and plane, unconscious and inactive. He does not work upon us, but in us; and he works in us to will and to dc. What he does for us, he does also by us. Neither is his operation like the agency of a charm, whose process no one can explain, and during which the patient may as well sleep as wake. If we are taught, we must understand and receive: we are not carried, but led into all truth. If he blesses us, he stirs us up to value and seek after his favours; and the asking is as necessary as the giving-yea, the one is the medium of the other.

It might seem here as if faith was in our own power. It is not so in every respect: and it is not so in any respect as to nature. But what is impossible to nature is possible to grace. Without Christ we can do nothing; but through his strengthening of us we can do all things. And therefore as his grace is sufficient for us, and attainable by us, we are commanded to be filled with the Spirit; and he said to Thomas, Be not faithless, but believing; and he said to his disciples, "Have faith in God;" and he upbraided them for their unbelief.

But the principal thing is the essentiality of faith to religious stability: "If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established." There are three kinds of stability in the Christian life. A stability of judgment--This refers to the truths of religion. A stability of practice-This refers to the duties of religion. And a stability of hope--This refers to the comforts of religion. Each of these faith is able to produce but faith alone can produce them. Let us reflect upon all this

And then we shall soon see enough to condemn and bewail in unbelief, not only as it dishonours God, but as it robs the soul, and leaves it stripped, wounded, and half dead; a prey to error, temptation, and grief. Who can imagine the aggregate of the good which it has prevented in our experience, ever since we have known God, or rather, have been known of him? Oh what characters might we have been !-how firm, how free, how happy, how useful, how ennobled! And what has kept us back from all this honour? “An evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God." LORD, INCREASE OUR FAITH.

AUGUST 16.-"We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with nands, eternal in the heavens."-2 Cor. v. 1.

OME things in these words are very plain; others may involve a ittle difficulty. The Apostle obviously intends the body when he speaks of "the earthly house of this tabernacle:" and nothing can be a juster representation of it. Man is not a machine; c a mere mass of organized matter. He has something more than flesh and blood. There is a spirit in man, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth him understanding. What we see is not the agent, bu only the instrument; not the inhabitant, but the dwelling. The body is called "an house” for its accommodation. The soul might have had another residence given it, and a very inferior one. jured as the structure is by sin, it has enough of excellence yet in i to excite admiration, and induce us to say, "I am fearfully and

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wonderfully made. Galen, a physician atheistically inclined, after examining the body in the number, the perfection, and the exquisite adaptation of all the parts, was fully convinced of the being of God, and composed a beautiful hymn to his praise. No mechanism will bear a comparison with that of the animal economy. It would be much more reasonable to suppose that a watch made itself, ‘han that the eye, in which there are such marks and proofs of design and contrivance, should be the effect of chance. But it is an "earthly" house-earthly in its composition; earthly in its support; earthly in its destination-" Dust thou art," says the sentence, and unto dust shalt thou return." It is the case not only with the body of the peasant, but of the prince-" His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his dust." And so it must be with the relics of the most endeared connection. The beauty of Sarah, who had endangered kings, was soon despoiled of its charms, and after a wish, how natural! to keep even the lovely shrine a little longer, Abraham was compelled to say, "Bury my dead out of my sight"-So the bereaved go, and inscribe over the grave of the once sparkling eye, and the once ruby lip, and the once fascinating tongue

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"How lov'd, how valued once avails thee not,

To whom related or by whom begot:

A heap of dust alone remains of thee,

'Tis all thou art, and all the proud shall be.”.

It is also the earthly house of this "tabernacle." This reminds ns of its weakness, frailty, and danger. A tabernacle, though } pered, has no foundation; it has no nails fastened in a sure place, tut pins and cords instead; it is a moveable, temporary, slender ode, soon taken down, and easily destroyed-The Apostle theretore speaks of its being "dissolved.'

But what means " a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens?" Some suppose that it is a description of the resurrection-body. The body, when glorified, may well be thus expressed: but the reference here is to something nearer, something to be found at death, and enjoyed before the revival of the body; as we see in the verses immediately following. It is therefore a representation of the blessed condition into which the soul enters as soon as it leaves "dull mortality behind." The Apostle would intimate that the soul does not die with the body. It does not resemble Job's sons; when the house fell with them, they were crushed in the ruins; but here while the house is destroyed the resident escapes. The believer at death is not like an ejected tenant, forced out of his present dwelling without having another provided to receive him. I go," said Jesus, "to prepare a place for you:" "where I am there shall also my servants be." This blessed abode is characterized by four articles. The first tells us that it is solid. It is not a tabernacle, but a building." The second that it is reared by a divine agency. It is a building "of God," and "not made with hands." The third marks its permanence. It is "eternal." The fourth shows its situation. It is "in the heavens." We must arise and depart hence to enjoy it.

But here is a confidence expressed with regard to it: "We know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have

a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." The confidence is twofold. the confidence of faith and the confidence of hope. The first regards the reality of the thing. The belief of this is necessary. Some deny it; others doubt it: but Christians know it. This knowledge was not possessed by the heathens. None of them ever thought of the restoration of the body: but many suppose that they believed in the immortality of the soul. Yet what was their belief? Did they ever teach the doctrine publicly? Did they ever reason from it as a principle? Did they ever urge it as a motive in their morals? They could not; they were not convinced themselves. Seneca dared not decide whether death destroyed the soul or delivered it. And he who, of all their philosophers, spake the best upon the subject, left suspicions at death that his mind was not satisfied. But, as Paley says, among a thousand conjectures one of them happened to be right; and with them it was nothing better than conjecture-they had no proof of the thing itself: and if, as he justly adds, nothing more is known in religion than is provel, "life and immortality were brought to light through the Gospel." Now every Christian, however poor and illiterate, admits it as a fact; and though he cannot evince the certainty of his belief, as many did in the first ages, who suffered the loss of all things, yet he acts upon it, and in the whole course of the religious life "walks by faith, and not by sight."

There is also the confidence of hope. This regards not the reality of the state only, but our own claim to the possession of it. The one of these does not necessarily produce the other. How many, alas! are there, who believe there is such a glorious state, who have either no expectation of enjoying it, or an unfounded one that will issue in the most ureadful disappointment. They never, how strange! give themselves a moment's concern about it; though nothing can be of equal importance; and they know it! And know that if they do not receive a happy immortality they must endure a miserable one; and thus the greatest blessing will prove the greatest curse!

Yet all the partakers of divine grace do not possess this confidence equally. We read of the full assurance of hope, which sup poses inferior degrees of it. We may also observe that no degree of it, however established, is free from fluctuations. The confidence of appropriation therefore, even in the Lord's own people is not so extensive as the confidence of belief. Neither is it essential to their safety--Yet how necessary is it to their comfort. How desirable is it amidst the troubles of life, and the growing infirmities of nature, to know that "when the earthly house of this tabernacle shall be dissolved, we shall have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation :" and "give me a token for good." What a question then arises here-"Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord, and who shall dwell in his holy place?" The best way to ascertain your title to the inheritance of the saints in light is, to look after your meetness for it. Your hope of the one without the other is presumption and madness: for can you imagine that God will bring you into a condition which it is impossible for

you to fill or enjoy? But if he has prepared you for the blessedness, be assured he has prepared the blessedness for you. It is a holy state- and if you now love holiness: it is a state in which Christ is all in all-and if you are now rejoicing in him as your portion He that hath wrought you for the self same thing is God, who hath also given you the earnest of the Spirit."

AUGUST 17." And Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and, as they followed, they were afraid."-Mark x. 32.

THEY were now, it is said, in the way going up to Jerusalem, where he was to suffer and die upon the cross, after enduring every kind of insult and cruelty. But a circumstance is added which is worthy of our attention-" Jesus went before them: and they were amazed; and, as they followed, they were afraid." That this is not mentioned without design may be inferred from the brevity of the Evangelists. Had every thing pertaining to the history of our Lord been recorded, the world could not have contained the books that would have been written. But when it is necessary to comprise much in a little, a writer if wise, will introduce nothing that is insignificant and uninteresting-The incident therefore is mentioned to show how far he was from being unwilling to advance to the post of danger. The action intimates how full of zeal and courage he was; and that in the knowledge of all that lay before him he was eager to engage in the conflict. Many have vapoured away while the enemy was not at hand: and the children of Ephraim, carrying bows and spears, yet turned their back in the day of battle-Such a difference is there between an imaginary and a real, between a prospective and a present encounter. But this distinction does not apply to him. He who in the beginning said, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God, I delight to do thy will; yea, thy law is within my heart," could also say as the scene approached, "I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how I am straitened till it be accomplished!" and after administering the memorials of his death, he arose from the table, and said, "That the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence." Oh! if we were as willing to receive the blessings of his great salvation, as he was to procure them for us by anguish and blood, we should all be able immediately to rejoice in him with joy unspeakable and full of glory!

At other times he seemed to give his disciples the precedence. When any advantage was to be gained he followed them. It is an nonour and a privilege to preach the word first in any place: and this privilege and honour he conferred on his disciples; for he sent them" before his face into every city and place whither he himself should come." But when the call was to suffer and die he went before them, to stimulate, encourage, and embolden them, by his own`example-And who would not follow where he leads the way? How well may we glory in any fellowship with him! How fully may we be assured of the goodness of the cause! How confidently may we reckon upon our succour and success! Lord," by th grace "I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.”

But "they were amazed." It is not wonderful that his disciples expressed so much surprise, but so little: for things had never been seen on this fashion;" and they were every day in the midst of something peculiar, remarkable, and even miraculous. But many of their feelings are not recorded; and what is marvellous and extraordinary, by repetition and continuance, becomes familiar, and ceases to strike. The Jews, after a few weeks or days, gathered the manna from heaven with as little reflection as our rustics reap the corn, and viewed the pillar of fire as thousands do the sun, that is, without any surprise or one thought of the agency of God!— On this occasion, perhaps they were amazed to see him so cheerful and full of ardour, in view of so menacing an expedition-Perhaps, indeed, at the thought how he could suffer at all. Nothing had ever occurred like it before. Many had suffered; our earth had always been a vale of tears; but every sufferer before had sinnedwhereas he did no sin, did nothing amiss, did all things well, and was the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." "If he suffers where is Providence? Where is the God of judgment if he is spit upon, and scourged, and crucified? We also trusted that this was he which should have redeemed Israel!" At present their knowledge was very limited and indistinct. They resembled the blind man when half enlightened, who “ saw men as trees walking." They were unable as yet to comprehend the spirituality of his empire, the nature of his salvation, and especially the giving his flesh for the life of the world. They were in a kind of dawn,

"the light was neither dark nor clear." Their glimmerings and their doubts kept them in a degree of surprise, conjecture, and confusion, significant of the experience of many with regard to various things which, a through life, keep them in a sort of amaze

ment.

Though he was ready, they were not so forward; they required drawing on-" And as they followed they were afraid." The fear we conceive was not only or principally on his behalf, but on their own-" If he is apprehended and put to death how shall we escape? What will become of us ?" As yet they were not sufficiently mortified to the world, and willing to deny themselves. They preferred a whole skin to a scar. It was not till the Holy Ghost was given that they were able to rejoice and glory in tribulation. But as their knowledge, and faith, and hope increased, none of these things moved them, neither counted they their lives dear. It was enough that Christ was magnified in their body, whether by life or by death.

Do we not here see how worthy the Scriptures are of our confidence? How honestly they report facts. The writer of this Gospel was himself one of those who appeared to so little advantage on this occasion, compared with their Lord and Master. Yet he makes no scruple to tell us all their fears and faults, regardless of consequences. Truth was his only concern; and his very manue commends it to every man's conscience in the sight of God.