enemy from before thee, and shall say, destroy them."

Yes! all the spiritual enemies of the true Israel shall sink as lead in the mighty waters, in that day, when Satan and his rebellious angels shall be cast into the lake of fire, never more to harass the glorified church of God, which shall shine as the sun for ever and ever!

I desire, I long, I pray to be thine, O blessed Jesus! a member of thy mystical body-a sheep of thy pasture.

Almighty Saviour! grant unto me the spirit of prayer, that with my whole heart, I may lift up my soul unto thee. Open my understanding to understand the Scriptures. Incline my will to choose those things which are pleasing unto thee. Fix my affections upon thyself, all precious Redeemer. Sanctify my imagination; store my memory with spiritual treasures; sprinkle my conscience with thy pardoning blood; cover me with thy justifying righteous

ness.

Come and dwell, O! divine Saviour, in my heart by faith. Make my body the temple of the Holy Ghost; impress thy divine image on my soul. Preserve me from the power and pollution of sin; the snares and wiles of Satan; the love and influence of the world shed abroad thy love in my heart; stablish me in the faith of the Gospel. May I ever receive thee in all thy glorious offices and characters as my only, my complete salvation.

Give me grace, O! blessed Jesus, to believe in the dignity and majesty of thy person, as the eternal word, the everlasting Son of the Father, of equal power, glory, and eternity with the Father and the Holy Ghost.

May I behold thee with admiring love and gratitude as the virgin's Son, lying in the manger; taking upon thee my nature; that so being God and

man in one Christ, thou mightest satisfy eternal justice, and bring in everlasting righteousness.

O! may I contemplate with mingled feelings of grief and joy, thine agony and bloody sweat, thy cross and passion, thy precious death and burialwith grief, when I reflect on sin, my own sin, which nailed thee to the accursed tree-with joy, when I meditate on thy dying love; a love which angels cannot fathom; a love, which fills the bright intelligences above with wonder and delight; a love, which fills each humble soul on earth, with gratitude and praise!

Jesus! I would-oh! that in the humble confidence of faith, I may say, I do-receive thee as my only, my beloved Saviour!

Impart unto my soul this spiritual, this practical, this experimental knowledge of thyself, who art the light of the world, and the wisdom of thy people.

O! wash my guilty soul in thy cleansing blood, thou, who art the bleeding, propitiatory sacrifice, the Lamb of God.

Now that thou art ascended up on high, and hast entered into the holiest of all, plead the cause of a poor wretched sinner, who looks unto thee as the Lord my righteousness—my great Melchisedec. Exert thy regal power in my soul, thou king of saints, and destroy all thine enemies and mine. Subdue every rebellious inclination of my heart, which opposes itself to thy will. Bring all my powers into subjection to thy divine authority; and sit upon the throne of my heart, the Lord of every motion there.

O! may I delight in the contemplation of those soul-reviving characters which thou sustainest in the covenant of grace. Thou art the Redeemer, Mediator, Justifier, Surety, Advocate and Purifier of thy people; their friend, and counsellor, their shepherd and guide; their husband and guardian.

And O! how beautiful are the images which the Holy Spirit employs to shadow forth thine excellencies. Thou art "the rose of Sharon and the lily of the vallies ;" 66 a plant of renown." Thou art "the true vine," which supplies each living branch with fruitfulness and verdure. Thou art "the fountain,” in which all may wash and be clean;-the rock, on which thy church is immoveably fixed;— the way, in which thy people journey to the heavenly Canaan;-the door, by which they enter into the covenant of grace;-the day-star, which illuminates their path and guides them safe to glory. Thou art the bread of life, the true manna, whose flesh is meat indeed, and whose blood is drink indeed.

O! may I daily feed upon thee by faith in my heart with thanksgiving, till I see thee in the heavenly paradise, and taste through eternal ages the sweetness of redeeming love!

O! may I prize a throne of grace,
Accessible in ev'ry place;

Where'er I lift my soul in pray'r,
On earth or sea, my God is there.

If in the hour of deep distress,
Its woes, my heart in sighs express;
A sweet return of love I find,
To soothe the sorrows of the mind.

Or when the grateful odours rise
Of praise; delightful sacrifice!
My soul expands with joys unknown
To ev'ry bosom, but its own.

Ah! whence proceeds this sacred love,
Descending gently from above?

To thee, blest Saviour, and thy blood,
I owe this precious gift of God.

O! may I daily love thee more,

Of blessings, thou, the bounteous store;
On me let ev'ry grace descend,

Thou source of bliss-thou sinner's friend!

In gladsome notes of heart-felt praise,
My joyful voice to thee I'll raise;
Till death improve the rising song,
And bear me to the angelic throng,

XLIV. ON THE CAUTIONS AND WARNINGS OF
SCRIPTURE.

The word of God abounds with cautions as well as encouragements; with warnings as well as invitations; with threatenings as well as promises. These are necessary and important; otherwise they would not be so thickly scattered through the sacred volume.

We find the need of cautions and warnings, in proportion as we are made acquainted with the subtlety of Satan, the deceitfulness of sin, and the treachery of our own heart.

We learn by a thousand painful instances, that "he who trusteth to his own heart is a fool."

How short-lived are the best resolutions made in our own strength. They resemble the early dew which soon passeth away, and the grass upon the house-top which withereth afore it groweth up.

What a valuable part of the Bible are the kind admonitions of a loving Saviour. How should we prize the salutary counsels of him who spake as never man spake; who sticketh closer than a brother! May we ever remember his gracious exhortations; for "they are spirit, and they are life."

"Without me ye can do nothing"-"Watch and pray lest ye enter into temptation"—"Take heed and beware of covetousness"- "Strive to enter in at the strait gate"-" Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness"-" Continue ye in my love."

We are here taught by infinite wisdom, that of ourselves we can do nothing that is pleasing to God, or effectual towards our salvation: that our spiritual enemies are constantly plotting our destruction, spreading nets for our feet, and holding out their baits to draw us into sin: that the love of the world is a whirlpool down which millions are carried into perdition that carnal ease and sensual indulgence form the road to hell: that to escape this dreadful end, we must strive, yea agonize, to enter in at the strait gate which leadeth unto life eternal. We are exhorted to seek, as the first great object of pursuit, not the honours and wealth of the world; ˆbut righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

are warned against the smallest approach towards spiritual declension; and to avoid so great an evil, we are commanded to persevere in the good exercise of a supreme love to Jesus, who loved us, and gave himself for us.

Such are the salutary counsels given to us by our divine Saviour, who said to his disciples: "if ye know these things, happy are ye, if ye do them."

In the Gospel of the blessed God, we are also cautioned against spiritual pride: "Be not highminded, but fear."

How prone we are to be proud, although we have nothing to be proud of. Our hearts are strongly inclined to pride, which is the very essence of the fall. Pride cast angels out of heaven, and man out of paradise.-Pride fights against the mercy of God; bars the sinner's heart against the Saviour; and hurries the proud rebel down the precipice of desperation into the burning gulph of hell! "Happy then is the man who feareth alway," lest he fall into the condemnation of the devil!

Blessed Jesus! clothe me with humility; destroy this baneful root of pride out of my heart; and