our conversation is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ; who shall change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the mighty working whereby he is able to subdue all things unto himself." Sweet then is the rapturous revelation," the name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it and is safe;" oh, then "because of the savour of thy good ointments, thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee.' But not to tarry here, methinks it plain, as though written with a sunbeam, the renewed children of the Lord shall come and worship before him, God the Father, for not having appointed them unto wrath, but to obtain salvation by Jesus Christ; they shall also worship Jesus Christ their Redeemer, who loved them, and gave himself for them; and they shall no less worship God the Holy Ghost," who is rich in mercy, for the great love wherewith he hath loved us; and when dead in sins hath quickened us together with Christ. And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace, in his kindness towards us through Christ Jesus," Rom. i. 4—6. One thing more remains to be set forth, namely to exhibit the reason wherefore the Lord's name shall be magnified from everlasting to everlasting, "For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone." Oh yes, Jesus, as God, is great indeed. "For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness." He is great above men, angels, and devils, being the image of the invisible God, the first born of every creature." In a word, without all "controversy great is the mystery of godliness, God was February, 1852.] xvi. 3, 13. Another most marvellous act of our most glorious Christ is, his tender sympathy with his exercised, tried, and afflicted members, being touched with the feeling of their infirmities. Most full are these words of consolation to the point: "In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them and carried them all the days of old." (6 Seeing then we have so great an High Priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God; let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an High Pries which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore com boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." "Remember ye then this, and shew yourselves men:" "for I am God, and there is none else;" "declaring the end from H the beginning, saying, my counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure." "Hearken unto me there fore, oh, house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, which are carried from the womb. And even to your old age, I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and I will deliver you." Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me." And to sum all up in a breath, as it were, what a wondrous thing will he perform for his people by and bye: "when the wicked shall be cast into hell, with all those who forget God." Matt. xxv. 31-46. You see then, beloved, the thought is blessed and refreshing; "All things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many, redound to the glory of God. For which cause we faint not; but though the outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen, are temporal; but the things which are not seen, are eternal." But the Scripture closeth with the Father's testimony to his dear Son, "Thou art God alone!" What will the blasphemous Socinian say to this? Why, "the invisible things of him are clearly seen from the creation of the world, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.' In another place we perceive God the Father thus speaking unto his and our foundation, after his return to glory, "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore, O God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows." Is the Father their God? the Son also is God, and the Holy Ghost is God; and yet they are not three Gods, but one God, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders. "He that hath the Son then, (in his heart's experience,) hath life; while he that hath not the Son of God, hath not life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." As God, he knoweth all things; while as God manifested in the form of a servant, he hath a fellow feeling for his poor and suffering members. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Thus, "The grace of God that bringeth salvation, hath appeared unto all men: teaching us, that denying ungodliness, and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world. Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." All hail, thou glorious Immanuel, AlShaddai, God our Saviour, God in us, over all, blessed for evermore: be thou exalted in thine own strength, so will we praise thy most holy name. O come then, let us sing unto the Lord; let us make a joyful noise unto the Rock of our salvation. For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods." Yea, he is our God; and " we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand." In a word, "Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at his holy hill for the Lord, our God, is holy." Ps. xcix. 9. GEORGE HENRY GODDEN. From the Porch at Bethesda. ENCOURAGEMENT. GRACE and peace from God our Father, and from Jesus Christ our Lord, be multiplied unto you. I am persuaded that the Lord is doing you great good by the great exercises you meet with, for "as many as the Lord loves, he rebukes and chastens." The Lord help you to believe, that all your trials are so many fresh tokens of that boundless love which is in his heart towards you; and to receive them from his hand accordingly, with submission, patience, cheerfulness and thankfulness. Your "light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for you a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory: while you look not at the things which are seen, which are temporal, but at the things which are not seen, which are eternal." Patience is a perfecting grace; and we are exhorted to "let patience have its perfect work, that we may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." James i. 4. When the saints, as one well says, have learned to bear a cross, they shall wear a crown. Our dear Lord Jesus, "though he were a son," such a son! "yet he learned obedience by the things which he suffered." And the members must be conformed to their head, in sufferings, as well as in glory, to meeten them for their inheritance, and prepare them for their crown. Let us reckon, then, that all our time trials, as they flow from God's love, through the blood of Christ, and are under the sanctifying influence of the Holy Ghost, to be greater riches than the treasures of Egypt, or this dark world. And now, that you both may be strengthened with all might, according to God's glorious power, unto all patience, and long-suffering with joyfulness, is the earnest desire of Yours, &c. W. R. THOUGHTS ON GENESIS VI. 9, AND JOB I. 1. "Noah was a just man, and perfect in his generation; and Noah walked with God." "There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was and eschewed evil." perfect and upright, and one that feared God, these two passages is, to point out My principal aim in selecting what I conceive to be the real sense of the word perfect, when applied to well knowing, that passages of this persons in the sacred Scriptures ; description have often distressed the For minds of the children of God; and as my chief desire is to be instrumental in affording comfort and encouragement to them, I thought I might, in some measure, succeed by offering a few thoughts on this subject; and without entering further, by way of preface, I remark, that to be perfect in the scriptural sense of the term, is to be habitually upright and sincere in our motives and intentions, as it respects both our dealings and conduct in the sight of God, as well as before men. though a believer has a standard of perfection to imitate, yet God does not expect him to arrive at the full summit whilst he is encumbered with an imperfect and sinful nature: it is true that God pronounces Noah, David and Job perfect, yet we discover in each of these excellent men awful marks of imperfection and depravity; it therefore follows, that if we are upright and sincere in our general deportment, arising out of principles truly evangelical, we are considered in the sight of God, perfect in the same manner in which God so considered his three eminent servants before mentioned; though it is nevertheless true that this perfection will not bear the test of God's perfect law, as that law looks to the thoughts and words, as well as to the actions of men; but the believer's true perfection is in Christ, who fulfilled the law to the utmost 58 the beginning shall stand, al pleasure." "H fore, oh, house remnant of the L are borne by 1 which are carric And even to you. THE VOICE OF THE ROD. Dear Brother and Sister, MAY the peace of God, that asseth all understanding, keep our heart and mind through Christ esus. I am exceedingly glad that you e helped to bear your loss pantly, believing that the Lord will you good by it. Our dear Father ́er takes any good thing from us, in order to give something er. He has taken away your les, to give you pearls ; emptied of riches in show, to fill you true riches and never failing +ance. Bless him, therefore, aking as well as giving. His cast the lot this way; believe d you will like it well. A grace is better than much you will be great gainers by loss, if the Lord give you sion to his sovereign disposal t, acquiescence with his good e in it, and a further acice with himself as your ing All by it. Mr. RutherIs the world the clay porastards; not the inheritance en.' It is a great thing for hat is rich in this world, to ghly sensible of its nothingto live beside his outward ts upon that infinite inexfulness he has in God. tures stand as a blind Is and him. And God children so that he calls rts, and rather than want vill strike the creatures himself, the life of all might be exceedingly } us. He will dry up 6 let go the substance, the sum and quintessence of all our bliss. Oh how happy should we be, if infinite sweetness did always ravish our souls, and unheart us from all the creatures. Oh the crystal streams which proceed out of the throne of God, and of the Lamb, how sweet are they at the well-head. What a pure river of water of life should we swim in, if we had always lived in God. This will be our life in heaven, to the utmost perfection; and happy they who are aspiring after the rising glory, and highest degree of it here on earth. of creature-comforts, irsty souls may learn eir fill at the fountainso great is his grace, th him well to see his e to his bosom for all when starved out of lies. Oh what fools tch at shadows, and The Father of mercies, and God of all comfort, fill you with all joy and peace in believing. I am your's in Christ for ever. : PRAYER. G. R. It is an astonishing thing to see, how, under fervency of prayer, and a seeming fervency therein, many of us are at a stand as to visible thriving in fruits of grace, and it is to be feared, without any increase of strength in the root of it; and, which is yet more astonishing, men abide in the duty of prayer, and that in constancy, in their families and otherwise, and yet live in known sins and the fault and guilt is wholly their own, who have effected a consistency between a way in sinning, and a course in praying : and it ariseth from hence, that they have never laboured to fill up their requests with grace. No man was ever absolutely prevailed on by sin, who prayed for deliverance according to the mind of God. Every praying man that perisheth, was an hypocrite; the faithfulness of God in his promises will not allow us to judge otherwise, Ps. 1. 15; xci. 15. For men to be earnest in prayer and thriftless in grace, is a certain indication of prevalent corruptions, and want of being spiritually-minde |