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God?" O pray for all such, that they may encourage themselves in the Lord their God: "Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God." And remember the sweet promise connected with our text, "They shall prosper that love Thee."

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem," and practise as well as pray. Let us each be peace-makers. O let us strive to be more like the Apostles, breaking forth ever toward each other, and towards the Lord in each other's behalf, "Grace, mercy, and peace be multiplied unto you." How many vexations arise, how many griefs abound! O, let each us seek each others welfare; let us seek peace, and pursue it. It will cost many an effort to hold it fast in this our day. Errors abound, friends may prove false; trials peculiar each in the family have. O, pray that amid all, that each trusting firmly in the Lord, may be kept in perfect peace in their souls, and their minds stayed on Him. Pray, pray, for dealing in prayer with our Almighty helper surely makes Satan tremble. Pray, "continuing instant in prayer." Pray but a little longer; soon there will be no more need of prayer, for each one will have entered into the haven of rest and peace. And ever remember Him who ever liveth to plead our causes; remember what He can most truly say, "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem . . If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy." And, O! may the like spirit be more abundantly given unto us, so that we may never forget to "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem."

Sturry.

ONE WHOSE HOPE IS IN THE LORD.

TRIBULATION AND

TRIUMPH.

"Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning."-Ps. xxx. 5.

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GOLDEN FRAGMENTS BROKEN-BUT NOT LOST.

BY MR. ALFRED PEET, OF SHARNBROOK.

"Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost."-John vi. 12. 21.-MANY have lost FOR God, but none have ever lost BY God. If they have been temporal losers, they have been eternal gainers.

22.-God loveth His people to the end, therefore they shall endure to the end.

23.-Tears of joy are the dew in which the Sun of Righteousness is mirrored.

24.-Riches are called thorns; such thorns may be touched, but not rested upon. Canst thou set thine heart upon a thorn, without piercing thyself through with many sorrows? 25—Christ made himself like to us, that He might make us like to

himself.

26.-Sinners are too proud to beg God's mercy of Him before He makes them feel their absolute need of it, by enlightening their undertanding to read their condemnation in His holy law. This being done, they become beggars indeed; nor do they beg in vain.

27.-Glow-worms shine brightest in darkest nights; so Christians when in the darkest seasons, while faith is in lively exercise, shine brightest in the eyes of others.

28.-To behold the cross at a distance is one thing, to bear it is another. The former hath a tendency to frighten us, the latter to improve us.

29.-In public assemblies it is to be feared that the creature is often worshipped instead of God.

30.-The love of God and the love of the world cannot reign in the same heart at one and the same time. The love of the world must vanish before the love of God, as a little star vanisheth before the rising

sun.

31.-We shall not cease complaining until we cease sinning, which cannot be till we enter the heavenly Jerusalem, where sin, sorrow, and complaints are no more known.

32.-He that hath a right knowledge of Divine truth, desires greater and clearer views of it, a stronger attachment to it, and strength to practise it.

33.-Natural bodily defects are not the creature's fault, but the Creator's pleasure; and, therefore, he that finds fault with them, finds fault with God.

34.-There is a time when nothing-a time when something-but no time when all things are to be spoken.

35.-The greatest talkers are not always the greatest saints.

36.-Prejudice is that cankerworm which eats out the peace arising, from Church fellowship, and destroys that unity and concord which should always abound among Christians.

37.-The humblest soul certainly is the happiest, and the most like

Christ.

38.-I find it good to be in company with warm, lively, zealous, experimental Christians. Fire communicates heat.

A Word of Comfort

TO THE DESPONDING

ONES.

"Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Cor. i. 8.

FIRST, the word "WHO" in the text is a relative term, and relates to the person of the Father, of whom the Apostle had so beautifully spoken in the third and fourth verses of this chapter; or in other words it doth indicate that the same covenant God spoken of in the fourth verse, who had conferred so many precious benefits upon the Corinthians, had no intention. inany way to leave off bestowing; nor had He by his ample gifts, exhausted His inexhaustible stores, but had an abundance of blessings yet behind in the good old granaries of the kingdom, which should be given unto them as they severally stood in need while passing through this mundane state.

Secondly. The word "also" is a word of addition, which implies that as well as the gifts spoken of in the preceding verses, there should be conferred upon them the sealing, keeping, persevering, upholding, sustaining, directing, supporting, enabling, confirming, perpetuating graces of the Holy Spirit. Now any man that feels himself in the possession of the above-named blessings, cannot but at times burst out in holy acclamation to his God for being so distinguished, and for being so firmly positioned upon the Rock of ages, and broad basis of blood safety.

Thirdly. The next thing we will notice in the words before us is the pronoun, "you," which has reference to a second person or persons; and is as if the Apostle had said, You think that I, Paul, shall be kept to the end, why so will you, yes, even you poor, feeble, fainting, drooping, sighing, crying, weary, way-worn one; although you may find a thousand obstacles, hindrances, and impediments, in the way, and often stumble and get your poor heart grieved, yet be assured that through thorns, briars, conflicts, and fears, my God will safely convey you home. Yes, and even should you be called, for God's glory, to pass through the whole POSSE of earth and hell; even then He would not leave you, nor would He forsake you; for our God is too liberal, and in heart too sympathising, in purpose too unchangeable, to be satisfied with anything short of having you in His own immediate presence in His glory house above; therefore, dear brethren, you may fairly sing,—

"Yes! I to the end shall endure,

As sure as the earnest is given;
More happy, but not more secure,
The glorified spirits in heaven."

Fourthly. The next thing, beloved, we might consider, is the period of the text, "that day." Now the time referred to is the return of our beloved Bridegroom. He now is gone into a far country: I go," saith He "to prepare a place for you." During His absence He has left His vineyard, or Church, in the care of others; and, acording to Solomon, there is a certain clan extant who, in connection with the devil, are taking every advantage of it, saying, The good man is not at home, He is gone a long journey; and I think if ever there was a time when these despisers of Christ and His people had cause to tremble, it is now, for the triumph of the wicked is short. Some are trying to fill the Church with nauseous

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weeds, or error; others not only to halve, but to quarter it; others to fill it with ill-will, strife, and contention ;. but woe unto the agents of darkness, for the day of retribution is coming, when they shall feel the wrath of our God! And how shall they be able to stand in the day of the fierceness of His anger, when He shall return unto Zion, not as the meek and lowly, or despised Nazarene, but the triumphant, victorious, and all-glorious King of Zion, to take vengeance upon the wicked, and to give deliverance to His saints?

Fifthly and lastly, we have the state and condition of the saints portrayed as they shall stand when the blessed Jesus shall come in His glory; blameless," not in themselves, but in the Lord.

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us;

"Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness,

My beauty are, my glorious dress;
'Midst flaming worlds in these arrayed,
With joy shall I lift up my head."

All God's children are judicially blameless: "Who can lay anything to the charge of God's elect? for while we were yet sinners, Christ died for but if a child offend his father, and the father thought proper notwithstanding to forgive the child, even then he would not be blameless, only forgiven. Well, we have often offended our Father who is in heaven, and that times without number; yet we shall not only be forgiven, but as it is in the text, "blameless." The question may be asked, How? Answer, Because God's believing family are perfect in the new man now, and our flesh it is that offends in this present state; but when our Lord Jesus shall come we shall put off not only the old man in his sinful propensities, but "this mortal shall put on immortality," so that like our all glorious Redeemer we shall be perfect in body, soul, and spirit; or in other words, we shall be blameless.

""Tis He adorned my naked soul,

And made salvation mine;

Upon a poor, polluted worm,
He makes His graces shine.

How far this heavenly robe exceeds

What earthly princes wear;

These ornaments how bright they shine,

How white the garments are."

Here the child of God is subject to many imperfections, yet in his right mind he doth not acquiesce with them, but rejoices in that grace that helps him to hate sin, and glory in the testimony of the Holy Spirit, that when "the Lord shall appear, then shall we be blameless before Him."

Cottenham.

GEORGE PUNG.

TRUE GAIN. The ungodly man's gains are losses, but the godly man's losses are gains.

Oh! that we were half as faithful to God as the devil's servants are to Him. The heart is well called Apollyon's palace, for he reigns with absolute dominion therein. O, eternal God, drive him out!

A present God, makes a present cross light; and a present cross, makes a present God precious.

"How sweet when in the dying hour.

To enjoy the presence of the Lord;
Then we rejoice, though creature power
Cannot the least support afford.”

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SUNDAY, MARCH 5TH.-THE CHURCH'S SURE REFUGE. "When I see the blood I will pass over you."-Exodus xii. 13.

READER, how do you expect to escape the wrath to come? Come it will, because it is written that the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel. And again, "Every eye shall see Him." Your eye and mine; there will be no concealment in that day—“ the great and notable day of the Lord." Yet there is a Refuge from wrath; that is "the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." Hast thou, then, as a guilty sinner, fled for refuge to His blood? If so, thou needest not fear, although thou mayest never yet have felt assured of thine interest in salvation—it is sure. The Holy Ghost never convinces any of sin but He will in the end lead to Christ. See here, in the twelfth of Exodus, how the people were

1. Forewarned of what was coming. The Egyptians were left in ignorance; sudden destruction came upon them, and no lamb was provided; but the Lord revealed His secret to Israel, and they believed. If they had not faith enough at first to believe themselves safe, they had faith enough to lead them to obedience in killing the Passover. Have you enough faith to go to Christ with groans, and sighs, and tears? Then the Lord says to thee, yes! even to thee, poor soul, "Fear not, I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; THOU MINE."

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2. Grace, which shewed the danger, pointed to a substitute, "They shall take to them every man a lamb." They were not better than the Egyptians. But a Ransom was found; God appointed, and HE accepted the death of the Lamb: the Clean for the unclean; the Innocent for the guilty; the Just for the unjust; the One for many: a lamb for a house, Here was life springing from death. The blood shall be a token, a covering over and a wall on either side of the door, but not a drop on the ground, to be trodden under foot. Such precious blood may not be wasted.

3. There was salvation: None were so good as not to need the blood; and none were so bad that it could not save. Bless the Lord, the greatest sinner need not fear who has fled to the blood; the greatest Pharisee cannot be saved without it. Every mouth must be stopped, all boasting excluded, the sinner humbled, and Christ exalted.

"Crown Him Lord of all."

SUNDAY, MARCH 12TH.-THE CHURCH'S FAIRNESS. "Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee."-Solomon's Song iv. 7. WHOSE words are these? To whom are they spoken? It is the voice of Him who spake as never man did or could speak, but Himself. Here

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