Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat; but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not. LUKE Xxii. 31, 32. Yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth, AMOS ix. 9. For I will keep thee from the hour of temptation. REV. iii. 10. SOMETIMES we may imagine ourselves to be divinely convinced of the will of God, both by seeming outward providences, and inward persua sions of faith; and yet it is possible that the siftings of Satan are at the bottom; however, the LORD will overrule him at last, and order all things to the best for his people. May the LORD make us watchful against our own spirit, and against the evil one, especially when he is transformed into an angel of light, that it may not be in his power to sift us so as to gain an advantage over us, by our listening to his inward suggestions, or yielding to his subtle temptations! And O, my soul, what a precious truth is this for thee, "I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not." Remember who he is that prays for thee. It is CHRIST. Thou hast still the same intercessor, who is now at GOD's right hand. He has the same merits to plead now that he had when upon earth. Wilt thou despise his prayer? Pause, my soul; hast thou ever asked for this prayer? Thou hast need of it. Turn even now to CHRIST and plead for it. Plead in earnest and thou shalt get it. In vain the baffled prince of hell His cursed project tries; We that were doom'd his endless slaves, Are raised above the skies. O may my JESUS guard me safe And to his heav'nly kingdom keep Whose adorning, let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, &c.; but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God, of great price. 1 PET. iii. 3, 4. In rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your rest. IsA. xxx. 15. A CHRISTIAN'S best accoutrements and festi val clothes, in which he daily celebrates his sabbath, is called, Col. iii. 10, 12, 14, "The new man, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering, and, above all, charity." These are our true ornaments, and we should seek to be dressed in them.-READER, what dost thou adorn most? thy body or thy soul? "O thou meek and quiet Lamb of GOD, justly I blush before thee, when I consider my impatience, though I am never innocent like thee! I humbly beseech thee to forgive me these transgressions, since thou hast made sufficient atonement for all by thy meritorious silence but deliver me from this choleric, hot, and peevish temper also; and give me grace, in all inward and outward troubles, to have the long-forbearing mind which was in thee! Make me daily more and more like a lamb, that on all occasions, grievous or joyful, I may be duly composed, and show that excellent heavenly ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, not in many words, but in reality and power. Amen." Giver of concord, Prince of Peace, Bid our unruly passions cease, And quench them with thy blood! 60 (LEAP-YEAR)-FEBRUARY 29. Behold these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig-tree, and find none, &c. LUKE xiii. 7-9. THOU HOU fruitless fig-tree, thou barren professor, dost thou hear this, and not tremble? GOD is come seeking fruit ;-will thy bare profession, thy knowledge of the principles of religion, satisfy the great GOD? Will the notions of truth in thy head, thy talking and disputing, thy hearing the word preached, thy commending or censuring sermons and preachers, just as thou art in the mood, will this serve thy turn ?—and wilt thou thus endeavour to warn off the heart-searching GOD? Know thou, GoD is come to seek for fruit, and for good fruit from thee; not the fruit of good words only, but the fruit of good works; not the fruit of talking well, but of walking well, the fruits of holiness in life and conversation:fruit short of this GOD will not regard. If thy conscience be awakened, look to thy merciful High Priest, consider well his intercession for such a barren soul as thou art: "LORD, let it alone," &c. Father, let this man live one year longer;-0 turn away from this thine anger! I will yet see what may be done: I will take other methods,-I will try what corrections may do;-perhaps the rod may work more upon him than my word has hitherto done, and may tend to make his barren heart fruitful; I will also stir up my servants to awaken him by a more sharp and searching manner; and if these new efforts be blessed to him all shall yet be well, thy grace magnified, and his soul saved; if not, then thou shalt cut him down. If under means of grace, no fruits of grace appear; And lay the barren fig-tree low. I live by the faith of the Son of God. GAL. ii. 20; 2 COR. v. 15; read also 1 THESS. v. 10, and 1 PETER iv. 2. IN spiritual things we are too often living upon self; we seek in frames, forms, creatures, and animal life, that inward peace and stability of mind which is only to be found in the Redeemer. Outward duties are well in their places; they are to be performed, but not to be trusted in; they are as the scaffold to the building, a mean for carrying on the work; but not the work itself. When favoured with the gracious presence of JESUS, they are blessings; without it, they are nothing. The whole dependence must be on JESUS. He being the way, the truth, and the life, without him, prayers, praises, rites, and ordinances, are carcases without a soul. This is the case with every external service that is destitute of the presence and blessing of the Holy Spirit, who alone imparts communion of heart, and a quickening of the soul in faith, and in love to JESUS, and often a delightful view of that which is behind the veil of outward ordinances, such as no carnal eye can behold, a purely spiritual discovery of the LORD in his goodness, beauty, grandeur, and glory. 0 O may the Spirit be poured out on my soul, and by the faith which he imparts may I get a foretaste of the joys of the heavenly state! Amen. I wish, as faithful Christians do, O grant me, through thy precious blood, Renew my heart, O Lamb of GOD, Thus shall thy works thee praise. Broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat; but narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. MATT. vii. 13, 14. Read also LUKE Xiii. 24. HIS sounds too harsh in the ears of the old THI man, who would not have the Law made use of in these Gospel times, either to the converted or unconverted; and yet to the old man, the Law, and not the Gospel, properly belongs. St. Paul, the great preacher of the Gospel, made use of the Law to rouse unconverted Felix from his security, Acts xxiv. 25, and to warn the converted Romans from falling into it again. Rom. viii. 13. Which way dost thou walk? Examine thyself. Is it in the narrow way? Art thou quite sure of it? Venture not to go on any farther at random. It is matter of great consequence; if thou wilt be safe, try better for it; thou mayest easily be deceived. Alas! thou art surely in the broad way to destruction, if thou still lovest and art conformed to the world. Art thou but indifferent with regard to the things of GOD, relishing more the vanities, pleasures, companies, treasures, and honours of this world?-thou art not in the good narrow way that leads unto life. O consider this well, and stop short before it is too late, and thou drop into the bottomless pit of perdition! Nothing renders this way either narrow or difficult but sin. Leave off thy sin, and thou mayest not only find the way, but abide, walk, and persevere in it till the end. Strait is the way, the door is strait, That leads to joys on high; Tis but few that find the gate, |