save their fellow-creatures, whom they view as safe already

Nor is it less false. Take the characters of real Christians as they are found in the faithful word, and compare them with those who are living around you, and how few will come up to the representations? And does not the Scripture tell us that they are "jewels," for thei rareness as well as worth; that they are a little flock" in a large field; that they are a garden” in a vast wilderness; that they are as the shaking of an olive tree, two or three berries in the top of the uttermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof?" Strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life, and few there be that 1 nd it. Yet God has never left himself without witness: he has always had a people for his Name; and this has been our case as a nation; "for except the Lord of hosts had left unto us a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah." But though the remnant has been small relatively, it has been considerable in the aggregate; and is now increasing; and will increase. We have seen great things; and our children will see yet greater; for "he shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit."

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"If

Of their sanctity: "they shall not do iniquity." This must be taken with some restriction. We would not plead for sin; but we must not oppose the testimony of God, which assures us that "there is not on earth a just man that doeth good and sinneth not.” we say we have no sin," says John, "the truth is not in us." And James says, "In many things we offend all. But they are not workers of iniquity," and "evil doers." "evil doers." Sin does not reign in them; they do not obey it in the lusts thereof. There is no sin in which they knowingly live. They hate every false way; and esteem all his commandments concerning all things to be right. He that has "true holiness" cannot be satisfied without perfect holiness. He therefore prays to be sanctified throughout, body, soul, and spirit and whatever falls short of this is matter of grief and humiliation to him.

Of their sincerity: "they shall not speak lies, neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth." A part is put for the whole; and the quality of their speech is designed to express the inward temper of their minds. They shall be Israelites indeed, in whom there is no guile. Every thing is lies with God that does not accord with the state of the heart; and only an upright spirit can maintain a deceitless tongue. The fruit partakes of the nature of the tree. What is in the well will be in the bucket: what is in the warehouse will be in the shop. “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth good things; for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." Infirmity is not hypocrisy. They are not mere pretenders. They do not draw on a fine white glove over a filthy leper's hand. They are not like a painted sepulchre, fair without, and rottenness within. They are not mere actors on a stage; but are really what they appear to be. Their integrity is peculiarly known by this-there is nothing of which they are more afraid than self-deception. They therefore come to the light. They examine themselves by the rule of the word. They implore the Inspection of God himself: "Search me O God, and know my

art: try me, and know my thoughts and see f there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."

Of their privileges: "they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid." Thus their blessedness is expressed pastorally, and includes three things. First, pasture; they shall "feed." As his sheep are men, their food must be something intellectual and spiritual; and as they are new creatures it must be something congenial with their new appetites. And we read of the provision of God's house, and of his people being satisfied with his goodness. The ordinances of religion are the places in which they are fed, but they are not the food itself. What says the Saviour? "I am the bread of life." He that eateth me even he shall live by me." Secondly, repose; and shall "lie down." In an eastern climate, and in a warm day, how desirable would the refreshment of rest be? and therefore the Church says, Tell me, not only where thou feedest, but "where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon?" And this David enjoyed and acknowledged; he not only feedeth me beside the still waters, but he "maketh me to lie down in green pastures." I cannot explain this to you if your own experience does not. I cannot enable you to comprehend what that peace with God is which they feel who are justified by faith; what that contentment is that springs from communion with an infinite good; what that dwelling at ease is which the soul realizes that casts its burden upon the Lord, and is careful for nothing. Thirdly, security and "none shall make them afraid." Sheep are the most timid of all animals; every appearance and movement alarms them. And this is too much the case with those they represent. But things are spoken of in the Scripture according to their proper tendency and effect. The righteous are bold as a lion--that is, they ought to be so; their duty requires it: their principles justify it. Nothing should make them afraid; because nothing shall, nothing can injure them. God has amply provided for their confidence; and when they can apprehend it by faith, they can be in quiet from the fear of evil · they can "dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods." Happy art thou, O Israel! who is like unto thee, O people saved of the Lord! Visit me, O Lord, with thy salvation; and let nie glory with thine inheritance.

JULY 16.-"Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast."-Heb. vi. 19.

AMONG the advantages by which a Christians distinguished he is peculiarly characterized by the possession of hope. This hope is called a good Lope through grace:" and the goodness of it is to be seen in its utility and certainty.

The usefulness of it is here expressed by a metaphor. We have this hope as an anchor of the soul." It will be easy to show the simple force of the comparison. The ship is anchored even in the harbour or port to keep it from being driven while lading or unlading: and to this we liken the use of hope in the common concerns and engagements of the Christian life: without it we could not be fixed trusting in the Lord, but should be all fluctuation and unsteadi. ness; and instability is incompatible with excellency-" Unstable VOL. II.

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as water, thou shalt not excel." But the mair use of the anchor is to hold the vessel in rough and tempestuous weather, when the mariner is unable to steer without danger of running on rocks or quicksands. This world which we have to cross is a sea; and we shall be piteously mistaken if we reckon upon nothing but calms or breezes. Does the word of God encourage such an expectation? Does it not forbid us to consider storms as strange things? In all ages have not the afflictions of the righteous been many? And what is to secure them in persecutions, losses, troubles personal and relative, conflicts without and fears within?

"Amidst temptations sharp and long,

My soul to this dear refuge flies ;
Hope is my anchor firm and strong,

When tempests roar and billows rise."

He that walketh in darkness and hath no light is to trust in the Lord, and to stay upon his God." This David recommended to others: "Let Israel hope in the Lord." This he enjoined upon his own soul: "Hope thou in God." This he approved from his own experience, for he had found it available: "I had fainted unless 1 had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living."

We also read of the "patience of hope," because hope is neces sary to cheer and sustain it. In nature there are wintry months between the sowing and the reaping. And in the Christian there is the prayer of faith, the work of faith, the fight of faith, the life of faith, the walk of faith, before he receives "the end of his faith, the salvation of his soul." Though all the promises of God are faithful, many of them are not immediately fulfilled. Here then patience is necessary, and sometimes "long patience." But we are naturally full of impatience; and therefore we should be in danger of giving up the case as lost, and saying, with the unbelieving nobleman, "What should I wait for the Lord any longer?" Did not this hope whisper, “Wait on the Lord, he of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart?" Wait I say on the Lord. Though he delays, he cannot refuse. The delay also is founded in kindness and in wisdom. The Lord is a God of judgment; and blessed are all they that wait on him. All will be well-all is well All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth." But, says Cowper

"Dangers of every shape and name
Attend the followers of the Lamb,
Who leave the world's deceitful shore,
And leave it to return no more.”

Many of them therefore do not regard suffering ony-There are the perils of indulgence, of ease, of agreeable connexions, of success in business, of wealth, of fame: and we know who hath said "the prosperity of fools shall destroy them." Here again "we are saved by hope." What is the smile of a man to the honour that cometh from God only? What is earth to a better country, even a heavenly?" How came Moses to refuse to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter? "He had respect unto the recompense of the reward." How came Abraham to "sojourn in the land of promise as in a strange country, welling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise? He looked for a

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city which had foundations, whose builder and maker is God.* Thus the Hebrews took joyfully the spoiling of their goods, knowing in themselves that they had a better and an enduring substance. Thus it is that we are preserved from the power of worldly temptations. Narrow and barren commons may urge the sheep to wander; but it is otherwise with the green pastures and still waters. Fill a Christian with all joy and peace in believing, and he has no room to "covet after evil things"-His exposure is when “the consolations of God are small with him."

But this hope, as an anchor of the soul, is "sure and steadfast:" and as to certainty, the truth far exceeds the figure. In other cases the anchor does not always save the ship, but the ship is driven from its holdings and dashed to pieces. But this hope always secures the Christian; there never was an instance in which it was known to fail. This is an incomparable recommendation. Nothing is so wretched as the disappointment of hope. And yet what is more common than the wreck of human expectation, with regard to all earthly things? But nothing can equal the disappointment of that hope which regards the soul and eternity! How dreadful for a man to live in expectation of all that God has promised, and come shirt at last to go with confidence to the very door, and knock, Lord, Lord, open to us; and then hear from within, I never knew you—— Depart! Yet such will be the issue of every religious hope but this It is this, and this alone, that "maketh not ashamed;" and is as sure and steadfast" as God himself can make it.

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And therefore the thing is, whether we can say "which hope we have." It is not only desirable, but possible to know this. Only, in deciding, there is nothing concerning which we should be more careful. What reason can we show for having this hope in us? Have we any better evidence than " a form of knowledge," or a form of godliness," while we "deny the power thereof." How is this hope founded? Is the Lord our righteousness and strength its only basis? How does it operate? For a dead hope is no better than a dead faith. The hope of Christians is a living and a lively hope it will induce us to value; to seek after; and long to enjoy and resemble the glorious object of it. "He that hath this hope in hiza purifieth himself even as he is pure."

JULY 17.-" And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-Jesus; which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name oy interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith. Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, and said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wit thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand. Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord."-Acts xiii. 6-12.

WHEN in their ministerial tour from Antioch Paul and Barnabas eached Paphos, they not only found there the celebrated temple of

Venus, with all the sensualities attached to it; but had to encour ter another and a peculiar adversary. There is no going on in the cause ɔf God without opposition-for

"Satan rages at his loss,

And hates the doctrines of the cross."

And he never succeeds better than when he throws himself into worldly professors and false teachers; and employs fraud rather han force, and address rather than open persecution. When therefore Sergius Paulus, a prudent man, called for the Apostles, being desirous of hearing the word of God; Elymas the sorcerer withstood them, and sought to turn away the deputy from the faith, that is, from the hearing of it. A willingness to hear is often a token for good, even if for the time it does not arise from the best motive. It brings people to the pool where they are in readiness for the troubling of the water. They are in the way of the means; and faith cometh by hearing. We should therefore endeavour to bring people under the sound of the Gospel. We may learn our duty from the enemy of our souls. He does all in his power to keep people from hearing, especially the great. And with them he is often successful. They think it is proper for others, but excuse themselves, not considering that none need it so much because of their dangers, and because of the influence of their example.

-But what did Paul? Observe, First, his reproof. "Full of the Holy Ghost, he set his eyes on him, and said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?" We are not fond of hard names and harsh language; and there is nothing we should more guard against than mingling our passions in the cause of truth: "for the wrath of man worketh not the righte ousness of God." The same actions require not only the same cir cumstances, but the same warrant. When therefore the Samari tans would not receive our Saviour when he was going up to Jeru salem, and James and John seeing this said, "Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?" he turned, and rebuked them, and said, "Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." Paul not only knew the depravity of this wretch, how he misrepresented their doc trine, and calumniated their designs; but he was "filled" with the Spirit as a spirit of judgment and of burning;" he spoke in the name of the Lord, and as a prophet, whose appeal was sanctioned by the event. Observe, secondly, his denunciation. "And now,

behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand." The doom had five characters. It corresponded with the crime-Here was blindness for blindness; judicial blindness for criminal blindness. It was suddenly inflicted "Immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness." It was comparatively mild-It was only the loss of sight: but Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead. It was temporary-He was not to see the sun for a season. I was useful-Like other judgments at the beginning of the Gos