of bliss, which shall remain undiminished, when the mountain rocks shall melt in the fires of the judgment day.

a

As on fair Vaga's wave my sail
Sped blithesomely before the gale,
I glanced within a rock's cleft side,
Above the swelling of the tide,
Secure from ruthless school-boy's hand,
From foe by sea, or foe by land, -
I glanced within a rock's cleft breast,
A lonely, safely-sheltered nest.
There, as successive seasons go,
And tides alternate ebb and flow,
Full many a wing is trained for flight
In heaven's blue field — in heaven's broad light
Within that silent, peaceful cave,
Ne'er bursts the storm, nor rolls the wave.

Thus, thus that riven ROCK within,
That ROCK OF AGES, cleft by sin,-
For sinners cleft for sinful me,-
Dear Lord! I find security.
How safe, within thy pierced breast,
My spirit finds its welcome rest!
And smiles to see the flood roll by;
And smiles to hear the storm on high;
And plumes her wing, and tunes her strain,
To soar and sing in heaven's broad plain,

17 *

米

ROSE,

My Saviour condescendingly says of himself, "I am the rose of Sharon.” * Our natural pleasures come to us through the medium of the senses. The exquisite delights which the soul that is betrothed to Christ derives from him, are constantly spoken of in language supplied by those senses. The sight, the hearing, the touch, the taste, and the smell, afford images to set forth the excellency of my Saviour.f Sharon was a region of the Holy Land, proverbial for its richness and fertility; and the luxuriance of its roses was much celebrated. Happy was the enlightened mind, which saw in every rose of that blooming land a visible type of the promised Redeemer !

The flower of loveliest hue and sweetest fra. grance is a most apt emblem of my Saviour.

*

Let it always remind me of him, and be dear to me for his sake. The rose has its root in the earth; but its beautiful flower and its rich odor are always aspiring towards heaven; so my Saviour, the “ truth, sprang out of the earth, and, ascending to glory, diffused the fragrance of his merits through heaven and earth. The rose of Sharon, — the flower of the garden, wherever it grew, betokened cultivation and fertility. Wherever Christ comes and abides, “ the wilderness and the solitary place is glad; the desert rejoiceth, and blossoms as the rose. It blossoms abundantly, and rejoices even with joy and singing : the glory of Lebanon is given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon; they see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God." + If I wear a rose in my bosom, it scents my

Has the Saviour a place in my breast, — he communicates the fragrance of his merits to my soul, and his spirit fills the atmosphere through which I move, as it were, with the breath of heaven. Even in death the rose is sweet — passing sweet, and sweetens every place where it lies. Thus, the Rose of Sharon has given the fragrance of life to the very chambers of death and the grave, — to that wardrobe of the saints, where their material garments are to be laid up, until the morning of the resurrection, then to be brought forth beautiful and fresh, fit for the court of heaven.

Hast thou not, in the lone wood's shade,

Oft seen a lovely flower,
Pale, weak, and bending low its head,

Drenched by the thunder-shower ?

Transplanted thence, and trained to grow

The sunny garden's pride,
How sweetly did its odors flow,

Diffused on every side!

Fair Sharon's Rose thus lonely grew

In scorned Galilee,
And fainted 'neath the gory dew

Of dark Gethsemane.

Now, by the Lord's right hand removed

To his own Paradise,
By all admired, adored, beloved,

Its fragrance fills the skies.

FORTIETH MEDITATION,

SANCTIFICATION,

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66

My Saviour is my SANCTIFICATION ; for he “ of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.* One of these four cardinal privileges of my portion, as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ," righteousness," or justification, - is imputed to me;

,

; the other three are imparted to me. "Righteousness," being the ground of my present acceptance with the Father, and the title to my future inheritance, is reckoned to my account in the book of God in full. “ Wisdom, sanctification, and redemption,” are bestowed on me progressively and occasionally, in the life that now is; and they will be given in their perfection in the life that is to come.

By my Saviour's “ righteousness," I am wholly and forever absolved from the guilt of sin, and made an heir