Daily Bread.

FRIDAY.

"Who will show us any good? Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us."-Ps. iv. 6.

God all my gloomy path shall cheer,
And banish ev'ry painful fear

That can my soul invade:

Should earth and hell against me join,
The beamings of his love divine

Would give me sovereign aid.

Let our house be a prison-a dungeon; but let the light of God's countenance shine in at some little opening, and that shall make it a palace-a courta heaven! Let our bread be the bread of affliction, and our tears be our drink; but let the light of his countenance shine upon us, and that bread shall be changed into the food of angels, and that water turned into wine! If God be our enemy, nothing can secure us; if God be our friend, nothing can hurt us. Let Pharaoh be behind, the Red Sea before, the mountains on each side-the Israelites can still find a way; and when there is no other way to escape a danger, a Christian can go by heaven!-Old Author.

SATURDAY.

"Let your light shine before men."-MATT. v. 16.
So let your lips and lives express
The holy Gospel you profess;

That men may see your virtues shine,
And own the doctrine is divine.

What badge, what cognizance hast thou, to make it known that thou art God's? A human natureGospel ordinances and privileges? and so have thousands had who are now in hell. Wherein is thy likeness and similitude unto God? Possibly, thou resemblest him in thy knowledge and understanding; and hast a great measure of wisdom and prudence bestowed upon thee: possibly, thou resemblest him likewise in thy beneficence, and art kind and charitable, and helpful to those who stand in need of thee. It is well. But yet this is not that image that God will own thee by. He requires a nearer resemblance of himself, in thy holiness and purity; and whatsoever else thou mayest think to produce will stand thee in no stead; for "without holiness no man shall see God."-Hopkins.

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SABBATH.

Keep the Sabbath-day to sanctify it. as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee."-DEUT. v, 12.

Ye vain engrossing thoughts, away! The Lord demands our hearts this day; From earthly trifles bids us fly, And seek the glories of the sky: We come, O Lord, at thy decree, To yield our willing hearts to thee. Attend diligently on ordinances; yet beware of putting ordinances in God's stead. Hath not thy heart said, "I will go hear such a man, and get comfort and get strength?" No wonder that you feel yourself weak, barren, and unfruitful. How should means and ministers help thy soul, except the Lord help? Christ himself keeps the key of his wine cellar. His ministering servants cannot so much as make you drink when you come to his house; and therefore, poor soul, stop not short of Christ, but press through all the crowd of ordinances, and ask to see Jesus, to speak to Jesus, and to touch him; so will virtue come out from him to thee.-Gurnull,

MONDAY.

"In everything give thanks."-1 THESS. v. 18. Either God's hand preserves from pain, Or, if I feel it, heals again;

From Satan's malice shields my breast,
Or over-rules it for the best.

To bloss God for mercies is the way to increase them; to bless him for miseries is the way to remove them. No good lives so long as that which is thankfully improved; no evil dies so soon as that which is patiently endured.-Dyer.

TUESDAY.

Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven."-MATT. vi. 20.
Lord, draw my best affections hence,

Above this world of sin and sense;
Cause them to soar above the skies,
And rest not till to thee they rise.

O precious treasure!-a treasure not liable to corruption by moths or rust-a treasure which none can steal. Never did any kingdom afford such a precious treasure, nor a treasure of such variety; for he that overcometh shall inherit all things." This is the peculiar treasure of those who inherit the kingdom of heaven. Now they are rich in hope; but then they will have their riches in hand. Now all things are theirs in respect of right; then all shall be theirs in possession. They may go for ever through Immanuel's Land, and behold the glory and riches thereof, with the satisfying thought that all they see is their own. It is a pity those should ever be uneasy under the want of earthly good things, who may be sure they shall inherit all things at length.-Boston.

WEDNESDAY.

"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness."-MATT. v. G.

Dear fountain of delight unknown!
No longer sink below the brim;
But overflow, and pour me down

A living and life-giving stream!
For sure, of all the plants that share
The notice of thy Father's eye.
None proves less grateful to his care,

Or yields him meaner fruit than 1. Oh! blessed hunger, that ends always in fulness. I am sorry that I can but hunger, and yet I would not be full; for the blessing is promised to the hungry. Give me more food; but so as I may hunger Let me hunger more, and I know I shall be satisfied.-Hall.

more.

THURSDAY.

"Be content with such things as ye have."-HEB, xiii. 5.
Art thou a sinner, soul? (He said),
Then how canst thou complain?
How light thy troubles here, if weigh'd
With everlasting pain?

If thou of murm'ring wouldst be cured,
Compare thy griefs with mine;
Think what my love for thee endured,
And thou wilt not repine.

I should marvel that the covetous man can still be poor, when the rich man is still covetous, but that I see a poor man can be content, when the contented man is only rich; the one wanting in his store, while the other is stored in his wants. I see, then, we are not rich or poor by what we possess, but by what we desire. For he is not rich that hath much, but he that hath enough: nor he poor that hath but little, but he that wants more. If God, then, make me rich by store, I will not impoverish myself by covetousness; but if he make me poor by want, I will enrich myself by content.- Warwick.

Edinburgh: Printed and Published by JOHN JOHNSTONE, Hunter Square. London: K. GROOMBRIDGE & SONS, Glasgow: J. R. M'NAIR & Co.; and to be had by order of all Booksellers throughout the Kingdom.

this company, that it might kindle love in every sinner's heart; and as you would collect the sun's rays in the focus of a burning-glass, may the rays of the love of God be so collected in the burning-glass of the Gospel; in the cross of Christ-in Christ himself--may that love be so collected and concentrated as to warm, and warming melt, every sinner's soul! This I can say, brethren, God has no wish that his should be a reign of terror; if so, it is your own choice, and must be your own blame! God has no wish that his should be any but a reign of love. And if any one ask me how I know that God would rather draw him to heaven than drive him to hell? I tell him to look to the cross at Calvary. I see traced there in lines of blood, written with tears, inscribed in letters as of fire, that "God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked-is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance!"

Now, let me turn your attention to the closing words of this most beautiful, most precious passage of Scripture-one which shows us the security which those enjoy who are real believers —who have received the Gospel into their hearts, and whose lives are conformed to the pattern of Christ. And who is there that would not wish to be a Christian? Who would not gladly suffer all which the apostle suffered, to have a hope so clear and bright-a confidence so perfect, and a persuasion so strong, that nothing can ever separate him from the love of Christ? No; not fear of death, nor the love of life, nor evil angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor the height of prosperity, nor the depth of adversity, nor anything else, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is bestowed upon us through Christ Jesus our Lord! There are just two points which we shall touch

First, The love of God; and, secondly, The manner in which that love is manifested.

I. Then, the love of God. Now, a guilty conscience clothes nature in sackcloth; a guilty conscience will make the sweetest cup bitter; a guilty conscience will people the night with spectres; a guilty conscience will turn a downy pillow into a bed of thorns; and a guilty conscience will invest the loveliest being, God himself, in the clothing of terror and fear. So it was with Adam when God said to him, "Where art thou?" He had been accustomed, as a child who hears his father's voice and step, to run with love and confidence to meet him; but now he flees. And why? Because he had a guilty conscience! His conscience told him he had done wrong-his memory recalled the sentence: "Thou shalt surely die!" And the voice of God was heard as the voice of the executioner, when he comes to call the criminal to take his place upon the gallows. Now, brethren, I don't wonder at that; because Adam knew nothing of God's love in

Christ Jesus. But for any man in this house to flee when God calls on him, is most monstrous, and unnatural, and unreasonable! Men act towards God as if God's voice were never heard but in the thunders of Sinai-they act towards God as if he made his creatures only to destroy them-they act as if God was like some earthly fathers, who live, not to bless, but to curse their children.

I could bring you a heathen idol of frightful form and hideous colours, invested with horrid attributes; and I say, the man, be he preacher or not, who invests Jehovah with nothing but the attributes of repulsive terror, that man does Jehovah more injustice than the blinded Pagan, who makes a horrid god, and trembles before the work of his own hands. God has no wish to be a God of terror to any one within these walls. The God of that Bible is a God of love. Love is, so to speak, the essence and element of divinity! The Bible does not say, God is justice; it does not say, God is holiness; it does not say, God is truth; but it does say, God is love!

And I venture to say that, among you in this city, there is not a father so fond of his children as God would be of you, would you only come to him; and the fondest, happiest father on earth would not be so happy in his own family as God would be in us. And what is this fond and faithful earthly parent but a dim and distant image of our ever-loving, everliving, and everlasting Father in heaven? But some may say, Does not God punish sinners! Very true; yet God has no pleasure in punishing sinners-God has no pleasure in sentencing any man to wrath! Do you suppose a king, who has a heart like other men, has pleasure in signing away the felon's life?-he has dropped a tear of pity on the very death-warrant that he signed! There was an ancient Roman who condemned his own son to die; he was the judge as well as father of the culprit. Painful, position! The voice of duty prevailed over that of nature, and Brutus gave his son to die! yet I believe, if his own life could have saved his son, he would gladly have laid it down. Did Jesus destroy Jerusalem? Very true; but he wept over the city he destroyed!--he would have saved her, if she would have been saved. And I believe God never consigned an immortal spirit to eternal misery but, in a sense, he did it unwillingly; for "God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."

Now, brethren, men think God hates them, and they hate him for it. It is a great mistake. God hates no man; the hatred is all your own. There is no hatred in yon dying Son, and none in yon gentle Spirit. Men fly, as if God pursued them with his justice. With his justice he will pursue them; but first he pursues them with his love! What would you think of a man flying from a pardon into the arms of his exe cutioner?-flying from a place of safety into the burning fire? Ah! that is the man who flies

from God! and I say, men never made a more monstrous mistake than when, confounding the sinner and his sin, they think he hates the sinner who but hates the sin. Many people fancy that God loves you, because Christ died for you. No such thing! The tree of Calvary grew from the love of God. This love was the root, not the fruit, of the tree. God did not love because Jesus died; but Jesus died because God loved. "God so loved the world”—and remember when he so loved the world, he so loved you-" that he gave up his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life!" Bear, then, this in mind of the love of God, that Christ is not the root, but the fruit-not the fountain, but the streamnot the price, but the gift of love. In love he spared not his own Son; and shall he not, who spared not his own Son, with him also "freely give us all things?" Let us now turn-—

II. To the manifestation of this love, here said to be "the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." It is seen in Christ-it is shown in Christ-it is sent by Christ. You cannot see God from any position as a God of love, but standing on the righteousness, and looking on the face of Jesus.

The love of God! Why, brethren, that is a vast subject-a subject which would not occupy us for hours, but shall occupy the redeemed for eternity! It is the constant theme both of the damned and the redeemed-of the Lost and of the saved. The lost, as they toss on their fiery bed, restlessly and unavailingly trying to ease their position, and relieve their pain-ah! they think of the love of Christof many a precious Sabbath and many a Gospel sermon, when that love was offered; and now they wonder and curse the madness, the blindness, which rejected it. And what is [spoken and sung of in the hymns of heaven? The love of God in Christ Jesus!"-this is the sweetest, loftiest, noblest, theme that tongue can speak of, pen can write of, mind can think of, harp can praise, or heart can feel! To preach it, is the office of minisiters; to embrace it, is the salvation of sinners; to despise it, is the loss of souls; and to prefer to it the love of sin, is the highest insult to Jehovah. To know it lost, is the bitterest curse of hell; to know it gained, the highest happiness of heaven. Well inay we say of the love of God what Luther said of music: "If I were to speak of it, I would not know where to begin, and I would not know when to end!"

Let us now consider one or two things belonging to this love. First, Its Author. It is celestial-it is more; the love of angels is celestial, but this love is divine-eternal! The seat of this love is the bosom of Divinity-the heart of the everlasting God. What a wonderful thought, that from the bosom of a pure Divinity love should descend on us! Not the love of an earthly father, that shall be short and transitory, but the endless love of Him who garnished

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the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth—who created worlds by the word of his mouth, and shall consume them by the breath of his lips!

Then, after looking at its Author, turn your eye, and, secondly, look at its objects. Ah! what a distance there, between the loving and the loved! What a deep descent that love accomplished, when it descended on fallen man! There is a common proverb, that "Like draws to like;" but how unlike-a holy God and his sinful, polluted creatures! No phenomenon in nature were half so wonderful as this-the most marvellous spectacle a universe ever saw! Were the fire to freeze, the snow to burn, the sun with his noon-day beams to congeal the sea, it were far less wonderful than this! Were a mother to smite the sucking infant at her breast, and cast it out from her heart's affection-the hatred, indeed, of all the mothers of earth to their own offspring, horrible and hateful as that would be, to my eye that monstrous sight were less amazing far than this most amazing spectacle of the love of God descending upon us. Where he might have smitten, he heals; where he might have punished, he pardons; and calls to heaven when he might have cast to hell. And the question that has never been answered is this: What did God see in you and me to love? "Oh! the height, and depth, and breadth, and length, of the love of God! It passeth knowledge. Herein, indeed, is love; not that we loved God, but he loved us!"

Now, turn we from its Author, and from its objects, and, see, thirdly, its end. What was it this love had in view? A most beneficent and benevolent end!-to conquer the king of terrors, him also called "the terror of kings." In its grave, to revive the dust-to sweeten the cup of misery-to pluck the sting from conscience to wash the polluted soul-to rebuild a ruined spirit-to bear far and for ever away yon black curse of sin-to save the soul from hell, and save the soul for heaven-that was the end! The Bible speaks of a man dying as a fool dieth; and I say Christ did not die as a fool dieth. The end was worthy for God's Son to die; and, brethren, that that end should be accomplished in you and me is the one grand, only end worth living for; and it's worthy dying for.

Let us look for a moment, fourthly, at the person in whom this love was shown. We have seen that the author of this love was God -that its objects were poor, wretched, sinful men-that its end was great and glorious. Paul speaks of "this great salvation"-great in its author-great in its object-great in its price; and it will be great in its ultimate and eternal end! Let us now look at the person in whom this love was shown the love of God which is," not in angels or archangels, cherubim or seraphim-not in man, but "the love of God in Christ Jesus." This is precious love in a precious vessel! wine of life in a cup of gold! fra

grant incense in an alabaster box! a jewel in a casket worthy of its gem!-the love of God in Jesus Christ! And, brethren, who is Jesus Christ? The Son-the dear Son-the only Son -the only begotten and well-beloved Son of his own Father! And can you sit like stocks and stones, and hear of such a love sent through such a person? God's own Son is the channel through which it flows. The sovereign may send a peer as his messenger of mercy; but here God sends a prince. The noble may send, as the bearer of his charity, a liveried servant; but here God sends his Son; and, mark you, the Son of God, though a messenger, is more than a messenger. A messenger brings a pardon; but what Christ brings he bought. He is messenger and mediator too. When the dove, on white wings, came across the flood, bearing an olive branch-an emblem of peace-she was taken into the ark; and, the waters of wrath subsided, she was let go free, to fly with her mate to the forest. But the Dove that came from heaven, with the palm of peace and reconciliation to God, bled upon the altar. That blessed Dove was at once both messenger and mediator.

I spoke of the box of ointment. The love of God was, so to speak, enclosed in Christ, as that precious, fragrant ointment in its alabaster box. You remember how, before the ointment could be poured on Christ's blessed head, the box had to be broken. And so it was in respect of us; before that love could be poured on us, the vessel of his humanity had to be bruised, as bruised it was by thirty-three years of suffering and sorrow; and broken, as broken at length it was when dashed and shattered on the cross. Herein is love, indeed, that he yielded his Son to death. And now here is the position in which Almighty God stands before this company. He stands over the broken, bleeding, lifeless body of a beloved, a well-beloved Son, from whom, in compassion for you, he turned away his paternal and blessed face-in whom, in compassion for you, he thrust his own sword of justice! It might move us to see any father stand by the body of a murdered son; but what a spectacle is here!-Almighty God stands by the body of his lifeless Son, and says, as well he may: "What could I have done more for you than I have done?" More he could not do, though there had been as many crosses as hills on earth, and a cross on every hill, and an angel nailed on every cross. Yon single cross, yon middle tree of Calvary, was greater than them all! More he could not do! And what, brethren, can you say? But this less I cannot do than say: 66 Father, my Father, which art in heaven! I have sinned against thee! Give me thy precious Son !-give me thy gracious Spirit! give me Jesus, else I die !"

There is one peculiarity about this love, to which, for a moment, in closing, I request your attention, although it perhaps more properly belongs to a preceding portion of the chap

ter.

Now, the love of God to angels (it is difficult to use an expression that might not be found fault with; yet I think we may venture to say), the love of God to angels was quenchable, because quenched. Of course, Satan and his fallen crew stand not now in the position they once did with regard to God, as when they stood a happy and a shining throng around the throne in heaven. And thus I may safely say that angels could be separated from the love of God. And then, in paradise, under the covenant of works, it were safe enough to say, man could be separated from the love of God. The love of God to Adam and the first Adam's race was not only quenchable, but quenched. And, here is the value of this love (new covenant love, redemption love), that which raises it above all other love of God-it is eternal. When once in Christ, aye in Christ-sure of him, safe for ever! Whom he loveth, he loveth to the end. The love of God to man in Christ Jesus never can be frozen among the mountains of our native land. Some lakes there are that are never frozen, and the reason is, they are so deep; and so deep, deeper still, is God's love to believers. To believers in Jesus, God is a well of water, whose waters flow night and day, springing up into everlasting life. Some wells dry up in summer; and when the mountains are white with snow, they are bound in chains of ice; but the well of God's mercies-the well of God's love in Christ-the well of God's grace in the Spirit-it is like those springs that rise from the mountain's bosom-springs, summer's sun never dried, and winter's frost never bound!

A mother may forget her sucking child; and the child may sting the bosom it has been nursed on, and trample upon a mother's heart, break its tenderest strings, and bring down her grey hairs with sorrow to the grave; and misconception on their part, and misconduct on ours, may quench the fires of earthly affection -may cool, may kill, earthly love. We have seen the black, cold ashes, where the fires of love once glowed and burned; but no man ever saw the ashes of the fires of God's covenant love. They were never quenched, because unquenchable! And if of the covenant of grace, and love of that blessed covenant, you ask for an emblem, what emblem, what figure, so appropriate for its snow-white banner, as that was burning, but never consumed!" May God bless that Word to us all, and to his name be the praise!

THE THRONE OF GRACE. As fogs obscure the light,

And taint the morning air, But soon are put to flight

66 The bush

If the bright sun appear; Thus Jesus will our troubles chase, By shining from the throne of grace.

NEWTON.