heart? Oh, if it be so, and the life of prayer, of obedience, of self-surren,ler be ours now, thon wo can, with humble but strong confidence, predict that when 'the last destroyer comes, even Death, whilst he will be permitted to make an curl of much ll,"t hero we rejoice in, yet he shall by no means make" a full end'' of us. No, his ~on,:n:;, which is so terrible to the unbeliever, shall for us be but a setting us free, a delivering us from the bondage of corruption" into the glorious liberty of the children of Go,1," so that our soul shall escape as a bird from out the snare of the fowler, and we hence- forth shall" live unto God." "Then shall the day, dear Lord, appear That we shall mount and uwell above, And stand and bow amongst them there, And see thy face and sing thy love." An end, a full end, will have been made of all that is corruptible, all that distresses, all that defiles, all that death can in any way touch; but it shall not be a full end of us, rather shall it be the beginning of a life so holy, so blessed, that all the past shall seem to have been no life at all. Look, then, at the two companies which have bcct1 brought before us. There are those whom God's judgmcnts are making an end of, and there are those whom those judgmcnts cannot touch-God's reserve of mercy. Look at these latter again; they are clothed in white robes, and they have palms in their hands. For they ha.ve come "out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of Gcd, and serve him day and night in his temple. . .. 'l'hey hunger no more, neither thirst any more ; neither doth the sun light on them, nor any beat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and.God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." Therefore, 0 Lord, make us to be numbered with thy saints now and in glory cvcrlasting.-C.
Vers. 20, 30.-" Suddenly are my tents spoiled." "When thou a.rt spoiled, what wilt thou do ? " .A surely coming confession compelling a present serious question. Note the historic reference of the words to the people to whom the prophet spoke. Applying them in more general sense, let us observe- !. TnE CONFESSION. "Suddenly," etc. This confession. 1. Noe that of the chilll of God, for his tents cannot be spoiled. (1) The peace of mind which he enjoys. That rests on the sure basis of what Chris.t has done for him. The varied disturbing powers of this world cannot touch that. Nothing can separate him from the love of God (Rom. viii. at end). (2) The righteousness which God has given him. That springs from a source, and is sustained by a power, that is supernatural and therefore beyond the power of this world to give or take away. (3) His most cherished possessions. True, the child of God is subject, like other men, and at times it seems more than other men, to sudden reverses of fortune, to loss, bereavement, and the other manifold sorrows of this life. But though he cannot but lose his earthly treasures, and deeply feel their loss, yet all the while his true treasure remains iota.et, for it is not here, but yonder. And even when with one hand God takes away his earthly treasures, with the other he so graciously ministers support and consolation that, in the might of a Divine faith and love, he is ablo to say," The Lord gave, and the Lord bath taken away; blessed be the Name of the Lord." (4) His life. That is not capable of being spoiled. If he is calletl upon suddenly to lay it down, or to give it up amid much pain a.ud dis- tress, he is able to say, as dear old Richard Baxter did when he lay a-dying, a.nd when asked by a friend how he was, "Almost well." Yes, the nearer death, the nearer life to the child of God. It is a blessed exchange for him, come how, come when, come where it will. Therefore this confession cannot be his. But, as it was in the days of Jere- miah, it is : 2. The confession of the worldling and all those who are living without God. For their tents are suddenly spoiled. (1) 'l'he peace of mintl in which they often seem so established. To our eyes they appear not to be troubled, neither to bo iibguetl a~ other men are (cf. Ps. xxxvii.). How easy and unconcerned they arc l but the text comes true to them. Remorse may suddenly spoil their tents. Like "Esau, who fouml no place of repentance, though," etc. The events of God's providence may bo tho spoiler; carrying off their riches, striking down their wealth, turning away thdr fricuds. Ev~ry• .100 THE IlOOK OF THE PROPHET JEREMIAH. [en. rv.1-31.