"O Lord our God, other lords beside Thee have had dominion over us: but by Thee only will we make mention of Thy name. They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish." Reluctant no more, may we seek to apply our hearts unto wisdom,-that is, perform the rational part which creatures, circumstanced as we are, have to act, prefer the soul to the body,-eternity to time; and flee for refuge to the Hope set before us in the Gospel, "casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." Sitting, like Mary of old, at the feet of Jesus, let us study with prayer and holy reverence the sacred pages of His blessed Word: there we shall learn all that He has done for our souls, and what He is still doing; and, amidst the discovery, we shall gratefully surrender our whole hearts,-the best energies of our lives, to His service; still feeling that all we can give is too little for such wonderful mercy. When we have done all, we must still say, "We are unprofitable servants!" "Come," says He now by His recorded Word, what He spoke with His lips when on earth,— "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Let us hear and obey the call; go, and He will take us by the hand, that He may lead us beside the still waters of salvation, and abundantly satisfy the longing desires of our souls. He is Faithfulness and Truth. His promises,-His, "for whom are all things, and by whom are all things;"—and are they not scattered in rich profusion over the pages of the Bible, like the stars on the face of the heavens ?-fail not, as thousands in all ages have been able to testify. "I have taken," said David, "Thy testimonies as my heritage for ever; for they are the rejoicing of my heart;" "more to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honey-comb." "I found Thy words," avowed Jeremiah, "and I did eat them; and Thy word was unto "I can me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart." find no rest," declared Chillingworth, speaking of the salvation of the Gospel, "for the sole of my foot, but upon this Rock only." "Looking," Bilney the martyr, has told us, "into the New Testament, by God's special providence I met with these words; This is a true saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, whereof I am chief.' O most sweet and comfortable sentence to my soul ! This one sentence, through God's instruction and inward working, did so exhilarate my heart, which before was wounded with the guilt of my sins, that immediately I found comfort and quietness in my soul, so that my bruised bones leaped for joy." "You are now," said Oxensteirn, the celebrated statesman of Sweden, to one of our own countrymen-"you are now in the prime of your age and vigour, and in great favour and business; but all these will leave you, and you will one day better understand and relish what I say; and then you will find that there is more wisdom, truth, comfort, and pleasure in retiring and turning your heart from the world to the good Spirit of God, and in the reading of the Bible, than in all courts and favours of princes." Yes; our blessed Lord will not fail us ;-He will be with us, by His Word and by His Spirit, in every state and under all circumstances of life;-will be our Guide even unto death;-and after death, receive us unto Himself, to dwell with Him for ever in those heavenly mansions prepared from the foundation of the world for those who love Him. April, 1843. H. D. Lord, my first fruits present themselves to Thee; HERBERT. INDEX. INDEX TO SCRIPTURE SUBJECTS. ANGER, MALICE, ENVY, EVIL-SPEAKING, AGAINST CHRIST OUR REFUGE, Strength, and Defence. CHRIST, NAMES AND OFFICES OF COMFORT UNDER THE LOSS OF FRIENDS. COVETOUSNESS AND A WORLDLY SPIRIT, AGAINST DILIGENCE, ORDER, EARLY RISING |