thy saying, "I am God, even thy God; I will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters? Why then should I doubt? Is not the truth of the living God sure footing for my faith?

Silence then, O quarrelling unbelief! I know in whom I have believed:--not in friends, though numerous and potent; for they are men, and not God:b-not in riches; for they make themselves wings: -not in princes; for their breath is in their nostrils. d But let God be true, and every man a liar. In God have I put my trust, in his word do I hope. O sure word! Heaven and earth shall pass away, but not one jot or tittle of this. I have not built upon the sand of mortality: let the rain descend, and the floods come, and the winds blow, nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure. His everlasting counsel, and everlasting covenant, are my stay. I am built upon his promises; and let hell and earth do their worst to blow up this foundation.

Now shall my faith triumph, and my heart be glad, and my glory rejoice. I will shout with the exulting multitude, "The Lordhe is the God!" And he is not ashamed to be called my God. He is not ashamed. of my rags nor poverty, of my parentage or

a 2 Cor. vi, 18. b Isa. d Psalm cxlvi, 3, 4. f 1 Kings xviii, 39.

xxxi, 3. c Prov. xxiii, 5. Mat. vii, 25. 2 Tim. ii, 19. Heb. xi, 16.

pedigree; and since his infinite condescen. sion will own me, will he take it ill if I own him? Though I have nothing of my own to glory in,a (unless I should glory in my shame,) yet I will glory in the Lord, and bless myself in him.

For who is like unto the God of Jeshurun? Bring forth your gods, O ye nations: lift up your eyes and behold: who hath created all these things? Can any do for their favourites, as the Lord can? Or, if he be angry, who is that God that shall deliver out of his hands? Will you set Dagon before the ark? Or shall Mammon contend with the holy One! O ambitious Haman, where is now thine idol honour? O rich glutton, that madest a god of pleasure, where is now the God whom thou hast served? O sensual worldling, that knowest not where nor how to bestow thy goods,do riches profit thee? Could Mammon save thee? Deceived souls! Go now to the gods that you have chosen. Alas! they cannot for ever administer a drop of water to cool your tongues.

But the portion of Jacob is not like them. From everlasting to everlasting he is God.e His power is my confidence, his goodness is my maintenance, his truth is my shield and my buckler.d

a1 Cor. i, 29, 31. Deut. xxxiii, 26. ©Jer. X, 16, Psalm xc, 2.

SECTION III.

It confounds the soul 2. with the amazing greatness and difficulty of the things.

But my clamorous unbelief hath many wiles, and afresh assaults me with the difficulty of the things promised; and labours to nonplus and confound me with their amazing greatness.

The triumph of faith in God's omnipotency. and veracity.

But why should I stagger at the promise through unbelief, robbing at once my Master of his glory, and my soul of her comfort? It is my great sin to doubt and dispute; and yet shall I be afraid to believe? O my soul, it is the highest honour thou canst put upon thy Lord, to believe against difficulties; and to look for, and reckon upon great things and wonderful, passing all created power and human faith.

Let not the greatness, nor the strangeness of the benefits bequeathed unto thee, put thee to a stand. It is with a God thou hast to do, and therefore thou must not look for little things; that were to darken the glory of his munificence, and the infiBiteness of his power and goodness. Knowest thou not,, that it is his design to make his name glorious, and to make thee know he is able to do for thee above all that thou canst ask or think? Surely they cannot be

any small or ordinary things that shall be done for thee, when the Lord shall shew in thee what a God can do, and shall carry thee in triumph before the world, and make proclamation before thee,-"Thus shall it be done to the man "whom the Lord delighteth to honour!" What wonder, if thou canst not comprehend these things, if they exceed all thy apprehensions and conceptions? This is a good argument for thy faith: for this is that which the Lord hath said "that it hath not entered into the heart of man, to conceive what things he hath prepared for them that love him.' Now, if thou couldest conceive and comprehend them, how should this word be made good? It is enough for thee, that the Lord hath spoken it. Is not the word nigh thee? Hath God said, "I will receive you; you shall be kings and priests unto God, and inherit all things; and shall sit on thrones, and judge angels, and be ever with the Lord?" And shall I dare to say him nay? Unreasonable unbelief! What! never satisfied? Still contradicting and blaspheming? False whisperer, no more of thy tales! I believe in God, that it shall be as he hath told me.a

And now thanks be to God, who always causeth us to triumph in Christ;b therefore my lips shall praise thee, and my soul

a Acts xxvii, 25. b 2 Cor. ii, 14.

which thou hast redeemed. For thou hast made me glad through thy word, and I will triumph in the works of thy hands. I will praise the Lord whilst I live, I will sing praises to my God whilst I have any being.c

O my soul, if thou couldest wear out thy fingers upon the harp, and wear thy tongue to the roots, thou couldest yet never sufficiently praise thy Redeemer.

O mine enemies, where is now your confidence, and where is your armour, wherein you trusted? I will set Christ alone against all your multitudes, and all the powers, and malice, and policy, wherewith they are armed. The field is already won, and the captain of our salvation returned with the spoils of his enemies; having made a shew of them openly triumphing over them in his cross.d And thanks be to God, who hath given us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ.e

Of whom then shall I be afraid? Behold he is near that justifieth me; who shall plead with me?

O ye powers of hell, you are but chained captives; and we have a sure word, that the gates of hell shall not prevail against us.f Ihough the world be in arms against us, and the devil in the head of them, as their champion; yet who is this uncircumcised Philis

a Psalm 1xxi, 23. b Psalm xcii, 4. c Psalm civ, 33. d Col. ii, 15. e 1 Cor. xv, 57. f Mat. xvi, 18.