and discoloured with stripes, and with his bloody sweat, and the amazement and dejection of his spirit, while insulted by men and deserted by God; and she sees in all these the evil of sin, the majesty of the law, the terrors of the curse, the satisfaction of justice, the honours of mercy, the conquest of death and hell, the finishing of transgression, the way of peace, the opening of heaven to the world, the river of life issuing from the smitten rock to cheer the thirsty wilderness, the coming of faith and glad hope and pure charity, (amidst the sweet sounds of gospel mercy,) from the cross, into innumerable hearts;-these, and a thousand such things connected with the one great sacrifice, press on a soul musing on the brightest wonders of revelation, and

"Enclose her round, the prisoner of amaze."

We

The fire burned. The passions light up, and devotion loses her coldness. She is warmed with a supernatural holy heat, and, recovering from her torpor, claps her wings and soars up to the gate of heaven to mingle her adorations with those of the fiery seraphim before the seat of eternal love and grace. The fire which burned in David's soul was an intense desire of divine teaching, humiliation and forgiveness, with complete deliverance from all his transgressions, as the following verses will show. For it is not necessary to consider this fire as the fire of sinful anger, and the next words as a prayer for immediate death, as some. have no need to put an ill sense on words which will bear a good one. Yet it is true also that meditation, misdirected, may stir up bad passions and provoke hasty wishes. Therefore we should be very watchful over our thoughts, as being powerful means of good or evil, according to the nature of the subjects on which we choose to exercise them. And taking divine things for our themes, we have great reason to hope that we shall often feel the kindlings of seraphic love, not only because meditation has an aptitude that way, but because Christ accepts the effort

as a fruit of holy desire. To those who thus look for "He shall baptize with the

him, will he appear.
Holy Ghost and with fire."

Then spake I with my tongue. - Let those who would speak well, muse first, and those who would muse be silent, for in determined silence the soul will learn at length to meditate. Thus, fear of sinning in word produceth silence. Silence conducteth to meditation. Meditation kindleth desire; and desire breaketh silence with words of devotion. The fire of the heart breaketh forth at the lips, and mounteth away to its own centre far above all heavens.

A good man may sin, but not perfectly. David sinned by holding his peace even from good; yet, far from being like those who can do nothing but sin, he rises from a sinful silence into a holy frame of meditation. Thus, "though a good man fall he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand," i. e. with his spiritual influence. He falls, but forward, his thoughts being still toward God. He backslides, not turning his face toward hell, but walking backward toward it, with his face still toward heaven. David withheld his tongue even from good, but it was soon in motion again, not without a bridle, but well reined in and guided in the right way.

Let us now get into this chariot of fire which his musing has prepared for us, only taking heed that it be not quenched by these icy hearts of ours, but, on the contrary, fanned and supplied with fuel by our musing also.

Ver. 4. Lord, make me to know mine end.-When afraid to speak before men, he speaks to God, even to Jehovah. When snares are laid for us below, our best way is to fly upward. But what is it that the good man is pursuing now? Does he wish to know how, where, or when he is to die? If this were his object he had better have remained silent. There are some who profess to cast nativities and to predict with certainty the day and hour of a man's death, if he will only inform them of the precise time of his birth. But

such imposture is too gross to impose on those who believe Christ when he says, "Ye know neither the day nor the hour; be ye therefore always ready." Nor was it the day of his death that David wished to know. It is even against nature to desire it. True grace

teaches us to say-

Only receive my soul to thee,

The manner and the time be thine:

or as he "Lord, when thou wilt where thou wilt-how thou wilt." Saints are not in darkness, that that day should overtake them as a thief. They ask not to know the time of that dispensation, only that they may walk in daily readiness for it, and pass through it with a hope blooming with immortality.

(To be continued.)

VII.

THE INSCRUTABLE CHARACTER OF THE

DIVINE DISPENSATIONS.

JOHN xiii. 7.

"What I do, thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter."

It was the intention of our Lord, in the interesting history of which our text forms a part, to instruct his disciples in a doctrinal truth, as well as to teach them a practical lesson. By washing the feet of his disciples, it was his intention to convince them of the need in which they stood of an internal purificationthat ere they became his followers, or could be regarded as meet for the kingdom of heaven, they must be washed in the fountain of his blood. This is a truth, which, like the sun in the firmament, shines conspicuously in the sacred page. If we lose sight of the doctrine of atonement, or of the doctrine of regeneration, we lose sight of those truths which are the basis of a sinner's hope, and the ground of a sinner's confi

dence before God. Without a washing in the Saviour's blood he can never be pure, and without faith in the merits of his sacrifice he can never be justified.

The practical lesson which our Lord in this history wished to inculcate was the necessary and important lesson of humility. Pride is a sin which attaches itself in a greater or less degree to every human being, whether sanctified or not. It was visible among our Lord's disciples. The sons of Zebedee were anxious to sit one on the right hand and the other on the left, in his kingdom. Nor is the church free from it in the age in which we live. We see some proud of rank, of name, and sect, and station, and in the church those are sometimes to be known who even boast of zeal and gifts, of consistency and devotion. To correct this prevailing evil our Lord condescended to perform a humiliating act. In the 4th verse we read thus:-" He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself;" and in the 12th, our Lord begins to explain his object. "So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?"

Such, then, is the design of the history to which our text belongs, a passage which we intend to consider, abstracted from the connexion in which it is found. It will recal to mind some wholesome and important truths, and cannot fail to be productive of edification both to speaker and hearer.

I. The conduct of God is in general concealed from the knowledge of his people.

Be it remembered, in adverting to the purposes of God, that I speak with latitude. In whatever department we review the divine conduct, whether it be in nature, providence, or grace, we know but little. There is much of which we are in ignorance-much which the profoundest philosopher and the acutest divine can neither explain nor unravel-much in the exercise of his power, in the manifestation of his wisdom, in the move

ments of his providence, and in the dispensations of his grace, that we cannot comprehend. But why cannot we comprehend them? why cannot we explain or unravel the mysteries of nature and grace? To give satisfaction in reply to such questions is, perhaps, not possible; but it may be observed, that this concealment may be the result of necessity or of design.

1. It may be the result of necessity.-The conduct of God will appear, on the least consideration, too vast and complicated ever to be comprehended by man. His dominion is absolute, universal, and infinite; extending over sea and air, over matter and mind. In every nation he rules, and in each he has a different object to accomplish, and a different plan, though tending to the same grand and moral result, to pursue. The same wisdom which thus invisibly directs the counsels of man to render them subservient to his gracious purposes, superintends and governs the various circuits that are made by the earth, and moon, and planets. "Lo, these are parts of his ways, but how little a portion is heard of him; but the thunder of his power who can understand ?" What mortal is there that can measure the extent of his power, or dive to the depths of his wisdom? What man can explain his will, or comprehend the principles of his government? "Canst thou by searching," &c. Job xi.

7, 8, 9.

Not only is our knowledge limited in reference to nature, but in reference to many sublime truths of revelation. We know not what attainments the mind will make in its disembodied and exalted state, but we seem fully confident, that in the present condition there is a limit to its discoveries. We know the fact, but we cannot comprehend the nature, of the Trinity. Liberty and necessity, which have perplexed a multitude of philosophers, or what is much the same, election and free-will, on which many divines have written, we cannot reconcile nor satisfactorily explain. We know that God is prescient, that he has fore-ordained and appointed whatever comes to pass; we know, too, that