that we may expect success by insuring his blessing. And when we reflect upon the character of God, that he hath said and he will also do it, we must certainly look for the fulfilment of those threatenings which are suspended over those who rebel and refuse to attend to the voice of the Lord our God-the punishment merited by transgressors. When therefore we are tempted to sin, the examples and the precepts of Scripture must rise before us as a mighty bulwark, to defend us from the successful attacks of our adversaries. St. Paul

would so speak of them, for he says, "These things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted." These things happened unto them for ensamples, and they are written for our admonition. 1 Cor. x. They are 66 towers," in which we may be safe from pride, and boasting, and presumption, and self-dependence, and while their walls screen us from attack, they bear the inscriptions, "Let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed, lest he fall.” "Be not high-minded but fear." "Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of us should seem to come short of it." 1 Cor. x. Rom. xi. Heb. iv.

Thus looking upon ourselves by the light of Scripture, as weak and ready to sink and fall, we shall be led to the only source of strength. "the rock that is higher than us,” whereon we may lean and build our hopes, and which will defy all the storms of earth, and resist the warrings of hell. Nothing can render us more secure than when by grace we commune with God, and cast on him our every care. How gracious has the Lord shewn himself in inviting us to bring our burdens unto him-our sins even are not to keep us back, for Jesus will bear them away, and clothe us with his righteous

néss, and renew us with his Holy Spirit. There is a constant rising up of the suggestions of nature, for which we must constantly pray to be able to conquer ; these suggestions are opposed to, or warp the blessed revelation which God has given us. We are rendered uneasy on account of sin, we lament our barrenness, and we are almost ready to conclude that in consequence of these things, we have neither part or lot in the matter. The Bible meets this case, and we must examine the strength of the " bulwark," which is formed by a few simple words-look to the character of St. Paulno living creature can ever surpass him in zeal or in holiness: "If any man he says, and here is our stronghold, "thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more.” Yet the remembrance of what he had done, his favoured position, the sufferings he had gone through were no basis whereon to ground his confidence: they afforded him no rest for the sole of his feet, they were no occasion of his rejoicing; and yet if any one were qualified to merit the favour of God, St. Paul was the individual. To nature he appears beautifully clothed-how rich are the garments we see him in, when he tells of his stripes, of his imprisonment, of his stoning, and of his shipwreck, of his journeyings, and perils, of his weariness and painfulness, of his hunger and thirst, of his cold and nakedness. Yet how had St. Paul been taught by grace to consider his sufferings and his devotion to the cause of his Master? He thought them no passport to heaven -they were to him but as “filthy rags," for by faith he saw himself clothed in the one only "wedding garment -the spotless righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. This was St. Paul's matter of rejoicing, and it is another instance of the happiness which flows, when we

can lose sight of ourselves, and simply obey the words of our Saviour, "look unto me, and be ye saved;" may we be closer followers of him who followed Christ, and we shall then be included in that number who worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, and who, counting all things but loss for the knowledge of Christ shall be found in him at the last day, not having their own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith, and shall therefore be presented faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy. Phil. iii. Jude.

It is impossible not to perceive what beautiful harmony runs through the Scriptures, and how perfect would be the character, could we at all times obey the precepts and follow the examples which are set before us. What an altered world would this be were each of us to carry out into practice the duties devolving upon us as Christians! Left to ourselves we are full of strange inconsistencies we set out with the idea of promoting the glory of God, but we do not see that while with one hand we advance the work, with the other we destroy it. How many exhibitions of this sad tendency in our nature are continually before us! The course the Bible points out for our adoption to attain God's glory, is to embrace its whole circumference-now from our actions it might be inferred, that the goal is just as well reached, if instead of taking the circuit we run across the diameter; our bias is to run into extremes, and it is by being quickened by the Bible alone that the balance is preserved. Suppose we are told to be valiant for the truth, and “earnestly to contend for the faith," there is no knowing to what lengths our zeal might carry us.

But the Bible gives us knowledge and tells us how to be zealously affected in a good thing-it would free our conduct from bitterness, and self-interest, and prejudice, by teaching us that without charity all our deeds are nothing worth, and that it is the sin against which we must wage war, while with the Spirit of Christ we must love the sinner, and upon those "certain men who have crept in unawares," we must not ask for the fire of heaven to descend, but trying to "be perfect even as our heavenly Father is perfect," we must "bless them that curse us, and pray for them that despitefully use us and persecute us."

And, as regards the doctrines of grace-left to ourselves, we may be tempted to think that faith (or rather a something which resembles it, analagous to the tares and the wheat) will by itself save us, and we leave our brother and sister to perish with cold and nakedness; or our conduct has sometimes another aspect and believing that Christ's merits are all-sufficient, we show ourselves not only barren of goodness, but we indulge in the works of the flesh, saying that we have fellowship with God, and yet walking in darkness! Alas, how blind must we be to the entire tenor of Scripture. What power has Satan to blind the eyes and to bind the conscience! Of the many texts in contradiction of this awful perversion of truth, St. James' Epistle contains one of great force, for he speaks of the perfect law of liberty; and yet he adds, be not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the word. And St. Paul, whom we have seen counting all things but loss, with his full consciousness that Christ, and Christ alone could save, did not cease notwithstanding to press forward to the mark for the prize of his high calling.

The Scriptures fit us both to be active in business, as

well as to be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. They would give us the wisdom of the serpent as well as render us as harmless as doves. And while we would in the pursuit of one duty, lose sight of another, the Bible would teach us how to walk so as to please God, adorning his doctrine in all things: thus have we a "bulwark” against inconsistency.

The Psalmist speaks of his enemies who, fighting daily against him, oppressed him and may not this often be the case with the believer? Enemies indeed he has, many are the forms of their disguise, various their mode of attack, different the weapons they employ-but they are all marshalled under one leader, with one and the same object in view. But at no point are we left defenceless, we have a Captain-Jesus the Captain of our Salvation, in him we may rejoice-in his name we will set up our banners, and through him we shall be more than conquerors. We may indeed sometimes fear, for "the flesh is weak," but our " bulwark" will be found in trusting in God, for if he be on our side, who can harm us? How cheering is the word which David "by inspiration of God" has left us— his refuge was in prayer-"I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, so shall I be saved from mine enemies. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of hell compassed me about, the snares of death prevented me. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God, he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him even into his ears." Psalm xviii. God is the same from everlasting to everlasting, and so in trusting in him and calling upon him, these verses hand down the experience not of David alone, but of all believers from age to age.