Page:The Life and Works of Christopher Dock.djvu/212

200 cleanses it, offers it her breast, and it is the mother's joy when the child accepts it for its body's and life's nourishment. But if the child does not accept it the mother is sad, for she knows that then the body's and life's strength of the child will diminish. Now as helpless as new born babes are we to cleanse ourselves, but if we recognize our worthlessness and how wretched we are and are eager for the same pure milk of grace, as the new born child for its mother's milk, this healing grace of God is available for every man. If we are willing to be chastised by the wholesome grace of God, to leave our ungodly conduct and worldly desires, and would fain live piously, righteously and godfearingly in this world, we are of our own strength as unable to do this as the new born child. But in this condition there is no better means than to express our need with crying,begging and pleading before God. He can give to the weary strength, and to the weak power. For such the Lord Jesus has left in His Testament three keys. The first, ask and it shall be given unto you; seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you. And what we receive for our asking, seeking and knocking, that is pure grace upon grace, and this we cannot ascribe to our own strength, but to the grace of God; and so blessedness remains a gift of grace from God, attained through our Lord Jesus Christ. Few days and hours pass that we have not need to be watchful in bodily or spiritual needs. We need at all times to turn with watching and praying to the door of grace and beg for strength of spirit and of faith. For daily we find