His appearing shall assuredly be with Him, and shall dwell with Him in that new world where all shall be quietness and assurance for ever.-BADGer.

JANUARY 21.

And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.-GENESIS v. 24.

A man that is much in conversing above, hath truer and livelier apprehensions concerning God and his soul, than any reading or learning can beget; though, perhaps, he may be ignorant in divers controversies and matters that less concern salvation, yet those truths which must establish his soul, and preserve him from temptation, he knows far better than the greatest scholars; he hath so deep an insight into the evil of sin, the vanity of the creature, the brutishness of fleshly sensual delights, that temptations have little power on him, for these earthly vanities are Satan's baits, which, though they may take much with the undiscerning world, yet, with the clear-sighted, they have lost their force. Satan's temptations are laid on the earth, earth is the place, and earth is the ordinary bait. How shall these ensnare the Christian, who hath left the earth and walks with God? But, alas, we keep not long so high, but down we must to the earth again, and then we are taken.—Baxter,

JANUARY 22.

O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me.-ISAIAH xliv. 21.

TO MYSELF.

Let nothing make thee sad or fretful
Or too regretful,

Be still;

What God hath ordered must be right,
Then find in it thine own delight,
My will.

Why should'st thou fill to-day with sorrow
About to-morrow,
My heart ?

One watches all, with care most true;
Doubt not that He will give thee too
Thy part.

Only be steadfast, never waver,
Nor seek earth's favour,

But rest;

Thou knowest what God's will must be,
For all His creatures,--so, for thee,
The best.

JANUARY 23.

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me.-JOHN xiv. 1.

Jesus Christ is infinitely more above the devil in knowledge and power than you are below him; do but believe and trust in Him, and the gates of hell shall never prevail against you; but whatsoever

temptation fall upon you He will make way for your escape. This we learn from His own mouth, where he saith to St. Peter, "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you, as wheat: but I have prayed that thy faith fail not." From whence we may observe that the devil could do St. Peter no hurt unless his faith failed, that our Lord had taken care that his faith should not fail, and by consequence, that the devil should no way hurt him, as he afterwards found by experience; and therefore the same apostle directs all Christians to take the same course whensoever they are tempted, for, having acquainted them that the devil goeth about seeking whom he may devour, he adds, whom resist steadfast in the faith; implying that so long as they continued steadfast in the faith of Christ all the power of hell could never prevail against them; and that's the reason why St. Paul calls it the shield of faith, because by it we are able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.-BEVERIDGE.

JANUARY 24.

I go to prepare a place for you.-JOHN xiv. 2.

Oh what a blessed day will that be when I shall have all mercy, perfection of mercy, nothing but mercy, and fully enjoy the Lord of mercy Himself! When I shall stand on the shore, and look back upon the raging seas which I have safely passed! When I shall, in safe and full possession of glory, look

back upon my pains and troubles, and fears and tears, and all the mercies which I here received; and then shall behold the glory enjoyed there, which was the end of all this! Oh what a blessed view will that be! O glorious prospect which I shall have on the celestial mount Zion! Is it possible that there shall be any defect of joy, or my heart not raised when I am so raised? If one drop of lively faith were mixed with these considerations, oh what work would they make in my breast, and what a heavenravished heart should I carry within me! Fain would I believe; "Lord, help my unbelief."BAXTER.

CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL.

JANUARY 25.

And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.—Acts ix. 5.

St. Paul claimed to be one of the witnesses of the resurrection. He believed himself to have been actually spoken to, conversed with, from heaven by a human voice, in the Hebrew tongue, using intelligible words, familiar speech, and appealing to the facts of his history as intimately known-seen through and through by the speaker. From that moment, whatever else he doubted, he never doubted the risen life, he never doubted the resurrection from death of that Jesus whom all admitted to have been crucified. It became the solid rock of his faith

and of his conviction. "Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord?"... This was a conviction strong for work, powerful for self-denial, triumphant over sin, fruitful in well-doing. To St. Paul, to live was Christ. He could not conceive the occupation which had not Christ in it. Faith was the spiritual sight of the living Saviour. Prayer was the making definite requests known to the living Saviour. The study of the Bible was the reading of a letter from the living Saviour. Public worship was the meeting of a number of persons for the purpose of hearing and telling of the living Saviour. Thus it was in everything; and the enumeration of the possible occupations of the man would be but the connecting of each with the will, and yet more with the living life, of Christ, the redemption and the resurrection.-DR. VAUGHAN.

JANUARY 26.

Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.-MATTHEW Xi. 28.

Rouse up thyself once more, then, O my soul, and try and exercise thy spiritual appetite; though thou art ignorant and unbelieving, yet art thou reasonable, and therefore must needs desire a happiness and rest; nor canst thou surely be so unreasonable as to dream of attaining it here on earth. Thou knowest, to thy sorrow, that thou art not yet at thy rest, and thy own feeling doth convince thee of thy