Bible Heaven/Bible Heaven.iso/online/topics27/t29300

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29301
 September 1                                              Evening

 \\"Trust in him at all times."\\
                                                     --Psalm 62:8

    Faith is as much the rule of temporal as of spiritual life;
 we ought to have faith in God for our earthly affairs as well as
 for our heavenly business. It is only as we learn to trust in
 God for the supply of all our daily need that we shall live
 above the world. We are not to be idle, \\that\\ would show we
 did \\not\\ trust in God, who worketh hitherto, but in the
 devil, who is the father of idleness. We are not to be imprudent
 or rash; that were to trust chance, and not the living God, who
 is a God of economy and order. Acting in all prudence and
 uprightness, we are to rely simply and entirely upon the Lord at
 all times.

    Let me commend to you a life of trust in God in temporal
 things. Trusting in God, you will not be compelled to mourn
 because you have used sinful means to grow rich. Serve God with
 integrity, and if you achieve no success, at least no sin will
 lie upon your conscience. Trusting God, you will not be guilty
 of self-contradiction. He who trusts in craft, sails this way
 to-day, and that way the next, like a vessel tossed about by the
 fickle wind; but he that trusteth in the Lord is like a vessel
 propelled by steam, she cuts through the waves, defies the wind,
 and makes one bright silvery straightforward track to her
 destined haven. Be you a man with living principles within;
 never bow to the varying customs of worldly wisdom. Walk in your
 path of integrity with steadfast steps, and show that you are
 invincibly strong in the strength which confidence in God alone
 can confer. Thus you will be delivered from anxious care, you
 will not be troubled with evil tidings, your heart will be
 fixed, trusting in the Lord. How pleasant to float along the
 stream of providence! There is no more blessed way of living
 than a life of dependence upon a covenant-keeping God. We have
 no care, for he careth for us; we have no troubles, because we
 cast our burdens upon the Lord.

29302
 September 2                                              Evening


 \\"Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe."\\
                                                      --John 4:48

    A craving after marvels was a symptom of the sickly state of
 men's minds in our Lord's day; they refused solid nourishment,
 and pined after mere wonder. The gospel which they so greatly
 needed they would not have; the miracles which Jesus did not
 always choose to give they eagerly demanded. Many nowadays must
 see signs and wonders, or they will not believe. Some have said
 in their heart, "I must feel deep horror of soul, or I never
 will believe in Jesus." But what if you never should feel it, as
 probably you never may? Will you go to hell out of spite against
 God, because he will not treat you like another? One has said to
 himself, "If I had a dream, or if I could feel a sudden shock of
 I know not what, then I would believe." Thus you undeserving
 mortals dream that my Lord is to be dictated to by you! You are
 beggars at his gate, asking for mercy, and you must needs draw
 up rules and regulations as to how he shall give that mercy.
 Think you that he will submit to this? My Master is of a
 generous spirit, but he has a right royal heart, he spurns all
 dictation, and maintains his sovereignty of action. Why, dear
 reader, if such be your case, do you crave for signs and
 wonders? Is not the gospel its own sign and wonder? Is not this
 a miracle of miracles, that "God so loved the world that he gave
 his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him might not
 perish"? Surely that precious word, "Whosoever will, let him
 come and take the water of life freely" and that solemn promise,
 "Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out," are
 better than signs and wonders! A truthful Saviour ought to be
 believed. He is truth itself. Why will you ask proof of the
 veracity of One who cannot lie? The devils themselves declared
 him to be the Son of God; will you mistrust him?

29303
 September 3                                              Evening


 \\"The Lord trieth the righteous."\\
                                                     --Psalm 11:5

    All events are under the control of Providence; consequently
 all the trials of our outward life are traceable at once to the
 great First Cause. Out of the golden gate of God's ordinance the
 armies of trial march forth in array, clad in their iron armour,
 and armed with weapons of war. All providences are doors to
 trial. Even our mercies, like roses, have their thorns. Men may
 be drowned in seas of prosperity as well as in rivers of
 affliction. Our mountains are not too high, and our valleys are
 not too low for temptations: trials lurk on all roads.
 Everywhere, above and beneath, we are beset and surrounded with
 dangers. Yet no shower falls unpermitted from the threatening
 cloud; every drop has its order ere it hastens to the earth. The
 trials which come from God are sent to prove and strengthen our
 graces, and so at once to illustrate the power of divine grace,
 to test the genuineness of our virtues, and to add to their
 energy. Our Lord in his infinite wisdom and superabundant love,
 sets so high a value upon his people's faith that he will not
 screen them from those trials by which faith is strengthened.
 You would never have possessed the precious faith which now
 supports you if the trial of your faith had not been like unto
 fire. You are a tree that never would have rooted so well if the
 wind had not rocked you to and fro, and made you take firm hold
 upon the precious truths of the covenant grace. Worldly ease is
 a great foe to faith; it loosens the joints of holy valour, and
 snaps the sinews of sacred courage. The balloon never rises
 until the cords are cut; affliction doth this sharp service for
 believing souls. While the wheat sleeps comfortably in the husk
 it is useless to man, it must be threshed out of its resting
 place before its value can be known. Thus it is well that
 Jehovah trieth the righteous, for it causeth them to grow rich
 towards God.

29304
 September 4                                              Evening

 \\"Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin,\\
 \\shall ye have."\\
                                                --Leviticus 19:36

    Weights, and scales, and measures were to be all according to
 the standard of justice. Surely no Christian man will need to be
 reminded of this in his business, for if righteousness were
 banished from all the world beside, it should find a shelter in
 believing hearts. There are, however, other balances which
 weigh moral and spiritual things, and these often need
 examining. We will call in the officer to-night.

    The balances in which we weigh our own and other men's
 characters, are they quite accurate? Do we not turn our own
 ounces of goodness into pounds, and other persons' bushels of
 excellence into pecks? See to weights and measures here,
 Christian. The scales in which we measure our trials and
 troubles, are they according to standard? Paul, who had more to
 suffer than we have, called his afflictions light, and yet we
 often consider ours to be heavy--surely something must be amiss
 with the weights! We must see to this matter, lest we get
 reported to the court above for unjust dealing. Those weights
 with which we measure our doctrinal belief, are they quite fair?
 The doctrines of grace should have the same weight with us as
 the precepts of the word, no more and no less; but it is to be
 feared that with many one scale or the other is unfairly
 weighted. It is a grand matter to give just measure in truth.
 Christian, be careful here. Those measures in which we estimate
 our obligations and responsibilities look rather small. When a
 rich man gives no more to the cause of God than the poor
 contribute, is that a just ephah and a just hin? When ministers
 are half starved, is that honest dealing? When the poor are
 despised, while ungodly rich men are held in admiration, is that
 a just balance? Reader, we might lengthen the list, but we
 prefer to leave it as your evening's work to find out and
 destroy all unrighteous balances, weights, and measures.

29305
 September 5                                              Evening

 \\"Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea?"\\
                                                      --Job 38:16

    Some things in nature must remain a mystery to the most
 intelligent and enterprising investigators. Human knowledge has
 bounds beyond which it cannot pass. Universal knowledge is for
 God alone. If this be so in the things which are seen and
 temporal, I may rest assured that it is even more so in matters
 spiritual and eternal. Why, then, have I been torturing my brain
 with speculations as to destiny and will, fixed fate, and human
 responsibility? These deep and dark truths I am no more able to
 comprehend than to find out the depth which coucheth beneath,
 from which old ocean draws her watery stores. Why am I so
 curious to know the reason of my Lord's providences, the motive
 of his actions, the design of his visitations? Shall I ever be
 able to clasp the sun in my fist, and hold the universe in my
 palm? yet these are as a drop of a bucket compared with the Lord
 my God. Let me not strive to understand the infinite, but spend
 my strength in love. What I cannot gain by intellect I can
 possess by affection, and let that suffice me. I cannot
 penetrate the heart of the sea, but I can enjoy the healthful
 breezes which sweep over its bosom, and I can sail over its blue
 waves with propitious winds. If I could enter the springs of the
 sea, the feat would serve no useful purpose either to myself or
 to others, it would not save the sinking bark, or give back the
 drowned mariner to his weeping wife and children; neither would
 my solving deep mysteries avail me a single whit, for the least
 love to God, and the simplest act of obedience to him, are
 better than the profoundest knowledge. My Lord, I leave the
 infinite to thee, and pray thee to put far from me such a love
 for the tree of knowledge as might keep me from the tree of
 life.

29306
 September 6                                              Evening

 \\"If ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law."\\
                                                 --Galatians 5:18

    He who looks at his own character and position from a legal
 point of view, will not only despair when he comes to the
 \\end\\ of his reckoning, but if he be a wise man he will
 despair at the \\beginning\\; for if we are to be judged on the
 footing of the law, there shall no flesh living be justified.
 How blessed to know that we dwell in the domains of grace and
 not of law! When thinking of my state before God the question is
 not, "Am I perfect in myself before the law?" but, "Am I perfect
 in Christ Jesus?" That is a very different matter. We need not
 enquire, "Am I without sin naturally?" but, "Have I been washed
 in the fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness?" It is not
 "Am I in myself well pleasing to God?" but it is "Am I accepted
 in the Beloved?" The Christian views his evidences from the top
 of Sinai, and grows alarmed concerning his salvation; it were
 better far if he read his title by the light of Calvary. "Why,"
 saith he, "my faith has unbelief in it, it is not able to save
 me." Suppose he had considered \\the object\\ of his faith
 instead of his faith, then he would have said, "There is no
 failure in \\him\\, and therefore I am safe." He sighs over his
 hope: "Ah! my hope is marred and dimmed by an anxious
 carefulness about present things; how can I be accepted?" Had he
 regarded \\the ground\\ of his hope, he would have seen that the
 promise of God standeth sure, and that whatever our doubts may
 be, the oath and promise never fail. Ah! believer, it is safer
 always for you to be led of the Spirit into gospel liberty than
 to wear legal fetters. Judge yourself at what \\Christ\\ is
 rather than at what \\you\\ are. Satan will try to mar your
 peace by reminding you of your sinfulness and imperfections: you
 can only meet his accusations by faithfully adhering to the
 gospel and refusing to wear the yoke of bondage.
29307
 September 7                                              Evening

 \\"There is sorrow on the sea; it cannot be quiet."\\
                                                 --Jeremiah 49:23

    Little know we what sorrow may be upon the sea at this
 moment. We are safe in our quiet chamber, but far away on the
 salt sea the hurricane may be cruelly seeking for the lives of
 men. Hear how the death fiends howl among the cordage; how every
 timber starts as the waves beat like battering rams upon the
 vessel! God help you, poor drenched and wearied ones! My prayer
 goes up to the great Lord of sea and land, that he will make the
 storm a calm, and bring you to your desired haven! Nor ought I
 to offer prayer alone, I should try to benefit those hardy men
 who risk their lives so constantly. Have I ever done anything
 for them? What can I do? How often does the boisterous sea
 swallow up the mariner! Thousands of corpses lie where pearls
 lie deep. There is death-sorrow on the sea, which is echoed in
 the long wail of widows and orphans. The salt of the sea is in
 many eyes of mothers and wives. Remorseless billows, ye have
 devoured the love of women, and the stay of households. What a
 resurrection shall there be from the caverns of the deep when
 the sea gives up her dead! Till then there will be sorrow on the
 sea. As if in sympathy with the woes of earth, the sea is for
 ever fretting along a thousand shores, wailing with a sorrowful
 cry like her own birds, booming with a hollow crash of unrest,
 raving with uproarious discontent, chafing with hoarse wrath, or
 jangling with the voices of ten thousand murmuring pebbles. The
 roar of the sea may be joyous to a rejoicing spirit, but to the
 son of sorrow the wide, wide ocean is even more forlorn than the
 wide, wide world. This is not our rest, and the restless billows
 tell us so. There is a land where there is no more sea--our
 faces are steadfastly set towards it; we are going to the place
 of which the Lord hath spoken. Till then, we cast our sorrows on
 the Lord who trod the sea of old, and who maketh a way for his
 people through the depths thereof.

29308
 September 8                                              Evening

 \\"The exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe\\
 \\according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought\\
 \\in Christ, when he raised him from the dead."\\
                                             --Ephesians 1:19,20

    In the resurrection of Christ, as in our salvation, there was
 put forth nothing short of \\a divine power\\. What shall we say
 of those who think that conversion is wrought by the free will
 of man, and is due to his own betterness of disposition? When we
 shall see the dead rise from the grave by their own power, then
 may we expect to see ungodly sinners of their own free will
 turning to Christ. It is not the word preached, nor the word
 read in itself; all quickening power proceeds from the Holy
 Ghost. This power was \\irresistible\\. All the soldiers and the
 high priests could not keep the body of Christ in the tomb;
 Death himself could not hold Jesus in his bonds: even thus
 irresistible is the power put forth in the believer when he is
 raised to newness of life. No sin, no corruption, no devils in
 hell nor sinners upon earth, can stay the hand of God's grace
 when it intends to convert a man. If God omnipotently says,
 "Thou shalt," man shall not say, "I will not." Observe that the
 power which raised Christ from the dead was \\glorious\\. It
 reflected honour upon God and wrought dismay in the hosts of
 evil. So there is great glory to God in the conversion of every
 sinner. It was \\everlasting power\\. "Christ being raised from
 the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him."
 So we, being raised from the dead, go not back to our dead works
 nor to our old corruptions, but we live unto God. "Because he
 lives we live also." "For we are dead, and our life is hid with
 Christ in God." "Like as Christ was raised up from the dead by
 the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness
 of life." Lastly, in the text mark \\the union of the new life\\
 \\to Jesus\\. The same power which raised the Head works life in
 the members. What a blessing to be quickened together with
 Christ!
29309
 September 9                                              Evening

 \\"And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and\\
 \\upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed\\
 \\in white raiment."\\
                                                 --Revelation 4:4

    These representatives of the saints in heaven are said to be
 \\around the throne\\. In the passage in Canticles, where Solomon
 sings of the King sitting at his table, some render it "a round
 table." From this, some expositors, I think, without straining
 the text, have said, "There is an equality among the saints."
 That idea is conveyed by the equal nearness of the four and
 twenty elders. The condition of glorified spirits in heaven is
 that of nearness to Christ, clear vision of his glory, constant
 access to his court, and familiar fellowship with his person:
 nor is there any difference in this respect between one saint
 and another, but all the people of God, apostles, martyrs,
 ministers, or private and obscure Christians, shall all be
 seated \\near the throne\\, where they shall for ever gaze upon
 their exalted Lord, and be satisfied with his love. They shall
 all be near to Christ, all ravished with his love, all eating
 and drinking at the same table with him, all equally beloved as
 his favourites and friends even if not all equally rewarded as
 servants.

    Let believers on earth imitate the saints in heaven in their
 nearness to Christ. Let us on earth be as the elders are in
 heaven, sitting around the throne. May Christ be the object of
 our thoughts, the centre of our lives. How can we endure to live
 at such a distance from our Beloved? Lord Jesus, draw us nearer
 to thyself. Say unto us, "Abide in me, and I in you"; and permit
 us to sing, "His left hand is under my head, and his right hand
 doth embrace me."

               O lift me higher, nearer thee,
               And as I rise more pure and meet,
               O let my soul's humility
               Make me lie lower at thy feet;
               Less trusting self, the more I prove
               The blessed comfort of thy love.

29310
 September 10                                             Evening

 \\"Evening wolves."\\
                                                   --Habakkuk 1:8

    While preparing the present volume, this particular
 expression recurred to me so frequently, that in order to be rid
 of its constant importunity I determined to give a page to it.
 The evening wolf, infuriated by a day of hunger, was fiercer and
 more ravenous than he would have been in the morning. May not
 the furious creature represent our doubts and fears after a day
 of distraction of mind, losses in business, and perhaps
 ungenerous tauntings from our fellow men? How our thoughts howl
 in our ears, "Where is now thy God?" How voracious and greedy
 they are, swallowing up all suggestions of comfort, and
 remaining as hungry as before. Great Shepherd, slay these
 evening wolves, and bid thy sheep lie down in green pastures,
 undisturbed by insatiable unbelief. How like are the fiends of
 hell to evening wolves, for when the flock of Christ are in a
 cloudy and dark day, and their sun seems going down, they hasten
 to tear and to devour. They will scarcely attack the Christian
 in the daylight of faith, but in the gloom of soul conflict they
 fall upon him. O thou who hast laid down thy life for the sheep,
 preserve them from the fangs of the wolf.

    False teachers who craftily and industriously hunt for the
 precious life, devouring men by their false-hoods, are as
 dangerous and detestable as evening wolves. Darkness is their
 element, deceit is their character, destruction is their end. We
 are most in danger from them when they wear the sheep's skin.
 Blessed is he who is kept from them, for thousands are made the
 prey of grievous wolves that enter within the fold of the
 church.

    What a wonder of grace it is when fierce persecutors are
 converted, for then the wolf dwells with the lamb, and men of
 cruel ungovernable dispositions become gentle and teachable. O
 Lord, convert many such: for such we will pray to-night.

29311
 September 11                                             Evening

 \\"Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine\\
 \\enemies."\\
                                                     --Psalms 5:8

    Very bitter is the enmity of the world against the people of
 Christ. Men will forgive a thousand faults in others, but they
 will magnify the most trivial offence in the followers of Jesus.
 Instead of vainly regretting this, let us turn it to account,
 and since so many are watching for our halting, let this be a
 special motive for walking very carefully before God. If we live
 carelessly, the lynx-eyed world will soon see it, and with its
 hundred tongues, it will spread the story, exaggerated and
 emblazoned by the zeal of slander. They will shout triumphantly.
 "Aha! So would we have it! See how these Christians act! They
 are hypocrites to a man." Thus will much damage be done to the
 cause of Christ, and much insult offered to his name. The cross
 of Christ is in itself an offence to the world; let us take heed
 that we add no offence of our own. It is "to the Jews a
 stumblingblock": let us mind that we put no stumblingblocks
 where there are enough already. "To the Greeks it is
 foolishness": let us not add our folly to give point to the
 scorn with which the worldly-wise deride the gospel. How jealous
 should we be of ourselves! How rigid with our consciences! In
 the presence of adversaries who will misrepresent our best
 deeds, and impugn our motives where they cannot censure our
 actions, how circumspect should we be! Pilgrims travel as
 suspected persons through Vanity Fair. Not only are we under
 surveillance, but there are more spies than we know of. The
 espionage is everywhere, at home and abroad. If we fall into the
 enemies' hands we may sooner expect generosity from a wolf, or
 mercy from a fiend, than anything like patience with our
 infirmities from men who spice their infidelity towards God with
 scandals against his people. O Lord, lead us ever, lest our
 enemies trip us up!

29312
 September 12                                             Evening

 \\"I will sing of mercy and judgment."\\
                                                    --Psalm 101:1

    Faith triumphs in trial. When reason is thrust into the inner
 prison, with her feet made fast in the stocks, faith makes the
 dungeon walls ring with her merry notes as she cries, "I will
 sing of mercy and of judgment. Unto thee, O Lord, will I sing."
 Faith pulls the black mask from the face of trouble, and
 discovers the angel beneath. Faith looks up at the cloud, and
 sees that

                'Tis big with mercy and shall break
                In blessings on her head."

 There is a subject for song even in the judgments of God towards
 us. For, first, the trial is \\not so heavy as it might have\\
 \\been\\; next, the trouble is \\not so severe as we deserved to\\
 \\have borne\\; and our affliction is \\not so crushing as the\\
 \\burden which others have to carry\\. Faith sees that in her
 worst sorrow there is nothing penal; there is not a drop of
 God's wrath in it; it is all sent in love. Faith discerns love
 gleaming like a jewel on the breast of an angry God. Faith says
 of her grief, "This is a badge of honour, for the child must
 feel the rod"; and then she sings of the sweet result of her
 sorrows, because they work her spiritual good. Nay, more, says
 Faith, "These light afflictions, which are but for a moment,
 work out for me a far more exceeding and eternal weight of
 glory." So Faith rides forth on the black horse, conquering and
 to conquer, trampling down carnal reason and fleshly sense, and
 chanting notes of victory amid the thickest of the fray.

               "All I meet I find assists me
               In my path to heavenly joy:
               Where, though trials now attend me,
               Trials never more annoy.

               "Blest there with a weight of glory,
               Still the path I'll ne'er forget,
               But, exulting, cry, it led me
               To my blessed Saviour's seat."
29313
 September 13                                             Evening

 \\"This man receiveth sinners."\\
                                                      --Luke 15:2

    Observe \\the condescension\\ of this fact. This Man, who
 towers above all other men, holy, harmless, undefiled, and
 separate from sinners--\\this\\ Man receiveth sinners. This Man,
 who is no other than the eternal God, before whom angels veil
 their faces--\\this\\ Man receiveth sinners. It needs an angel's
 tongue to describe such a mighty stoop of love. That any of
 \\us\\ should be willing to seek after the lost is nothing
 wonderful-- they are of our own race; but that he, the offended
 God, against whom the transgression has been committed, should
 take upon himself the form of a servant, and bear the sin of
 many, and should then be willing to receive the vilest of the
 vile, this is marvellous.

    "This Man receiveth sinners"; not, however, that they may
 remain sinners, but he receives them that he may pardon their
 sins, justify their persons, cleanse their hearts by his
 purifying word, preserve their souls by the indwelling of the
 Holy Ghost, and enable them to serve him, to show forth his
 praise, and to have communion with him. Into his heart's love
 he receives sinners, takes them from the dunghill, and wears
 them as jewels in his crown; plucks them as brands from the
 burning, and preserves them as costly monuments of his mercy.
 None are so precious in Jesus' sight as the sinners for whom he
 died. When Jesus receives sinners, he has not some out-of-doors
 reception place, no casual ward where he charitably entertains
 them as men do passing beggars, but he opens the golden gates of
 his royal heart, and receives the sinner right into
 himself--yea, he admits the humble penitent into personal union
 and makes him a member of his body, of his flesh, and of his
 bones. There was never such a reception as this! This fact is
 still most sure this evening, he is still receiving sinners:
 would to God sinners would receive him.

29314
 September 14                                             Evening

 \\"I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not\\
 \\hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord;\\
 \\and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin."\\
                                                     --Psalm 32:5

    David's grief for sin was bitter. Its effects were visible
 upon his outward frame: "his bones waxed old"; "his moisture was
 turned into the drought of summer." No remedy could he find,
 until he made a full confession before the throne of the
 heavenly grace. He tells us that for a time he kept silence, and
 his heart became more and more filled with grief: like a
 mountain tarn whose outlet is blocked up, his soul was swollen
 with torrents of sorrow. He fashioned excuses; he endeavoured to
 divert his thoughts, but it was all to no purpose; like a
 festering sore his anguish gathered, and as he would not use the
 lancet of confession, his spirit was full of torment, and knew
 no rest. At last it came to this, that he must return unto his
 God in humble penitence, or die outright; so he hastened to the
 mercy-seat, and there unrolled the volume of his iniquities
 before the all-seeing One, acknowledging all the evil of his
 ways in language such as you read in the fifty-first and other
 penitential Psalms. Having done this, a work so simple and yet
 so difficult to pride, he received at once the token of divine
 forgiveness; the bones which had been broken were made to
 rejoice, and he came forth from his closet to sing the
 blessedness of the man whose transgression is forgiven. See the
 value of a grace-wrought confession of sin! It is to be prized
 above all price, for in every case where there is a genuine,
 gracious confession, mercy is freely given, not because the
 repentance and confession \\deserve\\ mercy, but for \\Christ's\\
 \\sake\\. Blessed be God, there is always healing for the broken
 heart; the fountain is ever flowing to cleanse us from our sins.
 Truly, O Lord, thou art a God "ready to pardon!" Therefore will
 we acknowledge our iniquities.

29315
 September 15                                             Evening

 \\"A people near unto him."\\
                                                   --Psalm 148:14

    The dispensation of the old covenant was that of distance.
 When God appeared even to his servant Moses, he said, "Draw not
 nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet"; and when he
 manifested himself upon Mount Sinai, to his own chosen and
 separated people, one of the first commands was, "Thou shalt set
 bounds about the mount." Both in the sacred worship of the
 tabernacle and the temple, the thought of distance was always
 prominent. The mass of the people did not even enter the outer
 court. Into the inner court none but the priests might dare to
 intrude; while into the innermost place, or the holy of holies,
 the high priest entered but once in the year. It was as if the
 Lord in those early ages would teach man that sin was so utterly
 loathsome to him, that he must treat men as lepers put without
 the camp; and when he came nearest to them, he yet made them
 feel the width of the separation between a holy God and an
 impure sinner. When the gospel came, we were placed on quite
 another footing. The word "Go" was exchanged for "Come";
 distance was made to give place to nearness, and we who
 aforetime were afar off, were made nigh by the blood of Jesus
 Christ. Incarnate Deity has no wall of fire about it. "Come unto
 me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you
 rest," is the joyful proclamation of God as he appears in human
 flesh. Not now does he teach the leper his leprosy by setting
 him at a distance, but by himself suffering the penalty of his
 defilement. What a state of safety and privilege is this
 nearness to God through Jesus! Do you know it by experience? If
 you know it, are you living in the power of it? Marvellous is
 this nearness, yet it is to be followed by a dispensation of
 greater nearness still, when it shall be said, "The tabernacle
 of God is with men, and he doth dwell among them." Hasten it, O
 Lord.

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