I am he, and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made and I will bear; even I will carry and will deliver you," Isa. xlvi. 3, 4.

Disciple.-How consoling! These sweet words are spirit and life to my soul, and I never should be weary of hearing them.

are ours.

Pastor. For myself, I cannot think of the paternal kindness of our God towards such poor vile worms, without shedding tears. In Jesus we are blessed with every blessing, so that all things We are his, and he is ours, for he is given to us by the Father; in him we possess all things. Have we not now reason to say with Saint John. "Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God; but it doth not yet appear what we shall be," 1 John iii. 1, 2. As children of God we are absolved, sanctified, and blessed, so that there is no condemnation to us. The accuser's mouth is stopped, because the Son of God in redeeming us has stripped him of all right and power over us. While we persevere in the faith, sin, death, the world, and the devil cannot hurt us. We enjoy the peace, grace, and love of God. His Word assures us of it, and his Spirit bears witness in our hearts to it. We are the children of God, citizens of heaven.

True, in the

eyes of the world we are mean despicable creatures;

but the Bride of the King of kings is internally ornamented, and her clothing is the righteousness and holiness of Jesus. As to the spots and wrinkles that remain, his blood cleanses and effaces them. While yet below he impresses upon our foreheads the seal of the living God; he clothes us with the nuptial robe, and in covering us with this spotless raiment, which is washed in the blood of the Lamb, he adorns us with the spirit of meekness, patience, and love, that we may more and more resemble himself. On this account it does not grieve us to "forget our father's house," Psalm xlv. 10; that is to say, to renounce the pleasures and vanities of the world. We are amply recompensed for this sacrifice by the sweet consolations the Gospel bestows-consolations unknown to worldly men, and which faith alone procures the enjoyment of. The life of believers, the Apostle says, is a hidden life, enveloped in contempt, opprobrium, and suffering, accompanied by misery and weakness; but it is a "life hid with Christ in God" until the day of manifestation. The children of God know that the Son of God is their Saviour; that the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is their Father, and that is sufficient. They can say with confidence, the Almighty and Eternal God is my Father; the sovereign Judge of every creature is my adorable Master, my faithful Friend, my tender Brother.

Henceforth to them death has lost all its terrors; though the shades of death should encompass them, the earth should fade away from under their feet, and the sky and the stars should fall, they would not be terrified; it would be the hour of their deliverance, the signal of the coming of their Redeemer. They would exclaim, Behold him, who for love of me died upon the cross! I know him by his wounds. "Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly." "Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord," Psalm cxviii. 26.

I am not willing to conclude this conversation without giving you some further advice. I am desirous of seeing you delivered from the spirit of bondage, the badge of those who live under the servitude of the law; and wish instead of this legal piety, it was given you to enter into what Saint James styles "the law of liberty;" to live in that intimate communion with the Saviour, in that simple, child-like, and continual intercourse of the heart which constitutes the happiness of the children of God and their paradise upon earth. This is the reign of God within us, which is "righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost."

These blessings are the portion of those who persevere in the communion of the Lord Jesus, and in the doctrines of the Gospel. In them they find, in prosperity and adversity, an inexhaustible

source of life, strength, and happiness. The child of God possesses this advantage, that neither poverty, sickness, nor any external calamity can prevent his being happy. His clothing is the righteousness with which the Son of God has covered him; the balm which heals and restores his soul, the blood of Christ; his internal guide, the Holy Spirit; his consolation, the oil of gladness poured into his heart. The enjoyment of these precious gifts brings tranquillity into his soul, and sheds serenity over his countenance. In this state, he walks as a child of light in the midst of a perverse generation; and with a heart full of filial confidence, he dares continually to present himself before his God, and call upon him as his true and loving Father.

This blessed condition will likewise be yours, my dear Friend, if you cleave to the Lord. And when you are so established by grace, that this state of mind becomes fixed and habitual, you will readily regard with an eye of contempt all that is called great and pompous in the world. When the enemy points you to "all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them," to tempt you to desire them, your faith will give you the victory over him. Humbled as a poor sinner under the Omnipotent hand of God, and at the same time raised above the perishable things of this life, you will

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regard them as unworthy of your ambition. In fine, the inheritance of the children of God is a treasure so rich and inestimable, that he who has had the foretaste of it and hopes to enjoy it eternally, feels nothing but disgust for the husks on which the children of this world feed. He says, with the sage, "Cum coelum aspicio, sordent terrestria;” when I contemplate the heavens, all is vile upon the earth. Like Moses, he "esteems the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt," Heb. xi. 26.

While the grace of adoption will cause you to despise the transitory things of this life, the great salvation of the Lord Jesus will attach you more firmly to the God of your salvation. The mercy he has shewn to you, the chief of sinners; the support he unceasingly affords you; the daily favours he bestows upon you, will all operate as powerful motives to love him more and more; to praise him continually; to avoid carefully everything displeasing to him; and to proclaim to your brethren his goodness, and all the benefits he has done unto your soul. You will have every day fresh cause for profitable meditation, and in giving yourself up to this sweet occupation, you will be preserved from the vain and evil thoughts to which a distracted mind is liable. Your faith will become more established, and your love for and gratitude

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