It's a

 BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

Guest of Honor:  Jesus Christ

Date:  Every day
Traditionally, December 25^th but He's always around, so the date is flexible....

Time:  Whenever you're ready
Please don't be late, though, or you'll miss out on all the fun!

Place:  In your heart.... He'll meet you there
You'll hear Him knock.

Attire:  Come as you are
He'll be washing our clothes anyway. He said something about new white robes and crowns for everyone who stays till the last.

Tickets:  Admission is free
He's already paid for everyone...He says you wouldn't have been able to afford it anyway...it cost Him everything He had. But you do need to accept the ticket!!

Refreshments:  New wine, bread, and a far-out drink He calls "Living Water"
Followed by a supper that promises to be out of this world!

Gift Suggestions:  Your life
He's one of those people who already has everything else. He's very generous in return though. Just wait until you see what He has for you!

Entertainment:  Joy, Peace, Truth, Light, Life, Love, Real Happiness
Communion with God, Forgiveness, Miracles, Healing, Power, Eternity in Paradise, Contentment, and much more! All "G" rated, so bring your family and friends.

Please R.S.V.P.

He must know ahead so He can reserve a spot for you at the table. Also, He's keeping a list of His friends for future reference. He calls it the "Lamb's Book of Life."

Party being given by:  His Kids (that's us!!)!

Hope to see you there! 

Gabriel's Most Sensitive Mission

As the tall, stately angel rose and walked toward the front of the chapel, there was a buzz among the cadets. Gabriel was a living legend. He cleared his throat.

I've been asked to speak to you today about what I've learned throughout my career. Foremost is this: we are servants of the Most High God. This lesson I learned not during my days here at the academy, but from a human being, a girl.

I had been summoned before God to be briefed on a new mission. He told me:

"Gabriel, you have a most delicate assignment. I am sending my Son to redeem the earth. To do this he must become a human himself. Your mission is to announce this plan to the young woman I have chosen to be his mother.

"Her name is Mary. She lives in the village of Nazareth in Galilee. She is betrothed to be married. That means that she is already considered a wife, though she is living at home until the final ceremonies a few months from now. And Gabriel ... she is a virgin."

He went on to describe my role and brief me on the various contingencies, concluding with these words. "Gabriel, by all means, be gentle."

I arrived one spring morning as Mary was climbing the path from the well and came to where I was sitting on a large boulder.

She's only a child, I thought when I first saw her — only twelve or thirteen. Betrothed at that age? But such were the customs of that place and I was assured that the Father knows what he is doing. As she approached, I stood, dressed as I always dress — long white robe, golden sash, and so forth.

"Greetings, Mary," I began.

She gasped.

"Hail, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you!"

All the color drained from her face. I motioned for her to sit. She carefully removed the full water jug from her head, set it down, then eased herself onto the far end of the rock.

"Don't be afraid, Mary," I said. "You have found favor with God." I waited a moment for her to calm down.

"You will conceive in your womb and bear a son. You are to name him Jesus." She appeared stunned by these words, but I continued.

"Your son will become a great man. He will be called the Son of the Most High God. What's more, the Lord God will give him the throne of David his ancestor. And he will reign as Messiah over Israel forever. Of his kingdom and reign there will be no end!"

I paused. The message shocked me; I couldn't imagine the impact it must have had on her! She was quiet for a time. Then she asked in her young teenager voice:

"How will this happen, since I am not yet married?"

I answered:

"The Holy Spirit will come to you,
The Power of the Most High will overshadow you,
Therefore your son to be born will be holy,
He will be called 'Son of God.'"

Amazing! The Father was prepared to rest his entire Christ-enterprise on this young girl — her response, her whim, her decision. She was to be the mother of God's own Son — so young. I continued to reassure her.

"And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has conceived a son."

Mary murmured, "Old Elizabeth? Really? Oh!" I could see just a glimmer of a twinkle return to her eyes.

"Yes, they called her 'barren,' but she's already six months pregnant."

Mary was almost grinning for a moment. Then I saw her smile fade. I couldn't read her thoughts, but could only imagine what she must be thinking.

How could she ever explain this to anyone? Who would understand? Who would ever believe her? Her father would be furious, her mother deeply hurt. And Joseph? There would be no wedding. Her dreams of marriage and family vanished in an instant. And the town fathers? Would they try to stone her?

I had been given one sentence by the Father with which to respond: "Nothing will be impossible with God," I said. "Nothing!"

She was quiet a moment longer, lost in her thoughts. Then she looked up at me with clear eyes and said intently: "Here I am. I am the Lord's servant, his handmaid. Let what you have said come to pass."

She stood up. As she began to lift the heavy water jug to her shoulder and then hoist it up to her head, I reached to help, but she shook her head and lifted it up herself. As she made her way up the path to the village, her steps were assured, almost a spring to them. At the top of the hill she steadied the jar with one hand and waved to me with the other. Then she was lost from view.

And that is how I met Mary. She taught me what it means to be a servant when it's hard to obey, when there seems to be no hope except God's promise. Mary took the words, "For nothing will be impossible with God," and believed them. Whenever I struggle with obedience, I think of this young girl who began a servant's journey with the words:

"I am the servant, the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be! Let it come! I am His servant."

The tall angel touched the corner of his eye for a moment, then stepped down and took his seat. Gabriel had learned servant-hood from an even greater servant than himself — a young virgin from Nazareth named Mary.

by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
www.joyfulheart.com

THE CHRISTMAS STORM

This is about a modern man, one of us, he was not a scrooge, he was a kind, decent, mostly good man, generous to his family, upright in his dealings with others. But he did not believe in all that incarnation stuff that the Churches proclaim at Christmas time. It just didn't make sense to him and he was too honest to pretend otherwise. He just could not swallow the Jesus story about God coming to earth as man. I’m truly sorry to distress you, he told his wife, but I’m not going with you to church this Christmas Eve. He said he’d feel like a hypocrite. That he would much rather stay home, but that he would wait up for them. He stayed, they went. 

Shortly after the family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. He went to the window to watch the flurries getting heavier and heavier, then went back to his fireside chair and began to read his newspaper. Minutes later he was startled by a thudding sound. Then another and another. 

At first he thought someone must be throwing snowballs against his living room window. Well, when he went to the front door, he found a flock of birds huddled miserably in the snow. They had been caught in the storm and in a desperate search for shelter they had tried to fly through his large landscape window. Well, he couldn't let the poor creatures lie there and freeze. He remembered the barn where his children stabled their pony. That would provide a warm shelter -- if he could direct the birds to it. He quickly put on his coat and galoshes, trampled through the deepening snow to the barn, opened the door wide, and turned on a light. 

But the birds did not come in. He figured food would entice them in and he hurried back to the house, fetched bread crumbs, sprinkled them on the snow making a trail to the yellow lighted wide open doorway of the stable, but to his dismay the birds ignored the bread crumbs, and continued to flap around helplessly in the snow. He tried catching them, he tried shooing them into the barn by walking around them waving his arms -- instead they scattered in every direction except into the warm lighted barn. 

Then he realized they were afraid of him. To them, he reasoned, I am a strange and terrifying creature, if only I could think of some way to let them know they can trust me. That I’m not trying to hurt them, but to help them. How? Any move he made tended to frighten them, confuse them. They just would not follow. They would not be led or shooed because they feared him. If only be a bird myself he thought. If only I could be a bird and mingle with them and speak their language, and tell them not to be afraid, and show them the way to the safe, warm barn. But I'd have to be one of them, so they could see and hear and understand. 


At that moment the church bells began to ring. The sound reached his ears above the sound of the wind. 

He stood there listening to the bells. Listening to the bells pealing the glad tidings of Christmas.

And he sank to his knees in the snow.  

A Modern Parable by Paul Harvey 

Behold the Fowls Of the Air

The last four days here in Oklahoma has been brutally cold with freezing rain and snow. I, personally, haven't even been out of the house during these days as I extremely dislike driving or riding on slick roads.

 I stocked up on groceries as we were warned of this impending storm like most everyone else did. My husband, Paul, made sure we had plenty of firewood to help keep us warm as the temperatures dipped into the single digits. And he, also, made sure that there was bird feed in our feeders.

For the first couple of days, there was no birds in sight. I don't know where they go or what they do to stay warm in such low temperatures for an extended time. Then, yesterday, (even though it was still well below freezing temperatures) I actually heard them before I saw them. They were chirping like they do on those beautiful spring mornings. I looked out of my home-office window and this is what I saw . . . . 

Matthew 6:26

Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

Look What Has Come!

In his 1942 devotional Abundant Living, E. Stanley Jones, Methodist doctor and missionary to India, writes:




The early Christians did not say in dismay: "Look what the world has come to," but in delight, "Look what has come to the world."

They saw not merely the ruin, but the Resource for the reconstruction of that ruin.

They saw not merely that sin did abound, but that grace did much more abound.

On that assurance the pivot of history swung from blank despair, loss of moral nerve, and fatalism, to faith and confidence that at last sin had met its match.

YOU . . . yes, You!

I have this verse on my iPhone Reminder List with an alarm set to read it each morning as a sure and precious promise from the Lord to me. . .  as it is to you,too!

Each new day is a blessing! 
Dorothy 

* * hisfavoritedaughters.com is my blog of thoughts,
encouragement and instructions
the Lord speaks about to me.
It is simply my therapy to write down these things
 as I walk my journey out with Him. 

*  *  *  *  *

Isaiah 41:9-16

You whom I the Lord have taken from the ends of the earth and have called from the corners of it, and said to you, You are my servant - I had chosen you and not cast you off even though you were exiled.

Fear not - there is nothing to fear, for I am with you; do not look around you in terror and be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen and harden you to difficulties, yes, I will help you; yes, I will hold you up and retain you with my victorious right hand of rightness and justice.

Behold, all they who are enraged and inflamed against you shall be put to shame and confounded; they who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish.

You shall seek those who contend with you but shall not find them; they who war against you shall be as nothing, as nothing at all.

For I the Lord your God hold your right hand; I am the Lord, Who says to you, Fear not I will help you!

Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I will help you, says the Lord; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

Behold, I will make you to be a new, sharp, threshing instrument which has teeth; you shall thresh the mountains and beat them small, and shall make the hills like chaff.

You shall winnow them, in the wind shall carry them away, and the tempest or whirlwind shall scatter them. And you shall rejoice in the Lord, you shall glory in the Holy One of Israel.

How to Move Your Mountains!

I believe the teaching below regarding Mark 11:23-25 has applied the right interpretation of MOVING OUR MOUNTAINS.  i.e.; in order for us to speak to OUR 'mountains' and they be removed so that we can go forward - Mk. 11:23-24, we're to act upon the next verse - Mk. 11:25  that tells us to forgive anyone we have anything against  so that we can be forgiven by our Father. * Please note that it doesn't say 'if anyone has anything against you - it says 'if you have anything against anyone'. Don't allow Satan to drag misplaced guilt into this confession!! Here's the chorus of an old hymn we used to sing: Nothing between my soul and my Savior,  So that his blessed face may be seen;  Nothing preventing the least of His favor;  Keep the way clear! let nothing between.  I'm doing a 'soul search' myself as I want the mountains that I have in my life removed . . .  and cast into the sea!! Each new day is a blessing! Dorothy *********************** If you've been around faith teaching at all, you know what Jesus said in Mark 11:23-25 . . . and you know it well. You've read it many times. You've heard sermons about it. You may even be able to quote by heart Jesus’ earthshaking, mountain-moving words: “Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you,That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” Those powerful words are foundational to the life of faith. But many believers forget that those verses do not stand alone. Mark 11 doesn't begin with verse 22 and end with verse 24. All too often, we read verses 22 through 24 as if Jesus just rattled them off out of the blue. But that’s not what happened. He set an example that, if we’ll pay proper attention to it, will enable us to get the same results with our faith that He got with His. If we back up a few verses, we find those events began with Jesus’ celebrated entrance into Jerusalem. Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve. And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry: And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it. And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money changers, and the seats of them that sold doves; and would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves (Mark 11:11-17). Notice that Jesus didn't do or say anything to the fig tree or to the money-changers in the temple the first day He went there. He simply made the trip, saw what was going on and walked away. Jesus must have gotten angry when He saw the Babylonian system of corrupt commerce operating in the house of God! He must have been grieved to see merchants selling sacrifices and other necessities at inflated prices, gouging worshipers who, because they had to travel many miles to get to Jerusalem, had no way to bring what they needed. It was a shameful scene. But instead of reacting to it, Jesus just looked around, walked out and went back to Bethany. Why? Jesus said, “I only do what I see My Father do, and I only say what I hear My Father say.” (See John 5:19, 12:50.) The Father didn't do or say anything, so neither did Jesus. Therefore, He needed time to pray. He had to find out what God wanted Him to do. So He spent the night getting direction and His Father’s wisdom about the situation. He had to receive it the same way you and I do. He had to go to the Word of God which says that wisdom is the principal thing (Proverbs 4:7) and believe for it. Then, once He knew what He was supposed to do, He headed back to the Temple to clean house. Vital Information For those of us who desire to operate in faith like Jesus did, it’s important for us to realize Jesus had to pray and receive the wisdom of God before He operated in faith. And if He had to do that, so do we. We can’t just jump up with no preparation and start commanding mountains to be removed and get results. We can’t just pile up the problems that have been dogging us and, without praying and seeking God’s counsel, blast the whole mess out of our lives at once. Why not? For one thing, they’re not all the same mountain. More often than not, we’re facing an entire mountain range that has been built up over a period of years through fear and unbelief. That range may include a mountain of debt, a mountain of sickness, a mountain of depression and other devilish things. Each of those things must be dealt with individually. When you’re facing a mountain range, it doesn't work to just shoot scattershot faith at the whole mess because each of those mountains has a root. There’s a reason it’s there. Satan will do his best to hide those roots from you, but if you’re determined to remove that mountain so it never rises again, you must find out what caused it. Press in to the Lord in prayer and in the Word and say, “Lord, open the eyes of my understanding where this is concerned. Give me Your wisdom.” If you’ll pray that prayer in faith without wavering, James 1:5 says God will give you His wisdom liberally without upbraiding. That means even if you built that entire mountain with your own unbelieving words and disobedient actions, even if its existence is totally your own doing, it won’t stop God from giving you His wisdom about it. He’ll deal with you in grace, and great mercy. So as soon as you ask, you can start rejoicing and say, “The wisdom of God is mine! He is revealing to me what I need to know to cast this mountain into the sea!” Don’t Try to Shout It Down Since the Word of God is the wisdom of God, the primary way the Lord will show you what you need to know is through the Scriptures. He’ll reveal to you in the Bible the things in your life that need to be changed. By His Spirit, He’ll lead you to specific verses and passages that apply to your situation. When He does, you’ll get excited about it. You’ll get stirred up, and that’s good. But don’t confuse that initial enthusiasm with faith. Don’t just fly off the handle and start shouting scriptures at the mountain as if by sheer volume and repetition you can make them come to pass. Mountains aren't impressed by how many times you can holler Bible verses at them. They cannot be blown away by your much speaking. That’s not the way the command of faith works. Jesus spoke to the fig tree just once and it withered away within 24 hours, because when He spoke to it, He believed what He said would come to pass. Speak to the mountains in your life when you know you can do it with unwavering faith. Take time to meditate on the Word God has quickened to you. Settle in your heart what He has said about the situation. Fellowship with the Lord over the Scriptures and strengthen your spirit and your mind with them. That’s what Jesus did the night before He cursed the fig tree and drove the money changers out of the temple. He spent the night in the Word and in fellowship with His Father, getting God’s wisdom and strengthening His spirit. As a result, the next day He was ready to operate in faith. Reprogram Your Mind Sometimes it will take us longer than it took Jesus to reach that place of faith. We may have to spend days (or weeks or months) meditating and feeding on the Word before we’re ready to speak to the mountain—especially if that mountain is a major issue in our life. Unlike Jesus, you and I are still in the process of renewing our minds to God’s Word. We still have some carnal thoughts and ideas programmed into our brains. We must deal with those worldly thought patterns to keep them from blocking the operation of our faith, and we do that by purposely taking God’s thoughts and reprogramming our minds with them. We do it by following the instructions in Isaiah 55, where God said: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it (verses 7-11). According to Jesus, we take thoughts not just by thinking them but by saying them (Matthew 6:31). God’s thoughts are expressed in His Word, so we take His thoughts by putting His faith-generating Word into our mouths, feeding it back into our spirits, then bringing it back out of our mouths again. That’s the process we use to renew our minds. We choose the Word then decide to think it. We think the Word, then say it. Think it, then say it. Think it, then say it...until eventually we’re speaking that Word without even thinking about it. When that happens, the Word is in our hearts in abundance (Luke 6:45) and we’re ready to speak to the mountain. We’re ready to say, “Be removed and cast into the sea!” Out of Sight and Gone! “Brother Copeland, why do I have to command the mountain to be cast into the sea? That doesn't make sense to me.” It doesn't matter whether it makes sense to you or not. It’s not supposed to make sense—it makes faith. You’re using God’s faith and following Jesus’ example. Those are the words He used, and when you use His words, He backs them with His own power. Jesus knew that if, instead of commanding the mountain to be cast into the sea, you just moved it to the other side of the road or someplace else, you’d still have a mountain. It would still be around to get in your way. You’d still end up looking at that debt, disease, weakness or family problem. That mountain would still be somewhere talking to you saying, “Yeah, I’m still here. Me and the credit-card bills, we’re still here.” When you cast it into the sea, however, it sinks out of sight and is gone. There’s no evidence it ever existed! So follow Jesus’ instructions exactly and command the mountain to be cast into the sea. Once you've done it, obey the rest of the command: Do not doubt in your heart but believe that those things you say will come to pass. The word doubt is the root word for double. So doubt is double-mindedness. It comes from looking at God’s Word one minute, and looking back at the circumstances the next—believing one then the other. Don’t do that. Set your faith on God’s Word and refuse to let the devil talk you out of it. Consider It Done Now, here’s where many faith people stop. They act as if the last thing Jesus said about the prayer of faith and speaking to the mountain was “...believe that ye receive...and ye shall have.” But it’s not. In the very same breath, He went on to say, “And when ye stand praying, forgive...” (Mark 11:25). Because faith works by love, if we don’t obey the command to forgive, verses 22 through 24 won’t work for us. So, before we finish the prayer of faith we must forgive (not two months later after we've worked through our emotions, but immediately, while we stand praying). We must do it on purpose as an act of our will, not because we feel like it but because Jesus told us to do it. We don’t need any other reason than that. Then immediately receive your own forgiveness which is included in verse 25. If you have unforgiveness in your life, deal with it! Call it what it is. Don’t tell the Lord you have a problem with some hurt feelings. Acknowledge it as the sin of unforgiveness. Then go to 1 John 1:9, confess it, repent of it, spew it out of your life and get rid of it. According to the Scripture, when we do that, God is “faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” “Yeah, but I still feel bad about it.” Forget your feelings and believe the Word. God would have to be unfaithful and unrighteous not to forgive you when He said in His Word that He would, so just receive His forgiveness by faith. Thank Him for cleansing you, then write down the name of the person you've forgiven. Write, “I've forgiven So-and-So in the Name of Jesus and I’ll never pick up that offense again. I find no fault in that person. I roll all the care of anything he has done to me over on Jesus, knowing He’ll take care of me.” Then sign and date it. That will help you later when you see that person and start to think about the offensive, hurtful thing he said or did. You’ll remember what you wrote down and your interaction with God about it, that you truly did forgive that person as an act of your will, and what you’re dealing with now are just fleshly feelings. “But I don’t understand why, if I've really forgiven, I still have those ugly feelings.” It’s because your flesh has been trained to have that negative emotional reaction. What you must do now is retrain it. When that old hurt reaches up and grabs at your soul, instead of yielding to it, act by faith on your forgiveness. Then you can go on about your business without it affecting your faith. You can step out with boldness on Mark 11:22-24, say to the mountain that’s been standing in your way, “Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea,” and that mountain will respond to you just like it would to Jesus. . . . .  . It will obey.

Zech. 4:7 "Who are you? O great mountain."

Mk. 11:23 "Whoever says to the mountain, BE LIFTED UP AND THROWN INTO THE SEA - and does not doubt at all in his heart but believes that what he says will take place- it WILL BE DONE FOR HIM. "

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Listen to the song: Speak to the Mountain 

Speak to the Mountain 

From strength to strength we sometimes go 

Then again we're sinking low 

In the shadow of a mountain 

Looming high above our head 

We need not fear what lies ahead 

For the word has clearly said 

That our faith would be sufficient 

To make the mountain disappear

(CHORUS)

Speak to the mountain 

You'll not triumph over me 

Be thou removed from here to yonder 

Disappear into the sea 

Speak to the mountain 

Speak with authority 

And the mountain must move 

And you will claim victory 

In the midst of the battle 

When the foe is gaining ground 

Just look up and see 

The mighty hand of God reaching down 

Speak God's name and satan trembles 

Speak God's word and watch him flee 

Once again our God delivers 

The mountain crumbles at our feet.

 

☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀☀

Each new day is a blessing!

Dorothy

Wave This In the Face of Satan!

“It is written.” Stand upon it, and if the devil were fifty devils in one, he could not overcome you.

On the other hand, if you leave “It is written,” Satan knows more about reasoning than you do.

He is far older, has studied mankind very thoroughly, and knows all our weak points. Therefore, the contest will be an unequal one.  

Do not argue with him . . . . but wave in his face the banner of God’s Word. 

Satan cannot endure the infallible truth, for it is death to the falsehood of which he is the father.

from: C.H. Spurgeon
Spiritual Warfare in a Believer’s Life, Sermon Matthew 4:4

********************************

Satan was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a falsehood, he speaks what is natural to him, for he is a liar [himself] and the father of lies and of all that is false. (John 8:44)

Mr. Fearing . . . Comforted

AMAZING . . Truths from God's Word never get outdated!  Although this sermon was preached in 1859, it is STILL relevant today! Trust me . . .  be patient as you read!  It's well worth the read (even with the Old English verbiage)!  I started reading this outloud to my husband, Paul, and the longer we continued to read this message, the more we were overcome with how much our Savior and Lord loves and cares for us.  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *   Mr. Fearing Comforted Delivered on Sabbath Morning, April 3rd, 1859, by the REV. C. H. Spurgeon at the Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens. "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?"—Matthew 14:31. IT SEEMS AS if doubt were doomed to be the perpetual companion of faith. As dust attends the chariot wheels so do doubts naturally becloud faith. Some men of little faith are perpetually enshrouded with fears; their faith seems only strong enough to enable them to doubt. If they had no faith at all, then they would not doubt, but having that little, and but so little, they are perpetually involved in distressing surmises, suspicions, and fears. Others, who have attained to great strength and stability of faith, are nevertheless, at times, subjects of doubt. He who has a colossal faith will sometimes find that the clouds of fear float over the brow of his confidence. It is not possible, I suppose, so long as man is in this world, that he should be perfect in anything; and surely it seems to be quite impossible that he should be perfect in faith. Sometimes, indeed, the Lord purposely leaves his children, withdraws the divine inflowing of his grace, and permits them to begin to sink, in order that they may understand that faith is not their own work, but is at first the gift of God, and must always be maintained and kept alive in the heart by the fresh influence of the Holy Spirit. I take it that Peter was a man of great faith. When others doubted, Peter believed. He boldly avowed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God, for which faith he received the Master's commendation, "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." He was of faith so strong, that at Christ's command he could tread the billow and find it like glass beneath his feet, yet even he was permitted in this thing to fall. Faith forsook him, he looked at the winds and the waves, and began to sink, and the Lord said to him, "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" As much as to say, "O Peter, thy great faith is my gift, and the greatness of it is my work. Think not that thou art the author of thine own faith; I will leave thee, and this great faith of thine shall speedily disappear, and like another who hath no faith, thou shalt believe the winds, and regard the waves, but shalt distrust thy Master's power, and therefore shalt thou sink." I think I shall be quite safe in concluding this morning, that there are some here who are full of doubting and fearing. Sure I am that all true Christians have their times of anxious questioning. The heart that hath never doubted has not yet learned to believe. As the farmers say, "The land that will not grow a thistle, will not grow wheat;" and the heart that cannot produce a doubt has not yet understood the meaning of believing. He that never doubted of his state—he may, perhaps he may, too late. Yes, there may be timid ones here, those who are always of little faith, and there may be also great hearts, those who are valiant for truth, who are now enduring seasons of despondency and hours of darkness of heart. Now in endeavoring to comfort you this morning, I would remark that the text goes upon a very wise principle. If a man believes in anything it is always proper to put to him the question, "Why do you believe? What evidence have you that what you believe is certainly correct?" We believe on evidence. Now the most foolish part of many men's doubts, is, that they do not doubt on evidence. If you should put to them the question, "Why do you doubt?"—they would not be able fairly to answer. Yet mark, if men's doubts be painful, the wisest way to remove them is by simply seeing whether they have a firm basis. "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" If you believe a thing you want evidence, and before you doubt a thing you ought to have evidence too. To believe without evidence is to be credulous, and to doubt without evidence is to be foolish. We should have ground for our doubts as well as a basis for our faith. The text, therefore, goes on a most excellent principle, and it deals with all doubting minds by asking them this question, "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" I shall endeavor to exhort you on the same plan this morning. I shall divide only sermon into two parts. First, I shall address myself to those of you who are in great trouble with regard to temporal circumstances, you are God's people, but you are sorely tried, and you have begun to doubt. I shall then deal with you upon spiritual matters—there are some here who are God's true, quickened, and living people, but they are doubting—to them also I shall put the same question, "O thou of little faith, wherefore dost thou doubt?" I. First, then, in TEMPORAL CIRCUMSTANCES, God has not made for his people a smooth path to heaven. Before they are crowned they must fight; before they can enter the celestial city they must fulfill a weary pilgrimage. Religion helps us in trouble, but it does not suffer us to escape from it. It is through much tribulation that we inherit the kingdom. Now the Christian when he is full of faith passes through affliction with a song in his mouth; he would enter the fiery furnace itself, fearless of the devouring flame, or with Jonah he would descend into the great deeps, unalarmed at the hungry sea. As long as faith maintains its hold, fear is a stranger; but at times, during sundry great and sore troubles, the Christian begins to fear that surely at last he shall be overcome, and shall be left to himself to die and perish in despair. Now, what is the reason why you doubt? I must come to the plan of the text and put the great question, "O thou of little faith, wherefore dost thou doubt?" Here it will be proper for us to enquire: Why did Simon Peter doubt? He doubted for two reasons. First, because he looked too much to second causes and secondly, because be looked too little at the first cause. The answer will suit you also, my trembling brother. This is the reason why you doubt, because you are looking too much to the things that are seen, and too little to your unseen Friend who is behind your troubles and who shall come forth for your deliverance. See poor Peter in the ship—his Master bids him come; in a moment he casts himself into the sea, and to his own surprise he finds himself walking the billows. He looks down, and actually it is the fact; his foot is upon a crested wave, and yet he stands erect; he treads again, and yet his footing is secure. "Oh!" thinks Peter, "this is marvelous." He begins to wonder within his spirit what manner of man he must be who has enabled him thus to tread the treacherous deep; but just then, there comes howling across the sea a terrible blast of wind; it whistles in the ear of Peter, and he says within himself, "Ah! here comes an enormous billow driven forward by the blast now, surely, I must, I shall be overwhelmed." No sooner does the thought enter his heart than down he goes; and the waves begin to enclose him. So long as he shut his eye to the billow, and to the blast, and kept it only open to the Lord who stood there before him, he did not sink; but the moment he shut his eye on Christ, and looked at the stormy wind and treacherous deep, down he went. He might have traversed the leagues of the Atlantic, he might have crossed the broad Pacific, if he could but have kept his eye on Christ, and ne'er a billow would have yielded to his tread, but he might have been drowned in a very brook if he began to look at second causes, and to forget the Great Head and Master of the Universe who had bidden him walk the sea. I say, the very reason of Peter's doubt was, that he looked at second causes and not at the first cause. Now, that is the reason why you doubt. Let me just probe you now for a while. You are in despondency about temporal affairs: what is the reason why you are in trouble? "Because," say you, "I never was in such a condition before in my life. Wave upon wave of trouble comes upon me. I have lost one friend and then another. It seems as if business had altogether run away from me. Once I had a flood-tide, and now it is an ebb, and my poor ship grates upon the gravel, and I find she has not water enough to float her—what will become of me? And, oh! sir, my enemies have conspired against me in every way to cut me up and destroy me; opposition upon opposition threatens me. My shop must be closed; bankruptcy stares me in the face, and I know not what is to become of me." Or else your troubles take another shape, and you feel that you are called to some eminently arduous service for your Lord, and your strength is utterly insignificant compared with the labor before you. If you had great faith it would be as much as you could do to accomplish it; but with your poor little faith you are completely beaten. You cannot see how you can accomplish the matter at all. Now, what is all this but simply looking at second causes? You are looking at your trouble, not at the God who sent your trouble; you are looking at yourselves, not at the God who dwells within you, and who has promised to sustain you. O soul! it were enough to make the mightiest heart doubt, if it should look only at things that are seen. He that is nearest to the kingdom of heaven would have cause to droop and die if he had nothing to look at but that which eye can see and ear can ear. What wonder then if thou art disconsolate, when thou hast begun to look at the things which always must be enemies to faith? But I would remind you that you have forgotten to look to Christ since you have been in this trouble. Let me ask you, have you not thought less of Christ than you ever did? I will not suppose that you have neglected prayer, or have left your Bible unread; but still, have you had any of those sweet thoughts of Christ which once you had? Have you been able to take all your troubles to him and say—"Lord, thou knowest all things; I trust all in thy hands?" Let me ask you, have you considered that Christ is omnipotent, and therefore able to deliver you; that he is faithful, and must deliver you, because he has promised to do so? Have you not kept your eye on his rod, and not on his hand? Have you not looked rather to the crook that smote you, than to the heart that moved that crook? Oh, recollect that you can never find joy and peace while you are looking at the things that are seen, the second causes of your trouble; your only hope, your only refuge and joy must be to look to him who dwells within the veil. Peter sunk when he looked to outward providences, so must you. He would never have ceased to walk the wave, never would he have begun to sink, if he had looked alone to Christ, nor will you if you will look alone to him. And here let me now begin to argue with such of you as are the people of God, who are in sore trouble lest Christ should leave you to sink. Let me forbid your fears by a few words of consolation. You are now in Peter's condition; you are like Peter; you are Christ's servant. Christ is a good master. You have never heard that he suffered one of his servants to be drowned when going on his errands. Will he not take care of his own? Shall it be said at last that one of Christ's disciples perished while he was in obedience to Christ. I say he were a bad master if he should send you on an errand that would involve your destruction. Peter, when he was in the water, was where his master had called him to be, and vou in your trouble now, are not only Christ's servant, but you are where Christ has chosen to put you. Your afflictions, remember, come neither from the east nor from the west, neither doth your trouble grow out of the ground. All your suffering is sent upon you by your God. The medicine which you now drink is compounded in heaven. Every grain of this bitterness which now fills your mouth was measured by the heavenly physician. There is not an ounce more trouble in your cup, than God chose to put there. Your burden was weighed by God before you were called to bear it. The Lord who gave you the mercy has taken it away; the same God who has blessed you with joy is he that hath now ploughed you with grief. You are where God put you. Ask yourself this question then:—Can it be possible that Christ would put his own servant into a perilous condition and then leave him there? I have heard of fiend, in fables, tempting men into the sea to drown them; but is Christ a temptress? Will he entice his people on to the rocks? Will he tempt them into a place where he shall destroy them? God forbid. If Christ calls thee into the fire, he will bring thee out of it; and if he bids thee walk the sea, he will enable thee to tread it in safety. Doubt not, soul; if thou hadst come there of thyself, then thou mightiest fear, but since Christ put thee there, he will bring thee out again. Let this be the pillar of thy confidence—thou art his servant, he wilt not leave thee; thou art where he put thee, he cannot suffer thee to perish. Look away, then, from the trouble that surrounds thee, to thy Master, and to his hand that hath planned all these things. Remember too, who it is that hath thee where thou art. It is no harsh tyrant who has led thee into trouble. It is no austere unloving heart who hath bidden thee pass through this difficulty to gratify a capricious whim. Ah, no, he who troubles thee is Christ. Remember his bleeding hand; and canst thou think that the hand which dropped with gore can ever hang down when it should be stretched for thy deliverance? Think of the eye that wept over thee on the cross; and can the eye that wept for thee be blind when thou art in grief? Think of the heart that was opened for thee; and shall the heart that did bleed its life away to rescue thee from death, be hard and stolid when thou art overwhelmed in sorrow? It is Christ that stands on yonder billow in the midst of the tempest with thee. He is suffering as well as thou art. Peter is not the only one walking on the sea; his master is there with him too. And so is Jesus with thee to-day, with thee in thy troubles, suffering with thee as he suffered for thee. Shall he leave thee, he that bought thee, he who is married to thee, he that hath led thee thus far, hath succored thee hitherto he who loves thee better than he loves himself, shall he forsake thee? O turn thine eyes from the rough billow, listen no longer to the howling tempest, turn thine eyes to him thy loving Lord, thy faithful friend, and fix thy trust on him, who even now in the midst of the tempest, cries, "It is I, be not afraid." One other reflection will I offer to such of you as are now in sore trouble on account of temporal matters, and it is this—Christ has helped you hitherto. Should not this console you? Ah, Peter, why couldest thou fear that thou shouldest sink? It was miracle enough that thou didst not sink at first. What power is it that hath held thee up till now? Certainly not thine own. Thou hadst fallen at once to the bottom of the sea, O man, if God had not been thy helper; if Jesus had not made thee buoyant, Peter, thou wouldest soon have been a floating carcass. He who helped thee then to walk so long as thou couldest walk, surely he is able to help thee all the way until he shall grasp thy hand in Paradise to glorify thee with himself. Let any Christian look back to his past life, and he will be astonished that he is what he is and where he is. The whole Christian life is a series of miracles, wonders linked into wonders, in one perpetual chain. Marvel, believer, that thou hast been upheld till now; and cannot he that hath kept thee to this day preserve thee to the end? What is yon roaring wave that threatens to overwhelm thee—what is it? why thou hast endured greater waves than these in the past. What is yon howling blast? Why, he has saved thee when the wind was howling worse than that. He that helped thee in six troubles will not forsake thee in this. He who hath delivered thee out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, he will not, he cannot forsake thee now. In all this, I have labored to turn your eyes from what you are seeing to that which you cannot see, but in which you must believe. Oh! if I might but be successful, though feeble my words, yet mighty should be the consolation which should flow there from. A minister of Christ, who was always in the habit of visiting those whom he knew to be eminent for piety, in order that he might learn from them, called upon an aged Christian who had been distinguished for his holiness. To his great surprise, however, when he sat down by his bedside, the erred man said, "Ah! I have lost my way. I did think at one time that I was a child of God, now I find that I have been a stumbling-block to others; for these forty years I have deceived the church and deceived myself, and now I discover that I am a lost soul." The minister very wisely said to him, "Ah! then I suppose you like the song of the drunkard and you are very fond of the amusements of the world and delight in profanity and sin?" "Ah! no," said he, "I cannot bear them, I could not endure to sin against God." "O then," said the minister, "then it is not at all likely that God will lock you up in hell with men that you cannot bear here. If now you hate sin, depend on it God will not shut you up forever with sinners. But, my brother," said the minister "tell me what has brought you into such a distressed state of mind?" "O sir, "said he, "it was looking away from the God of providence, to myself I had managed to save about one hundred pounds, and I have been lying here ill now this last six months, and I was thinking that my one hundred pounds would soon be spent, and then what should I do. I think I shall have to go to the workhouse, I have no friend to take care of me, and I have been thinking about that one hundred pounds of mine. I knew it would soon be gone, and then, then, how could the Lord provide for me. I never had either doubt or fear till I began to think about temporal matters. The time was when I could leave all that with God. If I had not had one hundred pounds, I should have felt quite sure he would provide for me; but I begin to think now that I cannot provide for myself. The moment I think of that, my heart is darkened." The minister then led him away from all trust in an arm of flesh, and told him his dependence for bread and water was not on his one hundred pounds, but on the God who is the possessor of heaven and earth—that as for his bread being given him and his water being sure God would take care of that, for in so doing he would only be fulfilling his promise. The poor man was enabled in the matter of providence to cast himself entirely upon God, and then his doubts and fears subsided, and once more he began to walk the sea of trouble, and did not sink. O believer, if thou takest thy business into thine own hands, thou wilt soon be in trouble. The old Puritan said, "He that carves for himself will soon cut his fingers," and I believe it. There never was a man who began to take his own matters out of God's hand that was not glad enough to take them back again. He that runs before the cloud runs a fool's errand. If we leave all our matters, temporal as well as spiritual, in the hand of God, we shall lack no good thing, and what is better still, we shall have no care, no trouble, no thought; we shall cast all our burden upon him for he careth for us. There is no need for two to care, for God to care and the creature too. If the Creator cares for us, then the creature may sing all day long with joy and gladness:— "Mortals cease from toil and sorrow, God provideth for the morrow." II. But now, in the second part of the discourse, I have to speak of SPIRITIUAL THINGS. To the Christian, these are the causes of more trouble than all his temporal trials. In the matters of the soul and of eternity many doubts will arise. I shall, however, divide them into two sorts—doubts of our present acceptance, and doubts of our final perseverance. Many there are of God's people who are much vexed and troubled with doubts about their present acceptance. "Oh," say they "there was a time when I knew I was a child of God; I was sure that I was Christ's, my heart would fly up to heaven at a word; I looked to Christ hanging on the cross, I fixed all my trust on him, and a sweet, calm, and blessed repose filled my spirit. "What peaceful hours I then enjoyed; How sweet their memory still! But they have left an aching void, The world can never fill.' And now," saith this doubting one, "now I am afraid I never knew the Lord; I think that I have deceived myself, and that I have been a hypocrite. Oh that I could but know that I am Christ's, I would give all I had in the world, if he would but let me know that he is my beloved, and that I am his." Now, soul, I will deal with thee as I have been just now treating of Peter. Thy doubts arise from looking to second causes, and not to Christ. Let us see if this is not the truth. Why do you doubt? Your answer is, "I doubt, because I feel my sin so much. Oh, what sins have I committed! When first I came to Christ I thought I was the chief of sinners; but now I know I am. Day after day I have added to my guilt; and since my pretended conversion," says this doubting one, "I have been a bigger sinner than ever I was before. I have sinned against light and against knowledge, against grace, and mercy, and favor. O never was there such a sinner under God's heaven out of hell as I am." But, soul, is not this looking to second causes? It is true, thou art the chief of sinners; take that for granted, let us not dispute it. Thy sins are as evil as thou sayest they are, and a great deal more so. Depend on it, thou art worse than thou thinkest thyself to be. Thou thinkest thou art bad enough, but thou art not so bad in thine own estimation as thou really art. Thy sins seem to thee to be like roaring billows, but in God's sight they are like towering mountains without summit. Thou seemest to thyself to be black—black as the tents of Kedar; in God's eyes thou art blacker still. Set that down, to begin with, that the waves are big, and that the winds are howling, I will not dispute that. I ask thee, what hast thou to do with that? Does not the Word of God command thee to look to Christ. Great as thy sins are, Christ is greater than they all. They are black; but his blood can wash thee whiter than snow. I know thy sins deserve damnation; but Christ's merits deserve salvation. It is true, the pit of hell is thy lawful portion, but heaven itself is thy gracious portion. What! is Christ less powerful than thy sin? That cannot be! To suppose that were that to make the creature mightier than the Creator. What! is thy guilt more prevalent with God than Christ's righteousness? Canst thou think so little of Christ as to imagine that thy sins can overwhelm and conquer him? O man, thy sins are like mountains; but Christ's love is like Noah's flood; it prevaileth twenty cubits, and the tops of the mountains are covered. It Is looking at sin and not looking to the Saviour that has made thee doubt. Thou art looking to the second cause, and not to him who is greater than all. "Nay, but," you reply, "it is not my sin, sir, that grieves me; it is this: I feel so hardened, I do not feel my sin as I ought. Oh if I could but weep as some weep! If I could but pray as some pray! Then I think I could be saved. If I could feel some of the terrors that good men have felt, then I think I could believe. But I feel none of these things. My heart seems like a rock of ice, hard as granite, and as cold as an iceberg. It will not melt. You may preach, but it is not affected; I may pray, but my heart seems dumb, I may read even the story of Christ's death, and yet my soul is not moved by it. Oh surely I cannot be saved!" Ah this is looking to second causes, again! Hast thou forgotten that Word which saith, "God is greater than our hearts?" Hast thou forgotten that? O child of God! shame on thee that thou dost look for comfort where comfort never can be found. Look to thyself for peace! Why, there ne'er can be any in this land of war. Look to thine own heart for joy! There can be none there, in this barren wilderness of sin. Turn, turn thine eye to Christ: he can cleanse thine heart, he can create life, and light, and truth in the inward parts; he can wash thee till thou shalt be whiter than snow, and cleanse thy soul and quicken it, and make it live, and feel, and move, so that it shall hear his simplest words, and obey his whispered mandate. O look not now at the second cause; look thou at the great first cause; otherwise I shall put to thee again the question, "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubts" "Still," says another, "I could believe, notwithstanding my sin and my hardness of heart; but, do you know, that of late I have lost communion with Christ to such an extent that I cannot help thinking that I must be a cast-away. Oh! sir, there were times when Christ used to visit me, and bring me such sweet love-tokens. I was like the little ewe lamb in the parable; I did drink out of his cup, and feed from his table, and lie in his bosom; often did he take me to his banqueting-house, his banner over me was love. What feastings I then had! I would bask in the sunlight of his countenance. It was summer with my soul. But now it is winter, and the sun is gone, and the banqueting-house is closed. No fruits are on the table; no wines are in the bottles of the promise; I come to the sanctuary, but I find no comfort; I turn to the Bible, but I find no solace; I fall on my knees, but even the stream of prayer seems to be a dry brook. Ah! soul, but art thou not still looking to second causes? These are the most precious of all secondary things, but yet thou must not look to them, but to Christ. Remember, it is not thy communing that saves thee, but Christ's dying; it is not Christ's comfortable visit to thy soul, that ensures thy salvation; it is Christ's own visit to the house of mourning, and to the garden of Gethsemane. I would have thee keep thy comforts as long as thou canst; but when they die, believe on thy God still. Jonah had a gourd once, and when that gourd died he began to mourn. Well might someone have said to him, "Jonah! thou hast lost thy gourd, but thou hast not lost thy God." And so might we say to you: you have not lost his love; you have lost the light of his countenance, but you have not lost the love of his heart; you have lost his sweet and gracious communion, but he is the same still, and he would have thee believe his faithfulness and trust him in the dark and rely upon him in the stormy wind and tempest. Look to none of these outward things, but look alone to Christ—Christ bleeding, Christ dying Christ dead, Christ buried, Christ risen, Christ ascended, Christ interceding. This is the thing thou art to look to—Christ, and him only. And looking there, thou shalt be comforted. But look to aught else, and thou shalt begin to sink; like Peter, the waves shall fail thee, and thou shalt have to cry, "Lord, save me, or I perish." But, again, to conclude: others of God's people are afraid that they shall never be able to persevere and hold out to the end. "Oh!" says one, "I know I shall yet fall away and perish, for look!—look what an evil heart of unbelief I have; I cannot live one day without sin; my heart is so treacherous, it is like a bomb-shell; let but a spark of temptation fall upon it and it will blow up to my eternal destruction. With such a tinder-box heart as I have, how can I hope to escape, while I walk in the midst of a shower of sparks?" "Oh!" saith one, "I feel my nature to be so utterly vile and depraved that I cannot hope to persevere. If I hold on a week or a month it will be a great work; but to hold on all my life until I die—oh! this is impossible." Looking to second causes again, are you not? Will you please to remember that if you look to creature strength it is utterly impossible that you should persevere in grace, even for ten minutes, much less for ten years! If your perseverance depends upon yourself you are a lost man. You may write that down for a certainty. If you have one jot or one tittle to do with your own perseverance in divine grace you will never see God's face at last; your grace will die out; your life will be extinguished, and you must perish, if your salvation depends upon yourself. But remember, you have already been kept these months and these years: what has done that? Why, divine grace; and the divine grace that has held you on for one year can hold you on for a century, nay, for an eternity, if it were necessary. He that has begun can carry on and must carry on too, otherwise he were false to his promise and would deny himself. "Ah! but," you say, "sir, I cannot tell with what temptations I am surrounded; I am in a workshop, where everybody laughs at me; I am called nicknames because I follow the cause of Christ. I have been able hitherto to put up with their rebukes and their jests; but now they are adopting another plan; they try to tempt me away from the house of God, and entice me to the theater, and to worldly amusements, and I feel that, placed as I am, I never can hold on. As well might a spark hope to live in the midst of an ocean as for grace to live in my heart." Ah! but, soul, who has made it to live hitherto? What is it that hath helped thee up till now to say, "Nay," to every temptation? Why, the Lord thy Redeemer. Thou couldst not have done it so long, if it had not been for him; and he that hath helped thee to stand so long will never put thee to shame. Why, if thou be a child of God, and thou shouldst fall away and perish, what dishonor would be brought on Christ! "Aha!" the devil would say, "here is a child of God, and God has turned him out of his family, and I have got him in hell at last. Is this what God doth with his children—loves them one day, and hates them the next—tells them he forgives them, and yet punishes them—accepts them in Christ, and yet sends them into hell?" Can that be? Shall it be? Never: not while God is God. "Aha!" again, says Satan, "believers have eternal life given to them. Here is one that had eternal life, and this eternal life has died out. It was not eternal. The promise was a lie. It was temporary life; it was not eternal life. Aha!" says he, "I have found a flaw in Christ's promise; he gave them only temporary life, and called it eternal." And again, the arch-fiend would say, if it were possible for one child of God to perish: "Aha! I have one of the jewels of Christ's crown here;" and he would hold it up, and defy Christ to his very face, and laugh him to scorn. "This is a jewel that thou didst purchase with thine own blood. Here is one that thou didst come into the world to save and yet thou couldst not save him. Thou didst buy him, and pay for him, and yet I have got him, he was a jewel of thy crown, and yet here he is, in the hand of the black prince, thine enemy. Aha! king with a damaged crown! thou hast lost one of thy jewels." Can it be so? No, never, and therefore every one that believeth is as sure of heaven as if he were there. If thou casteth thyself simply on Christ, nor death, nor hell, shall ever destroy thee. Remember what good old Mr. Berridge said, when he was met by a friend one morning, "How do you do, Mr. Berridge?" "Pretty well, I thank you," said he, "and as sure of heaven as if I were there; for I have a solid confidence in Christ." What a happy man such a man must be, who knows and feels that to be true! And yet, if you do not feel it, if you are the children of God, I put to you this question, "Wherefore dost thou doubt?" Is there not good reason to believe. "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" If thou hast believed in Christ, saved thou art, and saved thou shalt be, if thou hast committed thyself to his hands: "I know in whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him." "Yes." says one. "This is not the fear that troubles me; my only doubt is whether I am a child of God or not." I finish, therefore, by going over the old ground. Soul, if thou wouldst know whether thou art a child of God, look not to thyself, but look to Christ. Ye who are here to-day, who desire to be saved, but yet fear you never can be, never look to yourselves for any ground of acceptance before God. Not self, but Jesus; not heart, but Christ; not man, but man's Creator. O sinner! Think not that thou art to bring anything to Christ to recommend thee. Come to him just as thou art. Me wants no good works of thine—no good feelings either. Come, just as thou art. All that thou canst want to fit thee for heaven, he has bought for thee, and he will give thee; all these freely thou shalt have for the asking. Only come, and he will not cast thee away. But do you say, "Oh, I cannot believe that Christ is able to save such a sinner as I am. "I reply, "O thou of little faith, wherefore dost thou doubt?" He has already saved sinners as great as thou art; only try him, only try him. "Venture on him, venture wholly; Let no other trust intrude." Try him, try him; and if you find him false, then tell it everywhere that Christ was untrue. But that shall never be. Go to him; tell him you are a wretched undone soul, without his sovereign grace; ask him to have mercy on you. Tell him you are determined, it you do perish, that you will perish at the foot of his cross. Go and cling to him, as he hangs bleeding there; look him in the face, and say, "Jesus, I have no other refuge; if thou spurn me, I am lost; but I will never go from thee; I will clasp thee in life, and clasp thee in death, as the only rock of my soul's salvation "Depend upon it, you shall not be sent empty away; you must, you shall be accepted, if you will simply believe. Oh, may God enable you, by the divine influence of his Holy Spirit, to believe; and then, shall we not have to put the question, "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" I pray God now apply these words to your comfort. They have been very simple and very homely words; but nevertheless, they will suit simple, homely hearts. If God shall bless them, to him be the glory!