AUG. 11. "Come; for all things are now ready." LUKE xiv. 17. YOU need pardon-holiness-peace-and everlasting life. These are all prepared by God, and are now ready to be received by you. They cannot be purchased for money, nor earned by toil, nor merited by suffering; but may be had as a free gift. Come, and accept them. You do need them. With other things you may dispense; but you cannot dispense with these, if you are to be happy for ever. Come, and accept them, now. Now, God is waiting to be gracious. Now, Christ is ready to plead your cause. Now, the Spirit is promised to help you. Now, the gospel freely invites you. Now, providences and ministers and Christian friends urge you to come. Come to-day; you may die to-morrow, and then it will be too late. "Come; for all things are now ready." Millions of sinners, vile as you, Have here found life and peace: Come then and taste salvation too, AUG. 12. "For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing." 1 PET. iii. 17. T HE people of God do suffer in this world; and that for their well-doing. This may, at first sight, seem strange; nevertheless, it is according to the will of God. The ungodly suffer also; their ills, however, are the just penalty of their misdeeds. It is better, the Apostle tells us, to be among the former than among the latter. In itself, it is a nobler thing to suffer for good than for evil. By such suffering we are, also, introduced into the followship of the choicest and best of the sons of men; and into the fellowship of the Redeemer himself. Suffering in a good cause, we are moreover, sustained and comforted by an approving conscience and a peace which passeth all understanding. We feel, too, that we can resort to the throne of grace, and make known our cause to God. And, lastly, we know that such sufferings inevitably issue in triumph and glory everlasting. Murmur not then, O my soul, in the evil day. Whatever sufferings thou mayest be called to endure, all are under the government and permitted by the will of God. Thou hast abundant sources of strength and comfort within thy reach; and a future prospect, bright and peaceful beyond all thought. Endure, as seeing Him who is invisible. Let the same mind be in you, as was in Christ Jesus the Lord; who, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross and despised the shame! Still nigh me, O my Saviour stand, And guard in fierce temptation's hour: Show forth in me thy saving power: In suffering be thy love my peace; AUG. 13. "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian." ACTS xxvi. 28. HY is it, my friend, that you are only al most a Christian? Is it because you are afraid of ridicule, and the contempt and scorn of the world?"Whosoever shall be ashamed of me, and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed." Is it because of the inconsistencies of professing Christians? "Every man shall give an account of himself for God." Is it because you are not willing to give up all to Christ? "What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul." Is it because you are afraid you will not be accepted? "Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out." Is it because you fear that you are too great a sinner? "The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin." Is it because you are afraid you will not continue steadfast and faithful? "He that hath begun a good work in you, will perform it, until the day of Jesus Christ." Is it because you are thinking you will do as well as you can, and that God perhaps, will be satisfied with that? "Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." Is it because you are postponing the matter to some future time? "Boast not thyself of to-morrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." May this be the happy hour of your full decision for God! Bow to the sceptre of his word, Submit to him, your sovereign Lord, AUG. 14. "Be thou faithful unto death." REV. ii. 10. HN ELLIOTT, the Apostle of the Indians, I was found on the day of his death, in his eightieth year teaching the alphabet to an Indian child at his bedside. "Why not rest from your labours now ?" said a friend, who saw him thus engaged. "Because," said the venerable man, "I have prayed to God to render me useful in my sphere, and he has heard my prayers; for now that I can no longer preach, he leaves me strength enough to teach this poor child his alphabet." Help me, O Lord, to be useful as long as I live. In a spirit of fidelity to thee, may I continue engaged in thy service while any ability to serve thee remains; and then, when all power of service is ended, receive me into rest. To wait for that important day AUG. 15. "O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee." JOHN xvii. 25. HIS is the world's sin. God has revealed him Turf is the world's, in his Word, ved in his Son: so that men, though ignorant, are without excuse. They are too indifferent, too sensual, too proud, too self-willed to learn; and their damning sin is, that God has made himself known to them in all the glories of his nature, but they refuse to know him. This is the world's loss. If men do not know God, all other knowledge they may possess is comparatively unimportant. It matters little what you know of God's works, if you do not know God himself. No literature, or science can give peace to the conscience. Neither history, nor political economy, nor civil law can save the soul from sin and hell. The fine arts, and the languages, and the accomplishments of society are insufficient to teach the way to heaven. All other knowledge is as dung and dross compared with the knowledge of God. This ignorance of God accounts for the world's conduct, They misrepresent his character and government. They desecrate his holy day. They neglect his sanctuary. They despise his offers of mercy and the solemn warnings of his Word. They set his authority at defiance. They cast contempt on his people. He is not in all their thoughts. And all this, is because they do not know him. If they knew him, they would love him with a supreme affection. They would delight in all his institutions. They would gladly obey his commands. They would love his people. They would continually think on his name. "O Righteous Fa ther," I thank thee, for the hope I have, that I know thee. Assist me in all my endeavours to learn more of thy perfections and will. Daily may I know, by sweet experience, how good thou art; and at last receive me into the mansions of heaven, that I may have communion with thee for evermore! Then shall my soul with rapture trace The wonders of thy love; For the full glories of thy face |