guage was addressed to the first chosen disciples, men far holier than we; but all have been redeemed by the precious death of Christ, and every human soul, therefore, may justly feel itself to be “of more value than many sparrows;” not one is “forgotten before God.” We all, the most humble and insignificant, may find comfort in the passage. It is remarkable that this revelation of the directness of the providence of God, the oversight and care bestowed by the Almighty on the meanest of his creatures, and his tender watchfulness over his servants, should have been given when foretelling the grievous trials and persecutions which awaited the chosen disciples of the Lord. The same God who feeds the young ravens that cry unto him, sees also the falling sparrow; he sees the evil, but permits it; when sorrows and troubles come, they must be necessary in his sight for some good and wise purpose—it may be that the evil we mourn is needed for some immediate personal end which we are too blind to perceive, or it may be required to strengthen, in the sight of men and angels, some one of those great truths by which a universe is governed. In either case, well does it become the sinful child of man to suffer meekly; alas, that it should be so difficult to “let patience have her perfect work!” Let us at least always repel the false, unfaithful notion that we are ever, under the darkest circumstances, left to the blind dealings of chance, or fate, that we are ever forgotten before our God!
It is very possible that the little sparrows of Judea were flitting about in the presence of our Lord at the moment those gracious words were spoken: “Not a sparrow falleth to the ground without your Father,—fear not, therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.” These birds were sold for less than one
