lest any hurt them; he keeps them by night and by day, and how can he but love them? He loves the place where his Spirit dwells.

Just as God loved the temple: "This is my rest; here will I dwell, for I have desired it," not for any good in it, but because it was the place of his feet-because he had done so much for it; so God loves his Christians, just because he dwells in them, and has done so much for them. Just as it was with Aaron's rod: it was a dry stick, like any other rod; but God made it bud forth, and bloom blossoms, and bear ripe almonds; and therefore he caused it to be laid up in the holiest of all. So is a Christian-a dry tree; but God makes him bear fruit, and loves the work of his own hands. Dear Christians, walk after the Spirit, and please God more and more. He saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. His countenance doth behold the upright: "I love them that love me."

II. God will bring all his people to glory. There are many difficulties in the way. 1. So it was with Israel. The cities were walled, and very great; the inhabitants were gigantic and strong: they felt before them like grasshoppers. 2. So it is with God's children: they have many and great enemies the devil, and his angels, once the brightest and highest of created intelligences, now the great enemy of souls. He is against the Christian. The world is full of giants, all opposing God's children. The persecutions of the ungodly-the allurements of pleasure these are great enemies in the way. There are giant lusts in the heart: the lust of praise-the lust of the flesh-the lust of the eyethe pride of life. Before these the soul feels like a grasshopper, without strength: "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we."

Arg. If he delight in us, he will bring us into this land. He is able: "If God be for us, who can be against us?" 1. God is stronger than Satan. Satan is nothing in his hand. It is easier for God to crush Satan under our feet, than for you to crush a fly. God is infinitely stronger than Satan. Satan can no more hinder God from carrying us to glory than a little fly can, which you crush with your foot. "He shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly." Submit yourselves to God-resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 2. Stronger than the world. The world often comes against us like armed men; but, if God be for us, who can

be against us? "The people shall be like bread." It is as easy to overcome all opposition when God is with us, as for a hungry man to eat bread. It was God that girded Cyrus, though he did not know him. So he does still: worldly men are a rod in God's hand. God puts it this way or that way, to fulfil all his pleasure; and when he has done with it, he will break it in pieces, and cast it into the fire. "So fear not them that kill the body, and after that, have no more that they can do." Oh! Christian, if you would live by faith, you might live a happy life! 3. Stronger than our own heart. There is many a Jericho in our own heart walled up to heaven-many a fortress of sin-many giant lusts, which threaten our souls. "O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” "If the Lord delight in us, he will bring us into the good land." By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were compassed about seven days. God made the walls of Jericho fall flat, by a mere breath of wind-a noise; so he is able still. Settle it in your hearts: there is no Jericho in your hearts which God is not able to make fall in a moment. You have seen a shepherd carrying a sheep on his shoulder; he meets with many a stone on the way-many a thorn--many a stream; yet the sheep feels no difficulty; it is carried above all. So is it with every soul that yields itself to God; the only difficulty is to lie on his shoulder.

Apply to young Christians. Learn where your sanctification lies-in God: "With thee is the fountain of life." "Your life is hid with Christ in God." Your holiness does not depend on you, but on him. It is a hard lesson to learn, that you cannot sanctify yourself that you cannot overcome these giants, and scale these walls. You have learned one humbling lesson, that you have no righteousness —that nothing you have done or can do will justify you. Now, learn another humbling lesson- that even when pardoned you have no strength. It is the most humbling of all things to lie like a sheep on his shoulders; but, oh! it is sweet. Be like Aaron's rod-a dry stick in yourself, till he shall make you bud, and blossom, and bear fruit. Say like Ephraim: "I am a green fir tree;" and hear God say: "From me is thy fruit found."

To fallen Christians. Some of you may have fallen into sin. The reason was just this: you forgot where your strength lay. It was not the force of passion, nor the power

of Satan, nor the allurement of the world that made you fall-it was unbelief; you did not lie in his hand.

To aged Christians. You have come to the border of the promised land, and still your enemies seem giants, and the cities walled up to heaven, and you feel like a grasshopper. Still, if the Lord delight in you, he will keep you in the love of God. He that saved you out of the mouth of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, will save you out of the hand of this Philistine. Trust God to the end.

Even in the valley of the shadow of death, look back over all your deliverances; look over all the Ebenezers you have raised, and say:

After so much mercy past,

Canst thou let me sink at last?

SERMON XVII.

FAMILY GOVERNMENT.

"For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him."-GEN. xviii. 19.

THERE are three things very remarkable in these words. 1. That Abraham used parental authority in governing his family: "I know him, that he will command his children and servants after him.” He did not think it enough to pray for them, or to teach them, but he used the authority which God had given him-he commanded them. 2. That he cared for his servants as well as his children. chap. xiv., verse 14, we learn that Abraham had three hundred and eighteen servants born in his house. He lived after the manner of patriarchal times; as the Arabs of the wilderness do to this day. His family was very large, and yet he did not say, "They are none of mine."

In

He commanded his children and his household. 3. His success:

They shall keep the way of the Lord." It is often said that the children of good men turn out ill. Well, here is a good man-and a good man doing his duty by his children and here is the result. His son Isaac was probably a child of God from his earliest years. There is every mark of it in his life. And what a delightful specimen of a believing, prayerful servant was Eliezer.-Gen. xxiv.

It is the duty of all believers to rule their houses well.

I. The springs of this duty.

1. Love to souls. As long as a man does not care for his own soul, he does not care for the souls of others. He can see his wife and children living in sin, going down to hell-he does not care. He does not care for missions-gives nothing to support missionaries. But the moment a man's eyes are opened to the value of his own soul, that moment does he begin to care for the souls of others. From that moment does he love the missionary cause. He willingly spares a little to send the Gospel to the Jew and the perishing Hindus. Again: he begins to care for the Church at home. for his neighbours all living in sin. Like the maniac at Decapolis, he publishes the name of Jesus wherever he goes. And now he begins to care for his own house. He commands his children and his household after him. How is it with you? you rule well your own house? Do you worship God, morning and evening, in your family? Do you deal with. your children and servants touching their conversion? If not, you do not love their souls. And the reason is, you do not love your own. You may make what outward profession you please; you may sit down at sacraments, and talk about your feelings, &c., but if you do not labour for the conversion of your children, it is all a lie. If you but felt the preciousness of Christ, you could not look upon their faces without a heart-breaking desire that they might be saved. Thus Rahab, Josh. ii. 13.

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Do

When a man

Cor. vi. 19.

2. Desire to use all talents for Christ. comes to Christ, he feels he is not his own.-1 He hears Christ say: Occupy till I come." If he be a rich man, he uses all for Christ, like Gaius. If a learned man, spends all for Christ, like Paul. Now, parental authority is one talent-the authority of a father and master is a talent, for the use of which men will be judged. He uses this also for Christ. He commands his children and

his household after him. How is it with you? Do you use this talent for Christ? If not, you have never given yourself away to him-you are not his.

II. Scripture examples of it.

1. Abraham. The most eminent example of it-the father of all believers. Are you a child of Abraham? Then walk in his steps in this. Wherever Abraham went, he built an altar to the Lord.

2. Job. Upon every one of his son's birth-days Job offered sacrifice, according to the number of them all.-Chap. i. 5. 3. Joshua: "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."-Chap. xxiv. 15.

4. Eunice. From a child, little Timothy knew the Scriptures; and the reason of this you understand, when you read of the faith of his mother Eunice.-2 Tim. iii. 15, with i. 5. Such was the manner in Scotland in the days of our fathers; and if ever we are to see Scotland again a garden of the Lord, it must be by the reviving of family government.

III. The manner of it.

1. Worship God in your family. If you do not worship God in your family, you are living in positive sin; you may be quite sure you do not care for the souls of your family. If you neglected to spread a meal for your children to eat, would it not be said that you did not care for their bodies? And if you do not lead your children and servants to the green pastures of God's Word, and to seek the living water, how plain is it that you do not care for their souls! Do it regularly, morning and evening. It is more needful than your daily food-more needful than your work. How vain and silly all your excuses will appear, when you look back from hell! Do it fully. Some clip off the psalm, and some the reading of the Word; and so the worship of God is reduced to a mockery. Do it in a spiritual, lively manner. Go to it as to a well of salvation. There is, perhaps, no mean of grace more blessed. Let all your family be present without fail-let none be awanting.

2. Command-use parental authority. How awfully did God avenge it upon Eli, "because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not!" Eli was a good man, and a holy man; and often he spoke to his two wicked sons, but they heeded not. But herein he