (Hebrews 13:21). 

That consecration is the stepping stone to blessedness is clearly established in the experience of God's children. For instance, Frances Havergal has left us this record: "It was on Sunday, December, 1873, that I first saw clearly the blessedness of true consecration. I saw it as a flash of electric light, and what you see you can never unsee. There must be full surrender before there can be full blessedness. God admits you by the one into the other. First, I was shown that the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses from all sin; and then it was made plain to me that He who had thus cleansed me had power to keep me clean; so I utterly yielded myself to Him and utterly trusted Him to keep me." 

CONSECRATION 

The act of consecration is recognizing Christ's ownership and accepting it, saying to Him, with the whole heart, "Lord, I am Your by right, and I wish to be Your by choice." Of old the mighty men of Israel were willing to swim the flooded rivers to come to David, their uncrowned, but God-appointed king. And when they met him, they cried, "We are yours, and on your side, David, son of Jesse." They were his because God had given them to him, but they could not rest content until they were his also by their glad choice. Why then should we not say the same to Jesus Christ? "Lord Jesus, I am Your by right; forgive me that I have lived so long as if I were my own. And now I gladly recognize that You have a rightful claim on all I have and am. I want to live as Yours from henceforth, and I do solemnly at this hour give myself to You to be Yours in life and death, Yours absolutely and forever." 

Do not try to make a covenant with God, lest you should break it and be discouraged. But quietly fall into your right attitude as one who belongs to Christ. Take as your motto the noble confession, "Whose I am and Whom I serve." Breathe the grand old simple lines: 
Just as I am, Your love unknown 
Has broken every barrier down, 
Now to be Your, yes, Your alone, 
O Lamb of God, I come. 

AN ACT OF THE WILL 

Consecration is not the act of our feelings but of our WILL. Do not try to feel anything; do not try to make yourself fit or good or earnest enough for Christ. God is working in you to will, whether you feel it or not. He is giving you power, at this moment, to will and do His good pleasure. Believe this, act upon it at once, and say, "Lord Jesus, I am willing to be Yours"; or, if you cannot say as much as that, say, "Lord Jesus, I am willing to be made willing to be Yours forevermore." 

Consecration is only possible when we give up our will about EVERYTHING. As soon as we come to the point of giving ourselves to God, we are almost certain to become aware of the presence of one thing, if not of more, out of harmony with His will. And while we feel able to surrender ourselves in all other points, here we exercise reserve. Every room and cupboard in the house, with the exception of this, is thrown open to the new Occupant; every limb in the body, but one, submitted to the practiced hand of the Good Physician. But that small reserve spoils the whole. To give ninety-nine parts and to withhold the hundredth undoes the whole transaction. Jesus will have all or none. And He is wise. Who would live in a fever-stricken house, so long as one room was not exposed to disinfectants, air and sun? Who would undertake a case so long as the patient refused to submit one part of his body to examination? Who would become responsible for a bankruptcy so long as one ledger was kept back? The reason that so many fail to attain the Blessed Life is that there is some one point in which they hold back from God, and concerning which they prefer to have their own way and will rather than His. In this one thing they will not yield their will and accept God's; and this one little thing mars the whole, robs them of peace, and compels them to wander in the desert. 

If you cannot GIVE all, ask the Lord Jesus to TAKE all, and especially that which seems so hard to give. Many have been helped by hearing it put thus. Tell them to GIVE, and they shake their heads despondently. They are like the little child who told her mother that she had been trying to give Jesus her heart, but it wouldn't go. But ask them if they are willing for Him to come into their hearts and TAKE all, and they will joyfully assent. 

Tennyson says, "Our wills are ours to make them Yours." But sometimes it seems impossible to shape them out so as to match every corner and angle of the will of God. What a relief it is at such a moment to hand the will over to Christ, telling Him that we are willing to be made willing to have His will in all things, and asking Him to melt our stubborn waywardness, to fashion our wills upon His anvil, and to bring us into perfect accord with Himself. 

AN ACT OF FAITH 

When we are willing that the Lord Jesus should take all, we must believe that He does take all. He does not wait for us to free ourselves from evil habits, or to make ourselves good, or to feel glad and happy. His one desire is that we should put our will on His side in everything. When this is done, He instantly enters the surrendered heart and begins His blessed work of renovation and renewal. From the very moment of consecration, though it be done in much feebleness and with slender appreciation of its entire meaning. The spirit may begin to say with new emphasis, "I am His, Glory to God, I am His!" As soon as the gift is laid on the altar, the fire fails. 

It is well to make the act of consecration a definite one in our spiritual history. George Whitefield did it in the ordination service. "I can call heaven and earth to witness that when the Bishop laid his hand upon me, I gave myself up to be a martyr for Him who hung upon the cross for me. Known unto Him are all the future events and contingencies. I have thrown myself blindfolded and without reserve into His almighty hands." 

Christmas Evans did it as he was climbing a lonely and mountainous road toward Cader Idris. "I was weary of a cold heart toward Christ, and began to pray, and soon felt the fetters loosening. Tears fell copiously, and I was constrained to cry out for the gracious visits of God. Then I resigned myself to Christ, body and soul, gifts and labors, all my life, every day and every hour that remained to me; and all my cares I committed to Christ." 

The visit of Stanley Smith and C. T. Studd to Melbourne Hall will always mark an epoch in my own life. Before then my Christian life had been spasmodic and fitful, now flaming up with enthusiasm, and then pacing weariedly over leagues of gray ashes and cold cinders. I saw that these young men had something which I had not, but which was within them a constant source of rest and strength and joy. At seven a.m. on that gray November morning, daylight flickered into the bedroom, paling the dwindled candles which from a very early hour had been lighting up the page of Scripture, and revealed the figures of these devoted Bible students. The talk we held then was one of the formative influences of my life. Why should I not yield my whole nature to God, working out day by day that which He would will and work within? Why should not I be a vessel, though only of earthenware, meet for the Master's use, because purged and sanctified? 

There was nothing new in what they told me. They said that a man must not only believe in Christ for final salvation, but must trust Him for victory over every sin and for deliverance from every care. They said that the Lord Jesus was willing to abide in the heart which was wholly yielded up to Him. They said that if there were some things in our lives that made it difficult for us to surrender our whole nature to Christ, yet if we were willing to be made willing to surrender them, He would make us not only willing but glad. They said that as soon as we give or attempt to give ourselves to Him, He takes us. All this was simple enough; I could have said it myself. But they urged me to take the definite step and I shall be forever thankful that they did. 

Very memorable was the night when I came to close quarters with God. The Angel that wrestled with Jacob had found me, eager to make me a prince. There were things in my heart and life which I felt were questionable, if not worse. I knew that God had a controversy with respect to them. I saw that my very dislike to probe or touch them was a clear indication that there was mischief lurking beneath. It is the diseased joint that shrinks from the touch, the tender eye that shudders at the light. At the same time, I did not feel willing to give these things up. It was a long struggle. At last I said feebly, "Lord, I am willing to be made willing. I am desirous that Your will should be done in me and through me as thoroughly as it is done in heaven. Come and take me and break me and make me." 

That was the hour of crisis; and when it had passed, I felt able at once to add, "And now I give myself to You: body, soul and spirit; in sorrow or in joy; in the dark or in the light; in life or in death; to be Yours only, wholly, and forever. Make the most of me that can be made for Your glory." 

No rapture or rush of joy came to assure me that the gift was accepted. I left the place with almost a heavy heart. I simply assured myself that He must have taken that which I had given, and at the moment of my giving it. And to that belief I clung in all the days that followed, constantly repeating to myself the words, "I am His." And thus at last the joy and rest, victory and freedom from burdening care, entered my heart, and I found that He was molding my will and making it easy to do what I thought impossible. I felt that He was leading me into the paths of righteousness for His name's sake, but so gently as to be almost imperceptible to my weak sight. 

Out of my own experience, I would suggest these seven rules to fellow Christians. 
1. Make a definite consecration of yourselves to God. 
Doddridge has left in his diary a very beautiful form of self-consecration. But you need not wait for anything so elaborate or minute as that. With most it would be sufficient to write out Miss Havergal's hymn, "Take my life, and let it be," and to sign your name at the bottom. But in any case it is well to write down some record of the act to keep for future reference. Of course, when we have really given ourselves once, we cannot give ourselves a second time. We may renew the consecration vows; we may review the deed or gift; we may insert any new clauses we like. And if we have gone astray, we may ask the Lord to forgive the foul wrong and robbery which we have done Him, and to restore our souls into the position from which we have fallen. Oh, how sweet the promise, "He restores my soul"! Dear Christian reader, seek some quiet spot, some still hour, and yield yourself to God.

2. Tell God that you are willing to be made willing about all. 
A lady was once in great difficulties about certain things which she felt eager to keep under her own control. Her friend, wishful to press her into the better life of consecration, placed before her a blank sheet of paper, and pressed her to write her name at the foot and then to lay it before God in prayer. Are you willing to do this? Are you prepared to sign your name to a blank sheet of paper and then hand it over to God for Him to fill in as He pleases? If not, ask Him to make you willing and able to do this and all things else. You never will be happy until you let the Lord Jesus keep the house of your nature, closely scrutinizing every visitor and admitting only His friends. He must reign. He must have all or none. He must have the key of every closet, of every cupboard, and of every room. Do not try to make them fit for Him. Simply give Him the key, and He will cleanse and renovate and make beautiful. 

3. Reckon on Christ to do His part perfectly. 

As you give, He takes. As you open the door, He enters. As you roll back the floodgates, He pours in a glorious tide of fullness- fullness of spiritual wealth, of power, of joy. The clay has only to be plastic in the hand of a Palissy; the marble has only to be pliant to the chisel of a Michelangelo; the organ has only to be responsive to the slightest touch of a Handel; and there will be no failure in results. Oh, to be equally susceptible to the molding influences of Christ! We shall not fail in realizing the highest ideal of which we are capable if only we will let Him do His work unhindered. 

4. Confess sin instantly. 

If you allow acid to drop and remain on your steel fenders, it will corrode them; and if you allow sin to remain on your heart unconfessed, it will eat out all peace and rest. Do not wait for the evening to come, or until you can get alone, but there in the midst of the crowd, in the very rush of life, with the footprints of sin still fresh, lift up your heart to your merciful and ever-present Savior, and say, "Lord Jesus, wash me now from that sin, in Your precious blood, and I shall be whiter than snow." The blood of Jesus is ever at work, cleansing us from unconscious sin; but it is our part to apply for it to cleanse from conscious and known sins as soon as we are aware of their presence in our lives. 

5. Hand over to Christ every temptation and care. 

When you feel temptation approaching you, as a bird by some quick instinct is aware that the hawk is hovering near, then instantly lift your heart to Christ for deliverance. He cannot rebuff or fail you. He will gather you under His feathers, and under His wings shall you trust. And when any petty annoyance or heavier worry threatens to mar your peace, in the flash of a moment, hand it over to Jesus, saying, "Lord, I am oppressed; undertake this for me." "Ah," you sigh, "I wish indeed I could live like this, but in the moment of need I forget to look." Then do this. Trust in Christ to keep you trusting. Look to Him so to abide in you as to keep your abiding. In the early morning entrust to Him the keeping of your soul, and then, as hour succeeds hour, expect Him to keep that which you have committed unto Him.