Are

cordial to him, and he rejoices that his God is "ready to forgive." British Soldier, how is it with you? you living in sin Pi or, are you walking in the fear of God? Tempted to sin you will be, led away into sin you may be; let me exhort you to remember whenever you feel inclined to give way to any sin, secret or open, that, after this comes the judgment." You must stand before the judgment seat of Christ. You must give account of yourself to God. God will bring every work into judgement with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. If sensible of your lost state as a sinner, if afraid of the just judg ment of God, if dreading the torments of an eternal hell-remember, God is "ready to forgive." If you seek pardon in the name of Jesus, resting for acceptance on the atonement of the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world; God will listen to you, sympathize with you, and " abundantly pardon you." Nothing can harm you but sin; no one can save you but Jesus; and nothing will bring a sense of pardon into your conscience but faith. Believe in the Lord Jesus; repent of your sins before God; seek instantly and heartily for pardon; and you will obtain mercy, find grace to help you, have Christ formed in your heart the hope of glory, and understand experimentally what we mean by PEACE, PEACE." Jesus made peace for sinners by the blood of his Cross;

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the gospel proclaims peace to all who believe in the Son of God; and the Holy Spirit applying the atonement to the conscience, produces in the heart,-" PEACE, PEACE."

Dear Friend of friendless sinners hear,
And magnify thy grace divine;
Pardon a worm that would draw near,
That would his heart to thee resign;
A worm, by self and sin opprest,
That pants to reach thy promised rest.
With holy fear and reverent love,
I long to lie beneath thy throne;
I long in thee to live and move,

And stay myself on thee alone:
Teach me to lean upon thy breast,
To find in thee the promised rest.
Thou say'st, Thou will thy servants keep
In perfect peace, whose minds shall be
Like new-born babes, or helpless sheep,
Completely stay'd, dear Lord, on thee:
How calm their state, how truly blest,
Who trust on thee, the promised rest!
Take me, my Saviour, as thine own,
And vindicate my righteous cause;
Be thou my portion, Lord, alone,
And bend me to obey thy laws:
In thy dear arms of love caress'd,
Give me to find thy promised rest!
Bid the tempestuous rage of sin,
With all its wrathful fury, die;
Let the Redeemer dwell within,

And turn my sorrows into joy:
O, may my heart, by thee possess'd
Know thee to be my promised rest!

THE FAITHFUL PROMISER.

"There hath not failed one word of all his good promise."-1 Kings viii. 56.

THE magnificent temple was now finished. The people were assembled to dedicate it to God; the happy monarch officiated on the occasion; he reviewed the past, he gazed with rapture on the present; he looked at the promises, he recognised their fulfilment ; he turned witness for God, and in the fulness of his heart, exclaimed, "There hath not failed one word of all his good promise." Beloved, let us imitate Solomon. Look backlook around. Compare what God has said with what God has done; examine carefully, closely. What is the fact? You must say, There hath not failed one word of all his good promise."

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HERE IS AN ALLUSION TO A FACT. God had made promises-promises to Abraham, and to his descendants, the people of Israel, and now after a long series of years, these promises were recognised, acknowledged, and made good. God, also, has made promises to us; great, glorious, precious promises. They are scattered over his Word, they are

gathered up into Christ, they are confirmed to us by his death. There are promises that refer to the soul; promises of pardon, peace, strength, instruction, deliverance-in a word, of salvation; promises as various as its wants -as vast as its desires-as durable as its ex

Promises which comprise all it

istence. can require, and all God can confer. There are promises for the body. God has given us his word that he will feed us, clothe us, and at length raise us from the dead in the likeness of the glorious body of his Son. He has not promised luxuries, but he has promised necessaries. There are promises to meet all our circumstances. Promises for prosperity, and promises for adversaty; promises for sickness, and promises for health ; promises for life, and promises for death. The promises of God embrace all his people, anticipate all their wants, and provide for all their necessities. Let us now look at the

text again

HERE IS A TESTIMONY BORNE. "There hath not failed one word of all his good promise." God has kept his eye on his promises -he has not lost sight of them for one moment. Man may forget them, God never will; they are as fresh in his memory to-day as if he had only made them this morning. He has regulated his dealings by his promises-precepts are our rule, promises are his. He is every day making good his word. In our darkest seasons, in our most trying times,

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he is but fulfilling his word. Therefore, in looking back we see with Solomon that he has exactly made good his word. We have doubted, and, in so doing, have dishonoured him, for what reason had we to doubt? Did he ever break his word? . did he ever fail his people? did he ever violate his promise? Never. It is impossible for God to lie." Yet our doubts and fears go far to make God a liar. For this he will correct us. Because of this he often frowns upon us, but he will keep his word notwithstanding; hence the Apostle says, "Though we believe not, yet he abideth faithful, he cannot deny himself." Our doubts are very often our disgrace. We should look upon them as sinful; confess them before God as such, and seek pardon for them, as much as for any crime we commit. Satan has often suggested that the promises do not belong to us, and that God will not make them good in our experience; but Satan is a liar, and therefore not to be listened to or believed. We are directed to give him no place, but order him out of the house as soon as he comes in. To resist him, stedfast in the faith; stedfastly believing what God has spoken and recorded in his Word, in opposition to all that Satan may suggest or say. Satan is the great enemy of our holiness and happiness; therefore as God sanctifies us, and makes us happy through his own Word, especially through his precious promises, he does all he can to make us dis