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light of truth, can alone apprehend and feel the exquisitely delightful manifestations of that love which it free, full, sovereign, and eternal.

Man is always desirous to help himself; to work out a righteousness of his own, that he may have something whereof to glory: but, the gospel declares his total inability for this work, and points him, as a helpless, lost, guilty sinner, to the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world; saying in accents of mercy:-"BELIEVE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, AND THOU SHALT BE SAVED." "Only believe," was the word of our Saviour to the weeping father in the gospel. He was enabled to believe, and received an immediate blessing, in the restoration of his child. Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief. Turn away my eyes from all creature dependencies, from all selfconfidence. Be thou all my hope and all my plea before the mercy-seat.

Whilst thousands around me are rejecting thy authority, neglecting thy salvation, or darkening thy counsel by words without knowledge, may I have grace, blessed Jesus, to wash in no other fountain but thy precious blood; to walk by no other light, than the truth of thy holy word; to journey heavenward in no other way, than by faith in thee; to feed my soul on nothing but thyself, the living bread from heaven; to desire no other joy, than that which springs from union to Thee and communion with Thee. Then shall I partake of the cup of salvation, and praise thee with the countless host of the redeemed in thy kingdom of glory.

Come, O my soul, retire a while,

Withdraw thy thoughts from things below ;
Beneath the Saviour's blissful smile,

A heaven on earth, thou then shalt know.

Communion with thy God, how sweet!
To feel his presence,-how divine!
O! make me for this blessing meet;
My Saviour, make me ever thine.

While thousands seek their joy on earth,
Where thorns, in rich profusion, grow;
I long for joys of heavenly birth,
Which Jesus only can bestow.

Amid the tangled cares of life,
Amid the sorrows which abound,
Amid the errors, sins, and strife,
Which thickly cover nature's ground;

I would withdraw to silent shades,
And seek retirement with my God,
Where earth, with all its folly, fades,
Where I can leave affliction's load.

How precious this Communion, Lord;
With Thee is light, and peace, and joy;
I trust the promise of thy word,

Which earth and hell can ne'er destroy.

II. THE BEAUTY OF HOLINESS.

"Who is like unto thee, glorious in holiness ?"-Exod. xv. 11. "O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness."-Psa. xcvi. 9.

IF the external evidences of Christianity prove the truth of its being a divine revelation, how much more do the internal evidences attest its divine origin.From the period of the Fall to the Prophet Malachi, promises and prophecies were proclaimed, types and ordinances were instituted, to foretell and prefigure the seed of the woman, the seed of Abraham, the Lamb of God, who, in the fulness of time, should take away the sin of the world.-Holiness is the grand characteristic of the gospel of Christ ;-and all who are interested in its blessings are a holy people; -for the announcement to Joseph by the angel was: "Thou shalt call his name JESUS, for he shall save his people from their sins." "Be ye holy, for I am

holy," is the command of God. "Be ye holy in all manner of conversation," is the apostolic injunction. Believers are described by St. Peter, as, "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people, that they should show forth the praises of him who hath called them out of darkness into his marvellous light."

There is a beauty in holiness which as far surpasses the rude features of the world's morality, as the dazzling brightness of the sun outshines the glowworm's light. The morality of the world consists in outward decency, and in rectitude of conduct towards our neighbour, whilst the heart is wholly estranged from God. Holiness has a special regard to God, and consists in purity of heart, and in a conformity to the divine image. This is what God demands. To this, a promise is annexed: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." This is what he works in believers by his Spirit; and without this, no man shall see the Lord. All religion is vain, if inward purity be wanting. No outward morality—no speculative knowledge of divine Truth,-no formal observance of religious duties-can ever be accepted as a substitute for holiness by Him who hath said: "My son, give me thy heart."

Oh! my soul, hast thou been born again? Has this divine change passed upon thee? Art thou renewed in righteousness and true holiness? Canst thou rejoice at the remembrance of God's holiness? Art thou labouring daily, through the Spirit, for greater purity of heart, more heavenly-mindedness, chasteness of affection, and rectitude of intention? Is love to God, thy principle of action? Is his glory, thy end and aim?

Oh! blessed Jesus, I have no strength in myself to do these things. Put forth thy saving, sanctifying power. Breathe, thou vivifying Spirit, breathe on the dry bones, and they shall live. Shine, thou Sun of Righteousness on my barren soul, that heavenly graces may blossom and bear fruit to thy praise. Angels

will then rejoice over another sinner that repenteth ; and another jewel will be added to thy crown.

Give me grace to hate even the garment spotted by the flesh,* to loathe sin, as I should a garment in which is the plague of leprosy.† Preserve me from the lustings of carnal nature, from inordinate desires, irregular propensities, and sinful thoughts, those seeds in the soul, from whence spring so many poisonous weeds. Purify every imagination of the thoughts of my heart; give me, holy Saviour, the victory over myself, that every thought may be brought into captivity to a willing obedience to thee. Oh! may I daily worship Thee in the beauty of holiness, in spirit and in truth, that "with angels and archangels, and with all the company of heaven, I may laud and magnify thy glorious name, evermore praising thee, and saying-Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts, heaven and earth are full of thy glory. Glory be to thee, O Lord most High.'

I am now living in an enemy's country. My heart, like a besieged city, has to contend with foes without, and traitors within.-Watchfulness and prayer are the sentinels which guard the holy principle within; while circumspection watches the motions of the enemy without. If I sleep at my post, or relax in my vigilance, my soul would soon be overpowered by indwelling corruptions, and be vanquished by the powers of darkness.-How earnest is the exhortation of St. Peter: "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world." How encouraging is his prayer: "But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever, Amen."

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Self-examination, and prayer for divine illumination, are powerful auxiliaries in the Christian warfare. The Christian soldier must pray with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, that he may be endued with strength in the inner man. He must search into his heart, and learn to know himself, that he may not be surprised by the secret machinations of indwelling sin. Oh! how arduous is the life of the believer. The mere formalist knows nothing of his conflicts or his comforts. "See, then," saith St. Paul, "that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore, be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is."

Enable me, O Lord, to examine myself, whether I be in the faith; to prove my ownself. Many deceive themselves by not scrutinising their principles of action. Preserve me, thy unworthy servant, from this fatal neglect; lest, judging from external performances, and disregarding the motives from whence they proceed, I should be found, at last, to be only as reprobate silver in thy sight.

Am I in the faith? True saving faith is a living, loving principle in the heart. As life manifests itself by action, so does a living faith;-it works by love, it purifies the heart, it overcomes the world, it unites the soul to Christ, it apprehends his merits, and puts on his righteousness, it lives upon the promises, it realises celestial glories, it raises the believer above the cares of life, the sorrows of the world, and all the gloomy horrors of the grave; it resists sin, it applies the death of Christ as a powerful corrosive to eat out the gangrene of corrupted nature, it raises the dead soul, by virtue of the Saviour's resurrection, from the grave of spiritual death to newness of life, it enables the believer to walk with God, to worship him in the beauty of holiness, in the spirit of adoption, till he attain to the temple above, where his services and praises shall be perfected and eternal. Have I this precious faith, this faith of God's elect, which is

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