XVIII.

"CONSIDERATION."

HABAKKUK ii. 1.

"I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what He will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved."

"THUS saith the Lord of Hosts, Consider your ways," -But man layeth not to heart the message, in heedlessness and unconcern he passeth on; the Lord cometh and reckoneth with the many before they have reckoned with themselves. Days, and weeks, and months, and years glide by, and no converse is held with their own hearts; their life comes to a close without one hour's self-examination, without any solemn thought, without putting home to their heart that searching question, "Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the High God?". . .The Prophet in the text sets before us a happy contrast to this general unconcern; he is resolved

not to leave in uncertainty, the things that belong to his peace; he will wisely forecast, he will seek to realize the future as if present, he will "judge himself that he be not judged of the Lord." Wise and blessed resolve! be it ours, brethren! Let us, also, Stand upon the Watch in Solemn Meditation,Listen with Attention, for God's Message to our Souls,-Get Ready our Answer to the Charges that are against Us!

I. In Solemn Meditation, let us each "stand upon the watch, and set ourselves upon the tower, and watch" to see what is presented to our view.

1. Let us review the past, let us meditate upon the days when we began life, when all was promise, all was bright and gay; "to-morrow" (we then said)" shall be as to-day, and more abundant;" our expectations were buoyant, pleasure's lie we took for truth, shadows for substance, dreams for realities: with some of us, those day-visions are gone, we think not as we once did, we have gained wisdom in our course, and as we look back, how much is there we would fain cancel, of our forgetfulness of God! how much we may well pray to remember, of His long-suffering care for us! on how much which once occupied our hearts,

would we now write "vanity and vexation of spirit!"

2. From this watch-tower of thought, let us next look around us, and what see we, brethren? A world unchanged, still at enmity with God, restless in its pursuit of happiness, but never attaining it, because seeking it in the creature rather than in the Creator. Again what see we? "Distress of nations with perplexity, men's hearts failing them for fear," national trials attributed to any but the real cause--the anger of God for sin; how true of us that record against Jerusalem!" She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in the Lord; she drew not near to God," (Zeph. iii. 2). Once more, what see we? Blessings many and great, “the goodness of God leading to repentance," the river of the water of life flowing by our very doors, temporal mercies innumerable, duties, too, how pressing and yet how long deferred! opportunities of usefulness, hearts in sorrow to be cheered, poverty to be relieved, sympathy to be imparted, self-denial to be exercised, and withal, the time so short!....

3. But as we yet stand upon the tower we again look, and look forward; the future claims our meditation; here indeed the mist inter

venes-of the immediate morrow we know not; where we shall be, what doing, in life or death, in sickness or in health, it is beyond our ken; but we look again beyond the immediate present, and certainty takes the place of uncertainty; let our glance be directed onward but a little space, and that truth meets our view, "It is appointed unto all men once to die, and after that the judgment."-What a subject for meditation here! the dark valley to be trodden, the preparation to be made, the awfulness of a mistake, the hope that maketh not ashamed, the faith that must realize that hope,-these thoughts, and such as these, course through the mind, as it contemplates that near approaching day, when our earthly house of this tabernacle shall be dissolved. Again we lift up our eyes, and one more glance at the prospect embraces within its range, an everlasting Heaven, an eternal Hell, and these are the solemn suggestions that accompany that glance: To which am I tending? for which am I preparing? do I know Christ's voice? am I following Him? so that that promise may bring comfort to my soul, "Where I am there shall also My servant be," John xii. 36.

Brethren! set yourselves upon the watchtower; be aroused to think, whilst thought

may benefit; call up the remembrance of the past, that it may make you wise for the future; consider the present, till it weigh heavier in your estimation, and you know somewhat of its preciousness; anticipate the future, for even then you will be but a little beforehand; to-day was the future yesterday, and will be the past to-morrow; you will indeed be comparatively solitary on that watch-tower; the world lacks time for all but thoughts of earth, but heed not the absence of the many; the few-the blessed few-are with you, God's saints are with you, and above all, He is with you "in Whose favour is life;" He who seeth in secret, and will reward openly. Stand then upon the watch, be much in meditation "till the day break, and the shadows flee away" let watchfulness be the posture of your soul.

II. In his Attention to God's Message, the Prophet next calls for our imitation: "I will watch, to see what He will say to me." Without this, we ascend the watch-tower in vain; without this, meditation is but speculative; it humbles not, its results are not practical, it leaves us as we were. Brethren, it may seem to some, that if indeed God were to send a message to you, you would "hearken

;