thought perhaps, some will mock me and sneer at me. Suppose they do,-did they not mock the Apostles? did they not sneer at the Saviour himself? Sneers break no bones, and will you allow them to be stumbling blocks in the way of y your salvation ? To be mocked at is unpleasant, but what is it when compared with the pains of hell? Suppose it was said to you, "You must allow yourself to be sneered at, and be mocked for six hours, or be confined to a bed of suffering from violent rheumatic pains for six months;" which will you do? If you ever suffered from rheumatism, I know which you would prefer; and yet what comparison is there, between six months' suffering of such pain, and eternally to suffer the pains of hell. But you say, "That is not my case, I would decide for Christ, and give myself wholly to him, but if I do, I am afraid I shall go back." What does the Saviour say? Does he not say, "My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness ?" What does the Father say?-are not his words, "Thy shoes shall be iron and brass, and as thy days, so shall thy strength be." Now the thoughts that come into your mind, contradict the promises of both the Father and the Son. They are the offspring of unbelief; they are fostered by Satan, the great enemy of your soul. No one ever goes back, while he fears he shall, for his fear is a perservative; it

prompts him to cry to the strong for strength; it induces him to cling faster and firmer to the Saviour. It is the fulfilment of God's new covenant promise, "I will put my fear into their hearts, and they shall not depart from me.” Tried Christian, the Lord knows the thoughts that come into your heart, every one of them, and he is grieved with many of them. You look more at your trials, than at the promises; you are more affected by your troubles, than by his love. He tells you to cast your burden on him, promising to sustain you; he bids you cast all your care on him, assuring you that he cares for you; he gives you his word, that when you pass through the waters he will be with you, and through the rivers they shall not not overflow you; when you pass through the fires, you shall not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon you. In one word, that let what will come, whatever may befal you, all things shall work together for your good; nothing shall by any means hurt you. This being the case, ought you not to strive to suppress every thought that would in any way reflect upon God, or disturb confidence in his love? But, if inyour stead of this, you encourage such thoughts, draw rash conclusions, and become impatient and gloomy, thus giving place to the devil, and giving him power over you; do you not act inconsistent with your profession, and

walk contrary to the Lord? Must you not expect the rod? Can you wonder, if your trials increase, if your burdens become heavier, and your prospects darker from day to day?

Brethren, let us watch over our thoughts? let us get our minds well stored with God's thoughts; let us impress this fact upon our hearts, that God knows the thoughts that come into our minds, every one of them

thoughts against his people, thoughts against himself, thoughts against his dealings, thoughts against his word, or portions of it; nor let us ever forget that our thoughts affect our comforts and our conduct. We cannot be right, we cannot walk aright, except we think aright; and as the heart is the source from which our thoughts spring, and that which gives a character to our thoughts, let us daily seek grace to purify our hearts, crying out with David, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.' And let us plead Jehovah's own precious promise, "I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: that they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God." Good and gracious Lord, do thou purify the source of thought

in us, and so fill and influence us by thy Holy Spirit, that we may think of thee, of thy word, of thy ways, of ourselves, and of our fellow men as we ought, for thy beloved Son's sake!

What shall the dying sinner do,
That seeks relief for all his woe?
Where shall the guilty conscience find
Ease for the torment of the mind ?

How shall we get our crimes forgiven,
Or form our natures fit for heaven?
Can souls all o'er defiled with sin
Make their own powers and passions clean ?

In vain we search, in vain we try,
Till Jesus brings his gospel nigh!
"Tis there that power and glory dwell
Which saves rebellious souls from hell.

This is the pillar of our hope
That bears our fainting spirits up;
We read the grace, we trust the word,
And find salvation in the Lord.

Let men or angels dig the mines
Where nature's golden treasure shines;
Brought near the doctrine of the cross
All nature's gold appears but dross.

Should vile blasphemers, with disdain,
Pronounce the truths of Jesus vain,
We'll meet the scandal and the shame,
And sing and triumph in his name,

THE SOLDIER'S WIFE; OR, CONSISTENCY HONOURED.

THE Lord's people are a tried people, but their trials are employed to deepen the work of God in their own hearts, and to render them a blessing to others. The soul that walks closely with God will often see the hand of God in providence, and will be made a blessing, even when he may least expect it. Many a Christian has been made a source of blessing to his fellow-men when he has little thought of it, and much good has been done by the Lord's poor saints, of which they will never hear in the present world.

An illustration of this fact has just been brought to my knowledge, and as it is of recent date, and has never been published before, I wish to record it, for the comfort and encouragement of those who sow beside all waters.

A soldier's wife, with her three children, was passing through Essex, on her way to Chelmsford; it was a fine summer's evening, when she saw a young man standing at a farm-yard gate. She asked him if his master would allow her and her children to sleep in his barn? He said, he thought he