2. Their suffering portion is further illustrated by the figures used in the text.

It is implied, that of necessity they must "pass through waters," and "through rivers;" yea, that "they must walk through the fire" itself!-Strong metaphors, denoting the intensity of the trials to which God's people are subject; "that it is through much tribulation," &c. (Acts xiv. 22.) (a) From within, by sore conflicts, corruptions, delusions, evil tempers, &c.

(b) From without, by the snares of the world; its pride and pleasure; its frowns and sorrows and persecutions: from Satan, the ceaseless foe of the saints-his temptations, blandishments, terrors, accusations, false doctrines.

(c) From the ordinary trials of life: poverty, sickness, bereavement; in many, many ways are God's people brought into deep waters, and fierce fires; and "all His waves and storms pass over them," &c. (Psalm xlii. 7; Jonah ii. 3.) But this afflicted people are highly connected.

II. THEIR RELATION TO GOD. terms in the text.

1. They are his creatures:—

Described by various

"He is the Lord that created them;" they are the formation of his own hands; they are therefore His! He delights in the works of his own hands. and were created." Not simply, as all things were created "For his pleasure they are by him and for him; but as elect vessels created to be the receptacles of his love and grace. formed for myself," (ver. 21.) "This people have I

2. They are his redeemed:—

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"I have redeemed thee:" He bought them with a price. gave Egypt for thy ransom-Ethiopia and Seba for thee." "Therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life." (ver. 4.) By how much greater price has he bought and redeemed us? "Not with corruptible things, as silver," &c. "but with the precious blood of Christ." (1 Peter i. 18.) "Ye are bought with a price, therefore glorify," &c. (1 Cor. vi. 20.)

3. They are his chosen :

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"Fear

-"I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.'
not, Jacob, my servant, whom I have chosen." (ch. xliv. 2.)
Equally applicable to every penitent believer in Jesus:
Many are called, but few chosen;" "Ye have not chosen
me, but I have chosen you;" "Ye are a chosen generation,"
&c. (1 Peter ii. 9, 10.) This may be known and expe-
rienced individually: "He that believeth hath the witness

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SECURITY AND blessedness of GOD'S PEOPLE. [XXIII.

in himself," (1 John v. 10); "Abba, Father," &c. (Gal. iv. 6); "The Spirit beareth witness with our spirit," &c. (Rom. viii. 15-17.)

4. He is their God, and they are his people, whom he loves.

"I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour-since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee!" Oh! what condescending language from the great God to poor sinners! "The Lord's delight is in them that fear him." "They are his sons and daughters," &c. (2 Cor. vi. 18): "I have loved thee with an everlasting love," &c. (Jer. xxxi. 1—3.)

III. THEIR CONSEQUENT SECURITY :

The assurances of safety are addressed to them, on the ground of their relation to God:

-otherwise they would have every occasion to fear! Every-
thing is a source of terror to an impenitent unconverted sin-
ner. (Psalm liii. 5.) But because they are the creatures of his
hand; because they are his redeemed, his chosen; because they
are his people, and he is their God, therefore he saith to them,
"Fear not!" What can they fear? What need they? True;
he does not say that they shall not pass through deep waters,
and rapid rivers, and fierce fires; on the contrary, he fore-
warns them that it must be so, (Matt. x. 30; Philipp. i. 29);
but still he says, "Fear not;
"for I will be with thee!
Is not that enough? Solitude, especially the solitude of
death, is terrible; but there is no loneliness where God is
with us! "In death, therefore, fear no evil, for his rod, his
staff," &c. (Psalm xxiii. 4.) "My presence shall go with
thee," &c.

They pass the waters and the fire safely:

-Like the three children: "The smell of fire shall not pass over them." (Dan. iii. 27.) As Israel through the Red Sea and Jordan; as Daniel in the lion's den; and Jonah in the whale's belly, came up out of their troubles, they shall praise God: "Thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place." (Psalm lxvi. 10-12.)

1. Such is the character and such the portion of God's people great troubles and strong consolations:

Are you willing to accept their portion? Choose with Moses "rather to suffer affliction with the people of God," &c. "If you suffer with Christ you shall reign with him." 2. Let all real Christians expect trials, tribulations, afflictions.

A common portion: "Think it not strange," &c. (1 Peter iv. 12.)

3. Let all the faithful humbly and patiently pursue their Christian course:—

-waiting upon God; leaving events to him; knowing that whether they have joy or sorrow, "all things will work together for good." (Rom. viii. 28.)

Acts viii. 35.

XXIV.

THE WRITTEN AND PREACHED WORD.

Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.

THE narrative connected with these words is familiar to us all. A distinguished person, the treasurer of Candace Queen of the Ethiopians, had visited Jerusalem probably in search of the true Messiah. Although the Scribes and Pharisees had failed to direct him to the object of his pursuit, they had furnished him with a copy of the Sacred Scriptures. These he was devoutly reading, as he rode in his chariot on his journey homeward. Then it was that the Spirit of God commissioned Philip the evangelist to join himself to his chariot, and to ask him whether he understood what he was reading. Probably struck with the manner and appearance of Philip, and earnestly desiring to be led into all truth, the Eunuch invited Philip to come up and sit with him. The passage of Holy Scripture which he was reading, was Isaiah liii. 7: and we are told that "then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus." This remarkable incident exhibits the importance both of the written and preached word, and the uniform design of both. Let us then consider—

I. THE IMPORTANCE AND Design of god's word written. II. THE IMPORTANCE AND Design of GoD'S WORD PREached.

May the Holy Spirit, by whose help alone we can either hear or read God's word profitably, be with us and sanctify our meditations !

I. THE IMPORTANCE AND design of GOD'S WORD WRITTEN.

H

1. Observe, it is the written, inspired word of God of which we speak.

(a) From the moment when God first wrote with his own finger on two tables of stone, (Deut. ix. 10,) it has pleased him to maintain the knowledge of himself in the world, by means of Holy writings or scriptures, as opposed to oral or traditional instruction. "To the law and to the testimony-or there is no light in us," (Isaiah viii. 20); and again: "Seek ye out of the Book of the Lord, and read: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his Spirit it hath gathered them." (Isaiah xxxiv. 16.) To this standard our Lord always referred: "what saith the Scripture?" "how readest thou?" while he never mentioned Tradition except to condemn it. It is "Holy Scripture" of which St. Paul affirms that it is "able to make wise unto salvation," that it is "given by inspiration of God," and sufficient for all things. (2 Tim. iii. 16.) And St. Peter adds, that the Scripture was "written by holy men of old, who were moved by the Holy Ghost." (2 Peter i. 20, 21.) Here alone is infallibility; and truth without any admixture of error.

even the Grecian PhilosoFor "the world by wisdom Much less could they dis

(b) Here alone do we learn anything certain about God. Men
have the Book of Nature, but they never read it. (Rom. i.
20.) Nor could they, amidst the confusion of a fallen world,
discover the true characters of God without revelation. The
simple idea of the unity of God never has been discovered
by the unassisted reason of man:
phers stole it from revelation.
knew not God." (1 Cor. i. 21.)
cover a just God and a Saviour."
(c) Here alone do we learn anything satisfactory respecting the
state of man. Here alone is his true condition as a sinner
declared and accounted for: and here only his prevailing
misery explained. This Book alone draws aside in any

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measure the vail that hides the future world from our view. Human science and philosophy may conduct us to the margin of the tomb-but there they leave us in doubt or in despondency in the Gospel alone are "life and immortality brought to light."

In a word, the Scriptures are man's universal and sufficient guide in life, in death, and for eternity: their importance cannot be over-estimated: suited to all-comprehensible to all alike, they are a light in a dark world-a chart in a difficult ocean. (Psalms xix. 7-11; cxix. 18, 105.)

2. But the grand design of God's word written is to reveal Jesus.

"Philip began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus." Of what scripture might not this be said, from

what text may we not preach Jesus? it is not a deistical book, nor a book of natural philosophy or history-but the book of the "revelation of Jesus Christ." (Rev. i. 1.) This is its direct object: "These are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God," &c. (John xx. 31.) Every part of Scripture points to Him. Prophecy is one continued strain of prediction respecting his incarnation, sufferings, death, glorification, and future coming: "for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." (Rev. xix. 10.) The historical scriptures either trace the family of his human nature, or allegorically point to him: the whole Mosaic dispensation, national, civil, ceremonial, is one great type of Messiah. Well might he say, "Search the Scriptures, for they are they which testify of me." (John v. 39.) Of the New Testament, we need hardly say that it is one great revelation of the person, work, and offices of Christ. In this consists its hidden virtue: it is able to save only because it testifies of Christ: and testifying of him, it possesses of itself, and alone, a sufficiency to guide man from earth to heaven, under the teaching of the Spirit of God, without any other human agency whatsoever. This is the doctrine of our Church in her 6th Article, and to impugn it is to tread upon the verge of Popery. Nevertheless, let us considerII. THE IMPORTANCE AND DESIGN OF GOD'S WORD PREACHED. 1. Its importance consists in this; viz. that it is the ordinance of God.

(a) It was probable in the nature of things that God would ap-
point such an ordinance. "He who made man's mouth,"
and distinguished him from the rest of the animal world, by
the wonderful power of elocution, could estimate its value in
the propagation of truth. What mighty results have been
accomplished by it. Often has the fate of individuals and of
nations hung upon the lips of man: by eloquence, multitudes
have been dissuaded from deeds of darkness and of crime-
and by the same mysterious influence, have the demagogue
and the rebel stimulated the masses to confusion and blood-
shed. It was probable, therefore, that, in his purposes of
mercy to a fallen world, the pleasant sounds of Gospel truth
would be committed to the human voice. Hence it is that-
(b) Oral instruction connected with the written word has ever
been the chief mean of converting sinners and edifying be-
lievers. Indeed, strictly speaking, the proclamation of mercy
through the preached word was long antecedent to the written
word itself: Noah and the Patriarchs were preachers of
righteousness; but when the infallible will of God was com-
municated by writing in a book, that book became at once
the substance of the Preacher's message, and the test of his