There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel; thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you. JOSHUA vii. 13. Having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2 PET. i. 4. See also 2 PET. ii. 18-22.

THE HE entertaining of any worldly lust, and indulgence of any known wilful sin, is an accursed thing, by which we are deprived of the power of GoD, and cannot stand before our ene mies. Behold, therefore, the severity of GOD (Josh. vii. 21-26) and be more earnest. Make all haste to flee from the lust of the world, espe cially from the lust of the eye, which is the love of money. What more needful than to break off even the most subtle and specious bands of unrighteousness! Unless the splinters of the unjust Mammon be taken out, the wound cannot heal up. Nay, examine thyself closely in other things, and whatever sinful lust harbours in thy breast, be faithful to put it off, and flee from it, else you must not wonder at your being so weak in spirit. He that does not resist the sinful motions of his heart, will very easily give a loose to his hands and tongue; but he that immediately subdues the inward corruptions, will certainly be preserved from their breaking out in any sinful actions. LORD, deliver me from all accursed things, and keep my heart always under thy closest inspection and discipline; let it not seek after the things of sin and the flesh, which thou hast called accursed, but be thou my joy and my portion. Amen.

Why should my passions mix with earth.
And thus debase my heavenly birth?
Why should I cleave to things below,
And let my GoD, my SAVIOUR go?

I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. JOB xlii. 6. I am meek and lowly in heart. MATT. xi. 29. Behold thy King cometh unto thee; he is just and lowly. "ZECH. ix. 9.

MY

Y dear reader, reflect a moment who it was that made this confession, and consider the many excellencies that he had. See Job. xxxi. Doubtless you will be ready to ask, Why this self-abhorrence? What did this man want?Let me give the answer for you: before his eyes were opened, he wanted humility, or the knowledge of his own vileness, the very thing that you need, if not deeply humbled, and the want of which makes every man vile in the eyes of God. Elihu charges Job with an undue opinion of his own righteousness; and God, who, by stroke upon stroke, and not one too much, had brought him to the dunghill, is represented as carrying on the same accusation against him. The whole issues in Job's humiliation, and conveys a most important lesson of instruction to all mankind, never to stand upon their vindication with God. The book, in this view of it, is preparatory to the Gospel, and a striking comment upon those words of St. Paul and the Psalmist, "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. In thy sight shall no man living be justified."—"God be merciful to me a sinner," is a prayer easy to be said, but hard to be felt. One eye upon the perfection of God's laws, and another upon your own heart, may bring you up to it. But the Spirit's light is also needful, for which you must pray earnestly.

A sinner vile I am, O LORD,

A sinner day by day:

Much cause I have to loathe myself,

And for thy mercy pray.

And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood. REV. v. 9.

IN

N heaven the saints have a full sense of their great deliverance, together with a perfect knowledge of sin, far beyond anything we now conceive of it; and the glory of redeeming grace will be the eternal ground of their love and adoration. On earth, it is the great exercise and difficult work of faith to see sin and CHRIST at the same time, or be penetrated with a lively sense of our desert, and absolute freedom from condemnation. But the more we know of both, the nearer approach we make to heaven; and we are our own greatest enemies, if, together with the fullest comprehension of sin, and the deepest humiliation for it, we do not look steadfastly unto JESUS, and see it taken away by the Lamb of GOD. This, though continually repeated by the heavenly choir, is called their New Song; because it is always matter of as great joy to them, as if they had never sung it before; and because the love of GOD and of CHRIST in their redemption is always opening upon them with new and increasing wonders. O my soul, let nothing, let not thy sin, hinder thee from beginning it now!

Saints cannot do less
Than JESUS to bless;
His name they rely on,
His Godhead confess.
My soul, bear a part,
If ransom'd thou art,
By JESUS' blood-shedding,
His burial and smart.
To him that was slain,
The scorn'd Nazarene,
Be glory and honour.
Let all say, Amen.

Follow me.

LUKE V. 27. And endure hardness

as a good soldier of Christ. 2 TIM. ii. 3. WOULD you follow CHRIST?

Then follow

him in self-denial, in humility, in patience, and in readiness for every good work. Follow him with a daily cross upon your back, and look to his cross to make your burden light. Follow him as your guide and guard, and learn to see with his eyes, and to trust in his arm for defence. Follow him as the Friend of sinners, who healeth the broken in heart, and giveth rest to weary souls, and casteth out none that come unto him. Follow him with faith, resting your whole acceptance with GOD and your title to heaven on his meritorious blood and righteousness. Lastly, follow him with much prayer; for though he is full of compassion he loves to be much entreated; and when he is determined to give a blessing, you must yet wrestle with him for it. Thus follow JESUS, and he will lead you to glory.

JESUS, I my cross have taken,

All to love and follow thee ;
Naked, poor, despised, forsaken,
Thou from hence my all shalt be.
Perish every fond ambition,

All I've sought, or hoped, or known,
Yet how rich is my condition,

GOD and heaven are still my own.
Let the world despise and leave me ;
They have left my Saviour too;
Human hearts and looks deceive me,
Thou art not like them-untruc.
Go then earthly fame and treasure,
Come disasters, scorn, and pain;
In thy service pain is pleasure,
With thy favour loss is gain.

I have called thee Abba, Father,
I have set my heart on thee;
Storms may howl and clouds may gather,
All must work for good to me.

The Lord is not far from every one of us; for in him we live, and move, and have our being. ACTS xvii. 27, 28. Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. LUKE Xii. 7.

OH! the close and tender love of the LORD over

Он

his people! Nothing is so mean but it is under the providence of GOD, since even the least things can either hurt or profit the soul. And how sweet is it to observe his footsteps even in the minutest things, and to be satisfied that we may trust our greater and lesser concerns to his care! O LORD, grant that I may never swerve from, nor do anything without thee, but that my goings in and goings out may be always done in thy presence, as if I had to do with none but thee; nay, as if we both lived together in the world. O that I could transact all my affairs with thee alone, and in all places look upon thee as if thou wast only a GOD for me. Let me carefully mark the inward workings of thy grace, and the outward tokens of thy providence, so as daily to have a true sense of thy gracious presence in everything, more or less important; and thereby to be ever strengthened in faith, and kept in a composed state of mind; considering that nothing happens by mere chance, but all is wisely ordered by thy providential care to our good; firmly be lieving, if anything goes contrary to expectation, that something better will follow in its stead, if if we only can be quiet, and wait the time.

GOD, that must stoop to view the skies,
And bow to see what angels do,
Down to our earth he casts his eyes,
And bends his footsteps downwards too.

He overrules all mortal things,
And manages our mean affairs;
On humble souls the King of kings
Bestows his counsels and his cares.