I am not better than

my fathers."

❝I, even I, only

am left; and they seek my life to take it away.' But what was the answer of the Lord to Elijah ? "I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal."

When our blessed Lord came in the flesh, darkness covered the earth and gross darkness the people; yet even then there were a chosen few, who in faithwaited for redemption in Israel."

During the dark period of 1260 years foretold in the Revelation, wherein the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet would wage continual war with the church of Christ; the Lord appointed two witnesses (a constant succession of faithful men) who should testify to the power and grace of Jesus, even though they prophesy in sackcloth. In this period we now live, and can fully attest to the truth of this remarkable prophecy. All this is in virtue of the everlasting covenant. How extensive the promise of the Father to his eternal Son!

"His

"He shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth." name shall endure for ever; his name shall be continued as long as the sun, and men shall be blessed in him; all nations shall call him blessed."

From this manifestation of the Almighty to Moses, we are led to adore the sovereignty of God.

He ordinarily chooses, not the great ones of the earth, but the poor and the despised. Some indeed, but not many, noble are called. Worldly riches and elevated stations have a tendency to beget selfsufficiency and vain-confidence. "Poor in spirit, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom," is the genuine character of the church of Christ.

Divine grace, however, can as easily bring the proudest monarch, as the meanest beggar, in the lowly attitude of contrition to the foot of the cross.

Happy will be that period, when the kings of the earth and its nobles shall esteem it their highest glory to become the subjects of the Prince of peace; and their chief joy to promote the extension of his kingdom of righteousness throughout the world.

We are hereby led to admire also the wisdom and power of God. He can promote the enlargement of his church by those very means which its enemies employ to destroy it. The children of Israel grew and multiplied in spite of Pharaoh's efforts to prevent it.

The Gospel spread with wonderful rapidity, notwithstanding all the threatenings of the Jews and Romans to check its progress.

Those persecutions which scattered the disciples abroad, tended only to widen their field of labour; for they went everywhere, preaching the word. The sacred fire, thus dispersed by the rude hand of violence, multiplied itself in proportion to its dispersion. Hence it became proverbial, that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. "So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed." Even its enemies wondered whereunto all this would grow.

Whilst the kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers took counsel together, against the Lord and against his Christ; the Almighty Sovereign of the universe proclaimed: "I have set my king upon my holy hill of Zion."

Jesus by his resurrection was declared to be the Son of God with power, and "of the increase of his kingdom and government, there shall be no end." "The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will perform this."

Two blessed periods are therefore fast approaching, the anticipation of which, filled the ancient prophets and apostles with holy transport.

The one, when the church shall arise and shine

in her millennial glory; when she shall put on her beautiful garments, and become the joy and praise of the whole earth.

The other, when in the perfection of beauty, she shall be presented as a chaste virgin to Christ the heavenly bridegroom, and being clothed with his righteousness, shall shine as the sun in the kingdom of glory for ever and ever.

O my soul, rejoice in this great salvation. Lord, grant unto thy unworthy servant, a portion of this felicity. Make me even now a living member of thy mystical body, poor in spirit, and pure in heart, patiently enduring every trial, daily exercising faith in thy truth and mercy, adoring thy sovereignty; admiring thy power; and rejoicing in the perpetuity of the grace which lives in all thy faithful people, and preserves them unto thy eternal kingdom and glory.

Let my whole heart praise thee, thou God of my salvation. Let my whole life be consecrated unto thee. The work, O Lord, is thine. Thou alone canst new-create the soul. Perform this act of grace, this miracle of mercy, for thy own glory and to thy everlasting praise. Amen and Amen.

O! come, ye servants of the Lord,
Whose will is your delight;
His boundless love and grace record,
While heart and tongue unite.

Strike up your harps, and sweetly sing

Of Jesu's lovely name;

To him your grateful tribute bring,
His endless praise proclaim.

Declare what wonders he hath done,

Make all his glories known;

Adore the Father's equal Son;

The Priest upon the throne.

Sing of his rich and sov'reign grace-
Transcendent and divine;

Sing how he died to save our race
From misery and sin.

He died for us-he made our peace;
He pleads our cause on high:
O! may our praises never cease,
Hosannahs never die!

May each revolving year inflame
Our zeal, delight, and love;

Till round the throne we chant his name
In purer strains above.

O! come, ye servants of the Lord,
His endless praise proclaim:
In gladsome notes his love record,
For "worthy is the Lamb."

LX. ON ADOPTION.

How rich, how varied are the blessings of redemption! Like the gracious Giver, they are infinite and eternal, reaching from everlasting to everlasting.

Fully to know the gifts of grace, we must know the fulness of him from whom they flow. Surely gratitude ought to swell our hearts, when we contemplate the author of our mercies, and the abject worms on whom those mercies are bestowed.

Happy is that heart which can appreciate the love of Jesus, and to which the Saviour is increasingly precious. Thus to feel, is heaven begun and forms one of the brightest evidences of adoption into the family of God.

According to the natural order of things, we are first made the children of God; and then we receive the spirit of children. This is in perfect accordance

with Scripture: "ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus;" and "because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying Abba, Father." For "God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." Hence he that

believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself;" the indwelling Spirit testifying to his spirit or conscience, that he is a child of God; for thus saith St John: "hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us."

Therefore, filial affections towards God as our covenant Father, produced in the soul by the Holy Ghost, constitute the Spirit of adoption, and prove us to be his redeemed children.

This delightful feeling of sonship, with all its attendant blessedness, creates a peace and joy, such as a loving child experiences in the society and under the smiles of an affectionate parent.

But we must never forget, that this state of heart is not the mere effect of contemplating the change which may have passed upon us. When we look into ourselves, we find continual need for the deepest humiliation, even when we can praise God for his distinguishing mercy towards us.

Our peace and joy are the fruits of faith in the blood of Christ, wrought in us through the mighty power of God. We can have peace and joy, only through believing. But as we become the children of God by faith, so true peace in the conscience, and joy in the heart, can only be maintained and increased, through an abiding reliance on the blood and righteousness of Jesus.

From this foundation arises a sacred edifice of heavenly graces. "Know ye not," saith.the apostle, "that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost