,^S^^«SS^§iSSSS&^ 
 
 iiiiiiiiiiiiiiaiimiiiiiiiiiiiiii 
 
6 ./hi. 2,S, 
 
 iFrnm % ffitbrarti of 
 
 Spqupa%ft bg lytm tn 
 
 tl|p Ctbrarg nf 
 
 Prittmnn Sltrnlngtral S^mtnarg 
 
 BR 50 .P377 1897 
 ^J5Jj^^^^' William P. 1848- 
 
 A heartening word for Mr 
 Fearina ' 
 
A HEARTENING WORD 
 
 FOR 
 
 MR. FEARING. 
 
A HEARTENING WORD 
 
 FOR 
 
 MR. FEARING 
 
 Or, Cheer for Doubting Pilgrims 
 
 BY THE 
 
 REV. WILLIAM P. PATTERSON 
 
 PHILADELPHIA 
 THE WESTMINSTER PRESS 
 
 1897 
 
Copyright, 1897, by The Trustees of 
 
 The Presbyterian Board of Publication and Sabbath- 
 School Work 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PACK 
 
 Introduction 7 
 
 I. — The Covenant of Redemption . . ii 
 
 II. — The Witness of the Written 
 
 Word 19 
 
 III. — Our Calling and Election ... 27 
 
 IV. — The Ideal Christian Manhood . 33 
 
 V. — Obedient Service 41 
 
 VI. — The Prevailing Intercession . . 49 
 
 VII.— The Celestial Country 59 
 
 5 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Those who are familiar with Bunyan's 
 Pilgrims Progress will readily recall the Mr. 
 Fearing whose character is so minutely de- 
 scribed therein. He is represented as a man 
 " of choice spirit," who " had the root of the 
 matter" in him, and who was always "very 
 tender of sin." He felt that he must needs 
 reach the Celestial Country ; that he should 
 die if he came not to it ; and yet he also felt 
 that if ever he did get there, it would be al- 
 most too good to be true. He never could 
 be quite sure that he was actually in the way 
 thereto. He was always afraid that he should 
 come short of whither he had a desire to go. 
 Difficulties, lions, or Vanity Fair, he feared 
 not at all ; it was only sin, death, and hell 
 that were to him a terror, and for the reason 
 that he had some doubts as to his personal 
 interest in the Celestial Country, — his fear 
 was that he might not be accepted at last. 
 He "lay roaring at the Slough of Despond 
 for about a month," and for all he saw sev- 
 eral of his fellow pilgrims go over before him, 
 7 
 
Introduction. 
 
 he could not muster up sufficient courage 
 himself to venture ; nor would he turn back. 
 However, one bright morning, when the sun- 
 shine was filling every heart with gladness 
 and peace, in some way unaccountable to 
 himself, he passed over ; yet could he scarce 
 believe he was really across. Through mani- 
 fold fears and perplexities, and in much dis- 
 tress of mind and heart, yet with the way 
 made singularly passable before him, he fin- 
 ally was enabled to reach the Celestial City 
 and to enter into its rest and peace and joy. 
 
 It has occurred to the writer that the Mr. 
 Fearing of the Pilgrijns Progress is repre- 
 sentative of not a few professing Christians. 
 Of choice spirit, and sincerely longing to be 
 constant and loyal followers of Christ, they 
 yet fail, strangely enough, to realize as they 
 might and should that the gift of God, " the 
 ageless life," is a present possessio7i, and has 
 promise of still greater and better things to 
 come. Assurance of hope and perseverance 
 to the end seem good enough to talk about 
 theologically, but of little practical value in 
 the religious experience. 
 
 What Christian minister cannot testify to 
 the greater or less prevalence, in his own 
 pastoral experience, of the questionings and 
 uncertainties that caused so much needless 
 distress to the Mr. Fearing of the allegory ? 
 
 The object of the writer is to show, briefly 
 8 
 
Introduction. 
 
 and plainly, the divine warrant for the very 
 fullest and most joyful confidence in the ab- 
 solute certainty of personal salvation ; and if 
 what follows in these pages shall be used in 
 fortifying the hearts of even a few timid and 
 joyless ones, and in helping them to see that 
 there is the very strongest reason for the 
 most cheerful acceptance of the precious gift 
 of the " ageless life," and no reason at all for 
 the least misgiving regarding its reality and 
 blessed outcome, the praise shall be to Him 
 to whom rightly belong all praise and honor 
 and power and glory. 
 
 The Manse, 
 
 Central Presbyterian Church, 
 Downingtown, Pa. 
 8th August, 1897. 
 
I. 
 
 THE COVENANT OF REDEMPTION. 
 
 A MOST important truth to bear in mind, 
 if one would always have assurance of hope 
 as an encouraging fact of priceless value in 
 the religious experience, is that, when our 
 Lord himself affirms that not one of those to 
 whom he gives eternal life can ever perish, 
 such impossibility arises, not from anything 
 in the believer himself, but simply from God's 
 immutability of purpose and promise. 
 
 For confirmation of this, look at the cove- 
 nant of redemption. In all the word of 
 God there is but one dominant idea, — human 
 salvation by a divine Redeemer. Herein is 
 the sum-total of God's thoughts. And the 
 apostle Paul, viewing with that splendid intel- 
 lect of his the exalted character of the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, and all that he had suffered for 
 man, very appropriately terms the salvation 
 thus purchased, " the great salvation." In 
 providing so great salvation each Person in 
 the Godhead had a distinctive share. 
 
A Heartening Word. 
 
 I. 
 
 Note the Father's share. Human redemp- 
 tion is not of the nature of an afterthought 
 with God. It was not first devised and re- 
 vealed after man had fallen from the estate 
 wherein he was created. Salvation, we are 
 told, is from all eternity (Eph. iii. ii). Be- 
 fore God entered upon the stupendous work 
 of the material creation, he thought of man, 
 saw him created in perfect knowledge, right- 
 eousness, and holiness, saw him yield to the 
 tempter and fall, and, thus thinking of and 
 seeing the human creation and the human 
 defection, he thought also of, and determined 
 upon, human redemption. 
 
 " Eternal election, profoundly considered, 
 requires eternal atonement for its support. 
 Both are eternal, as all divine realities are 
 eternal." In his first epistle, Peter speaks 
 to us of the Lamb foreknown before the 
 foundation of the world, but manifested at 
 the end of the times, — eternal reality becom- 
 ing temporal fact ; and, in his high-priestly 
 prayer, our Lord himself carries us back into 
 eternity where we behold " the redeeming 
 relationship between the Father and the 
 Son. Even on Calvary, as temporal actual- 
 ity, the Lamb slain is only a figure of speech, 
 and, of course, it can be no more than a 
 figure of speech as eternal reality in the 
 bosom of God. But whether in time or in 
 
 12 
 
The Covenant of Redemption. 
 
 eternity, whether on Calvary or in the bosom 
 of God, the figure must stand for something. 
 For us the meaning is and must be, that not 
 election only, but the atonement also is eter- 
 nal. And so the relationship of God to 
 moral evil stands forth as an eternal rela- 
 tionship." 
 
 Man might rebel and reject God, but God 
 would open the way for him to return to his 
 former devotion and love. The beginning of 
 time was indeed the first revelation of what 
 had been passing in the mind of the Creator, 
 — that is to say, when the first man turned 
 his back upon God, thus cutting himself off 
 from the benefits of sonship with God, he was 
 not smitten as he deserved to be, but was 
 allowed to live, and that being allowed to live 
 was for him the inauguration of divine grace 
 in Jesus Christ. 
 
 Yet see how, with the introduction of hu- 
 man sinfulness into the world, the human 
 race easily and rapidly degenerated. So 
 swiftly and so positively did men descend 
 to whatever was unclean and repulsive that 
 God was obliged to adopt the most effective 
 measures for the cleansing of the filth that 
 had been accumulating. One might well 
 suppose that with such a visitation as the 
 flood a most wholesome lesson would have 
 been learned ; but what is the fact ? The sad 
 history is before us : man ceased not sin- 
 
 13 
 
A Heartening Word. 
 
 ning! With the new growth of the race 
 there was a proportionate development in 
 wickedness. Kingdom after kingdom rose 
 and fell ; upon the hearts of the rulers of the 
 earth was felt a mighty power — the power of 
 Him who turns the hearts of all men as he 
 pleases. He went down into Egypt and 
 with a strong hand brought forth his chosen, 
 keeping them company through all their 
 wilderness journey, as Guide and Protector, 
 until he had them safely placed in the land 
 prepared for their habitation. Even then he 
 did not forsake them: with them and their 
 rulers he was ever present, guiding them lov- 
 ingly even into the land of their oppressors, 
 his very mercy smiting them when needful, 
 and binding them up ; multiplying judgments 
 and blessings for the best results, and fencing 
 them in so that in the course of time a rem- 
 nant was preserved for their return to their 
 native land. 
 
 Only God could then see that the oppres- 
 sion of the conqueror was none other than 
 the tender love of the Most High ; and that 
 the captivity of the chosen people meant 
 mercy. Such a method of procedure was 
 in reality the divine inbringing of salvation. 
 
 With the further passage of time came also 
 the passing away of Babylon and its glory, the 
 culmination of proud, philosophical Athens, 
 the universal sway of Rome and her thunder- 
 
 14 
 
The Covenant of Redemption. 
 
 ing legions. Many a fierce battle was then 
 fought, and many a field dyed with blood, 
 but to whom did it ever occur to recognize in 
 such events the unfolding of the purpose of 
 grace ? Linked indissolubly together by sal- 
 vation were all the events of that period of 
 the world's history. And not until the dark- 
 ness had become thick darkness, and the 
 wickedness of man had become wellnigh 
 universal, and formalism had grown to be 
 the rule with but few exceptions, did God 
 deem it wise to shed abroad the true light, to 
 dissipate the gloom, and to expose and con- 
 demn the formalism. In the fullness of the 
 times God was manifest in the flesh, Jesus 
 was born, the true light, indeed, that lighteth 
 every man that cometh into the world.^ 
 
 II. 
 
 Notice, moreover, the Son's share in this 
 covenant of redemption. We are more or 
 less familiar with his earthly life — how de- 
 spised and rejected, of men, he was ! Just 
 what he endured in the way of grief and 
 humiliation and trial we can never fully un- 
 derstand. And only he could give himself 
 to the work of redemption by way of suffer- 
 ing and death. Not even the highest angel 
 might have the prospect of laying aside the 
 glory of the heavenly world to tabernacle for 
 a season in the 'flesh to raise men from sin 
 
 15 
 
A Heartening Word. 
 
 and death to life and peace and joy. Only 
 the equal of the Father, the well-beloved, 
 could veil himself in humanity's form and 
 submit to unspeakable degradation in order 
 that the divine will might be accomplished 
 to its utmost requirement. How even the 
 human nature of our blessed Lord shrank 
 from this humiliation we may know by re- 
 calling the agony in the garden, and that 
 most pathetic utterance, " Father, if it be 
 possible, let this cup pass from me : never- 
 theless not as I will, but as thou wilt." 
 
 His life of solitude, of three-and-thirty years 
 — alone even among his disciples, none of 
 whom could properly sympathize with him, 
 none of whom could share his feelings, or 
 enter deeply into his thoughts — was longer, 
 deeper, fuller, by reason of its very intensity, 
 than that of all the patriarchs, than that of 
 all men. He lived it for the one purpose of 
 effecting our redemption. 
 
 III. 
 Think, too, of the Spirit's share in this 
 covenant of redemption. The presence of 
 the Holy Spirit in the world, and his gracious 
 ministry in behalf of men, enhance the glory 
 of this divine plan. It is utterly impossible 
 for one, in the spirit of prayer, to read un- 
 moved the story of our Lord's life. We trace 
 that life, in wonder and awe, from its begin- 
 j6 
 
The Covenant of Redemption. 
 
 ning in the manger-cradle to its ending upon 
 the cross. But the fact is that the Hfe of the 
 Spirit, the Holy One in an unholy world, 
 when rightly and reverently viewed, must 
 seem far more pathetic and more to be won- 
 dered at. What patience ! What forbearance 
 with human folly ! What long-suffering with 
 human guilt ! What struggling with you and 
 me ! And for what ? Simply that Christ may 
 be magnified ! What resistings and quench- 
 ings of his earnest and loving entreaties by 
 your spirit and mine ! Sensitive, full of zeal 
 as was Christ himself, yet infinitely endur- 
 ing ! Why does he remain ? Why does he 
 not give up the world to vengeance long and 
 mercifully delayed ? Only because he is here, 
 obedient to the divine will, to accomplish this 
 great redemption. He also will perfect the 
 great salvation. 
 
 We see, then, that the good work of human 
 redemption is so vast and important as to 
 have engaged the eternal attention of the 
 adorable Trinity : the Father sustaining the 
 rights of Godhead in the appointment of the 
 method of redemption ; the Son, as Mediator, 
 procuring it by his incarnation, obedience, 
 and death ; and the Holy Spirit applying and 
 making effectual every benefit in the heart 
 of the true believer. 
 
 And in view of all this the question is per- 
 2 17 
 
A Heartening Word. 
 
 tinent : Would God the Father have devised 
 such a wonderful plan of redemption ; would 
 the Son have been willing to offer his life a 
 ransom for many ; would the Holy Spirit 
 consent so long to abide in the world, were 
 it possible that the good work, although 
 begun, should fail of completion — were it 
 possible, in other words, that the subjects of 
 redeeming grace should perish eternally? 
 What wonder, then, that such an one as the 
 gifted Paul should exult, " I know whom I 
 have believed" ? 
 
 18 
 
II. 
 
 THE WITNESS OF THE WRITTEN 
 WORD. 
 
 I. 
 
 INOT only in the covenant of redemption, 
 to which reference has been made, are we 
 privileged to ground our assurance of hope, 
 but also in the explicit declarations of the 
 Scriptures themselves, to a few passages of 
 which the attention of the reader is now in- 
 vited. What mean, for example, those 
 ancient words, " Yet shall the righteous hold 
 on his way, and he that hath clean hands 
 shall wax stronger and stronger " ? Job xvii. 
 9. Suppose the faith of God's people is at 
 times shaken by the permission of what may 
 seem unmerited sufferings. Still they may 
 know that God shall overrule them to the 
 perfecting of their faith, that from the most 
 opposing forces they shall draw not a little 
 of inspiration and strength for maintaining 
 a more earnest continuance in their good 
 way. " The steps of a good man are 
 ordered by the Lord : and he delighteth in 
 his way. Though he fall, he shall not be 
 utterly cast down : for the Lord upholdeth 
 
 19 
 
A Heartening Word. 
 
 him with his hand." Ps. xxxvii. 23, 24. Of 
 David, whom we may regard as the repre- 
 sentative of the true behever, the Lord 
 speaks, " If his children forsake my law, and 
 walk not in my judgments ; if they break 
 my statutes, and keep not my command- 
 ments ; then will I visit their transgres- 
 sion with the rod, and their iniquity with 
 stripes. Nevertheless, my lovingkindness 
 will I not utterly take from him, nor suf- 
 fer my faithfulness to fail. My covenant 
 will I not break, nor alter the thing that is 
 gone out of my lips." Ps. Ixxxix. 30-34. In 
 the book of Proverbs, where the morning 
 sun, in its increasing radiance, is used as a 
 symbol, it is said of the just that their " path 
 is as the shining light, that shineth more and 
 more unto the perfect day." Prov. iv. 18. 
 Going from strength to strength, from glory 
 to glory, the believer finally reaches his 
 meridian splendor, shining forth as the sun 
 in the kingdom of his Father. 
 
 Then recall those wonderful words ad- 
 dressed of old by the Lord to his people, 
 whereby he greatly comforted and assured 
 them in view of their future, — words just as 
 applicable to-day to every believer : " For 
 the mountains shall depart, and the hills be 
 removed ; but my kindness shall not depart 
 from thee, neither shall the covenant of my 
 peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath 
 
Witness of the Written Word. 
 
 mercy on thee." Is. liv. lo. In the prophecy 
 of Jeremiah we find God comparing himself 
 to a faithful and ever-watchful preceptor, fol- 
 lowing his pupils everywhere, to direct words 
 and gestures, promising those whom he shall 
 gather out of all lands that "They shall be 
 my people, and I will be their God : and I 
 will give them one heart, and one way, that 
 they may fear me forever, for the good of 
 them, and of their children after them : and I 
 will make an everlastiJtg covenant with, them, 
 that I will not turn away from them, to do 
 them good ; but I will put my fear in their 
 hearts, that they shall not depart from me." 
 Jer. xxxii. 38-40. 
 
 Then finally, we have the words, bearing 
 directly upon this point, of him who was and 
 is the Truth : " This is the will of him which 
 hath sent me, that of all which he hath given 
 me I should lose nothing, but should raise it 
 up again at the last day. Verily, verily, I say 
 unto you, He that believeth on me hath ever- 
 lasting life." 
 
 If then, the divine promise is so full and so 
 free, regarding the salvation of the believer, 
 is it not to be expected that the divine power 
 will be used to make it sure ? The apostle 
 Peter, speaking of believers, says of them, 
 that they " are kept by the power of God 
 through faith unto salvation ready to be re- 
 vealed in the last time." And our blessed 
 
A Heartening Word. 
 
 Lord says of his people, " I give unto them 
 eternal life ; and they shall never perish, 
 neither shall any man pluck them out of my 
 hand. My Father, which gave them me, is 
 greater than all ; and no man is able to pluck 
 them out of my Father's hand." John x. 28, 
 29. Paul, writing to the Romans, declares 
 that "All things work together " — how ? Sim- 
 ply through the divine efficiency. For what ? 
 For good to them that love God ; to them that 
 are called according to his purpose. " For 
 whom he did foreknow, he also did predesti- 
 nate to be conformed to the image of his Son 
 .... Moreover whom he did predestinate, 
 them he also called : and whom he called, 
 them he also justified : and whom he justi- 
 fied, them he also glorified." It is a chain 
 which never can be broken. What irresist- 
 ible argument ! What invincible logic ! 
 " Your hope and mine, fellow Christian, is 
 not in our own power of perseverance, but in 
 God's preserving care of us. We shall be 
 saved, not because we cling with despairing 
 strength to the rocky cross around which 
 surge the angry billows, but because the 
 mighty arm of God is round about us, and 
 therefore the waves dash against us in vain." 
 Be not afraid therefore ! The power of 
 God in electing, calhng, justifying, sancdfy- 
 ing, glorifying the individual soul ! Think 
 of it, O believer ! It has respect to each and 
 
Witness of the Written Word. 
 
 every moment of the earthly life. It extends 
 to any and all needs and duties. It is fully 
 equal to every emergency ; is sufficient for 
 the bitterest temptation, the heaviest weight 
 of sorrow or want. You and I, no matter how 
 beset we may be with weakness, or weariness, 
 or personal demerit, need not go a single mo- 
 ment destitute of the rich comfort and sup- 
 port of the everlasting arms. Can we but 
 realize our entire dependence upon Him who 
 faileth never, neither groweth weary ; can we 
 but commit ourselves unreservedly to him, 
 and suffer ourselves to be grasped by the 
 Hand which keeps even the material world 
 secure and fixed against the last day, we 
 shall find ourselves upborne and maintained 
 in a straight path ; we shall grow daily, — 
 shall, at last, become perfect and entire, 
 wanting nothing. 
 
 II. 
 But, further, we may not overlook the sig- 
 nificance of the believer's union to Christ, 
 and Christ's intercessory work in the be- 
 liever's behalf. Said the Master to his disci- 
 ples on one occasion, " I am the vine, ye are 
 the branches : . . . without me ye can do 
 nothing." And elsewhere the believer is 
 called a member of that body whose head is 
 Christ. How intimate, how vital, therefore, is 
 the relation existing between Christ and his 
 
A Heartening Word. 
 
 people ! Fully appreciating the value of such 
 relation, the apostle Paul declares, "Your 
 life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, 
 who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye 
 also appear with him in glory." In a word, 
 the life of the Christian believer is certain 
 and cannot fail, because it is derived from 
 and sustained by the life of Christ. There- 
 fore said Christ, " Because /live, ye shall live 
 ahoy Not simply to uphold them in being 
 does Christ live: if he meant to indicate 
 nothing further in this solemn affirmation, it 
 is extremely difficult to see wherein his disci- 
 ples differ from wicked men and devils, for 
 it is by the divine sufferance alone that even 
 they continue to be. 
 
 And what a successful advocate the Chris- 
 tian has in his Lord and Redeemer ! There 
 is, truly, a vast deal of meaning in those 
 tender words addressed to Peter, on the very 
 verge of his profane denial of his Lord, 
 " Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired 
 to have you, that he may sift you as wheat : 
 but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail 
 noty And who can read, unmoved, that 
 grand, high-priestly prayer of our suffering 
 Christ, " I pray not for the world, but for 
 them which thou hast given me ; for they are 
 thine .... I pray not that thou shouldst 
 take them out of the world, but that thou 
 shouldst keep them from the evil .... 
 
 24 
 
Witness of the Written Word. 
 
 Sanctify them through thy truth : thy word is 
 truth. . . . Neither pray I for these alone, 
 but for them also which shall believe on me 
 through their word; that they all may be 
 one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in 
 thee, that they also may be one in us"? 
 
 What rare comfort and strength, then, 
 may the true believer derive from such teach- 
 ing, for his seasons of spiritual darkness and 
 discouragement as they may occur in his 
 earthly pilgrimage ! For, unhappily, such 
 seasons do come even to the most consistent 
 Christian disciple. For physical reasons he 
 may find himself at times overwhelmed with 
 despondent conclusions or thoughts ; or, by 
 reason of satanic craft, he may be overtaken 
 with some fault, and accepting mere feeling 
 as a sure indication of a state of grace, and 
 not being conscious of any particularly warm 
 feelings toward God, he may at once con- 
 clude that he is no longer God's child. Yet, 
 even so overcome, he can recall the time 
 when he did seek 2ind.Ji7td the Lord, when he 
 actually held sweet fellowship with the Father 
 and with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is now 
 walking in darkness ; his way seems totally 
 obscure. What shall he do ? He may still 
 know, if he will, that, though his feelings 
 have suffered change and though he may not 
 now be conscious of the influence of divine 
 love within his heart, the love of God in 
 
 25 
 
A Heartening Word. 
 
 Christ has not changed a particle — not even 
 for a moment. Having loved his own which 
 were in the world he will love them to the 
 end. The believer is of the number of God's 
 chosen ones because of his once having come 
 to Christ, accepting him by faith as his per- 
 sonal Saviour. " All that the Father giveth 
 me shall come to me ; and him that cometh 
 to me I will in no wise cast out." " This is 
 the triumphant reply which he can make to 
 Satan when he would tempt him to despair, 
 the rejoinder he can make to his own accus- 
 ing conscience. With the assurance that no 
 one can lay anything to the charge of God's 
 elect, he can hurl defiance at hell and devils 
 and all his accusers. God has justified him, 
 and he who alone has the right to condemn 
 him has died for him, and is at the right 
 hand of God making present intercession 
 for him." 
 
 26 
 
III. 
 
 OUR CALLING AND ELECTION. 
 
 H( 
 
 low reassuring to the anxious heart are 
 the very words of Him who spake as never 
 man spake, and who said of himself, " I am 
 the Truth ! " Notice, for instance, the deep 
 significance of such words as these : " All 
 that the Father giveth me shall come to 
 me ; and him that cometh to me I Avill in no 
 wise cast out;" "This is the Father's will 
 . . . ., that of all which he hath given me I 
 should lose nothing;" "And I give unto 
 them eternal life ; and they shall never 
 perish, neither shall any man pluck them 
 out of my hand. My Father, which gave 
 them me, is greater than all ; and no man 
 is able to pluck them out of my Father's 
 hand ; " " Father, I will that they also whom 
 thou hast given me, be with me where I 
 am." 
 
 These, and similar utterances of the great 
 Teacher, bring into clear view the precious 
 fact of the divine choice of souls — a truth 
 which even the angels delight to ponder. No 
 doubt, to us who are finite in our capabilities, 
 27 
 
A Heartening Word. 
 
 who can see barely a step in advance, who 
 can understand but to a limited degree, this 
 very act of God in making choice of souls, 
 and in giving them to Christ as his inher- 
 itance, is involved in deepest mystery. And 
 we may, with intensest concern, ask. Why 
 were not all men given to Christ ? yet we 
 shall find our question impossible of solution 
 from a merely human standpoint. Can 
 fi7iite 7na7i hope to fathom the deep and hid- 
 den things of God? Is it not rather his part, 
 as that of the docile child, to trust the wisdom 
 of the Father, and to conclude cheerfully that 
 whatever God does is right, because it is God 
 who does it? 
 
 When we look closely and unsparingly at 
 ourselves and see just how unworthy we are, 
 and how useless at times, how impatient and 
 unspiritual, and then reflect seriously upon 
 the wonderful nature of that love which has 
 been revealed in Jesus Christ, — how forbear- 
 ing and long-suffering it is where weak, im- 
 perfect, sinful human beings are concerned, 
 — we are overwhelmed, and we do not mar- 
 vel that Mr. Fearing, in the allegory, should 
 so often feel, "It is almost too good to be 
 true." 
 
 Observe, in this connection, that Scripture 
 
 teaches us, in a way that even the little child 
 
 can understand, that God chooses men and 
 
 gives them to Christ as itidividuals — divine 
 
 28 
 
Our Calling and Election. 
 
 love is so specific — they are not saved in the 
 mass, but singly ; that being so given to 
 Christ, their number is a definite number — 
 yet so vast that no man can count them — all 
 their names being written in the Lamb's 
 book of life, as in a census of the population ; 
 that they were given to Christ before the 
 foundation of the world — chosen in him from 
 the beginning ; that Christ is their Redeemer 
 because of a definite agreement between him- 
 self and the Father, whereby he allowed 
 himself to be wickedly nailed to the cross, 
 laying down his own life, thus, for his 
 people. 
 
 Memory recalls an incident which occurred 
 in the class-room of the beloved Dr. Charles 
 Hodge in our seminary days at Princeton. 
 The class, at the time, was engaged in the 
 study of the subject of election, and, in the 
 recitation, a member put this question to the 
 professor, who was always ready, if he could, 
 to meet and satisfy every difficulty : " Sup- 
 pose, Doctor, I am the pastor of a church, 
 and there comes to me an honest and anx- 
 ious inquirer who, in our conversation, with 
 evident sincerity, desires to know how he is 
 to determine whether or not he is one of the 
 elect, what answer, if any, can I truthfully 
 give?" With that look of rare tenderness 
 and solicitude which every pupil of Dr. 
 Hodge can easily recall, and in tones which 
 29 
 
A Heartening Word. 
 
 none can ever forget who have heard them, 
 the reply came : "My young brother, there 
 is only one answer that can meet such an 
 inquiry, and it is given in the very words of 
 the Master himself: 'He that believeth on 
 me hath everlasting life.' " It is enough. 
 Nothing more is possible. 
 
 Would we, indeed, know beyond all per- 
 adventure that our own names are written 
 in the book of life ? then let us determine, 
 first of all, whether or not we have cojne to 
 Christ ; for he himself declares, for our 
 guidance in this judgment, "All that the 
 Father giveth me shall cofne to me ; and 
 him that coineth to me I will in no wise cast 
 out." Have we come to Christ ? Are we 
 conscious of having our affections and will- 
 power changed to the Christlike and the 
 heavenly ? If we can truthfully and humbly 
 affirm that we have come to Christ, and are 
 endeavoring by grace to excel in whatever 
 achievements are predicated of those who 
 are divinely revealed as belonging to Christ, 
 we surely need not doubt our calling and 
 election. As the good bishop Leighton puts 
 it, " He that loves may be sure that he was 
 loved first, and he that chooses God for his 
 delight and portion may conclude confidently 
 that God hath chosen him to be one of those 
 that shall enjoy him and be happy with him 
 forever; for that our love and electing of 
 30 
 
Our Calling and Election. 
 
 him is but the return of the beams of his love 
 shining upon us." 
 
 By the sacrifice of his own precious life, 
 the Lord Jesus secured for his people untold 
 spiritual wealth, and an eternal weight of 
 glory. It is all of grace ! free grace ! Eter- 
 nal life is God's gift through Jesus Christ. 
 And the gift is meant for all who will receive 
 it. The thirsty, and those who have no 
 money, may come and buy wine and milk 
 without money and without price. Whoso- 
 ever will, may take of the water of life freely. 
 It cannot be bought. 
 
 " What shall I bring to thee, O Lord? 
 Of what make offering ? 
 What does my life, so poor, afford 
 That I to thee may bring ? 
 
 " No myrrh, nor frankincense, nor gold, 
 Can I as gift present. 
 Like those, the wise men, who of old 
 With joy o'er Jesus bent. 
 
 " No alabaster box have I, 
 
 Of precious ointment sweet, 
 To pour before thee, while I lie 
 In worship at thy feet." 
 
 No ! Man must come to God confessing — 
 
 " I am trusting thee. Lord Jesus, 
 Trusting only thee ! 
 Trusting thee for full salvation, 
 Great and free. 
 
 31 
 
A Heartening Word. 
 
 " I am trusting thee for pardon ; 
 At thy feet I bow ; 
 For thy grace and tender mercy 
 Trusting now. 
 
 " I am trusting thee for cleansing 
 In the crimson flood ; 
 Trusting thee to make me holy 
 By thy blood, 
 
 " I am trusting thee to guide me ; 
 Thou alone shalt lead, 
 Every day and hour supplying 
 All my need. 
 
 " I am trusting thee for power ; 
 Thine can never fail ; 
 Words which thou thyself shalt give me 
 Must prevail. 
 
 " I am trusting thee, Lord Jesus ; 
 Never let me fall ! 
 I am trusting thee for ever 
 And for all." 
 
 32 
 
IV. 
 
 THE IDEAL CHRISTIAN MANHOOD. 
 
 L/NE of the most absorbing questions that 
 presses for answer in the heart of the believer 
 is this : Will I ever reach the ideal Christian 
 manhood? For it is not in the nature of 
 sincere Christian faith to be content with 
 small attainments. Simply to be saved from 
 sin and its dread consequences will hardly 
 satisfy such faith. 
 
 The scriptural standard, we well know, is 
 the measure of the stature of the fullness of 
 Christ. How very far off it does look ! How 
 impassable seems the distance intervening ! 
 We see, here and there, many who have 
 made rare progress, and who like polished 
 and stately pillars are wellnigh ready to be 
 removed to yonder heavenly temple, and to 
 be placed in their appointed spheres. Then 
 we look at ourselves — how imperfect we are ! 
 how weak ! how deformed ! Surely, the 
 present is only prophetic of future disappoint- 
 ment and failure ! We can never reach the 
 standard ! We will never be other than the 
 most ordinary blocks ! 
 
 3 33 
 
A Heartening Word. 
 
 Of course, it is eminently proper for us to 
 have some ideal before our minds as an in- 
 centive in our daily struggles Godward. 
 There is no true follower of Christ who has 
 not such ideal, — it is his inspiration all his 
 life through. Conscience — the bestowment 
 of God in every soul — is ever careful to em- 
 phasize the necessity of personal goodness 
 and well-doing, but until there is a divine 
 revelation of the nature of goodness, both in 
 character and conduct, it is impossible for 
 man to be good or to do good. God himself 
 must be manifest in the flesh in order to re- 
 veal the grand possibilities of human nature 
 in their likeness to the divine nature. Hap- 
 pily for us, we have in the Redeemer of man 
 the perfect manifestation of deity in human- 
 ity. The Son of the Most High, being God 
 and man, comes to each of us as our Exam- 
 ple without blemish ; more than that, he 
 pledges us his strength that we may attain 
 the high ideal of character and conduct. 
 
 Scrutinize closely your own spiritual ex- 
 perience. Has he not already done much in 
 and with you ? And can he not and will he 
 not accomplish yet more and more ? Take 
 an illustration or two. In what do you be- 
 hold the greatest of the wonderful, — in the 
 tiny seed which has been endowed with life 
 and power of development and caused to 
 root itself in the soil and to penetrate the 
 
 34 
 
The Ideal Christian Manhood. 
 
 earth as a httle green blade, or in the stately 
 oak which, giant-like, crowns some wind- 
 swept hill, growing constantly stronger and 
 more enduring ? As we think of this mighty 
 universe, of which our world is but an insig- 
 nificant part ; as we contemplate the unnum- 
 bered worlds revolving in space, each obe- 
 dient to well-defined law, we are properly 
 awed by the infinite power everywhere ap- 
 parent and in full operation. And yet, that 
 power which so fills us with the sense of the 
 majestic and terrible is not nearly so formid- 
 able and inspiring as that which was needed 
 to create the myriads of atoms of which the 
 universe is composed. To make a single 
 atom demanded more energy than to fashion 
 and to guide a universe. To resurrect and 
 energize a soul, dead in trespasses and sins, 
 indicates a greater degree of wisdom and 
 power, than to effect the complete develop- 
 ment of the newborn heir of God in the way 
 of righteousness. 
 
 As you look at the eagle, piercing the 
 clouds in his upward flight, able with open 
 eye to gaze upon the unveiled sun, it seems 
 strange indeed that he should have been de- 
 veloped from the featherless and impotent 
 birdling in the nest, perfectly dependent for 
 protection and nourishment upon the mother 
 bird. You hold in your hand an acorn : it is 
 difficult, but not impossible, to realize that in 
 
 35 
 
A Heartening Word. 
 
 it lies dormant the monarch of the forest ; 
 yet you know full well, as you look upon 
 the oak in its maturity, that such was its 
 origin. 
 
 You gaze upon man, full-grown man, the 
 crowning work of the divine creation, the 
 lord of the material world, making the ele- 
 ments his messengers and the mighty deep 
 his highway ; then you betake yourself to the 
 cradle wherein lies the helpless babe, appeal- 
 ing so mutely yet so irresistibly to parental 
 care and love, and you are strangely moved, 
 if you reflect upon the matter at all, while you 
 recognize these as the two intimately asso- 
 ciated phases of the one human life. You go 
 to Bethlehem, and, looking into the rude 
 manger-cradle, you see the divine Babe, 
 cherished and loved by his human mother, 
 helpless and utterly dependent ; then, span- 
 ning a generation of time, you behold that 
 same Babe, now grown to full manhood, per- 
 fect in his humanity as in his divinity, the 
 Helper of the helpless, the Comforter of the 
 sorrowing, the Saviour of the fallen. And 
 from this all-sufficient Redeemer you look 
 away to the imperfect Christian ! Oh, what 
 infinite distance seems to separate the two ! 
 And yet, what is it that you see but the ex- 
 tremes, so to speak, of the one identical 
 spiritual life ? For it is a fact that the babe 
 in Christ is to become the full-grown man in 
 36 
 
The Ideal Christian Manhood. 
 
 Christ ! As the Redeemer Uved and ad- 
 vanced from infancy to childhood, and thence 
 to manhood, doing fully and well the work 
 set before him by the Father, and was finally 
 crowned with unending glory and honor, so 
 each believer is likewise to hve and grow, to 
 do and to be rewarded. 
 
 Recall that the apostle Paul, writing to the 
 Christians at Philippi, assured them that He 
 who had begun a good work in them would 
 perform it until the day of Jesus Christ ; and 
 that the apostle Peter says of Christians that, 
 as lively stones, they are built up a spiritual 
 house. Even now in the divine mind this 
 spiritual house is planned in its minutest 
 part : he who seeth the end from the begin- 
 ning knows each and every Hving stone com- 
 posing its walls. He has appointed each one 
 his own place from all eternity — for the divine 
 purpose in Christ Jesus is an eternal purpose. 
 
 Yet, observe, before this spiritual house is 
 completed and its capstone is placed amidst 
 shoutings of " Grace, grace unto it ! " the 
 work of discipline is to be carried forward 
 until the image of the Redeemer is brightly 
 reflected from the human heart; the soul 
 must first be purified by the grace and Spirit 
 of the Lord, and so a meetness for its ulti- 
 mate destination be wrought within. The 
 Christian disciple is to abide here a season — 
 the time appointed in the divine purpose — 
 37 
 
A Heartening Word. 
 
 that Christ may be magnified in the daily 
 intercourse with men, that the doctrine of the 
 Lord and Saviour may be adorned in all 
 holy conversation, that the cause of truth and 
 righteousness may be advanced. 
 
 In this gracious work of sanctification, 
 within and without, sharp angles of character 
 are to be rounded off, unseemly excrescences 
 of conduct are to chipped away, many 
 roughnesses of temper are to be smoothed 
 down, many flaws of mind and heart are to 
 be chiseled out. 
 
 " O blows that smite ! O hurts that pierce 
 This shrinking heart of mine ! 
 What are ye but the Master's tools 
 Forming a work divine ? 
 
 " O hope that crumbles to my feet, 
 O joy that mocks and flies, 
 What are ye but the clogs that bind 
 My spirit from the skies ? 
 
 " Sculptor of souls, I lift to thee 
 Encumbered heart and hands ; 
 Spare not the chisel ; set me free. 
 However dear the bands." 
 
 And the grand fact is, as both experience 
 and observation attest, that each blow of the 
 master Hand, so unerring in its aim, helps in 
 the spiritual formation ; the various tools 
 used, though frequendy cutting deeply, pro- 
 duce some chiseled beauty ; every grating 
 38 
 
The Ideal Christian Manhood. 
 
 file of sorrow that rasps the delicate heart- 
 fibers serves but to impart a more perfect 
 luster, and to bring to view a diviner glory. 
 Then begins the poHshing process, and, in 
 such process, beauties hitherto hidden are 
 made to appear, and forthwith from the 
 smooth surface are flung back the bright rays 
 of the Sun of Righteousness. Then the 
 hewn stone, no longer unsightly or deformed, 
 but resplendent in its attractiveness, is ready 
 for its place. 
 
 39 
 
V. 
 OBEDIENT SERVICE. 
 
 INo words could more truthfully set forth the 
 very close relationship of the individual be- 
 liever to his Lord, than those addressed by 
 the mother of Jesus to the servants at the 
 marriage feast in Cana, "Whatsoever he 
 saith unto you, do it." The relationship, in 
 its highest and purest sense, is nothing more 
 nor less than that of the servant to his master. 
 The duty required is the immediate and un- 
 questioning observance of the expressed will 
 of the master. It is in fact that higher Chris- 
 tian life of which we read so much in the 
 Pauline epistles, and which we find so con- 
 stantly enjoined upon us in the practice and 
 teachings of the Redeemer. A lofty summit 
 it verily is, and reached only as one is will- 
 ing, hand in hand with Christ, perseveringly 
 to tread the rugged bypaths of the steep as- 
 cent ; yet, the summit being reached, there is 
 such privilege as the world knows nothing 
 of, — the privilege of sitting with the Christ in 
 the heavenly places, and of hearing him say, 
 " My peace I give unto you : not as the world 
 41 
 
A Heartening Word. 
 
 giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart 
 be troubled, neither let it be afraid." 
 
 Down upon the low level of indifferent 
 living, God is regarded simply as the Su- 
 preme Being, the Creator and Sovereign of 
 the universe, — a God afar off, to be feared 
 and wondered at, to be approached in prayer, 
 it is true, yet only with feelings of uncer- 
 tainty ; and his Son Jesus Christ to be es- 
 teemed chiefly for the salvation from death 
 which he can bestow. 
 
 But up in these loftier regions, where the 
 sunlight is shed radiantly abroad in every 
 direction, and where the air is so invigorating, 
 God is not only the Supreme Being majestic 
 in his holiness, but he is likewise the loving 
 and faithful and sympathetic Friend of the 
 trusting soul. More than that, he is the 
 Father who, surpassing the tenderest of 
 earthly parents, cherishes for his children a 
 love which many waters cannot drown. 
 And as the Son of God is viewed by a 
 faith that grows clearer day by day, as the 
 soul is thus drawn into more confidential 
 relations to its Redeemer, the will of the 
 Father is seen more and more unmistakably 
 to be perfectly righteous in its requirements, 
 and the obedience it wins to itself is glad and 
 free, — not like that of the slave, constrained 
 and halting. Hence, from experiencing a 
 mere grateful sentiment toward God for all 
 42 
 
Obedient Service. 
 
 that he has done in the soul's behalf, the 
 soul mounts upward to the regions of infinite 
 peace and joy. And what loyal and joyous 
 allegiance it is ! Now does the believer know 
 what the apostle means, when he speaks of 
 grace reigning through righteousness unto 
 eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 
 The kingdom of God has come into the 
 heart with power, but not without struggle. 
 The " one simple purpose of loyal, steadfast 
 stewardship and service " comes not unasked, 
 nor stays unurged. " Easy things are of little 
 worth. The spontaneities are mostly bad ; 
 mere weeds and briers. Real goodness is as 
 much an industry, as much a business, as 
 any profession, trade, or pursuit, of men. 
 Every morning early, and then again at nine 
 o'clock, and then at twelve, and then at three, 
 and then at five, the owner of the vineyard 
 is in the market-place hiring his laborers. 
 The early, lost hours are forgiven us; but 
 when the bargain is once made, there is 
 nothing for us but work till the great red sun 
 goes burning down." Mr. Moody, once, in 
 reply to a certain question, said, " I do not 
 believe there is any man on the face of the 
 earth that is happier than the man who is 
 just carrying out the will of God, whatever 
 it is ; and I believe the most unhappy Chris- 
 tian is the man who is constantly going 
 against the will of God." 
 43 
 
A Heartening Word. 
 
 This life is not a game which may be 
 played with a few successful moves, and then 
 the prize be won. There is not a man, how- 
 ever skillful or prudent or far-seeing, who 
 can determine, with perfect accuracy, the re- 
 sults of present action, — not even one hour 
 hence. And there is no action, even the 
 slightest, nor a word, that has not an eternal 
 relationship. Words do not die, deeds never 
 cease to exist — they live on and on, forever 
 potent in their influences. Hence the need 
 of a mind infinitely wise and good, to direct 
 the finite being in the whole course of the 
 earthly existence, that the divine glory may 
 be advanced, and that the divine will may 
 be completely realized. What cause for re- 
 joicing there is in the knowledge that God 
 in Christ is our sufficient Guide in all the 
 affairs of life, influencing us aright in our 
 judgments where human necessities are con- 
 cerned, while helping us in our efforts to live 
 for the glory of him who hath loved and 
 redeemed us. 
 
 The prayer of Saul of Tarsus, as he was 
 prostrated on the road to Damascus and 
 there converted, was, " Lord, what wilt thou 
 have me to do ? " To do ! Observe, it is a 
 prayer for divine guidance into service, a 
 prayer of entire and heartfelt consecration, 
 reveahng the servant's willingness to do all 
 the Master's pleasure, and his conviction that 
 
 44 
 
Obedient Service. 
 
 the Master had a just and undeniable claim 
 to every talent, to every moment, and to 
 appoint every sphere of toil and of suffering. 
 It was indeed an epochal moment in the life 
 of the gifted Tarsian to which he was now 
 brought in the providence of God, and in 
 which he was summoned to a larger, fuller 
 and more abounding life. 
 
 May we not say that there are likewise 
 "epochs in our lives when we see that the 
 old way of living, however full of hope it 
 may once have been, is not the way of life 
 in which we must henceforth set our feet ? 
 The low ambitions of the past are seen to be 
 shameful. Dreams of power and happiness, 
 once so fair, have grown repulsive. Needs 
 once embracing our estimate of the worth of 
 life are felt no longer. Old hopes are now 
 forgotten. New revelations of truth make 
 wrong what once was right. Things once 
 the end of life are seen to be but means. 
 The cup of the past is full, and to give it 
 more of life is waste. We are at the end of 
 the old way, and to turn our steps backward, 
 in the paths from which we are clearly called, 
 is to outrage conscience and deny the living 
 Christ. The Lord comes to us in some sud- 
 den flash of light ; some proffered opportu- 
 tunity of larger service ; some lifelong sorrow 
 that comes to make the heart its home ; some 
 fruitful fellowship with a new friend, whose 
 45 
 
A Heartening Word. 
 
 life reveals hitherto unseen possibilities in 
 our humanity ; some great vacancy left in 
 the soul by a departed hope ; ... in some 
 moment like one of these the Son of God 
 comes to each of us, perhaps when we think 
 not, bidding us arise and enter upon a di- 
 viner course of life." There is ever this 
 thought for our encouragement in all such 
 experiences, that whenever the Son of God 
 comes to summon the soul to action, espe- 
 cially by way of the cross, he invariably 
 leads. He himself came into the world for 
 the sole purpose of doing the will of his 
 Father to its utmost demand, and the mind 
 of Christ, respecting this entire matter of 
 obedience, is very manifest in his attitude in 
 the garden of agony, and in his sublime 
 utterance, " Not my will, but thine, be done." 
 Hence the highest point in Christian experi- 
 ence to which the individual believer can 
 ever hope to attain, is just to have the same 
 mind that was in his divine Lord, and to 
 walk even as he walked. 
 
 The one consolation that comes to our 
 hearts in the recollection of these truths is 
 that not one, sustaining this most intimate 
 relation to Christ, need ever have any fear 
 about what is to come. The way may seem 
 dark and uninviting; the heart may be 
 tempted to question the wisdom of any ap- 
 pointment, but dread there will not be, and 
 46 
 
Obedient Service. 
 
 cannot be, so long as there is the conscious- 
 ness of the preserving care and power of 
 Him who has called. Believers, we are told, 
 are kept, or garrisoned, by the power of God 
 through faith, and it is the pecuhar province 
 of faith, sustained by grace, to lead the soul 
 through darkness unto the light. 
 
 What difference need it make to any of 
 us, after all— if we are truly consecrated to 
 our Master's purpose — whether we toil for 
 him in the sunshine or in the darkness ; 
 whether our steps are set amidst pleasant 
 places, or in the rugged paths of a sorrowful 
 experience? Surely it is all one and the 
 same thing to him who is constantly recog- 
 nizing the divine presence. The chief anxiety 
 is to do the work intrusted by the Master, 
 and then, if the storm comes, if the way is 
 all hedged about, it will be because thus the 
 work is to be perfected. 
 
 The sad fact is that we too often forget 
 that our Lord Christ "never pointed out a 
 path of duty, or commanded a service, or 
 disclosed a new career of life, that had not 
 somewhere in it a Gethsemane and a Cal- 
 vary." It is for him to say how we shall go, 
 whether beneath cloudless skies, in ease and 
 comfort, or amidst distress and pain and 
 weariness. And if we have the confidence 
 in his judgment to v/hich it is entitled, we 
 shall know what is meant by the peace pass- 
 47 
 
A Heartening Word. 
 
 ing understanding, we shall appreciate the 
 joy that is unspeakable and full of glory, we 
 shall be assured that what he says is right, 
 that all his appointments are good and true. 
 "Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it." 
 Do it to-day, and to-morrow, and still to- 
 morrow. Be watchful ever; pray without 
 ceasing ; carry patiently the cross that daily 
 may be laid in the pathway ; sow the seed 
 that is given you ; wait upon the Lord in 
 faith ; walk with God with a new experience 
 at each step of his sustaining and strengthen- 
 ing grace, "dictating no terms to him. At 
 whatever cost accept the service offered you, 
 high or low, far or near. Then burn to the 
 socket." 
 
 " And He hath said, How beautiful the feet ! 
 The feet so weary, travel-stained and worn; 
 The feet that humbly, patiently have borne 
 The toilsome way, the pressure and the heat. 
 
 *' With weary, human feet, he, day by day, 
 Once trod this earth to work his acts of love; 
 And every step is chronicled above 
 His servants take to follow in his way." 
 
 48 
 
VI. 
 
 THE PREVAILING INTERCESSION. 
 
 1 HERE is one incident in the gospel nar- 
 rative that is rich in its suggestiveness, 
 especially to such as are inclined to be weak 
 or wavering in their faith — it is seen in our 
 Lord's treatment of Peter in that last solemn 
 yet tender interview he held with his dis- 
 ciples in the upper room of blessed memory. 
 After the institution of the holy supper, and 
 just before passing to the awful agony of the 
 garden, the Master says, "Simon, Simon, 
 behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that 
 he may sift you as wheat : but I have prayed 
 for thee, that thy faith fail not : and when 
 thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." 
 If we are taught any one particular lesson 
 by such gracious treatment of the individual 
 disciple, it is surely that, while the most 
 ample care and love are the divine bestow- 
 ment upon each of the entire band of the 
 disciples, the same blessings are afforded, in 
 a much more abundant measure, to those 
 among the disciples who may have special 
 need. 
 
 4 49 
 
A Heartening Word. 
 
 Who could possibly know so well, as 
 Jesus, how sore was Peter's need ? and it was 
 all the more deep and urgent because of the 
 vehement boast of loyal attachment : others 
 might desert the Master in his time of trial, 
 but he, Peter, would be true and unfailing, 
 come what might ! None could appreciate, 
 as did Jesus, the serious lack in Peter's char- 
 acter, and therefore the necessity of his being 
 fortified against the attack of the tempter; 
 none understood so fully the importance of 
 a perfecting of Peter's faith, through the 
 elimination of every selfish element, that he 
 might become, in time, rock-like in his de- 
 fense of the truth, and unyielding in his 
 resistance of every form of error and unbelief. 
 The night of trial was very close at hand, 
 the time when the powers of darkness would 
 mass themselves for the defeat of the Son of 
 God. Fierce assaults were shortly to be 
 made upon the chosen ones, and unless there 
 was special grace for the one of their num- 
 ber the most easily tempted, sad and sorrow- 
 ful would be the result. Hence, because 
 Peter was really the weakest he needed the 
 most strengthening ; because he was so rash 
 and impulsive he required to be restrained, 
 to become more stable and trustworthy ; and 
 so in his behalf the Lord Christ besought the 
 divine grace and blessing. 
 
 The constant remembrance of this char- 
 So 
 
The Prevailing Intercession. 
 
 acteristic of our divine Redeemer must ever 
 tend greatly to our individual peace and joy. 
 Not to the robust and sturdy disciple, whose 
 caution and prudence may always be ex- 
 pected to guide clear of danger, does he come 
 the most frequently with help and sympathy, 
 but to the weak and discouraged one. He 
 naturally has a more tender regard for the 
 bhnd, and the halt, and the lame, in the 
 household of faith, than for those of his dis- 
 ciples who are in the enjoyment of the full 
 vigor of life and health ; who, fleetfooted, can 
 go quickly on errands of mercy ; who, able- 
 handed, can readily undertake and perform 
 the most exacting duties of love and good 
 will to men. 
 
 If it be true, as has been said, that prayer 
 is the nerve that moves the muscle of Om- 
 nipotence, then we can easily understand 
 what a train of forces the Redeemer started 
 in motion for Peter's defense, as he addressed 
 the throne of grace. If, as Christ told the 
 Roman magistrate during his mock trial in 
 the judgment hall, twelve legions of angels 
 would instantly be at his command, did he 
 but request such a bodyguard, certainly 
 there would be vouchsafed to the weak disci- 
 ple all that was needed to strengthen him 
 and keep him from a sorrowful eclipse, did 
 his Lord and Master only seek such a bless- 
 ing in his behalf. And this is precisely what 
 51 
 
A Heartening Word. 
 
 he did : he offered for him urgent supplica- 
 tions ; he interceded with the Father to for- 
 tify and estabhsh his impetuous disciple and 
 friend, that he might not become the prey of 
 the evil one. 
 
 Of the Redeemer it is just as true to-day as 
 ever, that he is making intercession for us. 
 Think of it, especially you who may have 
 weak and wavering Christian faith : Jesus 
 prays for you ! Nay more: QYtn before you 
 began to be, he knew you, foreseeing your 
 life, as you have thus far lived it in the 
 world — all the temptations and trials to 
 which you have been subjected, all the grief 
 and sorrow through which you have been 
 called to pass, all your anxiety and desire to 
 live godly in this present world ; and he pro- 
 vided for you whatever grace and wisdom 
 you have been appropriating. If you have 
 been making any progress in your spiritual 
 career, if you are any better or wiser than in 
 the past, it is because your Saviour has been 
 invariably and with full sympathy interested 
 in your development. 
 
 Then, too, he hiows all the future, as you 
 mtist 7neet it, — all the bitterness you shall 
 experience, all the assaults that will yet be 
 directed, for your overthrow, against your 
 soul by the great adversary ; he knows the 
 measure of joy and peace it will be right for 
 you to have, and he is even now providing 
 52 
 
The Prevailing Intercession. 
 
 for your safety, that you may be enabled to 
 go forward and to increase in knowledge and 
 true holiness. 
 
 You cannot fall : possibly you will hesitate, 
 and even stumble, but you cannot forever 
 break away from the divine grasp. For 
 what did the Master say ? " And I give to 
 them eternal life ; and they shall never perish, 
 neither shall any man pluck thon out of my 
 hand. My Father, which gave them me, is 
 greater than all ; and no 7nan is able to pluck 
 the7n out of jny Father's hand.'^ No, you 
 can never break away from the divine grasp ! 
 Even Peter was overtaken and stumbled. 
 How grievous was that denial of his Lord ! 
 Straight from that upper room, wherein had 
 been enacted the most solemn rite conceiv- 
 able, a room fragrant with the tenderest 
 memories, Peter went forth, forsaking him to 
 whom he had vowed the most steadfast loy- 
 alty. Can it be that he forgot those words, 
 " But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith 
 fail not " ? Did he lose sight of the predicted 
 possibility of his being overcome by the ene- 
 my, in the supreme hour of his Lord's un- 
 happy trial ? There is, however, this com- 
 fort, that Peter, while undergoing the terrible 
 strain of that night in the judgment hall, did 
 not suffer a total extingtdsh7nent of faith, 
 and it was for that especially that the Master 
 interceded. His confidence, for the time be- 
 
 53 
 
A Heartening Word. 
 
 ing, it is true, did weaken, and he did fail, 
 most miserably, to maintain his stand as a 
 brave comforter and defender, to which he 
 had voluntarily pledged himself; but as we 
 behold his tearful repentance, produced by 
 that wonderful look with which his Master 
 regarded him, after his profane denial, we 
 must feel, surely, that his feet were not yet 
 swept ruthlessly from the abiding foundation. 
 Through the gateway of humble penitence, 
 sad and tearful, indeed, he was led back by 
 the angel of mercy, to Him who can and 
 does so freely forgive and restore. 
 
 Yes, you may stumble along, at times, in 
 the path of life, but you can never perish ; 
 Satan may do his best to entice you, and you 
 may, to some extent, lend an ear to his allur- 
 ing voice, but your Lord will look at you 
 likewise, when the right moment comes, and 
 you too will be heartbroken and undone 
 because of your weakness and sin. Yet he 
 who, with only a look, breaks down, can also 
 build up ; he who wounds can also heal : he 
 has prayed, is praying now for you, and when 
 the darkness is passed and the storm is 
 ceased, the sun will shine with undiminished 
 radiance ; after your denial, whatever form it 
 has assumed, your devotion to Christ will be 
 all the purer and more constant. 
 
 The trying ordeal, through which the weak 
 believer may have to pass, may be regarded 
 
 54 
 
The Prevailing Intercession. 
 
 as a good preparation for future usefulness. 
 The Master evidently intended to intimate as 
 much when he said to Peter, " When thou 
 art converted, strengthen thy brethren," — 
 when thou shalt have passed through the 
 sifting process, give thyself to the blessed 
 work of helping others. Certainly he would 
 come out of the conflict with new knowledge, 
 he would know himself better, would be bet- 
 ter able to estimate his own powers and limi- 
 tations, and would in so far be more fit than 
 ever to be a helper and guide to those about 
 him. After that dread night when Satan 
 so roughly used him, Peter's spiritual stature 
 was not so great in his own eyes as when 
 he so vehemently and so thoughtlessly af- 
 firmed his fidelity to his Lord — all the chaff 
 in his composition had been forcibly sifted 
 away ; hence, as we behold him on the day 
 when the Holy Spirit came so overpower- 
 ingly upon the assembled multitudes in Jeru- 
 salem, he seems a vastly different man — not 
 only seems, but is different, being now under 
 the supreme control of the divine Spirit, 
 which explains his burning words, his irre- 
 sistible eloquence, resulting in the conver- 
 sion of thousands of immortal souls. 
 
 What a blessed privilege it is that we can 
 
 have the dross of our natures purged away, 
 
 that we can have the objectionable features 
 
 of pride and temper and self-love forever 
 
 55 
 
A Heartening Word. 
 
 removed from us ! And we should very often 
 and very much desire such separating and 
 cleansing process, should have in our hearts 
 some such longing as Miss Havergal has so 
 beautifully expressed in poetic verse, 
 
 " O lead me, Lord, that I may lead 
 
 The wandering and the wavering feet ; 
 
 feed me, Lord, that I may feed 
 
 Thy hungering ones with manna sweet. 
 
 " O strengthen me, that while I stand 
 
 Firm on the Rock, and strong in thee, 
 
 1 may stretch out a loving hand 
 
 To wrestlers with the troubled sea. 
 
 " O teach me. Lord, that I may teach 
 
 The precious things thou dost impart ; 
 And wing my words, that they may reach 
 The hidden depths of many a heart. 
 
 " O fill me with thy fullness. Lord, 
 
 Until my very heart and soul o'erflow. 
 In kindling thought and glowing word, 
 Thy love to tell, thy praise to show." 
 
 And yet there are times, how many ! when 
 this can be accomplished more surely through 
 the instrumentality of the scorching furnace 
 of true and humble penitence : there indeed 
 the dross is left behind, and only the solid 
 gold of a godly character is brought to view. 
 The fires are controlled by the divine Hand, 
 the hand of him who knows so well how to 
 purify and to bless. 
 
 What need it matter, after all, if the expe- 
 
 56 
 
The Prevailing Intercession. 
 
 rience is that of affliction, or sorrow, or sick- 
 ness, or pain, — the letting loose against the 
 soul of all the artful devices of which Satan 
 is so clearly the master — what need it matter, 
 if only one can say, as the time of the pil- 
 grimage to the Celestial Country shortens, 
 "By the grace of God I am what I am"? 
 Paul, by a most blessed experience, knew 
 that the more fully he fellowshiped with 
 Christ in the sufferings of the cross, the more 
 completely he came under the power of the 
 endless life, and therefore was the more per- 
 fectly qualified for his daily toil in the 
 Master's service. Hence, in so far as the 
 Christian is comforted in his sorrow he is able 
 to point other suffering and sorrowing ones 
 to the God of all comfort and consolation ; 
 if he is tempted and delivered, and has his 
 feet set in a straight path, if he receives 
 daily strength according to daily need, he 
 can go to those who are oppressed with the 
 burdens and cares and difficulties of this life, 
 to those who seem breaking beneath the 
 weight of grave responsibilities, witnessing in 
 His behalf who is able to guide and to uphold 
 and to make faithful. 
 
 " I would be joyful as my days go by, 
 Counting God's mercies to me. He who bore 
 Life's heaviest cross is mine evermore ; 
 And I, who wait his coming, shall not I 
 On his sure word rely ? 
 
 57 
 
A Heartening Word. 
 
 So, if sometimes the way be rough, and sleep 
 
 Be heavy for the grief he sends to me, 
 
 Or at my waking I would only weep. 
 
 Let me be mindful that these things must be, 
 
 To work his blessed will until he come 
 
 And take my hand and lead me 
 
 Safely home." 
 
 58 
 
VII. 
 THE CELESTIAL COUNTRY. 
 
 1 HEY "build too low, who build beneath 
 the skies." 
 
 The supreme moment in the life of God's 
 beloved servant Paul was that in which he 
 was about to achieve the greatest victory 
 possible to man, the victory over death and 
 the grave. The thought and hope of such 
 glorious conquest had animated and sus- 
 tained him through many years of suffering 
 and toil, and now, in the divine ordering of 
 events, he has come to the moment of the 
 wondrous consummation. With manacled 
 hand, in chill prison cell, on the eve of mar- 
 tyrdom, he pens, to his dearly beloved son 
 in the faith, this significant message : I am 
 already being poured out as a sacrificial 
 offering, and my departing time is near ; I 
 have completed the glorious contest ; I have 
 gone over the whole course marked out for 
 the race ; I have kept the faith : henceforth 
 there is laid up for me a crown of righteous- 
 ness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, 
 shall give to me at that day. 
 
 59 
 
A Heartening Word. 
 
 The very last charge to the youthful bishop, 
 no wonder it is given in the most solemn 
 form, to deepen, doubtless, his impression of 
 the realities of the future world, and to lead 
 him to believe that they should ever outweigh 
 all the present. And how are such words 
 like a veritable "prelude at heaven's gate to 
 the immortal anthem to be sung within"! 
 They are indeed, as has been suggested, " a 
 death-paean of matchless sublimity, as cover- 
 ing the retrospect and prospect of a Christ- 
 like life, a life of loyal love to God and 
 man." The apostle saw before him, "at a 
 little distance, the doom of an unrighteous 
 magistrate, and the sword of a bloodstained 
 executioner ; but he appealed to the sentence 
 of a juster Judge, who would soon change 
 the fetters of the criminal into the wealth of 
 the conqueror ; he looked beyond the transi- 
 tory present ; the tribunal of Nero faded from 
 his sight, and the vista was closed by the 
 judgment seat of Christ." Now the only 
 remaining thing to be done is to die : but 
 what is death to such an one as Paul? 
 
 When we try to estimate the grandeur of 
 the change from the corruptible to the incor- 
 ruptible, from the mortal to the immortal ; as 
 we think of the eternal blessedness already 
 entered upon in the very moment of the 
 change, we instinctively take upon our lips 
 the words of Paul, with which he boldly 
 60 
 
The Celestial Country. 
 
 challenges the seeming supremacy of man's 
 last enemy — "O death, where is thy sting? 
 O grave, where is thy victory ? . . , Thanks 
 be to God, which giveth us the victory 
 through our Lord Jesus Christ " — and we 
 feel that not more completely nor more suit- 
 ably could the believer's mastership over 
 death be set forth. 
 
 The life of the Christian as lived in the 
 world, in much weakness it may be, in weari- 
 ness and pain ofttimes, — what is it but one of 
 the grandeurs of God's providences ? And 
 his death, come how or when it may, — what 
 is it but the very glory of those same provi- 
 dences ? To our sight and thought death is 
 only weakness ; he makes it power. We, in 
 the poverty of human apprehension, call it 
 simply a departure out of this world ; he in 
 the wealth of his infinite comprehension, 
 terms it a triumphant entrance into his king- 
 dom. 
 
 You look upon the nest wherein the mother 
 bird only a little while ago brought forth her 
 young ; whatever of life was there has gone, 
 now nothing abides but a rejected nest and 
 shattered shell. Restricting thought to these, 
 you are inclined to say. What destruction is 
 here ! what disaster is this ! But when turn- 
 ing from these you look upward into the 
 bright and beautiful blue of the heavens ; 
 when you gaze outward upon the works of 
 6i 
 
A Heartening Word. 
 
 God's hand in nature, beholding the divine 
 goodness and wisdom everywhere manifest, 
 seeing in reahty a world instinct with life and 
 beauty, and vocal with praise, you at once 
 recall your premature judgment, and say. 
 This is not destruction, this is not disaster ; 
 this bursting of the shell is verily a relief, and 
 is profitable ; the life that was intended for 
 something better and grander, after its period 
 of partial development, has broken through 
 its environs, and passed victoriously into a 
 world unspeakably more glorious and more 
 enduring. 
 
 It was a favorite thought of John Howe, 
 whenever he reflected upon the decease of 
 the believer, that it is but a translation out of 
 a valley of death into a region of perfect and 
 everlasting life — it is preeminently a birth 
 into a world more lightsome, more pure, and 
 more glorious. 
 
 Of that better land, into which the per- 
 fected soul is ushered with the rejoicings 
 of ministering spirits, we are not left in utter 
 ignorance. The Celestial City is not entirely 
 hidden from our view. Taking our place by 
 the side of the exiled disciple upon Patmos, 
 we shall see it even as he saw it in apocalyp- 
 tic vision : rich in its gates of pearl ; its walls 
 resplendent with the brilliancy of jasper, and 
 sapphire, and emerald ; its streets of pure 
 gold, never "deformed by the thorns and 
 62 
 
The Celestial Country. 
 
 weeds of a sin-bearing soil ; " its pure river 
 of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding 
 out of the throne of God and of the Lamb ; 
 its tree of life in the midst of the street and 
 on either side of the river, yielding its fruit 
 and its leaves for the healing of the nations ; 
 its atmosphere pure and invigorating, and 
 not once disturbed by the sighs of distress or 
 pain. In the Celestial City is no more curse : 
 but the throne of God and of the Lamb is in 
 it ; and his servants serve him ; there they 
 see his face ; there his name is in their fore- 
 heads ; there is no night there ; and they 
 need no candle, neither light of the sun, for 
 the Lord God giveth them light ; and he 
 wipes away all tears from their eyes. 
 
 Is it to be wondered at that the apostle 
 Paul, with his entrancing and unutterable 
 views of the heavenly state, and animated by 
 his intense devotion to his Lord, should have 
 desired to depart and to be with Christ, 
 which to him was far better ? No doubt, 
 when immediately confronted by martyrdom, 
 he was comforted greatly by the memory of 
 his past life spent in the service of the Mas- 
 ter. How he could exult, " I have fought the 
 good fight, I have kept the faith !" Even so 
 is it with the believer to-day who receives the 
 summons to depart and to be with Christ. 
 It is far better to go. It was, truly, an in- 
 estimable privilege to be permitted to spend 
 
 63 
 
A Heartening Word. 
 
 and to be spent in doing God's will, — in 
 ministering to the needy, in speaking words 
 of cheer and comfort, in binding up the 
 broken-hearted, and in encouraging the weak 
 and desponding ones, — ^but now that the 
 Master calls, now that it is the divine will to 
 lay down the burden of life, it is far, far bet- 
 ter to go ; to go and be with him who is love, 
 to be with him where there is no more sin, 
 no more pain, no more death. 
 
 Think of the reward to which the be- 
 liever hastens, in thus gladly responding to 
 the divine summons ! If there have been in- 
 deed years of activity and holy zeal in the 
 service of the Redeemer, such activity and 
 zeal are so closely inwrought with the very 
 texture of his soul as to render a separation 
 impossible. Nothing is forgotten, nothing is 
 lost: 
 
 " The look of sympathy, the gentle word, 
 Spoken so low that only angels heard ; 
 The secret art of pure self-sacrifice, 
 Unseen by men, but marked by angels' eyes, — 
 These are not lost. 
 
 " The sacred music of a tender strain, 
 Wrung from a poet's heart by grief and pain 
 And chanted timidly, with doubt and fear. 
 To busy crowds, who scarcely paused to hear, — 
 These are not lost. 
 
 " The kindly plans devised for others' good, 
 So seldom guessed, so little understood ; 
 64 
 
 f 
 
The Celestial Country. 
 
 The quiet, steadfast love that strove to win 
 Some wanderer from the ways of sin, — 
 These are not lost. 
 
 " Not lost, O Lord ! for in thy City bright 
 Our eyes shall see the past by clearer light. 
 And things long hidden from our gaze below 
 Thou wilt reveal ; and we shall surely know 
 These are not lost." 
 
 Think, too, of the joyful reunions in the 
 Celestial City. The social life upon earth 
 is full of its sweet attractiveness in many 
 instances, but it is not intended to be 
 permanent, nor could we wish it to be so. 
 Now and again, one and another drops out 
 of the ranks, passing into the higher realm, 
 into the more perfect life. Who can meas- 
 ure the joy and satisfaction with which souls, 
 separated for a time, meet in the Father's 
 house — meet 7iever7nore to part ! We think 
 of them, in the ineffable brightness of the 
 heavenly world, instantly and quickly recog- 
 nizing each other's presence, and, with un- 
 bounded delight, holding fellowship respect- 
 ing all that God has done for them. Hence 
 we can fully appreciate the aptness of 
 Charles Kingsley's remark when, speaking 
 of the earthly bliss, he declares that it is 
 " the sacrament of a higher union. Torn 
 will be the thorn from every rose, and sweet- 
 ened will be every nectar-cup to perfect se- 
 curity of blessedness in this life, to feel that 
 5 65 
 
A Heartening Word. 
 
 there is more in store for us, that all expres- 
 sions of love here are but dim shadows of a 
 union which shall be perfect, if we will but 
 work here so as to work out our salvation." 
 
 "What Mary's cottage at Bethany had 
 been to the little company during the holy 
 week, with its quiet rest after the daily tur- 
 moil of Jerusalem ; what some humble house 
 on the shore of Galilee was to St. John, with 
 its associations of Salome ; what the great 
 temple was to the pious Jews, with its pres- 
 ence of the Eternal, that on the higher scale 
 was heaven. Jesus availed himself of a 
 wealth of tender recollections and placed 
 heaven in the heart of humanity when he 
 said, ' My Father's house.' 
 
 "Any view of the future may be fairly tried 
 by this criterion — does it strengthen, gladden, 
 inspire us in the present ? Whenever this 
 question is put, we turn to Jesus with his 
 doctrine of continuity. Where the traditional 
 forecast fails is in the absence of hope. It 
 takes all purpose from our present effort, 
 whose hard-won gains in service are to be 
 flung away. It takes all opportunity from 
 the future, which is to be a state of practical 
 inertia. It is the depreciation of the market 
 place, the workshop, the study ; it is the 
 vindication of a Trappist monastery. Where 
 the forecast of Jesus tells is in the spirit of 
 hope ; it invests the most trivial or sordid 
 66 
 
The Celestial Country. 
 
 details of this life with significance, changing 
 them into the elementary exercises of a great 
 science ; it points to the future as the heights 
 of life to which we are climbing out of this 
 narrow valley. One of the most pathetic 
 sights in this life is to see a dying man strug- 
 gling to the last in his calling, putting another 
 touch to his unfinished picture, adding an- 
 other page to his half-written book. ' Art is 
 long ; life is short ' comes to our mind, but 
 how stands the case ? If the monkish heaven 
 be true, then this foolish mortal would better 
 be done with art or letters, for they can have 
 no place in the land to which he hasteth. 
 If Jesus' heaven be true, then he is bound 
 to gather the last penny of interest on his 
 talents, and make himself fit for his new 
 work. Jesus heartens his followers by an 
 assurance that not one hour of labor, not one 
 grain of attainment, not one honest effort on 
 to the moment when the tools of earth drop 
 from our hands, but will tell on the after life." 
 As we are permitted, so frequently, to look 
 upon lives that are lived in all holy obedience 
 to the divine will ; that abound in loving and 
 cheerful labors for the Master; that are so 
 helpful and encouraging to the needy and to 
 the tempted ; whose quiet yet positive in- 
 fluence is felt beyond the bounds of the home 
 circle ; that are transformed into the image 
 of the heavenly, the Christlike features grow- 
 67 
 
A Heartening Word. 
 
 ing ever more distinct — we may see indis- 
 putable evidence of the spiritual presence 
 of him who declared, " I will not leave you 
 comfortless : I will come to you." And then, 
 when the earthly course is run, when the 
 daily toil is done, when the appointed mis- 
 sion is fulfilled ; in that hour, when the soul 
 draws nearer the bound of life where we lay 
 our burdens down, it is the same Voice, the 
 voice of the same blessed Saviour and Friend 
 that says, " Be not afraid ; in my Father's 
 house are many mansions ; I have come to 
 receive you unto myself." And the faith of 
 those who remain can see the glorified soul 
 and the Redeemer holding closest fellowship 
 in paradise, even as we look upon the en- 
 rapturing scene of the transfiguration of our 
 Lord upon the mount. 
 
 Those whom we often think of and speak 
 of as dead are, in reality, not dead, but are 
 living with Jesus in heaven. Living with 
 Jesus ! How, then, can we wish to call them 
 back to our side, to enter again into their 
 former associations with ourselves ? Would 
 we, indeed, have them again to take up the 
 dread battle with sin, — to suffer, once more, 
 grief and pain ? The presence of the Re- 
 deemer is so glorious, and the blessedness of 
 those who have gone to be with him is so 
 beyond finite estimate, that instead of longing 
 for the reunion in this world, we have the 
 68 
 
The Celestial Country. 
 
 same ardent craving that Paul had, when he 
 found himself in a strait betwixt two, having 
 a desire to depart and to be with Christ, 
 which is far better. We would gladly resign 
 all things earthly to enter into the beatific 
 state and to enjoy the glad mutual recog- 
 nitions in glory. Yet we patiently abide here, 
 knowing it is our Father's will ; nevertheless 
 we wait for the summons that shall usher us 
 to our eternal rest. 
 
 Our varied experiences here are surely of 
 such a character as naturally lead us to look 
 with interest and hope to that house of the 
 many mansions, to that better land where the 
 inhabitants never say, "I am sick;" where 
 death never obtrudes its unwelcome pres- 
 ence ; and where sorrow never is permitted. 
 If indeed we are the Lord's own, bound to 
 him by a living faith, and by a hope that can 
 never make ashamed, we can truly say of 
 him: 
 
 " Thou art coming ! We are waiting 
 With a hope that cannot fail, 
 Asking not the day or hour, 
 Anchored safe within the veil. 
 
 " Thou art coming ! Thou art coming ! 
 We shall meet thee on thy way ; 
 Thou art coming ! We shall see thee, 
 And be like thee on that day." 
 
 So the blessed work is carried on from 
 
 69 
 
A Heartening Word. 
 
 step to step. Soon the purpose of God in 
 the earthly hfe will be fully accomplished. 
 Soon will be heard the glad summons " Come 
 up higher," and right joyful will be the 
 response. There, in the temple not made 
 with hands, the soul is presented faultless 
 before the presence of the divine glory with 
 exceeding joy. With the sorrows of earth 
 ended, its duties faithfully performed, its con- 
 flicts patiently endured, and its heat and 
 burden heroically borne, the soul may now 
 well be satisfied, having awaked in the like- 
 ness of God, and seeing him as he is. He 
 looks upon the King in his beauty. He 
 adores unceasingly the dear Redeemer who 
 purchased him with his own precious blood. 
 
 70 
 
Princeton Theological Seminary Libraries 
 
 1 1012 01235 5709