[What mercy can be in reserve for me, may one say, who am " given over to the curse of God, and to the reproaches " of my own conscience ? "Were I like " the earth that drinketh in the rain, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, I might hope for a blessing from God : but bear- ing, as I do, only briers and thorns, I am rejected, and nigh unto cursing; and my end is to be burnedV But what room is there for such desponding apprehensions, when we contem- plate the state of Israel as described in the preceding chapter1, and in the very words of our text? The " thirsty and the dry ground" is that to which the promise is made : and who may not find his character designated by those terms ? But if these be not sufficiently humiliating, to warrant our hope of an inte- rest in the promise, let us reflect on the description of persons for whom our blessed Saviour, on his ascension to heaven, re- ceived the gift of the Holy Ghost : it was " for the rebellious, that the Lord God might dwell among themm." Surely the most self-condemning person in the universe may venture to place himself in that class, and consequently to expect under that character what he could not venture to hope for as pro- mised to the righteous. And, if a very extraordinary measure of grace be thought necessary for us, more than for others, we may surely find a sufficiency in the "floods" which are contained in the promise before us. Fear not then, whoever thou art ; for God has said, that the poorest, even in the most destitute and desponding state, shall, on looking to the Saviour, have floods and fountains of grace, unbounded in their measure, irresistible in their efficacy, and endless in their duration".]
3. To parents more especially —
[The covenant made with Abraham, was made with him and with his seed0 ; and this very promise, which holds forth to us the chief blessing of that covenant, is expressly said to be " unto us, and to our children, and to as many as are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall callp." Let not any then be satisfied with having it fulfilled to themselves alone : let all consider the interest which their children also have in it ; let them plead it with God in behalf of their off- spring: and let them remember, that, whatever measure of grace they themselves possess, it is given them, not for their own good only, but " for the good of their children after them q." O Parents, bear in mind, that the gift of the Spirit is more to be desired in behalf of your children than thousands of silver and gold : let it be your daily prayer, that they may be endued with this precious gift : and, whilst you look for their growth
k Heb. vi. 7, 8. • Isai. xliii. 28. m Ps. lxviii. 18.
n Isai. xli. 17, 18. ° Gen. xvii. 7 — 9. with Isai. lix. 21. p Acts ii. 38, 39. i Jer. xxxii. 39.