thee The iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found.'

This is the language of mercy and benevolence indeed! Surely we may say with the prophet, 'Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again; he . will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and cast all our sins into the depths of the sea-Sing, O ye heavens; for the Lord hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein: for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified himself in Israel.'

We are apt to forget that the grace of God in the promises is not made to such as deserve mercy, but, as one expresses it, 'to such as want it; not to righteous persons, but to sinners; not to the whole, but to the sick.

Such,

therefore, who through the weakness of faith, or the violence of temptation, find it difficult to lay hold on the promises which respect the pardon of sin, and the attaining life and salvation, should remember that the root and principle from whence the promises spring is not from any good within us, but wholly from grace without us-That from the beginning to the end of our salvation, nothing is primarily active but free grace. All the promises of God are made in Christ, and derive their certainty and stability from him in whom they are made-not from us to whom they are made: they are all ratified with the same oath, and purchased by the same blood, and are, therefore, sure to all the seed, and it is neither the magnitude nor the multitude of our sins that precludes hope of forgiveness.'

Turn, therefore, to Christ the strong hold, thou prisoner of hope! Why sayest thou, 'My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God? Hast thou not known, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of

the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint-The Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit for a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee; but with everlasting kindness will I have, mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy RedeemerThe mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.' In patience, therefore, possess your soul: 'For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry— Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thy Maker is thy husband, the Lord of Hosts is his name;

X

and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall he be called. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.'

Such are the declarations, and such the promises left on record to support the believer under the anxieties and temptations of the present life. Language more benign and gracious, more replete with sympathetick tenderness and mercy, with unbounded goodness and affection, cannot be easily selected: and were it not known that sin has a natural tendency to produce in the conscience terrour and distrust, it would not be hastily believed that the heart that had once realized the consolation of forgiveness, could again become the subject of doubt. The christian, however, should remember, that whatever be the degree of his guilt or his misery; however great and numerous his fears; however many and appa

rently insurmountable the obstacles that stand in the way of his future blessedness, he has indubitable evidence that he shall finally possess it. The almighty power and faithfulness of God stand pledged that nothing shall frustrate his hopes. He may say to his soul, in the midst of all the storms and vicissitudes of time,

'The stars shall fade away, the sun himself
Grow dim with age, and nature sink in years;
But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth,
Unhurt amidst the war of elements,

The wreck of matter, and the crush of worlds.'

I am yours, &c.