ve His own to Himself, and to judge the world; but He comes in
dark and lonely hours that we may not be desolate.

"For warm, sweet, tender, even yet
A present help is He;
And faith has yet its Olivet
And love its Galilee.
The heeling of His seamless dress
Is by our beds of pain;
We touch Him in life's throng and press,
And we are whole again."

_He comes when we need Him most._--When the storm is high, and the
water is pouring into the boat; when the house is empty because the
life that made it home has fled; when Jericho has to be attacked on the
morrow, and the Jordan crossed; when lover and friend stand aloof; when
light is fading before dimming eyes, and names and faces elude the
grasp of the aged mind; when the last coal is turning to grey ash; when
the rush of the river is heard in the valley below--Jesus says, I come.
It is in the hour of desolation, when Lazarus has been in the grave
four days already, that the glad tidings are whispered in the ear of
the mourner, "The Master is come." "I will not leave you orphans," He
said, "I come unto you." Oh, blessed orphanhood, it were well to be
bereaved, to have such comforting!

_He pays surprise visits._--He does not always wait to be invited; but
sometimes, when we lie sleeping with wakeful hearts, we hear His gentle
voice calling to us, "Arise, My love, and come away." Then as we lift
the door-latch, our hand drops with the sweet-smelling myrrh which
betrays His presence. How often when we have been losing ground,
getting lukewarm and worldly, we have suddenly been made aware of His
reviving presence, and He has said, I come. He comes, as the
wood-anemones and snowdrops (the most fragile and tender flowerets of
spring) penetrate the hard ground to announce that the winter is over
and gone, and that the time of the singing of birds is come.

_It is well to put ourselves in His way._--There are certain beaten
tracks well-worn by His feet, and if we would meet Him we must frequent
their neighborhood. Olivet, where He used to pray; Calvary, where He
died; Joseph's garden, where He rose, are dear to Him yet. When we
pray or meditate; when we commemorate His dying love at the memorial
feast; when we realize our union with Him in death and resurrection;
when we open our hearts to the breathing of the Holy Spirit--we put
ourselves in His way, and are more likely to encounter Him when He
comes. "To them that look for Him shall He app