barren hills, and pathless, burning sands."

The promise includes-1. Abundant provisions. 2. Careful protection. 3. Unerring guidance (see p. 336).

III. THE EXULTANT PRAISE WHICH SUCH GLORIOUS PROSPECTS SHOULD

AWAKEN (ver. 3). It is common with our prophet thus to interject a song of praise on the announcement of any great and glorious event, and to call on the heavens and the earth to rejoice together (ch. xii., xlii. 10, 11, xliv. 23).

We should raise this song

1. Because of the glory which the fulfilment of this promise will bring to the Triune Jehovah. Here we have a test to apply to ourselves. Every true child of God spontaneously rejoices in this expectation, just as every true patriot rejoices in any certainty of the future glory of his country.

2. Because of the blessings the Gospel will bring to humanity. The universal prevalence of righteousness - peace -benevolence-social elevation and secular prosperity. Wherever Christianity is received, it effects great changes in the moral and social condition of the people. What has it done in our own and other lands? Christ will rectify all wrongs, and when God is glorified man shall be honoured. "Truth shall spring out of the earth," &c. Animating, delight ful, glorious prospect! When will it be realised? Not informed. culations respecting it vain.

All cal

CONCLUSION.-Has this Gospel come to you, not in word only, but in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance? It has come in word, but unless it comes in saving power also, it has not accomplished its design, &c. (Ps. ii. 10-12).—Alfred Tucker.

(a) Look at America, with its 25,000 ministers and millions of Church members. Look at the Fijian Islands. Half a century ago the blackest spot upon the map of the world, but if you ask the watchman, "what of the night" that brooded on these islands, he answers from the watch-towers of Omniscience that it is

gone! "Poor Fiji," the by-word of the nations,
is become more Christian than the land that
sent her Christ. Look at India. Contact
with Western civilisation, education, and mis-
sionary enterprise, like the secret waters of
three mighty subterranean tides, have sapped
the ancient temple of Indian superstition; it
trembles to its fall, and all kingdoms are
shaken that that which cannot be shaken may
remain. The Spirit broods over the profound
depths of the heart of India, and the light is
breaking. India is in search of a religion,
and not long since a leading Hindu gentleman
said to a famous Indian missionary that,
far as he could see, the future sovereign of
India would be Jesus Christ of Nazareth.' It
is thus the Gospel is rapidly and extensively
spreading.-W. J. Dawson.

80

("Sinin," most commentators are agreed that (8) India, with her 240,000,000, and China this refers to China) with her 400,000,000 inhabitants, shall gather round the central point of bliss-the largest kingdom of the world shall be converted (ver. 12).

"Many thousands have looked upon 'The Dream of Pilate's Wife,' that great picture of that great commentator in colour, Gustave Doré, and have marked as its most wonderful conception the distant Calvary with its empty cross bathed in mysterious light, and the innumerable throngs that toil upward to it with their shining faces, and the deep night-sky that seems to over-brim with angels. So the cross will shine at last above the dark continent where Moffat lived, and Livingstone died pray. ing; over India where Carey planted his forlorn hope, and grand old Samuel Wesley would have gladly laid his dust; and the shining hosts shall be the souls of all the saved, and the wondrous light the morning of the new heaven filling the new earth; for Christ will have drawn all men unto Himself."-W. J. Dawson.

religion with which our world is filled, there

(7) H. E. I. 1152.-In all the forms of false

is something which renders them unfit or impracticable for universal adoption. Some are adapted to particular climates only; others to particular states of society; a third class to particular orders of men; so that, in their very nature, they cannot be universal. But when we examine the religion of Jesus Christ, in its New Testament form, we find it divested of every feature and circumstance adapted to confine it to any particular territory or people. Its doctrines, its worship, and its system of moral duty, are all equally adapted to universality.... "Christ gives to the soul of heathendom that which it wants, and that which none other can give. (1.) A Deity in which all hearts can unite in supreme love. (2.) A creed in which all intellects can repose with unwavering confidence. (3.) A law which all consciences can approve without suspicion. (4.) An en. terprise in which all souls can work without hesitancy or lack of interest,"

CHRIST IN THE COVENANT.

xlix. 8. I will give Thee for a covenant of the people.

We all believe that our Saviour has very much to do with the covenant of eternal salvation. We have been accustomed to regard Him as the Mediator of the covenant, as the surety of the covenant, and as the scope or substance of the covenant (see pp. 113-115). But now I shall dwell on Christ, not as the Mediator, nor as the surety, nor as the scope of the covenant, but as one great and glorious article of the covenant which God has given to His children.

I. EXAMINE THIS PROPERTY.

Here is a great possession. Jesus Christ by covenant is the property of every believer. By this we must understand Jesus Christ in many different senses.

1. He is ours, in all His attributes. He has a double set of attributes, seeing that there are two natures joined in glorious union in one person. He has the attributes of very God, and He has the attributes of perfect man; and whatever these may be, they are each one of them the perpetual property of every believing child of God.

2. He is ours, in all His officesprophet, priest, king, &c. How varied is the value to us of this property!

3. Christ is the believer's in every one of His works. Whether they be works of suffering or of duty, they are the property of the believer.

4. His fulness is ours (Col. ii. 9; John i. 16).

5. The very life of Christ is the property of the believer. "Because I live, ye shall live also." dead; and your life"-where is it? It is "hid with Christ in God."

"Ye are

6. And best of all, the person of Jesus Christ is the property of the Christian. The wife loveth her husband; she loveth his house and his property; she loveth him for all that he giveth her, for all the bounty he

confers, and all the love he bestows; but his person is the object of her affections. So with the believer; he blesses Christ for all He does and all He is.

But oh! it is Christ that is everything. He does not care so much

about His offices as he does about the Man Christ.

II. THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH IT WAS CONVEYED TO US.

1. Christ is in the covenant in

order to comfort every coming
sinner. "Oh," says the sinner who
is coming to God, "I cannot lay
hold on such a great covenant as
that, I cannot believe that heaven is
provided for me," &c. Here comes
in the thought that Christ is in the
covenant. Sinner, canst thou lay hold
on Christ? Canst thou say,

"Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling?"

Well, if thou hast got that, it was
put in on purpose for thee to hold
fast by. God's covenant mercies all
go together, and if thou hast laid
hold on Christ, thou hast gained
every blessing in the covenant. That
is one reason why Christ was put

there.

2. Christ is put also to confirm the doubting saint. Sometimes he cannot read his interest in the covenant. So he lays hold of Christ, and were it not for that even the believer dare not come at all.

3. It was necessary that Christ should be in the covenant, because there are many things there which would be nought without Him. great redemption is in the covenant, but we have no redemption except "through His blood."

4. Christ is in the covenant to be used. Believer, use Him. Thou dost not use thy Christ as thou oughtest to do. Why, man, when thou art in trouble, &c., why dost thou not go

and tell Him? Has He not a sympathising heart, and can He not comfort and relieve thee? There is nothing Christ dislikes more than for His people to make a show thing of Him and not to use Him.

III. A PRECEPT; and what shall the precept be? Christ is ours; then be ye Christ's. Ye are Christ's, ye know right well. Ye are His, by your Father's donation, when He gave you to the Son, &c. Show the world that you are His in practice. Stand fast in the evil day, remembering that you are one of Christ's.

I

CONCLUSION.-Some of you have never laid hold of the covenant. sometimes hear it whispered, and sometimes read it, that there are men who trust to the uncovenanted mercies of God. Let me solemnly assure you that there is now no

such thing in heaven as uncovenanted mercy; there is no such thing beneath God's sky or above it, as uncovenanted grace towards men.

All

ye can receive, and all you ever ought to hope for, must be through the covenant of free grace, and that alone. Mayhap, poor convinced sinner, thou darest not take hold of the covenant to-day. Caust thou not trust to Christ?

"Are not His mercies rich and free?

Then say, poor soul, why not for thee!" "I dare not come; I am So unworthy," you say. Hear, then, my Master bids you come, and will you fear after that? "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heaven laden, and I will give you rest."-C. H. Spurgeon: Metropolitan Tabernacle Pul pit, vol. ii. pp. 393-400.

THE CHURCH SHEPHERDED BY CHRIST. (a)
xlix. 9, 10. They shall feed in the ways, &c.

"The comparison of God's care to that of a shepherd was first used by Jacob (Gen. xlix. 24); then by Moses (Deut. xxxii. 6, 12). From these passages the prophets borrowed the same figure (Isa. xl. 11; Ezek. xxxiv. 12, 13; Micah vii. 14). In the New Testament Christ is compared to a shepherd (John x. 11; 1 Pet. ii. 25, v. 4; Heb. xiii. 20). Travellers in the East and others record the peculiarly close and tender relationship of the Oriental shepherd to his flock."

The Saviour is here represented under the image of a shepherd, who leads forth His flock in green pastures, &c.

providing for them he frequently underwent long and severe labour. Jesus provides for all the wants of His people-temporal and spiritual. He opens before them unexpected sources of supply.

The Divine life must be fed, nourished, sustained. Our Good Shepherd's provisions are plentiful, adapted, exhaustless-Himself, His Word, His ordinances, &c. With Jehovah-Jesus for our shepherd, whose hand rests on all sources of supply, we can lack no temporal or spiritual good.

II The Divine Shepherd protects His flock. "Neither shall the heat nor sun smite them." They shall be sheltered from suffering like that of the intense heat of the burning sun reflected from the sandy wastes. The idea is, the Divine Shepherd will protect-shelter-His flock. This is the doctrine of the Bible, of the Old Testament as well as the New. "Whatever charge He gives His angels, He has not thereby discharged Himself, so that whether every saint has an angel for his guardian or no, we are sure he

has God Himself for his guardian, and what higher consolation can we desire?" Those are well protected who have the Lord for their protector. He has manifested Himself as the protector of His people in all ages. Did He not deliver the stripling David out of the paw of the lion and the bear? (1 Sam. xvii. 34-36; &c.) Our good Shepherd's protection is ever watchful, ever present, all-sufficient, never-failing (Ps. cxxi. 3-8, &c.) Have not you experienced this protection? What He has been, and what He has done in the past, He will be, and do in the future. Let us trust in the protection of our Divine Shepherd, and rejoice.

III. The Divine Shepherd leads His flock. "He that hath mercy on them shall lead them." With infallible knowledge and tender care, He goes before His people in all their journeyings. No longer by the mystic and majestic pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night does He lead them, but by the indications of His providence, by His Word, and by His Spirit, &c. He shall lead them, not drive them. "He"-what a leader! It is a long and perilous way, but He knows every step. Let us cheerfully follow His gracious guidance, and be assured "He leadeth us in right paths" (Ps.

xxiii. 3). "The ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in. them."

IV. The Divine Shepherd refreshes His flock. "Even by the springs of water shall He guide them." The faithful shepherd leads his flock beside cooling streams. When panting. and breathless, he leads them to the "little green glen, with a quiet brooklet, and a moist lush herbage all along its course, while the sunbeams, like swords' are piercing everything beyond that hidden covert." So Jesus leads His flock beside many a cooling spring. The spiritual life is liable to exhaustion. But our Divine Shepherd refreshes, vivifies, quickens the spirit when wearied and exhausted and troubled-worn down with toil, and conflict, and care. The blessings of the gospel are often compared to water; they are the rivers of soullife."

CONCLUSION. -1. Is Jesus your Shepherd? Have you been convinced of your far and perilous wanderings? Have you heard and obeyed the Shepherd's voice? 2. If you acknowledge Jesus as your Shepherd, then follow, love, obey, and trust Him.-Alfred Tucker.

(a) See pp. 24-29.

THE IMPERFCTION OF EARTHLY BLESSINGS. xlix. 10. Neither shall the heat nor sun smite them, &c.

One of the blessings promised to Christ's people in the latter days. The promise is fulfilled now to those who depart hence believing in Him. This promise reminds us

I. That the best things when bestowed in excess become great evils. What a glorious gift to man is the sun! How essential is its heat to human life and happiness! Yet how oppressive are the heats of summer! With what terrible blows the sun sometimes smites men! Let us remember that the measure of a thing is as important as its kind. "Moderation in all things," is the wise man's motto. How necessary to remember

it in regard to food, sleep, work, recreation; in the household, in regard to kindness and to severity, &c.

II. That all earthly blessings have their drawbacks. The heats of summer are great blessings; without them how poor would the harvest be in the autumn! Yet what a strain they often are on human strength! How fatal they often are to human life! Noteworthy that it can be said as a promise, "Neither shall the heat nor the sun smite them." So with other things; "every rose has its thorn." Wealth, its moral dangers (H. E. I. 4358-3364, 4389-4399, and social inconveniences (H. E. I. 4381, 4387, 4388). Learning;

III. That in heaven we shall have all the blessings without any of the drawbacks (H. E. I. 2721-2727).

Some practical lessons:

1. Let us not grumble at the natural and providential drawbacks of our earthly lot. Let us remember that, so to speak, they are the prices of the blessings, and that if we are called to endure the drawbacks the blessings will not be withheld. Many men grumble that they have to pay an income-tax, and forget to thank God that they have an income. If they had not that, the taxgatherer would never knock at their doors. So with the drawbacks of other blessings. Murmuring is unwise and wicked.

2. When the conditions of our earthly life press on us most heavily, let us com

fort ourselves by the remembrance of the perfect life towards which we are hastening. The prisoner is sustained by the knowledge that the hour of his liberation is drawing nigh; the mariner, by the fact that every gale blows him nearer to the "desired haven." It is a good thing to walk now by faith and hope in that land where neither the heat nor the sun shall smite us (H. E. I. 216-218, 2766-2770).

3. If the future life for God's people will be all perfection without abatement, how little should they dread that event which will introduce them to it! Are we prepared for that wonderful transition which we call death? If so, why should we fear it? If we are not prepared for it, how shall we excuse ourselves for the insane unpreparedness in which we are living Prepare for it, and then all the great and precious promises concerning the future life will be promises made to you, and that event of which the very name has been disagreeable to you will be the beginning of inconceivable joy (H. E. I. 16231635; P. D. 667, 691, 745).

GATHERED FROM AFAR

(Missionary Sermon.)

xlix. 12. Behold there shall come from far, &c.

Whatever bearing this prophecy may have had upon the time of Isaiah, or the time immediately after him, it has an important bearing on the time of the Messiah and the course of His kingdom. The prophet sees multitudes coming into that kingdom from every quarter of the globe. Taking his position in Palestine, he mentions the north and west by name; the far country may be regarded as the south, beginning with Egypt, and running down to Southern Africa; while the east runs through Persia and India to China, which many expositors consider identical with Sinim.

The sentiment of the text is that the redeemed Church of Christ shall come from every part of the earth.

I. This sentiment is in accordance with the genius of the gospel,

It

The gospel is in the world. exerts an immense influence over the best portions of the human race; whose excellence, indeed, is directly owing to its influence. What is its nature? It is the manifestation of God's love to man. It is not a mere declaration of the Divine existence and character, nor a mere exposition of human nature and its obligations. It is a revelation of the Divine character in its relations to man. It unfolds the way in which God deals with human sinfulness. Instead of sweeping it away by sweeping man away, He provides salvation from sin and its doom. That provision consists in the incarnation of the Son of God, who has obeyed the law and endured its curse for man. The good news is the proclamation of God's forgiving