human. The personal glory of Christ attracts our attention, excites our admiration, and draws forth our love. When the eye of the mind is first fixed on this glorious Jesus, the soul sighs out, "Oh, if this blessed Jesus was mine!" But when the Holy Ghost reveals the fact that He is ours, we are almost in an ecstasy. The joy is so deep, so powerful, that it bears us away; and if it were not qualified, would unfit us for the duties of life.

We love Jesus on account of our enjoyment of Him. Oh, the happiness we have found in Jesus! When we first felt His blood applied to our conscience to remove our guilt, and realized our interest in His glorious person and finished work, our enjoyments were Divinely sweet. We can never forget the pleasure we felt then. And how often since, when hearing His Gospel, meditating on His word, or worshipping at His throne, have we found our joy unspeakable and full of glory. We feel that we are indebted to Jesus for all those sweet glimpses of glory, those foretastes of heaven, those spiritual pleasures, which we have often realized. The presence of Jesus is our heaven. We love to hear of Him, to read of Him, to praise Him; but to enjoy His presence is our highest bliss. We feel that we could be satisfied with the presence of Jesus anywhere; but without the presence of Jesus we could be satisfied nowhere. How can we help loving Him, who is "the glory

of our brightest days, and comfort of our nights." The enjoyment of Jesus naturally fills us with love to Him, and leads us to exclaim, "This is my Beloved, and this is my Friend, O ye daughters of Jerusalem!"

We love Jesus on account of what we expect from Him. He will soon send for us where He is, or He will come again and receive us to himself. He has given us grace, He will give us glory. We expect great things from Him when He comes. He will exactly conform us to Himself, and we shall be like Him. He will confer on us a crown of righteousness that will never fade, or tarnish. He will robe us in light and glory. He will place us beside Him on His throne. He will beat down our foes before our face, and our enemies under our feet. He will present us before His glorious presence faultles; and He will present us unto his Father without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. Indeed, we can conceive of nothing that will dignify the body, gratify the spirit, or delight the heart, but we may expect Jesus to bestow it upon us when He comes. And when we call to mind all that our eyes have seen, or our ears have heard, or our hearts conceived, that is great, grand, and glorious, the whole is not to be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us. For "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man, what God hath prepared for them that love Him."

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Is it any wonder, then, that Jesus is to us 'THE BELOVED?" The only wonder is, that we do not love Him ten times more. If we were what we ought to be, we should be daily, yea, hourly, speaking of the glorious honour of His majesty, and telling of His wondrous works. Our thoughts would be full of Jesus; our conversation would be always of Jesus; our writings would be of Jesus. My heart at this moment exclaims, "Oh, that I could love Jesus as I ought! Oh that I could honour Jesus as I ought!"

"I would for ever speak His name,
In sounds to mortal ears unknown;
With angels join to praise the Lamb,
And worship at His Father's throne."

Reader, do you love Jesus? If you do not, you know not what real happiness, what refined pleasure is. Is Jesus your Beloved? If not, you have never seen His glory as it is revealed in the Gospel, nor have you experienced the work of the Holy Spirit in your heart, as the glorifier of Jesus. "You cannot be truly happy on earth, nor are you prepared to go to heaven. Jesus is the great object of love, adoration, and praise in heaven; all there admire Him, glow with love to Him, and ascribe their whole salvation to His blood. In heaven, "Christ is all in all;" in the Church below, "Christ is all in all;" and in every sanctified heart, "Christ is all in all." Reader, 18 THIS YOUR CASE? IS IT?

THE SURETY.

"Be SURETY for Thy servant for good."-PSA. cxix.

122.

ancient.

THE doctrine of suretyship is very Reuben offered to be surety for Benjamin, but his father could not trust him. At length, when Judah came forward, his bond was accepted, and Benjamin was allowed to go. Paul became surety for Onesimus, and engaged to make up the loss Philemon might have sustained. Jesus became surety for His people, and therefore He said, "Other sheep I have that are not of this fold; them also I must bring; and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd." David felt the need of a surety; one who would undertake his cause, and effectuate his deliverance. We also need a

surety, and, blessed be God, Jesus is the SURETY of the better covenant. He undertook our cause, and became bound for us. Solomon said, "He that is surety for a stranger, shall smart, or be bruised for it." Jesus became our SURETY, and "it pleased the Lord to bruise Him:" "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our

iniquities." Our debts were charged on Him, and He paid them; our iniquities were placed to His account, and He atoned for them. Precious Lord Jesus, how wonderful Thy love, how stupendous Thy grace!

Brethren, the Old Testament believers felt that they needed a SURETY; and it is pleas ing to observe, how all their needs are met in the person, work, and offices of the Lord Jesus. Do you need a SURETY? Is the prayer of David yours, "Be SURETY for Thy servant for good?" Let us look at it; LORD,

UNDERTAKE

FOR THY SERVANT'S GOOD. Well, the Lord has undertaken. Is there a blessing you need that He hath not undertaken to give? Is there a foe you dread He has not undertaken to conquer? Is there a sin you have committed He has not undertaken to pardon? Is there an evil you justly fear He has not undertaken to prevent? Not one. The glorious promises reveal God's undertakings. He engaged in the everlasting covenant; He makes known his engagements in the precious promises. What that is desirable can you think of, that is not comprised in that pledge, "I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people?" Or in that, "All things are yours, whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come, all are yours; and ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's." Blessed be the Lord, He has undertaken to be our Father, to provide for us;