Twice we find this said of Abraham, both times in reference to what was painful to him. The first time it was to send away his son Ishmael from his home (xxi. 14), and the second time to face the still harder task of offering up Isaac. His early rising was the token of his whole-hearted willingness to do the will of God.

How glorious was the reward of his early rising which Abraham received. It brought him on the third day to the mountains where the Lord appeared unto him-and favour followed upon his obedience. He gave him back his son as from the dead. He confirmed to him the promise of blessing: "In blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed". Abraham learns to know his God as the worker of wonders of whom he could say, "The Lord will provide."

The Lord had appeared to Jacob at Bethel in the night. He had seen the glorious heavenly ladder with God the Lord standing above it. He had received from God the promise that He would be with him and would never leave him until He had accomplished all that He had promised. Then Jacob rose up early in the morning and vowed a vow of which the gist was, 'The Lord shall be my God' (v. 21).

Child of God! Christ is the true heavenly ladder; from above it God speaks to thee in the darkest night, I will be with thee and will not leave thee. Dost thou not think that every morning summons thee to say with Jacob: "The Lord shall be my God" ? Can you imagine a more glorious beginning of the day? You pass every night under the protection of Jacob's God, is it not right that you should begin each morning with Jacob's vow?

It was in the early morning that the Lord gave unto Israel complete victory over their enemies in fulfilment of the promise made the previous day, "The Egyptians whom ye have seen to-day, ye shall see them again no more for ever" (v. 13). Then, too, my soul shall discover that the morning is still God's chosen time for giving His children the victory over their enemies. "This is the victory which overcometh the world, even our faith."

In these verses we have the law of the manna. The Lord would send it in the morning: in the morning it was to be collected. He who neglected to gather his manna in the morning would have to go hungry the whole day long. All this is a foreshadowing of our blessed Saviour. He Himself is the bread from Heaven, the hidden manna. It is in the morning that the believer, even though he be one of the weakest, must draw nigh to God to receive his portion for the day. The reading of the Word is not all that he has to do, the Word is the vessel in which the bread of life is served; he must not only read and meditate upon the Word; he must know and accept the living Christ as his bread of life. Jesus is the" hidden manna." Neither is it enough to pray; prayer is seeking after the manna; he must be sure actually to find the Bread of Life and carry it with him during the day as his food and source of strength.

What a memorable day for Moses and for Israel and for all mankind-the day on which the Law was promulgated! The day begins at the morning hour when Moses led out the people to meet with God, and spake with God, and God answered him.

The law of God must be renewed every day in our hearts. The inward law of the Spirit is a living law, and is every day renewed and kept in force from heaven. If I wish to have this experience during the day, I must begin this morning as Moses did go to meet with God, and speak with Him, and wait for His answer.

Beside the continual burnt offering in the morning which was for a "continual burnt offering" (Num. xxviii. 10), the sin offering foreshadowed Christ alone; the thank offering has reference to us, and what we bring to God; the burnt offering to Christ and also to us. The distinguishing mark of the burnt offering was that it was placed whole upon the altar, so as to rise up wholly to God in the fire. Other offerings were brought from time to time.

The morning burnt offering had to be brought each day, it was the beginning of the service of God for that day, and the Christian, too, should bring his burnt offering every morning. What does this mean? Every morning he comes to God looking to the Lamb of God offered for his sin. He sees how Jesus gave Himself a whole burnt offering to God, and learns how he must do it, too; because he is one with Christ even in His death, because he must be a perfect copy of his Lord, because the same Spirit dwells in him, he lays himself upon the altar of Christ's merit as a living, holy sacrifice, well-pleasing unto God; he sacrifices himself entirely to God. Christian, it is a great thing to accomplish this sacrifice every morning, but it is a glorious thing, the secret of a blessed day.

The "incense of sweet spices" signifies prayer. "Let my prayer be set forth as incense before Thee." (Ps. cxli. 2.) "And there was given unto him (the angel) much incense that he should add it unto the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar that was before the throne." (Rev. viii. 3.)

The prayer that comes up to God through the great High Priest is to Him a sweet savour. Every morning that incense had to be burnt by the priests while the house of God was filled with the fragrance. This is what I, too, must do as a priest of God-I am the temple of God. The whole heart must be filled with the sweet savour of the prayer and thanksgiving which I offer up to God every morning. One thing, above all, is necessary to this end. I must know that my prayers are acceptable to the Father. The Holy Spirit will give me inward assurance of this. I must take time before my prayer, and during prayer, and after prayer, to realize, by faith, God's love and favour. I must, by faith, become conscious of my unity with Christ. I must surrender myself to the purpose of walking in that union. I must suffer the Holy Spirit to breathe into me the living assurance that my Father verily looks upon my prayer with pleasure.

The previous occasion on which Moses went to meet the Lord in the morning was the time of the promulgation of the Law when God was to reveal Himself as the Holy One. The meeting with which we are now concerned was after the transgression of the Law when God was to reveal Himself as the Merciful One (see verses 6 and 7). These two elements should always be united in the morning worship of the Child of God. In our communion with God one morning may be more concerned with surrender in obedience to His will, but the background of all will be the Redeeming Grace which accepts us and makes us fit for His service. Another morning we may be more drawn to worship God as the Merciful and Gracious One, but behind this will be the knowledge of the condition that we are restored to His favour in order to do what is His good pleasure.

All acknowledge that the fire upon the altar is the type of the Holy Spirit. The sacrifice upon the altar of burnt offering, and the sweet-smelling spices upon the altar of incense, all were to be consumed by the fire and carried up to Heaven in smoke. So only may the sacrifice whereby I offer myself up to God every morning, and the incense of my prayers be well pleasing unto God, when they are borne by the Holy Spirit to Heaven. Then it is . an acceptable sacrifice,' being sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

The Lord had chosen Aaron and his sons to be His, and had consecrated them as priests" to come near unto Him." Korah and others complained of this, and said that this was self-exaltation; that on the contrary the whole nation was holy. Moses replied that God would decide. He would show early in the morning who were His.

Now every believer is a priest, chosen to come near unto God, but he cannot rightly grasp this or experience the power of it in his life unless the Lord make it known unto him. God is very willing to do this anew every morning in the quietness of the early morning. His will is to give you, through the Spirit, the heavenly assurance that you are His, His own possession, which He has chosen and separated to Himself. You are one holy in Christ, whom He will cause to come near unto Him, whom He will draw near unto Himself to commune with Him as an intercessor for the people. This God will show you through His holy Spirit.

Four times Joshua is spoken of as rising up early in the morning, first at Shittim, where the people were about to pass over Jordan to take possession of the Promised Land; a second time at Jericho before compassing the walls of the city; then on the occasion of the discovery and punishment of the sin of Achan, and again at the capture of Ai. His early rising was the proof of his determination to do the work that God, from time to time, gave him to do. That determination was the proof of the strength of his trust in God to give Israel the victory, and the land of promise.

This is a prophecy of our Lord Jesus. To the soul under His governance He will be as the light of the morning. Nay, He Himself is the true light of the morning. "To you who fear My name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings." Here may I learn to seek the full and true blessing of God in the morning. The sun that riseth in the morning gives light the whole day; were there no morning there could be no day.

When I find the Lord Jesus in the morning, and know Him as the Light of the morning that rises on my soul, there He will be the whole day, my Life and my Joy.

Here you have the ideal of a pious, God-fearing father. It is not enough for him to shun evil himself; he fears greatly that his children may perhaps sin against God. As the head of the household he sends and summons them to himself in order to sanctify them: He rises up early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for them. Splendid example of a pious father, and of the piety which does not serve God for itself alone, but also cares for the children.

Father! How do' matters stand in your household are you faithful in taking your children to meet every morning around God's Word and in going with them to God in prayer? Oh, be sure to do it. Evening prayers are not enough. In the morning all is fresh; the morning is the beginning of the day, and influences the whole day. To prevent evil is better than to confess it when done. Let the whole household every morning begin the day with God, and receive God's blessing for the day.

Soul! hast thou ever known that God so magnifies thee, and has so set His heart upon thee, that He visits thee every morning? Hast thou learnt to prepare thyself every morning to receive that visit? Oh, do not, in haste or thoughtlessness, miss or despise so great a privilege I-a visit every morning from thy God.

This means much more than reading and praying every morning. Much more. It means that God will give you, through His Spirit, the assurance that He remembers you in love, that He accepts you, that He will keep you, if you will but come before Him in the quiet exercise of faith which adores, awaits His presence. He will give you the heavenly assurance that He is with you. Only say: "My soul is still before God."

Job says: "What is man that Thou shouldst visit him every morning, and try him every moment?" How shall I be able to endure this? God trying me every moment in all the hurry and business of the day! There is only one way. I must await His visit in the morning. He desires to make a covenant with me for the day, and to give me anew into the keeping of His Son; then He can try me every moment.

One may seek God at any hour of the day; but to seek Him early is best. Seeking early is the proof that this is to us the first and most important work of the day. Seeking early helps the soul to wait upon God the whole day, and seeking early can lay claim to gracious promises.

We have seen with what joy the Lord and His people commune together in the morning, and how well they understood how blessed a time the morning is.

We have seen that the morning is a symbol of Jesus Himself, " He shall be as a morning without clouds." Here we have a further promise: "the believer himself shall be as the morning."

What depth of meaning there is here! The meaning is light after darkness. So shall be the life of the Christian. "Whoso cometh after me," said Jesus, "shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."

So morning is the beginning of a day which grows brighter and brighter. "The path of the just is as a shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day."

The morning diffuses gladness, awakening all around. This meaning, too, is intended by these words, "Thou shalt be as the morning".

David here gives expression to his intention that the morning shall continue to be the time when he will make his voice heard before God, and also to his confidence that God will, in reality, hearken to his voice. The morning is to be his time of exercise in prayer, and answer to prayer. Do thou, too, take these words and utter them in full confidence before God: "My voice shalt Thou hear in the morning."

"In the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee." This word" direct" is used of setting in order or preparing the dishes for a table (Exod. xl. 4), or it is the word for the offering upon an altar. Don't be in a hurry to kneel down and pray because you know how to compose a prayer. First "prepare to meet thy God." Sit down quietly for a few moments to form a right conception of God in His great Holiness. Call to mind with what fear and awe, with what truth and sincerity, and entire submission and obedience, it befits you to approach Him. Ask yourself if you have set your heart in order upon the altar, just as the offering was set in order upon the wood before it could be burnt. Say continually, "In the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee."

Here is the secret of joyful morning prayer. It is the thought of what God has done for the salvation of our souls, the experience that He has been to us a defence and a refuge.

If you long to glorify God's mercy in the morning as you ought, see to it first that you rightly know God as your defence and refuge. Read the words of David in which, with all his heart, he glorifies God as his fortress and refuge. (See Ps. xviii. 46 ; lxii. 2, 7, 8 ; cxliv.2.)

Pray this prayer continually: "Be Thou my strong habitation whereunto I may continually resort." (Ps. lxxi. 3.) Say boldly: "I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and fortress: my God, in Him will I trust." Almost before you are aware of it your soul will cry joyfully, "Under the shadow of Thy wings shall I sing with joy."

People constantly' speak of themselves as seeking salvation. The Bible never speaks in this wise; as long as a man is only seeking salvation, he is still seeking his own interest himself. We must seek God,' to possess Him is what we need. .. I will seek Thee," says David.

What a wonderful salvation is that-when a man truly finds God, God Himself, not only forgiveness and peace, but finds and possesses God. When any man first sees the glory of it, no wonder that he then says: .. Early will I seek Thee."

Hedley Vicars, the godly soldier, when he knew that he must be at the head of his troops the following morning at five o'clock, rose an hour earlier to meet with his God, and so, too, did those brave soldiers Havelock and Stonewall Jackson.

In this Psalm we find the writer in great darkness and distress. Prayer is his only comfort. "Oh, Lord God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before Thee" (vs. I). "Lord, I have called daily upon Thee, I have stretched out my hands unto Thee" (vs. 9). "Shall Thy wonders be known in the dark?" (vs. 12). "But unto Thee have I cried, Oh Lord, and in the morning shall my prayer prevent Thee."

On a previous occasion David had said: "Thy lovingkindness is better than life" (Ps. lxiii. 3). When he awoke in the morning to the life of a ne'w day, he instantly thought of what was better and more indispensable to him than life itself-the lovingkindness of God. Better be without life than without the lovingkindness of God.

In our text yesterday the psalmist prays for himself alone: "Cause me to hear Thy lovingkindness." That was the morning prayer in solitude. Here he is praying both for himself and others: "Satisfy us with Thy mercy." In view of the mention of "children" almost immediately afterwards we may take this to be the prayer for the assembled household.

" Satisfy us with Thy mercy," says the petitioner. The father provides bread each morning for the children, and gives them as much as they need to satisfy them. To be satisfied means to have had enough, so that there is no more need. The believer desires, through faith and the Holy Ghost, to have such assurance of God's mercy that he is, as Moses said, "satisfied with favour and full with the blessing of the Lord" (Deut. xxxiii. 23.)

How often we find the thought expressed that we must show forth God's lovingkindness in the morning! God has a right to it ; it is He that has spared us and given us a new day. It will be a blessing to the soul; the glad remembrance and confession of God's lovingkindness brings with it the favour of the Lord.

To trust once more in His mercy supports and strengthens faith. It binds the soul to Him and His service in love and joy. It takes us out of ourselves and lifts us up to God. To praise God is a remedy for many diseases.

.. Those that seek Me early shall find Me." (Prov. 8. 17.) If I am seeking for a treasure of great value, I am willing to go to much trouble for it. If the treasure is very hard to find, I shall not be able to attain my object unless I devote myself entirely to it. The treasure of Heaven is God Himself, infinite in worth, and to us, who are sinful and carnal, hard to find. Let us think no sacrifice too great if we may seek Him and truly find Him. Let us say to Him in the morning: .. Yea, with my spirit within me will I seek Thee early."

When a man in business is not possessed of much means himself, but has a wealthy friend to render him financial support, it is sometimes said: "He has a strong arm in that friend." In the Scriptures we read: "Thou hast an arm of power", "The Lord hath sworn by the arm of His strength, "In My arm shall they hope." And here we have the prayer: "Lord, be gracious unto us, we have waited for Thee: be Thou their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble."

What a blessed thing it is, when the believer takes time every morning to pray that prayer, so as not to go forth to the temptation and strife of the day until he first has the living assurance that his prayer: "Be Thou my arm in the morning", has been heard, and that God is really the strong arm supporting him! Christian, take pains every morning to grasp this fact. Then you will understand the meaning of the words: "Neither did their own arm save them, but Thy right hand and Thine arm." (Ps. xliv. 3.)

Thus speaks the prophet of himself as a type of the Lord Jesus. Thus speaks the Lord Jesus. Thus every believer may, and must speak, for all shall be taught. (Isa. liv. 13 ; John vi. 45.)

And how does God teach His children? "He awakeneth morning by morning; he awakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned." What God does is to arouse the ear-the faculty of listening. He teaches the soul to be quiet and listen to His voice. Much speaking and little listening, much prayer and little waiting, bring but little blessing. Faith is the ear that listens for God. The soul that waits quietly and is willing not only to pray, but (what is more important) to listen faithfully to what God is saying to the heart through His Spirit, will in truth be taught of God.

It is especially in the morning that God awakens the ear. He begins early in the day. He wants to be the first.

He awakeneth "morning by morning: He awakeneth mine ear." The Lord knows that we need fresh manna every morning. It is only by the daily renewal and repetition of our lesson that we are truly taught of God.

In the Psalms we often find mention made of the mercies of the Lord in connection especially with the morning. Sometimes it is a prayer. "Make me to hear Thy lovingkindness," or "satisfy us with Thy mercy." Sometimes, again it is of a .. joyful song," or "the showing forth of Thy mercy," that the Psalmist speaks, but, whatever it may be, it is in the morning. Our text to-day tells us the reason: "because His compassions . . . are new every morning." What, then, more natural, more reasonable, than to praise for them every morning? Those of you who are parents, who have perhaps, hitherto, been content merely to give thanks and offer up prayer to God in private, delay no longer, but begin at once to gather your household together for that purpose.

Although it may be hard to begin, it will soon become easier. Let the whole household assemble to acknowledge God's mercy and beseech His aid during the day. Let God's Word be listened to with reverence as the revelation of His love and His will. Let His praise be sung and His Name be called upon. Teach every child, so far as it is in your power, to acknowledge the mercies of God every morning; it may be a blessing for the whole life and for eternity.

As the Almighty Lord, God is the Governor of this world, and faithfully, without fail, He gives anew every morning the light of the sun to illumine the world. As the" just Lord" He is .. in the midst" of His people, and" every morning doth He bring His judgment to light." As certainly as God gives the light of the sun every morning, does He also bring His judgments to light. "I shall make my judgment to lighten the nations."

God will do this every morning. In His Word we have His judgments (Ps. cxix. 102, 106, 108). Every morning He Himself brings His judgment to light and causes the light of His countenance and His Spirit to shine upon His Law that the people may understand and keep it. Only I must apply myself each morning to do two things. First I must take God's judgments in His Word and obey them and write them in my heart; and, second, I must wait upon God every morning until He brings His judgments to light-until His light is shed upon my soul. Only in the light of God's countenance and His love can His Word be rightly understood and truly kept.

We have seen in the Old Testament what a series there was of men of God to whom it is said that they rose up early to do God's will, to meet Him, or seek His favour. This series is brought to a conclusion by the Lord Jesus. After a busy and toilsome day (v. 34), a day of constant intercourse with men, a day in which He had to give much of Himself, He felt the need of closer communion with God, in order to renew His strength and receive further guidance in His work. "A great while before day"-while it was yet night-" rising up He went out and departed into a solitary place and there prayed."

If the Son of God needed to do that, how much more do we? Not only in the midst of business and worldly occupation, but also in times of spiritual exertion, secret communion with God is indispensable.

"And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. . . . And Jesus, answering, saith unto them, Have faith in God." (Mark xi. 20, 22.)

It was toward the end of His life, when the Passion was drawing near, that the Lord spent the night on the Mount of Olives, and then came back to the city in the early morning, where the people came to Him. It was on one of these days that, early in the morning, He uttered the glorious words: "Have faith in God," with the famous words concerning" removing mountains," and the promise, .. What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them and ye shall have them."

Oh that all, who say they love Jesus, and who complain that they have so much to do in the daytime, might know what a blessing it is to come in the morning early and be taught of Him. What a lesson the disciples would have missed, had they not been with Jesus early that morning! How much we miss because we have no time to listen in the morning when the Lord visits us and waits for us! The lesson of the true meaning of those words, .. What things soever ye desire, when ye pray. . ." will be taught to those who, with faithful perseverance, seek to learn from Jesus in the morning.

"Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene out of whom He had cast seven devils." (Mark xvi. 2, 9.)

The women went to the grave early in the morning. But Jesus was there before them and awaited them. He was risen when it was still very early. Mary had gone first, "early, when it was yet dark" (John xx. I), and first of all the Lord appeared unto her. The living Jesus who awaiteth us early, and who visits us every morning, and the believing soul that riseth early to seek Him, these will certainly meet each other.

And what was the secret cause of that early rising of Mary and the other women? It was their love for Jesus. They could not find rest away from Him, His presence was indispensable to them. Such love as theirs He could not disappoint.

And all ye who rise early, and yet do not know that Jesus requires the morning, think of the blessing you will miss; the living Lord speaketh: "Those that seek Me early shall find me."