OBSERVATION OF CHRISTIANS.

Psalm xxvii. 11-"Lead me in a plain

path because of mine enemies.'

THE word here translated enemies would more properly express the sense of the original, if it were translated, as in the margin, observers. Let us see who these observers are, and why it is so important that we should on this account utter the prayer of the psalmist, to be kept in a plain path.

It

I. The world is an observer. looks on Christians with a keen and malignant eye, and is only too ready to discover and magnify any flaw in their character. And the world is not so ignorant as many of us would suppose. It knows what we profess, and what line of conduct becomes us. There are some who profess not to mind what others think or say of them. Personally, it may not much matter; but the cause of religion may be thereby discredited.

II.-Saints are observers. They observe their fellow-Christians from love, sympathy, and a sense of duty. They are commanded to exhort, admonish, and consider one another. Not from curiosity, but that they may warn, restore, and provoke to good works. Let us be careful lest they should see our fall, and even be led by our example into destruction.

III.-Ministers are observers. They are specially placed to take heed to those over whom the Holy Ghost has made them overseers. When we act unworthy of our calling, they are troubled, perplexed, discouraged. But when their flock stands fast in their profession, they rejoice. They can refer to their converts with pride as a proof of the power of the Gospel and the influence of Divine grace.

most perfect observer. Nothing eludes Him. He sees our thoughts afar off. He is the most concerned Observer. It is His laws which are honoured or violated by our temper and conduct.

Application. Let us remember that we are never in secret. We are acting, as it were, on a stage. We are observed by friends and foes.

And this observation will not be lost. It will be made use of either for or against. Those who see us will be called as witnesses when we are called to the bar of Divine justice. Let us never forget the cloud of witnesses by which we are surrounded, and the solemn responsibility which that fact involves. desirable that we should be kept in a straight path, as David desired to be kept! Then the consciousness of outward observation wiil be a source of comfort and not a cause of fear.

How

J.

ACTIVE PREPARATION. II. Sam. xv. 15-" Behold, thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my lord the king shall appoint."

THIS was said when David was driven from Jerusalem to escape the vile rebellion of Absolom; and it was well said. Much as David had to complain of, few men had more attached and devoted adherents than he.

There is no spiritual meaning in the words further than the old fact that David is so often regarded as a type of Christ. But with what propriety does the Holy Spirit prompt us to adopt the sentiment and address it to our Lord ? Jesus is our King. We profess to be His servants. He has the appointment of our work. And we should be ready to do His will without partiality as well as without hypocrisy. This is our reasonable service, and may be enforced by four thoughts :

I. By the consciousness of our obligations to Him. How much do we owe Him! What has He not done for us? We can never discharge our obligations to a love that passeth knowledge.

II. From a persuasion of His right to appoint everything pertaining to us. His is not a right derived and limited like that of a master or a father, but an original, inalienable right. It is the authority of an absolute proprietor, with which none can interfere. It is the right of a Creator over a creature whom He made out of nothing. It is the right of one by whose authority alone His creatures live, move, and have their being. Every moment of our time, every act of our lives, is entirely, absolutely, and altogether His, by justice and by ownership.

III. From a conviction that He not only has a right to appoint, but that His arrangements are always wise, just, and good. His orders must be sovereign, but they are not arbitrary. The reasons for them may be concealed, but they are worthy of His character. They are plain and evident to Him who knows the past, present, and future, and when we realize His motives they will excite our admiration and praise. We know not what is good or best for us. We have made mistakes and suffered embarrassments enough when we have undertaken to judge for ourselves, to convince us that the way of man is not in himself. But He cannot err. His understanding is infinite and His wisdom perfect.

IV. From a persuasion that our acceptance does not depend upon the place or the work He assigns to us, but on our submission to it. We are not answerable for our station and offices, but for our behaviour in the station where we are placed. We can serve the Lord in affliction as well as in prosperity. A good actor on a stage may be seen in the character of a peasant as much as in that of a prince. It is not the part, but the acting that calls forth the applause. To be great in the eyes of the world depends upon things over which we have often no control; but all may be great in the sight of God, the hearer as well as the preacher, master and servant, etc. He looks to the heart, and obedience will obtain His approval.

This was the temper of SamuelSpeak, Lord," etc. Such was the submission of Paul-" Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" Such David-" On Thee do I wait all day." So do the

I. Sam. i. 26, 27-" And she said, O my lord, I am the woman that stood by thee here, praying unto the Lord. For this child I prayed, and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of Him."

HERE we see

I. The meekness of wisdom and the wisdom of meekness. Hannah does not bring the former scenes to the remembrance of Eli by telling him of his improper treatment of her. She does not say, "I am the woman you called a drunkard. What do you think of her now, and what do you think of yourself and your vile, cruel censure?" Little minds always retain a sense of injuries received, but it is the glory of a good man to pass by an injury, and we are to overcome evil with good.

II. One of those transitions which often take place in human life. Hannah was in a very different state of mind now to what she had been on her previous visit to the prophet. Then she was a petitioner; now she was filled with the spirit of praise. Then she presented herself at the gates of the tabernacle in the bitterness of her soul; now in the fulness of blessedness. Then she sowed in tears; now she reaped in joy. It is not always so. Some, like Naomi, go forth in joy aud return in sorrow. One thing only is sure. Things of this life are in a constant state of transition.

III. The importance of prayer. Hannah exalted because it had been good for her to pray. "For this child I prayed, and the Lord hath given me my petition." Time spent in prayer is never spent in vain. By intercourse with God we are impressed and made to resemble Him, even as the face of Moses shone when he came down from the mountain. Its very engagement brings us refreshment. In this world we must meet with sorrow, trouble, and tears, and to pas through them without a guide, com forter, or support, is unspeakable misery'

IV. The success of prayer. Hannah obtained what she asked for. Our petitions are sometimes answered immediately, sometimes the answer is delayed. It is sometimes answered in the very

thing desired, sometimes in a way of exchange. We should remember this, and regard the answer as well as the prayer. And yet thousands offer up prayers, and then think no more of the matter. The prayers are as forgotten as if they had never been offered. They knock at the door and then run away; aud never stay to see if it is opened.

EATING CHRIST.

John vi. 53-" Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, ye have no life in you."

THE day before Christ uttered these words, He had miraculously fed the 5,000. One of the natural consequences of this miracle was that the following day a large company of people followed Him to the other side of the lake with much attention and respect. The selfishness of their motive was, however, not hid from Him. Knowing that their object was not to hear the doctrine, but the hope of another feast, He gently rebuked them in terms which aimed directly at their object-"Labour not. for the meat that perisheth," etc. people did not quite understand, but had sufficient quickness to perceive that He spake not of the meat that perishes, but they could not comprehend what kind of bread it could be that would provide them with everlasting life.

The

Jesus brought them up to the understanding of the truth by reference to the manna in the desert, pointing out that that was not sufficient to keep men from death, and He then plainly tells them that He was the Bread of Life. In our text He points out the danger of neglecting to partake of this heavenly food. From these words we get the opportunity of dwelling upon two common but very important topics.

I.-Man's sad condition by nature"Ye have no life in you." The idea is that of a fainting, starving man dying for want of food. The figure occurs in almost every chapter of Scripture. Bodily death is evident; we well know that this is part of our human nature. And it is used as a type of spiritual death, which is also our lot.

When

Adam ate the forbidden fruit, such a change took place in his nature that no other word could describe it except death. "In the day, etc., thou shalt surely die." "Ye were dead in trespasses and sins," says the Apostle.

The nature of the sinner fully carries out the idea. He is incapable of feeling, seeing, or realizing spiritual things, and so is insensible to their influence.

But the image of bodily death is not carried out in spiritual death in one particular. The death of the body reminds us of perfect inactivity, but spiritual death is never spoken of as such. Nowhere does the Scripture represent the natural heart as a barren waste, but rather as a vineyard of sour grapes, a garden of poisonous herbs, barren as to good works, but fruitful enough as to noxious weeds. While we are unable and unwilling to do any good thing or to obey God, we are active in devising evil, and forward in our allegiance to the spirit that worketh disobedience.

Our Lord's words, then, are an apt description of the natural man spoken by One who is all wisdom, knowledge, and love. But He did not end His declaration here; He goes on to state

II. The remedy provided for this melancholy condition. This is set forth in the words, "Eat and drink." On right obedience our recovery turns; consequently, a proper interpretation is absolutely necessary. Some have taken them in a literal, others in a figurative sense, and many errors have been introduced.

We have seen that the natural condition of man is described under a very strong figure-death. It is no wonder if the remedy should be described under one equally strong. The metaphors of eastern figures are consistent with eastern habits of thought. And we find even with regard to our Saviour's parables, that the disciples themselves had considerable difficulty in understanding spiritual instruction conveyed thereby. They could not understand, "I have meat to eat which ye know not of," until He said, "My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me." The phrase is not uncommon. We read of them that "hunger, etc., after righteousness," and "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God."

This last passage seems to throw light on the text. It appeals to our knowledge that bread is eaten for nourishment, and we are taught therefrom that the word of God can supply support for the spiritual faculties. And it is plainly affirmed that the word can be applied to the soul in a manner which may be called eating. We may, then, gather that the words are a spiritual parallel to the phy

sical act of eating and drinking. We may, therefore, exclude the literal meaning, observing that in this whole discourse our Lord promised His hearers salvation on conditions, sometimes expressed in plain words and sometimes in figurative. We find in one place that salvation is promised to them that believe, and in another to them that "eat" (see verses 51 and 47, and 54 and 40). The simple inference is that to believe is akin to eat and drink the Son of Man, as is most plainly stated in v. 35-" He that believeth on Me shall never thirst."

Now, it cannot be very unsuitable to affirm that, believing all that Jesus did for us in the flesh, we derive comfort and joy, and so are sustained as by food. It is His flesh and blood, His work and life and death, as represented by His humane nature, that is our salvation. Hence, when we appropriate Him by faith, it is His flesh and blood on which we feed, for it is His humanity which sustains us.

Again, the text applies to accepting the words of Christ which He spake in the flesh, digesting them, and making them as much a part of our human nature as if they had been our natural food.

The words further apply to the Lord's supper. In this we symbolize the act of faith which we have already been noticing. And at the same time, we learn that the outward act is of no avail without the inward one as well. We spiritually eat His flesh and drink His blood, when we receive the doctrine of the cross into our hearts, and entertain no other hope of everlasting life but that which was obtained for us by His death and passion. Hence the outward ordinance will not save the soul, but it will be a very material help to assist us to acquire a suitable frame of mind, and to bring distinctly before us the solemn truths on which our faith is built.

CONTENDING WITH GOD.

B.

Isa. xlv. 9-"Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker."

THE life of man is represented under many figures. The Christian is a traveller, a husbandman, a soldier. The worldly man likewise is a soldier. But the one wages a good warfare, and is crowned with glory; the other is engaged in a cause most infamous, which covers him with shame and confusion. The one must obtain a victory; the other must suffer defeat. One fights for God; the other against Him. But "Woe be to him

that striveth with his Maker." Consider

I. Some instances in which the sinner may strive with God. Some men are open and avowed atheists. They glory in the fact that they deny the very existence of God. These men strive against God; they would annihilate Him if they could. It is not worth while to dwell upon such. Their end is manifest destruction.

But among professing Christians we have many practical atheists. There are thousands who live precisely as they would do if they believed in no God and who are no more influenced by His presence and perfections, than if they were persuaded the Scripture was a cunninglydevised fable. They not only live without God, but they strive against Him. It is to these we more particularly refer. Let us endeavour to point out in what manner they act as the text describes.

1.-By transgressing His holy law. This is done not only by commission of the sins it forbids, but also by the omission of those duties which it enjoins. The man who does not love his neighbour and strive to do him good is therefore criminal as well as the man who robs and oppresses Him. The law is also broken by the desires of the heart as well as by the actions of the life. And every instance of disobedience is a contention with God-a struggle as to whether the world shall be governed by His will or by

ours.

2.-By neglecting the Gospel. The Gospel is intended for man's benefit and eternal salvation. It is the outcome of love and solicitude. It calls us to repentance and righteousness. It calls us to flee for refuge to Christ. If, therefore, we go on in our impenitence, or build a refuge of our own instead of accepting the one already provided, we are striving with God. It is no easy thing to renounce self, and submit entirely to God. The pride of reason and self-importance and the power of Satan's devices render it hard to fallen nature.

science.

3.-By violating the dictates of conConscience is the voice of God in the man. And how often, how faithfully, does it address us! "Do not that which I hate." And yet we have done it. "Abandon the course which leads to hell." And yet we have pressed forward. What hard labour it is to lull that conscience to sleep! to subdue its uneasiness, to prevent its reproaches, and to stifle its condemnation ! How often would it have gained the victory had it