The Shipwrecked Soul.-1 TIM. I. 19. The body has been compared to a casket, the soul to a jewel; in the text the soul is like a ship, launched at birth on the river of life, constructed with great skill, fitted up for a long and dangerous voyage over the ocean of life; exposed to the storms of temptation, the rocks of sin, the waves of passion, needs a good bottom of faith, so necessary to prevent a leak, the wind of God's Spirit to fill the sails of the affections, and the compass of God's word; Christ is the pilot. Turk.-The soul is the ship, reason is the helm, the oars are the soul's thoughts, and truth is the port. Malay. The boat which is swamped at sea may be baled out, but a shipwreck of the affections is final. Silence.-LUKE 21. 19. Solomon states, "Where no wood is the fire goeth out; so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceases, or is silent." Sanskrit.-Silence is the ornament of the ignorant. Arab.-Silence is the remedy for anger. Syrian.-Shut your door and you will not fear an enemyi.e., silence the remedy against calumny. Sanskrit. By silence there is no quarrel; by vigilance no fear. Turk.-Two ears to one tongue, therefore hear twice as much as you speak. Modern Greek.-The tongue has no bone, yet it breaks bones. Arab.-Silence is the sweet medicine of the heart, Ps. 37. 7. Sanskrit.—Where frogs are the croakers, there silence is becoming. Turk.-A great river makes no noise. Avyar. Do not come near one in a passion. Esthonian.-Time heals wounds. Avyar.-A calumnious mouth is a fire in a wind. Death a Sleep to the Righteous.-JOHN II. II. Sleep called death's brother. Death is a departure, Phil. 1. 23, from a wilderness to the promised land; the wicked are driven away, Prov. 14. 32. Sleep in death is applied in Scripture only to the righteous, as to Lazarus, Solomon, Hezekiah, Jehoshaphat, Stephen. Death is like natural sleep in four points : (1) Calm in its commencement; people know not when they are dropping off to sleep. We gradually become insensible to outward things; such was Moses' death. (2) Rest from labour; life is warfare; death is peace; the slave hears not the voice of the oppressor, Job 3. 18. (3) Awakening to vigour after sleep, Is. 26. 19; Isaiah calls the grave a bed. (4) Mind active even in dreams. Conscience Asleep.-EPH. 5. 14. An impenitent sinner is said both to be " asleep" and also to be "dead." He is "dead," because his soul is destitute of spiritual life; as, however, it has a capacity for receiving spiritual life, he is compared also to one who is "asleep," but who can wake again. A man who is buried in sleep is unconscious of all that is going on around him. His mind is entertained, indeed, with dreams, which for the time he takes for realities, while the real and important business of life is totally unheeded and neglected by him. Matters which affect his interest, or even his life, may be transacted around him, he is dreaming on; and when he awakes, he will find how material it would have been to him to have resisted the drowsiness in which his faculties for the time were lost. The building may be in flames, or the thief may have broken through the house, but the owner sleeps on in total ignorance of his danger or his loss, until it is too late to escape the one, or to prevent the other. The ship was on the point of being engulfed in the raging waves, when Jonah was fast asleep! In sleeping we are disturbed by vain hopes and fears; on awakening they are all gone, Job 20. 8. In dreams we run away when there is no danger, and are delighted with that which is nothing but a shadow. We think we are flying through the air, while we are motionless in our bed; we think we have found great treasures, but we awake and are as poor as ever. Of that which is real we have no knowledge, while our mind is thus filled with shadows: but, perhaps, we dream that we are sailing on the water, while the chamber in which we sleep has taken fire; and we know it not till the flames reach our body and awaken us; then we start up, but it is too late to escape. Shanti Shatak.-The careless sinner is a moth, unaware of approaching evil, hovering over a lighted lamp until consumed by it, or a fish falling into the hands of the angler. Telugu. What matters it whether we drink milk in a dream out of bell-metal or gold? Is. 14. 20. Arab.-To sleep on the mountain peaks. Malay. To fight in a dream-i.e., labour in vain. a mirage. Veman. They live like a silkworm in a cocoon, seemingly secure, but in reality helpless, Prov. 7. 22. Mahabharat.-Seeing thy spirit abides like a bird in a body, which resembles mere foam, why sleepest thou in this dear abode, which is so transitory ? The Smoke of God's Anger.-Is. 65. 2-5. Nothing is more offensive to the nostrils than smoke, Prov. 10. 20. The expression, "There went up a smoke out of his nostrils," signifies God's wrath against those who did what was offensive to him. When Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by brimstone and lightning, a dense smoke arose from the ruins indicating the terrible fire that was there, Gen. 19. 28; so God is said to be to the wicked a consuming fire, Heb. 12. 29; as fire he appeared in the burning bush, Ex. 3. 2; on Sinai, Ex. 19. 18, to Isaiah, 6. 4, Ezekiel, 1. 4, John, Rev. I. 14, and as a flaming fire will he appear at the Judgment Day, 2 Tim. 1. 8; then all will be confusion, as when fire breaks out, Rev. 6. 10; it will be sudden, like at Belshazzar's feast, Dan. 5. 5; it will destroy everything; while the wicked will be only stubble, Nah. I. 10, the righteous will be as the burning bush on which fire had no effect, Ex. 3. 2. God's anger is described in Job, 37th chapter. Smoke quickly disappears, not so the smoke of God's anger, Rev. 14. II. In Rev. 9. 2, the smoke which rose from the bottomless pit refers to gross errors which darken the understanding. The Righteous a Soldier.-2 TIM. 2. 3, 4. A soldier is one employed in military affairs, bearing arms under military command, Mat. 8. 9. Every true believer is a soldier to fight the good fight of faith against the world, the flesh, and the devil, Is. 51. 9, Col. 2. 15, 2 Tim. 4. 7. The righteous is like a soldier in twelve points: 1. Under a captain. Christ is the Captain of our salvation, Heb. 2. 10; there is a covenant in Baptism. 2. Leaves all other worldly affairs, 2 Tim. 2. 4. The righteous forsake all, as did the apostles; their heart was set on things above, they minded not the things of the flesh, Rom. 8. 5; they were crucified with Christ, Col. 3. Iie., a painful separation from the world like crucifying. 3. When enlisted is armed, so the believer has armour, Eph. 6. 10, 12, but only one offensive weapon, the sword. 4. Uniform worn to distinguish him, so the garment of love and humility, I Pet. 5. 5. 5. Clad at the King's expense. The believer's white raiment, an emblem of purity, was purchased with Christ's blood, Rev. 7. 14. 6. Enemies fixed for him. The world, the flesh, and the devil. Paul writes, that the believer is more than a conqueror, Rom. 8. 37. 7. Obedience in everything, Mat. 8. 9; so Paul, Acts 26. 19. 8. Order and discipline, I Cor. 14. 33. 9. Acquainted with devices of the enemy; wise as serpents, 2 Cor. 2. II. 10. Courage necessary, no turning back, Heb. 11. 38, the cause good, Is. 41. 10, a good conscience, I Pet. 3. 16, sure of victory, Rev. 12, 11. II. Endures hardships, Mat. 10, 22, Heb. II. 38, David watered his couch with his tears. 12. The righteous soldier is sure of victory, more than conqueror, Rom. 8. 37. Tamul.- Of what use is a moustache to a sneaking soldier? China. To hide the head and leave the back exposed, Eph. 6. 13. Breton.- -A cat in gloves is no use to catch mice. Tamul.-The handle of the axe is the enemy of its kind. with the marks of passion, is not fastened by the filaments of the lotus. The Righteous shall shine as the Stars.-DAN. 12. 3. The bodies of the righteous after the resurrection will be bright and dazzling, like Christ's body on the mount of transfiguration, Mat. 17. I; Paul, on his way to |