God will have the same. deserveth as much credit He is able to perform, and as faithful to fulfil His promise, as your neighbour. "No one ever trusted in Him, and was confounded." And where the "mind is stayed on God, it will be kept in perfect peace," before deliverance comes. Such may say, with David, "God is our refuge, therefore we will not fear, though the earth be removed, and the mountains carried into the midst of the sea" (Psalm xlvi. 1-2). Or with Habakkuk, "Though the fig-tree should not blossom, nor fruit be in the vine; though the olive too should fail, and the fields yield no meat; though the flock be cut off from the fold, and no herd be found in the stalls, yet will I rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." The prop of God's faithful word cannot break; and a human heart, resting firmly on it, never can sink. And men might learn to feel their unbelief from want of this support in trouble. The prop stands ready on the king's high-road, to support all weary passengers; but they have not faith to lean upon it, else they would find

Why should it not? God's word surely as the word of man.

rest.

In speculation, it seems as easy to trust a faithful God as trust an upright man; but in practice, it is found otherwise. When trials come, men cannot trust a faithful God without divine assistance; so trust Him as to cast their burden on Him, and obtain His perfect peace. Here the charm of faith ceaseth, because there is no faith to charm.

WILLIAM ROMAINE.

Gospel Obedience.

Put

Consider, O my soul, those motives to an holy walk. them all together; weigh them carefully again and again; do it faithfully, as in the presence of God; and then try whether thou art walking in the way of duty with a free spirit. Dost

thou proceed upon evangelical or upon legal principles? Dost thou serve God for wages or for love? Examine thy heart. God looks chiefly at it. How is it in duty? Is thine obedience to justify thee in the least, or does it spring from thy sense of being justified freely and fully? Art thou going about to establish thine own righteousness, or dost thou submit to the righteousness of God? Art thou working from life, or for life? I require thee to examine diligently, by the light of the Word, and by the teaching of the Holy Spirit, what thy motives are; for there is no acceptable obedience but what is done in faith. Whatsover is not of faith, is sin. If thou art acting aright, the love of Christ is constraining thee to obedience. Thou art living under the influence of free grace.

Thou hast sweet liberty

Thy conscience is at peace with God. to serve Him without fear. Thy heart delights in His service, and love makes His ways the joy of thy soul. Thou knowest what Jacob felt when he served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed unto him but a few days for the love he had to her. A gospel spirit does the same to God-love makes long service short, and hard service easy. Nothing is pain which love does. And this is gospel obedience. It is faith working by love which refines duty into a grace-the commandments are exalted into privileges-the ordinances become happy means of fellowship with God. The believer meets God in them, and by free converse he exercises and improves his love. He draws near to God, and God draws near to him in prayer, in praise, in hearing the Word, at the Lord's Supper, and in all Sabbath duties. In these ways God manifests His gracious presence, and the believer rejoices in it. God communicates His grace, and the believer receives it with thankfulness. O my soul, pray before duty for much of this communion with God in it. Seek it as the one great end of all duty. And if thou findest it, bless and praise the goodness of thy God. But still seek to be more spiritual and evangelical, that the

GOSPEL OBEDIENCE.

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fruits of thy fellowship with God may appear in thy practice of the duties of the second table. Love to God will manifest itself by love to men; for the Holy Spirit teaches all His disciples to love one another, and He teaches effectually. He not only makes them understand what brotherly love is, but He also gives it. They become partakers of the grace, and are enabled to practise it. Thus He recommends and enforces His lessons. He renders His scholars kind to one another, and tender-hearted. He puts forth His mighty power, and subdues the vile, selfish tempers of the old man, and brings into use the benevolent tempers of the new man. While He carries on the gracious work, His disciples grow more acquainted with themselves, and learn heart humility. He makes them feel their fallen state, their sinfulness, and their danger; in the sense of their guilt and of their distance from God, they are willing to receive Christ for their whole salvation, and then to enjoy in Him all the blessings of the Father's love in earth and heaven.

If thou findest it difficult, O my soul, to walk according to this rule-if to obey from love to God, to love men for God's sake, and in the sense of thine own vileness to be humbled to the dust-if these be hard lessons, consider what makes them SO. Where is the difficulty? Is it not in thyself? And is it not chiefly in thy not using, and not bringing into practice, the principles advanced in the former chapters? Duty must be hard if the spring of obedience be not in motion; but if this act freely, then all will go on well.

Thy whole conduct through life depends upon the nature of the salvation of which thou art a partaker by grace. Consider it attentively. The growing knowledge of it will engage thine affections to a willing obedience. Is it not a complete salvation-an absolutely perfect work-yea, the greatest work of God? Because all the rest come from it, and lead to it. Is it not the infinitely wise contrivance of the eternal Three, for

which everlasting glory is to be given to every divine attribute? When every other work of God shall cease, for this all heaven will to eternity be ascribing to Father, Son, and Spirit. ture account of this salvation. again and again the revealed descriptions of it, till thy heart be satisfied that this salvation is as perfect and complete as the Lord God Almighty could make it. This is its character. Hast thou studied it well, and art thou well grounded and established in the belief of it? Mind, this is the foundation. If this totter, so will all the superstructure. O pray, then, and be earnest in prayer, that God would enlarge thy views of the infinitely glorious and everlastingly perfect salvation which is in Christ Jesus.

honour, and blessing, and praise Attend, O my soul, to the ScripReview the glory of it. Read

As thou growest more acquainted with it, thou wilt see less reason to be discouraged at the experience of what thou art in thyself. It is a salvation for sinners, such as thou art, and no way differing from thee. Only when they are called to the knowledge of the truth they are acquainted with their fallen state, are made sensible of their helplessness and of their misery, but are made willing to cast their souls at God's command upon the Lord Jesus, trusting to the peace which He made by the blood of the cross. And art not thou in the happy number of these redeemed sinners? Dost not thou believe the record which God hath given of His Son, and look upon it as thy lawful warrant-to make use of what is laid up in the fulness of Jesus-thine to take freely-thine to use fully, the more the better-thine for receiving, without any condition or any qualification? He loves to give, and without money or money's worth. He thinks Himself honoured by the pensioners of His grace, who bring nothing to recom mend themselves but their sins and miseries, and yet trust in His promised relief. Herein He glories. When they come to Him believing, He bestows His royal gifts upon every one

of them; and so far as they believe, He withholds nothing that is needful for their holy walk in the way of duty.

These are the principles which thou art to bring into practice. Carry them, O my soul, into every act of obedience. Go to prayer and every duty with this faith, that thou art in Christ, and in Him a partaker of His finished salvation. Then the Father's love to thee will be manifest, and thou wilt have sweet fellowship with Him in all thine approaches to the throne. Whatever thou undertakest, forget not this leading truth. If thou lose sight of it, thou wilt get into darkness. If thou art not influenced by it, thou wilt be brought into bondage. Upon this absolutely perfect salvation thou art to live by faith upon earth, and thou wilt have nothing else to live upon by sense in heaven. Trusting to the complete work of Jesus, thou art to walk with thy God in time, as thou wilt follow the Lamb in eternity, receiving all out of His fulness. O view Him in this light, and it will have the happiest effects upon thy daily walk. While thou art receiving from Him grace for grace, thou wilt live with Him in sweet friendship-duty will be the way and means of enjoying the love of thy Divine friend -and the more thou art in His company, the more delightful will be the way of His commandments. These are the privileges. Read the promises concerning them. what thy Father in Jesus has engaged to give Has He not provided grace sufficient for them? for His honour, as well as thy profit, that He should give both the will and the power to walk humbly with Him? O plead His promises. Bind Him with His faithfulness.

tunate with Him, and pray without ceasing.

Call to mind

His children.
And is it not

Be impor

THOMAS ADAM.

Resignation.

Submission to the will of God, with experience of His sup