06.03. Psalm 23:3

Psalms 23:3. "He restoreth my soul; he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake." Though under the faithful care and watchful eye of the Good Shepherd, we have to pass through a world in which many and powerful foes surround us, and closely beset our path. "The god of this world," we are sure, hates us, because he knows full well that when he is chained in the bottomless pit we shall be in the full liberty of the glory with Christ. There is no book in all the Bible he tries to keep people from reading, or dislikes so much, as the book of "The Revelation"; and why? Because therein his own complete overthrow, and eternal misery, are plainly foretold. He wants to conceal this from the eyes of men; and, alas, how wonderfully he has succeeded as to this precious and profitable book! Many think it cannot be understood, and that it is unprofitable to read it; whereas, the Lord has connected a special blessing with the reading and the understanding of this book. "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand." (Revelation 1:3) The Lord’s judicial dealings, not only with Satan the source of all evil, but with the Jew, the Gentile, and the church of God, are herein unfolded. He shows us how He will square accounts with each. There can be no millennium until these judgments are past. "Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee?" It is all important to see the final results of the rise and progress of these three great divisions of mankind. Other books show us the failure, "The Revelation," the fall, and the setting aside of these bodies, or classes, as the responsible witnesses of God in the earth. But more than that, "The Revelation" shows us the Lord Jesus Christ taking the place of the faithful and true witness on the failure of all others, and re-establishing all things on a new footing, that God may be fully glorified in the scene wherein He has been dishonoured. "These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God." "Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, and the first-begotten from the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth." (Revelation 3:14; Revelation 1:5) But we cannot yet say, in the language of the twenty-fourth Psalm, which is strictly millennial, "The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof: the world, and they that dwell therein." No; we are still on the ground of the twenty-third Psalm, as the sheep of Christ, in much weakness; and Satan is still "the god of this world," "the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience." Hence the many trials and sorrows by the way, and hence the need of the Lord’s refreshing, restoring grace. Anathema maranatha. Satan does all in his power to injure and terrify the sheep of Christ, as they pass through his territory. He lays many snares for their feet, and he gilds many a scene, that he may attract the eye, and take it off the Good Shepherd who goes before them. Well the enemy knows that if they follow closely after Him, all his own snares and attractions are unsuccessful. He who goes before His flock meets the danger or the difficulty, and removes it, before they come up to it, blessed be His name. All difficulties vanish from His presence, and all enemies are powerless before Him. The great lesson to be learnt in the wilderness is entire dependence on the Lord. When Israel had safely passed through the deep, and stood in triumph, as the Lord’s redeemed, on the margin of the desert, their redemption was complete but Canaan was not reached. The wilderness, with all its temptations and difficulties, lay between. The Lord had many lessons to teach His people there. But before they were called to this character of experience, God had made Himself known to them in His grace and power as the great "I AM." In their glorious deliverance out of the land of Egypt, He had acted for them, in pure grace, through the blood of the lamb. Thus far it was grace, without rebuke; so that they ought to have known Him as worthy of all their trust. As characteristic of the wilderness, the first thing that meets them is a difficulty. "In which direction does our way to Canaan lie?" they might say to each other. There were no roads to be seen; nothing but a trackless desert lay before them. What was now to be done? just what they were always to do, and what the Lord’s redeemed should ever do — LOOK UP. There they would see Jehovah Himself, the true Shepherd of Israel, in His cloudy chariot, moving on before them. They were only safe in following Him; having no will, no wish, no way of their own, only to follow Him, in the full assurance that He would lead them by the best way to the promised land. Oh, how happy for Israel had this been the case then! and how happy for us now were we always content thus closely to follow the Lord, "the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls"! But another and a deeper trial for Israel soon came. The knowledge of accomplished redemption, the full assurance of forgiveness, and the enjoyment of God’s favour, never exempt us from trials and disappointments in this world. We have many profitable though painful lessons to learn in the wilderness. But if we never knew want, we could never know relief; and the value of a divine restorative is best known to a fainting soul. "So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; and they went out into the wilderness of Shur: and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter." What a disappointment! At the end of a three days’ journey in the wilderness to find no water, and when they did find it, it was bitter. What a trial! But Jehovah, the great "I AM" was there; and faith could say, even in these circumstances, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul." His grace never fails. If I grow faint and weary, "He restoreth my soul." If I forget and fall, "He restoreth my soul." Yes, and more, "He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness, for his name’s sake." Gracious Lord! He maintains my soul, in spite of my weakness, in the paths of true holiness. Such is the language of a calm and patient faith. But, on the other hand, the natural heart would reason within itself, and say, Can this be, love? Does the Lord not care for His people, after redeeming them out of the hand of the enemy? Most surely He does: only have patience. He is about to teach them a lesson. which is of present, future and eternal value — a lesson which, when learnt, is worth all the disappointments of the desert to know. This is the object of His perfect love in the present trial.

"And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink. And what, we may ask, could the man Moses do in such a state of things? Only, as before said, LOOK UP. "And he cried unto the Lord; and the Lord showed him a tree, which, when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet." Thus the Lord sweetens the bitter waters. It was not their murmurings that sweetened them, nor any means of their own devising, but the Lord’s own remedy, and applied according to His own directions. He only can sweeten the bitter cup, but He always can, and He always does — blessed be His name. Better have a bitter cup, and the Lord to sweeten it, than have no bitter cup at all; better far be cast, bound hand and foot, into the fiery furnace, and have the honour and blessing of walking there, in perfect liberty, with "the Son of God," than be saved from going into the furnace. Oh, what a field, my soul, for meditation, is the rich field of experience! Like the hind let loose, roam through it, and feed in it. Shepherds tell us that "variety of pasture is good for the flocks"; and sure thou art, that to be occupied with only a part of God’s word, and not with the whole, is to see only one side of truth, and not the truth of God generally. It is thus that many become narrow and confused in their views, and faulty in their faith and practice. In our beautiful and highly instructive Psalm we have the wide, wide field of wilderness life spread out before us. But we will return to our lesson. What kind of a tree, we may ask, can this be, that changes the bitter waters into sweet? In all the forests of the universe, there is but one tree to be found that can do this. But this tree is a divine specific, it never fails. It is enough to sweeten the bitterest cup that ever was pressed to human lips, and to turn all the bitterness of wilderness experience into the most delectable cup of heavenly blessedness. It was on that tree that Jesus died — that divine love triumphed over human hatred — that God was fully glorified — that sin was utterly abolished — that Satan was completely overthrown — that death was made stingless — that the grave was made powerless — that eternal peace was made for the feeblest of the flock — that the gloomy gates of hell were for ever shut — and the glorious gates of heaven thrown wide open, for all who believe in Him who died upon the tree. This tree, rooted in Calvary, sends its boughs of rich blessing into all the earth, and fills the highest heavens with its ripened fruits. It stands as the moral centre of the universe, and is the brightest display of God’s moral glories that can ever be seen or known. Oh, who would not accept the wilderness cup, to be taught thereby the many glories of the Saviour’s cross?*

*It will be of interest to many of our readers to know that this paper was written about two weeks before the event — so solemn and sudden to the writer — of July 1st, 1864. Then, as we may say, the, sweet waters, of health, affection and activity were flowing around him. But it is now plain that the Lord, in love, was preparing His servant, through communion with Himself, for what was so near at hand.

"We are by Christ redeemed:
The cost — His precious blood;
Be nothing by our souls esteemed
Like this great good.

To God our weakness clings
Through tribulation sore,
And seeks the covert of His wings
Till all be o’er."

It is always true — true at all times, and true of all saints — that when the Good Shepherd "putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice." This is a truth — a divine principle — of immense value; it has a deep and wide practical bearing. It assures our hearts that, whatever betide, He is at hand — always near; within sight, as we may say, and within the sound of His voice. Yes, and the believer finds in the scene through which the Lord has passed before him such a fragrance of His presence, as not only strengthens, but enriches the soul therein. When — at what time soever, He putteth forth His own sheep, HE goeth before them. See that thou understandest well this precious truth, O my soul; it is the great truth for the sheep of Christ. It affects everything as to thy path through the world. It is thy safeguard in danger — thy victory in conflict — thy light in darkness — thy strength in weakness — thy comfort in sorrow — thy fellowship in solitude — thy brightest hope amidst the deepest gloom. He who is with thee and before thee has tasted the bitterest sorrows of the wilderness, and has passed through the darkest night into the brightest day: and so shalt thou, only follow Him. This truth, so blessed to the pilgrim, assures us of the Shepherd’s care in every step, rough or smooth, of our wilderness journey. He is ever present — He never leaves nor forsakes. And through His perfect knowledge of the way, He confounds the enemy, turning all his hostility to the account of our blessing and His own glory. Blessed fruit, through His grace, of all that befalls poor human nature, when travelling through the deep sand of the desert.

"The Shepherd’s bosom bears each lamb
O’er rock, and waste, and wild;
The object of that love I am —
And carried like a child."

"If any man serve me," says the Lord, "let him follow me." He does not say, observe, "let him do this for me, or do that," but "let him follow me." Quietly to wait on the Lord that we may know His will, and faithfully to follow Him, hearkening to the voice of His word, is the most pleasing service we can render to the Lord. Some He may lead into more public, others into more private paths of service, but closely to follow the directions of His word, while looking, by faith, to Himself, is our most acceptable service. And for all such He has left His richest promise. "And where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour." (John 12:1-50)

These weighty and solemn truths were uttered when the dark shadows of Gethsemane and Calvary were crossing His path. It is comparatively easy to be active for the Lord, and, as it were, to be doing some great thing for Him in a bright and sunny day; but, oh, how difficult to follow Him through the solitudes of His rejection in a homeless world! Who of us can endure, it may be, to be separated from our dearest friends on earth, and to be thought weak and unstable? Who can endure to be in the outside place for the reproach of Christ? These waters are often very bitter. But His love desires that we should know something experimentally of His own path through this world, and the fellowship of His sufferings. It was not enough for the Lord’s great love to Abel that he should bear testimony, by his slain lamb, to the truth that death had come by sin; but he was honoured to bear witness in a more solemn way in his own death. Not only was the blood of his lamb shed, but his own blood, as God’s witness on the earth. How much more Abel had to do with death in this world than Cain! How significant, and solemnly instructive to all who follow with Abel! But after all, it was the Lord’s love to Abel, and the Lord’s honour conferred on him.

We have the same great principle, in type, at the waters of Marah. The people knew the value of the blood of the lamb in Egypt, as their safeguard from judgment, and their complete redemption in virtue of that blood. And now the Lord would have them further to know, in their own experience, the unfailing power of the blood for all the vicissitudes of the wilderness. In this way they had to do with death in all their journeyings. They were marching through the wilderness, under the shelter of the blood — the expressive symbol of death. It was on this ground alone that Jehovah could say to Balaam, "I have not seen iniquity in Jacob, nor perverseness in Israel." He does not say, "There is none there," but "I have not seen it." True, it was all in type, but we can easily see what was always uppermost in the Lord’s mind, "When I see the blood, I will pass over you." As if the Lord had said, "When I see the blood of the lamb, I see that which glorified me — blotted out sin — destroyed the power of the enemy, and obtained eternal redemption for my beloved people." It left Jehovah free, in all circumstances, to act in pure grace towards the people. They had only to LOOK UP, however naughty they had been, or however sorely they were distressed, and grace flowed — the need was met — the bitter cup was sweetened, and they were freely forgiven. The blood of the lamb was their divine passport from Egypt to Canaan. Nothing could stand before it; everything yields to its power. If the hosts of Egypt attempt to stop the journeyings of the blood-sprinkled people, they are cast into the depths of the sea; and if all the nations of the earth had sided with them, they must have shared the same fate. "I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee." The deep waters of the Red Sea must make a way for the ransomed of the Lord to pass over; not an hoof was left behind. The manna, the cloud and the living stream from the flinty rock are supplied, all enemies are subdued, and every need is met in virtue of the same precious blood. And though the river of death, at the end of their journeyings, overflowed all its banks, and Jericho walled to heaven, as the threatening rage of the enemy, and the tokens of his power, they present no barrier to the infinite power of the blood. But where is its power not felt and owned, willingly or unwillingly? It rent the veil of heaven, and unlocked the portals of the grave. What is higher than heaven? What is deeper than hell? (Matthew 27:50-53) But we are all prone to forget, like Israel of old, what the Lord has done for us — what bitter cup He drank for us — and that we carry through the wilderness with us the same "token" of His unchanging love. Hence, we often need to get a taste of the bitter in order to remind us of that which alone can sweeten; and that all the difficulties, trials and temptations of this life are to be borne in fellowship with Him. This His love desires. He has gone through them all for us, and that with infinite patience, meekness and wisdom, as an example to us. And, oh! wondrous grace, He allows to us in our afflictions a ministry of love, sympathy and kindness, which He allowed not Himself. He was forsaken of God in His sore distress — He was surrounded by the violence and rage of His shameless enemies, who gaped upon Him with their mouths like ravening and roaring lions. All refuge failed Him, comforters there were none. (Psalms 22:1-21) This was for us; there He drank the bitter cup of God’s wrath against sin. And He will have us to know Him there in love for us. And we have to learn by experience, however painful the lesson, that nothing but the bitter cup, of Calvary can sweeten the bitter cup of Marah. In other words, the sympathies of His heart who died there, are alone sufficient to soothe the sorrows of ours. But glory be to God, who gave His Son, we find all in Jesus. His cross is ours — His heart is ours. The full value of the cross is ours; the tender, boundless sympathies of His heart are ours — ours now — ours for ever. Oh! wonderful, precious, blessed truth! What more do we need? The cross and heart of Jesus — ours. Eternal springs of all blessing! The blest though bitter waters of Marah lead to a deeper knowledge of Calvary; and the deep and painful need of a broken heart, to deeper fellowship with His. He could say, and in truth, as none else ever could, "Reproach hath broken my heart." Yes, and more, in place of the tender sympathies of fellow-pilgrims, which His people so abundantly enjoy, He had to add — "And I am full of heaviness; and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none." (Psalms 69:1-36) Oh! what a refuge we have in the once broken and desolate heart of Jesus!

"Jesus, my All in all Thou art,
My rest in toil, my case in pain;
The medicine of my broken heart;
’Mid storms, my peace; in loss, my gain;

My smile beneath the tyrant’s frown;
In shame, my glory and my crown.
In want, my plentiful supply:
In weakness, my almighty power;

In bonds, my perfect liberty;
My refuge in temptation’s hour;
My comfort ’midst all grief and thrall,
My life in death, my All in all." When the Lord has thus brought us down to a true sense of our own weakness, and to more real dependence on His unfailing strength and constant care, the purposes of His tender love are answered. The deeper the trial, the stronger the expression of His love. And now we can say, in the rich experience of our souls, "HE restoreth my soul." Not the green pastures and the still waters, pleasant and excellent as these are — no; but the Lord Himself. The path becomes more and more individualised; there must be greater nearness to the Lord as our Shepherd, and more direct fellowship with Himself. "HE restoreth my soul: HE leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake."

"Alone with Thee, my God! alone with Thee!
Thus wouldst Thou have it still — thus let it be.
There is a secret chamber in each mind,
Which none can find
But He who, made it — none beside can know
Its joy or woe.
Oft may I enter it, oppressed by care,
And find Thee there;
So full of watchful love, Thou knowest the why
Of every sigh,
Then all Thy righteous dealing shall I see,
Alone with Thee, my, God! alone with Thee!

"The joys of earth are like a summer’s day.
Fading away,:
But in the twilight we may better trace
Thy wondrous grace.
The homes of earth are emptied oft by death
With chilling breath;
The loved departed guest may ope no more
The well-known door.
Still in that chamber sealed, Thou’lt dwell with me,
And I with Thee, my God! alone with Thee!

"The world’s false voice would bid me enter not
That hallowed spot;
And earthly thoughts would follow on the track,
To hold me back,
Or seek to break the sacred peace within,
With this world’s din.
But, by Thy grace, I’ll cast them all aside,
Whate’er betide,
And never let that cell deserted be,
Where I may dwell alone, my God, with Thee!

"The war may rage! — keep Thou the citadel,
And all is well.
And when I learn the fulness of Thy love,
With Thee above —
When every heart oppressed by hidden grief
Shall gain relief —
When every weary soul shall find its rest
Amidst the blest —
Then all my heart from sin and sorrow free,
Shall be a temple meet, my God, for Thee."

Before passing on to the fourth verse which gives a still deeper shade of wilderness trials and sorrows, we would turn for a moment to another use and application of "a tree," which may be for our edification. In 2 Kings 6:1-7 we have an account of "the sons of the prophets" going to the banks of the Jordan to cut down beams of trees, for the purpose of enlarging their dwelling-place. "And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us. Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye." The young prophets, very wisely, secure the presence of Elisha with them. He consents to go, and works a miracle there, which saves them from the loss of the head of the borrowed axe. "And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go. So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood. But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed. And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he showed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim. Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand, and took it."

Some have thought that there is a deep typical meaning in this apparently unimportant incident; others have been afraid to press it as such. But surely, at any rate, it is a striking illustration of resurrection-life and power. As to the typical meaning of Jordan, all are agreed. It is the type of death. And as for "the axe head," it lay as lost and dead in its depths. And what is deeply interesting, and instructive, too, in connection with this miracle, Elisha was, typically, the resurrection-life prophet. He passed through the river of death in company with Elijah, and started on his ministry of grace and resurrection-power from the point of the ascended prophet. (2 Kings 2:1-25) Elijah’s ministry, on the contrary, was judicial in its character. He started, we may say, from Sinai, which stamped its character on his miracles. He shut the heavens over a rebellious people, "and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months." And he called down fire from heaven on the captains of the idolatrous king of Israel. At Horeb he became linked up with the broken law, and the responsibility of the people, so that his ministry called for judgment. But Elisha starts from resurrection ground, and with his eye, as it were, on the ascended man. This is the place of God’s measureless grace — the place of the risen Christ Himself, and the saved myriads that joyfully cluster around Him. Scarcely had the two prophets crossed the Jordan, when Elijah proposed blessing to Elisha, according to the desires of his heart. Not now, observe, according to law, or earthly promise, but according to his heart’s desire. "And it came to pass, when they had gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me." They had left the land of law and earthly promise behind them; and death, the judgment of God against sin, was past, so that He was free to bless. This is grace, and most significant as to the character of Elisha’s mission, and of God’s way in grace, through the death and resurrection of Christ down to the present time.

Here pause for a moment, my soul, and meditate on this instructive scene. God begins His work where sin, Satan and all evil cease from theirs. He quickens the dead. No evil can ever cross the grave of Christ. The path of life, and holy, happy liberty, is beyond the domain of death. Elisha, observe, now returns to Israel; but all is changed. He acts in grace, according to the new condition of things. Sweet foreshadowing of the risen Jesus, who died for us, and for God’s glory, so that His grace flows forth freely to the children of men now, and will do so abundantly to Israel in the latter day. Elisha tarries at Jericho, the place of the curse; but he brings in the power of God in blessing, and removes the curse, and heals the spring of waters, so that there would be no more death or barren land. "And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught, and the ground barren. And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him. And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land. So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake."

Salt is a well-known symbol in scripture. Here it represents the healing power of grace, as flowing through the death and resurrection of Christ. The whole scene is richly and permanently blessed. Evil is overcome; the curse is removed from the ground — the world — and especially from His people Israel; and the spring of waters — the fountain of blessing — secured for ever. The "new cruse" may shadow forth the renewed condition of all things under Christ in the latter day. The prophet next proceeds to Bethel, which, we know, speaks of God’s unchangeable faithfulness to Jacob and to his seed for ever. Now he links the people with the sovereign counsels of God’s love and grace towards them. From thence the prophet goes to Carmel, which tells us of the fruitful land, thus connecting the people with the faithfulness of Jehovah, and the abundance of the land. What grace! The curse removed — evil put away — the scene purified — the spring of waters healed — the God of Bethel known and enjoyed; and the blessings of Carmel covering the land like a fruitful field. Nevertheless — oh, most solemn and weighty warning for the present moment, as well as for all time — if the testimony of the grace of God be despised, and His messengers mocked, judgment must take its course. (2 Kings 2:20-21)

Thus, in my meditations, have my thoughts traced, and retraced, the mystic path of these two great servants of God in this wonderful second chapter, though professedly meditating on the miracle in the sixth. But the ground we have gone over sheds wondrous light on the miracle. It now looks more like a passage in Ephesians or in 1 Peter. "And you hath he quickened who were dead, in trespasses and sins." "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which, according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."

There is no power to save the lost, or to quicken the dead soul, but the cross of Christ. When the tree is cast into the waters, the iron swims. The moment the cross is seen by faith, and applied by the Holy Spirit, the soul is quickened together with Christ, raised up, together, and made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus’. All this takes place in virtue of our union with Christ, when we believe in His name, and trust in His cross. But, alas, till then, the soul, however light, gay and active or otherwise, is, morally and spiritually, in the place of death. Oh, that poor, thoughtless, Christless souls would think of that now! What a condition to be in! The place of death — the cold depths of the river of death! What a lowering, what a sinking, of an immortal soul — a soul that grace can render capable of enjoying God, and His Son, and the full glories of heavenly blessedness for ever!

Where, oh where, let me ask, is my reader at this moment? In the depths or on the heights? It must be either the one or the other. There is no middle place. To die in the former state is to be there for ever, in the depths of anguish and despair. There can be no change after death. And wilt thou, O thoughtless one, sell thy eternal happiness for a moment’s present gratification? Why be so unreasonable. so cruel to thine own soul? Was it wise in Esau to sell the whole land of Canaan for a mess of pottage, because he could enjoy the latter at a moment? Wouldst thou call this manly, noble or high-spirited? And is it wise in thee to sell the heavenly Canaan for that which can be enjoyed only for a moment in this world? Do think of all this, my dear fellow-sinner. Thy present life is most uncertain; and what an agony to those left behind were there no hope in thy death! And what an eternity — thine! What could sweeten such a bitter cup as this, or change its wormwood and it gall? Oh, then, from every consideration, look to Jesus now — just now — before laying down this page. Let thine eyes and thine heart he lifted up, to Him. "Look unto me," He says, "and be ye saved." The great work of redemption was finished on the cross; there is nothing for thee to wait for. "It is finished!" Only look to Him, believing this, and thou art surely and for ever saved.

"When the harvest is past, and the summer is gone,
And sermons and, prayers shall be o’er;
When the beams cease to break of the sweet Sabbath morn,
And Jesus invites thee no more;
When the rich gales of mercy no longer shall blow,
The gospel no message declare;
Sinner, how canst thou bear the deep wailings of woe
How suffer the night of despair?

When the holy have gone to the regions of peace,
To dwell in the mansions above;
When their harmony wakes, in the fulness of bliss,
Their song to the Saviour they love;-
Say, O sinner, that livest at rest and secure,
Who fearest no trouble to come,
Can thy spirit the wailings of sorrow endure,
Or bear the impenitent’s doom?" But some, I know, are ready to say, by way of excusing themselves, that if they are as dead as the iron at the bottom of the stream, they must be entirely passive in the work of conversion. There is some truth in this remark, but it is far from being the whole truth. The soul is dead as regards God and spiritual things, but it is all alive as regards this world. There is no heart or energy for Christ and His salvation, but there is plenty of both for present things; and scripture presses, in innumerable places, the responsibility of the sinner. It assures him that the work by which alone he can be saved is finished, and that he has only to believe it on the sure testimony of God Himself; and, thus believing it, he is saved, and finds present and eternal rest in Jesus.

"Will thou go with this man?" is a plain question. And where is the sinner — active and intelligent as to present things — who cannot answer, Yes, or No?

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." "If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness [or testimony] in himself; he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son." "WHOSOEVER shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Acts 16:31; John 3:19; 1 John 5:9-10; Romans 10:13)

Thus we find in types and shadows, truths and substance, that there is no virtue for the soul apart from Christ — from Christ crucified. The knowledge of Jesus, His love, His cross, quickens the dead sinner, and gives him a place with the risen Jesus. It strengthens the weak saint — upholds the fainting spirit — comforts those that are in trouble and bowed down. It destroys the power of the waters of Jordan, and sweetens the waters of Marah.