KEEPING OF THE HEART BY COVE

NANT PROTECTION.

ISAIAH Xxvii. 3.

WE re-enter the spiritual garden which we have lately contemplated, that we may on the present occasion direct our further attention to the sources whence its safety stands secure, this being an interest of too much importance to be left without satisfactory conclusions on which the soul may repose. The individual responsibility of the believer, to watch and keep the sacred region, has been sufficiently insisted upon. But experience will demonstrate, that unless there be a more sure defence than any which can arise out of our own vigilance, fear and apprehension must still prevail; and that in fact, "unless the Lord keep the house, the watchman waketh but in vain." We therefore proceed to consider, as a point of interest standing in close connection with the Christian experience, on what ground we may rest assured that our garden shall be defended from the foe, and the precious plants of grace be nurtured to perfection in our souls.

That a firm foundation for this confidence exists will no doubt be credited by all who profess

to believe in the omniscience and power of Almighty God; and the disciples of Jesus will turn the eye of faith on him as demonstrating this infinite grace in a covenant of love. But it is requisite to give him glory by understanding the manner in which this merciful regard is directed towards the saints; and much of our own stability in peace is involved in so doing. We are not kept by a mere act of power, or mercy, or even of love considered abstractedly from the relation we bear to Christ. It is as property possessed by him that we are the subjects of such perpetual preservation, a consideration which places our safety on very peculiar ground. In this light we behold the Lord Jesus as having a responsibility, and as individually interested to discharge it faithfully; his own possession and honour being concerned in the safety, beauty, and fruitfulness of his chosen heritage. Thus whilst we as believers, are exhorted to glorify him by correspondent devotion to his name, he also is pledged to glorify himself by accomplishing in us all those fruits which are by him to the praise of the eternal Name. And thus we read, in John xvii. 23, an acknowledgment of the responsibility, and a holy sense of faithfulness therein, "Those whom thou hast given me, I have kept, and none of them is lost." We e are consequently to consider that Christ Jesus stands interested in the work of keeping his saints, hereby designing to give proof of his Messiahship, of his victory over

Satan, and of his truth in the privileges which he has engaged to bestow on his people: see John xii. 30, 31. Jude 20. 2 Thess. iii. 3.

We have likewise express and solemn promises which the Lord has voluntarily and abundantly given for the consolation of his people in this respect. None can be more comprehensive than that which we find in Isaiah xxvii. 3: "I the Lord do keep it; I will water it every moment; lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day.” Parallel with which, we read in Jer. xxxi. 12: "Their soul shall be as a watered garden, and they shall not sorrow any more at all." And in Cant. iv. 12. the privilege is again before us under the figure of a garden enclosed, and a spring shut up, and a fountain sealed: this is (according to the well known custom in countries where springs of water are amongst the rarest and most precious possessions afforded to man) an interesting allusion to royal prerogative which was used to shut up, seal, and secure fountains, &c. for royal service. Thus Christ's beloved one is as a garden well supplied, and her springs and fructifying waters are beyond the reach of any exhausting power. There is a promise in Rev. iii. 10, which gives equal assurance of divine protection-" Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation." And again, "They shall not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor sun smite them." Isaiah xlix. 10; agreeable to the blessed testi

mony so exhilarating to the saints," He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper." Psalm cxxi. 3-5. These are engagements which lay a solid foundation in Christ Jesus for the expectation of faith, and on which that blessed engagement is everlastingly established, "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment, thou shalt condemn; this is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord." Isaiah liv. 17.

We will now inquire into the manner in which the Lord discharges his responsibility, as put in connection with the view we have already taken of the circumstances of the Lord's people, or of his favoured garden. Let us call to mind what has been shewn of the nature of the world in the midst of which this hallowed spot is placed; let us bear in our recollection that it is represented as a waste wilderness, and as inhabited by wild beasts of prey; and that the different descriptions of human and diabolical enmity against the saints are said to correspond with the various propensities of the savage tribe. This will remind us of the nature of our danger as exposed to such assailants, and will open the way for contemplating the grace of the covenant in providing a Keeper, who will suitably address his defence to the particular evil which may call for his interposition.

The wild boar out of the forest seeking to lay waste or root up the vine, Psalm Ixxx. 13, representing the fury of the persecutor, shall meet a mighty and invincible opposer in the Lord Jesus Christ. As it respects the literal Israel, we have the direct promise of the covenant, that Jehovah will cause them that come of Jacob to take root. Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit; and the vine now desolated by furious oppressors, who are accomplishing the Lord's righteous judgments upon the people, will ere long stretch out her luxuriant branches and bear the wholesome fruit. Isaiah xxvii. 6.

In the Christian church the omnipotent defence of the Lord has been ever displayed; although trials and desolating oppressions have arisen against her, she lives to the praise of her heavenly keeper! The fury of the persecutor has served to enlarge her borders, the stormy wind and tempest has but scattered the seed, the precious plants have thus been increased,-taking root in lands where they have become nurturing means of advancing the cause; and in this respect the testimony of old has been again fulfilled, "the more they oppressed them, the more they multiplied and grew." This is equally true of every individual believer. These private gardens of the Lord are the objects of his complacent regard; and he who has introduced the supernatural plants therein will assuredly preserve them. Our own experience may be appealed to in confirmation

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