and immediate revelation, a circumstance, however, which he had kept a profound secret for fourteen years. There are three particulars referred to in the text which claim attention :

I. The apostle's visions and revelations.

II. The thorn in the flesh, or messenger of Satan. III. Paul's application to the Lord, and the result. I. The apostle's visions and revelations.

1. "It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord." Visions are sights of supernatural appearances. Revelations are discoveries of things which were before concealed. Perhaps in these visions and revelations the apostle was made acquainted with the mystery of the future state of the church. However, either at this or some other time was revealed unto him the fact, that "in the last days perilous times shall come ;-some shall depart from the faith, and that man of sin shall be revealed, -the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped." 2 Thess. ii. 3—13.

2. These were not the only visions that the apostle had seen. He saw one before Damascus :-Suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun; and he heard a voice, saying, -Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. And he, trembling and astonished, said,-Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? He saw another at Jerusalem. While he prayed in the temple, he was in a trance; and the Lord said to him,Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem, for I will send thee far hence unto the gentiles; Acts, xxii, 17-22. He saw one at Troas ;-a vision appeared to Paul in the night. There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying,-Come over into Macedonia, and help us; Acts, xvi, 9. And he saw another at Corinth, in which he received encouragement and support to comfort him in his persecutions and sufferings there. "Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision:-Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace, for I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee; for I have much people in this city; Acts..

xviii, 9-12. And another in the castle at Jerusalem, xxiii, 11.

3. But we will now return to the visions and revelations referred to in our text. Thus proceeds the apostle:

“I knew a man in Christ," himself thus modestly introduced, see ver. 6, 7, "about fourteen years ago.' This will lead us back to about the time when Paul and Barnabas went from Antioch in Syria to Jerusalem with some pecuniary relief which the brethren of Antioch sent by them to the brethren who dwelt in Judea; Acts, xi, 27-30. It is probable, therefore, that in the city of Jerusalem, the apostle had these visions and revelations ; and such was the absorbing power that attended them, that he adds in parenthesis-("whether in the body I cannot tell; or whether out of the body I cannot tell; God knoweth ;) how that he was caught up into Paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which is not lawful for a man to utter." Whether the repetition of the vision, and the change of the phraseology from the third heaven to Paradise alludes to two distinct revelations or not, we cannot be certain; but either once or twice he heard unutterable words. What he heard and saw it is not in the power of human language to express. If any man could have told it, St. Paul could; but according to the rules of human communication, it was not lawful, neither was it proper to attempt it; for these things belong to the hidden mysteries which only chosen spirits can ever comprehend-they are the deep things of God. II. The thorn in the flesh, or messenger of Satan.

1. The thorn in the flesh could not be, as some have supposed, the corruptions of his own heart that yet remained; neither could it be his sufferings and persecutions, nor the false apostles. It was something in the flesh, not in the spirit. At his conversion he was struck blind-when he attempted to open his eyes, he saw no man; and he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink. But when Ananias went and spoke to him, there fell from his eyes as it had been scales, and he saw; but ever after that day he was subject to certain weakness in the eyes, but this cannot be meant in the text, for the thorn here was something which was

given to him immediately after he had seen the visions and revelations, as a check, lest he should be exalted above measure; and it was the messenger of Satan, sent to buffet and perplex. It appears that this infirmity, as the apostle afterwards calls it, was a sort of partial paralysis, causing a defect or imperfection in his speech and in his personal appearance, which rendered his attitude and utterance ungraceful and unpleasant. In chap. x, 10, we learn the opinion which the Corinthians formed of him and his letters:-His letters, they say, are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible. And in writing to the Galatians he says,-"Ye know how, through the infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first; and my temptation, which was in my flesh, ye despised not, nor rejected, but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ "; Gal. iv. 13, 14. This seems to me to be the most rational way of accounting for this infirmity, temptation, or thorn in the flesh, or buffeting messenger of Satan; but if any man think otherwise, he has a right to exercise his own judgment.

2. There is something in this thorn in the flesh which accords with the experience of all God's children, and with that of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. After high exaltations, we often have great trials; we should therefore prepare to meet them, and seek after faith and patience, as well as love and joy, and thus be ready to bring forth proper fruit in due season. Moses was ex

alted when he was admitted to converse with God in the mount; but when he came down he was sorely tried by the debasing idolatry of the people. Jesus, at His bap tism, received special tokens of His Father's favour, but was immediately afterwards led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. He was transfigured on the holy mount, and soon afterwards crucified on mount Calvary, between two thieves. It is sufficient for the disciple that he be as his Master, and the servant as his Lord. Are you on the delectable mountains, in the land of Beulah? Do you see the pure river of living water? and do you feel the fragrance of the trees which blossom on its banks? You may next have to pass through the enchanted ground, and have your pleasant

delights disturbed by some thorn in the flesh. III. Paul's application to the Lord, and the result.

1. "For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me." The apostle was not insensible to bodily pain or infirmity, neither could he at pleasure use the gift of healing for himself. He healed the cripple at Lystra; cast the evil spirit out of the sooth-sayer at Philippi; wrought special miracles at Ephesus; and raised Eutychus from the dead at Troas; but he could not remove the thorn from his own flesh; but he could, and did, pray that the messenger of Satan might depart from him. In this he has set us an example; whatever bodily suffering, or temporal trouble, or difficulty may come upon us, it is right to pray for deliverance or assistance, but it must be in submission to the will of God.

Who

2. He prayed to Christ. If Christ be the object of prayer, He must be omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. He must be Divine; He must be God! else can answer prayer? And yet we know He has often answered prayer. When He sojourned here below, in the days of His humiliation, many prayed to Him, and He healed and blessed them; and after He ascended up on high, many have called upon His name, and He has heard their prayers, and sent many a gracious

answer.

3. Paul imitated Christ in his manner of prayer. He prayed thrice as Jesus did in the garden; and the servant in one respect was as his Lord. He did not receive a direct answer in kind; the cup passed not away from his Lord, nor the thorn from him. In another respect, however, the servant was above his Lord. The Lord trode the wine-press alone, and had to exclaim,-" My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me ?" But the suffering disciple receives a promise of needful grace:"My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness." Here is a lesson for all the saints of the Most High. In passing through this world, they all have their consolations and their conflicts-here Bethel, and there Marah; now a glimpse of glory, and then a thorn in the flesh. They must ever expect it to And when the buffeting messenger of Satan

be so.

comes, in whatever shape, they must, like the apostle, beseech the Lord thrice, or more if necessary; and He who has said,-"Call upon me in the day of trouble," will either remove the thorn from them, or them from the thorn, or give them sufficient grace to bear it, and sanctify it for their good.

THE DAYS OF REASON.

ISAIAH, I. 18.

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."

In the first verse of this chapter, Isaiah informs us that he prophesied during the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah; consequently he was contemporary with Hosea, Joel, Amos, and Micah, and must have exercised the prophetic office for upwards of forty years. It is supposed that he was nearly allied to the royal family; and this is not at all improbable, for it is evident from his style of writing that he was a man of very superior character, and of classical attain ments. The marks of a highly cultivated mind are visible in his actions, his manners, and his language. Magnificence, sweetness, dignity, and beauty, are stamped upon every page of his book; and these are rendered still more vivid by the splendour of his visions and revelations. In what a striking and affecting manner does he call upon heaven and earth to be witnesses for God against the people!" Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! for the Lord hath spoken:-'I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me: the ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib; but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.'" He then describes the sin of Judah in "words that burn;" he next proceeds to remonstrate, and urge to repentance and reformation; and