promises? Who can believe these promises, and yet still keep friends with the world, still enjoy with the world, still attach his heart to something else than the great All that is already his, if he grasp it with faith and hold it firm with his whole heart. Though no word in the Scripture could awaken and entirely convert us, yet this ought to win us altogether over to Christ, and for ever drive all the world, the flesh, and the devil out of our minds and hearts.

APRIL THE TWENTY-THIRD.

"My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times. My soul fainteth for thy salvation."-Ps. cxix. 20, 21. "Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble."-Ps. x. 17. "We shall be like bim; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that rath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure."-1 JOHN iii. 2, 3.

10 him that hath tasted how good the Lord is,

This impossible and unnatural not to long

for Him. Should we, if we know Jesus, long for Him less than did the soul of David, that was broken for longing? Should the God of the New Testament, the bleeding, suffering, dying Saviour, the good Shepherd, the Lamb, the Bridegroom, and so on, draw our hearts less to him, and not excite our desire much more, than the thundering and lightening Jehovah of the old covenant? should our love be colder to Him that hath loved us even to the death, and whom we behold dying for love on the cross? Nay; he that knows him

burns with longing, yearns for Him day and night, and can be comforted only with His will, and with the living hope of one day beholding Him all the more certainly and gloriously, the longer he must here wander a pilgrim absent from Him. Beloved one! how is it with thy soul? Does it long for Him ? or wouldst thou be afraid, if thou wert called to behold Him to-day? He that desires to have a joyous living hope of beholding Him, purifies himself from all the filth of the world, from all selfishness and vanitypurifies himself even as He is pure. For the impure shall not see God nor Christ.

:

APRIL THE TWENTY-FOURTH.

66 Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back." -Is. xxxviii. 17. "I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sirs: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee."-Is. xliv. 22.

IET Him that is anxious about his sins, take

this anxiety for a pledge that the Lord and His salvation stand as near him as his anxiety; for He is in the anxiety, He wakes it up, He keeps it up, otherwise we should never be troubled about our sins here. He that now makes thee anxious, will also make thee glad and happy; for, like a wise and good surgeon, He wounds only that He may heal; cuts into the wound only that he may make whole and glad. He first sends discomfort, or want of consolation into thine

heart, in order that He may send consolation after it, and in order that He may find admittance. But when the disconsolate anxious soul cries to Him, and confides in Him, O then He comes with consolation, and a gracious countenance; and before Him and His word of mercy, with which He appears before the streaming eyes of the anxious soul, sin, the complaints of conscience, and the terrors of the judgment, vanish like mist before the sun, like clouds, when the wind chases them away. Then the gloomy sky of the soul grows clear and serene; then the sun smiles into thine heart; then He puts psalms of praise into thy mouth, so that thou must be witness to Him, like all the others whom He has saved? THOU HAST IN LOVE TO MY SOUL DELIVERED IT FROM

THE PIT OF CORRUPTION. Only continue thou in this loving mercy, and deal gently with it. However much it rejoice thee, use it and preserve it faithfully; otherwise the sin, which God hath cast far behind His back, will reappear again and take from thee thy possession with power increased sevenfold.

APRIL THE TWENTY-FIFTH.

66

"Here is the patience and the faith of the saints." REV. xiii. 10. [Be] followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises."-HEB. 6, 12. Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work."-JAMES i. 3, 4.

whether it has been gold, or only dross and false glare and glitter. Thou thinkest thou hast faith? Has thy faith likewise been put to the test? Has it been in the fire of affliction? Hast

thou patience also? Faith without patience is not a faith that pleases God. Therefore Paul says, faith is not of every man. And why? Be

cause patience is a very rare thing. One very easily commits the words of faith to memory, and imitates them with great fluency; but the patience of genuine faith remains far down at the foot of the mountain, if the path does not always go even and straight. Some, indeed, show patience at first, but they do not continue-their patience is not firm, because their faith stands upon infirm legs, and does not lean upon the proper man, that can uphold it. The house has been built upon the mere sands of imitated words, from which no strength has been communicated to the heart. If now the flood, the storm of persecution come, the straw-hut of weak faith collapses, or the fire of affliction devours it. There need not exactly be persecutions, fire and sword, such as those by which the faith of the first Christians was tried, and gloriously proved true; there needs only to come

a sickness, or some other temporary distress, and no faith is to be found, even though it be sought with a lantern. When perhaps the approach of death brings alarm, then one takes to it a little ; but no sooner is the danger of death past, than there is an end to faith and patience. Let him therefore, who feels this in himself, pray for increase of faith; and let him whose faith has not yet been tried, take heed lest he fall.

APRIL THE TWENTY-SIXTH.

I

"Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee."-Ps. lxxiii. 25. count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. And do count them

but dung that I may win Christ."-PHIL. iii. 8.

ASAPH and Paul, as well as all that truly

to us.

know Jesus find nothing so desirable as Him-find in Him, even here below, in the way of faith, more than heaven and earth hold forth What shall they find, and evermore enjoy in Him there, where they shall see Him as He is, and be like unto Him? However, these heroes of faith have now few successors; for most men hold opposite language, and say as they think: If I have but the earth and its treasures, if I have but the pleasures of the flesh, if I have but all the honour of men, why do I ask after Jesus? Some, who would fain do better, think: If I shall one day get to heaven, why need I inquire after the knowledge of Christ now? Sons of man!