ministers to them. He glows with affection when he hears the broken accents of another, just beginning to lisp a few humble words, and resistance is impossible. And with the other branches of his family, who may be capable of asking for supplies, he divides the frugal provision which remains. In compassion to our weakness, the Saviour compares our heavenly Parent with such an one; but the comparison cannot do Him justice. He is neither limited like man in his resources, nor prompted by the same motives in its dispensation. Its design, however, cannot be mistaken. It is to show us the intensity of divine benevolence, and to induce us to devolve all our wants on Him, who never disappoints the expectation of the widow and fatherless. And the force of the argument may be thus briefly summed up: If man, who is an evil and sinful creature, is induced to give proper things to his child, will not He who planted this disposition in the heart, bestow whatever is suitable upon you? If the stream be so ready to yield supply, shall the fountain be reluctant? If the spark of beneficence, which seems to have escaped the general extinction of goodness at the fall, be so strong, what must not the flame be from which it originally came? But what saith the Lord himself? Let us turn to Isaiah: Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will not I forget thee. Behold I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands: thy walls are continually before me.”* Thus an admired poet has beautifully versified the sentiment:

"Can a fond mother from herself depart;
Can she forget the darling of her heart?—
The little darling whom she bore and bred,
Nurs'd on her knee, and at her bosom fed?
To whom she seem'd her ev'ry thought to give,
And in whose life alone she seem'd to live."

Isaiah xlix. 15, 16.

Secondly. Observe its divine fulness. First. It comprehends every human being that presents his prayer for relief. "Every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened." Let us apply it to the ignorant: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him." To the enquiring: "Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord." To the young: "I love them that love me, and those that seek me early shall find me." To the aged: "And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, why stand ye here all the day idle? They say unto him, because no man hath hired us: he saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive." To the most guilty: "Come now and let us reason together saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Yes, ye whose crimes are as numerous as the sands on the seashore, and as deeply dyed as the crimson garment, ye shall obtain mercy. And ye who have wasted almost the whole of your precious existence, in sinful pursuits and vicious pleasures, ye too may knock, and the door shall be opened.

The second point regards the quality of the blessing: "Much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him." "The child is here supposed to ask bread that is necessary, and a fish that is wholesome; but if a child shall foolishly ask for a stone or a serpent, for unripe fruit to eat, or a sharp knife to play with, the father, though kind, is withal so wise as to deny him. We often ask that of God which would do us hurt if we had it; He knows it, and therefore does not give it Denials in love, are better than grants in anger.

to us.

We had been undone ere this, if He had given all we have desired."*

Let us close our reflections by two remarks.

First. How happy is the believer. It is his privilege to have a Father in heaven, who welcomes him to his footstool, and smiles upon him in love. From Him he derives unfailing succour for every spiritual enterprize and duty. He may not receive every particular blessing which he requests, nor may such as are granted be, in all respects, according to his expectation; neither may he obtain an answer to his most scriptural and unexceptionable petitions so early as he anticipated; but it is enough to know, that he never prays in vain; or comes forth from the secret chamber of communion with God, without spiritual improvement. The exercise itself is highly beneficial to his spirit, even though no answer of peace were ever given him. There is no comfort which it does not multiply, or anxiety which it cannot repel. To mourn, indeed, is the lot of the Christian, as well as others; but it is by his very tears and wants that the blessings and consolations of the gospel become available to him. It is with him as it is in nature. The portentous cloud carries the refreshing shower, by which the face of the earth is renewed. The herbs of the field spring up; the flowers of the garden disclose all their beauteous tints, and diffuse their balmy fragrance through the air; but it is generally after a storm. So the humble believer, frequently depressed by an afflictive sense of his transgressions, and agitated by the temptations of the enemy, is directly met by the word of promise: "The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit." Disturbed by the enemies that harrass him from without,

* M. Henry in loco.

and bowed down by the darkness which distresses him within; he is nevertheless happy in the assurance, that although "weeping may endure for a night, yet joy cometh in the morning." And when the cold hand of death is upon him and he begins to sink under the tremblings of nature, he is happy still. "For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." Arrived thither, his bliss is complete. While a sojourner below, he could only fare as a pilgrim; and even his spiritual joy was often beclouded by pains, and fears, and conscious unworthiness; but now the crown is set upon his head; the palm of victory is put into his hand; the source of disquietude is removed from his heart; and the tear of disappointment, bereavement, and repentance, bedew his face no more,- 66 he is for ever with the Lord."

"For

Secondly. How important to know the medium of acceptable prayer. The Scriptures clearly define it. through Christ we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father." "He is the Mediator between God and man; the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world; no man cometh to the Father but by him; in him God is reconciling the world to himself; for his sake he forgiveth our sins; by his obedience many are made righteous; he is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them; and by him grace reigns through righteousness unto eternal life." The work of the Son of God, which these passages so clearly express, needs no comment. It forms the foundation of all our hopes, and it is the only ground of approach unto the Majesty of heaven. Blot these truths from this book, and we are still in the darkness of heathenism and guilt. No spiritual blessing is dispensed to persons of any age or condition, but by the mediation of Christ. He is not the Saviour and Redeemer

of any particular church or sect among men, but the King and Head of the whole; and they who exclude Him from their supplications, as the ground of their dependance, have no scriptural authority to expect a blessing. Come then, my beloved brethren, and call upon God, by faith in the propitiation of his Son. Dismiss, trembling soul, thy anxious and painful apprehensions as to success. In Christ Jesus there is a sure refuge for thee, and at his throne thou mayest boldly ask for mercy. Therefore, dry up thy tears, hush thy sorrows, suppress thy cares, and rejoice that thy Father is infinitely better than every earthly friend, and will "much more give good things to them that ask him." Amen.