June 16

I would fill my mouth with arguments. - Job 23:4.

NOT that these are necessary to excite and move a being who is love itself, and who is always more ready to hear than we are to pray; but these are proper, in order to affect and encourage us. The case is this: God speaks to us in a way most agreeable to our state and the most easy to our apprehension; and he leads us to speak to him in the same way. He must, if he addresses us, speak in human language, or he will never be understood; and we must, in speaking to him, speak in human language, for we have no other to speak in. We never need be discouraged, nor at a loss for one moment for arguments with which to fill our mouths when we go to the throne of grace. There is not a circumstance belonging to our case, not an attribute pertaining to the Divine nature, not a promise or invitation in his word; there is not an example of his mercy and grace recorded there, but may furnish us with matter when we have to plead with him.

If a beggar came to our door, we should know pretty well beforehand what arguments he would make use of-that he is more to be pitied than blamed-that he has seen much better days- that it is only a little he wants now-that he will not come again-and that he will not tell of your bounty, so as to plague you by bringing others to call upon you. But the very reverse of all this we must feel and plead when we address the God of all mercy and grace. The strongest and the sweetest arguments we can ever employ must be drawn from the mediation of him who “was delivered for our offences, and raised again for our justification,” and who ascended into heaven, where he is now; and it is from him we are to derive our most available plea when we go unto God and say, Thou, Lord, hast already not “spared thine own Son, but hast freely given him up for us all; wilt thou not, with him, freely give us all things?”

And is not every end that could be answered by my destitution equally and entirely answered by his precious death? Lord, I do not come to ask thee, in pardoning and saving me, to trample on thy law, or to deny thy word and thy righteousness, for “mercy and truth have met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” Here thy law is even “magnified and made honourable;” here sin is condemned while it is pardoned; and I, therefore, only plead for glory to thyself in the highest, by the extension of peace on earth and. goodwill towards men. And the Saviour has thus encouraged us to plead: “Hitherto ye have asked nothing in my name;” nothing compared with what you ought to have asked, and compared with what you might have asked; but now “ask and receive, that your joy may be full.” “Whatsoever ye ask in my name, believing, ye shall receive.”