Should this paper fall into the hands of any who are exposed to this common snare of Satan of the unequal yoke, our hearts' desire and prayer to God is, that such may be so effectually warned as to look to God their Father in earnest prayer for deliverance, and to strengthen them in faith and godly purpose to stand upon this plain declaration of God's will, "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers." Or should these lines meet the eye of one who has thus dishonoured God, we most earnestly beseech you to turn to God with confession of the sin, acknowledging this deep dishonour to His name, and honestly and unreservedly cast yourself upon His grace and power, and He will assuredly give you to prove in your own soul not only that He is faithful and just to forgive you, and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness, but, in some way or other, His mercy and goodness will be with you.

THOUGHTS ON REVELATION.
AROUSE thee, my soul! look up,

And view what mortal eye cannot discern;
But faith can pierce the distance,

And behold the scene.

Lo! 'tis a radiant glory where

The Eternal sits enthroned

Most wondrous sight!-and in the midst
"A Lamb as it had been slain."

O precious" Lamb of God!" what love
To ruined man express'd in this,
Which wondering angels look into.
There, see the elders seated-
Hark to their song!

With golden harps supplied, they sing

"Worthy the Lamb who hast redeemed us
By Thy blood to God."

Such the bright glimpse of the futurity
That waits the Bride of Him

Who once was slain-alive for evermore.

But stay, my soul! yet thou art here
Awhile to this dull scene of earth in bondage;
Redeem the time, dear saint, for

Thou canst not recall it.

With girded loins and well-trimm'd lamp,
Be active in the service of the Master;
He was the servant here, to show thee
What thy daily task should be;

He went about doing the Father's will-
Thus should the faithful servant

Wait his coming Lord,

With joy to hear the merited "Well done"

From lips that ne'er spake aught but good.

MANY of the psalms were written by David.

We are told so. We also find that other psalms were written by Asaph, the sons of Korah, Ethan the Ezrahite, and Moses.

David is emphatically called "the sweet psalmist of Israel" (2 Sam. xxiii. 1); and surely no heart taught of God could sing of Israel, either as to her sorrows or blessings, and forget Israel's king. Messiah's sufferings therefore, and the glories which follow, are every here and there touched on. No doubt the Spirit of Christ energized the writers to set forth much concerning the remnant of Jews, who will be taught of God, and brought upon the scene after the church is gone. Inspired

with Jewish hopes, and upright in heart, but fearing divine wrath,-finding themselves too in the midst of an apostate nation, surrounded by wicked Gentiles, and the terrible power of Satan let loose upon them, their afflictions will be very deep. We have, therefore, in the Psalms, besides the utterances of the remnant, sufferings of Jesus directly from God in atonement, on which all their blessings are securely founded, as Psalm xxii.; sufferings of Messiah by wicked hands, which bring judgment upon the people, as Psalm lxix.; and we find too that Jesus passed through sorrows in grace as will enable Him to sympathize with the faithful remnant by and by; "for in all their afflictions He was afflicted." Parts of Psalms cii, and lxxxix, shew this.

Those who are acquainted with what Scripture teaches about "the time of Jacob's trouble," out of which he will be saved (Jeremiah xxx. 7), know something of the unparalleled suffering they must pass through until their Deliverer comes. The faithful putting their trust in Jehovah, relying on His faithfulness to accomplish His own promises, and their longings for deliverance, frequently occur; such as, "Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! when God bringeth back the captivity of His people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad." They will hope for Messiah's reign, the greater than Solomon, as set forth in Psalm 1xxii.; for they know that their blessings will be associated with the manifestation of His power and glory.

Zion.

"Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon

When the Lord shall build up Zion, He

will appear in His glory." (Psalm cii.) "For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah: that they

may dwell there, and have it in possession. The seed also of His servants shall inherit it: and they that love His name shall dwell therein." (Ps. lxix. 35, 36.)

That the Psalms treat of Israel, and not of the church of God (though there are many passages which believers now can take up for blessing and profit), has been lost sight of by many. The consequence has been much confusion as to interpretation, and necessarily loss of soul-blessing. Assuredly there are in this, as in every other inspired book, great principles of faith, and the expression of pious thoughts and feelings, which individual saints in all ages might take up; for whatever change in dispensation there may be, God is unchanged. We have in the Psalms many expressions of prayer, faith, and dependance, making God a refuge in trouble, as well as utterances of thankfulness, praise, and rejoicing. We do not, however, meet with what may be called proper and distinctive characteristics of Christianity, such as the spirit of sonship, worship in the holiest through the rent veil, the conscious indwelling of the Holy Ghost as the earnest of the inheritance, and the hope of being caught up "to meet the Lord in the air." The reason is obvious, because the Holy Ghost is here writing about Israel, whose calling, hope, and experience are so different from ours.

As long as souls are in bondage, not clear as to deliverance from the world, the flesh, and the law, and unconscious of their new place, character of blessing, and relationship, as having redemption in Christ Jesus. and through His precious blood, they naturally turn to the Psalms, and try to comfort themselves by the thought that others have been equally in bondage and

misery as themselves. But as soon as they enjoy the liberty wherewith Christ has made them free, and realize their nearness to God, and acceptance in the Beloved, they go to the epistles and other parts of Scripture, because they instinctively feel that much in the Psalms, not being proper Christian experience, does not suit them. There are parts which a faithful follower of Christ could not adopt, such as calling for vengeance on enemies, worshipping afar off "at His footstool," the longing of the righteous to "inherit the land," &c. This can be easily understood as referring to Israel, a people having the expectation of earthly blessings in their own land, and taught righteously to exact "an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth." Whereas the saints who compose the church of God are heavenly people, partakers of an heavenly calling, now seated and blessed in heavenly places in Christ, having the Holy Ghost dwelling in them, with liberty of access into the Holiest where Jesus is, and taught by Him to love our enemies, and meekly suffer for righteousness' sake, while waiting for His return from heaven to catch us up to meet Him in the air. What a different experience of feeling and desire then such must have! As before noticed, some exercises might somewhat characterize both-such as God being our refuge, present help, strength, and source of blessing; for all are taught to walk by faith, and glory only in the Lord. This similarity and difference is noted by the apostle Peter in a quotation from Psalm xxxiv. 15, 16. In chapter iii. 12 of his first epistle he quotes: "The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the Lord