The mountains of their own native land are invited to express their joy; each tree in the forest that clothed the hills, or that cast their sha<le over the field, is to have a tongne for the occasion." '1'he point impressed is that, being so deeply impressed wiU1 one great blessing received from God, the whole course of God's dealings with his people came freshly to their view. In the light of one loving-kindness they gained cle&rer views of the many and various loving-kindnesses which had so constantly been showered upon them. "I will remember the loving-kindnesses of the Lord." That appears to be God's gracious way of dealing with us all. Our li,·es are, in fact, full of his tender mercies, but they pass by us unheeded. ·we need something at times which may call our attention to them. So God gives us occasional great mercies as reminders of the thousand lesser ones. A special gift from an earthly friend has something of this power; it makes us feel afresh how good and kind and tender he long has been. J. THE LORD'S LOVING-KINDNESSES READ IN THE LIGHT OF THE REDEMPTION FP.O)l BABYLON. This deliverance altered all their feeling about the past. It gave them a key to the meaning of their very captivity. It set them upon searching for signs of God's goodness in the n~.tional story. And what a story of mercy that long rec"rcl of the Jewish Church had been! What we can see in it everywhere, those rerurncd exiles saw in the light of their exceeding joy-forbearances, long-sufferings, provisions, bestowments, loving-kindnesses, defendings, redeemings-the good hand of their God ever on them for good. !I. THE LORD'S LOVING-KIND~ESSES READ IN THE LIGHT OF THE REDEMPTIO~ FROM SIN. St. Paul expresses this idea in the words, "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, bow shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" The "all things" come to his mind when he thinks of the great thin,:s. He who gives eternal life will be sure to nourish and feed all the life he gives. He who holds before us the hope of an exceeding and eternal weight of glory will be sure to keep us unto it, and fit us for it. We may be quite confident that he who gives glory will give grace, withholding no good thing from them that walk uprightly. This is the usual form of Christian meditations. We unconsciously follow the returned exiles' way, and begin with the greatest loving-kindness. We tune our souls to their noblest song over redempti"n-love manifested in Christ Jesus. We dwell on his con- descension and his suffering- until our souls say, "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable Gift!" But in the quietness after the song, there seems to bP a light left on our whole life-story, which, as we watch it, grows brighter and brighter; falling here and there and yonder, showing up mercy after mercy, goodness upon gooduess, we also begin to say," We will remember the loving-kindnesses of the Lord."-R. T.
Ver. 8.-God the Saviour. .The Apostle Paul, writing to Timothy, uses this figure for God, but expresses it more comprehensively and sugs?;estively. "The living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe" (1 Tim. iv. 10). I. \VHAT IS IT TO SAVE A MAN? What does the word "save" mean when we apply it to a man? A while ago five heavy boat-loads of saved ones from midnight wrtck were landed at Dover. The poor, ragged city waif is taken from the st:eets into the kindly refuge, and saved from vice and degradation. The man who has embezzled money, and is in peril of the judgment, finds a friend who pays the claim, and he is saved from prison. But these are cases of saving men in only an imperfect and limited sense. What is it to save a moral being; one who has will and affections; the sense of right and wrong, and the possibility of gracious n•lations with God? That depends upon what disabilities and perils men may have fallen into. If we may read other men by ourselves, then they are wrong in life-principle--heart-wrong; wrong in conduct-bodily wrong; wrong in relations-socially wrong; and wrong in life-issnes- under Divine penalties. 'l'o save a man must be to save him from all this. Too often salvation is represented as saving from hell. That is but a part of it. It is ~aving me, and saving me now. To change the ruling principle of the life is the hopeful beginning of 1mlvation; but the work must be carried on. There must be the regeneration of the life and conduct, the purifying of all motive, and sanctifying of all thought, and touch- ing of all the relationships with tender grace. So to save a man is a very large and comprehensive thing. A bit of it is aaving man from overhanging penalty ; most 45G THE BOOK OF THE PROPIIET ISAIAH. [oH, Lxm, 1-19,
of it ie Sllving him from sin and from self. Self-willed men are only saved when they are brought to God in trust and love. II. 'WHAT IB IT FOR Goo TO SAVE A MAN? Three points. 1. God's salvation must go to the central necessity of man, cleansing his heart-wrong. 2. God's salvation must be a gracious persuasion of man's mind and will and heart. 3. Iu this gmcious perst18.8ion the Trinity is now engaged. God's salva,ion for man is God the Father, God the:Son, and God the Holy Ghost, gaining entrance with recrenerating 0 power into a man's heart and life. III. WHAT IS IT FOR Goo TO BA.VE ALL MEN? The full and final salvation of all men see1:11s ~. be declared in, Sc~pture to be the Divine pnr1;>ose. All men were placed under d1sab1hty by Adams sin; no man has any standing before God. Now, in the second Adam's righteousness and acceptance, that state of disability is removed for the whole race, and all men stand in restored relations. Humanity is relieved from its curse by Christ's perfect obedience, and all men are in that sense saved. But this is only such a salvation as there can be apart from man's will, and it is but the beginninii: of God's salvation. A nation may be pardoned for its reballion as a nation but the king may very properly require the oath of allegiance to be taken by each individual. IV. WHAT IS IT FOR Goo SPECIALLY TO SAVE SOME? It is to have some coming voluntarily into gracious relations with him; and to make such his acrents for the 'Vl'inning and persuasion of others. We may all of us be sons, but some ~f us may be sons at home, in the full joy of accepted and gracious relations. And sons at home are ever ready, waiting to do their Father's wilL-R. T.