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2. When we have devoted ourselves to his service [If we would know "whose we are," we must enquire, "whom we serve?" for "to whomsoever we yield ourselves servants to obey, his servants we are, whom we obey"—If our consciences testify that we have solemnly dedicated ourselves to God, we may boldly say with David, "O God, thou art my God"-We may be sure that our "Beloved is ours, when we are his❞—]

When this point is satisfactorily settled in our minds we may with more comfort enquire

II. To what extent we may expect communications from him?

That God who pours out his benefits upon the evil and unthankful, is far more abundant in kindness towards his own children-He will give us

1. According to our necessities

[If we desire temporal things, "we shall want no manner of thing that is good"-If spiritual blessings be sought after, there is not any thing we can need, which shall not be bestowed upon us in the time and measure that infinite wisdom sees to be best for us-Are we wretched and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked? He will both suit his gifts to our necessities; and make the very depth of our misery the measure of his own mercy-]

2. According to the riches of his own grace

[Let us survey all the tokens of his bounty on earth, and contemplate all the expressions of his love in heaven; let us, go farther, and consider the incomprehensible fulness of all the good that is in him as the fountain; and then shall we find the true measure of his liberality to his children-If any partake of his goodness in a lower degree, it is, "not because they are straitened in him, but because they are straitened in their own bowels"-]

That none may lose these blessings through ignorance, we proceed to state

III. By what channel they shall be conveyed to us?

With man in innocence God communed face to face: but, whatever he bestows upon us in our fallen state, he communicates it

1. Through Christ as our mediator

["God in himself is a consuming fire;" nor is it possible

d Rom. vi. 16.

e Rev. iii. 18

for us to approach him but through Jesus our mediatorNeither our piety towards him, nor our liberality towards his saints, can render him our debtor; (yea, rather, the more we do for him, the more we are indebted to him) if we receive any thing from God, it must come as the purchase of Christ's blood, and as the consequence of his prevailing intercession-]

2. By Christ as our head

[It is "in Christ that all fulness dwells"-He has "received gifts for the rebellious," and imparts them to whomsoever he will: and it is "out of his fulness that we must receive"-He is the head of the church, and his people are his members; and as every member is nourished by its union with the head, so it is by grace derived from him that we are to increase with the increase of God-]

This important subject may teach us

1. Contentment in ourselves

[What cause can he possibly have for discontent, who has God for his God, and an express promise that all his need shall be supplied?-What if he have not all that flesh and blood might desire, shall he repine? Surely he should say with the apostle, "I have learned, in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content"-We are like minors at present, and limited to the measure which our Father sees best for us: but in due time we shall receive the full inheritance-]

2. Liberality to others

[God condescends to acknowledge all that is given by us in charity, as "lent to himself;" and he pledges himself to "repay it" He even prescribes the honouring of him with our first-fruits as the means of securing to ourselves an abundant harvest, and of laying up in store a good foundation against the time to come, that we may lay hold on eternal lifeh -We must not indeed suppose that our alms-deeds can merit any thing at the hand of God-Nevertheless, if they be a free-will offering, they are "an odour to him, and a sacrifice of a sweet-smelling savour"-Let then the bounty of God to us, whether experienced, or expected, be a motive for liberality to our fellow-creatures-And let us gladly of our abundance minister to their necessities, that God in all things may be glorified through Christ Jesus-]

3. Dependence on God

[God has not only engaged to give his people whatsoever

f Col. ii. 19.

Prov. iii. 9, 10. with 1 Tim. vi. 17, 18.

* Ver. 12.

they need, but on many occasions has interposed in a miraculous manner to fulfil his word-And, rather than violate his truth in any instance, he would feed us with bread from heaven, and water from a rock; he would make the ravens to bring us meat, or our barrel and cruise to supply us with an undiminished store-He has said that "the needy shall not always be forgotten, nor the expectation of the poor perish for ever"-Let us then never doubt his word; but expect that he will supply us daily with daily bread-Let us trust in him both for body, and soul; and, in whatever temporary straits we be, let us rest assured that there is "much goodness laid up for them that fear him," and that "he will do for us exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think"-]

DXXXIX. PROMISES TO THE UPRIGHT.

Ps. lxxxiv. 11. The Lord God is a sun and a shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: and no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

THE choice, which every true Christian makes, af. fords matter of astonishment to the ungodly world-He prefers a life of godliness with all the odium attached to it, before all the pleasures and honours which he could possibly enjoy in the ways of sin-They, who look no further than to the concerns of time and sense, are amazed that so many sacrifices should be made without any visible recompense-Doubtless the choice of Moses must have been deemed absurd in the palace of Pharaoh; a as that also, which David deliberately made, must have been among his ungodly courtiers-But the reason assigned for it was sufficient to justify him in the eyes of every!rational being

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His words lead us to shew

I. The character of true Christians

Though integrity in our dealings with man is an essential part of true uprightness, yet it is far from being the whole of what is comprehended in that term-Many act

a Heb. xi. 24-26.

b" I had rather," &c. "For," &c.

honestly from a mere sense of honour, while they pay no regard at all to their duties towards God-But sincere Christians act in a very different manner—

They search out their duty diligently

[A child of God will not conclude hastily that he knows his duty-He is aware of the deceitfulness of sin, and the wickedness of his own heart-He knows that, if he blindly follow the dictates of an unenlightened conscience, he may commit murder itself under the idea of doing God services -He therefore desires to have his judgment informed-For this end he reads the holy scriptures, and begs the Spirit of God to guide him into all truth-He is glad of instruction and réproof from his fellow-creatures, that he may be preserved from error-And the one desire of his heart is, to be freed from every undue bias, and to fulfil in all things the will of God-]

They perform it uniformly

[Every true Christian labours to do unto others as he would have others do to him-But he does not rest satisfied with this He strives to maintain the mastery over all his motives and principles of action-He endeavours to have his tempers regulated according to the word of God, and the example of his Lord and Saviour-He moreover watches unto secret prayer-He lives a life of communion with God, and of dependence on God-He would not make any exceptions or reserves-He longs to be free both from partiality and hypocrisy And desires rather to descend from a throne to the place of a door-keeper in God's house for the maintenance of his integrity, than to rise from the place of a door-keeper to a throne through the smallest violation of his duty"—He says with David, I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right, and I hate every false waye-And with him also he prays, "O that my ways may be directed to keep thy statutes!"]

What delight God has in such characters we may see, if we consider

II. What God is to them

There is scarcely any thing noble or useful in the sphere of nature or of art, which is not used to illustrate the goodness of God towards his people-To the upright he will be

John xvi. 2. Acts. xxvi 9. * Ps. cxix, 128.

d Ver. 10.

f Ib. ver. 3.

1. A sun

[How welcome is the sun to one who has been groping his dubious way during a long and dreary nights-His path is now made clear, and he is enabled to avoid the stumblingblocks which before obstructed his progress-Nor are its beams less refreshing to his body, than its light is useful to his feetHe now shakes off the anxieties and cares with which he was before disquieted-He feels his spirit exhilarated; and prosecutes his journey with ease and pleasure Thus does God arise on those who have been sincerely occupied in doing his will-He causes light to arise in the darkness Even when they were in darkness, he was a light unto them; but now he dispels all the clouds, and shines upon them with healing in his beams-How sweet the change when the light of God's countenance is thus lifted up upon them!-How plain is now the way of duty, which before was dark and intricate! And how pleasant is it to "run the way of his commandments, now that their feet are set at liberty!"-]

2. A shield

[The more upright they are, the more will Satan and the world combine against them-Men will strike at them with the sword of persecution; and Satan will cast at them the fiery darts of temptation-But God will "compass them with his favour as with a shield"-If they be wounded, he will heal them again, and overrule their momentary pain for their far greater advantage-As for their head, he will surely protect it in the day of battle-He will perfectly secure them from every fatal blow-Nor shall any weapon, that is formed against them, be ever suffered finally to prosper1-]

Whilst God himself thus becomes their light and protection, he informs us further

III. What he will do for them
He will give them grace

[Certain it is that he must have given them grace before, or else they never would have been able to attain to real uprightness-But, as their conflicts increase, he will give them more gracem-As particular occasions call for it, he will give them seasonable grace, even in the very time of need And if their temptations should exceed all that ever were experienced by man, he will give them grace sufficient.

This metaphor must not be taken in its full extent, but only in feference to a traveller.

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b Ps. cxii. 4.
1 Isai. liv. 17.
• 2 Cor. xii. 9.

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