The Wooden Leg

*’ Wicked men may supply the 7ieeds of an office, as yudas for a while did duty as a7i apostle. A wooden leg may he a stay to the body, though it be not a true Quaint, but true. It is to be feared that our churches have many wooden legs, in the form of lifeless ministers, graceless deacons, and unregenerate elders. The body may move with these, but her walk must be limping, painful, slow, and ungainly. As for the wooden limb itself, its end is to be burned. It will be a fearful thing to turn cut to be a dead member of a living body — a false arm, or a glass eye. Such shams can never be part of the body of Christ. O for living, loving, lasting union with the living Head!

THE MISFir.

“A garjnent too short will not cover our nakedness, and a garment too long will be a dirty rag to trip up our heels. God is bound in covenant only to do what is convejtient for us, and that we jnust leave to God to Judge. The sheep must not choose the pastures, but the shepherdP O for contentment! “Too much,” we see by the figure used above, has its inconveniences as well as “too little.” Efiough is the word, and God knows best when we are at that point. We see around us those who are much hindered in holy living by the fact of their being wealthy, and yet perhaps we are pining to run in their silken sack. Others we see who are impeded by their poverty, and yet this need not be, for some of the Lord’s poor are far ahead of other runners, and keep up all the better pace because they have so little to carry.

Come, my heart, be satisfied. It should be no hard task to thee to be content, seeing all things are thine, and thy Father acts as thy steward, and deals out daily “things convenient” for thee. The garment which he puts around thee fits thee in every part; blessed art thou if thou canst wear it becomingly and praise him ior it.