They who pray constantly when they are well, may pray comfortably when they are sick.

Whatever is the matter of our care must be the matter of our prayer.

The best way to obtain the benefit of the promises and privileges of the covenant is to be earnest in prayer with God for wisdom and grace to do the duties of it.

When we have prayed to God for any mercy, we must second our prayers with our endeavours; else, instead of trusting God, we tempt him: we must so depend upon God's providence as to make use of our own prudence.-Matthew Henry.

PERSEVERANCE AND PRESERVATION.

The prayer of Christ is more than sufficient to strengthen us, be we never so weak, and to overthrow all adversary power, be it never so strong and potent. But his prayer must not exclude our labour: their thoughts are vain, who think that their watching can preserve the city which God himself is not willing to keep. And are not theirs as vain, who think that God will keep the city, for which they themselves are not careful to watch? The husbandman may not therefore leave his plough, nor

the merchant forsake his trade, because God hath promised, "I will not forsake thee." And do the promises of God concerning our stability, think you, make it a matter indifferent for us to use or not to use the means whereby to attend or not to attend to reading? to pray or not to pray, that " we fall not into temptations?" Surely, if we look to stand in the faith of the sons of God, we must hourly, continually be providing and setting ourselves to strive. It was not the meaning of our Lord and Saviour in saying, "Father, keep them in my name," that we should be careless to keep ourselves. To our own safety, our own sedulity is required. And then blessed for ever and ever be that mother's child whose faith hath made him the child of God. The earth may shake, the pillars of the world may tremble under us, the countenance of the heaven may be appalled, the sun may lose his light, the moon her beauty, the stars their glory; but concerning the man that trusted in God, if the fire have pronounced itself unable as much as to singe a hair of his head, if lions, beasts ravenous by nature, and keen with hunger, being set to devour, have as it were religiously adored the very flesh of the faithful man-what is there in the world that shall

nor

change his heart, overthrow his faith, alter his affection towards God, or the affection of God to him? If I be of this note, who shall make a separation between me and my God? Shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? No; I am persuaded that neither tribulation, nor anguish, nor persecution, nor famine, nakedness, nor peril, nor the sword, nor death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall ever prevail so far over me. I know in whom I have believed; I am not ignorant whose precious blood hath been shed for me; I have a Shepherd full of kindness, full of care, and full of power; unto Him I commit myself; His own finger hath engraven this sentence in the tables of my heart, "Satan hath desired to winnow thee as wheat, but I have prayed that thy faith fail not:" therefore the assurance of my hope I will labour to keep, as a jewel, unto the end; and by labour, through the gracious mediation of his prayer, I shall keep it.-Hooker.

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RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST.

The righteousness wherein we must be found, if we will be justified, is not our own, therefore we cannot be justified by any inherent quality. Christ hath merited righteousness for as many as are found in him. In him God findeth us, if we be faithful; for by faith we are incorporated into Christ. Then, although in ourselves we be altogether sinful and unrighteous, yet even the man who is impious in himself, full of iniquity, full of sin-him, being found in Christ through faith, and having his sin remitted through repentance-him God beholdeth with a gracious eye, putteth away his sin by not imputing it; taketh quite away the punishment due thereunto by pardoning it; and accepteth him in Jesus Christ as perfectly righteous, as if he had fulfilled all that was commanded him in the law. Shall I say, more perfectly righteous than if himself had fulfilled the whole law? I must take heed what I say; but the apostle saith, "God hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." Such we are in the sight of God the Father, as is the very Son of God himself. Let it be counted folly, or frensy, or fancy,

whatsoever, it is our comfort and our wisdom; we care for no knowledge in the world but this, that man hath sinned, and God hath suffered that God hath made himself the Son of man, and that men are made the righteousness of God.-Hooker.

THE VANITY OF THE WORLD.

If the vanity of the world be so great; if it be only an empty bubble, a swelling nothing, less solid than the dream of a shadow; if it be thus unsuitable, uncertain, and unsatisfactory, as I have demonstrated to you; what gross folly then are most men guilty of, in setting so high a price upon that which is of no worth or substance! Though formerly we have been so much deceived as to take the world's paint and varnish for true beauty, and its glittering for substantial treasure; yet now, since the cheat is discovered, since you have seen this false pack opened, and nothing but counterfeit wares obtruded upon you, your folly will be inexcusable, if after experiments and admonitions you should contribute any longer to cheat yourself, and set a price upon things which you know to be vile and worthless. The wise man sums up their whole value, only in a great cipher, and a great blot, vanity and vexation.