"They shall cry unto the Lord because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a Saviour, and a great one, and he shall, deliver them."—Isaiah 14:20 Mark, my soul, the sweet encouragement contained in these words. Here is a cry, and it is the cry of the soul; for it is directed unto the Lord. There is (as Elihu tells us) a cry of nature under oppression; but as this is not to God, it is evident that it never came from God; for he tells us, that none of them saith, "Where is God my Maker, who giveth songs in the night?" Job 25: 9. But when the Holy Ghost convinceth of sin, and puts a cry in the heart by reason of…

"If thy brother be waxen poor, and hath sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold."—Leviticus 25:25 How poor was I and wretched before I knew Jesus! I had not only sold, as far as I had power to sell, some of my possession, but all. Indeed, dear Lord, I could not sell thee, nor my oneness and union with thee; for that was not saleable, since Christ had from everlasting betrothed me to himself for ever. But in the Adam nature in which I was born, I was utterly insolvent, helpless, and ruined: one like the Son of man redeemed me. But what a double blessedness was…

"The eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year."—Deuteronomy 11:12 Oh for grace, to live always under an abiding sense of this most blessed truth. My soul, never forget it, if possible, but always possess in recollection an abiding apprehension of Jesus's gracious presence. And do thou, dearest Lord, when thou art coming forth in mercies, give me grace to. be going forth to meet thee with praises: and while thou art bartering thy riches for my poverty, let all thy bounties be doubly sweetened in coming from thine own hand, and being sanctified by thy blessing, that I may receive all to my soul's joy, and to the praise…

"Take this and divide it among yourselves."—Luke 22:17 Precious Lord, such was thine unbounded love to thy people that thou gavest all to them! And, dearest Jesus, what didst thou reserve for thyself? And how wisely was thy love manifested! To every one grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ; for the purchase of redemption, in the case of all, cost thee the same. If, indeed, a lamb of thine be weak, or diseased, or torn, or scattered, thou wilt take it to thy bosom, while thou wilt gently lead those that are with young. But every one, and all, shall have thy care; all, as their several wants may be. Here then, Lord, to thy table I would come. Thy death…