MY DEAR CHILDREN,

YOURS of July 3d, from Glasgow, is to me like cold water to the thirsty soul. I thank my dear J— that tired and fatigued as she was, she sacrificed her necessary rest to the relief of her anxious mother. I hope my God did not allow her to be a sufferer; yet, my dear, two sheets were not necessary to my relief, though every line in them was interesting. To hear of the attentions of our dear countrymen, must be gratifying; to learn that your health permits you to accept of these, more so; to hear of your attention, and that of others, to my lonely sister, is soothing. But O, words are wanting to express the delight of my soul, on reading of the Lord's goodness to your soul; in dispensing to you so liberally the bread and the water of life; yea, feasting you on the dainties of his house, along with his choice favourites, giving you to see the good of his chosen, and to rejoice in their joy. O my dear J- what hath God done for

us in spirituals and in temporals! his dealings with us have not been ordinary. O how stately have been his steps in almost all his providences! I bless my God, with my whole soul, and all that is within me; I desire to bless him, that while he gave you favour with all, he attached you most closely to his own, the excellent ones of the earth; to them he led you, with them he fed you, giving you credit with them, and a name and place in his house. O Lord, what can thy servant say? thou art thyself, I AM THAT I AM, is thy name; wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and truth, are thine essential qualities. But O thy long-suffering, thy patience, thine unspeakable mercy, thy pardoning, thy restoring, thy healing, thy consoling mercy, is the wonder of wonders! and O, how is the wonder increased, when I consider the objects of it! O now, my dear children, let us live to his glory; surely mercy is his darling attribute, and judg ment his strange work. Eternity will prove too short to sing of his mercy; and who ought to sing as loud as we ?

October 23, 1801. SURELY, surely, my heart feels grateful for the time,

though this, like every other good motion, will, like the morning dew, soon pass away.

My children not only preserved through the tempestuous storms that threatened death with circumstances shocking to nature; but my poor sick child preserved during a long and fatiguing journey: that journey made comfortable, yea, delightful, by the warm reception of many kind friends, dear to nature, and many doubly endeared by Grace; among the last the mother and sisters of the kindest and best of husbands; they receiving her as their own flesh and blood, as well as their fellow member in Christ; blest with a measure of health to enjoy all, and a measure of grace to profit by all; eying by faith the dear invisible hand of a Covenant God→→→ preserving, leading, guiding through every step-His love the marrow of the whole, and their charter for safety, even amidst the dangers of prosperity. Is not godliness gain? profitable for this life, as well as that which is to come. What is the portion of the worldling? even in this life," shadowy joy, or solid wo,' without a balance to the first, or consolation in the last; no sure footing in the one, nor support in the other; distanced from the fountain of happiness by nature, prosperity incrusts their hearts and increases their carnality; nestling in their worldly comforts, they forget they are the creatures of a day, that an endless eternity lies before them, and only the feeble, uncertain thread of life between them and that curse under which they were born. Not so the child of God; all things work together for his good; all things; his standing is not in himself; his footsteps are directed by infinite wisdom; he is kept by the power of God, through faith unto salvation. Nothing can separate him from the love of God. His life is hid with Christ in God: there is cause to rejoice always; his privileges are boundless, infinite, for God himself is become his salvation. Have we then any cause for fear? Yes, my children, yes; though nothing can rob us of our charter, there is another side to be beheld. In Christ we have all things richly to enjoy, but we have not all in possession: what we have is by faith; all is secured by our Surety for eternity. We shall overcome

by the blood of the Lamb: but by the constitution of the Covenant, we must enter into that rest, that perfect rest, through great tribulation. While our eternal salvation is secured by our Surety, it hath pleased Infinite Wisdom to appoint another connexion, which shall exist while we remain in these clay tabernacles: even the connexion between our steadfastness, consequently our comfort, and the means of Grace which he hath appointed; making the first to depend in a great measure on our diligent use of the last, insomuch, that a great number of the promises are proposed conditionally. Many exhortations are given in this view, and also many threatenings. They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength,' &c. 'Seek and ye shall find, ask and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you.'' Abide in me; as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, no more can ye, except ye abide in me.' Close, intimate, near communion with God, is to be sought by means of. prayer, meditation, and reading. If the Christian be careful to husband time, and set apart a portion for God, and set about these duties, he will not always miss com-. munion, and this prepares him for other duties, and arms him against temptation; as the promise is concerned to keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on him. If ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give his holy Spirit to them that ask him.' So shall! ye know the Lord, if ye follow on to know him.' 'Delight thyself in God, he will give thee the desire of thine. heart. Nevertheless, I will be inquired of by the, house of Israel,' &c. If his children forsake my laws and go astray, I will visit their faults,' &c. Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation.' But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet,' &c.; "thy, Father who seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.' All is laid before us in the Scriptures, in the view of comfort, during our pilgrimage, as well as the certainty. of our inheritance in the end; the ground whereon we stand, our danger, and the means of safety. See Ephesians vi. 11. There is provision made in the Covenant for great comfort, consistent with human frailty and im

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perfection: but not with carelessness and negligence. While, therefore, we rejoice in the Lord, we have good reason to join trembling with our mirth. While standing high in comfort, to take heed, lest we fall, through the deceitfulness of sin. We carry about with us 'a body of sin and death;' the Devil, like a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour.' 'We wrestle not with flesh and blood, but with principalities and powers,' &c. &c. We live in a world lying in wickedness; the captives of sin and Satan exerting every faculty to banish all thoughts of God, death, and eternity; contriving with unwearied industry, and amazing ingenuity, new gratifications for body and mind in endless variety, suited to all constitutions, all tempers and dispositions, and to those in all circumstances. Of these, the most rational, are the most subtle, and in the hand of the enemy the most calculated to keep men ignorant of themselves, their misery, and of the great salvation : and, alas! by these he often spoils unwary Christians, who, though heirs of heaven, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, are, during their minority, subject to like passions with them, and ever in danger of being spoiled of their comforts when off their guard.

With the people of the world, Christians have much to do: they are fellow members of society with them;* they have many duties to perform to them, with them, and by them; many of the things of the world are necessary to them, many of its pleasures lawful; for the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof,' and he gives them of it, as his wisdom sees good for them. That which he gives them they gather in the same manner, and in society, with the world, by industry and diligence in their lawful calling and business. Keeping near the Captain of salvation, and armed in his whole armour, they are safe. When off their guard, the vigilant enemy gains some advantage, and they get into trouble. O how many gracious names our dear Redeemer has assumed in his word, for our comfort, our meditation, our spiritual exercise! how pleasant and delightful in the light of his countenance to analyze them! Beside the names peculiar to himself as God man; how many has he con

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descended to take from among men, and the natural forts and safe-guards of men! Our Shepherd, our Rock, our Ark, all the relations in life, and ends with our All in all, But I must have done, that I may tell you that goodness and mercy follow us in this family also.

I HAVE received my dear J's three letters from Dingwall: fresh matter of praise to our Covenant God. You have had your season of affliction; and now you have a season of refreshing, a resting-time. The cup of the Christian is always more or less mixed. Your afflictions have ever been mixed with much mercy, and now your season of rest is also mixed. I well know that no temporal comfort can compensate the absence of your justly beloved D-,, nor can any object but your God render it bearable. He, however, who is the God of both, who goes with him and stays with you, can, not only support, but comfort. The omniscient, the omnipresent, the omnipotent God, is our God, and the God of our house; all that he is, is ours to bless us. 'Behold, God is become our salvation.' Every endearing name known among men, he takes to himself to inspire us with pleasing confidential love; every name that connects the idea of protection, to keep our minds in quiet peace, in the assurance of safety. Father, Husband, Brother, Friend, Prophet, Priest, King, Physician, Help, Health, Light, Life, Counsellor, Guide, Sanctuary, Anchor. But I should fill my sheet. I said it all at first: God is ours and ours with the knowledge of all our backslidings which he heals; our wanderings, which he restores, and our sins, which he forgives; one of his names is the God of pardons. Mercy is his darling attribute, that in which he delights. Are we not his witnesses? What has our whole life been, but sin, backslidings, and wanderings? what have his dealings with us been, but pardons, healings, restorations? Therefore we remain, as at this day, with our desires towards him, and our faces Zion-wards. What he hath begun he will perfect, and in a little while our eyes shall behold him, our hearts shall enjoy him, 'we shall be like him, and see him as he is.'