blessed, but Jehovah Himself is infinitely above and beyond all His gifts. His gifts, without Himself, were vain and unsatisfactory. Worlds, without Himself, were valueless. Heaven itself, without Jehovah-Jesus, were a blank. Well, of earth, may the poet sing,

"My God, my life, my love,

To Thee, to Thee, I call;
I cannot live, if Thou remove,
For Thou art all in all.

"Thy smiling grace can cheer
This dungeon where I dwell;
'Tis paradise if Thou art here;
If Thou depart, 'tis hell."

And of heaven equally well may the poet sing,

"Were I in heaven without my God,

It were no heaven to me."

Yes, Himself is above all.

Himself alone can

satisfy; Himself only meet the cravings of the immortal soul. Jehovah has created man with a craving which He alone can satisfy; with a blank which Himself only can fill; a desire which He alone can meet.

It was in order to instil into the mind of Abraham this momentous lesson, that the Lord led him and trained him as He did. And it is precisely with the same view, dear reader, that the Lord teaches and trains you. You have "the line upon line, line upon line, precept upon precept, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little," that you may be most

thoroughly indoctrinated in this most wholesome and indispensable truth. No sophistry of man, no suggestions of Satan, are sufficient to argue you out of verities to the knowledge of which you have attained at so costly a price. Hence the benefit and the blessing of deep, inwrought experience.

CHAPTER IX.

THE BLESSEDNESS OF THE BIBLE-ITS VARIETY AND COMPREHENSIVENESS-GOD HIMSELF THE PORTION OF HIS PEOPLE-A HEART-LACK WHERE GOD IS NOT-GOD'S TIME AND GOD'S WAY THE BEST-RENEWED DEALINGS WITH ABRAHAM-THE END AND OBJECT OF TRIAL-ABRAHAM'S FAITH, AND THE LORD'S RECOGNITION OF IT-FLESH AND FAITH AT VARIANCE-SARAH'S CARNAL COUNSEL-ITS EFFECTS.

THE Bible is full of encouragement, not merely from the absolute nature, and marvellous bestowment of the grace and mercy which it proclaims, but also on account of the immense diversity of character and the many varied circumstances with which it has to do. Well may the word of God be represented as a mirror into which the reader may look for a sight of himself. We see, moreover, the very different course by which the Lord brings out the selfsame truths, in regard to the men whom He sovereignly and savingly instructs. The Lord being our Teacher, we shall see this as we pass onward in these pages. Human frailty and divine forbearance will be seen most strikingly reflected in each history, as it come sunder our consideration, though the circumstances under which these are brought out may in themselves widely differ. Much important matter is introduced in the

chapters which connect the facts just now brought before us, and those which are now to occupy our attention. In those chapters will be seen how forcibly divine judgment and mercy are blended. Let us glance at these facts, and the Lord, in His tenderness, enable us to learn therefrom.

Notwithstanding the definite and the repeated way in which Jehovah had promised to bless Abraham, he, like poor frail man generally, looks at human appearances rather than at divine assurances. Rich as Abraham was in cattle, in silver, and in gold, there was still something wanting-there was a heartlack. This pressed upon him; and from that early day published the great fact, and shall do so down to the latest moment of time, that "vanity of vanities" is written upon everything beneath the sun. All this goes to prove, what we have already sought to show, that the Lord Himself is the portion of His people; and, though men in general may say, in the desperate wickedness and carnal enmity of our poor fallen and depraved nature, "No God" (Psalm xiv. 1), they shall find, in spite of themselves, that whatever they may possess or attain to, in regard to the things of this poor sinful world, there still is a lack of that satisfaction and perfect contentment which the heart naturally craves.

"And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt Thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram said, Behold, to me Thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir."

Thus, in Abraham's view, as is commonly the case with the Lord's people, Jehovah's promises and His providence seem to clash. They lose sight of the fact of God's power as well as His faithfulness; that what He does, He does in His own time and way; and, at the same time, exercises that precious gift of faith which He has been graciously pleased to bestow. He would have His children look to Himself, apart from all external circumstances, and instruct them personally and savingly in a knowledge of the peculiar mercy that

"Precious faith the promise sees,

And trusts to God alone;

Laughs at impossibilities,

And cries, It shall be done." "

"Blind unbelief is sure to err,

And scan God's work in vain ;

God is His own Interpreter,

And He will make it plain."

"And, behold, the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir."

Thus did the Lord renew His promise; and we see at once His condescension, and at the same time are furnished with the richest possible encouragement to unbosom our hearts, and to make known our wants unto Him. How was Abraham helped and strengthened in this pursuit. He took advantage of the Lord's words to declare his sorrowful exercises. He no longer kept them to himself; and it was a