POETRY. REJOICE IN THE LORD. "YOUR harps, ye drooping saints, Can we of Zion sing? We're in a stranger-land; Where is not lov'd our Heav'nly King, And toils await His band. Yes, take your harps and sing! Ye little flock and blest, For yet must reign your Heav'nly King, Your God hath chosen you That ye should see His face; Then sorrow not, for He is true, But glory in His grace. Look on the glorious cross, Sing, while ye view by faith And, rising past the vale of death, The gates of endless day. L. N. N. REV. H. A. SIMCOE, (Penheale-press) Cornwall. "Thou God seest me."-Gen. xvi. 13. How difficult it is to realize the words of the text, and to act upon them! It is difficult, because it is a matter of faith, and not of sense. Hagar, the Egyptian, was Sarai's handmaid, and in her prosperity it appears her mistress was despised in her eyes; therefore, at Sarai's solicitation, Abram delivers her into her hands to do with her as it pleased her. She deals hardly with her, and Hagar flies to the wilderness. Here the angel of the Lord appeared to her, and advises her to return. She complies; and in gratitude for the visit, utters this pious sentiment, "Thou God seest me." Note, we learn our lesson, better in adversity, than in prosperity. The piety of the text is manifest if we consider, 1st Who is it sees? God sees. Some think because He is so high and lofty, so great and glorious, that it is above His dignity to interfere with our minute concerns; this is infidelity. Piety, on the contrary, sees Him numbering the very hairs of the head, and G not suffering a sparrow to fall to the ground without His permission. So David, in Psalm cxxxix., 7 to 12, "Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence," &c. &c. Observe then, it is the eternal, unchangeable, Almighty, infinitely-wise, and most merciful God who sees us--God who can cast both body and soul into Hell, or rescue both from death, and the grave, and Hell, and translate us into the kingdom of his dear Son. But, He sees 2nd What does He see? He sees us. every deed of darkness committed under the sun. He sees when no eye is present; yea, when the sun witholds her light. He sees many who pass current for saints, and are not-many who deceive themselves and others also. He sees his people, his elect, his dear and dutiful children. He knows what they think, feel, and say in worship-whether they pray with the heart, or with form or ceremony only to satisfy conscience-whether they neglect secret devotion. He sees whether they regard iniquity in their hearts, or are led captive by the enemy. He sees all they suffer, pain of body, or anguish of soul, the sigh, the tear, the groan, the effort. Many dear children He sees in doubt, fear, perplexity, and trouble. Many fainting and weary, the enemy making inroads upon them. He sees all this for good, for He is a refiner of the House of Levi. Moreover, He sees all who will be in Hell, and who in Heaven. He sees the past, the present, and the fature, at one glance. But, 3rd How does He see? With a clear eye, that is · with a clear understanding and judgment. The eye of the best of men is dim and defective compared with His. The world, and even the church, may attribute wrong motives to our actions. Not so God. He is in his holy temple; "His eyes behold, His eyelids try the children of men ;" "His countenance doth behold the upright;" to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine." But, To approve, 4th For what purpose does He sce? or disapprove; to reward, or punish. "I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings." To write " a book of remembrance before Him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name: and they shall be mine saith the Lord of Hosts in that day when I make up my jewels and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him." These four considerations point out, 1st How impossible it is to avoid God's scrutinizing eye. Think of this you who pass days, and weeks, and months, aye, and years, supposing that God does not see you! Think of this you who never bend your knee to Him in public or in private-you who are disturbed at the thought of God seeing you in your thoughts, words, and ways--you who literally shut out God from your dwellings! Think of this, I say, and consider, whether, being without God here, you can be with God in eternity! Think of this, O backsliding soul, and see an eye of pity and compassion still on you! 2nd That God's children should be careful for nothing. It should console them that God does actually see them. Weak, timorous, and fainting souls should rejoice that the God of all grace is nigh to them. Misrepresented and persecuted souls should |