be burnt, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. (a) Fear not; for thou shalt not be put to shame. For thy maker is thine husband: the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of the whole earth shall he be called. For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord, thy Redeemer. O thou afflicted and not comforted, tossed with a tempest and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires. In righteousness shalt thou be established; thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear; and from terror; for it shall not come nigh thee. (b) Such is the charming language, by which God comforts the old testament saints, and much more might be quoted to the same effect.

BUT does he speak less encouraging in the new testament? No, in nowise. Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me. (c) I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me; and because I live,

(a) Isa. xliii. 1, 2, (b) Isa. liv. 4-15.

(c) John xiv. 1.

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ye shall live also. (a) If a man love me he will keep my words; and my father will love him, and we will come to him, and we will make our abode with him. (b) Here again we have the words of eternal life. What the sun is to the natural world, that Jesus is to his church, namely, health, life and light. And how often does he say, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee? So, as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride will thy God, O believer, rejoice over thee. And what can be greater comfort than to hear him say, I will dwell in them, and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (c)

4. HE dwells among his people, to strengthen and establish them. For as the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord, so he is their strength in the time of trouble. Times of trouble they may expect, from various quarters; they may expect them from the world, from satan, and not unfrequently from professors of religion; for many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord delivereth out of them all. How sweetly does David sing of this, in that fine psalm the eighteenth? It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect. He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by

(a) John xiv. 18, 19. (b) John xiv. 23.
(c) 2 Cor. vi. 16.

mine arms. For thou girdest me with strength unto the battle; thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me. And hence it was, that the great apostle could say, I can do all things through Christ strengthening me. So may every

believer say.

WE wonder at the military exploits of many of the Israelites, how they waxed valiant in fight; so that one could chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight; but, then, we are to consider, it was the great Jehovah was their strength and salvation; and that around and beneath them was his everlasting arms, otherwise we see in many places they were weak or weaker than their enemies. (a) So long as the Lord is in his church, she is like Mount Zion, that can never be moved; for no weapon formed against her shall ever prosper, and every tongue that riseth up in judgment he will condemn. Thus God is the strength of their heart; and will be their portion for ever.

5. THE Lord will dwell with his people that he may be their glory. As the sun is the glory of this natural world, and it would be a dreary region, a mere chaos without his lucid beams, so is the church like a city forsaken, or a house without an inhabitant, without the divine Shekinah. Indeed he

(a) Num. xiv. 44, 45. Josh. vii. 5.

is the light of the heavenly world, his church triumphant; and if so, how much more needful that he should be the light of his militant church? and, as one of our poets sings,

"Thy shining grace can cheer

"This dungeon where I dwell; " 'Tis paradise when thou art here, "If thou depart, 'tis hell."

HEREIN lies the difference between a believer and a formalist; the former can be satisfied with nothing short of the presence of God; the latter is well satisfied in doing what he calls, his duty. In the dark and cloudy day, the believer's cry is, Lord, why hidest thou thyself in the times of trouble? O lift upon me the light of thy countenance. But the formalist says, God, I thank thee, I am not as other men are; I have a large catalogue of good things to boast of; but the true believer glories in his God, and in him alone. He can plead the divine promise, wherein the Lord hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people; (a) also, the precious declaration of our Saviour, If any man serve me, let him follow me ; and where I am, there shall also my servant be. (b) Such is the honour which God confers upon his saints,

(a) 2 Cor. vi. 16. (b) John xii. 26.

nor will any thing less satisfy them, than Christ in them the hope of glory!

5. BUT how astonishing is all this? Well might the royal adorer enquire, But will God indeed dwell on earth! Behold the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee, much less this house that I have builded. Yes, he will dwell with man; for the soul of man is the breath of the Almighty. It is

"A beam ethereal sully'd and absorb❜d,
"Tho' sully'd and dishonour'd, still divine."

AND therefore the Almighty declares, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. (a) Well might the royal psalmist exclaim, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him!

LET this encourage every sincere seeker of redemption, to come boldly to the throne of grace, that they may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

EVERY declaration in scripture, every promise, every gracious invitation is spirit and life to the believing soul O! the astonishing love of God to fallen man, What tongue can tell! What-heart can

( ) Isa. lxv., 1, 2.