ed; friends of Jesus. May I put in a word for the Lord's poor, prices are high, wages are low, winter is come, and many of the Lord's poor friends will be sharply pinched. Clothing, food, and fuel will be needed by many. Christians in comfortable circumstances, remember your brethren in the cheerless tenements of poverty. Send them blankets for the bed, coals for the hearth, and food for the table. Act towards them as if you deeply felt, and powerfully realized the fact, that they are the friends of Jesus. If any man will not work, he ought not to be encouragbut if he would work but has no employment,-if he does work and is poorly paid,-or if he cannot work because disabled by age, disease, or weakness, then he ought to be pitied, visited, and assisted. Let every believer who has the means so act this winter, as to be able to say with Job, "When the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me, because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him. The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out" (Job xxix. 11, 12, 13, 16). Or, "If I have withheld the poor from their desire, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail; or have eaten my morsel myself alone, and the fatherless hath not eaten thereof; if I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering; if his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep," &c. (Job. xxxi. 16, 17, 19, 20). Friends of Jesus, whom he has favoured by his providence, he demands your sympathy for his friends in sickness, in poverty, and in old age; he assures you he will not forget, or fail to reward the cup of cold water given to one of his little ones, when there was nothing better to impart. Let it never be said that you treated the lower animals with kindness and consideration, and left the friends of your Lord and Saviour to pine in want and privation without pity and relief. Poor, weak, and worthless, though I am, He ransomed me from hell with blood; He cheers my heart, my want supplies, WHAT DOES GOD REQUIRE ? ARE you an unconverted sinner? This is a solemn question, do not pass it over lightly, or put it from you, as if there was no doubt about your state. But think over it seriously, pray over it earnestly, and may the Holy Spirit decide it for you. But if you are unconverted, God requires of you unqualified submission to his way of salvation. He has provided an atonement for sin, and he requires you to trust in it. He has provided a righteousness for your justification, and he requires you to receive it as presented to you in the gospel. He has promised to save sinners freely by his grace, and he requires you to be willing to be so saved. He promises eternal life to every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ; and he requires you to believe. He commands you to renounce self, call upon God, plead for life and salvation in the name of Jesus, and receive his truth as a little child; and he requires you to do so. If If you are trifling with sin, neglecting salvation, or trying to recommend yourself to God by your tears, prayers, or services, you are not doing what God requires, but just the contrary; for you are rejecting Christ, slighting his atonement, despising free grace, and trying to bring in God a debtor; that so you may be saved by works and not by grace, which is impossible. Are you a believer? Important inquiry, the Lord seal it home upon your conscience! But if you are, God requires unqualified submission to his word, you must receive the doctrines he has revealed, believe the promises he has made, and perform the precepts he has given. He bids you be baptized, as a believer in his Son, if you have not been, you ought to be at once. He bids you love and unite with his people; if you are not a member of a Christian church, you ought to propose yourself at once. He bids you hold forth the word of life to warn sinners of their danger, and endeavour to bring all around you to Jesus for salvation; and this should be your daily aim and prayer. In a word, God requires you to be baptized; to unite with his people; to sit down with his saints at his table; to tell poor sinners of his love; to let your light so shine before men, that they seeing your good works, may glorify your Father who is in heaven. His doctrines are to enlighten you, his promises to comfort you, his precepts to direct you, and his providence to supply you. God requires you to look upon himself as your Father; and to walk before him as such in faith, love, and holy obedience. He has provided grace to enable you to perform all he requires, and he bids you ask and receive. PEACE! PEACE! PEACE is a great blessing; even a soldier must love peace; but then it must be peace upon right principles. Nations when at war often sigh for peace; the loss of blood, treasure, and trade, make them do so. And there is a good time coming, when the Prince of Peace will reign from the river to the ends of the earth, and men will learn war no more; the sword shall be beaten into the ploughshare, and the spear into the pruning hook, and the war trumpet shall be hung up in the hall, to rest for ever. Then the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. May the Lord hasten that glorious period, if it be his blessed will. But there may be peace, even in the midst of war, and there often is. Let me tell you of a case. Joseph West, was a wild, racketty, thoughtless young man; he loved sin. The pipe, the pot, and the merry song, were his delight; he would drink, sing, and, as he called it, "drive away dull care," until his money was spent, and his clothes were at the pawn shop. 177 213 |