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exposed; I cannot be friendless; I cannot be poor; I cannot be fearful; I cannot be sorrowful-with Thee.

"If Thou, my Jesus, still art nigh,
"Cheerful I live, and cheerful die;
"Secure, when mortal comforts flee,

"To find ten thousand worlds in Thee."

APRIL 17.-" Behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of Hosts."

Zech. iii. 9.

THAT is, of the stone, upon which were to be seven eyes, and which intends the Messiah, the foundation laid in Zion.

To engrave, is to pierce and cut. When he became a man of sorrows; when he said, Reproach hath broken my heart; when he gave his back to the smiters, and his cheek to them that plucked off the hair; when the crown of thorns entered his temples, and the nails his hands and feet, and the spear his side-then, O my soul, was this Scripture fulfilled.

As there is no engraving without wounding, so to engrave is to embellish and beautify. And he was made perfect through suffering. suffering. Hence, "I do cures," said he, "to-day, and to-morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected." Hence he calls the season of his passion the hour in which he was to be "glorified." Hence he adds, "Now is the judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out: and I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." And the richest display of his graces; and the acquirement of the dispensation of the Spirit; and the dominion he exercises in our nature; and the prerogative of judging the world in righteousness;

and the praises he will inhabit through eternal ages -all these resulted from his sufferings, according to the language of divine prophecy, and history"When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquity." "Because he was obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, therefore God hath highly exalted him, and given him a Name above every name."

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And as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. To a person unacquainted with the process, the pruning of the tree; the cleaving of the ground with the ploughshare; the operation of the chisel on the stone; would look like an effort to injure or destroy. But look at the thing afterwards. Behold the vine, adorned with purple clusters. Survey the field, yielding the blade, the ear, the full corn in the ear. Examine the carved work when the sculptor has achieved his design, and fixed it in the proper place!

Christians are sometimes perplexed, and discouraged, because of their trials. They know not what God is doing with them. They fear he is angry, and going to crush and destroy. But they are his workmanship. He is preparing them for their destination in the temple of his grace. These trials are applied to qualify and advance them. They will all perfect that which concerneth them. Howard was taken by the enemy, and confined in prison. There he learned the heart of a captive: and this experience originating in his suffering, excited and directed his thoughts, and led him into all his extraordinary course of usefulness and fame. It is good for me, says David, that I have been afflicted. I know, says Paul, that this shall turn

to my salvation. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.

APRIL 18.-"Another parable spake he unto them: The kingdom of Heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." Matt. xiii. 33.

We may consider the kingdom of Heaven, as intendWE ing the empire of the Gospel in the world; and also the empire of grace in the heart.

Let us confine our attention to the latter.

The leaven in the meal is a foreign importation. It is not naturally in the meal, nor derived from it. It is the same with Divine grace. Though it resides in us, it does not arise from us: for in our natural state dwelleth no good thing-It is altogether a new production; and so alien is it from the man himself, who is the subject of it, that the introduction of the principle occasions a ferment, or contest, that lasts for life-the flesh lusting against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.

The leaven in the meal is active, and operating. There it works; and evinces its residence by its agency. And the grace of God-Is this a dead, powerless thing? Is it a notion? Or a principle? We read of the work of faith; the labour of love; the patience of hope. The same may be said of repentance: "What carefulness it wrought in you; yea, what zeal! yea, what revenge!" I will shew thee, says James, my faith by my works: I will shew thee the sun, by its shining; and the spring, by the streams. Faith justifies the soul; but works justify faith, and prove it to be of the operation of God. The leaven is assimilating. It converts; it

changes-not by destroying the substance of the meal, but the quality; communicating its property, tincture, relish. It is the same here. We are transformed by the renewing of the mind. The man remains physically the same as he was before; the same in his relations, talents, condition, business -Yet he is another man; a new man. He is evangelized. He has something of the holy and heavenly nature of divine truth in him. If the grace of God be light, it enlightens him. If salt, it seasons him. If glory, it glorifies him. If leaven, it leavens him.

The operation of the leaven is gradual. The effect in the meal is not produced at once; but by degrees. And do we not read of being renewed day by day? of going from strength to strength? of being changed into the same image, from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord? The work would want the evidence of analogy, if it were instantaneous. In the family, we see children becoming young men; and young men becoming fathers. In the field, we see, first the blade, then the ear, and after that the full corn in the ear. Some are not sensible of their religious advancement; and the reason is, they judge by the growing, rather than by the growth. The one escapes us; the other is perceptible. Were you to stand by the side of the most rapidly growing plant, you would not see it grow; but you would see when it was grown. Thus judge yourselves, and see whether there is not an increase in your convictions of sin, and the vanity of the world, and the preciousness of the Saviour. Thus look at your dispositions; your dependence; your taste; your diligence; your self-denial, in the service and ways of God.

The influence of the leaven is diffusive. Commencing from the centre, it reaches, in due time, to the extremities, and penetrates every particle of the meal. The grace of God is lodged in the heart; but it is not confined there. It reaches all the

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powers of the man's mind, and all the senses of his body. It enters all his situations, and circumstances in life. It affects him in the field; in the shop; in the family; in all his connexions; in all his civil, and common actions; and whether he eats, or drinks, or whatever he does, he does all to the glory of God.

And, as the leaven ultimately attains its object, and leavens the whole-so here the issue of the grace of God will be universal and complete holiness. It will sanctify us wholly-body, soul, and spirit. It will perfect that which concerneth us-and the result is sure, even now. How small soever the leaven is, compared with the mass, the less will prevail, and subdue the greater. The dawn will chase away the night, and blaze in full day. "He which hath begun a good work, will perform it." Let us not despise, therefore, the day of small things, either in ourselves or others.

APRIL 19.-" We ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." 1 John iii. 16.

In the beginning of the Gospel this test of love was frequently required: and Christians not only dared to be companions of them that suffered, but were ready to suffer for them. So Paul testifies of Priscilla and Aquila, his helpers in Christ: "Who," says he, "have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the Churches of the Gentiles." It is well the providence of God does not call us to such a severe trial. But surely the principle requires us to be ready to do every thing in our power on their behalf; and will not allow us to refuse

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