Bible Heaven/Bible Heaven.iso/online/topics27/t29700

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29701
 November 1                                               Evening

 \\"And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away: so\\
 \\shall also the coming of the Son of man be."\\
                                                  --Matthew 24:39

    Universal was the doom, neither rich nor poor escaped: the
 learned and the illiterate, the admired and the abhorred, the
 religious and the profane, the old and the young, all sank in
 one common ruin. Some had doubtless ridiculed the patriarch--
 where now their merry jests? Others had threatened him for his
 zeal which they counted madness--where now their boastings and
 hard speeches? The critic who judged the old man's work is
 drowned in the same sea which covers his sneering companions.
 Those who spoke patronizingly of the good man's fidelity to his
 convictions, but shared not in them, have sunk to rise no more,
 and the workers who for pay helped to build the wondrous ark,
 are all lost also. The flood swept them \\all\\ away, and made
 no single exception. Even so, out of Christ, final destruction
 is sure to every man of woman born; no rank, possession, or
 character, shall suffice to save a single soul who has not
 believed in the Lord Jesus. My soul, behold this wide-spread
 judgment and tremble at it.

    How marvellous the general apathy! they were all eating and
 drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, till the awful
 morning dawned. There was not one wise man upon earth out of the
 ark. Folly duped the whole race, folly as to self-preservation--
 the most foolish of all follies. Folly in doubting the most true
 God--the most malignant of fooleries. Strange, my soul, is it
 not? All men are negligent of their souls till grace gives them
 reason, then they leave their madness and act like rational
 beings, but not till then.

    \\All\\, blessed be God, were safe in the ark, no ruin
 entered there. From the huge elephant down to the tiny mouse all
 were safe. The timid hare was equally secure with the courageous
 lion, the helpless cony as safe as the laborious ox. All are
 safe in Jesus. My soul, art thou in him?

29702
 November 2                                               Evening

 \\"Horror hath taken hold upon me because of the wicked that\\
 \\forsake thy law."\\
                                                   --Psalm 119:53

    My soul, feelest thou this holy shuddering at the sins of
 others? for otherwise thou lackest inward holiness. David's
 cheeks were wet with rivers of waters because of prevailing
 unholiness; Jeremiah desired eyes like fountains that he might
 lament the iniquities of Israel, and Lot was vexed with the
 conversation of the men of Sodom. Those upon whom the mark was
 set in Ezekiel's vision, were those who sighed and cried for the
 abominations of Jerusalem. It cannot but grieve gracious souls
 to see what pains men take to go to hell. They know the evil of
 sin experimentally, and they are alarmed to see others flying
 like moths into its blaze. Sin makes the righteous shudder,
 because it violates a holy law, which it is to every man's
 highest interest to keep; it pulls down the pillars of the
 commonwealth. Sin in others horrifies a believer, because it
 puts him in mind of the baseness of his own heart: when he sees
 a transgressor he cries with the saint mentioned by Bernard, "He
 fell to-day, and I may fall to-morrow." Sin to a believer is
 horrible, because it crucified the Saviour; he sees in every
 iniquity the nails and spear. How can a saved soul behold that
 cursed kill-Christ sin without abhorrence? Say, my heart, dost
 thou sensibly join in all this? It is an awful thing to insult
 God to his face. The good God deserves better treatment, the
 great God claims it, the just God will have it, or repay his
 adversary to his face. An awakened heart trembles at the
 audacity of sin, and stands alarmed at the contemplation of its
 punishment. How monstrous a thing is rebellion! How direful a
 doom is prepared for the ungodly! My soul, never laugh at sin's
 fooleries, lest thou come to smile at sin itself. It is thine
 enemy, and thy Lord's enemy--view it with detestation, for so
 only canst thou evidence the possession of holiness, without
 which no man can see the Lord.

29703
 November 3                                               Evening

 \\"Their prayer came up to his holy dwelling place, even unto\\
 \\heaven."\\
                                             --2 Chronicles 30:27

    Prayer is the never-failing resort of the Christian in any
 case, in every plight. When you cannot use your sword you may
 take to the weapon of all-prayer. Your powder may be damp, your
 bow-string may be relaxed, but the weapon of all-prayer need
 never be out of order. Leviathan laughs at the javelin, but he
 trembles at prayer. Sword and spear need furbishing, but prayer
 never rusts, and when we think it most blunt it cuts the best.
 Prayer is an open door which none can shut. Devils may surround
 you on all sides, but the way upward is always open, and as long
 as that road is unobstructed, you will not fall into the enemy's
 hand. We can never be taken by blockade, escalade, mine, or
 storm, so long as heavenly succours can come down to us by
 Jacob's ladder to relieve us in the time of our necessities.
 Prayer is never out of season: in summer and in winter its
 merchandise is precious. Prayer gains audience with heaven in
 the dead of night, in the midst of business, in the heat of
 noonday, in the shades of evening. In every condition, whether
 of poverty, or sickness, or obscurity, or slander, or doubt,
 your covenant God will welcome your prayer and answer it from
 his holy place. Nor is prayer ever \\futile\\. True prayer is
 evermore true power. You may not always get what you ask, but
 you shall always have your real wants supplied. When God does
 not answer his children according to the letter, he does so
 according to the spirit. If thou askest for coarse meal, wilt
 thou be angered because he gives thee the finest flour? If thou
 seekest bodily health, shouldst thou complain if instead thereof
 he makes thy sickness turn to the healing of spiritual maladies?
 Is it not better to have the cross sanctified than removed? This
 evening, my soul, forget not to offer thy petition and request,
 for the Lord is ready to grant thee thy desires.

29704
 November 4                                               Evening

 \\"In thy light shall we see light."\\
                                                     --Psalm 36:9

    No lips can tell the love of Christ to the heart till Jesus
 himself shall speak within. Descriptions all fall flat and tame
 unless the Holy Ghost fills them with life and power; till our
 Immanuel reveals himself within, the soul sees him not. If you
 would see the sun, would you gather together the common means of
 illumination, and seek in that way to behold the orb of day? No,
 the wise man knoweth that the sun must reveal itself, and only
 by its own blaze can that mighty lamp be seen. It is so with
 Christ. "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona:" said he to Peter,
 "for flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee." Purify
 flesh and blood by any educational process you may select,
 elevate mental faculties to the highest degree of intellectual
 power, yet none of these can reveal Christ. The Spirit of God
 must come with power, and overshadow the man with his wings, and
 then in that mystic holy of holies the Lord Jesus must display
 himself to the sanctified eye, as he doth not unto the purblind
 sons of men. Christ must be his own mirror. The great mass of
 this blear-eyed world can see nothing of the ineffable glories
 of Immanuel. He stands before them without form or comeliness, a
 root out of a dry ground, rejected by the vain and despised by
 the proud. Only where the Spirit has touched the eye with
 eye-salve, quickened the heart with divine life, and educated
 the soul to a heavenly taste, only there is he understood. "To
 you that believe he is precious"; to you he is the chief
 corner-stone, the Rock of your salvation, your all in all; but
 to others he is "a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence."
 Happy are those to whom our Lord manifests himself, for his
 promise to such is that he will \\make his abode with them\\. O
 Jesus, our Lord, our heart is open, come in, and go out no more
 for ever. Show thyself to us now! Favour us with a glimpse of
 thine all-conquering charms.

29705
 November 5                                               Evening

 \\"Be thankful unto him, and bless his name."\\
                                                    --Psalm 100:4

    Our Lord would have all his people rich in high and happy
 thoughts concerning his blessed person. Jesus is not content
 that his brethren should think meanly of him; it is his pleasure
 that his espoused ones should be delighted with his beauty. We
 are not to regard him as a bare necessary, like to bread and
 water, but as a luxurious delicacy, as a rare and ravishing
 delight. To this end he has revealed himself as the "pearl of
 great price" in its peerless beauty, as the "bundle of myrrh" in
 its refreshing fragrance, as the "rose of Sharon" in its lasting
 perfume, as the "lily" in its spotless purity.

    As a help to high thoughts of Christ, remember the estimation
 that Christ is had in beyond the skies, where things are
 measured by the right standard. Think how God esteems the Only
 Begotten, his unspeakable gift to us. Consider what the angels
 think of him, as they count it their highest honour to veil
 their faces at his feet. Consider what the blood-washed think of
 him, as day without night they sing his well deserved praises.
 High thoughts of Christ will enable us to act consistently with
 our relations towards him. The more loftily we see Christ
 enthroned, and the more lowly we are when bowing before the foot
 of the throne, the more truly shall we be prepared to act our
 part towards him. Our Lord Jesus desires us to think well of
 him, that we may submit cheerfully to his authority. High
 thoughts of him increase our love. Love and esteem go together.
 Therefore, believer, think much of your Master's excellencies.
 Study him in his primeval glory, before he took upon himself
 your nature! Think of the mighty love which drew him from his
 throne to die upon the cross! Admire him as he conquers all the
 powers of hell! See him risen, crowned, glorified! Bow before
 him as the Wonderful, the Counsellor, the mighty God, for only
 thus will your love to him be what it should.

29706
 November 6                                               Evening

 \\"Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath\\
 \\enjoined unto you."\\
                                                   --Hebrews 9:20

    There is a strange power about the very name of blood, and
 the sight of it is always affecting. A kind heart cannot bear to
 see a sparrow bleed, and unless familiarized by use, turns away
 with horror at the slaughter of a beast. As to the blood of men,
 it is a consecrated thing: it is murder to shed it in wrath, it
 is a dreadful crime to squander it in war. Is this solemnity
 occasioned by the fact that the blood is the life, and the
 pouring of it forth the token of death? We think so. When we
 rise to contemplate the blood of the Son of God, our awe is yet
 more increased, and we shudder as we think of the guilt of sin,
 and the terrible penalty which the Sin-bearer endured. Blood,
 always precious, is priceless when it streams from Immanuel's
 side. The blood of Jesus seals the \\covenant\\ of grace, and
 makes it for ever sure. Covenants of old were made by sacrifice,
 and the everlasting covenant was ratified in the same manner.
 Oh, the delight of being saved upon the sure foundation of
 divine engagements which cannot be dishonoured! Salvation by the
 works of the law is a frail and broken vessel whose shipwreck is
 sure; but the covenant vessel fears no storms, for the blood
 ensures the whole. The blood of Jesus made his \\testament\\
 valid. Wills are of no power unless the testators die. In this
 light the soldier's spear is a blessed aid to faith, since it
 proved our Lord to be really dead. Doubts upon that matter there
 can be none, and we may boldly appropriate the legacies which he
 has left for his people. Happy they who see their title to
 heavenly blessings assured to them by a dying Saviour. But has
 this blood no voice to us? Does it not bid us sanctify ourselves
 unto him by whom we have been redeemed? Does it not call us to
 newness of life, and incite us to entire consecration to the
 Lord? O that the power of the blood might be known, and felt in
 us this night!

29707
 November 7                                               Evening

 \\"And ye shall be witnesses unto me."\\
                                                       --Acts 1:8

    In order to learn how to discharge your duty as a witness for
 Christ, look at his example. He is always witnessing: by the
 well of Samaria, or in the Temple of Jerusalem: by the lake of
 Gennesaret, or on the mountain's brow. He is witnessing night
 and day; his mighty prayers are as vocal to God as his daily
 services. He witnesses under all circumstances; Scribes and
 Pharisees cannot shut his mouth; even before Pilate he witnesses
 a good confession. He witnesses so clearly, and distinctly that
 there is no mistake in him. Christian, make your life a clear
 testimony. Be you as the brook wherein you may see every stone
 at the bottom--not as the muddy creek, of which you only see the
 surface--but clear and transparent, so that your heart's love to
 God and man may be visible to all. You need not say, "I am
 true:" be true. Boast not of integrity, but be upright. So shall
 your testimony be such that men cannot help seeing it. Never,
 for fear of feeble man, restrain your witness. Your lips have
 been warmed with a coal from off the altar; let them speak as
 like heaven-touched lips should do. "In the morning sow thy
 seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand." Watch not the
 clouds, consult not the wind--in season and out of season
 witness for the Saviour, and if it shall come to pass that for
 Christ's sake and the gospel's you shall endure suffering in any
 shape, shrink not, but rejoice in the honour thus conferred upon
 you, that you are counted worthy to suffer with your Lord; and
 joy also in this--that your sufferings, your losses, and
 persecutions shall make you a platform, from which the more
 vigorously and with greater power you shall witness for Christ
 Jesus. Study your great Exemplar, and be filled with his Spirit.
 Remember that you need much teaching, much upholding, much
 grace, and much humility, if your witnessing is to be to your
 Master's glory.

29708
 November 8                                               Evening

 \\"The Master saith, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall\\
 \\eat the passover with my disciples?"\\
                                                     --Mark 14:14

    Jerusalem at the time of the passover was one great inn; each
 householder had invited his own friends, but no one had invited
 the Saviour, and he had no dwelling of his own. It was by his
 own supernatural power that he found himself an upper room in
 which to keep the feast. It is so even to this day--Jesus is not
 received among the sons of men save only where by his
 supernatural power and grace he makes the heart anew. All doors
 are open enough to the prince of darkness, but Jesus must clear
 a way for himself or lodge in the streets. It was through the
 mysterious power exerted by our Lord that the householder raised
 no question, but at once cheerfully and joyfully opened his
 guestchamber. Who he was, and what he was, we do not know, but
 he readily accepted the honour which the Redeemer proposed to
 confer upon him. In like manner it is still discovered who are
 the Lord's chosen, and who are not; for when the gospel comes to
 some, they fight against it, and will not have it, but where men
 receive it, welcoming it, this is a sure indication that there
 is a secret work going on in the soul, and that God has chosen
 them unto eternal life. Are you willing, dear reader, to receive
 Christ? then there is no difficulty in the way; Christ will be
 your guest; his own power is working with you, making you
 willing. What an honour to entertain the Son of God! The heaven
 of heavens cannot contain him, and yet he condescends to find a
 house within our hearts! We are not worthy that he should come
 under our roof, but what an unutterable privilege when he
 condescends to enter! for then he makes a feast, and causes us
 to feast with him upon royal dainties, we sit at a banquet where
 the viands are immortal, and give immortality to those who feed
 thereon. Blessed among the sons of Adam is he who entertains the
 angels' Lord.

29709
 November 9                                               Evening

 \\"His place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks: bread\\
 \\shall be given him; his waters shall be sure."\\
                                                   --Isaiah 33:16

   Do you doubt, O Christian, do you doubt as to whether God will
 fulfil his promise? Shall the munitions of rock be carried by
 storm? Shall the storehouses of heaven fail? Do you think that
 your heavenly Father, though he knoweth that you have need of
 food and raiment, will yet forget you? When not a sparrow falls
 to the ground without your Father, and the very hairs of your
 head are all numbered, will you mistrust and doubt him? Perhaps
 your affliction will continue upon you till you dare to trust
 your God, and then it shall end. Full many there be who have
 been tried and sore vexed till at last they have been driven in
 sheer desperation to exercise faith in God, and the moment of
 their faith has been the instant of their deliverance; they have
 seen whether God would keep his promise or not. Oh, I pray you,
 doubt him no longer! Please not Satan, and vex not yourself by
 indulging any more those hard thoughts of God. Think it not a
 light matter to doubt Jehovah. Remember, it is a \\sin\\; and
 not a little sin either, but in the highest degree criminal.
 The angels never doubted him, nor the devils either: we alone,
 out of all the beings that God has fashioned, dishonour him by
 unbelief, and tarnish his honour by mistrust. Shame upon us for
 this! Our God does not deserve to be so basely suspected; in our
 past life we have proved him to be true and faithful to his
 word, and with so many instances of his love and of his kindness
 as we have received, and are daily receiving, at his hands, it
 is base and inexcusable that we suffer a doubt to sojourn within
 our heart. May we henceforth wage constant war against doubts of
 our God--enemies to our peace and to his honour; and with an
 unstaggering faith believe that what he has promised he will
 also perform. "Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief."
29710
 November 10                                              Evening

 \\"It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master."\\
                                                  --Matthew 10:25

    No one will dispute this statement, for it would be unseemly
 for the servant to be exalted above his Master. When our Lord
 was on earth, what was the treatment he received? Were his
 claims acknowledged, his instructions followed, his perfections
 worshipped, by those whom he came to bless? No; "He was despised
 and rejected of men." Outside the camp was his place:
 cross-bearing was his occupation. Did the world yield him solace
 and rest? "Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have
 nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head." This
 inhospitable country afforded him no shelter: it cast him out
 and crucified him. Such--if you are a follower of Jesus, and
 maintain a consistent, Christ-like walk and conversation--you
 must expect to be the lot of that part of your spiritual life
 which, in its outward development, comes under the observation
 of men. They will treat it as they treated the Saviour--they
 will despise it. Dream not that worldlings will admire you, or
 that the more holy and the more Christ-like you are, the more
 peaceably people will act towards you. They prized not the
 polished gem, how should they value the jewel in the rough? "If
 they have called the Master of the house Beelzebub, how much
 more shall they call them of his household?" If we were more
 like Christ, we should be more hated by his enemies. It were a
 sad dishonour to a child of God to be the world's favourite. It
 is a very ill omen to hear a wicked world clap its hands and
 shout "Well done" to the Christian man. He may begin to look to
 his character, and wonder whether he has not been doing wrong,
 when the unrighteous give him their approbation. Let us be true
 to our Master, and have no friendship with a blind and base
 world which scorns and rejects him. Far be it from us to seek a
 crown of honour where our Lord found a coronet of thorn.
29711
 November 11                                              Evening

 \\"He shall choose our inheritance for us."\\
                                                     --Psalm 47:4

    Believer, if your inheritance be a lowly one you should be
 satisfied with your earthly portion; for you may rest assured
 that it is the fittest \\for you\\. Unerring wisdom ordained
 your lot, and selected for you the safest and best condition. A
 ship of large tonnage is to be brought up the river; now, in one
 part of the stream there is a sandbank; should some one ask,
 "Why does the captain steer through the deep part of the channel
 and deviate so much from a straight line?" His answer would be,
 "Because I should not get my vessel into harbour at all if I did
 not keep to the deep channel." So, it may be, you would run
 aground and suffer shipwreck, if your divine Captain did not
 steer you into the depths of affliction where waves of trouble
 follow each other in quick succession. Some plants die if they
 have too much sunshine. It may be that you are planted where you
 get but little, you are put there by the loving Husbandman,
 because only in that situation will you bring forth fruit unto
 perfection. Remember this, had any other condition been better
 for you than the one in which you are, divine love would have
 put you there. You are placed by God in the most suitable
 circumstances, and if you had the choosing of your lot, you
 would soon cry, "Lord, choose my inheritance for me, for by my
 self-will I am pierced through with many sorrows." Be content
 with such things as you have, since the Lord has ordered all
 things for your good. Take up your own daily cross; it is the
 burden best suited for your shoulder, and will prove most
 effective to make you perfect in every good word and work to the
 glory of God. Down busy self, and proud impatience, it is not
 for you to choose, but for the Lord of Love!

                 "Trials must and will befall--
                 But with humble faith to see
                 Love inscribed upon them all;
                 This is happiness to me."

29712
 November 12                                              Evening

 \\"And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a\\
 \\mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God."\\
                                                      --Luke 6:12

    If ever one of woman born might have lived without prayer, it
 was our spotless, perfect a Lord, and yet none was ever so much
 in supplication as he! Such was his love to his Father, that he
 loved much to be in communion with him: such his love for his
 people, that he desired to be much in intercession for them.
 \\The fact\\ of this eminent prayerfulness of Jesus is a lesson
 for us--he hath given us an example that we may follow in his
 steps. \\The time\\ he chose was admirable, it was the hour of
 silence, when the crowd would not disturb him; the time of
 inaction, when all but himself had ceased to labour; and the
 season when slumber made men forget their woes, and cease their
 applications to him for relief. While others found rest in
 sleep, he refreshed himself with prayer. \\The place\\ was also
 well selected. He was alone where none would intrude, where none
 could observe: thus was he free from Pharisaic ostentation and
 vulgar interruption. Those dark and silent hills were a fit
 oratory for the Son of God. Heaven and earth in midnight
 stillness heard the groans and sighs of the mysterious Being in
 whom both worlds were blended. \\The continuance\\ of his
 pleadings is remarkable; the long watches were not too long; the
 cold wind did not chill his devotions; the grim darkness did not
 darken his faith, or loneliness check his importunity. We
 cannot watch with him one hour, but he watched for us whole
 nights. \\The occasion\\ for this prayer is notable; it was after
 his enemies had been enraged--prayer was his refuge and solace;
 it was before he sent forth the twelve apostles--prayer was the
 gate of his enterprise, the herald of his new work. Should we
 not learn from Jesus to resort to special prayer when we are
 under peculiar trial, or contemplate fresh endeavours for the
 Master's glory? Lord Jesus, teach us to pray.

29713
 November 13                                              Evening

 \\"Men ought always to pray."\\
                                                      --Luke 18:1

    If \\men\\ ought always to pray and not to faint, much more
 Christian men. Jesus has sent his church into the world on the
 same errand upon which he himself came, and this mission
 includes intercession. What if I say that the church is the
 world's priest? Creation is dumb, but the church is to find a
 mouth for it. It is the church's high privilege to pray with
 acceptance. The door of grace is always open for her petitions,
 and they never return empty-handed. The veil was rent \\for\\
 \\her\\, the blood was sprinkled upon the altar \\for her\\, God
 constantly invites her to ask what she wills. Will she refuse
 the privilege which angels might envy her? Is she not the bride
 of Christ? May she not go in unto her King at every hour? Shall
 she allow the precious privilege to be unused? The church always
 has need for prayer. There are always some in her midst who are
 declining, or falling into open sin. There are lambs to be
 prayed for, that they may be carried in Christ's bosom? the
 strong, lest they grow presumptuous; and the weak, lest they
 become despairing. If we kept up prayer-meetings four-and-twenty
 hours in the day, all the days in the year, we might never be
 without a special subject for supplication. Are we ever without
 the sick and the poor, the afflicted and the wavering? Are we
 ever without those who seek the conversion of relatives, the
 reclaiming of back-sliders, or the salvation of the depraved?
 Nay, with congregations constantly gathering, with ministers
 always preaching, with millions of sinners lying dead in
 trespasses and sins; in a country over which the darkness of
 Romanism is certainly descending; in a world full of idols,
 cruelties, devilries, if the church doth not pray, how shall she
 excuse her base neglect of the commission of her loving Lord?
 Let the church be constant in supplication, let every private
 believer cast his mite of prayer into the treasury.

29714
 November 14                                              Evening

 \\"And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to\\
 \\give the younger before the firstborn."\\
                                                  --Genesis 29:26

    We do not excuse Laban for his dishonesty, but we scruple not
 to learn from the custom which he quoted as his excuse. There
 are some things which must be taken in order, and if we would
 win the second we must secure the first. The second may be the
 more lovely in our eyes, but the rule of the heavenly country
 must stand, and the elder must be married first. For instance,
 many men desire the beautiful and well-favoured Rachel of joy
 and peace in believing, but they must first be wedded to the
 tender-eyed Leah of repentance. Every one falls in love with
 happiness, and many would cheerfully serve twice seven years to
 enjoy it, but according to the rule of the Lord's kingdom, the
 Leah of real holiness must be beloved of our soul before the
 Rachel of true happiness can be attained. Heaven stands not
 first but second, and only by persevering to the end can we win
 a portion in it. The cross must be carried before the crown can
 be worn. We must follow our Lord in his humiliation, or we shall
 never rest with him in glory.

    My soul, what sayest thou, art thou so vain as to hope to
 break through the heavenly rule? Dost thou hope for reward
 without labour, or honour without toil? Dismiss the idle
 expectation, and be content to take the ill-favoured things for
 the sake of the sweet love of Jesus, which will recompense thee
 for all. In such a spirit, labouring and suffering, thou wilt
 find bitters grow sweet, and hard things easy. Like Jacob, thy
 years of service will seem unto thee but a few days for the love
 thou hast to Jesus; and when the dear hour of the wedding feast
 shall come, all thy toils shall be as though they had never
 been--an hour with Jesus will make up for ages of pain and
 labour.

              Jesus, to win thyself so fair,
              Thy cross I will with gladness bear:
              Since so the rules of heaven ordain,
              The first I'll wed the next to gain.

29715
 November 15                                              Evening

 \\"Strengthen, O God, that which thou hast wrought for us."\\
                                                    --Psalm 68:28

    It is our wisdom, as well as our necessity, to beseech God
 continually to strengthen that which he has wrought in us. It is
 because of their neglect in this, that many Christians may blame
 themselves for those trials and afflictions of spirit which
 arise from unbelief. It is true that Satan seeks to flood the
 fair garden of the heart and make it a scene of desolation, but
 it is also true that many Christians leave open the sluice-gates
 themselves, and let in the dreadful deluge through carelessness
 and want of prayer to their strong Helper. We often forget that
 the Author of our faith must be the Preserver of it also. The
 lamp which was burning in the temple was never allowed to go
 out, but it had to be daily replenished with fresh oil; in like
 manner, our faith can only live by being sustained with the oil
 of grace, and we can only obtain this from God himself. Foolish
 virgins we shall prove, if we do not secure the needed
 sustenance for our lamps. He who built the world upholds it, or
 it would fall in one tremendous crash; he who made us Christians
 must maintain us by his Spirit, or our ruin will be speedy and
 final. Let us, then, evening by evening, go to our Lord for the
 grace and strength we need. We have a strong argument to plead,
 for it is \\his own work of grace\\ which we ask him to
 strengthen--"\\that which thou hast wrought for us\\." Think you
 he will fail to protect and sustain that? Only let your faith
 take hold of his strength, and all the powers of darkness, led
 on by the master fiend of hell, cannot cast a cloud or shadow
 over your joy and peace. Why faint when you may be strong? Why
 suffer defeat when you may conquer? Oh! take your wavering
 faith and drooping graces to him who can revive and replenish
 them, and earnestly pray, "Strengthen, O God, that which thou
 hast wrought for us."

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