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even in their worldly affairs? But a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things that he possesseth. A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked. The blessing of the Lord maketh rich even with competency; and he addeth no sorrow with it. How much more desirable is it to inherit his blessing ourselves, and to leave it to our offspring, than to possess, and to bequeath thousands of gold and silver without it!

"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." So said God to the selfish and saving Jews. We say the same to you. Put his word to the trial, wherein he has said, "The liberal soul deviseth liberal things, and by liberal things shall be stand." He which soweth sparingly shall reap sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap bountifully." Herein we may see how little faith there is in the earth. They shall prosper that love Zion. A regard therefore to their own welfare should make men liberal; and if they believed the word of God, there would be forthcoming contributions enough for every private charity and all public institu tions. But we are afraid to make God our banker; and cannot rely upon his promise and providence.

Yet while we are reproved, let us also be encouraged, and stand ready to every good work. There are two cases in which we may peculiarly resemble Obed-edom in conduct and condition. The one is when we open our doors, and receive, in a way of Christian hospitality, the Lord's followers or ministers. "He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. And, whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward." The other is when, to use the words of Scripture, we have a Church in our house. This was the case with Priscilla and Aquila. It was a common thing in the beginning of the Gospel, before places were expressly built for religious assemblies. Nor is the practice unknown in many of our villages now. When the preacher has first gone to publish the Gospel, he has been often indebted to some poor rustic who has lent his cottage to the Lord. He has sometimes drawn upon himself reproach and persecution; but the Lord has blessed him. And when also you establish the worship of God in your family, kneeling before his living oracles, and offering the sacrifices of prayer and of praise, never imagine the time employed in these exercises lost. You cannot serve God for nought, while the promise and the threatening remain: "Them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed." "The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just."

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OCTOBER 30." And it was told king David, saying, The Lord hath blessed the house of Obed-edom, and all that pertaineth unto him, because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obededom into the city of David with gladness."-2 Sam. vi. 12.

Two things may be usefully remarked here. The first is, the fame of the blessing. It was soon known and noticed. The report of it spread in all directions, and even reached the throne-" and it was told king David, saying, The Lord hath blessed Obed-edom, and all that pertaineth unto him, because of the ark." The manifestation of the sons of God is principally future. They will hereafter shine forth from every cloud that conceals them, as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. The wisdom of their choice, and the advantages resulting from it, will then so convincingly appear, that those who vilify them now will be constrained to say, "we fools counted their life madness and their end to be without honour. How are they numbered with the children of God, and their lot is among the saints." But the Lord does not leave his people entirely undistinguished even now. He begins to honour them here. He sets a mark upon their foreheads, that the executioners may pass them by in the day of evil. He sometimes puts such a difference between them and others, that men, profane and infidel men, say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous, verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth. Even Balaam exclaimed, How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his. How easily, even in this life can he bring their enemies to their feet, and make them know that he has loved them! And has he not said, "Their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the Lord hath blessed ?"

Let us from hence learn our duty. While we are in the world we should pray, with David; Lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies; or, as it is in the margin, observers. Many eyes are upon us; and though they cannot judge of our experience, they can estimate our conduct. They will be sure to compare it with our profession; and their disposition will not suffer them to make those allowances which candour and truth require. They will magnify infirmities into crimes, and impute the miscarriages of a few to the whole body. Let us then walk in the fear of the Lord because of the reproach of the heathen. Let us put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: yea, let us constrain them by our good works, which they behold, to glorify God in the day of visitation. Let them see that our religion is not a mere notion, but that there is a reality, an excellency, an efficiency in it that recommends it to every reflecting mind. Let them see the advantages we have derived from it, in the government of our tempers, in our readiness to forgive, in our humility when we prosper, in our patience when we suffer, in the confidence and calmness of our minds with regard to every future event. Let them see that we have found, what others are seeking after in vain, contentment and happiness. And thus shall we adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour, and be ever saying to those around us, "Come with us, and we will do you good, for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel."

The Second is the influence of it. It doubtless impressed many; but David only is mentioned. He is mentioned because of his eminence-not for its own sake-but relatively to his usefulness. The soul of a prince is no more precious than the soul of a beggar; but when the great are set in motion they draw others after them. No sooner was David informed of the blessing of God upon Obed-edom for the sake of the ark, than his apprehensions vanished, his zeal was roused, and he resolved to obtain a share of the same goodness-"So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the city of David with gladness." And here we see that the proofs others have shown of the gain of god♦liness should excite and encourage us to follow their example. The children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light. No improvements in husbandry or trade will be long confined to individuals. Every useful invention and discovery in the arts and sciences, is soon and eagerly adopted by those who are informed of them, as we see in the case of the mariner's compass, and printing, and a thousand other things. Upon this principle, why do not men embrace the Gospel, which is so evidently conducive to the personal and social welfare of mankind? What numbers have recommended it from their own experience, living and dying! Let us repair to a Physician who has only, yet has so often, cured the complaints under which we labour. Let us reflect upon those who have been enlightened, and pardoned, and renewed in the spirit of their minds, and blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ; and pray, "Bless me, even me also, O my father" "We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you." David not only brought up the ark, but with gladness. What we do for God we should do readily and cheerfully. God loves a cheerful giver. The charity of some is like the sour emission obtained from crabs by grinding and pressing them. But it drops from a Christian like a honeycomb, or flows like a living spring. He doth all things without murmuring or disputing, because the love of God is shed abroad in his heart. He cannot always claim the promises;! yea, they sometimes make him tremble, lest he should come short through unbelief: but he always delights in the law of God after the inward man. He cannot always rejoice in the full assurance of hope; but his meat is to do the will of his heavenly Father. His duty is his privilege. The Sabbath and the sanctuary are his attractions; and he finds it good to draw nigh to God.

But wonder not if you meet with opposition and reflection. "As the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal, Saul's daughter, looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart." People will commend or excuse warmth in every thing but religion -There it is often decried as weakness or ridiculed as folly. And should we encounter this in our exertions for the cause of God what are we to do?-Do! go forward. Do! do as David did, who bound the scandal as a garland around his brow, and said, "I will yet be more vile." So, blessed Redeemer! wast thou treated in the days of thy flesh. So didst thou bear the contradiction of sinners against thyself, thy spirit blasphemed, thy words and actions perverted, thy name cast out as evil. May it be enough for us that the disciple

be as the Master, and the servant as his Lord. May we go forth to him without the camp, bearing his reproach; and rejoice that we are counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.

OCTOBER 31.-"He hath opened mine eyes."-John ix. 30.

THE miracles which our Saviour performed on the bodies of men awakened peculiar attention; but the changes which he accomplishes in the soul are much more glorious and important. The benefits of the former were limited to time, but those of the latter pervade eternity. Persons might have been the subjects of the one and have perished for ever; but the experience of the other was always accompanied with salvation.

One of the signs and wonders that were to accredit the Messiah was "the recovering of sight to the blind." And here we have an instance of it. The story is remarkably interesting and instructive -But we may consider the cure as a symbolical representation of the agency of Divine grace in healing the disorder of the mind; and so put the language into the mouth of every Christian, "He hath opened mine eyes."

They were once blind, and, like this man, were born blind. But the Lord never leaves them as he finds them. He "opens the eyes of their understanding," and makes them know the things that belong to their peace; and in his light they see light. The illumination is not perfect at once; and in other things the men of the world may surpass them. But they know themselves, they know the evil of sin, they know the preciousness of the Saviour, and (above all things desire to win Christ, and be found in him. The enlightening principally and distinctively consists in a real apprehension of the excellency of Divine things. There is a great difference between a conviction that there is such a Being as the Lord Jesus, and such a perception of his glory as attaches us to him: and between a persuasion that there is such a thing as holiness, and a sense of the beauty of it: and between a belief that honey is sweet, and a knowledge of its sweetness: the one derived from report, and the other resulting from relish.

Two effects follow when the things of the Spirit are thus spiritually discerned. The one is a clearer, fuller, firmer, conviction of the existence of these things. Their lustre renders them more disSe tinet and prominent. We feel assured that they cannot be fictitious, they must be real, must be of God. And now also our prejudices against them relax and remove; and we are open to conviction, and disposed to do justice to all evidence in their favour; and become studious of them, and long to increase by every method our acquaintance with them. For the other is, a superlative regard to them. There is now felt an influence in them that fixes the mind, and sways the will and the affections. We now seek those things that are above. The love of Christ constraineth us. To them that believe he is precious. There is no true faith without works; no saving knowledge without obedience. The seat of its residence is

the heart; and the sphere of its activity the whole life. And has he thus opened your eyes? Enlightener. Often dwell upon your former and present condition,

Then adore and praise yur

and, like the man before us, be found in the temple giving glory to God, and be always inquiring, "What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me ?"

Maintain a carriage becoming your privileged condition. You were darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord, walk as children of light. It would be shameful in you to strike against the stumbling blocks over which the blind fall. See your danger and your duty. Be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. Walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Pity and pray for those whose eyes are not yet opened. You would be concerned in other cases of far less moment and misery. You feel even for the blind beggar that sits on the bank, or is led along by his faithful dog. How much more would you be distressed at the sight of a brother, or sister, or mother, or child, in this groping and comfortless condition! Where are your feelings when you behold sinners incapable of spiritual action and enjoyment, and approaching senseless the verge of the bottomless pit?

You were once in the same state yourselves, and can therefore sympathize with those who are still in it. O tell them what you see and enjoy. Tell them light is sweet, and what a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the Sun of Righteousness. It would not indeed be kind to do this unless there was hope for them. But there is hope in Israel concerning this thing. You cannot open their eyes for them. And they cannot open their own eyes-But there is One to do it who is able, and is equally willing. Tell them what he has done for you. Tell them that he is now within call: that he is at this moment passing by: and never yet refused the prayer of the destitute.

NOVEMBER.

NOVEMBER 1." And he was entreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord he was God."-2 Chron. xxxiii. 13.

-By an experimental and practical knowledge of him, the effect of converting grace. He had been a monster of iniquity, and seemed beyond the reach of mercy. But he obtained forgiveness, and by his graciously overruled exile and imprisonment, as the means, he was induced to seek the Lord God of his fathers, and he was found of him.

The change was real and amazing, and verified the language of the prophet: "Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the Lord for a name, and for an everlasting sign, that shall not be cut off." All conversion is a turning. In religion it means a change of views, dispositions, and pursuits, so that we become the reverse of what we were before. With some who use the term, it seems to mean much less than this, and to signify only an impression, a change of opinions, a strong persuasion-not a transformation of mind, not the renewing of the Holy Ghost, not a transition from one moral state to another. When we have heard some per

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