And in this mountain shall the Lord of Hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees; of fat things full of marrow; of wines on the lees well refined. Isa. xxv. 6. See also PSALM Xxiii.; MATT. viii. 11. AFEAST bespeaks plenty, harmony and joy. Many feasts were appointed under the law, in commemoration of various deliverances and mercies. The Gospel appoints one great perpetual festival, in consequence of the one grand blessing, which comprehends all other mercies"Redemption by the blood of CHRIST." The table is always spread, the company are always welcome, the season is always pleasant, and the joy is always new. LORD, I once was feeding upon husks, upon ashes, upon the wind, and drinking down iniquity like water; but, O wonderful love! thou didst invite and bring me to thine own feast! Thou feedest me with the bread of life, and causest me to drink of the wine of thy consolation. May I never more have an appetite for the vanities of the world, but may I always have the LORD for my Shepherd, leading me by green pastures, and by the still waters; and may I, from sitting at his table in this wilderness, rise and go to sit at that table which is for ever spread in heaven, at which Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are guests, and where JESUS, my Redeemer, is for ever present. Why was I made to hear thy voice, And enter while there's room, When thousands make a wretched choice, And rather starve than come ? 'Twas the same love that made the feast, That sweetly forced us in ; Else we had still refused to taste, And perish'd in our sin. IT He believed in the Lord, and he counted it to him for righteousness. GEN. XV. 6; Rom. iv. 5. T is no uncommon thing in Scripture to put the act for the object, especially with regard to faith and hope. Thus hope signifies the object of hope. Jer. xiv. 9. 1 Tim. i. 1. Heb. vi. 18. And faith is often put for the object or doctrine of faith, or that which is believed in; as when it is said, Paul preached the faith which once he destroyed; and Felix heard him concerning the faith of CHRIST; and when the Scripture speaks of keeping and contending for the faith. Thus, when Abraham is said to believe in the LORD, the meaning is, he believed in the promise of GOD, that he should have a seed, and a very numerous one; he believed that the Messiah would spring from his seed; he believed in him as his Saviour and Redeemer; he believed in him for righteousness; and he believed in his righteousness as justifying him before GOD. It was not the act of his faith, but the object of it; not the promise he believed, but what was promised, and his faith received even CHRIST and his righteousness. See this explained fully in Rom. iv. 3, 10, 22-24. Reader, mark well how Abraham was justified before God, not by faith as a work, but as apprehending CHRIST, and follow this example of the Father of the faithful. It is by faith in JESUS CHRIST alone that we can be justified before GOD; by faith all the Old Testament saints were justified, as well as the New. This distinguishes the Christian religion from all systems of morality; and to err in this, is to err in the fundamentals of Christianity. Give me the faith which can remove And sink the mountains to a plain; This do in remembrance of me. LUKE xxii. 19. СOME NOME, my soul, obey thy dying LORD's command; let it be thy delight as it is thy privilege, to attend thy Master at table, to take a near review of his bleeding love, and, by a renewed act of faith, obtain a fresh taste and renewed pledge of the precious benefits contained therein. Stagger not through unbelief; it is a blessed truth, JESUS died for sinners; this is the foundation of a sinner's hope: let this encourage thee, O my soul; thou art a sinner, guilty and defiled! JESUS' blood cleanses from all sin; he is the fountain opened for thy uncleanness: thou art by nature a child of wrath, condemned by the Law, exposed to the curse; but JESUS was made a curse for thee: thou art unrighteous, unholy; but JESUS is made of GOD unto thee righteousness and sanctification: thou art weak, beset with enemies; his strength shall be perfected in thy weakness, and thou, by faith, shall be more than conqueror through him that loved thee. Thou art afraid of perishing at the last! look to JESUS; he purchased thee with his blood; he will not give thee up; none can pluck thee out of his hand. Rise then, O my soul, and come to the banquet of love, and partake of the blessings of the everlasting covenant; beseech the LORD to manifest his love and seal thy pardon, renew thy strength, and enable thee to travel the remaining part of thy pilgrimage till thou come to Mount Zion, and be admitted a welcome guest at the marriage-supper in heaven. I thank thee, O my dying LORD, I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake; to you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning; to you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. 1 JOHN ii. 12, 13. OD has more communion with some of his GOD more communjut of the multitude he chose twelve, out of the twelve he chose three, and out of the three he chose John to be his peculiar darling and bosom favourite, of whom it is said five times in St. John's gospel, that “he was the disciple whom JESUS loved." So now at this day, GOD hath his babes who live upon milk, and nothing else; he "has children also," who know their Father and are assured of his love; moreover, he "has his young men, who go out to war and fight the LORD's battles victoriously;" and he has "fathers in Israel," who abound in greyheaded experience and wisdom; for they knew him from the beginning, and they remembered his words. It is a great mercy to be one of God's "little ones," yea the least of all; to be a star, though not of the first magnitude; to be a disciple, though not one of the three, nor one of the twelve, nor one of the seventy: but to be a John, a darling, and to lean on his breast, to lie in his bosom, O how great a mercy! It is a mercy to be new-born, to be taken into the family of GOD and household of faith; but to grow up to a perfect stature, to be a man in CHRIST JESUS, O how great a mercy! LORD, thou knowest my desire, perfect that which concerns thy servant. It doth not yet appear how great we must be made; But when we see our Saviour there, we shall be like our Head. We would no longer lie, like slaves beneath the throne; My faith shall Abba, Father, cry, and thou thy kindred own. Take thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt-offering. GEN. xxii. 2. ABRAHAM desired earnestly to see into the mystery of redemption, and God let Abraham feel, by experience, something of the depth of that mystery. Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, the staff of thine age, the hope of thy family, and offer him up for a burnt-offering; and in this transaction see my love to sinners, in giving up my only Son JESUS a sacrifice for them." Abraham obeyed; he virtually sacrificed his son; a ram was substituted in his place, and blessings were poured upon the faithful patriarch. In the whole story we have a lively type of greater things. We have seen the day when God spared not his own Son, when he was bound with cords, when he bore his cross, and on this mountain, probably on this very spot, was offered up an offering for sin; when he, triumphant over the grave, rose again to live for evermore, and saw his seed, even his redeemed people, whom no man can number, and whose possessions are the glories of eternity. My soul, think on these things. Art thou a son of Abraham ? Is there in thine heart a darling sin? Draw forth the knife and smite it away. Hath GOD not spared his SON for me, and shall I spare what he commands me to sacrifice? No, gracious SAVIOUR, no. Help me to keep back nothing from thee. Search my heart, and when thou hast tried me, crown the faith thou hast bestowed, and the obedience thou hast wrought, with that unfading glory thou hast promised to the faithful. I thank thee, Father, for the gift Of thy beloved Son, Now bid me give myself to thee, |