God has exalted Christ Jesus with his right hand, to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. Acts v. 31. Unto you first, God, having raised his Son Jesus, sent him to help you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities. Acts iii. 26.

SAY not, What reason have I to repent? I am no murderer or robber; for thou art both. By thy sins thou hast murdered the Son of God, and by thy pride robbed God of his due service ; therefore, if thy old heart be not changed into a new one, and yet thou feelest some uneasiness about thy salvation, do not look on this concern as a fit of the vapours, or as a temptation of the Devil, but believe it is the work of CHRIST, who now awakes thee from the sleep of sin, and offers thee repentance; and who will change thy heart, and make thee a new man, if thou canst yield up thyself unto him; "He stands at the door and knocks, and says, If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him and sup with him." Rev. iii. 20.

Now Christ will ev'ry want supply,

And fill our hearts with peace;
He gives, by cov'nant and by oath,
The riches of his grace.

Our heart, that flinty stubborn thing,
That terrors cannot move,

That fears no threat'nings of his wrath,
Shall be dissolv'd by love.

There shall his sacred Spirit dwell,

And deep engrave his law,

And ev'ry motion of our souls
To swift obedience draw.

Thus will he pour salvation down,
And we shall render praise;
He'll bless the people of his love,
And we'll adore his grace.

God is not a God of confusion. 1 Cor. xiv. 33. He has made everything beautiful in its season. Also, no man can find out the work that God makes from the beginning to the end. Eccles. iii. 11.

O LORD, I am like a little child, knowing neither the beginning nor end of my ways. I daily go in a strange path, the sides whereof are vanity, and the end destruction. I see not my way in it, yet my wicked heart tells me not to leave it. One pleasure after another bids me stay, yet the sweets thereof I never taste. I am weary of it; it is a perplexing path. But thou, who art the Wonderful Counsellor, make it my only wisdom to be advised and ruled by thee. O shew me, then, always thy way in all things, even in the least, that I may never miss to do thy work in due season and due order. Make me such a faithful steward, as not to go one inch from thy will, but on all occasions to act and suffer according to thy pleasure.

Whither, O whither shall I fly,

But to my loving Saviour's breast,
Secure within thy arms to lie,

And safe beneath thy wings to rest.

I have no might t' oppose the foe;
But everlasting strength is thine!
Shew me the way that I should go !

Shew me the path I should decline!

Which shall I leave, and which pursue?
Thou only my Adviser be;

My God, I know not what to do!

But oh, mine eyes are fixed on thee.

Foolish, and impotent, and blind,
Lead me a way I have not known;
Bring me where I my heaven may find,
The heaven of loving thee alone!

Now he who establisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; who hath also sealed us, and given us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. 2 Cor. i. 21, 22. But we have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. 1 John ii. 20.

A SENSIBLE joy of faith, and great delight in prayer, are not the only evidences of this earnest and sealing of the Spirit; these sometimes are wanting when we know we are sealed by these marks; namely, when we receive CHRIST in all his offices, and have a sincere desire to do the will of God in all things; when we love the ordinances of CHRIST, and regard the children of God with a brotherly affection, and seek to do them good; when we hate sin, and watch and pray against it; and, lastly, when we are poor in spirit, vile in our own eyes, and are led into further acquaintance with CHRIST himself, and with his Gospel by the Spirit. These are constant marks even for the weakest.

Why should the children of a King
Go mourning all their days!
Great Comforter descend, and bring
Some tokens of thy grace.

Dost thou not dwell in all thy saints,
And seal the heirs of heaven?
When wilt thou banish my complaints,
And shew my sins forgiven?

Christian's Prayer.-God be merciful to me a sin-
ner. Luke xviii. 13. Look upon my affliction
and my pain, and forgive all my sins. Ps. xxv. 18.
Divine Answer.-The Lord is gracious and full of
compassion, and of great mercy; the Lord is
good to all, and his tender mercies are over all
his works. Psal. cxlv. 8, 9. My son, be of good
cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee. Matt. ix. 2.
JUSTIFICATION, or remission of sins before the
tribunal of God, and the comfortable assurance
of it in the heart, do not always go together.
The pardon is passed in heaven at once, and in the
most perfect manner; yet the sense of it may be
wanting; for the assurance of that pardon is
mostly given by degrees, as believers are able to
receive it. Feeble glimpses appear now and then ;
and many love-tokens usually pass between CHRIST
and a believing soul, before the Spirit gives a
full and clear witness to his conscience. There-
fore a penitent soul must converse much with the
Gospel, and pray continually for more light, and
a greater degree of faith and peace. It must
narrowly scrutinize its own feelings and desires,
and bring these, at all times, to the test of the Bi-
ble, and in this work the glimmerings of the dawn
of assured hope will begin to dispel its darkness.
O God of mercy, hear my call;
My load of guilt remove :
Break down this separating wall,
That bars me from my love.

Give me the presence of thy grace;
Then my rejoicing tongue
Shall speak aloud thy righteousness,
And make thy praise my song.

A soul oppressed with sin's desert,
My God will ne'er despise ;
An humble groan, a broken heart
Is our best sacrifice!

Delight thyself in the Lord, and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Ps. xxxvii. 4. Cast thy burden upon the Lord and he shall sustain thee. Psalm iv. 23. Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established. Prov. xvi. 3.

IF thou desirest to delight thyself only in the Lord, and art more solicitous for the increase of faith, love and holiness than temporal happiness; and wouldst even part with some earthly good, provided it would enlargd thy spiritual welfarethis comes not from nature, but is an infallible mark of grace and regeneration; and the Lord shall give thee also the desires of thine heart, and even more than thou desirest. Nothing can be more foolish than to harbour one or more secret lusts in our hearts, after we have been once awakened. We must certainly suffer for it: our conscience will check us; we cannot enjoy it with half the pleasure as before; our course is hindered, and our peace disturbed. How much more prudent and profitable then would it be to forsake all and follow CHRIST straight, who only can satisfy the desires of our heart! Consider this, O my soul; act the wiser part; let thine eye be single, and cleave to him alone; while others, seeking to serve two masters, God and Mammon, are woefully disappointed at last; avoid thou this folly; and be wholly for Christ. Thus thou wilt be able to taste the kisses of his mouth. and the crystal streams of his comfortable and heavenly love.

Dear Saviour, let thy beauties be
My soul's eternal food;

And grace command my heart away,
From all created good.