me.

Out of great distress they came,
And their robes by faith below,
In the blood of Christ the Lamb,
They have washed as white as snow.
More than conquerors at last,

Here they find their trials o'er:
They have all their sufferings pass'd,
Hunger now, and thirst no more.

He that on the throne doth reign,
Them for evermore shall feed,
With the tree of Life sustain,
To the living fountain lead.
He shall all their griefs remove,
He shall all their wants supply;
God Himself, the God of Love,
Tears shall wipe from every eye.

PSALM LI. 10-13.

RESTORING LOVE.

C. WESLEY.

'Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within

'Cast me not away from Thy presence; and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.

'Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation; and uphold me with Thy free Spirit.

'Then will I teach transgressors Thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto Thee.'

BEFORE proceeding to speak of these verses, I wish to draw your attention for a moment to the 8th verse There the Psalmist prays, 'Make me to hear joy and gladness.' It is not 'Give me joy and gladness,' but, 'make me to hear it.' How beautiful are all the touches here, beloved! The penitent is conscious there is joy and gladness over the repenting sinner, and so he prays, 'Make me to hear it.' We are reminded of that striking picture drawn for us by our Lord, in the parable of the Prodigal Son, of the rejoicing which took place on the return of the penitent from his wanderings. Also, of the

statement from the lips of the same Divine Person that, There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.' It is this 'joy in the presence of the angels of God' which the Psalmist does in reality pray to be made to hear when he prays, 'make me to hear joy and gladness.' It was as though he had said, O God, I have sinned against Thee, notwithstanding all Thy great kindness, and love, and long-suffering. And yet, even now, if Thou wilt blot out my sin, if Thou wilt purge me and make me clean; then do Thou also make me to hear joy and gladness!' Let me realize fully the blessedness of being restored to my Father's favour, and of having my sin forgiven.

That the bones which Thou hast broken may rejoice :' that I may have at the end of this, Thine ever memorable dealing with me, the sweet, blessed consciousness that my sins and iniquities are truly pardoned and blotted out for

ever.

This brings us to the part of the Psalm which we have read as our subject for to-day. 'Create in me a clean heart, O God.' We are not to regard these expressions as pointing to the new birth, which is the great and wondrous change which comes to a soul, when, by the operation of the Holy Spirit, it is first made to live and see things which it never saw before. That is the change which our Lord spoke of when He said, 'Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.' This great change is not what the Psalmist here alludes to. It is to a subsequent experience; the prayer is that of a renewed and chastened spirit, which for the time has fallen away and would return, Create in me a clean heart, O God.' We may well compare David's language here with the conduct of Saul in the hour of his repentance; when Samuel brought home to him his sin, Saul confesses, I have sinned,' but then adds, 'Yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and

before Israel.' How little did David care for honour' at such a moment! No! his heart's desire was, not that he might be looked up to and honoured, but that he might be renewed in the spirit of his mind,' created anew in Christ Jesus unto good works. He knew how deeply and grievously he had sinned, but that sin, he also knew, was blotted out and forgiven, and his one desire now was for a pure and holy heart, made meet to be the temple of God, a habitation of God through the Spirit,' and so he prays, 'Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.' within me.' The marginal reading here, ‘Renew a constant spirit within me;' He had found that there was no constancy in himself, that he was weakness and feebleness itself; therefore he cries, Renew my spirit from day to day; constantly keep me near, ever near to Thee. Ever leaning on Thy loving hand to strengthen and support me amid the snares and the pitfalls which surround my path. And then in the 11th verse he adds, in the spirit of deepest and truest humility, Cast me not away from Thy presence.' Cast me not away, not from Thy kingdom, not from Thy glory and exaltation and power; not from what men think great and honourable; but, 'Cast me not away from Thy presence.' Ah! beloved, David well knew what that presence was; it was, as he elsewhere expresses it, ‘fulness of joy.' He would say, put me anywhere in glory, far away among the humblest worshippers there, but only let it be in the kingdom. Cast me not away from Thy presence, and take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.'

Beloved friends, let us ask ourselves, Do our hearts and minds go along with David in this choice which he makes at this time of sore trial? See, he does not ask God to spare him, or to spare his child which he lost at this time, his prayer is, 'Take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.' Blessed words these, beloved, coming from such an experience such as David's was at this time. As regards ourselves, let us

remember that if we have not sinned as David, it is by the grace of God, that we have been kept from doing so. Free, unmerited grace, by that alone have we been preserved. Then, see how his desire grows and expands; 'Restore unto me,' he continues, restore unto me'-what? my kingdom? my crown? my dignity? ah no! restore unto me 'the joy of Thy salvation.' Beloved, it is difficult sometimes to realize the joy of God's salvation. In the dark days, the gloomy days, when our sky seems overcast with clouds, and we are tempted to forget that the sun is still shining brightly behind those clouds; oh, how sadly do we come short of realizing the joy of His salvation. Often do we exclaim, 'Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me; when His candle shined upon my head, and when by His light I walked through darkness.' And yet it is well well that sometimes the earthly sun may set, that we may turn with more longing, loving hearts to the great Sun of Righteousness; well, even that the cherished gourd should wither and droop and die, that the affections may be loosened from earth and set upon things above. And then, after such a season of darkness and sorrow, when the light comes back, and the darkness flees away, then do we not feel that it is far better? When that joy is restored to us again, how sweetly and softly it distils into our wounded heart like the sweet healing of the balm of Gilead :

'Long hath the night of sorrow reigned,

The dawn shall bring us peace.'

When the joy of His salvation is ours once more, then we can add as David did, and uphold me with Thy free Spirit.' Mark the expression, Thy free Spirit.' Before it was Take not Thy Holy Spirit from me!' There the Psalmist was praying for a pure and holy heart, and so his prayer was for the Spirit of holiness; here he is seeking for daily upholding by His grace, and he prays for His free Spirit. The wind bloweth where it listeth.' And the Spirit

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is His free Spirit, given in the way that He chooses; not in my way, but in His. It is by His free Spirit that I desire, God helping me, to be His 'faithful soldier and servant, unto my life's end.' Do with me as seemeth good in Thy sight. Father! not my will, but Thine be

done.'

Uphold me with Thy free Spirit.' He is willing to do that, even after we have sinned against and grieved Him. We do not think deeply enough, I am sure, of the love of the Spirit. We dwell much on the love of the Father and of the Son, but we too often overlook the love of the Spirit, and what a love His is. To be constantly with us in our weakness and weariness and shortcomings; dwelling in these vile, miserable, guilty hearts, bearing with us in infinite longsuffering and gentleness; oh, truly this is love!

Once more: Then will I teach transgressors Thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto Thee.' This does not mean that he would go out from thence, and with a loud voice tell sinners of their sins. It was that they would learn from his discipline. They would look on and see in him a monument of God's mercy and long-suffering toward the sinner, and they would learn therefrom, that what they saw in him they themselves might become, and so, by the same Divine grace they would be turned unto the Lord. Oh, may this be so with us, dear brethren! may we shew forth at all times the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvellous light, and so may we shine as lights in a dark place, holding forth the word of life. May we compel men to take knowledge of us that we have been with Jesus, and this until the end come: then, when each sinner, saved by grace, is brought home to the better land above, we shall see Him as He is, and join in the everlasting song of praise, Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever.' Amen.