raM^HfniaMaL|fM|uauKMiM i aaX 
 
MEDITATIONS, 
 
 DAY BY DAY. 
 
 
 
 ■hM 
 
 "&$£ ^Testimonies are mg fftetfitations." 
 
 
 y 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 G-OULD A^IST r> LINCOLN, 
 
 59 WASHINGTON STREET. 
 
 1871. 
 
4*3? 
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, by 
 
 GOULD AND LINCOLN, 
 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
 
 Rockwell & Churchill, Printers, Boston. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 r^HE late Dr. Burgess had for several years 
 LJ been in the habit of writing daily a brief 
 
 meditation on some passage of Holy 
 Scripture. This he read, together with 
 the chapter occurring in course, at domestic 
 worship, morning or evening. He continued this 
 practice, notwithstanding the serious injury a 
 year since, which reduced his strength, and oc- 
 casioned for a considerable part of the remaining 
 eight months of his life severe pain. 
 
 These condensed suggestions were much prized 
 by his family. A selection of specimen leaflets 
 has been made, — the selection being from such 
 
4 PREFACE. 
 
 devotional thoughts as were prepared during the 
 last year of his life. 
 
 No idea was probably farther from Dr. Burgess' 
 mind than that any use like the present one would 
 be made of his somewhat confidential reflections 
 and aspirations. They are not hereby published ; 
 they are simply handed in this form confidingly 
 and affectionately to the church and congregation 
 of which he w^as so long pastor. 
 
 His friends will please accept this little volume 
 as a token of Christian regard from the one who 
 expects at no distant day to follow him to the 
 great family gathering and worship on high. 
 
 Broad Oak, March, 1871. 
 
i. 
 
 • I WILL ADD UNTO THY DATS FIFTEEN YEARS. 
 
 2 Kings m. 6. 
 
 EZ.EKIAH was one of Judalfs best kings, 
 a patriot, a reformer, a true servant of 
 God. Being sick of some fatal disease, 
 he was admonished to set his house in order 
 and prepare to die. He was smitten with 
 alarm, being less than forty years old, and hav- 
 ing only begun the work of life. He turned his 
 face to the wall, prayed with importunity, and 
 wept sore. God had compassion on him, and 
 sent Isaiah with the promise, w I will add unto 
 thy days fifteen years." 
 
 The year is the longest measure of time ; 
 nearly half of our race die under fifteen years, 
 and the period of twice fifteen years is allotted 
 to a generation. 
 
 How rich is this promise of an additional 
 fifteen years ! That, indeed, made him only 
 
b MEDITAT10KS . 
 
 fifty-four years when he actually died. With 
 diligence and zeal how much might he accom- 
 plish in that space of time ; and yet how soon 
 would it be past ! Poor man, he was vain of 
 his wealth and prosperity, and showed his 
 treasures to the ambassadors of the king of 
 Babylon, who were sent to congratulate him 
 on his recovery from sickness. Such is our 
 infirmity. There is no perfect sanctification 
 to man on earth. 
 
 Who of us has any probable claim to fifteen 
 years more ? Would it not require a super- 
 natural sign, like the return of the shadow ten 
 degrees backward on the dial of Ahaz, to 
 assure any one of us that he shall live fifteen 
 years longer ? 
 
 How just is the prayer, "So teach us to 
 number our days, that we may apply our 
 hearts unto wisdom " ! 
 
 This is the first day of a New Year, and 
 who can promise himself that he shall survive 
 to see its last day? Step gently on the mar- 
 gin of another world. 
 
II. 
 
 ' ALL THE DAYS OF MY APPOINTED TIME WILL I WAIT, 
 TILL MY CHANGE COME. — Job xi v. 14. 
 
 I 
 
 Q^HE change in question, without dispute, 
 is death. This change will come. It is 
 appointed unto men once to die. There 
 is no escape in this warfare. Early or late, in 
 the ordinary course of nature, by disease, by 
 accident, or by violence, every one must die. 
 To this result we all tend, and to this end we 
 must all arrive. 
 
 This change has an appointed time. The 
 little sparrow falls not to the ground without 
 our Father. Our birth and our death are the 
 two great events in our earthly existence. 
 The time, the place, and the circumstances 
 are appointed in the decrees of our Father. 
 Chance is excluded. 
 
 All the days of this appointed time each one 
 should wait. Why? Because our Father has 
 
8 ME D1TA TIOJSTS . 
 
 numbered our days in his wisdom and good- 
 ness ; because it is his will, and it is our duty. 
 
 How wait? Patiently in suffering, actively 
 in obedience, hopefully in trust, — not in idle- 
 ness, not in complaining, not in the belief that 
 our usefulness is at an end, not in the wish 
 that each day were the last. 
 
 Hence suicide, which is so common among 
 an infidel people, is a great crime. It is a 
 direct rebellion against God. It is throwing 
 away his precious gift with contempt. 
 
 Waiting on God is a reverent posture. 
 Thoughtful, prayerful, submissive, ' ? not sloth- 
 ful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the 
 Lord." In weakness, in sickness, in pain, in 
 want, wait on the Lord. What better can 
 one do ? 
 
 Even to wish that our life were at an end 
 is very sinful. No, "all the days of my 
 appointed time will I wait till my change 
 come." 
 
III. 
 
 ' I KNOW THAT MY REDEEMER LIVETH, AND THAT HE SHALL 
 STAND AT THE LATTER DAT UPON THE EARTH ; AND 
 THOUGH AFTER MY SKIN WORMS DESTROY THIS BODY, 
 YET IN MY FLESH SHALL I SEE GOD ; WHOM I SHALL 
 SEE FOR MYSELF, AND MINE EYES SHALL BEHOLD. 
 AND NOT ANOTHER." — Job xix. 25-27. 
 
 'HE volume of inspired Scripture is one. 
 " The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of 
 prophecy." The promise that the seed 
 of the woman should bruise the head of the 
 serpent, stands early in the record ; and the 
 benediction, "The grace of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ be with you all," is the conclusion of it. 
 Why do we wish to blot out any reference to 
 the great Eedeemer in the beginning, the mid- 
 dle, or the end of the volume ? 
 
 Job lived in the patriarchal age ; if not so 
 early as Abraham, yet not so late as Moses. 
 Did Abraham anticipate with joy the day of 
 the Messiah? and might not Job, in ecstatic 
 vision, feel a similar impulse? No direct 
 argument need be atteixpted in defence of 
 this exposition, once generally embraced, now 
 slowly admitted. 
 
10 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 Abel understood the import of the sacrifices. 
 Enoch walked with God, and predicted the 
 Lord's final advent " with ten thousand of his 
 saints." Noah w T as a prophet and a preacher 
 of righteousness. Job, like Abraham, might 
 almost have seen Shem, their ancestor, and 
 might have been instructed in the knowledge 
 of God and salvation, as transmitted from 
 Adam, Enoch, and Noah. Why do we mar- 
 vel, if he expressed strong faith in a future 
 Redeemer, and in the blessedness of the saints 
 in the resurrection state ? The existence and 
 providence of God, the immortality of the 
 soul, the interposition of a Redeemer, the 
 pardon of sin through the shedding of his 
 blood, the resurrection of the dead, and the 
 life everlasting, may well have been primary 
 principles in the patriarchal religion. 
 
 Deep darkness did not becloud the world at 
 once. Lessons of traditionary wisdom were 
 transmitted from parents to children for many 
 generations. Some relics survive, as in prov- 
 erbs, in nearly every language. 
 
IV. 
 
 1 WHO IS AMONG YOU THAT FEAEETH THE LORD. THAT 
 OBEYETH THE YOICE OF HIS SERVANT, THAT AYALKETH 
 IN DARKNESS, AND HATH NO LIGHT? LET HIM TRUST 
 IN THE NAME OF THE LORD, AND STAY UPON HIS 
 GOD " — Isaiah 1.10. 
 
 t 
 
 CYYYHO is he that "fearetk the Lord and 
 obeyeth the voice of his servant"? 
 He is the reverent, conscientious, and 
 religious man. He deprecates sin, the dis- 
 pleasure of God, the condemnation of the 
 wicked. He attends to the voice of Christ, 
 the great Teacher, the rightful Lord. 
 
 Such a one, however truly a good man, 
 may walk in darkness and have no light. 
 Doubt and anxiety are not peculiar to irre- 
 ligious persons. He may have false views of 
 truth or of himself. His depression of soul 
 may originate in bad health or in the tempta- 
 tions of Satan. Dark clouds may overspread 
 his mind or his path. He may have no set- 
 tled hope, peace, or joy. He knows not 
 
 11 
 
12 MEDITATIONS, 
 
 what to do or which way to turn. Within or 
 without, he is alike in trouble. Job was 
 falsely accused, and considered himself cast 
 out under the divine frown. The psalmist 
 walked in darkness when he composed the 
 strain, "Why art thou cast down, O my 
 soul?" 
 
 Accept the advice in this text. Trust in 
 the name of the Lord, and stay upon thy God. 
 He is powerful to sustain thee in weakness, 
 to comfort thee in sorrow, and bear thee up 
 in every trial. Think how he has interposed 
 for his servants in times past, — Joseph, Dan- 
 iel, Paul, and others. 
 
 This is the way to secure peace of mind, to 
 make the best use of the means of escape or 
 deliverance which are within our reach, and 
 to bear with patience the present burden. 
 
 Gloomy depression is no sure evidence 
 against personal piety. 
 
 Do not think too much of doubt and sorrow. 
 They may be occasioned by the poor body, 
 weak, diseased, and dying. 
 
V. 
 
 "be of good cheer; it is i; be not afraid. 
 
 Mark vi. 50. 
 
 f 
 
 C^jYVHEN the humble repast was ended, 
 Jesus advised the disciples to cross the 
 lake, while he dismissed the multitude, 
 and withdrew to the mountain to pray. The 
 hours of night wasted away. The wind on 
 the lake was contrary. The disciples toiled 
 hard in rowing. The fourth watch had ar- 
 rived, and the morning soon must dawn. 
 Jesus made his appearance walking on the 
 sea, and seemed to be passing by. They were 
 troubled, supposing it to be some spectre, and 
 cried out with fear. Jesus spoke to them for 
 their comfort, and said, "Be of good cheer; 
 it is I ; be not afraid." 
 
 Thanks to thee, thou compassionate One ! 
 When in hunger or in danger, when on the 
 stormy sea or on the dry land, thou art near 
 
 13 
 
14 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 to thy servants. The wind abates, the waves 
 subside, the danger is past. How peaceful is 
 the voice, w It is I ; be not afraid " ! 
 
 "It is I," — in my watchful providence, in 
 my divine power, in my tender love. 
 
 "Be not afraid" of any rude wind, of any 
 swelling wave, any nightly vision. "Be of 
 good cheer" in my presence, within the sound 
 of my voice, in memory of my miracles. 
 
 He has made promises ; He is faithful and 
 true. Read his assurances in the letters to 
 the seven churches. 
 
 Row on, ye weary mariners ; the sea is not 
 boundless, the night is not endless ; in the 
 prayer on the mountain ye were not for- 
 gotten. Has the Master sent you on this 
 voyage? Be not alarmed or discouraged. 
 Neither the tempest nor the vision shall do 
 you harm. 
 
VI. 
 
 ' LIKEWISE, I SAY UNTO YOU, THERE IS JOY IN THE 
 PRESENCE OF THE ANGELS OF GOD OVER ONE SINNER 
 THAT REPENTETH." — Luke xv. 10. 
 
 I 
 
 C^J^HE angels of God are those heavenly 
 hosts who have never apostatized from 
 his service. They feel a sympathy for 
 fallen men, who in their impenitence are 
 condemned to perdition. They understand 
 the gospel of reconciliation, adore the great 
 Kedeemer, and administer to the heirs of sal- 
 vation. 
 
 Why do they rejoice over the repenting 
 sinner? They are benevolent, and take de- 
 light to see other beings happy as themselves. 
 When a sinner repents, a soul is saved, 
 Christ is honored, the law is established, the 
 grace of God is displayed, the strain of praise 
 is sung. The difference is infinite between 
 the salvation and perdition of a sinner. The 
 reason, then, for the joy of the holy angels is 
 incomprehensible and unutterable. 
 
 15 
 
16 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 Think how numberless are the blessed 
 angels. Think how great is the change when 
 a sinner repents. Think what joy flows 
 through the myriads of the angelic hosts 
 when a sinner is delivered from the dominion 
 of sin, and the gulf of ruin, and clothed in the 
 robes of innocence and beauty. If the peni- 
 tent himself is happy, and all the saints on 
 earth participate with him in the blessedness, 
 what shall be said of the angels, who are per- 
 fectly benevolent ? 
 
 In what a work are the Lord's ministers 
 engaged, who endeavor to seize the brands 
 from the burning ! " He that converteth a 
 sinner from the error of his way shall save a 
 soul from death and hide a multitude of sins. 5 ' 
 "They that be wise shall shine as the bright- 
 ness of the firmament, and they that turn 
 many to righteousness as the stars forever 
 and ever." 
 
 Blow the trumpet, watch to win souls to 
 Christ, be faithful unto death. 
 
VII. 
 
 "lord, remember me when thou comest into thy 
 
 KINGDOM." — LUKE xxiii. 42. 
 
 C7T ¥ HIS penitent malefactor, a condemned 
 Tj j sinner in his own sight, believed that 
 Jesus was not an impostor nor a liar, 
 but a truthful and exalted personage, the 
 Messiah of the prophets, the promised King 
 of Israel. What had been his education, 
 how extended was his knowledge of the 
 Hebrew Scriptures, how accurate was his 
 faith in the Messiah, we do not know; but 
 that he became a true and approved disciple, 
 we have the best evidence. Christ said, "To- 
 day shalt thou be with me in paradise." 
 Consoling assurance to a dying penitent. 
 We are to presume, then, that the spirit of 
 his heart was in harmony with all that his 
 words import. 
 
 Let us, then, con over his words. " Lord " : 
 
 • 17 
 
18 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 this is a title of reverence, expressive of 
 authority or power, whether as a teacher, a 
 legislator or a prince, and not a man only. 
 " Remember me " : do not forget or forsake 
 me, show me favor, let me be the object of 
 thy compassion and mercy. "When thou 
 comest into thy kingdom." He believed that 
 Christ would come again, not in the weakness 
 and suffering of a man, but in the exaltation 
 and power of the Son of God. What a 
 stretch of faith was this ! 
 
 Jesus was now suspended on the cross, in 
 the dying struggle, as a frail man. But this 
 was not to be the end. There was a resurrec- 
 tion on the third clay foretold. There was an 
 exaltation to the throne of glory predicted. 
 His return would be attended with hosts of 
 angels. Majesty and splendor would mark 
 that scene. 
 
 The penitent malefactor did not despair 
 that he should be remembered with favor in 
 that great day, and participate in the blessed- 
 ness of the Messiah's rei^n. 
 
VIII. 
 
 ; JESUS SAID ITNTO THE TWELVE, WILL YE ALSO GO 
 AWAY? THEN SIMON PETER ANSWERED HIM, LORD, 
 TO WHOM SHALL WE GO? THOU HAST THE WORDS OF 
 ETERNAL LIFE." — John vi. 67, 68. 
 
 i ANY were offended with Christ's preach- 
 ing, believed not, and went away to 
 follow him no more. In grief and re- 
 gret Jesus turned to the chosen twelve,— 
 "Will ye also go away?" 
 
 Such is the question in every age. Some go 
 away disappointed in ambition, — no wealth, 
 no official rank, no earthly honor being prom- 
 ised. Some go away offended with His 
 sublime doctrines or holy precepts ; some 
 displeased with the humility, self-abasement 
 and self-denial which His religion requires ; 
 some because the conditions of mercy and 
 salvation make no allowance of merit to legal 
 works and offerings. 
 
 t? Will ye also go away ? " We are some- 
 
 19 
 
20 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 times tempted to do so. The example or 
 persuasion of friends, the necessity of watch- 
 fulness, our imperfect sanctity, may turn us 
 aside. No. We will say with Peter, " Lord, 
 to whom shall we go ? Thou hast the words of 
 eternal life." 
 
 His gospel is true. It bears the internal 
 and external evidences of its divine origin. 
 Miracles attend it. The prophecies w r ere 
 fulfilled in Him. Harmony and sublimity 
 characterize His doctrines. Holiness is 
 stamped on His precepts. His religion per- 
 vades the soul, to awaken its powers, to purify 
 its affections, to inspire peace, hope, and joy. 
 This gospel vindicates its character in its 
 influence on the world, wherever it is pub- 
 lished. 
 
 Jesus is the only Saviour. " There is no 
 other name under heaven, given among men, 
 whereby we must be saved." " Thou hast the 
 words of eternal life." These teach the true 
 system of doctrine, exhibit the purest motives, 
 warn of danger, inspire with hope. 
 
IX. 
 
 " ONE THING I KNOW, THAT WHEREAS I WAS BLIND, NOW 
 
 I SEE." Jouxix. 25. 
 
 A 
 
 @t ^ATURAL blindness is a sad calamity, 
 T\ not often relieved by human skill. 
 J Jesus, the light of the world, was the 
 healer of the blind. This form of miracle 
 was characteristic. "The blind receive their 
 sight." When the Pharisees cast reproach on 
 Christ, the man who had been blind from his 
 infancy, said, "Whether he be a sinner or no, 
 I know not ; one thing I know, that whereas 
 I was blind, now I see." Apply this to 
 spiritual blindness. 
 
 Many things one may not know ; but he 
 finds himself a sinner, ignorant, guilty, and 
 lost. He has no doubt of his miserable and 
 condemned state. He cannot effect his own 
 salvation by bribing or penance, by tears or 
 prayers. No human surgery can effect his 
 cure. He does not understand the doctrines 
 of grace, or comprehend the mystery of the 
 
22 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 incarnation, or know how the Spirit acts upon 
 his heart to convince and illuminate, or how 
 the sufferings of Christ can avail to his pardon. 
 
 But he knows that he is blind. 
 
 So, when his spiritual blindness is removed, 
 he is conscious of the marvellous change. But 
 when or how this transition occurred, he 
 cannot tell. He was asleep, and is now 
 awake ; he was dead, and is now alive ; he w T as 
 blind, and he now sees. Of the two states of 
 being he is sure ; but the thousand things 
 which fill up the intervening space are a 
 mystery to himself. No matter. "Known 
 unto God are all his works." Let that suffice. 
 Whatever is essential to our duty or salvation, 
 we may know ; and the vast residue may be 
 postponed to a future eternity. We may 
 safely wait, until our powers expand, or a 
 more brilliant light dawn upon our souls. 
 
 It is well if we know that w T e now see. 
 Let us exercise and employ our new vision 
 to sublime purposes, to honor God and serve 
 our fellow-men. 
 
X 
 
 • WHEX WE WERE YET WITHOUT STRENGTH, IX DUE TIME 
 CHRIST DIED FOR THE UXGODLY." — Romans v. C 
 
 I 
 
 Cfi*HE " ungodly," or unlike to God, include 
 all men while in their unregenerate 
 state, being children of wrath, and. 
 under the dominion of the carnal mind, which 
 is enmity against God, and not subject to his 
 law. This accords with the text, "He died for 
 all." "He is the propitiation for our sins, and 
 not for ours only, but for the sins of the 
 whole world." If any of our race were never 
 ungodly, or under condemnation as sinners, 
 they need not, and cannot, have any participa- 
 tion in the death of Christ. 
 
 The ungodly are w without strength " to 
 resist temptation, or to accomplish their own 
 deliverance from perdition. They cannot 
 work out a righteousness of their own, or 
 make any expiation for past sin. They can- 
 not buy salvation with money, or merit it by 
 
 23 
 
24 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 works or penance, prayers or tears. " While 
 we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." 
 "By whom we have now received the atone- 
 ment." 
 
 "In due time," "in the fulness of time," at 
 the time designated by many prophecies, and 
 now recorded in authentic history, the Mes- 
 siah made his advent to this earth, and "died 
 for the ungodly." No historical fact is better 
 attested than the death of Christ. The time, 
 the place, and the manner, are well defined. 
 
 "Christ died for the ungodly." In their 
 stead, as their representative, for their re- 
 demption, he died. The dignity of his rank 
 and the excellence of his character gave to his 
 death an incomparable value. "He died for 
 all." God is now in Christ reconciling the 
 world unto himself. 
 
 Marvellous doctrine ! Who but God can 
 declare his own eternal decrees and counsels ? 
 Let us consider and adore. 
 
XI. 
 
 "he that spared not his own son, but delivered 
 him up for us all, how shall he not with him 
 
 ALSO FREELY GIVE TJS ALL THINGS ? " — ROMANS viii. 32. 
 T 
 
 (v^HE whole ensures each part, and the 
 \j ) greater gift is a pledge for the less. 
 i! This is always considered a valid argu- 
 ment. Has God in love given us his Son? 
 his Son to die for us ? to die for us all ? for 
 us all while Ave were yet sinners? Is there 
 any greater gift possible ? Are all other gifts 
 little in comparison? "How then shall he 
 not with him also freely give us all things?" 
 Such is the argument. 
 
 Has he given his Son for our lost world, to 
 die for our redemption? Dwell upon it. 
 How unspeakable the gift ! Head, hear, be- 
 lieve, and live. It offers pardon and salva- 
 tion. 
 
 What other things are wanted? They are 
 many, comparatively great, most urgent. 
 
 25 
 
26 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 We cannot merit them, we cannot buy them 
 with money, created beings cannot bestow 
 them. We may search heaven and earth in 
 vain. 
 
 But we may say, f? Has God given ns his 
 Son ? How shall he not with him freely give 
 us all things?" Life and health, food and 
 apparel, house and home, — how few and 
 small are these in comparison ! 
 
 Have we appropriated to ourselves the 
 blessings included in the gift of the Son, so 
 boundless, so endless, so unfading? 
 
 Away with anxiety as to what we shall eat, 
 or wherewithal we shall be clothed. 
 
 How triumphant is the strain of the apos- 
 tle ! It may often be read and not exhausted. 
 
 What a source of consolation is the blessed 
 gospel amid the trials of life and in death ! 
 
XII 
 
 'BE NOT CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD. — Romans xii. 2. 
 
 f 
 
 CffHIS world has principles of faith, false 
 and injurious ; a spirit, selfish, merce- 
 nary, unholy : rules of conduct, unjust, 
 impure; customs and maxims, barbarous, 
 profane, unreasonable, — war, oppression, sen- 
 suality, idolatry, polygamy, slavery. This is 
 a wicked world, full of vice and crime, in 
 rebellion against God, and at strife one with 
 another. 
 
 To this world be not conformed ; be not 
 like it, do not resemble it. 
 
 Do not believe its false doctrines. Do not 
 breathe its selfish and perverse spirit. Do 
 not imitate its bad example. Do not adopt 
 its wrong maxims and rules of conduct. Do 
 not plunge into its vices and crimes. Go not 
 with the multitude to do evil. 
 
 Wash the hands in innocency and come 
 
 27 
 
28 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 around the altar of God in daily worship. 
 Be renewed in your mind, and learn in expe- 
 rience the good, acceptable, and perfect will 
 of God, which is your reasonable service. 
 Offer yourselves to God, a living sacrifice, 
 holy and well pleasing in his sight. 
 
 Let the goodness of God lead you to re- 
 pentance. The Saviour has died for your 
 redemption. The daily blessings of Provi- 
 dence should enkindle gratitude. 
 
 Be admonished to flee from impending 
 wrath. Christian friends invite ; angels ad- 
 minister to the heirs of salvation ; heaven 
 throws open its doors. Hear the voice of 
 love. 
 
XIII. 
 
 "our light affliction, which is but for a moment, 
 worketh for us a far more exceeding and eter- 
 NAL WEIGHT OF GLORY." — 2 Corinthians iv. 17. 
 
 A 
 
 CJL FFLICTIOX," — pain of body, sorrow 
 ~$ of soul, trouble and want, sickness and 
 |^ death. All affliction of the righteous 
 man has two characteristics, — it is com- 
 paratively light ; it can endure but for a 
 moment. Such is the estimate of faith. 
 Such is the teaching of God. Affliction 
 belongs to the body, not to the soul ; to 
 time, not to eternity; to this disciplinary 
 state, not to the retributive reward. 
 
 "It worketh;" it produces, when sancti- 
 fied, the peaceable fruit of righteousness. 
 The reward is precious. It is a glory, a 
 weight of glory, exceeding rich and eternal. 
 See the contrast. The affliction is for a 
 moment : the reward is eternal ; that is light, 
 
 29 
 
30 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 this is an incomprehensible weight of glory. 
 The one is connected with the other ; no 
 cross, no crown; no affliction for Christ, no 
 blessedness or glory with him. 
 
 Not that affliction is the only ground of re- 
 ward, or the only means to work out glory. 
 There are labors, no less than sufferings ; fidel- 
 ity no less than patience ; watchfulness no 
 less than prayer. ' ? Give all diligence ; add to 
 your faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, 
 patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and 
 charity." 
 
 But we magnify present affliction. We 
 wish for reward without labor. We feel the 
 present pain and have little faith in the future 
 joy. The affliction bears us down, and no as- 
 surance of immortal bliss sustains the soul. 
 When will the night be past and the endless 
 clay dawn ? 
 
 Thanks be to God, who gives to his people 
 the victory over the world, the flesh, and the 
 devil ! 
 
XIV. 
 
 'they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh 
 
 WITH THE AFFECTIONS AND LUSTS." — Galatiaxs v. 24. 
 
 'HE flesh often means the body of man, 
 with its organs and members. Often it 
 means the soul in its unregenerate and 
 unsanctified state. To be crucified is to be 
 put to death, as on the cross, — a painful, dis- 
 graceful, lingering, yet certain mode of death. 
 It is a bold figure of speech to speak of 
 crucifying the affections and lusts of the soul 
 considered as sensual and unholy. 
 
 What does it mean? Plainly, to restrain, 
 subdue, or utterly exterminate them. These 
 are enumerated in a preceding sentence. 
 r? The works of the flesh are manifest, which 
 are these, — adultery, fornication, uncleanness, 
 lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, 
 variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, 
 heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, 
 
 31 
 
32 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 revellings, and such like." "They who do 
 such things shall not inherit the kingdom of 
 God." But "they that are Christ's have 
 crucified the flesh with the affections and 
 lusts." 
 
 All this is intelligible and explicit. We 
 see what are the affections and lusts of the 
 flesh. We are assured that these are subdued, 
 put to death, as it were, by crucifixion, by all 
 who are or become the disciples and servants 
 of Christ. Such is the nature and import of 
 regeneration, — the spiritual and voluntary 
 change in sinners when they are adopted into 
 the family of Christ, — without which change 
 they could not inherit the kingdom of God. 
 
 Here is a criterion by which we may judge 
 whether we are Christians. Some or all the 
 works of the flesh may be seen in the people 
 of the world. These are crucified in the 
 servants of Christ. 
 
 Who and what are we ? Are we crucified 
 to the world and to the affections and lusts of 
 the flesh? 
 
XV. 
 
 '* ACCORDING AS HE HATH CHOSEN US IN HIM BEFORE THE 
 FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD, THAT WE SHOULD BE 
 HOLY, AND WITHOUT BLAME BEFORE HIM IN LOYE '. 
 HAYING PREDESTINATED US UNTO THE ADOPTION OF 
 CHILDREN BY JESUS CHRIST TO HIMSELF, ACCORDING 
 TO THE GOOD PLEASURE OF HIS WILL." — Ei'HESIaks i. 4, 5. 
 
 Cy> LECTION is an act of God, — per- 
 
 J i sonal, gracious, sovereign, eternal, — 
 I choosing some from others. It contem- 
 plates all men in sin and misery, justly con- 
 demned and exposed to perdition. 
 
 To what are they chosen? To salvation 
 as the end, — to sanctification and blameless- 
 ness as the means, — in Christ as the Re- 
 deemer and atoning Saviour. They become 
 adopted children of God, sons and daughters 
 of the Lord Almighty. 
 
 Election, or predestination, is not an insu- 
 lated, abstract doctrine, but a part of the great 
 system of divine truth or revealed religion. 
 
 It is a doctrine of grace, a sublime act of 
 
 33 
 
34 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 mercy. Christ was not to die in vain. He 
 was to redeem a people. These were given 
 to him as the price of his humiliation and 
 death. They are not few in number, but an 
 uncounted assemblage. They are not of one 
 age, race, or land alone, but of every kindred, 
 tongue, and nation. 
 
 It is an assurance of mercy to the penitent 
 and believing. What other ground of hope 
 is so consoling? If left to themselves will 
 any sinners change their hearts and forsake 
 their sins? Name a solitary instance. Here, 
 then, is our encouragement to labor, preach, 
 and pray for the conversion of sinners. God 
 has revealed his purpose in respect to the 
 salvation of a people. He w r ill accomplish 
 his purpose. 
 
 Why do we hate and oppose this doctrine ? 
 Because we know that we are sinners, and we 
 have no heart to seek reconciliation with God. 
 We hate to think that others may be saved, 
 and we be lost. We charge God with par- 
 tiality. 
 
XVI. 
 
 ' WHO IS GONE INTO HEAVEN, AND IS ON THE RIGHT HAND 
 OF GOD ; ANGELS AND AUTHORITIES AND POWERS BEING 
 MADE SUBJECT UNTO HIM." — 1 Pkter Hi. 22. 
 
 OW exalted is our Messiah, Jesus Christ ! 
 Abel, Enoch, and Noah, patriarchs and 
 prophets, have gone into heaven ; but 
 it is not said of any one of them that he sits 
 or stands on the right hand of God. That is 
 the position of honor or supreme exaltation, 
 to which no created being is entitled or can 
 justly aspire. This is often repeated in sim- 
 ple and positive words which cannot be ex- 
 plained away. Nor is this all. 
 
 " Angels and authorities and powers being 
 made subject unto him." It is assumed that 
 angels are superior to men in rank, in knowl- 
 edge, in all intellectual and moral excellence. 
 Angels are designated as the cherubim and 
 seraphim. The "authorities and powers" 
 may indicate a diversity in rank among these 
 
 35 
 
36 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 superior beings. They are ten thousand times 
 ten thousand in number. But however many, 
 and however exalted, they are all in subjection 
 to Jesus Christ. " Let all the angels of God 
 worship him." fC To which of the angels said 
 he at any time, Sit on my right hand until I 
 make thine enemies thy footstool ? " In rank 
 and dominion he is infinitely superior to all 
 angels and to all men. What do Ave mean, if 
 we withhold the homage of our heart ? Oh, let 
 us not be found among rebel angels and infidel 
 men, cast out from heaven ! 
 
 Do we delight to contemplate our Messiah 
 in his exalted state, or do we murmur? We 
 are overwhelmed, and cannot fully compre- 
 hend. We may surely bow in subjection 
 with the blessed angels, authorities, and 
 powers. 
 
 How unworthy a notion is the simple 
 humanity of Christ, — a perfect man, an 
 inspired teacher! No prince, no Lord, no 
 Redeemer ! 
 
XVII. 
 
 ' I AM ALPHA AND OMEGA, THE BEGINNING AND THE END- 
 ING, SAITH THE LORD, WHICH IS, AND WHICH WAS, AND 
 WHICH IS TO COME, THE ALMIGHTY." — Revelation i. 8.- 
 
 OME divine attributes are admitted by 
 all to be incapable of creation, change, 
 or transfer. Thus infinity is exclusive. 
 Eternity cannot have beginning or end. Om- 
 nipresence, or omniscience, admits of no limi- 
 tation. Almighty power cannot be invested 
 in a finite or dependent creature. The sup- 
 position is absurd. This is not a point of 
 speculation, but a primary truth. 
 
 Here, now, is a Person or Being, who 
 claims to have been the first of all that exist, 
 as Alpha is the first letter in the Greek alpha- 
 bet; and in harmony with this, that he is the 
 last, the Omega, of all that will ever exist ; 
 not that He is superior in excellence or value 
 to all other created things, or that they were 
 created by or for Him, but that He truly exists 
 from eternity to eternity. This attribute of 
 
 37 
 
38 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 eternity is incapable of creation or transfer. 
 He claims another attribute, which is immuta- 
 bility, or unchangeableness. "Who is, and 
 who was, and who is to come," or who will be 
 hereafter, that is, the same Person or Being, 
 yesterday, to-day, and forever. One other 
 incommunicable attribute is claimed in this 
 short sentence, which is almighty power. 
 To create an almighty creature is presumptu- 
 ous language. Here, then, is a false claim, 
 or this Person speaking in the Eevelation to 
 John is truly divine. The former we dare 
 not assert ; the latter we must believe to be 
 true. 
 
 Thus His moral integrity is involved. He is 
 what He claimed to be, or He was an impostor. 
 We do not presume to implicate His integrity, 
 and are, therefore, shut up to the faith. 
 
 We may say, how can this be ? We are to 
 learn, not to teach ; we are to believe, and not 
 to explain the infinite things of God. 
 
 Let us adore Him, who is the First and the 
 Last, the Almighty One. 
 
XVIII. 
 
 "I AM THIS DAY FOURSCORE YEARS OLD." 
 
 II Sam. xix. 35. 
 
 UCH is the writer. How can I believe it ? 
 Until my sad disaster, fifteen days ago, 
 I was active and vigorous, in the pos- 
 session of all my senses and faculties, espe- 
 cially my sight. In the mercy of God, no bone 
 was broken, nor are my pains so acute and 
 constant as I might have anticipated. After 
 some months of infirmity, I hope to walk 
 abroad again, and visit the house of prayer. 
 Review : Eighty years, with Bible and 
 Sabbath, kindred and friends. A visible dis- 
 ciple for sixty-two years, and for so many 
 years permitted to preach the blessed gospeh 
 How many were those sermons, how many 
 those public prayers ! All were beset with 
 infirmity, all were attended with guiltiness. 
 Yet, I have the testimony of my conscience, 
 that I was honest, sincere, and devoted. I 
 
 39 
 
40 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 endeavored to preach the gospel, fearless of 
 man, and in simplicity towards God. 
 
 Present state : Prostrate in body, dull 
 and shattered in mind ; thankful for many es- 
 capes from death ; tranquil, not often over- 
 whelmed, not often anxious, not desponding, 
 yet strangely dull in prayer. Have mercy, 
 O God, have mercy ! Let me not slumber at 
 the door of death. 
 
 Future prospect : Physical and moral in- 
 firmity hi advancing age. I am the last in my 
 father's family ; yet my friends are many. 
 My pecuniary contributions, if moderate, are 
 widely spread, punctual, and cheerful. For 
 my blessed children and grandchildren I can- 
 not render to God sufficient thanks. 
 
 What remains on earth? A few years, at 
 most, few words or works, few changes, few 
 joys or sorrows. Inspire me, O God, with 
 thy fear and love ! Give me to see the peace 
 and prosperity of thy Zion. Farewell. 
 
XIX. 
 
 'LORD. MAKE ME TO KNOW MY END. AND THE MEASURE OF 
 MY DAYS, WHAT IT IS, THAT I MAY KNOW HOW FRAIL I 
 AM."- — rsALM xxxix. 4. 
 
 % 
 
 G^WO characteristics of this present exist- 
 ence are assumed, brevity and frailty. 
 
 !j It will have an end, or a measured time ; 
 nor is this reckoned by centuries but by days 
 only. Its brevity is a sure evidence of its 
 frailty, and the prayer is that God will im- 
 press on the psalmist's mind a just sense of the 
 brevity and frailty of his life. w All men think 
 all men mortal but themselves." "So teach 
 us to number our days that we may apply our 
 hearts unto wisdom." 
 
 A speculative knowledge of our mortality 
 is one thing ; a practical conviction of it is 
 another. We see others dying, often w^hen 
 young, with little premonition, and without 
 much apparent cause. 
 
 41 
 
42 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 God alone knows how long each one shall 
 live, and when and by what means each one 
 shall die. The place and the circumstances, 
 the disease or the disaster, are alike ordained. 
 No man or angel can turn over the pages in 
 the volume of futurity. 
 
 It is well, then, that this prayer should be 
 made to the omniscient God. It is not that he 
 would reveal to each one of us the year, daj^, 
 or hour of our death. He could do this if it 
 were wise or expedient. But the prayer is, 
 that he would so affect our mind with the 
 certainty and nearness of our death, that we 
 may apply ourselves to penitence for sin, to 
 holy living, and to a diligent and habitual 
 preparation to give up our final account with 
 peace, hope, and joy. 
 
 Do we thus pray? Do we act accordingly? 
 Let us not be sure of long life or future years.. 
 
XX. 
 
 " CREATE IN ME A CLEAN HEART, O GOD, AND RENEW A 
 RIGHT SPIRIT WITHIN ME." — Psalm li. 10. 
 
 ^(REDUPLICATION is a primary charac- 
 teristic of Hebrew poetry. The second 
 clause of the verse is essentially of 
 the same import with the first. Ascertain the 
 meaning of one, and you can explain the 
 other. Learn what it is to " create a clean 
 heart," and you then know what it is to 
 "renew a right spirit." Must a clean heart 
 be created? Yes. The old or natural heart 
 is filthy or unclean. Must a right spirit be 
 renewed? Yes. The unrenewed spirit is 
 a wrong or bad one. The heart and spirit 
 are the same, — the clean heart and right 
 spirit are the same. 
 
 The heart by nature is not clean, nor is the 
 spirit right. This applies to every child of 
 fallen Adam. The work of moral cleansing 
 
 43 
 
44 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 of the heart is necessary. The renewal of the 
 heart makes it right. 
 
 This renewal or cleansing is a divine work. 
 It is not baptism with water ; nor is it an out- 
 ward reform only. If it is a divine act, the 
 power and grace of the Spirit should be 
 reverently confessed. No one can claim the 
 honor to himself, nor is it to be ascribed to the 
 teacher or preacher. 
 
 If it is a divine act, it is eminently a proper 
 subject of prayer. The psalmist thought so : 
 M Create in me a clean heart, O God." Prayers 
 to God should be intermingled with our holy 
 instructions. The praise of the sinner's re- 
 newal should be devoutly ascribed to God. 
 
 The conversion of a sinner is a great change, 
 — a new creation. 
 
XXI. 
 
 "SORROW IS BETTER THAN LAUGHTER." — Ecclesiastes vii. 3. 
 
 CVft AUGHTEE " is light or trifling in its 
 l origin, in its tendency, in its results. 
 O It does not exercise the intellectual or 
 moral powers, nor mould the character to 
 knowledge and virtue ; not wrong in itself, 
 it often begins and ends like " the crackling 
 of thorns under a pot." 
 
 " Sorrow " has just occasions in this world 
 of sin. It is a result of sin, a correction for 
 sin, and it is one means of restraining from 
 sin. Sorrow is always painful in itself. See 
 how we wipe away tears, how we shun the 
 house of mourning, and how we dislike the 
 face of sadness. Sorrow is favorable to re- 
 flection, and moves to penitence for sin. "It 
 is better to go to the house of mourning, than 
 to go to the house of feasting; for that is the 
 
 45 
 
46 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 end of all men, and the living will lay it to 
 his heart." 
 
 Sorrow reminds us that we are sinners ; 
 it is associated with suffering ; it is allied to 
 sickness and death ; it convinces each one of 
 his dependence on God ; it leads one to pray, 
 to make confession, and to implore mercy. 
 Sober thought, religious duty, and a prepara- 
 tion for an exchange of worlds lie in the 
 pathway of sorrow. 
 
 Sorrow may be morbid or excessive, im- 
 pairing physical health and unfitting us for 
 active duty. But if the remarks above are 
 correct, sorrow is like divine discipline or 
 parental chastisement, wise and salutary, a 
 means of good to the soul, not to be depre- 
 cated but to be improved. 
 
 Jesus was a man of sorrow. 
 
 Has sorrow fallen to our lot ? Let us not 
 sink under it. 
 
 Let the children of mirth and pleasure 
 pause for reflection. 
 
XXII. 
 
 "because sentence against an evil work is not ex- 
 ecuted SPEEDILY, THEREFORE THE HEART OF THE 
 SONS OF MEN IS FULLY SET IN THEM TO DO EVIL." — 
 ECCLESIASTES viii. 11. 
 
 t 
 
 £*| N evil work is subject to a fr sentence " 
 P* or punishment from God and from 
 ^ j vrnen. But God, in his forbearance and 
 tender compassion, often suspends the exe- 
 cution of the sentence* He waits to try 
 means ; his goodness is designed to lead to 
 repentance. 
 
 This forbearance is often abused. One 
 says, My sin is not great, as the event 
 proves ; my life is spared, and many blessings 
 attend me. Another says, God does not in- 
 tend to punish ; his law is held up in terror, 
 but its dreadful sentence is not executed. 
 K Because sentence against an evil work is not 
 executed speedily, therefore the heart of the 
 
 47 
 
48 MEDITATIONS, 
 
 children of men is fully set in them to do 
 evil." 
 
 Human depravity is inveterate and univer- 
 sal. The doctrine of the great adversary of 
 man has always been, "Thou shalt not surely 
 die." 
 
 The temporary suspension of punishment 
 deludes the sinner with the vain hope that the 
 sentence will never be executed. 
 
 This suggests that crimes under civil gov- 
 ernment should be punished surely and speed- 
 
 iiy- 
 
 Under the divine government there is no 
 call for haste. This life is for discipline and 
 probationary trial. Eternity will give ample 
 opportunity to execute the sentence against 
 the evil work. 
 
 O sinner, ?f prepare to meet thy God ! " 
 
XXIII. 
 
 "MY COUNSEL SHALL STAND, AND I WILL DO ALL MY 
 PLEASURE." — Isaiah xlvi. 9. 
 
 /^ OD has a counsel or system of counsels. 
 ITY These constitute his plan, or design, or 
 
 | good pleasure, in the creation, govern- 
 ment and disposal of all persons and things. 
 These counsels, designs, purposes, or decrees 
 are eternal and immutable, universal; wise, 
 stable, and benevolent; universal, particular, 
 and eminently his own. Joy to the world, 
 Jehovah reigns. Neither wicked men nor 
 apostate angels will be suffered to triumph. 
 With infinite authority and truthfulness he 
 says, " My counsel shall stand, and I will do 
 all my pleasure." 
 
 In proof that he has a counsel, think of his 
 rational agency, think of his perfect knowl- 
 edge of his own works, think of his revealed 
 purposes and their exact accomplishment. 
 These purposes were his own, as there were 
 none to consult with ; eternal, as they were 
 
 4 49 
 
50 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 formed before they could be executed ; benev- 
 olent, as such were his nature and law ; par- 
 ticular and universal, or he might be defeated 
 in the execution of them. In further proof, 
 the Bible is very explicit ; the wisest and best 
 men, whether heathen or Christian, ascribe 
 them to God ; common sense assents to what 
 the Bible declares ; and the whole system of 
 prophecy is founded on this great principle. 
 Hence, — 
 
 1. There is no chance. It is absurd to 
 suppose it. 
 
 2. There is no collision between divine 
 agency and human agency. We are con- 
 scious of the most perfect liberty of choice, 
 and yet God rules in heaven and on earth. 
 
 3. All rational agents are voluntary and 
 responsible. We are conscious of good or ill 
 desert, and our sovereign Lord will one day 
 reward or punish ns according to our works. 
 
 4. The ordinary objections to the purposes 
 or decrees of God flow from our proud, self- 
 ish, and rebellious spirit. 
 
XXIV. 
 
 " AND IN THE MORNING, RISING UP A GREAT WHILE BE- 
 FORE DAY, HE WENT OUT AND DEPARTED INTO A 
 SOLITARY PLACE, AND THERE PRAYED." — Mark i. 35. 
 
 f 
 
 CT^HE place was solitary, away from any 
 Yj j city, or dense village, or public way, 
 secluded from bustle or company, from 
 business or sport. Whether a lofty mountain 
 or a retired valley, it may differ little. 
 
 The hour was the morning, even a great 
 while before the dawn. What was the duty? 
 It was prayer; "There he prayed." Here 
 was an example. There was no display, no 
 ostentation, no company. Ah, what was his 
 prayer? He had no sins to confess, no par- 
 don to implore, few wants to supply. What 
 evils did he deprecate, what enemies did he 
 fear ? We may be sure that his prayers did 
 not concentrate chiefly on himself. We may 
 think of the brief outline of prayer, "Our 
 
 51 
 
52 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 Father," etc. ; we may think of the strain of 
 prayer, when the disciples were so affected 
 that they said, "Lord, teach us to pray." 
 And we think of the ejaculations in the gar- 
 den and on the cross. He prayed for him- 
 self as a man, and in respect to his whole 
 work as our Eedeemer, tempted of Satan, de- 
 spised and rejected of men, with no shelter or 
 daily bread ; insulted, reproached, profanely 
 treated, falsely accused. 
 
 Do we pray, daily, at regular hours? Do 
 we sometimes rise by night for prayer ? How 
 mistaken are they who cast off fear and re- 
 strain prayer, — proud, conceited, blasphem- 
 ing! 
 
 What an example have we in our blessed 
 Lord ! 
 
XXV. 
 
 "fear not, little flock; for it is your father's 
 
 GOOD PLEASURE TO GIVE YOU THE KINGDOM." — 
 Luke xii. 32. 
 
 WEET words, flowing from the Sav- 
 iour's lips ! They were few, poor, af- 
 flicted, and persecuted. The Master 
 had premonished them to expect trouble and 
 hatred, imprisonment, and a death by vio- 
 lence. They might naturally be affected with 
 fear. No, said the teacher: "Fear not, little 
 flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure 
 to give you the kingdom." 
 
 As they were to suffer tribulation in this 
 world, "the kingdom" promised in the text 
 must include the blessedness of a future life, 
 when the victory is attained, every enemy 
 subdued, and every conflict ended. It is not 
 a mansion, a house, an inheritance, but a 
 
 53 
 
54 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 kingdom, that is promised. Banish every 
 doubt. The truth is spoken. 
 
 The Father has revealed his benevolent 
 purpose, his sovereign good pleasure. This 
 victory depends not on numbers, or human 
 power, or wealth, or apparent probability. 
 He who rules the heaven and the earth will 
 accomplish his own designs. 
 
 Be not afraid. What if ye are few, or 
 weak, or despised? What if ye, as individ- 
 uals, will fall under the dominion of the 
 wicked ? Fear not them that kill the body ; 
 it is all that they can do. 
 
 The flock of the good Shepherd when he 
 was on earth was a little one. Such has 
 been its relative position. One day he will 
 have the heathen for his inheritance. It is 
 the Father's good pleasure to give the king- 
 dom to his people for his own glory and for 
 their salvation. Let them not fear. Be 
 strong in faith. Be of good courage. 
 
XXVI. 
 
 <; AXD THEY SAID ONE TO ANOTHER, DID NOT OUR HEART 
 BURN WITHIX US, WHILE HE TALKED WITH US BY THE 
 WAY, AXD WHILE HE OPEXED TO US THE SCRIP- 
 TURES ? " — Luke xxiv. 32. 
 
 A 
 
 £^*HI8 is the reflection of the two disci- 
 Yj ] pies, into whose company Jesus fell as 
 
 j! they walked to Emma us. They were 
 absorbed in meditation, and he was not recog- 
 nized. He reproved their unbelief, and ex- 
 pounded to them the Scriptures in respect to 
 himself from Moses to the end of the prophets. 
 As he asked a blessing at the table, they per- 
 ceived who he was. They were surprised at 
 their own stupidity, and, in looking back on 
 their walk, they said to each other, '' Did not 
 our heart burn within us, while he talked 
 with us by the way, and while he opened to 
 us the Scriptures?*' 
 
 They had often read their Scriptures with 
 
 55 
 
56 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 little emotion, and with little application of 
 them to the Messiah. Now their heart burns 
 with warm affections of love, gratitude, and 
 praise. They had been dull of apprehension. 
 Now they enter into the import of the words, 
 and comprehend why Christ must suffer death 
 and ascend to his seat in glory. They could 
 not sleep in Emmaus, but after a short refresh- 
 ment they returned to Jerusalem to tell their 
 fellow-disciples that the Lord was surely risen 
 from the dead. 
 
 If we are truly Christian believers, there is 
 much in the Scriptures of the Old Testament 
 which will move our inmost soul. Are we 
 insensible to any such emotions ? What fools 
 are we, and how slow to believe the words of 
 the prophets ! 
 
 How much do we all need a spiritual illu- 
 mination while we read the Scriptures ! The 
 Bible is dark to the infidel and disobedient. 
 May Christ be our teacher, and our heart w T ill 
 burn within us. 
 
XXVII. 
 
 "VERILY, VERILY, I SAY UNTO THEE, EXCEPT A MAX BE 
 BORN AGAIN, HE CANNOT SEE THE KINGDOM OF 
 GOD." JOHi* Hi. 3. 
 
 qj>INGDOM of God, or the godly king- 
 jffijl clom, is that which Christ came to intro- 
 ^ jv duce and establish, — even the reign 
 of holiness and truth. " To see " it is to re- 
 ceive and approve it, to enter into it, and 
 participate in its blessedness. 
 
 The words "be born again," and the assur- 
 ance that no man can see this spiritual king- 
 dom who is not born again, require a careful 
 exposition. By a comparison of several sen- 
 tences of Scripture, we shall find that the 
 change implied in regeneration, or a new 
 birth, is represented as a translation from the 
 kingdom of Satan to the kingdom of God, a 
 transition from darkness to light, a conversion, 
 a repentance, a new creation. It is a moral 
 
 57 
 
58 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 and not a physical change ; a renewal of the 
 heart, and not a reform in external manners. 
 
 The assurance that an essential change in 
 the heart is necessary to any man, that he 
 may appreciate and enjoy the blessedness of 
 this kingdom, is founded in reasons fully 
 known to God, but not beyond our apprehen- 
 sion. "Without holiness no man shall see 
 the Lord." But no man is holy in his unre- 
 generate state, nor does he see the intrinsic 
 excellence of holiness, nor feel the imperative 
 obligation to be holy. He cannot obtain 
 pardon until he is reclaimed ; nor gain admis- 
 sion into Christ's kingdom, nor taste the 
 blessedness of heaven, nor join the society of 
 the sanctified, nor engage in their employ- 
 ments. Let the sinner be created anew, be 
 inspired with holy affections, be sprinkled 
 with the blood of atonement, and be enlight- 
 ened in divine truth, and he may then be ad- 
 mitted to the heavenly kingdom. 
 
 " Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must 
 be born again." Pray for the Spirit's power 
 to subdue and renew the soul. 
 
XXVIII 
 
 ' HE THAT HEARETH MY WORD, AND BELIEVETH ON HIM 
 THAT SENT ME, HATH EVERLASTING LIFE, AND SHALL 
 NOT COME INTO CONDEMNATION; BUT IS PASSED 
 FROM DEATH UNTO LIFE." — John v. 24. 
 
 A 
 
 §NE who is 
 capital of 
 
 is under sentence of death for a 
 offence is called tr a dead man." 
 He is so in relation to the law, as to the 
 farther enjoyments of life, liberty, or the 
 rights of citizenship. But if he is forgiven 
 for this crime, he is passed from death unto 
 life, that is, from the state of a dead man, or 
 under sentence of death, to the state of a 
 living man. How forcible and just is this in 
 its application to the forgiven sinner ! He is 
 passed from everlasting death to everlasting 
 life, and " shall not agiin come into condem- 
 nation." 
 
 " He that heareth my word." This is not 
 simply to hear with the natural ear. It is to 
 attend with diligence, to accept divine in- 
 
 59 
 
60 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 struct] on, and to obey with filial reverence. 
 To such an one the Bible becomes his law- 
 book, and the ordinances of worship a source 
 of consolation. 
 
 "And believeth on Him that sent me." 
 The divine mission of Christ is essential to 
 our system of faith. He is the Son of God, 
 the Messenger of God, our Messiah, Redeemer, 
 and Judge. f? He that cometh to God must 
 believe that he is, and that he is a re warder 
 of them that diligently seek him." The ex- 
 istence and moral government of God stand in 
 connection with the mission of our Saviour, 
 and the assignment to him of a definite work. 
 A true faith in Gocl, and a humble trust in 
 Christ, as our only Redeemer, with penitence 
 for sin, are the essential terms of our forgive- 
 ness. In the exercise of these affections we 
 pass from death to life, from despair to hope, 
 from condemnation to salvation. 
 
 Are we the subjects of this great and happy 
 transition? Were we dead, and are we alive? 
 Shall we not again come into condemnation? 
 
XXIX. 
 
 ' YE WILL NOT COME TO ME THAT YE MIGHT HATE 
 LIFE." JOHN v. 40. 
 
 i: 
 
 "IFE " is a holy and happy existence in 
 y the favor of God ; the pardon of sin 
 ^| through the interposition of the Re- 
 deemer ; the salvation of the soul by a spirit- 
 ual union to Christ. 
 
 They have life who truly come to Christ. 
 What or how much is included in this coming 
 to Christ? He was a teacher, and one must 
 confide in his doctrines. He was perfect in 
 moral excellence, and we must imitate his 
 example. He made atonement for sin, and 
 we must approve this mode of reconciliation. 
 He explained and enforced the law, and we 
 must render a sincere obedience to his author- 
 ity. He was a man of prayer, and we must 
 worship God in sincerity of heart. Such are 
 the elements of a true coming to Christ. 
 
62 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 But some will not come to him. Their un- 
 belief and practical impiety show it. He 
 declares it. Many to whom he preached did 
 not believe or obey. Some despised his per- 
 son, some blasphemed his name. They did 
 not accept his mediation, or look for mercy 
 through the shedding of his blood. The Jews 
 scoffed, the Greeks blasphemed. Some took 
 up stones, and some exclaimed, Crucify! 
 The gospel is now published ; but many do 
 not believe and approve. They care not for 
 life, or they wish for it on their own condi- 
 tions, — by merit, or by reward for service. 
 They give money or make pilgrimages, or do 
 penance, or multiply prayers. 
 
 How sad is it that while the richest blessings 
 are offered, they are not appreciated ! Sal- 
 vation is made easy, but it avails not. See the 
 necessity of the Spirit's work. Ye who have 
 come to Christ, invite others. 
 
XXX. 
 
 "WHO WENT ABOUT DOING GOOD." — Acts x. 38. 
 
 t 
 
 CY^OITR adversary, the devil, as a roaring 
 lion, walketh about seeking whom he 
 may devour. So different are the 
 spirit and agency of these two persons, Jesus 
 of Nazareth and the devil. The one is benev- 
 olent, the other is malicious ; one is doing 
 good, the other is seeking to destroy. Both 
 are active, and both are invested with great 
 powers. 
 
 How did Jesus do good in his missionary 
 excursions on earth? He did good by his 
 true and faithful preaching. In conversation, 
 in question and answer, in the lucid exposition 
 of Scripture, he gave instruction to the people. 
 In the house and by the w-ay, in the boat and 
 in the temple, his doctrine did drop as the 
 rain, and his speech distil as the dew. 
 
 63 
 
64 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 He clicl good by his holy example. By his 
 benignant spirit and peaceful deportment and 
 humble prayers, he led men into an alliance 
 with God. 
 
 He did good by his miracles of power and 
 compassion. How r many thousands did he 
 heal of painful infirmity and disease, — the 
 leprous, the lunatic, the paralytic, the blind 
 and the lame ! How many thousands did he 
 feed when hungry ! What compassion to the 
 bereaved widow, to the weeping father, to the 
 mourning sisters ! He calmed the troubled 
 sea ; he entrusted the solitary mother to the 
 care of the beloved disciple. 
 
 He went about doing these good things with 
 wisdom, self-denial, and perseverance. When 
 he had finished his work of humiliation and 
 suffering, he left our earth behind. 
 
 How instructive is it to follow our blessed 
 Lord in his pilgrimage from the manger to the 
 tomb ! 
 
 Not riches, or power, or honor w T as his idol. 
 "He went about doing good." 
 
XXXI. 
 
 1 BY THE DEEDS OF THE LAW, THERE SHALL XO ELESH 
 BE JUSTIFIED IN HIS SIGHT, FOR BY THE LAW IS THE 
 KNOWLEDGE OF SIN." — Romans iii. 30. 
 
 f 
 
 ^\TO flesh" means no man, no one of 
 Adam's race. "The law" is the stan- 
 dard of moral duty, the declaration of 
 the divine will. "The deeds of the law" 
 mean works of obedience and charity, as 
 alms, visible worship, anil the like. "To be 
 justified" in the sight of God is to be ap- 
 proved, acquitted, declared innocent of fault 
 or crime. The law convinces of sin, con- 
 demns for sin, gives a knowledge of the 
 number and aggravated omilt of our sins. 
 
 With this notice of the import of the words 
 in the text, how does it appear that no man 
 will ever stand approved before God by the 
 deeds of the law? Chiefly, because every 
 man is a transgressor of the law. K There is 
 
 5 65 
 
66 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 not a just man upon earth, that doeth good 
 and sinneth not ;" as a sinner, he is under the 
 sentence of condemnation. "Cursed is every 
 one that continueth not in all things which are 
 written in the book of the law to do them." 
 Thus the argument is a short one. Atone- 
 ment or reparation is impossible. The sen- 
 tence stands against the sinner. No tears of 
 penitence can wash out the record. No 
 prayers or future works can supply the defects 
 of past sin and folly. 
 
 Yet many, like the formal Pharisees, think 
 to make many prayers, to fast often, and to do 
 good works, and thus to make amends for 
 waste of time and neglect of duty. Some by 
 penance, and some by liberal bequests, think 
 to purchase the favor of God. No. "By 
 the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be 
 justified in his sight." 
 
 Merit is impossible. Works of supereroga- 
 tion are wholly delusive. 
 
 Salvation is by grace alone ; through faith 
 in Christ. 
 
XXXII 
 
 ' THE SPIRIT ITSELF BEAKETH WITNESS WITH OUR SPIRIT 
 THAT WE ARE THE CHILDREN OF GOD." — Romans viii. 16. 
 
 I 
 
 CfifRE Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Holy 
 Spirit, the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, 
 the Sanctifier of the Saints, who, in the 
 personal absence of Christ, dwells in the 
 church to convince and regenerate sinners, to 
 instruct and sanctify the saints. 
 
 What is his witness ? He distributes super- 
 natural gifts, — tongues, healings, casting out 
 devils. These, however, are not intended in 
 the text. This witness is internal, grace in 
 the soul, faith, love, peace, hope, joy. Such 
 are the works of the Spirit. The saints are 
 conscious of these affections, which are not 
 natural to them. These are in harmony with 
 the best exercises of the soul, and confirm in 
 believers the hope that they are the children 
 of God. This witness is not miraculous, but 
 
 67 
 
68 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 in accordance with the ordinary operations of 
 the mind. 
 
 This witness of the Spirit is with our spirit, 
 — not in opposition to it, not in collision 
 with it ; not suspending the active powers 
 of reason or will, not independent of the or- 
 dinary means of grace ; but instructing in 
 truth, comforting in sorrow, encouraging to 
 duty, and confirming faith. 
 
 As there is no compulsion, and no sensible 
 impulse in this witness, it can be know T n only 
 in its internal or moral results. Observe the 
 aspirations, the hopes, the joys, of the sons 
 and daughters of the Lord Almighty. How 
 is the carnal mind subdued ! active duty is 
 made easy, devout prayer is a source of com- 
 fort. 
 
 The state of mind, the ruling principle, the 
 motives are widely different in saints from 
 those in sinners. 
 
 If any man have not the spirit of Christ, he 
 is not his. Who and what are we? children 
 or aliens? 
 
XXXIII. 
 
 " HOLD FAST THE FORM OF SOUND WORDS." — 2 Timothy i. 13. 
 
 t 
 
 OME do not wish to hear about sound 
 doctrine, forms, confessions of faith, 
 and catechisms. They profess to think 
 that there is no need of them. The}' forget 
 the Ten Commands, the Lord's Prayer, the 
 expository sermon on the mount, the sum- 
 mary of the law given by our Lord in two 
 commands. They forget that the apostle to 
 the Gentiles made "Christ and him crucified" 
 the burden of his preaching, and urged "re- 
 pentance toward God and faith in our Lord 
 Jesus Christ," exhorting the Hebrews to leave 
 behind the elementary principles of the ora- 
 cles of God, such as "repentance from dead 
 works, faith towards God, the doctrine of 
 baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resur- 
 rection of the dead, and eternal judgment," 
 and admonishing Timothy "to hold fast the 
 form of sound words." 
 
 It must be assumed, then, that we should 
 
70 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 have such forms, — confessions in the churches, 
 catechisms in our families. They are emi- 
 nently useful to aid our memory and confirm 
 our faith, especially with appropriate texts of 
 Scripture. 
 
 These schedules of Christian doctrine and 
 duty should be simple, concise, highly valued, 
 and made familiar. 
 
 When there are sects and parties, vision- 
 ary theories and changing winds of doctrine, 
 these forms of sound words should be held 
 fast. How? By committing them to memory, 
 by reducing them to practice, by teaching 
 them to our children, by publishing them to 
 the world. 
 
 How mistaken are they who have no Chris- 
 tian creed and wish for none ! They are 
 surely ignorant or infidel, having no estab- 
 lished principles, and tossed about with every 
 wind or tide. Search and see. Know what 
 you believe, and why you believe. ff Hold 
 fast the form of sound words." fr Contend 
 earnestly for the faith which was once de- 
 livered to the saints." 
 
XXXIV. 
 
 "rejoice inasmuch as ye are partakers of the suf- 
 ferings OF CHRIST : THAT, WHEN HIS GLORY SHALL 
 BE REVEALED, YE MAY BE GLAD ALSO WITH EXCEED- 
 ING JOY." — I Peter iv. 13. 
 
 t 
 
 Cm ESUS was a man of sorrows, and ac- 
 quainted with grief. He was slan- 
 ) dered, falsely accused, rejected, and 
 crucified. He went about doin^ o;ood, and 
 all his miracles were benignant ; yet his 
 sufferings were frequent and intense, from the 
 manger to the tomb. They were for right- 
 eousness' sake, inflicted by apostate angels 
 and wicked men. 
 
 Men often suffer in the ordinary course of 
 divine discipline, and as punishments for 
 their sins. Such sufferings do not, in their 
 nature or design, partake of the sufferings of 
 Christ. No. It is delusive to think that 
 God will surely make us blessed in another 
 world simply because we have suffered much 
 in this world. Beware of this error. But 
 
 71 
 
72 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 the saints to whom Peter wrote had suffered 
 persecution and many evils for Christ's sake. 
 They were partakers, so to speak, in his 
 sufferings, and they would partake in his 
 glory. 
 
 Yes, he had a glory in sure prospect when 
 he should come in the clouds of heaven, with 
 myriads of angels, to judge the world, and 
 this glory would endure forever. In this 
 glory all his saints would be partakers with 
 him. 
 
 What a reward would this be ! Who can 
 comprehend its extent, duration, and value? 
 Who should not be animated to duty, patient 
 in suffering, sincere in piety, strong in faith? 
 
 Such was Peter s view of it. " Rejoice ! " 
 
 They mistake who apostatize, or who de- 
 spair, or who complain under present temp- 
 tations and trials. We see the value of faith 
 to sustain the soul. 
 
 Blessed are they who begin to rejoice now. 
 What is our experience? Can we comply 
 with the text? 
 
Jf 
 
 XXXV. 
 
 'for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you 
 
 ABUNDANTLY INTO THE EVERLASTING KINGDOM OF OUR 
 LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST." — II Tktek i. 11. 
 
 C|¥ ESUS Christ, our Lord and Saviour, is 
 at the head of a spiritual kingdom. 
 Angels minister to him and honor him 
 with their worship. But his subjects are 
 chiefly the penitent and sanctified of our race. 
 They to whom Peter addressed his letters 
 belonged to this body. They had escaped 
 the corruption of the world and embraced 
 the promises. They were now exhorted to 
 add to their faith, virtue, knowledge, temper- 
 ance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, 
 and charity ; in the assurance that they would 
 then be fruitful in good works, and that an 
 entrance would be ministered to them abun- 
 dantly into the everlasting kingdom of our 
 Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 
 
 Some have no entrance to this kingdom, 
 as they have no moral preparation and no 
 
 73 
 
74 MEDITATIONS, 
 
 alliance to its head. Others obtain it as if 
 with difficulty ; they are saved as brands 
 plucked from the fire. Others, as in the 
 text, are represented to have an entrance 
 ministered to them abundantly. The door is 
 wide open. They are invited to come in as 
 the blessed of the Lord. 
 
 Heaven is shadowed forth as a kingdom. 
 Some are prepared for entrance. Others are 
 unfit, not qualified. It is the work of life to 
 prepare for an entrance into the glorious and 
 blessed kingdom of our Lord, to dwell with 
 him and all his saints. What are labor, self- 
 denial, and persecution for the short hour of 
 life, in comparison with the dignity and 
 blessedness of that eternal state, which is 
 faintly represented as a kingdom? 
 
 O ye ambitious aspirants after honor, title, 
 and office, and ye who lay up golden treas- 
 ure, so soon to be left on earth, seek with 
 diligence a full entrance into the everlasting 
 kingdom of our Lord smd Saviour Jesus 
 Christ ! 
 
L^i number 
 
 XXXVI. 
 
 "come thou and all thy house into the ark." "and 
 
 THE LORD SHUT THEM IN." — Gen. vii. 1, 16. 
 t 
 
 C*jL LL the bouse or family were eight in 
 number, — Noah and his wife, three 
 and their wives. These were 
 connected with Noah, and these alone were 
 saved from the deluge. The Lord shut the 
 door of the ark behind them to ensure their 
 safety during their perilous voyage. If they 
 were not all believers, they enjoyed the in- 
 structions and prayers of Noah, and they 
 derived temporal blessings from an alliance 
 with him. 
 
 Thomas and Dorothy Burgess were pilgrims 
 to this "mighty wilderness," surely as early 
 as 1(337. They were united with the church 
 in Sandwich, at that date. Jacob, their son, 
 and Mary Nye, his wife, were members of the 
 same church. Ebenezer, his son, and Ebene- 
 zer, his son, or surely their wives, were early 
 members of the church in Wareham. And 
 
 75 
 
76 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 so was Prince, son of Ebenezer, Jr., — my 
 honored father, and Martha Crowell, my 
 beloved mother. Thus, so far ns I know, my 
 ancestors by the name of Burgess, for these 
 five generations, both men and women, have 
 been exemplary members of the church of 
 Christ on earth, and were taken at their death 
 into the ark above. Dear emblem of heaven, 
 — a whole family in the ark ! 
 
 Nor is this all. My five brothers and four 
 sisters, with their husbands and wives, have, 
 I believe, entered the celestial ark. My three 
 little sons were early entrusted to the Saviour's 
 arms, and my four surviving children promise 
 to walk in the way of their believing ancestors. 
 A whole family in the ark. O miracle of 
 mercy ! O sovereign, abounding grace ! 
 
 What an honor and happiness is it to sus- 
 tain such a relationship, to claim such an 
 ancestry, to participate in such covenant 
 mercy, to be remembered in so many prayers ! 
 
 May God keep covenant with my children 
 to the third and fourth generation. 
 

 XXXVII. 
 
 "I DO REMEMBER MY FAULTS THIS DAY." — Genesis xli. 9. 
 
 CT^^HFj narrative is simple and deeply im- 
 \j I pressive. How strangely are we made 
 to remember our faults even in this 
 world ; how much more in the next ! In the 
 parable of Lazarus, our Lord represents 
 Abraham as saying to the lost son of pleasure, 
 f? Son, remember." 
 
 Memory is a faculty of the mind, original, 
 inherent, and indestructible as the soul itself. 
 Memory will not be impaired but invigorated 
 in the change of death. All that any one 
 ever knew or did or suffered in life will go 
 with him as the food of a perpetual memory 
 into eternity. Amazing thought ; and yet it 
 must be so. How will the gratitude of the 
 penitent be often kindled anew ! And how 
 will the anguish of the unfonriven sinner be 
 intensified ! 
 
 77 
 
78 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 Son, remember thy sins, — thy pride, thy 
 indulgence, thy abuse of goodness, thy neg- 
 lect of the poor, thy contempt of God. Sal- 
 vation was near, and thon wouldst not accept 
 it. The door of mercy was opened, and thy 
 sins held thee back. 
 
 Son, remember thy gocTy parents, thy 
 faithful ministers, thy kind friends, — Bibles, 
 Sabbaths, sermons, prayers. 
 
 Of the future and perpetual existence of 
 memory, who can justly entertain a doubt? 
 The intensely active and wide survey of mem- 
 ory who can dispute, when we think of its 
 operations often in the departing hour ? 
 
 What a channel of woe will memory be to 
 the sinner forever ! Reason will condemn : 
 conscience will condemn; memory will con- 
 demn. In the day of judgment, and forever, 
 every faculty of the soul will be on the Lord's 
 side. Poor self-condemned sinner, he re- 
 members his faults. 
 
XXXVIII. 
 
 "ASK WHAT I SHALL GIVE THEE." — 2 C hroxicles i. 7. 
 
 t 
 
 (^flYOMENTOUS question, — responsible 
 answer. God asks his creature man, 
 the little child, the young man, one in 
 middle life, one in old age: ''What shall I 
 give thee ? " 
 
 The sick man says, Health. The old man 
 says, Youth and long life. The poor man 
 says, Kiches. The ambitious man says, 
 Power, office, and honor. The vain girl 
 says, Beauty. How various is the answer! 
 and yet each may be sincere. Suppose that 
 each one has his wish fulfilled. Health, 
 youth, and long life are promised by Him 
 who has infinite treasures to distribute. 
 Beauty, wealth, and honor, are ensured by 
 Him who paints the rose and the lily. And 
 are they happy, — the aged, and the young, 
 the covetous, the ambitious, and the vain? 
 Perhaps not one of them all. They have 
 mistaken the way to be happy. These cannot 
 fill up the wants and aspirations of the soul. 
 
80 
 
 ME VITA TIONS . 
 
 Man is not an animal alone, or a creature 
 of earth and time. He has a rational soul, 
 and is born for eternity. " Wisdom is the 
 principal thing; therefore get wisdom." "If 
 any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God." 
 "The favor of God is life, and his loving 
 kindness is better than life." "What will it 
 profit a man to gain the world and lose his 
 soul? What shall a man give in exchange 
 for his soul ? " 
 
 Solomon was young when he ascended the 
 throne of Israel, — a populous, rich, and 
 powerful kingdom. He held a religious fes- 
 tival, and offered many sacrifices. He slept 
 and dreamed. The Lord, in vision, asked 
 what he wished. He said, Wisdom to rule 
 well. God was pleased that he did not ask 
 riches, honor, long life, or the life of his 
 enemies ; but wisdom to rule well the Lord's 
 people. He promised to Solomon wisdom, 
 and everything great and good. Thus the 
 name of Solomon comes down to our age 
 rich in wisdom, wealth, and honor. 
 
XXXIX. 
 
 " ACQUAINT NOW THYSELF WITH HIM, AND BE AT PEACE; 
 THEREBY GOOD SHALL COME UNTO THEE." — Job xxii. 21. 
 
 Oji CQUAINT thyself with God," — in 
 ffi respect to his being, attributes, and 
 ^j^- works, his principles of government, 
 his doctrines of faith, revelations of truth, 
 precepts of duty, promises and warnings, — 
 by the studj^ of his word, by reflection, by 
 prayer. This knowledge is pure, sublime, 
 elevating, useful. 
 
 "And be at peace." Be reconciled to his 
 will, submissive to his government, obedient 
 to his laws. Love him supremely. Be at 
 peace in thy soul, having a good conscience. 
 Hope in his mercy, rejoice in his salvation. 
 Avert his displeasure ; escape the condemna- 
 tion of his law. 
 
 "Thereby good shall come unto thee." 
 
 6 81 
 
82 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 Health and prosperity ; the blessings of Prov- 
 idence ; assurance of mercy. 
 
 All other kinds of knowledge are low and 
 of little value in comparison with this. 
 
 What an evidence is this of a deep and 
 universal depravity, — that the knowledge of 
 God is offensive to the natural heart ! No 
 unregenerate person desires the knowledge of 
 God. 
 
 Here there is one evidence of a new heart, 
 or regeneration, — Does one seek after God? 
 Is one a student of the Bible? Does he 
 treasure up divine truth in his memory ? 
 
 How sad is the fact that in the family and 
 school the knowledge of God is cast into the 
 shade ! Must our children live and die in 
 ignorance of God? 
 
XL. 
 
 'I WILL REPROVE THEE, A\D SET THE1I IN ORDER BEFORE 
 THINE EYES." — Psalm 1. 21. 
 
 'HE wicked man is reproved that he 
 hates instruction, conspires with the 
 thief, speaks falsely, slanders his broth- 
 er. A few offences are named, as a speci- 
 men of many. While the Lord delays to 
 punish, the sinner banishes the conviction of 
 guilt. But the Lord says, "I will reprove 
 thee, and set them in order before thine 
 eyes." 
 
 He can do this in the application of his 
 truth, by the chastisements of his Providence, 
 and by the convincing power of his Spirit. 
 
 He will set their sins in order before their 
 eyes in their uncounted number, in their 
 chronological arrangement, and in their ag- 
 gravated guiltiness. 
 
 Why will he do so ? To awaken the slum- 
 
 83 
 
84 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 bering, to convince the dormant conscience, 
 to show them that they will surely be con- 
 demned in the approaching judgment; and, 
 if possible, to lead them to repentance while 
 the day of probation holds out. 
 
 Do your sins appear to be few or slight? 
 God has not yet set your sins in order before 
 your eyes. You are blind to guilt and dan- 
 ger, — vain and gay, — in health and pros- 
 perity. But this does not demonstrate that 
 ye are not great sinners, and on the way to 
 perdition. 
 
 Hear the narratives of good people. They 
 were once like you. But the Lord reproved 
 them and set their sins in order before their 
 eyes ; how multiplied in number, how black 
 in guilt, how complicated one with another ! 
 They see themselves to be the chief of sin- 
 ners. 
 
 How frightful will be the vision, when ye 
 shall see yourselves in the light of truth and 
 of eternity ! 
 
XLI. 
 
 "who in the heaven can be compared unto the 
 lord? who among the sons of the mighty can 
 
 BE LIKENED UNTO THE LORD ? " — Psalm lxxxix. 6. [Ex. xv. 
 11; DEUT. x. 17; PS. xc. 2; Is. xi. 18.] 
 
 Am OD is supreme, eternal, infinite, im- 
 mutable, incomprehensible, — not to be 
 compared to any man or angel, how- 
 ever excellent in character or dignified in 
 rank. He had no beginning and will have no 
 end, from eternity to eternity the same. He 
 is unlimited in knowledge, independent in 
 power, and everywhere present. He is 
 Creator and Lord of his own universe, — the 
 sum of all perfection, and exalted above the 
 comprehension of any finite mind. "His un- 
 derstanding is infinite." "Who by searching 
 can find out God?" 
 
 The attributes or perfections of God are 
 divided into the natural and the moral. The 
 former are eternity, power, knowledge, uni- 
 
 85 
 
86 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 versal presence, immutability, wisdom. The 
 latter are benevolence, justice, goodness, 
 mercy, and truth. The former pertain to his 
 infinite nature ; the latter to his moral charac- 
 ter. The former can only be adored ; the 
 latter can be imitated by his rational crea- 
 tures. Whatever excellence is found in any 
 man or angel must be ascribed to God in an 
 infinite degree. Thus power, knowledge, 
 wisdom, goodness, compassion, are to be 
 ascribed to God in infinite measure. 
 
 He, then, is to be acknowledged in all his 
 works of power and skill. He is entitled to 
 adoration and thanksgiving from his rational 
 creatures, always and everywhere. 
 
 Impatience, distrust, rebellion, and blas- 
 phemy are inexpressibly criminal. To admire 
 the majesty and beauty of his works, and 
 yet to withhold the praise due to the Cre- 
 ator himself, betrays the atheism of our heart. 
 
 * Let everything that hath breath praise the 
 Lord. Praise ye the Lord." 
 
XLII. 
 
 "search me, o god, and know my heart; try me, 
 and know my thoughts ; and see if there be any 
 wicked way in me, and lead me in the way 
 
 EVERLASTING." Psalm cxxxix. 2.3, 24. 
 
 ^77 ¥ search" and "to try" are the same 
 Tj j in import ; and so are heart and 
 thoughts. Most persons wish to be 
 estimated by external deportment alone, and 
 to allow no inquiry to be made into the 
 plans and affections of the heart. Conscious 
 of guiltiness, they are not willing that God 
 or man, friend or enemy, should look within. 
 Not so the Psalmist. He prays that the holy 
 and omniscient God would search his inmost 
 soul. 
 
 Why? to detect error, hypocrisy, or secret 
 crime, that he might himself be admonished 
 of it, be led to repentance, and reclaimed. 
 He would not wish to dishonor God, or to 
 live and die under a self-delusion. " Gather 
 not my soul with sinners, nor my life with 
 bloody men." 87 
 
©5 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 What was the great moral end of this 
 search or trial of the heart? It was not 
 simply detection of secret error or guiltiness ; 
 but that he might be truly converted and " led 
 in the way everlasting." What is this way 
 everlasting? How significant and compre- 
 hensive ! It is the way of holiness and truth, 
 which eternal wisdom has marked out ; which 
 reason and conscience will alw r ays approve ; 
 which a future eternity will justify ; which 
 will end in everlasting life. 
 
 Witness this honest sincerity. Who does 
 not despise hypocrisy, whether in himself or 
 in others ? 
 
 Who is not alarmed at the thought of going 
 to the tribunal of the judgment under a delu- 
 sion? Who will not pray to be illuminated 
 in the truth, to be convinced of any secret 
 sin, to be led to repentance for everything 
 wrong, and to be guided in the way ever- 
 lasting? 
 
 Be honest in dealing with thyself. Self- 
 examination is an imperative duty. 
 
XLIII. 
 
 : WHITHER SHALL I GO FROM THY SPIRIT ? OR WHITHER 
 SHALL I FLEE FROM THY PRESENCE ? IF I ASCEND UP 
 INTO HEAVEN, THOU ART THERE ; IF I MAKE MY BED 
 IN HELL, BEHOLD, THOU ART THERE. IF I TAKE THE 
 WINGS OF THE MORNING, AND DWELL IN THE UTTER- 
 MOST PARTS OF THE SEA, EYEN THERE SHALL THY 
 HAND LEAD ME, AND THY RIGHT HAND SHALL HOLD 
 ME." — Psalm cxxxix. 7-10. 
 
 (EAUTIFUL imagery, striking descrip- 
 tion, sublime doctrine, — the omnipres- 
 ence of God ! Who can comprehend 
 or form any just conception of it? It is not 
 an extension, like a material substance ; nor 
 is it a diffusion, like the light or a perfume. 
 
 God is a Spirit, and in all his infinite nature 
 and attributes, in his power, wisdom, and 
 benevolence, he is present everywhere. He 
 occupies no place, he is excluded from no 
 place. Wherever he works, there he is in 
 every part of his created universe. He sus- 
 tains and governs all things. He has a per- 
 
 89 
 
90 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 feet knowledge of all things. He takes 
 cognizance of all the words and acts of his 
 rational and responsible creatures, and in 
 due time he will make retribution to angels 
 and men, good and bad, according to per- 
 sonal character. 
 
 Is there no escape from his presence, by 
 sea or by land, in heaven or in hell? Let us 
 not think for a moment that any change of 
 place can avail anything to our advantage. 
 
 Is God ever present in every place ? Let it 
 overawe our volatile mind. Let our pride be 
 abased. Let us fear to sin. Let us not be 
 found in rebellion. Is God ever present in 
 his power and in his wrath against the 
 wicked? Let us deprecate his displeasure. 
 Is he ever present in his love and mercy ? Let 
 it comfort us in danger, in suffering and in 
 trouble, in sickness and in death. 
 
XLIV 
 
 'AND WE ARE NOT SATED. — Jekemiah ra'i. 8. 
 
 C\|YERIODS of revival are past. Favora- 
 
 ¥ 
 
 ble opportunities are lost. Pastors and 
 Christian friends are dead. But we are 
 not saved. Why not? We are honest in 
 our trade. We are moral in our habits. We 
 are reverent, or not profane, in our speech. 
 We have many serious thoughts on religious 
 subjects. We are not infidel in our princi- 
 ples. We have a respect for the Sabbath 
 and the ordinances of the gospel. We wish 
 to be saved. 
 
 Why not be saved? Because we have no 
 repentance for sin. We have no supreme 
 love to God. Our heart is not right with 
 God. We have loved ourselves and the 
 world supremely. We have consulted our 
 appetites and passions, and not the w^ill of 
 God. In our heart, in our speech, in our 
 
 91 
 
92 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 whole deportment, our will, and not the law 
 of our Maker, has been our standard. 
 
 We are not saved. And why not. We 
 have thought religious duty to be gloomy, fit 
 only for sickness, old age, or the dying hour. 
 We have not called the Sabbath a delight, nor 
 worship a grateful service. We have wished 
 to postpone repentance to some more con- 
 venient season. We have complained of 
 labors, cares, and disappointments, no time, 
 many doubts, diversity of opinions. 
 
 We are not saved. We have made no 
 preparation for it. We are not in a fit state 
 of mind to participate in the employments or 
 joys of heaven. 
 
 We are not saved. It is a matter of 
 lamentation. We are not saved. We are 
 in danger of perdition. Others are gathered 
 into the granary, while we are not. Others 
 have entered in to the feast, and the' door is 
 shut. Our sun is declining. " The harvest 
 is past, the summer is ended, and we are not 
 saved." 
 
XLV. 
 
 ; THEY THAT BE WISE SHALL SHINE AS THE BRIGHTNESS 
 OF THE FIRMAMENT ; AND THET THAT TURN MANY TO 
 RIGHTEOUSNESS, AS THE STARS FOREVER AND EVER." 
 — Daniel xii. 3. 
 
 OW bright is the firmament often when 
 the stars in uncounted number shine 
 forth ! Such is human society when 
 the people are wise. Such especially are 
 they who turn many to righteousness. This 
 appears to apply to parents, instructors, and 
 preachers of the gospel. They may turn 
 those to righteousness who are under their 
 care, not by legal constraint, or by a spiritual 
 agency in the soul, which is the peculiar work 
 of God ; but by sound teaching, by earnest 
 persuasion, by holy example, by devout 
 prayer. 
 
 As one sinner destroyeth much good, so 
 one good man prevents much sin. The 
 power of holy example is confessed. A 
 prince or a prophet may be a great reformer. 
 Hezekiah and Josiah were reforming kings 
 
94 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 in Judah. Elijah and John the Baptist were 
 awakening preachers. Modern examples are 
 not few. Some pastors of the churches and 
 some apostles to the heathen might be named 
 to illustrate the fact. 
 
 They are wise in different degrees, and 
 shine with more or less brilliance. So they 
 turn few or many to righteousness. Who 
 can explain the secret causes of failure or 
 success? There may be a vain ambition. 
 Some are employed to sow the seed, and 
 some to reap the harvest. God is sover- 
 eign. 
 
 What witness have we to our wisdom, 
 whether personally, or in our relation as 
 parents, instructors, or pastors of churches? 
 Can w^e appeal to our success? Can we say, 
 Here, Lord, are thy servants, and here are 
 the spiritual children whom thou hast given 
 us? 
 
 Do w T e begin to shine in this world, and 
 shall Ave shine with more brilliance forever? 
 The future recognition of the saints is sure. 
 
X L V I . 
 
 "WHEREWITH SHALL I COME BEFORE THE LORD,. AND 
 BOW MYSELF BEFORE TPIE HIGH GOD? SHALL I COME 
 BEFORE HIM WITH BURNT OFFERINGS. WITH CALVES 
 OF A TEAR OLD? WILL THE LORD BE PLEASED WITH 
 THOUSANDS OF RAMS OR WITH TEN THOUSANDS OF 
 RIVERS OF OIL? SHALL I GIVE MT FIRST-BORN FOR 
 MY TRANSGRESSION, THE FRUIT OF MY BODY FOR THE 
 SIN OF MY SOUL?" — MlCAH vi. 6, 7. 
 
 KXFAXTICIDE in religions worship is a 
 horrible act of superstition. Yet to this 
 abjectness the human mind has been 
 reduced in its ignorance and anguish. The 
 idea seems to have been that God will appre- 
 ciate most highly that which is most dear to 
 us. A child, a first-born child, the fruit of 
 my body, a part of myself, this mo^t beloved 
 thino- will be most beloved of God. Let this 
 be offered in sacrifice to make atonement for 
 my sin. It is a horrible alternative. Moloch 
 was surely the image of Satan. 
 
 It is one step higher in the scale of super- 
 stition to believe that an offering will be 
 
96 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 most pleasing to God which is most costly to 
 us. Let the sacrifice be the calf or the lamb, 
 not one only but thousands, not lean but 
 flowing in rivers of oil, as God will be pro- 
 portionately honored and pleased. So the 
 dying sinner will build a splendid church or 
 burn a rich perfume. Miserable error! Is 
 the Most High hungry for flesh, or thirsty for 
 wine? Are not the beasts of the field his, 
 and the cattle on a thousand hills? Where- 
 with then shall we come before the Lord? 
 " God is a Spirit ; and they that worship him 
 must worship him in spirit and in truth. " 
 Worthless are our many offerings and our 
 costly sacrifices without piety in the heart. 
 "Without holiness no man shall see the 
 Lord." "Offer the sacrifices of righteous- 
 ness, and put your trust in the Lord." " The 
 sacrifices of God are a broken spirit ; a broken 
 and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not 
 despise." The rich man in his approach to 
 God has no advantage over the poor man. 
 Know, O man, wherewith to approach thy 
 Maker ! 
 
XLVII. 
 
 1 AND LO, I AM WITH YOU ALWAY, EVEN TO THE END OF 
 THE WORLD." — Matt, xxviii. 20. 
 
 % 
 
 <^J^HIS was the Master's farewell promise to 
 his disciples. Id its spirit and truthful- 
 ness it extends to all his people, even 
 in any distant land, and to the latest age. 
 
 How is he with them? Not by his word 
 or doctrine ; this would not be peculiar to 
 them. Not by his essential presence as God ; 
 this, too, is common to all men. But by his 
 supernatural gifts, by the grace of the Spirit, 
 by the care of his watchful providence, to 
 sustain in infirmity, to comfort in trouble, to 
 protect in danger, to supply in want, to suc- 
 ceed in labor, and to reward in death. He 
 will be with them in all time, in all places, 
 and in all company ; when weary, when per- 
 secuted, when forsaken, when dying. 
 
 97 
 
98 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 He assures them of his love, of his watch- 
 ful inspection, of his compassionate interposi- 
 tion. He has ample power; he is faithful to 
 his promise ; he is tenderly affectionate. In 
 his human person he was leaving them, to be 
 seen no more in the flesh ; but in his official 
 character, as the Mediator and as the Re- 
 deemer of his people, he was to be exalted in 
 power and glory to accomplish the remaining 
 part of the work which was given him to do. 
 
 Let us rejoice in his exaltation. It was 
 expedient for the disciples that he should go 
 away. He did not leave them comfortless. 
 There was both the promised Spirit to dwell 
 with them, and there was the assurance of his 
 perpetual presence. 
 
 Is Christ with us in this late age and in this 
 distant land ? Can we testify to his truth ? 
 
XLVIII. 
 
 "he that shall blaspheme against the holt ghost 
 hath never forgiveness ; but is in danger of 
 eternal damnation; because they said, he hath 
 
 AN UNCLEAN SPIRIT." — Mark iii. 29, 30. 
 
 % 
 
 Cj^HE Scribes could not well deny that 
 the miracles of Christ were real and 
 marvellous ; but they were not willing 
 to confess his divine grace and power, 
 and therefore said that he conspired 
 with Beelzebub, the prince of the devils. 
 Jesus replied that such a representation was 
 absurd and criminal, — absurd, as a house or 
 kingdom divided against itself could not 
 stand, and Satan would not cast out Satan; 
 criminal, as it ascribed to the devil the 
 peculiar works of God's mercy. Such guilt 
 was extreme, a blasphemy against the Holy 
 Ghost which hath never forgiveness, but is 
 in danger of eternal damnation ; " because 
 they said, he hath an unclean spirit." 
 
 99 
 
100 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 We see, then, here what is the blasphemy 
 against the Holy Ghost, or the unforgiven 
 sin which exposes one to eternal damnation. 
 It is the ascribing to the devil the peculiar 
 and gracious works of God. 
 
 This sin is malignant ; it is impious ; it is 
 doing dishonor to the Spirit ; it cuts off from 
 the last hope of mercy. 
 
 It may not be possible for man to define, 
 within precise limits, the unpardonable sin, 
 nor is it important to do so. It may not be 
 possible for any one to know whether he has 
 committed this specific sin, or not. Woe to 
 the presumptuous one, who rushes to the 
 verge of perdition ! 
 
 They who intentionally resist the Spirit, 
 or blaspheme the Spirit, or profanely or im- 
 piously trifle with the gracious work of the 
 Spirit, are surely not beyond the danger of 
 this guiltiness. 
 
 There is a Beelzebub, there are unclean 
 spirits, there is a sin which hath never for- 
 giveness, but is in danger of eternal damna- 
 tion. Oh, trifle not with eternal damnation ! 
 
XLIX. 
 
 ' AND THERE WAS A CLOUD THAT OVERSHADOWED THEM, 
 AND A VOICE CAME OUT OF THE CLOUD, SAYING-, 
 THIS IS MY BELOVED SON: HEAR HIM." Mark ix. 7. 
 
 1 
 
 GJ^HE place was the high and solitary moun- 
 tain. The company present were Jesus, 
 the three principal disciples, Moses, and 
 Elijah. Jesus was changed in aspect. His 
 apparel became white and brilliant. Moses 
 and Elijah appeared in vision, and talked with 
 Jesus about his approaching death. A cloud 
 overshadowed them, and a voice came out of 
 the cloud, saying, "This is my beloved Son; 
 hear him." 
 
 Jesus is the beloved Son of God, — not an 
 angel, not a man only. The testator is God 
 himself. The voice was supernatural. It 
 came down from the overshadowing cloud. It 
 was heard by a competent number of wit- 
 nesses. w This voice which came from heaven, 
 
 we heard, when we were with him in the holy 
 
 101 
 
102 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 mount ; " "A voice from the excellent glory : 
 This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well 
 pleased." 
 
 This voice was heard, understood, and re- 
 tained in memory. The first testimony was to 
 his nature, rank, dignity, identity. " To which 
 of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my 
 Son ? Let all the angels of God worship him ? " 
 
 But what was the great declaration ? " Hear 
 him." This was not a solitary charge, but of- 
 ten repeated. He came as a teacher. He was 
 fully inspired. He was endued with the gifts 
 and grace of the Spirit without measure. He 
 was the Word of God, the Light of the world, 
 the Prophet of prophets. 
 
 "Hear him." He spake with authority. 
 His teaching is full, true, final, — expounding 
 the Scriptures, completing the revelation of 
 God to man. Let Jew and Gentile repeat the 
 monition, M Hear him." Let heaven and earth 
 from age to age echo the voice from the cloud, 
 " Hear him; hear him;" he is the "beloved 
 Son of God." 
 
L. 
 
 1 WHEN YE SHALE HAVE DONE ALL THOSE THINGS WHICH 
 ARE COMMANDED YOU, SAY, WE ARE UNPROFITABLE 
 SERVANTS ; WE HAVE DONE THAT WHICH WAS OUR 
 DUTY TO DO." — Luke xvii. 10. 
 
 t 
 
 C*ji S God is our Creator, we are his prop- 
 erty to employ and to dispose of. Our 
 powers and possessions are his gifts, de- 
 rived from him, preserved by him. Our time 
 is assigned by his sovereign will, and it will 
 expire at his pleasure. 
 
 What can we do to impose an obligation on 
 him, to demand his thanks, or merit his fa- 
 vor? Nay, w r e must confess that we are un- 
 profitable servants. That is the extent of it. 
 We may be industrious and dutiful. We may 
 improve well all our time and powers ; we may 
 regulate our hearts, speech, and conduct by the 
 perfect law, and yet at the best we have only 
 done our duty. Can we demand a reward? 
 Nay, we are unprofitable servants. 
 
 103 
 
104 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 How surely are they in error who think 
 that all the blessings of life, ten thousand 
 times ten thousand, flow to them on the ground 
 of their goodness, being well deserved and 
 truly merited, only a part of their well-earned 
 compensation ! How surely are they in error 
 who think to enter into heaven because they 
 have served so well, and done so much to please 
 and honor God ! 
 
 How absurd is the idea of keeping an ac- 
 count with God, intending to demand so much 
 reward for so much service ! 
 
 " Doth the master thank that servant because 
 he did the things that were commanded him? 
 No. So likewise ye, when ye shall have done 
 all those things which are commanded you, say, 
 We are unprofitable servants ; Ave have done 
 that which was our duty to do." 
 
 The confession is humiliating, but just. 
 
LI 
 
 ' AND I APPOINT UNTO YOU A KINGDOM, AS MY FATHER 
 HATH APPOINTED UNTO ME ; THAT YE MAY EAT AND 
 DRINK AT MY TABLE IN MY KINGDOM, AND SIT ON 
 THRONES, JUDGING THE TWELVE TRIBES OF ISRAEL." 
 
 — Luke xxii 29, 30. 
 
 I 
 
 (^J^HE reward of the disciples, for their fidel- 
 ity and perseverance to their Lord, is 
 here set forth under two shades of im- 
 agery : The one is blessedness, the other is 
 honor or exaltation ; the one is a royal feast, 
 the other is a kingdom. 
 
 Their fidelity was imperfect, as they all fled 
 in the hour of danger ; but they were not all 
 traitors and apostates. Others had followed 
 Him for a time, and then withdrawn. They 
 enjoyed his miracles, but were displeased with 
 his doctrines. But the disciples were true, 
 sincere, endured temptations, renounced the 
 world. 
 
 Christ was soon to finish his earthly trial, 
 
 105 
 
106 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 and was then to be exalted in heaven. The 
 Father had appointed to him a kingdom as his 
 just reward. He, in his turn, appointed to 
 them a similar reward, a participation with 
 himself in the blessedness of the feast and in 
 the honor of his kingdom. "Ye shall eat and 
 drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on 
 thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel." 
 The twelve tribes included the whole nation. 
 After the reign of Solomon, the nation was 
 divided into two kingdoms. This former 
 union should be restored to infinitely more 
 than its ancient splendor. All earthly imagery 
 fails to illustrate the Messiah's reign. 
 
 To sit at the royal table, and to sit in judg- 
 ment on the royal throne, are all that human 
 imagery can set forth. The robe, the sceptre, 
 the crown, are only appendages. All the 
 saints, however lowly and poor in this world, 
 will participate in this dignity and bliss for- 
 ever. 
 
I 
 
 LII. 
 
 " JESUS, TURNING UNTO THEM, SAID, DAUGHTERS OF JERU- 
 SALEM, WEEP NOT FOR ME, BUT WEEP FOR YOUR- 
 SELVES AND FOR YOUR CHILDREN." — Lukk xxiif. 28 
 
 A 
 
 C72* HE devout women were last at the cross 
 Yj j and first at the tomb. A great com- 
 
 !i pany followed Him from the hall of 
 Pilate to the place of crucifixion. Among 
 these were women who bewailed and lamented 
 Him. He was touched by their sympathy, and 
 wished to turn it into a profitable channel. 
 Their tears for Him were unavailing ; but it 
 would be well that they should prepare for 
 their days of grief. 
 
 Mark His tender address. Some of them 
 were from Galilee, a remote part of the laud ; 
 perhaps strangers and in humble condition. 
 But they exhibited a love for Him, and a ten- 
 der regard for His sufferings, so severe and 
 so unjust. He calls them all "Daughters ot 
 Jerusalem," — the royal and holy city. 
 
 107 
 
108 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 What did he say? "Weep not for me." 
 They wept much ; they made loud lamenta- 
 tion. It was for Him, — an exalted personage, 
 a wise teacher, a faithful friend, a compassion- 
 ate worker of miracles, a Saviour from sin and 
 perdition. They thought that there was much 
 reason to weep for Him. He viewed it other- 
 wise. It was a part of the divine plan, pre- 
 dicted, essential, and now to be accomplished. 
 "Weep not for me." 
 
 For whom then might they weep ? " Weep 
 for yourselves and for your children" — the 
 infants, the little children, the next genera- 
 tion. Some of them would witness the deso- 
 lation of the city and the dispersion of the 
 people. How tenderly does he refer to the 
 peculiar sufferings of woman in that dread 
 day of flight ! Pray that it be not in the win- 
 ter, and the like. 
 
 Witness the humanity of Christ. Do not 
 waste strength in useless grief. Admire the 
 affectionate piety of woman. 
 
LIII. 
 
 ' IN MY FATHER S HOUSE ARE MANY MANSIONS ; IF IT 
 WERE NOT SO, I WOULD HAVE TOLD YOU. I GO TO 
 PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU." — JOHN xiv. 2. 
 
 CjjfEAVEN is 
 
 jyv house, the 
 ^) V home of th 
 
 CYltfEAVEN is here shadowed forth as a 
 the house of the Father, the 
 the blessed angels and of the 
 just made perfect. 
 
 It has many mansions or apartments. 
 This may indicate its spaciousness, or wide 
 extent in height or measurement. The home 
 of myriads of happy beings must not be con- 
 sidered as narrow, mean, or unattractive. 
 God, in his grandeur and wisdom, has in- 
 vested it with whatever is majestic, or beauti- 
 ful, or lovely. 
 
 Its many mansions may indicate diversity 
 in place, and diversity in honor or in degree 
 of blessedness. Let this assurance suffice, 
 that it is the Father's house, and that it is 
 ample in its accommodations. 
 
 109 
 
110 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 "I go to prepare a place for you." This is 
 addressed to the disciples ; but, like the 
 prayer for them, it will extend to all who are 
 like them, or who will ever believe in Christ. 
 
 He is gone into the heavens. Mark his 
 ascension. He is not idle, forgetful, or false. 
 He has power, benevolence, and truthfulness. 
 He will fulfil his promise. 
 
 He will come again in dispensations of 
 judgment and of mercy. Especially will he 
 come in majesty and glory to judge the 
 world. 
 
 He will then receive his people to himself, 
 to his presence. Where he is, there they 
 shall be. Who will not wish to obtain a 
 place in some humble mansion in the Father's 
 house ? Let not the door be shut. 
 
 Despair not, ye devout inquirers. Back- 
 slide not, ye weary pilgrims. Be not en- 
 grossed with honor, riches, or pleasure, ye 
 travellers to eternity. 
 
LIV, 
 
 ; IN THE WORLD YE SHALL HATE TRIBULATION ; BUT BE OF 
 GOOD CHEER : I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD." 
 
 £v^HE last discourses of Christ with his 
 ni disciples are full of consolation. The 
 memorable prayer, the promise of the 
 Comforter, the pledge to take them finally to 
 dwell with Himself, cannot be forgotten. 
 They were to remain on earth for a time, to 
 suffer trial and persecution, like the prophets 
 in old time. "In the world ye shall have 
 tribulation." He did not promise rest, 
 peace, and prosperity. No. Rather trouble, 
 conflict, temptation. But be patient, trust- 
 ful, hold fast the faith. ff Be of good cheer." 
 Be full of hope and joy in the prospect of the 
 future reward. 
 
 Especially, bear it in memory that "I have 
 
 overcome the world." 
 
 111 
 
112 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 1. The prince of this world, Satan, the 
 great adversary of our race, all his host of 
 fallen spirits, and all wicked men, who may 
 tempt, ensnare, and endeavor to destroy. He 
 won a full conquest over them all. 
 
 2. Errors, false doctrines, false philoso- 
 phers, poets, and prophets; scoffers, war- 
 riors, kings, infidels and apostates. 
 
 3. The depraved passions and appetites of 
 wicked men, — the lust of the eye, the lusts 
 of the flesh and the pride of life. 
 
 The world, the flesh, and the devil were 
 baffled, trodden down, and cast behind. AH 
 that could interrupt the good man in his 
 heavenly race was removed. 
 
 "I have overcome the world." As he had 
 secured a victory, so should his disciples. 
 
 Think of the Captain of your salvation. 
 What are his plans and promises ? What are 
 his resources and means of help ? All nature 
 is under his control. The angels are his 
 ministers to the saints. 
 
LV. 
 
 " AFTER THAT, HE WAS SEEN BY ABOVE FIVE HUNDRED 
 BRETHREN AT ONCE ; OF WHOM THE GREATER PART 
 REMAIN UNTO THIS PRESENT, BUT SOME ARE FALLEN 
 ASLEEP." — 1 Corinthians xv. 6. 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 OW peaceful is the death of believers ! 
 They are fallen asleep. Even if they 
 fall by martyrdom, they may, with 
 Stephen, fall asleep amid enrapturing visions 
 of the Lord Jesus. 
 
 Those who were honored with this long and 
 satisfactory interview with Christ were breth- 
 ren, — not Pharisees or Sadducees. We hardly 
 knew that there were so many as five hundred 
 true and faithful brethren in all the land ; 
 much less did we know that they could leave 
 home and business to assemble together on a 
 distant mountain. 
 
 The place was designated. It was a moun- 
 tain in Galilee, probably the same which wit- 
 nessed the transfiguration. The time was fixed 
 
 8 113 
 
114 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 without dispute. The opportunity was ample 
 for mutual intercourse. 
 
 The object of this interview was the full con- 
 viction of these five hundred brethren that 
 Jesus was surely risen from the dead, and that 
 they might bear witness to this great event. 
 
 Nor is it hardly less than a miracle, that af- 
 ter so long a period as about thirty years the 
 apostle should declare, " Of whom the greater 
 part remain unto this present, but some are 
 fallen asleep. " As if he had protested to the 
 Corinthians that there were hundreds of cred- 
 ible witnesses then alive who had been conver- 
 sant with Christ during the forty days after the 
 resurrection. If human testimony could prove 
 any fact, here is sufficient testimony. 
 
 If now Christ rose from the dead, as he 
 surely did, then a resurrection is possible, and 
 his resurrection is a pledge of the rising again 
 of all his people. What further evidence can 
 we wish? To say nothing of the women early 
 at the tomb, there are Peter, James, the eleven 
 apostles, and the more than five hundred breth- 
 ren, who were witnesses. 
 
LVI. 
 
 ! IF ANY MAN BE IN CHRIST, HE IS A NEW CREATURE J 
 OLD THINGS ARE PASSED AWAY; BEHOLD, ALL THINGS 
 ARE BECOME NEW." — 2 Corinthians v. 17. 
 
 CvifYHAT is it to be in Christ? This union 
 is compared to the branch as united to 
 the vine, to the union of the members 
 to the head of the body, and the stones in the 
 building to the corner-stone. It is not a 
 physical or personal union, nor is it a human 
 or social union. It is a spiritual and moral 
 union, — in principles, in love, in faith and 
 obedience. 
 
 In what sense is he who is in Christ a new 
 creature ? Not in body, — in stature, features, 
 members, and organs he is the same. Not by 
 the addition of any new faculty ; not by a 
 change of lineage, sect, or party; not by a 
 reformation of habits, or by a renunciation of 
 vices alone ; not by the adoption of a new 
 creed, or by baptism, or professions, or visi- 
 
 115 
 
116 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 ble ordinances. But he is new in his convic- 
 tion of truth, in his repentance for sin, in his 
 faith in the Redeemer, in his affections and 
 purposes, in his hope and joy in the great end 
 and duty of life. 
 
 How do old things pass away? This is 
 known by experience. He comes into a new 
 world. The pursuits of avarice, of pride, and 
 sensual pleasure are relinquished. Wealth, 
 honor, and show lose their attractions. New- 
 friends, new motives of action, new objects of 
 life are introduced. This change is compared 
 to waking from sleep, to rising from the dead, 
 to a second birth, to a new creation. 
 
 Other grounds of distinction are done away. 
 Jew or Gentile, rich or poor, bond or free, 
 honorable or despised, it differs not. In a 
 union to Christ these differences are forgotten. 
 They are on an equality in him. Learned or 
 ignorant in the science of the world, they 
 are illuminated in him. "Behold, all things 
 are become new ! " 
 
LVII. 
 
 ! OF WHOM THE WHOLE FAMILY IN HEAVEN AND EARTH 
 IS NAMED." EPHESIANS iii. 15. 
 
 TVEET home ! The domestic relation is 
 intimate and tender. Much of the hap- 
 piness of life flows from this union. God 
 sets the solitary in families and leads his 
 people as a flock. Without these social and 
 moral bonds, human beings are so selfish and 
 passionate that they would hardly be able to 
 live together. Yet, in the pursuit of business 
 or pleasure, the members of a family are often 
 widely dispersed on the ocean or on the land. 
 Christian believers are compared to a family. 
 They are united in Christ their common Head, 
 from whom they derive their name. They 
 differ in age, in measure of intelligence, in 
 civil condition, in immediate ancestry, in Ian 
 guage and color, but they are one family in 
 Christ. They are divided by rivers, moun- 
 tains, and oceans ; by civil governments, con- 
 
 117 
 
118 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 tinents, and islands ; but they are one family 
 in Christ. Even more, they are the living 
 men and women of this generation, and the 
 dead of former generations, — a part in heaven, 
 and apart still on earth, — yet they are one 
 family in Christ. 
 
 Marvellous and blessed union ! They were 
 imperfect in this world. They loved and 
 served each other very imperfectly. They were 
 separated by doctrinal distinctions, by forms 
 of ecclesiastical government, by modes of 
 administering ordinances, but they are one 
 family in Christ. 
 
 Woe to those who slander this family ; who 
 introduce strife into it ; who divide it into 
 sects and parties ! 
 
 Happy are they who consult its order and 
 peace ; who rejoice in its prosperity and en- 
 largement ; who contribute to its intelligence 
 and sanctity ! 
 
 In dying, the believer removes from one 
 part of the family to the other ; from the few 
 on earth to the countless multitude in heaven. 
 
LVIII. 
 
 "WORK out your own salvation with fear and trem- 
 bling." — Phm.ippia> t s ii. 12. 
 
 t 
 
 ALVATION relates to the soul, its 
 safety, its sanctity, its final cleliverauce 
 from sin and perdition. 
 
 This epistle was written to the saints in 
 Christ Jesus who were resident at Philippi, 
 including the bishops and deacons. In the 
 eye of charity they were truly Christian be- 
 lievers ; yet they had a salvation to work out, 
 nor were they safe if they were not doing it 
 with fear and trembling. 
 
 This teaches that salvation, as to the state 
 of the soul, is a progressive work, and not 
 instantaneous and complete at once. It be- 
 gins in conversion or regeneration, and it 
 advances in sanctification. No perfection is 
 attained in this disciplinary period of our 
 existence. 
 
 119 
 
120 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 It teaches, too, that this salvation is a work 
 in which we are voluntary and active. We 
 are not passive machines. We are not relig- 
 ous by compulsion or constraint. We are 
 active both in the beginning and in the prose- 
 cution of this work. We repent, believe, 
 and obey. We think and pray, and do 
 works meet for repentance. We renounce 
 sin, shun bad company, avoid temptation, 
 resist the devil, and persevere in active 
 obedience. Faith, submission, and prayer 
 are active exercises. 
 
 But here is a grave difficulty. We have 
 by nature no heart to engage in this work. 
 Alas ! too true. But the words following the 
 text are, "It is God who worketh in you, 
 both to will and to do of his good pleasure." 
 Blessed assurance ! Who will not work, 
 strong in the strength of God, wise in his 
 wisdom, full of his grace and truth? "If 
 God be for us, who can be against us?" 
 
 "Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out 
 of it are the issues of life." 
 
LIX 
 
 1 BUT I WOULD NOT HAVE YOU TO BE IGNORANT, BRETHREN, 
 CONCERNING THEM WHO ARE ASLEEP, THAT YE SOR- 
 ROW NOT, EVEN AS OTHERS, WHO HAVE NO HOPE." 
 
 IThkssalonians iv. 13. 
 
 % 
 
 Cffi* O be asleep, in the sense of the text, is 
 to be in the state of the dead. These 
 were believers, or Christian brethren. 
 Surviving friends indulged in sorrow, exces- 
 sive and unavailing, like the heathen who 
 have no correct knowledge or good hope 
 beyond the grave. This ignorance and this 
 deep grief for the dead in Christ did not be- 
 come intelligent believers. The apostle, 
 therefore, briefly instructs and admonishes 
 them, expressing his regret to see them like 
 the heathen in their deep sorrow for departed 
 friends. 
 
 Believers die a natural death, like others, 
 whether by accident or disease. Christ did 
 not pray that his disciples should live here 
 alwa3 r s, nor did he save them from a violent 
 death. 
 
 Believers feel sorrow when Christian 
 friends die. It is a common and humane 
 
122 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 sentiment, proper and useful. Why? Loss 
 of company, tie of affection broken, absence 
 felt. Jesus groaned and wept at the grave 
 of Lazarus. 
 
 But Christian believers should not sorrow 
 like the heathen, who have no hope. Why 
 not? Because they have hope. Their de- 
 parted friends live in a better, more perfect, 
 and exalted state. They will meet again. 
 They are not extinct, not annihilated, not 
 unconscious. They will meet again. They 
 have only gone before. It is always a gain 
 to the believer to die and to be with Christ, 
 which is in itself far better. The body is 
 laid aside, but the spirit retains its immortal 
 powers. 
 
 Besides, the resurrection of the dead is 
 always a consoling truth, peculiar to the 
 Christian system. 
 
 Let us not "be ignorant" ourselves, nor let 
 others remain so. 
 
 Wipe away your tears, ye saints, when 
 Christians die. Such is our blessed Saviour's 
 will. 
 
LX. 
 
 [ BE YE FOLLOWERS OF THEM WHO THROUGH FAITH AND 
 PATIENCE INHERIT THE PROMISES." — Hebrkws vi. 12. 
 
 §j 
 
 (vJ^HERE are promises, or things promised. 
 
 These do not relate to earth and time. 
 
 They are spiritual, not natural, — in- 
 visible, not within the reach of our senses. 
 
 Things which were once matters of promise 
 become a positive inheritance. When the 
 state of probation is completed, the reward of 
 inheritance is then bestowed. The trial is 
 short, the conflict is soon past, and the inheri- 
 tance, when once secured, will abide forever. 
 It is incorruptible, undefiled, and unfading, 
 reserved in heaven for the saints. 
 
 It becomes an inheritance, not by purchase, 
 not by merit, but by faith in the great Re- 
 deemer, and by patient endurance in well-do- 
 ing to the end. This faith is a spiritual grace, 
 which begins in regeneration, and is made per- 
 
 123 
 
124 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 feet in a complete sanctification. We read of 
 the spirits of just men made perfect. Blessed 
 company, — not few in number, not the subjects 
 of conflict and temptation, of sin and sorrow. 
 Blessed throng, — holy patriarchs, true proph- 
 ets, martyred apostles, thousands and thou- 
 sands, whom no man can number. 
 
 Be ye followers of such. Their faith was 
 not a cunningly devised fable. Nor was their 
 patience an idle dream. They fought a good 
 fight, they ran the race with perseverance, 
 they kept the faith, a crown of glory was laid 
 up for them in heaven. Be ye followers of 
 them in the imitation of their example, in the 
 adherence to their principles, in the culture 
 of their spirit. 
 
 Oh, blessed thought, all the redeemed peo- 
 ple of God will constitute one body, knowing 
 and known ! They were here pilgrims and 
 strangers ; they will there be fellow-citizens. 
 
LXI. 
 
 "AND THE LORD SAID UNTO CAIN, WHERE IS ABEL THY 
 BROTHER? AND HE SAID, I KNOW NOT. AM I MY BROTH- 
 ER'S KEEPER? " — Genesis iv. 9. 
 
 A 
 
 CAIN was guilty of fratricide. In malice 
 and envy he killed his brother. The 
 sacrifice of Abel was accepted of God, 
 while the offering of Cain was not ap- 
 proved. When he had committed the bloody 
 deed, God said to him, " Where is Abel, 
 thy brother?" He answered, "I know 
 not." How easy it is to tell a lie in the 
 wish to conceal the truth ! Thus crime is 
 added to crime. Cain defied God to find the 
 victim. The answer is, "What hast thou 
 done ? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth 
 unto me from the ground." How often has 
 the battle-field drunk up the brother's blood ! 
 Follow the steps of the assassin in the dark 
 night. He thinks that God will not see. 
 "Am I my brother's keeper?" Yes. And 
 God will hold thee responsible for thy unfaith- 
 fulness or neglect. "Thou shalt not kill." 
 The life and welfare of thy brother are com- 
 
126 MEDITATIONS. 
 
 mitted to thee in trust. In childhood or in 
 old age, on the ocean or on the land, thou 
 hast a duty to preserve thy brother. Is he 
 poor? provide for him. Is he hungry? feed 
 him. Is he naked? clothe him. Is he in 
 danger? protect him. Is he in prison? visit 
 him. Is he sick? nurse him. Every man is 
 thy brother, and these are fragments of thy 
 duty to him. His life, health, and safety are 
 thine to keep. If thou slay, injure, or neglect 
 thy brother, thou art guilty. Cain had com- 
 mitted the greatest crime against his brother, 
 and — 
 
 [This meditation was Dr. Burgess' last effort with the 
 pen. Overpowered by great weakness and suffering, he 
 paused in the midst of an unfinished sentence. Five days 
 later, Dec. 5, 1870, he fell asleep in Jesus. 
 
 The injury referred to by him in the Eighteenth Med- 
 itation was received on the fourteenth of March, — the 
 forty-ninth anniversary of his installation as Pastor.] 
 
 "Be thou faithful unto death, and I 
 
 WILL GIVE THEE A CROWN OF LIFE." 
 
Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process 
 Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
 Treatment Date: Nov. 2005 
 
 PreservationTechnologies 
 
 A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 
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 Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
 (724)779-2111