in rich abundance in Him. But he that would have it must diligently seek it.
How are we to labour ? There is but one answer. We must labour in the use of all appointed means. "We must read our Bibles, like men digging for hidden treasure. We must wrestle earnestly in prayer, like men contending with a deadly enemy for life. We must take our whole heart to the house of God, and worship and hear like those who listen to the reading of a will. We must fight daily against sin, the world, and the devil, like those who fight for liberty, and must conquer, or be slaves. These are the ways we must walk in if we would find Christ, and be found of Him. This is "labouring." .This is the secret of getting on about our souls.
Labour like this no doubt is very uncommon. In carry- ing it on we shall have little encouragement from man, and shall often be told that we are " extreme," and go too far. Strange and absurd as it is, the natural man is always fancying that we may take too much thought about reli- gion, and refusing to see that we are far more likely to take too much thought about the world. But whatever man may say, the soul will never get spiritual food without labour. We must "strive," we must "run," we must "fight," we must throw our whole heart into our soul's affairs. It is " the violent" who take the kingdom. (Matt, xi. 12.)
We should mark, lastly, in this passage, ichat a promise Christ holds out. He tells us that He himself will give eternal food to all who seek it : " The Son of man shall give you the meat that endureth unto everlasting life."
How gracious and enconyaging these words are ! What- ever we need for the relief of our hungering souls, Christ is ready and willing to bestow. Whatever mercy, grace, peace, strength we require, the Son of man will give freely, immediiately^ ajbu^dantly, and eternally. He is " sealed,"