knowledge, loving sin in our hearts, and really hating a holy God. We loved not the light, but buried ourselves more and more in the darkness. How just would it have been in God to have given us completely and finally over to our own hearts' lusts, and let us reap according to our own inexpressible folly; but he loved us with a love of eternity.

"Thy gracious eye survey'd us
Ere stars were seen above;
In wisdom thou hast made us,
And died for us in love."

How graciously he preserved us when we knew him not, being dead in trespasses and sins: "I girded thee, though thou hast not known me." (Isa. xlv. 5.) How mercifully he crossed our designs and marred our prospects! And all this because he had chosen an inheritance for us, even the Lord God himself,-Jesus. Then how sweet to look back to the time when we were lying in our blood, and when he passed by and said unto us, Live! O that implanting of divine life! This is the great thing.

How many professors do we see who have only a religion of the flesh. There is a mere natural work carried on by means of education, association, and the letter of the word and ministry upon the old nature; a Christianizing of the flesh, but no implanting of a new and divine life; no work of true spiritual regeneration. Why were we made to differ? Why was this vital difference made in us? Because God loved us.

But since this work began, what shall we say of ourselves? O how we must blush before our God! Have we been kept from outwardly disgracing our profession? That is an infinite mercy. But what shall we say of secret sins and heart evils before our God? How we opposed his teachings, how legal were our hearts, how prone to say with Israel, "All that the Lord has commanded will we do," and then, at Kibroth-hattaavah, bury ourselves in the graves of lust. What a mixture of legality and lust! And yet in the midst of all God carrying on his own work with a hand of divine power, so that we could not be quite destroyed. He weakened our strength in the journey, and brought us down into the dust. Notions of religion, even of Christ and grace, could not help us. "He brought down our hearts with labour; we fell down, and there was none to help us." O the desolation of those days! The terrors round about! The floods were risen, the fountains of the great depths broken up, and the wrath of God felt in the conscience. Earth, may be, seemed to tremble beneath our feet, and the heavens to be as brass above our heads. And then came-not vengeance, but, sing, Oye heavens! "The time of love." Jesus betrothed us to himself in loving-kindness and everlasting truth.

Dear friends, is it not well to remember the time of our espousals, the day when Christ became sweetly ours and we his, when the heavens dropped down the dew, and the earth opened to the voice of grace, and yielded the fruits of true humility and

love? But, alas! Was the scene of humiliation then ended? How have we been since? Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked, and the heart displayed more of its inexpressible baseness in our sinnings against all this love than even before. We have ourselves sat and reflected upon the sad, sad falls of some we have believed to be God's people, and our hearts have inclined to say they must be reprobate. Then the word has fallen upon our spirits, "And such were some of you." Alas the wanderings of heart from God even after betrothing mercy! Talk of the old creature being mended! If this is Christianity, we must renounce all hope of being Christians, or of being saved. Nay, we believe that never does inbred corruption so display its enmity against God as where there is grace. The light and warmth in the soul of the divine life not only do good to the Christian, but bring forth the vipers of his old nature. Salvation is of the Lord; grace is sweetly free. Eternal love is all a child of God has to build his hope upon. And through scenes of sin, misery, and anguish God brings his dear children into the bonds of the everlasting covenant, and teaches them to know that he is God. The love of God is talked about. Men lightly take up the idea that God is love; but who learns this? Why, the man who, passing through the fires of temptation, is reduced to a sort of self-nothingness. Then God revives the desolated heart by the sweet truth that he is love. He pours water upon him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground, turns the wilderness into an Eden, and the desert into the garden of the Lord; and then we know indeed, but scarce can credit it, that God to us is love.

Q what great and sore troubles has God shown us! Yet shall we complain? No! A living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins? Shall we speak against our God? No! God helping us, may this word hush to silence every self-pitying, murmuring thought: "Because thou didst it." Jehovah, my God in Christ, has done it all. In the land of Jordan he has sustained us, on the hill Mizar he has helped us, and on Hermon's heights he has blessed us; and shall we complain? Ye children of God, ye companions of those who through much tribulation enter the kingdom, may God keep you from murmuring as well as from other forms of sin, and cheer you with a review of the past, and gird you for the future.

2. But what shall we say of the past year? How often have we thought the way would become easier. Is this the case? Is it scriptural to expect it? Does not the word of God say, "The Lord trieth the righteous," and "brings the third part through the fire?" The trial of faith is precious; for it proves its genuineness. God's gold will stand the fires, and God will have it proved to be his gold in the furnace which is to try it. How often we hear of such and such things that they are beyond nature; but grace was never designed to stop at the capabilities of nature; grace is given to enable the receiver of it to glorify God in the fires. A diyine faith will believe things incredible to a

mere natural reason, and do things impossible to nature. True faith will tread a spurious science under foot, and stretch forth the hand to slay, at God's bidding, an Isaac. It sees in a divine light and acts in a divine power. A martyr's flames, a victory over the world, a renouncing of a man's own natural self, and a triumphing over the powers of darkness, all impossible to nature, are possible to a true believing. Our religion has God in it.

Now, then, how has it been with us during the past year? Sin, sin again, in ourselves must be confessed. Alas! The heart no better than it ever was. Years of profession have not altered it. That fool may be brayed in a mortar with a pestle amongst wheat, but its foolishness departs not from it. Still prone to wander from God, still rapidly forgetful of judgments and mercies, still desperately wicked, it returns to folly, and, still deceitful above all things, it deceives itself and us, promises fair, and is "Brooding mischief in a smile."

Then, if the past year has its own dark tale of sin to tell, has it not also to speak of suffering? What changes it has seen! Who at its commencement could have guessed what its passing hours have unfolded? Probably, if foreseen, these things would have appeared quite insupportable; when they have come we have reeled beneath the blow, but grace has been sufficient, and as the day, strength has been also. The psalmist knew what he meant when he wrote, "I am consumed by the blow of thy hand." God strikes us where we are vulnerable, and we can honestly say, terrible as are the desolating strokes of his hand, we would not be invulnerable as to those blows if we could. No, blessed be God, how much sweeter it is to kiss the rod, confess our sins, justify God in striking us, and say, "Lord, not only show me why thou contendest with me, but make me submit to thy holy will, part with what offends thee, choose and cleave to what pleases thee, and, above all things, turn from these creature streams, and quench my thirst

"At thy own fount of ever-living love."

992

And then what mercies mingled in! God still feeds us and clothes us, provides for our wants, and even gives us many comforts. True, he has so managed to touch them that their oversweetness is somewhat taken away, and nature is inclined to bitterly mourn the loss of the pleasant relish. But was not this necessary? Were they not too pleasant? Was not the heart getting too much to rest in these things, and to say, "I shall die in my nest?" Well, God has dashed the cup with bitter; the poor heart says an unspeakable bitter. Perhaps so to nature; but then, if God gives himself the more, will not this abundantly compensate for all? "Yes," says the poor soul, "even though pressed to sense and feeling above measure beneath the burden, God, I believe, is my exceeding joy."

"He never takes away our all;
Himself he gives us still."

Well, then, the past year has had great sins and great sorrows, fierce temptations from Satan, and many, many faintings of the heart; but it has also had little helps, sustainments in those faintings, the left hand of support under the head, and the right hand of love, at times, embracing; and we may still sing of mercy and judgment, and still sing to him who has, we hope, loved us from eternity, and done such great things for our souls.

But where are we now? How do we stand at the present moment? In what condition of soul do we enter upon this new year? 1. How are we towards God? Can we now say, with some degree of true confidence, that though we feel so much indwelling sin, experience so many temptations, so often wander from him in greater or lesser degrees, and by our sins provoke the eyes of his holiness and bring chastisements upon ourselves, that he is the supreme object of our souls' delight, as revealed to sinners in his dear Son Jesus? Have we seen him as a consuming fire in the law, so that we dare not think of approaching him out of a Mediator, or dream of acceptance by him, except in the Son of his love, Christ Jesus? And have we had him so revealed to us in Christ that the soul has drawn near to him in awe and love; no longer fleeing from his presence, but drawing nigh by the blood of Jesus? Do we now honestly desire conformity to his will in all things,-"in all things willing," with Paul, "to live honestly?" So that, though we find our hearts treacherous, idolatrous, and rebellious, we still can come to him in prayer, lay them and ourselves at his feet, and desire to be moulded to his will, crying, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts; and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting?" This may be done truly, yet with trembling; with shrinkings back of nature, yet sincerity of grace; a desire to be right, and yet a trembling over heartidols; a bringing all to the throne for God to look at all, the heart making no disguises, and yet much self-jealousy and diffidence, and many, many fears that such poor evil creatures cannot possibly be right towards God and yet be honest and sincere.

2. How are we towards Christ? Is he chiefest among ten thousand and altogether lovely? Do we desire no blessings but what come down through him,-no life, no pardon, no heaven but those which come to poor ruined sinners through the channel of his cross? Do we love his gracious doctrines, desire inward and outward conformity to his gospel precepts, admire his institutions, want to know in all things his will, and to be in all respects conformed to it? Is Christ, in fact, our all in all? Or if this is too much for us to say, can we, at least, declare that we desire above all things to be enabled to stretch forth the hand of a true faith to touch the hem of his garment and draw healing virtue from him? So that the soul is at a point here, at any rate, that eternal life, true healing, strength, wisdom, righteousness, grace, and glory are all in him, and consequently says, "If I perish, I will by his help perish at his feet. To no other Saviour

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will I go. I will be for him, and not for another. If he will save me, I shall be saved to his glory. Away from him I must die This world is the city of destruction; sin is the accursed thing, and death is connected with it; Christ only can help me. I desire, then, to abide at wisdom's door until mercy lets me in. I want no other salvation than that which comes from Jesus." 3. How are we towards the blessed Spirit? Do we own him as one with the Father and the Son in the eternal Godhead, and feel our complete and incessant dependence upon him and his gracious influence for the entire divine life? Without him we cannot think, or feel, or speak, or act aright. We cannot believe, or hope, or pray, have godly sorrow for sin or true repentance for sin, unless we receive these blessings from the Holy Spirit as a fruit of the righteousness and intercession of Christ. Are we made tender as to sinning, and afraid of grieving Him? Does that Gospel word affect our hearts: "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption?" When we do grieve him, do we quickly repent with Ephraim, and smite upon our thigh? Do we, when fallen, look and cry to him to recover us, and when we stand or are recovered to hold us up? 4. How are we towards the children of God? Do we love all who love Jesus in sincerity, desiring to know who are his and to reject none of his blood-bought children, and trembling to injure in the least degree any that are his? To wound a child of God improperly is to touch the apple of Christ's eye. The church is bought with his divinely-precious blood. Surely those cannot be in a right state of mind who are not very, very anxious to do good to Zion, and very, very fearful of hurting the least of the bloodbought children of God!

5. How are we in the family and in the world? Do we bring, by God's grace, Gospel truths and rules into daily practice? Husbands to wives, wives to husbands, masters to servants, servants to masters, children to parents, and parents to children, have certain relative duties to perform; and the Gospel word incites the dear children of God in all things to adorn the doctrine of their Saviour. O how anxious should a child of God be to take Christ and his holy religion into everything! The meanest action becomes dignified if Christ is served in it; the most glorious contemptible if Christ be not there. In household duties, in the place of business, in the shop, in the field,-O, if Christ be present, there is a something that pleases God. And thus to live Christ is true Christianity. Have, then, our trials, our furnaces, our divine teachings, our experiences, our castings down and liftings up, done something for us? The purged branch is to be more fruitful, the refined silver more bright, with more of Christ's image upon it, the furnaced gold more solid. Woe to the man who gets nothing by afflictive dispensations! God poured contempt upon one in days of old who merely grew worse for trials: "This is that king Ahaz." Children of God endure chastening by the grace of God, and profit by it. It is good for them to be