but-of redemption from the curse of the Law; of deliverance from the powers of darkness; of freedom from the sting of death; of release from the dominion and being of sin-and it was said unto you, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." And this salvation is insured. This salvation is begun. You are already justified by his blood, and saved from wrath through him. You are already renewed in the spirit of your mind. You have already the earnest of your inheritance; and taste some of the grapes of Eshcol. And as to the completion, now is your salvation nearer than when you believedthe night is far spent: the day is at hand.

And what is all beside! well with the soul! well for eternity! a smiling God! an opening heaven!

"A hope so much divine,
"May trials well endure."

MARCH 22. Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you." 1 Peter iv. 12.

ARE we then, before we really suffer, to suffer in imagination; tormenting ourselves with gloomy fears; and embittering present comfort with future apprehension? No. But neither are we to indulge presumption. We are to consider difficulties as well as advantages; and though light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun, yet we are to remember also the days of darkness, for they shall be many. If we do not admit the possibility of disappointment and distress, we shall, when they occur, be dismayed and confounded, and say, If I am his, why am I thus? What is unexpected

is overpowering: it does not leave us, for the time, the use either of reason or religion; and we resemble a soldier, who, while seeking his weapons, gives the enemy an advantage against him. But to be fore-warned, is to be fore-armed: and what we reckon upon in the course of an enterprize, confirms, by the event, the reasonableness of our scheme. The Apostle would not have us to be surprised, or deem it a strange thing, even if our trial should be fiery. A strange thing is a thing unlooked for, and which we had no reason to expect. But is this the case with our afflictions?

-Think of the ordinary state of humanity. Man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward; and is it strange that he should inherit? How numerous and how delicate are the organs of the body! yet they are constantly in use, and in danger. To how many accidents are we exposed! How many seeds of disorder are lodged within us! Every possession makes us capable of loss; every connexion, of bereavement; every enjoyment, of grief; every hope, of fear-the wonder is, that we are ever free.

Hear the declarations of Scripture: "Many are the afflictions of the righteous." "In the world ye shall have tribulation." "Through much tribulation you must enter the Kingdom." Are these the true sayings of God?

Trace the history of His people. However dear to God, or eminent in grace, which of them escaped?

"The path of sorrow, and that path alone,

"Leads to the land where sorrow is unknown:
"No traveller e'er reached that bless'd abode,
"Who found not thorns and briers on the road."

Is this only the language of poetry? "What son is he," asks the Apostle, "whom the father chasteneth "As many as I love," says God, "I rebuke and chasten."

not ?"

Consider the disposition of the world-" Marvel not if the world hate you." If they hate the Light, they are not likely to love those who diffuse it. The principles and walk of the Christian reproach and condemn, not only the profane, but many who would pass for religious, but who deny the power of godliness, while they have the form. The mere moral and pharisaical are often the bitterest enemies of evangelical piety. The rule was once deemed without exception: "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." The absence of it now, is owing, not to the want of disposition, but power. Many things restrain it; yet it is restrained only in the degree. The hand is tied, but the tongue is free-and how does it deal with the decided followers of the Lamb? And what is the carnal mind, but enmity against God?

Survey the Christian's spiritual imperfections and necessities. Without suffering, how can they resemble the Saviour? and be weaned from the world? and be witnesses for God? and be prepared for usefulness? Can the welfare of the year dispense with winter? Is it a strange thing for the husbandman to plough up the fallow ground, to receive the seed? or for the vinedresser to prune the vine? or for the refiner to put his gold into the furnace? Such a needs be is there for all our afflictions: and he only who is ignorant of it, can wonder at the fiery trial.

But, Christian, while you look for it, so as not to be astonished at the experience-remember, you have enough to encourage you. He who died for you, and rose again, and rules over all, has made provision for every condition in which you shall be found. As thy sufferings abound, thy consolation shall abound also. If the way be rough, thy shoes shall be iron and brass: and as thy day, so shall thy strength be-Till the last tear is wiped away, and all shall be peace, and quietness, and assurance for ever.

MARCH 23.-"I know whom I have believed."
2 Tim. i. 12.

- OR trusted, as it is in the margin. And this is better; for the Apostle is referring to an act of confidence rather than of belief; and which was expressed by his entrusting the Saviour with a deposit, or committing his soul into his hands.

The knowledge of which he speaks is not only, or principally, the knowledge he had of the Lord Jesus before he believed on him. He had indeed such a knowledge, and he must have had; for how can we believe on him of whom we have not heard? Who would commit a jewel to a stranger? Who would walk over a deep abyss without enquiring whether the plank was sound or rotten? Ignorance in such a case would render confidence the act of a fool; whereas faith in Christ is wisdom; and when a man commits his eternal all to Him, he has the highest reason in the world for so doing. This previous knowledge, however, is derived entirely from testimony.

But there is also a subsequent knowledge derived from experience: and he that believeth hath the witness in himself. He knows the bitterness of gall, and the sweetness of honey, not from report, but from taste. My conscience, says he, was burthened, and I found no relief till I applied to the Blood of Sprinkling. Without Him, I can do nothing; but I know that his grace is sufficient for me; for I have made trial of it, both in duty and in distress. I have read and heard much of His excellency and I have put it to the proof-He is now a tried friend and benefactor. I have triedmuch-and often-his power, faithfulness, and care; and have found them trust-worthy. I therefore feel satisfaction in reviewing what I have done. I have often been imposed upon, and have played the fool; but not here. Of many things I have

:

repented, but the longer I live the less am I disposed to repent of this transaction. I have examined it in the retirement of the closet; in the light of Scripture; in the view of death and eternity; and the more I consider it, the more I approve and glory in the deed. And I will recommend the same to others -and I can speak with the boldness and earnestness of conviction; for I know whom I have believed.

And here we see the value of this knowledge. It increases reliance and confidence. Hence, says David, "They that know thy Name, will put their trust in thee:" i.e. they will trust with more ease and more firmness. Whence arise many of the doubts and fears of Christians, but from their living more upon their frames and feelings than upon the clear and full views of the truth as it is in Jesus? As soon as ever you have committed a valuable treasure to any one, you become alive to his character; and unless you are well acquainted with it, every surmising, every loose report, every dark and unexplained circumstance, may trouble and terrify the heart-even though the deposit may be secure. For though the safety of the deposit depends on the goodness of his character, your satisfaction depends upon your knowledge of it.

Let me therefore be concerned to grow in grace; and also-and for this very purpose-in the knowledge of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Let me search the Scriptures, for they are they that testify of him. Let me attend his House, and the preaching of his Word. Let me converse much with those who have been much with him. Let me earnestly implore the influence of the Holy Spirit, who, says the Saviour, shall glorify me, for he shall take of mine and shall shew it unto you. Paul, after such a length of acquaintance, and such a depth of intimacy, not only said, I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord-but that I may know