He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor: his righteousness endureth for ever. Ps. cxii. 9. In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand. ECCLES. xi. 6.

HOSE that lay up treasures on earth, suffer nothing to lie long useless, but lend out as fast as they can; and such as desire to reap soon and plentifully, are careful to sow soon and plentifully. Therefore, lend and sow ye also in good time, for there may be times when you cannot show charity, or at least not so largely. We must not pretend to pay the debt of charity with some poor mites and pence. If you will give something, give bountifully; take your hands full as if you were sowing, like the poor widow with her two mites, which she sowed out freely, though it were her whole substance. But the rich ones were not so liberal, but covetously offered only what they could spare very well. Is it not said we should sow? Now seedsmen sow with hands full, and so should we; for GOD loveth a cheerful giver, and will in his turn dispense again bountifully to you, that ye should have sufficiently in all things to every good work (but God dispensing so bountifully to you, why should you then grudge him anything, or make only such poor returns?); for what we do to our neighbour is the same as if it were done to God himself, if done in faith and love.

Awake, my zeal; awake, my love,

And serve my SAVIOUR here below,
In works which all the saints above
And holy angels cannot do.

Awake, my charity, and feed

The hungry soul, and clothe the poor;
In heaven are found no sons of need;
There all these duties are no more.

He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities. Ps. cxxx. 8. O the Hope of Israel, the Saviour thereof in time of trouble. JER. xiv. 8. In wrath remember mercy. HAB. iii. 2.

DESPAIR not, O my soul, in any tribulation

or conflict, as if it were impossible to overcome it. The all-healing word of GOD contains advice and comfort for all cases. The LORD being thy helper in all adversity, and able to turn the sharpest afflictions into the greatest blessings, he would never smite, nor withhold something from thee, if he was not willing also to heal, and give thee something better in its place. O LORD, I trust thou wilt carry me through all difficulties. Though my misery and weakness were ever so great, yet there is nothing too great for thee; it is all one to thee to help in great and little distresses; nay, the more I am surrounded with grief and weakness, the more wilt thou pity, spare, and nourish me, as a tender mother does the least of all her children; and the more occasion there will be to display thy mighty salvation. The sharper and longer my distress and conflicts have been, the nearer, greater, and sweeter, I trust, will also be my salvation; for the same LORD who has said I shall not be tried above measure, has also engaged to lead me on conquering, till at length all my enemies are subdued.

There's full redemption at his throne

For sinners long enslaved;
The great Redeemer is his Son,

And Israel shall be saved.

A hope so great, and so divine,
May trials well endure;

And purge the soul from sense and sin,
AS CHRIST himself is pure.

There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel; thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you. JOSHUA vii. 13. Having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2 PET. i. 4. See also 2 PET. ii. 18-22.

THE entertaining of any worldly lust, and indulgence of any known wilful sin, is an accursed thing, by which we are deprived of the power of GOD, and cannot stand before our enemies. Behold, therefore, the severity of GOD (Josh. vii. 21—26) and be more earnest. Make all haste to flee from the lust of the world, especially from the lust of the eye, which is the love of money. What more needful than to break off even the most subtle and specious bands of unrighteousness! Unless the splinters of the unjust Mammon be taken out, the wound cannot heal up. Nay, examine thyself closely in other things, and whatever sinful lust harbours in thy breast, be faithful to put it off, and flee from it, else you must not wonder at your being so weak in spirit. He that does not resist the sinful motions of his heart, will very easily give a loose to his hands and tongue; but he that immediately subdues the inward corruptions, will certainly be preserved from their breaking out in any sinful actions. O LORD, deliver me from all accursed things, and keep my heart always under thy closest inspection and discipline; let it not seek after the things of sin and the flesh, which thou hast called accursed, but be thou my joy and my portion. Amen.

Why should my passions mix with earth
And thus debase my heavenly birth?
Why should I cleave to things below,
And let my GOD, my SAVIOUR go?

I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. JOB xlii. 6. I am meek and lowly in heart. MATT. xi. 29. Behold thy King cometh unto thee; he is just and lowly. ZECH. ix. 9.

MY

Y dear reader, reflect a moment who it was that made this confession, and consider the many excellencies that he had. See Job xxxi. Doubtless you will be ready to ask, Why this self-abhorrence? What did this man want?Let me give the answer for you: before his eyes were opened, he wanted humility, or the knowledge of his own vileness, the very thing that you need, if not deeply humbled, and the want of which makes every man vile in the eyes of God. Elihu charges Job with an undue opinion of his own righteousness; and God, who, by stroke upon stroke, and not one too much, had brought him to the dunghill, is represented as carrying on the same accusation against him. The whole issues in Job's humiliation, and conveys a most important lesson of instruction to all mankind, never to stand upon their vindication with God. The book, in this view of it, is preparatory to the Gospel, and a striking comment upon those words of St. Paul and the Psalmist, All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. In thy sight shall no man living be justified."-" God be merciful to me a sinner," is a prayer easy to be said, but hard to be felt. One eye upon the perfection of God's laws, and another upon your own heart, may bring you up to it. But the Spirit's light is also needful, for which you must pray earnestly.

A sinner vile I am, O LORD,

A sinner day by day:

Much cause I have to loathe myself,
And for thy mercy pray.

Y

And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art wor thy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood. REV. v. 9.

IN

N heaven the saints have a full sense of their great deliverance, together with a perfect knowledge of sin, far beyond anything we now conceive of it; and the glory of redeeming grace will be the eternal ground of their love and adoration. On earth, it is the great exercise and difficult work of faith to see sin and CHRIST at the same time, or be penetrated with a lively sense of our desert, and absolute freedom from condemnation. But the more we know of both, the nearer approach we make to heaven; and we are our own greatest enemies, if, together with the fullest comprehension of sin, and the deepest humiliation for it, we do not look steadfastly unto Jesus, and see it taken away by the Lamb of GOD. This, though continually repeated by the heavenly choir, is called their New Song; because it is always matter of as great joy to them, as if they had never sung it before; and because the love of GOD and of CHRIST in their redemption is always opening upon them with new and increasing wonders. O my soul, let nothing, let not thy sin, hinder thee from beginning it now!

Saints cannot do less
Than JESUS to bless;
His name they rely on,
His Godhead confess.
My soul, bear a part,
If ransom'd thou art,
By JESUS' blood-shedding,
His burial and smart.
To him that was slain,
The scorn'd Nazarene,
Be glory and honour.
Let all say, Amen.