JULY 29.-"Receive with meekness the ingrafted word."—James i. 21.

NOTHING is spoken of in the Scripture more commonly or with more commendation than meekness. It is often made the subject of promise. We read, "The meek will he guide in judgment: The meek will he teach his way:" "He will beautify the meek with salvation:" "The meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." It is also frequently enjoined in a way of duty. Indeed it would seem that no part of our Christian calling can be perfectly or properly discharged without it. If we would heal the backslider, we are to do it "in the spirit of meekness." If we would teach gainsayers, "in meekness we are to instruct those that oppose themselves." And if we would receive the ingrafted word, we must receive it "with meekness." This regards the understanding, the heart, and the life.

It requires the acquiescence of the understanding, with regard to the mysteries of the Gospel-This will keep us from proud cavils and reasonings; and cast down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. After God has spoken we shall not ask, "How can these things be?" All our concern with the Scripture will be to inquire, Is this the word of God? and what does it really contain? For nothing should then remain but the most implicit assent. We make God a liar if we do not believe what he affirms; and because he affirms it. Our faith does not honour his testimony if it must be founded on knowledge. If on your reporting any thing, concerning, for instance, a place, a person should say, I will believe it as soon as I have been there and seen for myself; would you not deem this an insult, either to your knowledge or veracity? Yet if we believe the testimony of man, the testimony of God is greater. Men may delude us; but it is impossible for God to lie. We must therefore "receive the kingdom of heaven as a little child;" who never sets up himself against the judgment of his father, or questions the truth of his decisions: or, as the Apostle says, we must "become fools that we may be wise." Is this degrading my understanding? It is improving, perfecting it; it adds God's intelligence to my own-“ In his light we see light."

It requires also the submission of the heart, as to the provisions of the Gospel. Speaking of the Jews, the Apostle says, "They did not submit themselves to the righteousness which is of God; for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." The word seems strange. Should we say, a subject did not submit himself to accept of an invitation to the king's table? Was there ever an instance in which, when a rebel taken in arms, and condemmed to die, was presented with a pardon, accompanied with a promise of more than restoration to all his former estate, he refused the mercy? and his sovereign was constrained to send his servants and his son to beseech him to submit? Yet God beseeches sinners by us; and we pray them in Christ's stead to be reconciled unto God. And herein appears not only the insensibility of man, but the pride of his yet self-righteous heart. He wishes to be saved in his own way, and to be his own Saviour. He revolts at the

thought of being received on the same terms with the chief of sinners; to have nothing to glory in before God; to have no hand meritoriously in the work, and no share of the glory; to declare, when he has done all that is commanded, I am an unprofitable servant; and to cry to the last, God be merciful to me a sinnerHe stumbles at this stumbling-stone. Did Naaman receive with meekness the order to wash seven times in Jordan and be clean? Did not the homely simplicity of the remedy fill him with resentment; so that he was turning away in a rage, and would have missed the cure had not his servants prevailed upon him to submit-And he washed and was healed. It is no easy thing to induce men to bow to the sovereign and abasing method which God has appointed for our relief: but when we are pressed with a deep sense of the abso- ! lute necessity of the plan, and we are enabled to see a little of its infinite excellency, we willingly and gratefully accept of the graceapprove of it-glory in it-and resolve to glory in nothing else.

It no less requires the obedience of the life, as to the authority of the Gospel. For the Gospel not only assails self, but sin: it has not only the relief of a remedy, but the force of a law; and "whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the word, this man shall be blessed in his deed." We naturally affect independence; and our language is, "Who is the Lord that we should obey his voice?" "With our tongues will we prevail, our lips are our own; who is Lord over us?" But this disposition must be subdued. We must deny ourselves, and choose the Lord for our master. We must resign ourselves entirely to his pleasure, asking, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And without dictation, without murmuring or repining, without choice or preference as to the way in which we are to serve him, we shall implicitly refer ourselves to his will, and say, "Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth."

To us is the word of this salvation sent. We have it; we read it; we hear it. Do we thus meekly receive it? Do we honour it with our confidence? Do we bend to its designs? Do we yield to its demands? Do we obey from the heart the form of doctrine delivered us? Or do we receive the grace of God in vain?

JULY 30.-"I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life."-Rev. xxi. 6.

AND what can this fountain be, but himself? He is not a vessel or a reservoir, which, however capacious, is yet limited, and would soon be drained dry by continual drawing. But he is a fountain always full, always flowing, always fresh. For the streams poured forth from a fountain are very distinguishable from the stagnant contents of a pool: the latter are dead; the former, living water. And what is this water of life which springs from himself, but the blessings of the Gospel, the influences of his Holy Spirit, or, as the Scripture calls it, "the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ ?" Between this and living water there is an obvious and striking analogy. Each is of unspeakable importance: the one is as essential in the moral as the other in the material world. Yea, the one is more necessary to the soul than the other is to the body. There have been instances VOL. II.

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in which physical life has been maintained for a long time (as in the case of Moses and Elias) without drinking, as well as without eating: but for the spiritual life to exist for a moment without the grace that is in Christ Jesus, is a miracle which never has been, and never will be accomplished. Does water soften? His grace makes the heart soft; and turns the very stone to flesh. Does water purify? "I will sprinkle," says he, "clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean from all your filthiness and from all your idols will I cleanse you." Does water fertilize? The man whose hope the Lord is, is likened to a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit." In what a condition would the earth be if the springs were exhausted, and the rivers dried up, or if rain was withholden for a few months only! Nothing can equal the barrenness of a soul devoid of divine grace-But this water of life quickens what was dead before, and produces all the fruits of righteousness. The comparison could be pursued—But the particular allusion in our text remains. How welcome is cold water to a thirsty soul! How comfortable to the Jews, who had been three days and without water to drink, were the gushings from the rock! Moses therefore says, "He brought them honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock"-He speaks in reference to their feelingsIt was not oil or honey; but it was as sweet as the one, and as rich as the other, to persons dying with thirst. "I opened my mouth and panted," says David, "for I longed for thy salvation." "As the hart panteth for the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God." Such desires as these grace is necessary to satisfy: and grace can satisfy them. "He that believeth on me shall never thirst.” He will never thirst in vain for the blessings he desires; while his thirst after other things, for which he raged before, is quenched, and he learns, in whatsoever state he is, therewith to be content.

Even the image is encouraging. By employing water to hold forth the blessings of salvation, our Lord intimates that they are plenteous, and open to approach without money and without price. Surely a nobleman would not forbid a poor traveller, in his weary journey, to kneel down and drink of the ample river that meandered through his estate. But Jesus says, I will "give" of the fountain of the water of life-yea, he goes further, and says, I will give "freely." Surely this is enough—Yet it is not too much for the purpose. He knows the disposition there is in man, who, ever since the Fall, is as proud as he is poor; and always thinks of deserving; and would rather buy than beg. He also knows what strong consolation is necessary to relieve the conscience of an awakened sinner, pressed down by a sense of depravity and guilt. He feels that he has nothing to pay or to promise-And he is assured that he needs nothing. "As your penury is such that you have no price to offer, my greatness, my goodness is such that I disdain to require any. You are as welcome as you are unworthy. My blessings are too valuable to be purchased-I give them freely."

Hence too we may observe the only requisite in the receiver. It is not the performance of any hard condition, nor the possession of any meritorious qualification-It is only want and desire; to him

that "is athirst" I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely. This is indeed specified; but not in a way of desert or recommendation. It is not mentioned as the cause of the relief, but the character of the relieved. And it is wisely specified. Such persons as these are the very persons who are likely to exclude themselves, fearing, as they feel their unworthiness, the blessing cannot be designed for them. He therefore mentions them, so to speak, even by name; and in addressing them, seizes the very thing from which they despond, to minister to their hope. To which we may add, that without this thirst the promise would be no promise; the blessing no blessing-For such only can value it. The full soul loatheth the honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet. What is a physician to them that are whole? or a refuge to them that are safe? Water is every thing to the thirsty; but to others the stream runs by uninvitingly and in vain. And how many are there who have no sense of their wants, and no desire after the Saviour!

But the cry of others is, Remember me, O Lord, with the favour thou bearest unto thy people, and visit me with thy salvation. No voice but his can relieve your fears. No joy but his can satisfy your souls. You long for him as the Sanctifier as well as the Redeemer; and you wait for him more than they that watch for the morning. This is a proof of something good, and a pledge of something better. Refuse not to be comforted. Go immediately and drink. And drink largely. There is enough and to spare. And while you partake, invite others, and bring them to drink of the rivers of his pleasures. And look forward to the hour when you shall ascend to the springhead itself. There you shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on you, or any heat-For the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall feed you, and shall lead you unto fountains of waters-And God shall wipe away all tears from

your eyes.

JULY 31.-"And the Lord said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven."-Exod. xvii. 14.

THIS is the first time any mention is made in the Sacred History of writing. It was not known in the earlier ages. It does not appear that the Patriarchs were acquainted with it. And simple and familiar as the art now seems, it is difficult, if not imposible to account for it without a divine origin. Wakefield, a fine scholar, though an erroneous divine and a radical politician, and far from any leaning to enthusiasm, yet after much reflection has contended that it must have been derived at first from a divine communication. However this may be, it was a most wonderful invention. What pleasures and advantages have been derived from it! How has the lover blessed the use of letters! How thankful has friendship been for news from a far country, which has been like cold water to a thirsty soul! By alphabetical characters improvements have been perserved from age to age, and additions been constantly making to the general stock of knowledge. But how much do we owe to it as Christians! What is the "Scripture" but the writing?

All that relieves our spiritual wants and supports our eternal hope has reached us, and continues to delight us by means of what holy men wrote as they were moved by the Holy Ghost—

"Our nation reads his written word,

That book of life, that sure record:
The bright inheritance of heaven
Is by the sweet conveyance given."

It is probable that from this time Moses began to keep a journal of striking and useful occurrences. Great men have frequently done the same for intellectual; and good men for religious purposes. Diaries were formerly much more common among pious people than they now are. This is to be lamented; for though their frequent publication was unnecessary, and their minuteness often rendered them exceptionable, they served to promote self-attention and acquaintance; and recorded events and circumstances with the impresions they produced at the time, which could not be reviewed without some utility. Whatever may be said of the particular mode, the thing itself is of importance. If we are to be affected with past transactions, and views, and feelings, they must be in some way secured and retained: when buried in forgetfulness they can have no influence to reprove or encourage, to excite gratitude or to increase confidence. And as, like the Jews, we are liable, and alas! prone to forget the works of the Lord and the wonders which he has shown us, we should write them, if not as Moses was enjoined to do, in a book, yet in the fleshly tables of our hearts. "O my people,” says God, "remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the Lord." And when his disciples seemed ready to despond because they had only one loaf on board, our Lord said to them, "Remember ye not the miracle the five barley loaves and the two small fishes, and how many of baskets full of fragments ye took up?" "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits."

A reason is assigned for the recording and rehearsing of this transaction in a dreadful menace: "For I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven." So highly did God resent the injury intended against his people. So dear are they to him, and so truly are they one with him, that he who toucheth them toucheth the apple of his eye. Let those who oppose them tremble-"I will curse him that curseth thee."

The threatening was executed partially by Saul; but fully by David, after whose time we read no more of the Amalekites as a people. For some stragglers of course escaped and survived, and were to be met with in various countries. Haman, whose mortified ambition led him to contrive the destruction of the Jews, was one of this detested and exterminated nation.

The Scripture cannot be broken. Whatever improbabilities appear, whatever difficulties stand in the way, whatever delays intervene, God's counsels of old are faithfulness and truth, and heaven and earth shall pass away sooner than one jot or tittle of his word shall fail. This applies to the destruction of the wicked, as well as to the salvation of the righteous. And it applies not only to "And nations, but to individuals. Behold a signal instance.