he with Me." Rev. iii. 20. of your heart against Him? Put aside every doubt, cast off the chain of unbelief. Open wide the door of your heart to Christ. "As though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's stead, Be ye reconciled to God." 2 Cor. v. 20.

But have you barred the door Undo these bars, I entreat you.

The blessedness of pardon, and of reconciliation, who can describe? To be made friends again with the King of Heaven; to have our sins pardoned our persons accepted

and our love returned; to be freed from every fear, liberated from every debt, and gladdened in every feeling; to have no more differences, no more estrangement, and no further separation from the Father of our spirits: this is indeed joy unspeakable.

The blessedness of pardon, and of reconciliation, who can describe? The prodigal returns home to his Father's house, and his sins are not once mentioned unto him, Ezek. xviii. 22,--his Father casts them all behind His back, Isa. xxxviii. 17,-his debts are blotted out of His book, Isa. xliii. 25,— they are remembered no more, Heb. x. 18. Happy prodigal, but prodigal no longer! Thy Elder Brother neither frowns at thee for thy return, nor chides at others for thy reception. All that the Father hath is His, and all that He has He gives to thee. The "sandals" put upon thy feet, are His "preparation of the Gospel of peace." Eph. vi. 15. The "ring" placed on thy finger, He has obtained for thee as a token and pledge of higher honors. And the “best robe" now brought forth to array thee, is the best in heaven -it is the robe of righteousness which Jesus has wrought

out. Happy prodigal, but prodigal no longer! Does this unexpected joy and gladness at thy return, fill thee with remorse at thy long estrangement? Dost thou not look upon a reconciled Father, and upon an Elder Brother whom thou hast pierced, and art thou in such bitterness at times that thou canst not forgive thyself, or believe that They can forgive thee? And do thy past sins not unfrequently rise up, like a thick cloud, to darken the sunshine of thy soul? Hear that Father and that Brother saying with one voice, “I have blotted out as a thick cloud thy transgressions, and as a cloud thy sins." Isa. xliv. 22.

In the progress of thy course through life, do infirmities encompass thee, and besetting sins sometimes obtain the advantage? Do their present pressure, and their past remembrance, weaken thy faith, straiten thy prayers, and mar thy intercourse with God? Take courage: hold on thy way, contending against all sin. Plead with Him His own promise. Cry to Him in the all-prevailing name of Jesus, and He will cast all thy transgressions, not into the waves to be again thrown up, but into the very "depths" of the sea, never more to appear against thee.

Or art thou drawing near to the close of thy earthly day? Is thy sun sinking in the far west of life? Say, hadst thou a 'stormy morning, and a chequered day of clouds and sunshine? And didst thou often fear that gloom and darkness would envelope thy departure? Behold, at evening time it shall be light (Zech. xiv. 7), if thou dost hold fast the beginning of thy confidence steadfast unto the end. Heb. iii. 14. "The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for

brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended." Isa. lx. 19, 20. Made one with Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, thy setting shall be bright and radiant with His glory. Fear not; Jesus is with thee; and, behold, at His word, how serene are the heavens around thee. The winds are hushed. The sea is calm. The sky is clear. Its vault is glowing with His golden beams. Where now are the storms that alarmed thee in the morning? Where now are the clouds that darkened thine onward path? They are scattered and gone; if sought for, they cannot be found. Jer. 1. 20. Calm, then, on the bosom of thy God, sink thou to rest: and as thou goest down, even thy lips shall be heard, by grace, to say, Bless the Lord, O my soul, for "as far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed my transgressions from me."

XII.

Immeasurable Benefits-Pity.

ITS DEPTH-UNFATHOMABLE: ITS EMBLEM-A FATHER'S.

Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him. For He knoweth our frame, He remembereth that we are dust.-Verses 13, 14.

THESE verses present to us the third metaphor, by which the Psalmist attempts to measure, and to magnify, the goodness of his Lord. He had just before extolled the greatness of His mercy, and expatiated on the completeness of His forgiveness. The height of the heaven above the earth, and the distance of the east from the west, were made to lend their aid in illustration of these truths. Yet, striking as these comparisons are, they do not satisfy the mind of the Psalmist-they do not adequately unfold the character and the excellency of His Lord. David, therefore, employs another illustration, as touching as it is appropriate; and follows it up by an explanatory argument, as simple as it is conclusive. He selects the most revered name which the human vocabulary can furnish: he instances a relationship in which love and authority, wisdom and grace, tenderness and compassion, are exhibited in rich and harmonious combination; and by a single word he presents to us a

picture, which every human being can recognize, appreciate, and admire.

Who that has experienced the love, and the pity, of a parent, or that has felt the yearnings of a father towards his child within his own breast, can read these words without understanding or emotion? We comprehend their meaning at a glance. We feel their power as we listen to their sound. The pity of a parent is the purest, the tenderest, the highest, which this world can furnish; and such, we understand, is the pity of the Lord. The paternal character and relationship on earth, are the types of a paternal character and relationship in heaven. A father's tender feeling towards his children, presents the best possible illustration of the feelings of the Great God in Christ Jesus towards them that fear him.

David felt in himself that he was altogether unworthy of the mercies which he had acknowledged in the previous verses-unworthy even of the very least of them. Like believers in all ages, doubtless the Psalmist was often tempted to question whether he was indeed a child of God. But now, the more minutely that he gave his attention to these mercies, the more that his mind became impressed, and his gratitude awakened, by the contemplation of them, the more do their marvellous origin open to his view. His mind had been occupied with the enumeration of the benefits which he had received, and now it becomes joyfully absorbed by the discovery of this living truth--this gracious secret-which they disclose,--that in the very heart of God there exists a paternal pity towards him! This enables