of Hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge."

"Fear not, you carry Jefus." Thou desponding one, fear not. Does not Christ dwell in thy heart by faith? Is not "Christ in you," the life of faith-the life of love" the hope of glory?" Is he not working in you both to will and to do? Then be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Fear not, He is thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.

Of Cyrus it is said, that he knew his foldiers every one by name. But by the Captain of your falvation, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Unbelief dims the eye so that it cannot see Jesus. Faith opens it, and the glorious presence of the Saviour is revealed. Where the king is, there also is the court; and where the Saviour is, there also is his court. His attendants are all there. Power-majesty-riches and glory, encircle his throne. Stormy winds, lightning and thunder, are minifters of his that do his pleasure. God is with his people. He is their covenant God. Hence all his attributes are employed for their good. He cares for them. "As a father pitieth his children, so he pities them that fear him. He has purchased them by his own blood." They are his "peculiar treasure;" "the lot of his inheritance." Therefore no weapon that is formed against them can profper. To banish diftrust for ever from their hearts, he pledges himself never to leave them, never to forsake them.

When thou passest through the waters I will be with thee, And through the rivers they shall not overflow thee; When thou walkest through the fire thou shalt not be

burned,

Neither shall the flame kindle upon thee,

For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Ifrael,

THY SAVIOUR.

"I will trust in thee." Ps. lvi. 3. "According to your Faith be it unto you."-МАТТ. іх. 29.

VENTURING BY FAITH.

Behold the flames in all their fury roll,
Raging and spreading, spurning all control;
Upward they shoot in many a gleaming spire,
And then rush downward in a flood of fire.

With fiercer heat the burning columns glow,
And foon the building totters to and fro.
But whence that scream that rings upon our ears?
In the high casement, see, a child appears !
With outstretched arms imploring for relief-
The crackling timbers only mock his grief.
"O Father, fave!" in piteous tones he cries,
At length his father hears him and replies,
"Fly to my arms, my fon, without delay-
Fly ere the flames devour their helpless prey.
Death hastes behind, Hope beckons from before ;
He ventures freely and his danger's o'er.

"THE foul of an awakened finner," says Dr. Coke, "before he ventures on Christ for falvation, may be compared to a person who is in some of the upper stories of his house when he learns that it has taken fire, and that all its nether parts are so far involved in flame as to cut off his retreat." The engraving shows a young perfon who has been roused from his midnight slumbers by the raging flames which burst into the place where he was repofing, or perhaps he was awakened by the voice of fome friend, who raised a warning cry from without. The child, thoroughly awakened, sees that if he stays where he is, he will perish in the flames; he hears the voice of his fatherhe flies to the window-he fees the outstretched arms-he is invited to leap or cast himself from the burning house; the attempt seems perilous indeed, but having faith in the word of his father, he takes the perilous leap-he ventures all-he falls into the hands of his father unharmed; he is saved from death.

This is a good illustration of the act of justifying Faith. The child in the burning house perhaps made several efforts to escape from the approaching ruin; he attempts to gain the door, but finding the flames increase upon him, he is obliged to give up his hope of escaping this way, and to ascend the stairs before the pursuing fire. His friends without, who know his condition and danger (particularly his father), entreat him to caft himself from the upper window, as the only means by which his life can be preserved.

The child hears the earnest entreaties of his

friends-hefitates, attempts, retires, approaches the window, calculates upon the fearful height, and dreads to make the effort. His understanding is convinced that the fire will foon overtake and destroy him, yet while the danger appears somewhat remote, he strangely lingers; poffibly thinking there may be some other way to escape, befides cafting himself from the window.

His friends again encourage him to venture from the window, assuring him that they have provided for his safety by spreading on the ground the softest materials, to break the violence of his fall; full of hefitation, he asks for sensible evidence; they defire him to look-he makes an effort, but the darkness of the night, and the injury his fight has sustained, only permit him to view the object of his wishes obscurely and indiftinctly. Belief and doubt contend for the empire of his mind, and by keeping it in an equipoise, prevent it from making any decifive choice.