our Husband, to love and solace us; our Advocate, to plead for us; our Friend, to sympathize with and care for us; and our Saviour, to redeem and deliver us.

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"LORD, ENGAGE FOR ME." Well, He has engaged for you, and for every believer in Jesus. In many parts of His word He shows that He has not only engaged for Himself, but for His people too. They shall call upon my name, and I will hear them; I will say, it is my people, and they shall say, the Lord is my God.' "I will make, an everlasting covenant with them, and I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear into their hearts, and they shall not depart from me." Such passages are scattered all through the word of God, and though the promises refer to Israel literally, yet as all the promises are in Christ Jesus, and were confirmed by His death, they belong equally, in the spiritual import, to all the covenant seed. Yes, my poor, weak, timid, tried brother, the Lord has engaged for you as well as for Himself. He put your person, your fortune, your all into the hands of His Son, and He became surety for you. By-and-by, Jesus will appear before His Father, with you and all your brethren beside him, and will say, Here I am, Father, and the children Thou hast given me; not one of them is lost." No, not one will be missing. Every child will be there. Every engagement will have been met. Every undertak

ing will have been honoured; and Jesus our adorable Surety, will be crowned with glory by his Father, and be satisfied with the acclamations of His people.

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"BE BOUND FOR THY SERVANT, O LORD." What! do you want a bond ? Well, you shall have it, for God wishes you to be happy and to enjoy rest. Men verily swear by the greater and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Wherefore God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath; that by twoimmutable things, in which it is impossible for Godtolie, wemight have a strong consolation." God has pledged himself to you by an oath: He has sworn by Himself, and can He bind Himself by anything stronger? Do you say, 'I wish I knew exactly what He swore Well, to satisfy you, you shall have the very words of His oath, for He has given them. Here they are: "Thy Maker is thy husband, the Lord of Hosts is His name; and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of the whole earth shall he be called. For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God. For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hide my face from thee for a moment, but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord, thy Re

deemer. For THIS is as the waters of Noah unto me, for AS I HAVE SWORN that the waters of Noah should no earth, so have I sworn,

more go over the that I would not

be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed: but MY KINDNESS SHALL NOT DEPART FROM THEE, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the HERITAGE of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousnoss is of me, saith the Lord," Isa. liv. Can you desire more? God has undertaken your cause; He has engaged for you, He has bound Himself by oath to you. He is a SURETY for you, for your good.

The covenant is ordered in all things and sure; it includes all time; it provides for all circumstances, it anticipates all events, it engages for all possibilities. Jesus is the SURETY of that covenant; He undertook to see it fulfilled in all its parts; He engaged for the accomplishment of all its conditions, for the performance of all its promises; He was bound to see its design carried out. Can He fail? Impossible! Will His word be violated? Hear Him: "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away." He is SURETY for all the children, for every Benjamin who goes down

into Egypt; and He has said of each one to His Father, "I WILL BE SURETY FOR HIM; OF MY HAND SHALT THOU REQUIRE HIM IF I BRING HIM NOT UNTO THEE, AND SET HIM BEFORE THEE, THEN LET ME BEAR THE BLAME FOR EVER." And in reference to our misconduct and sins against the law and government of the great Ruler of the universe, He says of every one, "IF HE HATH WRONGED THEE,

OR OWETH THEE AUGHT, PUT THAT ON MINE ACCOUNT; I WILL REPAY IT.' Precious Lord Jesus, we can but admire thy condescension, adore Thy love, praise Thy thrice-blessed name, and consecrate all our powers to Thy service! We are Thine, doubly Thine. Oh, for grace to serve Thee, to consecrate every talent, every moment to thee! My soul, I charge thee, often to look to Jesus as thy Surely, to place full confidence in His word, to rely on His engagements, and rejoice in His glorious undertakings; and when tempted to doubt, fear, or mistrust Him, think of the solemnity, of the sacredness of His oath: remember that He hath sworn, and will not repent. Other priests were inducted into office without an oath, but thy Jesus hath an oath by Him that said, "The Lord sware, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever, after the order of Melchisedec: by so much was Jesus made a surety of a better covenant." Blessed, for ever blessed be His holy name!"

THE JUDGE.

"God is the Judge,” Ps. lxxv. 7.

THERE must be one supreme judge of what is right and wrong, and that judge is Jesus. He is qualified to judge, and He is appointed to sit in judgment on all the actions of men, and to reward every one according to his works. But it is not to the final judgment we are about to refer, but to the present. Many professors talk, or seem to feel, as if great mistakes were made, and therefore they justify themselves in complaining. But Je sus is Judge of what is right, and what is best. His wisdom is infinite; his knowledge comprehends the past, the present, and the future; his power is omnipotent; his mercy is from everlasting to everlasting, and is over all his works; his love to his people passeth knowledge. This being the case, there can be no question but Jesus is the best Judge of what is right, and of what should be. He is the Judge,

First, AS TO OUR PERSONS.-Some wish they had more strength, some that they had more health, some that they had more beauty, some one thing, some another. Some are