(4) no lion or wild beasts on; (5) costly, the blood of Christ made it; (6) not lonely, many believers on it, Heb. 12. 1; (7) no toll, all may come; (8) wide, Christ sends out to the highways and hedges, Mat. 22. 9. The way to the cities of refuge was forty-eight feet wide. The map of the Bible shows this path; (9) the end pleasant-Heaven. The veil that was hung before the Holy of Holies, and which none might pass through, but the high priest once a year, signified to us that there was no direct way to Heaven under the law. "By the law is the knowledge of sin," not the means of deliverance from the power or punishment of sin. And by the rending of the veil at the time of our Saviour's death, was signified that a way was henceforth opened to the penitent unto life eternal, even by the blood of Jesus Christ. In the passage "I am the way, the truth, and the life," our Lord meant, "I am the way to Heaven." He had just before told his disciples, that he was soon going to leave them, and to prepare a place for them, meaning that he was going to Heaven, and there they should follow, and be happy with him for ever. But his disciples did not quite understand him, and when he said, "Whither I go ye know, and the way ye know," Thomas replied, "Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?" Christ meant, that he was going to Heaven, and that there was no getting there but through him, just as a way leads to a place, or, in other words, we must follow him, and he will show us the way; for like him we must have holy lives, like him we must pass through the grave, like him our bodies must rise again. Japan.-A road of 1,000 miles begins with one step. Urdu.-Who leaves the highway for a byepath will soon lose his way. Persian.—Travel the highway though it be roundabout. Christ a Well of Water.-JOHN 4. 14; ZECH. 13. I. These words were uttered by Christ when wearied and thirsty in the heat of the day; he drank well-water received from a Samaritan woman- -a pariah. Wells were greatly valued in deserts, hence the march of caravans was regulated by the wells, Ex. 15. 27; Lot's and Abraham's herdsmen strove about the possession of a well, Gen. 26. 15. But wells often dry up, or are filled up with sand. Christ the same always: the wicked are compared to wells without water, 2 Pet. 2. 17. See Fountain, p. 38. The Holy Spirit's Influence like the Wind.-JOHN 3. 5-8. The Holy Spirit's influence like wind in six points :We see not the wind itself, but we see what it does, whether when the forest is bowed by some mighty tempest, as in a cyclone, or when the corn waves under the gentle breeze, soft as the dew, and the flowers of the garden give out their fragrance, as they tremble at its softest touch. It is thus with God's Holy Spirit. It is mysterious in its coming and in its influence. Unseen itself, it is seen in its effects. The mighty change which the world has undergone, since first the doctrine of the Cross was preached by peasants of Judea, with no human aid to support them, is the work of the unseen but ever-present Spirit, by which the false philosophies and vain superstitions have fallen before the truth, as Dagon before the ark, I Sam. 5. 3. The Holy Spirit like the wind in six points : The wind is (1) invisible, though its effects are seen in cyclones, when it travels at 120 miles an hour, so the Spirit's influence in conversion; (2) comes at God's command; he gathers the winds in his fist, Prov. 30. 4; (3) purifies, drives bad vapours away; so grace does evil passions; (4) penetrates, passes through a large city and over hundreds of miles; (5) various, the north wind piercing, the south wind warming; so the Holy Spirit rebukes some, comforts others, tempests destroy big ships and large trees; (6) sets in motion; we cannot sail across the ocean of life without the wind of the Spirit. Providence has his way in the sea, and he flies on the wings of the wind, Ps. 18. 10. Atmabodha Prákasika.-The Spirit is in contact with matter without being contaminated by it, just as the crystal permits the colour of the cloth to be seen through it without being in any way defiled by it. Christ's Yoke easy and his Burthen light.-MAT. 11. 28-30. Asses or oxen are yoked or harnessed to a cart; sometimes this yoke is heavy, and the burthen of the cart falls on the neck, which becomes chafed; the animal is, however, the property of the owner, who does what he likes. Men are under the yoke of Satan; they are slaves, and Christ comes with the ransom money. Bullocks often, though well-fed, do not like to submit to the yoke, and kick against it, Jer. 31. 18, but must at last submit; so the sinner must bridle his tongue and passions—he must not be stiff-necked. Reconcile the easy yoke with the narrow way? QUESTIONS ON THE EMBLEMS. BETWEEN the afflictions of the righteous and the wicked four points of difference. Affliction is compared to eleven different objects. HOPE like an anchor in three points. GOD'S ARM differs from man's arm in three points. What eight animals are the wicked compared to ? To what two birds are the righteous compared? The body is like what the Arabs are fond of, and in three points. The CHURCH like the body in four points. GOD as a builder differs from earthly builders in five points. The HUMBLE like little children in six points. Christ's second coming compared to five different things. The HEAVENLY CITY differs from an earthly city in five points. The WICKED like dross in six points. CONSCIENCE Compared to five different objects. DEATH of the righteous and wicked compared to twelve different things. The DEVIL Compared to what five animals? The HOLY SPIRIT like dew in seven points. The meek like a dove in four points. WICKED like dogs in ten points. Double-minded like what three objects. PRAYING is like mounting on eagle's wings in nine points. ENVY is compared to what is often seen in a hospital. FAITH compared to what four objects ? The FICKLE compared to what the sluggard does not see GOD like a fountain in eight points. CHRIST'S FRIENDSHIP differs from earthly friendship in five points. The CHURCH like a garden in seven points. TRUTH a girdle in seven points. The WICKED like goats in four points. FAITH like gold in ten points. HEARERS, not doers, compared to what vain people like. HEAVEN compared to seven things. The HEAVENLY home differs from the earthly one in three points. The RIGHTEOUS like God's husbandry in ten points. HUMILITY like four objects. HOLINESS Compared to seven things. The HOLY SPIRIT compared to nine objects. HOUSE, to what part of a, is Christ compared ? HOPES of the world like what is found in a dirty house. HOPES of the wicked compared to four objects. The IGNORANT compared to fifteen objects. EARTHLY INHERITANCE differs from the heavenly inheritance in six points. PRAYER like incense in five points. What INSECT teaches man a lesson? The IDLE compared to four things. GOD'S PEOPLE his jewels in nine points. GOD differs from earthly judges in four points. The SPIRITUAL KINGDOM differs from an earthly kingdom in nine points. The RIGHTEOUS like kings in six points. CHRIST'S second coming like lightning in three points. CHRIST'S LEGACY differs from a common legacy in four points. CHRIST like a lamb in four points. Sin like leprosy in thirteen points. LIFE is compared to a thing you do not see at night. Life is compared to a thing you do not see in summer. MERCHANT, the righteous, a spiritual, in seven points. OLD AGE compared to seven things. HOLY SPIRIT'S influence like oil in four points. PARDON OF SIN compared to three things. PRAYER compared to five objects. PROVIDENCE Compared to three things. The RIGHTEOUS like the palm tree in five points. |