tion of the covenant of grace, and a fuller display of the grace of the covenant. Here is a full proof of the personality of the Holy Spirit, and also of his sovereignty, in his operations and influences upon his members. Christ did not tell his apostles, as some ignorantly talk, "If ye will but be yielding and tractable, and suffer my Spirit to lead you, ye shall enjoy his kind assistance." No: this were to degrade the glory of this divine agent, to exalt the pride of the creature, and render the gracious guidance of the Spirit dependent upon the will of the flesh. As if, instead of being the cause of life, he were to be only a mere auxiliary, to aid and assist man's pious motions and good dispositions. Far be such thoughts from our hearts. All glory to this heavenly Paraclete, "he will work, and who shall let him?" He will guide into the whole truth of covenant love and salvation by Christ. The Spirit testifies of and glorifies him in the sight and affections of his people. The apostles, themselves, were at this time in much ignorance about many things concerning Jesus. As to the nature of his kingdom, they still dreamed of temporal grandeur. Their prejudices were great in favour of their own nation, and they thought "God was a respecter of persons," of Jews above gentiles; and were very hardly brought to give up the types and shadows, particularly the sign of the covenant, circumcision, as not fully seeing that Jesus, the substance, was really come, who is essentially the truth.

There is no hope for poor guilty sinners, but in the truth. For thus the Lord declares his name, "I will by no means clear the guilty," Exod. xxxiv. 7. This is very distressing to sensible sinners. I know one who has found it so. He has been sadly distressed by this text. But the Spirit teaches, that the truth of God is inviolably preserved, while the guilty sinner is perfectly saved in the Lord Jesus, with an everlasting salvation. He stood as our substitute. The Lord laid all our iniquities upon him. He suffered, as our Surety, all the wrath due to our transgressions, "and with his stripes we are healed," Isa. liii. 5. The reputedly guilty died: the really guilty become guiltless. His blood cleanseth them from all sin, 1 John i. 7. God is just, while he justifies the ungodly sinner, who believes in Jesus, Rom. iii. 26. Glory to the Spirit who leads from the destructive paths of natural pride, self-will, and self-righteousness, and gives us "repentance to the acknowledging of the truth," (2 Tim. ii. 25,) and sanctifies us through the truth, John xvii. 17.

JULY.

JULY 1.-Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised.) Heb. x. 23.

Poor christian! thy profession is envied by malicious devils; scorned and ridiculed by natural men; and is contrary to thy own carnal reason. Hence, thou hast a combined force, of a threefold alliance, in arms against thee, striving, by all means, to rob thee of thy hope. Happy christian! who, like thy blessed Master, in the face of every adversary, hast "witnessed a good profession," 1 Tim. vi. 13. Here is a precious exhortation, backed with a most animating assertion. Attend to it. For thou must expect to be assaulted by the rage of devils, with scorn and contempt from wicked men, and often put to a stand by thy carnal reasonings. Here is thy duty: "Hold fast," in spite of all opposition. But, what is the profession of our faith? even the revealed truths of God, which proclaim his grace and glory, and our salvation, by his beloved Son. We cannot give up one of these, without suffering loss. All of them are precious in our eyes and dear to our hearts; and, therefore, must be held fast in faith. "It is written," is sufficient to silence every carnal argument, support our souls against every attack from men and devils. With this weapon thy blessed Master put

1

Satan to flight. Thus defend thyself with this sword of the Spirit against every foe. Thus daily "hold fast thy profession. He is faithful that promised." Why then should thy mind at any time waver, be agitated, or tossed to and fro? The foundation of God standeth sure. To confide in the word, promises, and oath of a faithful God, is the glory of thy soul, and glorifies him. Is Jesus thy profession? is all thy hope in him, all thy expectation from him, for pardon, righteousness, sanctification, wisdom, and eternal redemption ? Then be careful for nothing but to please him, fear nothing but what may offend him. Look to him only, and be of good courage. Remember, thy foes are his conquered enemies. When they oppose, attack, assault, it is to try thy faith, that thou mayst glorify him the more. Hast thou not the Lord's faithful word pledged for thy safety and salvation? Hast thou found peace of conscience, comfort of heart, joy of soul in Christ? Then cleave close to him, hold fast by him. Ever plead (not thy own, but) his faithfulness. Attend his sweet call from heaven above, to all his conflicting members below: "That which ye have already, hold fast till I come," Rev. ii. 25. Ever remember thy Lord's words, He, and only he, that endures to the end, shall be saved, Matt. xxiv. 13.

JULY 2.-A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. - Ezek. xxxvi. 26.

What absolute declarations are here! all display the sovereign will and almighty favour of a covenant God. As God's heart of love is towards his people in Christ, so his Spirit of power works in them, according to the counsel of his will. Hence they know, love, and serve him. By the blood of Jesus their sins are pardoned, and their consciences cleansed from guilt. By the Spirit of Jesus they are inwardly sanctified from their filthiness and idols; a new heart and a new spirit is put within them, and they are enabled to walk in his statutes and keep his judgments. Thus "all things are of God, who hath reconciled us unto himself by Jesus Christ," 2 Cor. v. 17, 18. "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

"A christian (as Luther says) is a new creature in a new world." He has a new heart, is under a new government, serves a new Master, obeys new laws, is actuated by new fears, influenced by new love, animated with new delights and new joys. "Ah, (says a disciple,) this is sweet in theory, and true in doctrine, but in experience I find and feel, to my grief, an old nature of sin and unbelief, and groan under a body of death." This also is very true; yea, it is perfectly consistent with a state of regeneration. Saints of God in all ages have found it so. The Lord, in this very text, accounts for it: "I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh." Naturally thy heart is hard as a stone. Thou couldst neither feel sin, mourn for sin, nor be humbled under a sense of sin. But through the blood of Jesus, applied by the Spirit, in believing the truth, thou hast a soft, tender, yielding heart, a heart of flesh, susceptible of impressions, looking to Jesus by faith, melted by love, and mourning for sin. Though the king's daughter, the Lamb's wife, is all glorious within, though her clothing is of wrought gold, yet she is unhappily allied to a base, wretched, churlish Nabal. Hence, though "thou hast no confidence in the flesh, and in it dwells no good thing;" yet thou dost delight in the law of God after the inward man; and hast continual cause of rejoicing (not in thyself, but) in Christ Jesus, Phil. iii. 3.

JULY 3. My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me.-John x. 27.

All our mercies, in time and eternity, flow from Jesus knowing us, as his sheep. To all such salvation is certain; both as to present grace and future glory. As a shepherd knoweth every sheep committed to his care; so doth our good Shepherd. All his sheep were everlastingly beloved of the Father, "chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world," and given to him in the eternal counsel. He became Surety for them, he redeemed them to God by his own blood. Hence he calls them "my sheep," mine by gift, mine by redemption. Thus he hath a distinct knowledge of them, and special proprietorship in them. For "died Jesus as a fool dieth?" spilt he his precious blood at an uncertainty? paid he the dreadful debt to law and justice at a peradventure, whether any soul would receive the eternal benefit or not? Surely not; for his undertaking was in infinite wisdom and counsel, as well as wonderful in grace and love. Jesus well knew the nature-state of all his sheep. They were all gone astray, and turned every one to his own way. They would all count their Shepherd an enemy, and fly from him as a destroyer, if left to themselves. But he saith, "I am the good Shepherd." He inclines their ears to hear, and their hearts to believe in him; to come to him as such, and to follow him. They have the properties of his own sheep; they give evidence of it. They live by his word, and feed upon his love. Oh, alas! what deplorable circumstances were we all in, when his sweet voice first reached our ears, when his powerful voice affected our hearts! It was a sound of glad tidings, love and salvation to us, lost sheep indeed. It proved effectual, to recall our wandering souls from the dangerous and destructive paths in which we had lost ourselves. Truly, we also may say of Jesus, "Never man spake like this man." The power of his voice begets obedience; and, like the blind man restored to sight, we