Examine

Be not conformed to this world. Rom. xii. 2. Love
not the world, neither the things that are in the
world, &c. He that doeth the will of God abid-
eth for ever. 1 John ii. 15, 17.
READER, whose will dost thou do?
thyself. Perhaps thou thinkest, to love the world
and to do its will cannot be a great sin, because
many reputed honest men and good Christians do
the same. Nay, but for thy soul's sake consider
what the scripture says, If thou "lovest the
world, the love of the Father is not in thee;"
and without this love of the Father, thou hast no
faith; and, being destitute of faith, thou hast no
CHRIST, and consequently no life and salvation.
Consider further, whether thou dost not love the
world above either God or thy own soul. Hast
thou not a hundred thoughts about the world for
one of God or thy soul? Dost thou not talk a
hundred times more about the world, and is not
thy pursuit continually after it, to the neglect of
God and thy soul? Then, the world is thine idol;
thou lovest not God, and art murdering thy soul.
The Lord have mercy on thee!

I send the things of earth away;
Away, ye tempters of the mind,
False as the smooth, deceitful sea,
And empty as the whistling wind.
Your streams were floating me along,
Down to the gulf of black despair;
And whilst I listened to your song,

Your streams had near conveyed me there.

Lord, I adore thy matchless grace,

That warned me from the deep abyss;
That drew me from those treach'rous seas,
And bade me seek superior bliss.

Now to the shining realms above

I stretch my hands and glance iny eyes;
O for the pinions of a dove,

To bear me to the upper

skies!

Not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance; but as he who has called you is holy, so be ye holy (Note) in all manner of conversation. 1 Pet. i. 14, 15. Give diligence to make your calling and election sure; for the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, &c. 1 Pet. iv. 3.

NONE can be so sure of salvation as to be for ever free from fears and doubts; for there is no assurance without conflicts: therefore all diligence is required to be evermore sure of it, so as to have boldness, even in death. But let us take heed of presumption, since we do not know what may befall us at last; and be careful not to despise or overdrive the weaker sort of Christians, nor make our own experience a general rule for others, lest this comfortable doctrine of assurance prove a torment to them who have not yet attained it. Let all who have received a measure of grace be thankful; yet not rest in it; but press forward, fighting the good fight of faith, till they lay hold on eternal life.

How short and hasty is our life!

How vast our souls' affairs;
Yet senseless mortals vainly strive
To lavish out their years!

God from on high invites us home,
But we march heedless on;
And ever hast'ning to the tomb,
Stoop downward as we run.

How we deserve the deepest hell
That slight the joys above!

What chains of vengeance should we feel
That break such cords of love!

Draw us, O God, with sov'reign grace,

And lift our thoughts on high,

That we may end this mortal race,
And see salvation nigh!

For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. Luke xix. 10.

WHOEVER sericusly seeks to be saved both from the power and punishment of sin, and seeks deliverance only through CHRIST, should not give way to heaviness of heart; for consider, Art thou a lost sinner? CHRIST'S salvation is brought to such. Art thou seeking his salvation? This is a good token that CHRIST has sought thee, else thou wouldst not seek after him. Whom CHRIST seeks he saves. Now, therefore, call upon him. diligently to set up his kingdom in thy bosom, and say to thyself, O my soul, it was the very purpose of CHRIST'S coming into the world to save sinners circumstanced just as thou art! yea, though thy sins be as scarlet, be not thou cast down, O my soul, and be not disquieted within me, but encourage a cheerful hope in thy Covenant God, and instead of poring only upon thy sins, consider the exceeding love of CHRIST in dying for them; and, constrained by a sense of that love, do thy diligence to live unto him; and for this he will enable thee by his Holy Spirit.

The Lord of life and glory stands;
Aloud he cries, and spreads his hands;
He calls ten thousand sinners round,
And sends a voice from every wound.

"An ample pardon here I give,
And bid the sentenced rebel live;
Shew him my Father's smiling face,
And lodge him in his dear embrace.
I purge from sin's detested stain,
And make the crimson white again;
Lead to celestial joys refined,
And lasting as the deathless mind."
O Jesus! let me doubt no more;
But hear, and wonder, and adore,
Till death shall make my last remove
To dwell for ever in thy love!

Repent ye (O change your minds) and believe the
gospel. Mark i. 15. From that time Jesus be-
gan to preach, and to say, Repent, for the king-
dom of heaven is at hand. Matt. iv. 17. Repent
ye therefore, and be concerted, that your sins
may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing
shall come from the presence of the Lord. Acts
iii. 19.
REPENTANCE, or a godly sorrow for sin, is the
doctrine of the Gospel. This is absolutely neces-
sary to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and a life
of union and communion with him. O reader,
the Baptist calls thee to repent; Jesus calls thee
to repent; the God of heaven and earth calls thee
to repent and without it thou wilt perish eter-
nally in the flames of hell. Canst thou not give
thyself the grace of repentance? Thou canst
not. O then pray and cry to the blessed Jesus,
that his Holy Spirit may produce this saving
change in thee. Pray to him that he would give
thee a living, justifying faith in his blood and
righteousness, and that thy heart may be filled
with real sorrow for sin, with holy indignation
against it, and with a sincere and active depart-
ing from it. O pray that you may walk by faith
and not by sight, as seeing him continually, who
to the natural eye is invisible.

Mistaken souls, that dream of heaven,
And make their empty boast
Of inward joys and sins forgiven,
While they are slaves to lust!
Vain are our fancies' airy flights,
If faith be cold and dead;
None but a living power unites
To Christ, the living head.
"Tis faith that purifies the heart;
'Tis faith that works by love;
That bids our sins and lusts depart,
And lifts our souls above.

What I say unto you, I say unto all, Watch. Mark xiii. 37. See also ver. 3, and chap xiv. 38.

ON a day set apart for the celebration of some great event, how anxious are the people to get in time to the place appointed. What earnestness is to be seen in their looks. As earnest should we be in watching for the hour in which our Lord shall come, that we may not be ashamed before him. A heart deceived by sin may suggest many arguments against this holy earnestness; but they are the reasonings of folly. It is a general warning, "What I say unto you, I say unto all, Watch." Almost every day affords an instance of some one hurried into eternity on a sudden. Was not hourly watchfulness necessary, a merciful God would not permit such sudden deaths. But he has sounded the alarm, "Ye know not what hour our Lord doth come."-Give me grace, O Lord, to live always as if I heard that solemn voice sounding continually in my ears, "Awake, ye dead, and come to judgment !"

Awake, my drowsy soul, awake,
And view the threat'ning scene;
Legions of foes encamp around,
And treachery lurks within.

Now to the work of God awake;
Behold thy Master near;
The various, arduous task pursue,
With vigour and with fear.

The awful register goes on;

Th' account will surely come;

And opening day, or closing night,
May bear me to my doom.

Tremendous thought, how deep it strikes!
Yet, like a dream it flies:

Till God's own voice the slumbers chase
From these deluded eyes.