who can from their heart join in Agur's prayer, and say, remove from me vanity and lies; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: lest I be full, and deny thee and say, who is the Lord? and lest I be poor and steal, and take the name of my God in vain. Prov. xxx. 8-9. But who are they that can offer up this prayer in sincerity and truth? Who are they that are so delivered from inordinate desires as to be content with what they have, and to wish for no more? Are we to search for them among the gay, the dissipated, the profligate, the wasteful, or the avaricious? No, by no means; the cry of the horse leech give, give, is the cry of their hearts-they are never satisfied, and therefore never happy. They who offer up this prayer in sincerity, are taught by an heavenly in.structor, that man liveth not by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God, Mat. iv. 4-that man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth, Luke xii. 15-and that godliness with contentment is great gain, 1 Tim. vi. 6. 'Tis like striving against an overwhelming tide, to think of reconciling ourselves to our afflictions by the mere exertion of our own powers; we may bear them with the sullenness of a philosopher, but not with the meekness and patience

of a Christian. The heart must be changed by the grace of God before it can rejoice in tribulation-and testify that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope and it is through the belief of the Gospel that this change is effected. He only who made the heart, can create it anew in Christ Jesus, unto good works; and it is the peculiar character of the Gospel, that which distinguishes it essentially from every thing bearing the name of revelation; that it not only presents to us the clearest and most instructive doctrines, the mildest precepts, and the most encouraging promises, but that it is in reality the power of God unto salvation, to every one that believeth. The Gospel points out to man a refuge from the storms of Divine wrath-and an hope in the midst of all the terrors which sin has cast around

his guilty soul, by announcing to him that an herald of mercy has winged his way from the courts of Heaven, to undertake his restoration to the favour of God-to make the atonement which was necessary in order to effect it, and to become the new and living way in which he is to walk through all the cares and turmoils of life, to his heavenly and eternal rest,

The Gospel declares, that this herald of

mercy is none other than one of the persons of the ever blessed Trinity, who having taken into the Godhead the human nature without any of its defilements, has paid the full price of redemption, by satisfying to the uttermost every demand which the law or justice of God might require, and is set forth as the only propitiation for sin. Eternal life is the gift of God through Jesus Christ our Lord; that life is only the continuance of the new life, which is imparted to the heirs of salvation, and is hid with Christ in God-and both are the sure results of believing in his perfect atonement. God commendeth his love towards sinners, not by lessening the demands of his law; not by bringing in a milder one; not by accepting real or supposed sincerity in the room of required obedience, but by giving his son to die for them, that they being justified by his blood, might be saved from wrath through him. Out of his fulness they receive and grace for grace-therefore, they are "patient in tribulation"-therefore, they "walk circumspectly"therefore, they stand undismayed in the midst of "the fiery darts of the wicked," which fly thick around them-therefore, "they hold fast the beginning of their confidence stedfast unto the end"-and when others are ready to sink into despair at the prospect of leaving the

scene of all their enjoyments, they "rejoice in hope of the glory of God"-they wait for the coming of their Lord-they "long to depart and to be with Christ." They are, indeed, a peculiar people, and "it becometh them to be thankful"-they possess a joy which a stranger intermeddleth not with; but as its origin is heavenly, so is its influence, and all who possess it are made independent of the precarious and vapid pleasures of a world that lieth in wickedness. It is their high privilege to see the hand of God in all his gifts and allotments-and whilst in prosperity they rejoice with trembling, they are prevented in adversity from indulging a murmuring spirit. They and they only can enter into the meaning and feel the force of the exhortation," in the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider."

Consideration is an important and plainly enjoined duty-and when we take into account the character of man, and the distractions produced in his mind by visible things, its necessity is quite apparent. He "walketh in a vain shadow and disquieteth himself in vain"-he is like a troubled sea, and rest here, as well as hereafter, is one of the many blessings promised by our Saviour to those who come to him. If man looks forward in his

unrenewed state, it is either to anticipate evils, the very apprehension of which makes him miserable-or to indulge the speculations of an unbelieving mind, whilst God is forgotten and eternity kept out of view. He considers not the end, and therefore he does amiss.— How merciful then is the voice which says to him, "consider your ways and be wise”— how friendly is the hand which leads him into the wide field of providential dispensations, and at the same time points to the Scriptures which contain the revealed will of God, and consequently, the only clue by which any of his secret things can be made plain, or any intricacy unravelled!

In consideration the mind is carried off from itself, and is engaged about things, which for the present, at least, are deemed important; but unless it be supremely directed to the Father of Lights, and influenced by his Spirit, it will produce no salutary effect. Indeed, in no state, and under no circumstances, can the soul derive profit independent of God. Let us then, when engaged in the duty which the text enjoins, manifest a spirit of humility, constancy, prayer, and faith. Our ignorance, perverseness, and depravity, should humble us to the dust. Our helplessness, timidity, and inordinate love of the world, should teach us