thee; the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. Israel was holiness unto the Lord, and the first-fruits of his increase." (Jer. ii. 2, 3.) He remembers all their endeavours to serve and please him, however weak and imperfect they havẹ been; and in instances where they pitied and relieved any of his needy and afflicted ones, without the prospect of reward, and from love to him, he will bring it to remembrance and return it all into their bosom. "For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister." (Heb. vi. 10.) All the prayers of his people are come up as a memorial before him, and shall not be forgotten. Sooner or later they shall all be answered, whether they live to see it or not; for God sometimes answers the prayers of his people after they are gone to their graves, in blessings on their connexions and posterity. They die in the Lord, and their works shall follow them. "I die," said Joseph to his brethren, "but God shall be with you." And after David had slept with his fathers, and had seen corruption, the Lord remembered him, and all his afflictions; how he sware unto the Lord, and vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob. As the Lord tells the wanderings of his people, so he also puts their tears into his bottle. All their spiritual conversation and communion with each other, all their tender concern about his kingdom and glory in the world, is graciously noticed by him, and stands upon record. When they that feared the Lord in an evil time, spake often one to another, "the Lord hearkened, and heard; and a book of remembrance was written before him, for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name." (Mal. iii. 16.) Thus God will remember his people, and thus they desire to be remembered by him.

Farther: the Lord not only remembers his people so

as to know and notice them, as he does his other works; but in a special manner, so as to delight in them to do them good, and feel a satisfaction in them. He taketh pleasure in the prosperity of his servants, and will exert himself on their behalf. He will so remember them as to direct them in their difficulties, succour them in their temptations, guard them when in danger, and bring them out of trouble. Thus God remembered Noah, and Rachel, by bringing him out of the ark, and making her the joyful mother of children. It was the prayer of the dying thief, "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. I shall soon be forgotten by others, as if he had said, and some may even be glad to forget me when I am gone: but Lord, do thou remember me, and all will be well! Job also, in the prospect of the grave, prays that he may not be forgotten when he dwells in silence, but that he may have part in a joyful resurrection. "Appoint me a set time, and remember me." The prayer of the prophet in our text is similar to that of the devout psalmist, and corresponds with the desires of every renewed heart: "Remember me, O Lord, with the favour thou bearest unto thy people. O visit me with thy salvation; that I may see the good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice. in the gladness of thy nation, that I may glory with thine inheritance." (Psal. cvi. 4, 5.) But this is not all: he prays,

2. "And visit me." This implies that where God graciously remembers any one, he will also visit them. Our visits to him are necessary, and cannot be too frequent; but without his visits to us they will be both unprofitable, and unacceptable. We must hear from him, before he can hear from us; and he must draw us, before we can run after him. God sometimes visits in a way of wrath; and if we persevere in an evil course, such visits may be expected. If we do not seek his mercy, we shall be made to feel his displeasure. "Shall I not visit for these things, saith

the Lord?" But it is a gracious visit that the prophet seeks, which implies both manifestation and communion. Thus the Lord visited Israel in Egypt, and in Babylon. "After seventy years be accomplished, I will visit you, and perform my good word towards you, 99 Exod. iii. 16. in causing you to return to this place." Jer. xxix. 10.--Of the Lord's visits to his people, it may be observed,

(1.) They are promised, and he will fulfil his word. Thus it was with respect to that long-expected and much desired one, at the incarnation of Christ; "whereby the day-spring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness, and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet in the way of It was in remembrance of his mercy, as he peace. spake to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed for ever." (Luke i. 54, 55. 78, 79.) The same may be said of all his visits to his people: they are not casual, but determined. And as they are at a fixed time on God's part, so they are most seasonable on ours: they are made when we most need them, and when he shall be most glorified by them. There is a "set time to favour Zion," and a set time to favour us. There is a time when God visits his people, and when he refrains from visiting; and these times are in his own power. His love first exists in purpose: it is then manifested in promises, and last of all in performance.

(2.) They are free and voluntary, and on our part wholly undeserved: they are what we seek, but cannot claim. If the Lord visits us in answer to prayer, it is not of debt, but of grace. His love does not find us lovely, but makes us so; and our fitness to receive his mercy is owing to our having obtained it. Our state as sinners is compared to that of a poor unpitied orphan, on whom a stranger had compassion as he passed by, and afterwards adopted and adorned. Thou wast cast out in the open field, to the loathing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born. And

when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee, when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee, when thou wast in thy blood, Live. Thou becamest mine, and I clothed thee with broidered work, and girded thee about with fine linen, and covered thee with silk." (Ezek. xvi.) Christ's visit to Zaccheus also was unexpected and unsought. Curiosity, and not conscience, carried him up into the sycamore tree, from whence Christ bid him come down; and then, unasked and uninvited added, "To-day I must abide at thine house." When the Lord met with the woman of Samaria at Jacob's well, he was found of one who sought him not, and sought of one who asked not for him. His love brought him to the place, but she went only to draw water. And as it is in the first manifestation of mercy, so also in the visits which follow after: they often come when least expected, and but little desired. In many a dull and stupid frame, the believer is visited with mercy in a way that far exceeds all he could ask or think, and love breaks forth upon him like the sun from behind a cloud. "Or ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib." Cant. vi. 12.

(3.) Divine visits are often short and transient, like the sheet that was three times let down from heaven while Peter was praying upon the house-top, and almost immediately taken up again. Christ's visit to this world is expressed by his having dwelt in it: "The word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us." This was a long visit: but not so are his spiritual visits to his people. He sometimes shews his face; but before they can take a full view of his transcendant glory and beauty, the vision is withdrawn. "O the Hope of Israel, the Saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldst thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night!" The manifestations of divine love are often

like a land-flood; sudden, overflowing, and soon spent; but the love itself is a boundless ocean, an ever-flowing stream. David's mountain stood strong; but God soon hid his face, and he was troubled. Paul was caught up to the third heavens, and knew not whether he was in the body or out of the body; but the thorn in the flesh soon convinced him where he was, and that his present comforts, however desirable, were not lasting. The various changes in the christian's experience, and the frequent succession of sorrow and darkness, doubts and fears, while they display the sovereignty of divine grace, are adapted to promote humility and watchfulness, and teach us the difference between heaven and earth. Were we always on the mount, with Peter, we might think it good to be here; but we must be made to know that to depart and be with Christ is far better. Young christians often form great expectations in this respect, and meet with great disappointments. At first setting out they think it is day, and never will be night; and afterwards are ready to cry out, It is night, and will never be day. "When God hideth his face, who then can behold him?"

(4.) However short the divine visits are, they are often repeated, and are peculiar to the favourites of heaven. They impart life to our graces, vigour to our services, and comfort to our souls. To them we owe all the benefit of ordinances, the savour of our spirits, and the usefulness of our lives. The Lord visited Solomon before he built the temple, and after its dedication; the one to prepare him for the undertaking, and the other to bless him in what he had done. Thus all our fitness for God's service, and all our success in it, depend upon the enjoyment of his presence. Moses was aware of this when leading the chosen tribes through the wilderness, and therefore he prayed, "If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence." It is true, God's appearances for us are more frequent