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my God, I trust in thee; let me not be ashamed. Ps. xxv. ii. In thee, O Lord, do I hope ; thou wilt hear, O Lord my God. Ps. xxxviii. 15. Let none that wait on thee be ashamed. Ps. xxv. 3. Divine Answer: Hope maketh not ashamed. Rom. v. 5. They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which abideth for ever. Ps. cxxv. 1. Pray for help; and thongh it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come ; it will not tarry. Hab. ii. 3. Then thou shalt know, &c. Isa. xlix. 23.

DOES God delay his promises, and the enemy raise a suspicion against

his faithfulness? remember, it is said "Pray and wait.' art still alive, and shalt be a witness to God's faithfulness. If he was Thou not faithful and true, he could not be God. His faithfulness is eternal, and as sure and as great as himself; above all our thoughts. Thou shalt at last the more gloriously experience it, and not be ashamed : Heaven and earth shall pass away, but his word shall not fail, because "He keeps truth for ever. Ps. cxlvi. 6.

Happy the man whose hopes rely
On Israel's God; he made the sky,
And earth, and seas, with all their train!
And none shall find his promise vain.

His truth for ever stands secure:
He saves th' oppress'd, he feeds the poor;
He sends the lab'ring conscience peace,
And grants the pris'ner sweet release.

And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. John xii. 32.

THIS he spoke of his death. And it is the remembrance of his cruel death, of what he suffered, said, and finished, when he hung naked and wounded upon the cross, that relieves an afflicted conscience, and effectually captivates the sinner's heart to himself. The sharpest convictions, if not relieved by this sight, will never teach the heart to love. The strongest resolutions, unless made with this bleeding object in view, will melt away like snow: but a crucified Saviour is a powerful loadstone indeed; multitudes have been drawn by it from sin to holiness, from Satan to God, from Earth to Heaven.

Was it for crimes that I have done
He groan'd upon the tree?

Amazing pity! grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!

But drops of grief can ne'er repay
The debt of love I owe;
Lord, I would give myself away;
'Tis all that I can do.

Love seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, and never faileth. 1 Cor. xiii. 5, 8.

My dear heavenly Father, I desire to love thee and my neighbour with a pure heart fervently, and beg thou wouldst let me know and enjoy thy love in Christ, as the only means of producing this love in me. For how can my heart be cold, when resting at the Cross of Christ, and feeling the virtue of his blood? Or how can it be hard, when lying in thy bosom, richly tasting of thy grace, and sweetly experiencing thine everlasting love to me, a vile miserable sinner? Oh! may a sense of thy love melt my hard heart into love, and change it thoroughly.

Had I the tongues of Greeks and Jews,
And nobler speech than angels use,
If love be absent, I am found,
Like tinkling brass, an empty sound.
Were I inspir'd to preach, and tell
All that is done in Heav'n and Hell
O could my faith the world remove,
Still I am nothing without love.

Should I distribute all my store
To feed the bowels of the poor;
Or give my body to the flame,
To gain a martyr's glorious name,--
If love to God and love to men
Be absent, all my hopes are vain ;
Nor tongues, nor gifts, nor fiery zeal,
The work of love can e'er fulfil,

Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. Ps. xxv. 1.— Divine Answer: -Thou hast heard the desire of the humble, thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear. Ps. x. 17.

FAITH only desires Christ, and does neither delight in the gain, nor grieve much at the loss of temporal things; but "Faith, through an earnest desire for Christ and his word, rises above all creatures, and overcomes all worldly pleasures and fears." And this being the work of God, will certainly be accomplished; nay, is looked upon as really accomplished already in our desires and endeavours after it; in the same manner as evil desires are reckoned for deeds in the sight of God, though they never proceed to outward acts.

I cannot bear thine absence, Lord;
My life expires if thou depart;
Be thou, my heart, still near my God,
And thou, my God, be near my heart.

I was not born for earth and sin,
Nor can I live on things so vile;

Yet I will stay my Father's time,

And hope and wait for Heav'n a while.
Then, dearest Lord, in thine embrace,
Let me resign my fleeting breath,
And with a smile upon my face,
Pass the important hour of death.

Draw near in the day that I will call upon thee: say unto me, Fear not : O Lord, plead thou the cause of my soul, and redeem my life. Lam. iii. 57, 58.— God's Answer: Fear not, for I am with thee. Isa. xliii. 5. I am he that lives and was dead, and behold, I am alive for ever more, and have the keys of Hell and death. Rev. i. 18.

CHRIST has overcome death, led captivity captive, and by one offering perfected for ever them that are sanctified." Heb. x. 14.Whoever leaves this world, believing in him, being perfected already, has nothing to fear after death. O, my heavenly Father, dispose me to seek diligently after holiness; and though the work of sanctification will be imperfect in this life, which should humble me much, yet let it cause no fear of death, nor disturb my confidence in thee, since my salvation and my confidence do not depend on a perfect holiness here, but on my being in Christ, and adopted through him; which adoption the weakest child hath as well as the strongest, though both are not equally sensible of it. For every true believer, whether weak or strong, hath eternal life, and shall not fall into condemnation. If, therefore, I am a child of God though a weak one, I am still an heir, and shall find life and deliverance in death.

I am Alpha, says the Saviour,
IO mega likewise an;

I was dead, and live for ever,
God Almighty and the Lamb,

In the Lord is our perfection.
And in him our boast we'll make;
We shall share his resurrection,
If we of his death partake.

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