the word and truth of Christ, spiritually received and experimentally digested, are, in his eye, and heart, and ear, the all in all of every ordinance and proclamation of the gospel.

I would come into the power of these things, O my Lord, more and more; and I lament with deep compunction that my progression is so small, my true hearing so dull, my affections so cold, my faith so weak, my hope so drooping, and drooping, and my whole man so often disordered and defiled by infirmity. O how great and difficult a thing is it to be a Christian !— to live, and hope, and walk, truly by the faith of thee the Son of God! Do thou, who art the High Priest of my profession, circumcise and " pierce my ear," that I may be made affectionately thine own for ever: anoint it also with thine holy oil, that I may receive rightly and understand truly the words of eternal life, the rich and the profound mysteries of thy heavenly kingdom. So shall I hear, and live, and learn, and love, till I see thee in thy glory; and then, stripped of all my own imperfection and frailty, but clothed upon with thy righteousness and salvation, I shall magnify thine holy name amongst thy redeemed, in the great, the universal, the everlasting Hallelujah.

CHAPTER XXXIX.

Upon Declensions from God.

ALAS! how prone am I to fall into sin, and to leave the fountain of living waters! My infirmities often prevail against me, and, contrary to the better will of my soul, drag me into the snares and bondage of corruption.

I have sinned: what shall I say unto thee, O thou Preserver of men! If thou leave me to myself, if thou recover me not, I am gone for ever. "O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death!"

Thus I mourn and am vexed, when my corruptions are ready to overpower me. I should be lost, but for thy merciful aid: I must perish entirely, if the blood and righteousness of my dear Redeemer were not again and again applied to save and comfort me.

O what a miserable body do I bear about with me! It is the very load, and plague, and prison of my soul. And yet how foolishly do I love it, and care for it! and how much more time do I spend in nourishing this evil flesh than in seeking the peace of God, or the advancement and prosperity of my immortal mind! I am ashamed, as a Christian, that I am not more ashamed of these things.

CHAPTER XL.

On Sobriety of Spirit.

A CHRISTIAN should desire, as a great privilege, the constant sobriety and calm recollection of his mind. Worldly things often flutter the animal spirits; and the disorder of these will too frequently throw the soul into confusion; so that it is liable to be carried away into what it condemns, through a sudden impression on its affections; or to be turned aside from what it approves, by the vehement onset of its passions. This want of inward sobriety is one great cause of all the irregularities which believers feel and bemoan in their passage to heaven.

Be sober, be vigilant; is a most necessary admonition to us, while we are in this unstable flesh, and within reach of such an adversary as the devil. If we are not abstracted, in due measure, from the crazy and drunken spirit of this world, to which we are naturally inclined, and from which grace can only deliver us at all; we shall be distracted with a thousand foolish and useless things, be exposed to numberless dangers and snares, be harassed with doubts and disorders, and often in our giddiness shall forget where we are, whither we are going, and what must shortly pass upon us. O this golden, glittering, dazzling cup of the mystical Babylon, this evil world! How often is it in her hand, held out towards us! How ready are we to take and to drink

of it! But how full is it of the abominations and filthiness of her spiritual fornication and departure from God!

How difficult, duly considered, is the Christian's passage through life! how marvellous his safe arrival in heaven! It appears indeed to be nothing less than one of the greatest continued wonders of almighty goodness and power.

If a man were commanded to put to sea by himself in a small open boat, without any sustenance but what might fall from the skies, and with no directions but a chart and a compass, and thus to pass over a wide and tempestuous ocean; some faint picture might be formed of the Christian's voyage to heaven. He too, in a feeble bark, has no chart but the word of God, no compass but the Spirit of God, no provisions but the daily grace of God in Christ, no safety from the raging waves of the world, or the roaring winds of the evil spirit, but the power of God, no ability to keep himself for one moment from sinking but through the faith which God giveth, and no hope of getting safe to the heavenly shore but from the truth of God in Christ Jesus. Indeed, and indeed, when a Christian considers all these perils on the one hand, and his own weakness on the other; it seems an act of the most astonishing love and omnipotence, that he should ever inherit the kingdom of heaven. He feels it to be mercy and faithfulness, and rich bounty, and unspeakable kindness altogether, from beginning to end, and is at times lost in wonder, love, gratitude, and praise, for so great, so unmerited a salvation.

Seeing then that these things are so, verily he ought to watch and pray, that he may " continue in faith and charity, and in holiness with sobriety," unto the end.

CHAPTER XLI.

Our Heart must be given to God.

If we could offer to God the whole world, and yet keep back our heart, it would be to him a worthless and an odious offering. He considers not the greatness or outward grandeur of human works, but the spirit by which they are performed. Some build hospitals, make noble endowments, give large donations, and do many other great and wonderful works; all which are not to be spoken against in themselves, because they are of use to the world, and especially to the poor: but it is possible to do all these, without heart for God, without considering his glory, without faith in his mercy, or love of mercy to man, and without being in the least degree nearer to him or his holiness. A widow, with two poor mites and a hand and a heart of faith, will be found to have done more than all these, in the sight of him who judgeth righteously.

If our heart be given to God, we shall not be barren or unfruitful indeed; but our fruit will not be for carnal display or vanity, but unto true holiness. “Christ in us the hope of glory," is a principle of