but the whole revealed will of God. Now to w^hat- ever the counsels of the Deity relate,
1. They should be treasured up with diligence —
[Whatever is of more than ordinary value in our eyes, we lay it up with care in a place of safety ; and the more of it we can amass, the richer we feel ourselves to be. Now there is nothing in the whole universe to be compared with the Scriptures of truth, nothing that will so enrich the mind, nothing that will so benefit the soul. In the great mystery of redemption " are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." The precepts too, and the promises, and the histories, and the examples, O !
who can estimate them as they deserve? To treasure
these up in our minds should be our daily and most delightful employment. Not a day should pass without adding to this blessed store. We should always furnish ourselves with some fresh portion, on which to ruminate. Not that it is merely in the mind and memory that we are to store up this wealth, but, as Moses tells us, in our heart and in our so^il ; " Ye shall lay np these my words in your heart and in your soul'':" this is the proper seat of Divine knowledge ; and here should we endeavour to amass the only true wealth, " the luisearchable riches of Christ."]
2. They should be watched over with care —
[Nature has made peculiar provision for the eye, so that, by an involuntary and instantaneous motion of the eye-lid, it is preserved from innumerable injuries which it must otherwise sustain. Now with the same care that we guard " the apple of our eye," we should watch over and preserve the treasvires of wisdom, which we have accumulated in our hearts. Satan is ever labouring to " take out of our hearts the word of life," as our Lord has told us in the parable of the Sower : and it requires the utmost vigilance on our part to defeat his efforts. Indeed the heart itself is but too prone to lose its riches through any apertures by which the world has entered ; so that we need to " give the most earnest heed lest at any time we should let them slip*^." Besides, if we be not constantly on our guard against " the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches," and other foolish and hateful lusts, we shall find to our cost, that these " weeds and thorns will choke all the good seed that has been sown in our hearts, and will render it unfruitful." Our care and watchfulness therefore should be incessant, that nothing be permitted to rob us of our good principles, or to weaken their influence on our souls. If, as we are told, God " himself keeps his people as the apple of his eye"^," surely we
^ Deut. xi. 18. <= Heb. ii. 1.
^ Deut. xxxii. 10. and Zcch. li, 8.