Fear not, daughter of Zion. JOHN xii. 15. But greatly rejoice and shout, O daughter of Jerusalem, behold thy King comes unto thee; he is just and having salvation. ZECH. ix. 9. The King of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee; thou shalt not see evil any more.

ZEPH. iii. 15. See also ISA. liv. 12; JER. XV. 19.

THOUG

HOUGH Satan be endeavouring to bind his chains fast about thee; though thy heart quake and be ready to fail for the many sins that encompass it; though destruction and death be in thy ways; yet fear not-"Behold thy King cometh!" trust him, he will restrain, he will defend. How strong soever thine inward enemies, thy, corruptions, may be now, fear not, and be not discouraged. Thy King is bound by his office, love, and promise, to help thee with strength to overcome even the hardships of a Christian work together for his good in this world, and brighten his crown of glory in the world to come. Too oft, instead of casting and laying a burden upon the LORD by faith at once, we parley with temptation, and undertake to heal ourselves by a thousand false contrivances, the effect of which is, to make a conflict long that might have been short. 2 Chron. xvi. 7-9. LORD, give me grace to be watchful, and to keep on the armour of faith, that as I pass from conflict to conflict, I may pass on conquering and to conquer, daily pressing forward, and experiencing JESUS every hour my mighty King and Saviour."

Rejoice, the LORD is King,
Your LORD and King adore,
Mortals give thanks and sing,
And triumph evermore.
He sits at GOD's right hand
Till all his foes submit;
And bow to his command,

And fall beneath his feet.

Thou shalt not be afraid of them, but shalt well remember what the Lord thy God did unto Pharaoh, and all Egypt. DEUT. vii. 18. Be ye not terrified because of them, for the Lord your God is he that goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies; to save you. Chap. xx. 3, 4. Hitherto shalt thou come, and no further, and here shall thy proud waves be stayed. JOB Xxxviii. 11.

HE LORD on high is mightier than the noise

TH

of many waters; yea, than the mighty waves of the sea. Psa. xciii. 4. He controls the strength of nations, and the most powerful empires are as grasshoppers in his sight. Those, therefore, who trust in him have nothing to fear. Shall we not then seek for his strength to overcome the assaults of sin; for let us remember, the assaults of original sin will ever return; and we must not be surprised when one conflict is over, that another arises. This contest is unavoidable, for the enemy is within us. It makes us more careful and humble to know this, than if we believe that we had only to encounter with sin from without and not from within: and if we desire to feel less evil in us than GOD suffers us to have, we may be assured this desire proceeds either from pride, seeking to glory in our own righteousness, or from an impatient wish to get rid of the trouble of striving always against sin; whereas it should be enough for us that GOD suffers it, lays it not to our charge, and carries us through all dangers.

Let the redeemed of the LORD
The wonders of his grace record;
Israel, the nation which he chose,
And rescued from their mighty foes.
He feeds and clothes us all the way;
He guides our footsteps lest we stray;
He guards us with a powerful hand,
And brings us to the heav'nly land.

Verily, thou art a God that hideth thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour. Isa. xlv. 15. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth. PSALM XXV. 10. The Lord of hosts is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working. Isa. xxviii. 29. O Lord, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep. PSALM Xcii. 5.

OD is wonderful in all his doings! his ways

GOD

are past finding out, at the end we can see best the wise and gracious steps he took with us, therefore when things take such a wonderful turn that we are quite at our wit's end, and do not know which way to go, we may believe the hand of the LORD is in it, and some good will come of it at last. As we experience the name of CHRIST to be wonderful at such times, we may well expect that he will shew himself to be our Councillor and mighty GoD also. At first, everything may seem to be against us, and go quite contrary; but, at last, we see plainly that it was highly needful it should go contrary to our corrupt nature, and that thus it went well; for though the ways of GOD are marvellous, yet they are glorious.

GOD moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform;

He plants his footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.

Deep in unfathomable mines
Of never-failing skill,

He treasures up his bright designs,
And works his sov'reign will.

Judge not the LORD by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.
His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour,

The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Ex.xx.8. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day. REV. i. 10. READER, may God bless this meditation to thy

soul. Perhaps thou art a careless sinner, who has trifled with Sabbaths? O do not profane the LORD's Day any more! but if thou valuest thy soul, attend upon his worship, and desire to be "in the Spirit on his day;" then wilt thou see and feel thy malady: look to JESUS for pardon, and Sabbath-days will become precious to thy soul. Perhaps thou art a self-righteous Pharisee, punctual in outward services-so far is praiseworthy; but awful is thy mistake, if thou makest any outward service the ground of thy acceptance, especially as the language of the day is, "In the LORD have I righteousness and strength;" and so wilt thou say, if "in the Spirit." Or thou mayest have been a splendid professor, but now a grievous backslider. O may thou be "in the Spirit on the LORD's Day," then thou wilt look to GOD for pardon, to JESUS for fresh sprinklings of his blood, and to the Spirit for his quickening influences! If thou art a believer under sharp trials, mayest thou be "in the Spirit;" then when tribulations abound, consolations may abound also. If thou art a believer walking close with GOD, rich in knowledge and experience, thou wilt wish to be "in the Spirit," that grace may be magnified, JESUS more loved, and his name more honoured. Reader, whatever thou art, if thou wishest to be "in the Spirit," and wouldst have thy temporal and spiritual concerns prosper, make conscience of keeping the Sabbath-day holy.

The Sabbath is design'd, I know,

To train my soul for heav'n;
Then let me keep and think it too
The best of all the seven.

Nehemiah's Prayer.-Remember me, O my God, for good. NEH. xiii. 31.

Divine Answer.-Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? For since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still; therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him. JER. xxxi. 29.

"MY GOD, have mercy upon me," is the prayer of every true penitent; and as soon as that prayer ascends to GOD, scented with the odour of faith, GOD hears it, and he keeps a bottle for the tears which produced it. Grant, LORD, that I may be enabled daily to offer this prayer, and grant me to bear steadily in mind, that as soon as I appear with my prayers before the LORD, he writes all my petitions in his book of remembrance. Should I not pray much? Yes, O LORD; and though I have many things already in thy book, yet will I give thee occasion to write down more and more every hour. Thus nothing can be forgotten; all will be granted by him. Delays we must expect; but all shall be made up with so much the larger gifts in due time, though the best will be reserved for a blissful eternity.

Now let the LORD my Saviour smile,
And show my name upon his heart;
I would forget my pains awhile,

And in the pleasure lose the smart.