Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established. Believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper....2 Chron. xx. 20.

SUCH was the advice of good Jehoshaphat in a time of invasion by a powerful army. Precious words; at all times seasonable. What can a child of God desire on this side glory so much as establishment of mind and prosperity of soul? Both are obtained by faith; as the mind is established so the soul prospers. 1st. What is implied in being established? It is to be fixed and settled in the confidence of one's mind and not to halt between two opinions, as those of old did between God and an idol....1 Kings xviii. 21. To halt is to be lame on both sides; thus their minds were in suspense, agitated between two objects, and not steadily fixed upon either; so many sincere souls are tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine; they are like children, not steadily fixed in their judgment, nor settled in their confidence IN the Lord; yet they delight to hear the truths of God in hearing their souls are refreshed; but when hearing is over, their minds are shaken, their doubts and fears again return. O see and rejoice, for, 2d. the Lord himself is set forth as the object of our faith; believe, or trust in the Lord your God; nothing can establish the soul but faith. Lord increase our faith: and to prayer we should add earnest diligence in searching the scriptures, considering the freeness, fulness, and suitableness of the promises of the Lord to us. To believe In the Lord, is to trust in and repose Gour minds upon his covenant-grace and love in Christ Jesus: to take him, as he has revealed himself, as our God and Father: to trust our souls and all our concerns in his hands, just as little children do by their fathers. Their minds have no doubt of their Father's love to them; when they want any thing they ask for it; when in sorrow they tell him of it; and yet, what parent on earth has such an heart of love to his children as our heavenly Father has to us? Did any one ever so freely, fully, and affectionately manifest it? Be ashamed of your unbelief which keeps your souls from being established in his grace and truth: “it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace."....Heb. xiii. 9. Do we desire it, that our souls may prosper? Then "believe his prophets :" they testify of God the Father's love; of God the Son's salvation; and of peace and joy in God the Holy Ghost. Hear them and your soul shall be established in graces believe them and your soul shall prosper in comfort.

How oft do fears beset my heart,
That I shall surely fall,
A prey to satan's deadly art,
And loose my Christ, my
all!

Establish, Lord, my heart in faith,
Firm in thy truth to stand:
Daily to live on what thou saith,
While in this barren land.

M.

Strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use, have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil....Heb. v. 14.

IT is hard for any who are called to minister in or write about the truths of God, to please every one. Babes who are unskilful in the word of righteousness, can only take milk: they cry out against strong meat, it offends their stomach. But such should consider, 1st. That they are not always to continue babes, to feed upon pap and milk; the tender mother tries her infant again and again with meat though its stomach heaves against it and it has not the art to swallow it; so they must learn to eat strong meat that they may grow there by. 2d. God's children are not all of equal age, therefore strong meat is as necessary for adult men as milk is for babes: those of full age, or PERFECT. Not so, compared with the perfect law of God: there is no one upon earth perfect in this sense, though many through perfect ignorance of the law and themselves, pretend to it: but PERFECT in comparison of babes, respecting the knowledge of the everlasting, electing, immutable love of God in Christ to sinners; of his freely and fully justifying and eternally glorifying them through the blood and righteousness of his Son; and of his effectually calling and sanctifying them by his Spirit, &c. Therefore, 3d. The most deep and strong truths of God are held forth in scripture as strong meat to nourish, comfort and build up such who are of full age: hence it becomes those who labor in the word to give each their por-tion; that neither babes on one hand, nor strong men on the other, should have reason to find fault. Babes should not expect the strong to come back to their food; but they should press forward to maturity. How is this to be attained? 1st. "By reason of use:" constantly searching the scriptures, and hearing them opened and explained, just as a learner uses his grammar which contains the rudiments. of the language he wants to attain; he cannot get forward without it: he must be perfect in it: he is never to forget its rules. 2d. "By the exercise of the senses:" the internal ones of the understanding and judgment: "SEEING Jesus."....Heb. ii. 9. "Hearing his voice."....John x. 3. SMELLING the sweet odour of his love: "his name is as ointment poured forth."....Song i. 3. "TASTING that the Lord is gracious.".... Pet. ii. 3. "HANDLING the word of life and salvation as held forth in the gospel."....I John i. 1. Thus exercising our senses on Christ we grow strong to trust him: we discern that all good is in him and all is evil without him.

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From blest experience may we prove. Who feeds with meat that's from above The wisdom of God's righteous ways, According to our strength and days.

They shall take to them every man a lamb....Exod. xii. 3.

THIS was God's appointed means of salvation in a night of sore destruction. Here is a display of the sovereignty of God and the obedience of faith. Lord enable us to bow to the one and to learn more and more of the other. Consider, Ist. The sovereignty of God in his SEVERITY upon his enemies and in his GOODNESS to his people :.. in destroying all the first-born of the former, and in preserving every one of the latter: and this was in a way appointed by his sovereign mercy. There is no mercy from God to any sinner, but in the way he appoints. This was a LAMB: "They shall take to them every man a LAMB." His flesh was to be their food, his blood their salvation. Would not taking the flesh and blood of any other creature have answered the same end? No: to attempt it would have been a direct act of unbelief of God's word and disobedience to his will; such a soul would have brought upon himself swift destruction. O, beware lest you turn your eyes from the Lamb of God: there is salvation in no other. See, 2d. The obedience of faith: we do not find one Israelite destroyed; they believed God's word, and obeyed it they did not dare to reply against God and say, WHAT DOST ́ THOU? Why wilt thou? Is it just to destroy so many souls in one night? Why take a lamb and sprinkle his blood as our protection? Why institute this sign to us only, and not to the Egyptians also? Why not give them at least a chance of salvation? O, the power of faith! It kills such arrogant speeches. The grace of faith in the heart subdues the enmity of the carnal mind, bows the rebellious will, stills the turbulency of nature, brings peace to the conscience and love to the heart: for it takes and feeds upon the flesh, and trusts alone in the blood of THE LAMB OF GOD, who taketh away the sin of the world this is God's appointed way of salvation. O, how simple, how happy, is the believing soul! God and he are perfectly agreed. God says, "take the Lamb, my beloved Son, as my free gift for your whole salvation." The Lamb says, my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed."....John vi. 55. And the obedient sinner says, Lord I believe, help my unbelief. Dost thou believe? Hast thou experienced this? O, bless the loving Spirit for the gift of precious faith! Faith is the gift of God; feed by faith on the Lamb of God: thus take, thus receive, thus live upon Christ and his fulness every day on earth till you see his face in glory. Yet a little while and he shall come....Heb. x. 37.

There is salvation in the Lamb,

For sinners vile as me :
I glory in his precious name,
And long his face to see.

Christ is my food, my robe, my joy,..

I take him thus by faith;

No foes can e'er my soul destroy,
Christ is my life, my health. M.

If any man suffer as a christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf....1 Pet. iv. 16.

"THE disciples were first called christians at Antioch."....Acts xi. 26. It is a blessed name; we ought ever to glory in it, and never be ashamed of it; but the bare name will no more avail us in life, death and judgment, than to be called rich while we are in pinching want. Christ signifies ANOINTED: "He was anointed to be our Saviour."....Acts x. 38. All who are saved by him and come to him, are his anointed ones. So St. John speaks of all Christ's living members, "ye have an unction from the Holy One.".... 1 John ii. 20. To anoint is to consecrate and set apart for holy and spiritual purposes. Christians are consecrated and set apart from the rest of the world, to be a people peculiarly devoted to the glory of Jesus; they are the jewels which compose his mediatorial crown. Are you thus highly honored by the Lord of life and glory? Is your soul anointed by the Spirit of Christ? Then verily the world will also anoint you with their spirit; the more the unction of the Holy One is manifest in your walk and conversation, so much the more will the wicked one and his children bespatter and besmear your character with reproach and imfamy: thus you will be sure to suffer as a christian; at least in your good name. This must be cast out as evil. Only take heed that you suffer as a christian; that it be for confessing Christ and adorning his gospel. As you love Christ, and have a tender concern for his glory, O let him not be wounded and his cause dishonored by any unholy, unjust, immoral actions, &c. Remember, the men of the world are vulture-eyed to your faults, glad to espy and eager to proclaim them with an air of triumph, saying, see here, these are your christians." But if you really do suffer as a christian who have given up yourself to be a disciple of Christ, art following him in the regeneration, and therefore art the butt of contempt and a mark to be shot at by the prophane wit of ungodly men: be not ashamed: be not confounded: do not hang down your head with fear, but look up to God with joy: glorify him for thus honoring you: remember on whose behalf you suffer: put all your sufferings for Christ to his account: you have Christ's note of hand; he will surely pay it: but if you are ashamed, it is a sign you cannot credit him. What! is the credit of Jesus, the God of truth, bad in your eyes? Be ashamed for want of faith to trust him: meditate often on that day, when Christ shall come, in the glory of his Father, to confess them who now confess him....Luke xii. 8.

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Dear Lord, who suffered once for me So fill my mind with love to thee,
Upon the shameful cross,
To count no shame my loss.

M

With his stripes we are healed....Isa. liii. 5.

A GREAT professor once said to me, "I can never conceive how one man can be made righteous by the righteousness of another." Thus his carnal reason led him to object against Christ's righteousness being imputed to us. I replied, why then do you profess to believe that your sins can be washed away by the blood of another? He was silent. "Without controversy, great is the mystery of godli ness:" too great a mystery for human reason to comprehend, but not too great for divine faith to receive, to the joy of the soul. Sin is a malignant and mortal disease: the soul must die eternally of it, unless healed: this healing the soul is the pardoning of sin; this is obtained by the stripes of Christ. You feel the evil of sin: you mourn over the guilt of sin: you groan under the burden of in-dwell→ ing sin, from day to day. The Spirit of truth, the cOMFORTER, here holds forth a blessed remedy for you to look to for pardon of sin, peace of conscience, and healing of soul: THE STRIPES OF JESUS: just as though the Lord proclaimed to a world of diseased sinners, "this is your only remedy, so sure as you are sinners and feel sin in your nature, so truly did the Son of God take upon him the SAME nature, had all your sins laid upon and imputed to him, and in that nature was cursed by the law as a malefactor, wounded, bruised and put to death by divine justice, as the greatest sinner by imputation that ever lived: that hereby your sins, all your sins, are fully pardoned, and your souls as perfectly healed of the disease of sin as though it had never infected you: look to any thing but the stripes of Christ, and you will be miserable: look to these only and alone, and you shall find health, joy and salvation." Sin-sick soul, what sayest thou to this? "Lord increase my faith.". That is a precious prayer: that dear Lord who suffered stripes for thy sin that thou mightest be healed of thy sins; that dear Spirit who convinced thee of sin and made thee sick of sin, will surely answer the prayer of faith and give thee the joy of faith, and thou shalt say, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits; who forgiveth all thine iniquities, and healeth all thy diseases."....Psalm ciii. 2, 3. O, what a marvellous way is this of healing our souls! It is God's way. Unconvinced sinners care not about it; proud, self-righteous souls reject it; licentious spirits abuse it; believing, humble hearts rejoice in it, give Christ the glory of it, and walk worthy of the Lord, to all pleasing....Col. i. 10.

Strict justice Christ hath satisfied,

By pains, and stripes, and death: By these our souls are justified, And comforted in faith.

This is the faith which works by love
Of our dear suff'ring Lord:

It lifts our souls to joys above,
Obeys his holy word.

M.