casting away of them, was the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? Rom. xi. 12. 15. We are verily guilty concerning our elder brother, we have not pitied him, prayed for him, nor sought his good, as we should. In future, therefore, let us pray for the seed of Abraham, let us seek the good of Jerusalem, and endeavour to influence those whose fathers rejected Jesus, to receive him in faith and love. Though cut off for a time, they will be engrafted into their own olive tree again; though cast away for a season, they will be received back again, to the praise and glory of free grace. Jesus will yet be, "the king of the Jews," as well as king over all the earth :" and in Abraham and his seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. The covenant still stands good, the promises cannot be broken, the throne of David shall be filled by the son of David, and then shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. Lord, hasten the time, when the Jews shall be brought in with the fulness of the Gentiles, and when there shall be one Lord, and his name one! Give peace to Jerusalem, and let her become a praise in the whole earth. 66 THE BREATH OF OUR NOSTRILS. WE very frequently make too much of men, and then they become a snare unto us, and cause us trouble. Man is not to be trusted, he is not to be reckoned upon, and if we at all depend on him, he will surely disappoint us. This always has been the case, and always will be, therefore the prophet says, "Cease ye from man whose breath is in his nostrils; for wherein is he to be accounted of." Israel had a king once of whom they seemed to be proud, and with whom they were pleased. They looked upon him as necessary to their existence, and anticipated from him both comfort and deliverence. But he is slain and they are sorely disappointed, and in the bitterness of their souls they cry out, The breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord, was taken in their pits, of whom we said, under his shadow shall we live among the heathen." Lam. iv. 20. These words are more applicable to Jesus, than to Josiah, or Zedekiah, and to him let us apply them. 66 Jesus is to his church, as "the breath of her nostrils," which is the life of man, therefore we read, "He taketh away their breath, they die." All our life is in Jesus, and from him it flows to us. If we could be severed from him, it would be like taking away our breath, we should immediately die. Jesus is essential to our very existence, as well as to our comfort and prosperity. He is the anointed of the Lord, appointed to reign, and be sole soverign in his church. To him we owe obedience, on him we fix our love, and of him we make our boast. Blessed Redeemer, thou art as the breath of our nostrils to us; and as the anointed of the Lord, we would love thee, obey thee, and make thee our boast! "He was taken in their pits." The Jews with Judas for their guide, dug a pit for his feet, and he being delivered by the determinate counsel and fore-knowledge of God, was taken in their pits. For the sins of his people, he sunk into the horrible pit, and into the miry clay; from whence he cried, "Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps. Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves. He fell into the pit of the divine wrath, and there suffered the terrors of Jehovah, which otherwise we must have suffered for ever. He descended into the grave, that from thence he might bring his people, for otherwise it would have proved to them a pit without water. In preparing those pits, his Church and his Father, his friends and his foes took part. He was taken, but not unawares, for all was according to a previous arrangement and plan. 66 We said, under his shadow, we shall live among the heathen." He will afford us refreshing shade, and powerful protection. We shall sit down under his shadow with delight, and find his fruit sweet unto our taste, We may be exposed to the scoffs, reproaches, and persecutions of the heathen, which like a fiery sun, may throw its scorching beams upon us, but Jesus shall be our shield and our shade. He will be our friend in loneliness, our comforter in distress, and our Saviour in every time of trouble. We expect life with all its comforts, life with all its pleasures, life with all its usefulness, to flow from him. Yes, Jesus is the breath of our nostrils, the anointed of the Lord, and under his shadow we expect to live and be happy. He was taken in their pits, but he could not be detained there, he arose, he ascended, he lives, he rules, and under the shadow of his cross we live, and live happily too. Reader, is Jesus to you, as the breath of your nostrils? Do you feel, that you could as soon live without breathing, as live without Jesus? Do you look upon him as the anointed of the Lord, the Christ of God, to whom you must pay homage, and to whom you must render obedience? Have you wept at his cross, rejoiced at his empty grave, and sung praises at his throne ? Ö may Jesus become our all in all, and may we daily, more and more feel, that he is the breath of our nostrils, and expect to live under, and enjoy his shadow, among the heathen. Jesus is precious, says the word, What comfort does this truth afford! To them he is more precious far He's precious in his precious blood, In every office he sustains, As they draw near their journey's end, With them, may I in heaven be found, |