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riches: but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord."1

St. Paul understood it, when he yearned: "That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings," &c. He understood, too, all that was implied in his triumphant exclamation: “I know Whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day." 3

Ah, there is something real in this experience; it is a deeply practical thing. It was a true insight into the character of God, a deep trust in His faithfulness, that enabled Abraham to obey the Divine voice that called him to separation from home and kindred, and afterwards led him unfalteringly to ascend Moriah's lonely hill. It was this which supported Isaac, and Jacob, and Joseph, and Moses, and all the Hebrew worthies who were permitted to glorify God "by faith." It was this which, in later days, took Luther to Worms, supported the martyrs at the stake, and baptized with power from on high all who have, in all ages, "endured, as seeing Him who is invisible." 4

Do you thus know God? Do you know Him in such a way as intelligently to trust Him? Are you so assured of His love and truth that, in the midst of storms and waves, you cannot dare not-doubt Him, but can rest in the calm conviction that "All things work together for good to them that love God." 5 "5 Not that you merely "hope," but "know" that this promise cannot fail; and that His will is best. Not trusting only now and then, but always; not for some things only, but for the "all things"; not for ninetynine out of a hundred, but for the hundredth as well! Do you know Him so well that you can cheerfully breathe the heaven-taught prayer, "Thy will be done," not merely sub

3 2 Tim. i. 12. 5 Rom. viii. 28.

1 Jer. ix. 23, 24.
4 Heb. ii. 27.

2 Phil. iii. 10.

mitting, but acquiescing in that will; even though it means pain and loss and sorrow? Child of God, do you know your Father well enough for this? Have you so learned Christ? When some allowed sin has brought you into darkness, can you, even then, venture to His mercy-seat, making confession of all that has hidden His face from you, and pleading the merits of the all-cleansing blood? you do this, and then go away with the burden removed; subdued indeed, and humbled, but with the calm assurance of perfect pardon and restoration, because of His immutable word: "If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive ... and to cleanse."? It is our privilege thus to know Him; for to this holy intimacy He invites us. Are we claiming our privileges, or are we content to live far below them? Is there any shrinking from a knowledge of Him as the Holy One-hating sin, and yet "able to subdue" all things unto Himself?

Are we looking to Him for freedom from the power of sin, as well as from the penalty? Are we able to “give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness," without any faithless reserve in our surrender of ourselves to His hand, to be conformed to the image of our great Example? If so, we may indeed rejoice, for it is only a revelation of Himself to our souls which will really produce this result. But, if the answer be "No," may we not conclude that it is because we do not know Him well enough to trust Him fully? Oh for grace to search our hearts upon this point, as in the Divine Presence! And, oh that we may, more and more, seek to cultivate a sacred intimacy with our Lord, by meditation upon His word and His ways; by laying aside everything that would hinder the manifestation of His grace; and, above all, by secret communion with Him!

There is one other thing which the increasing knowledge of God will be sure to do: it will steep the soul in humiliation before Him. It was when the Lord revealed Himself

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to Job that the sorrowful cry arose: "I abhor myself."1 It was a vision of the Holy One which wrung from Isaiah's soul the confession: "Woe is me! for I am undone ; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." 2

And so it has ever been. But let no one fear to take that lowest place, for it is the place of rest, and the place of safety. It is the place of consecration, too, and the place of blessing; the place where we are made "meet for the Master's use." "3 There is no joy on earth, to the Christian, equal to that of utterly yielding one's self to those loving Hands-without reserve or compromise.

But, perhaps, these lines may fall into the hands of some one to whom they may seem as an idle tale, a mere fanaticism; some one who would fain forget the existence of God, and who shrinks, with alarm, from the thought of His abiding presence; some one who sees no beauty in Jesus, whose heart remains unresponsive to His love. If this be the case of any one, shall I tell you the reason of it all? It is simply this; you do not know Him. To know Him is to love Him, and to long to be with Him.

"If all the world my Saviour knew,

Sure all the world would love Him too."

If you knew Him, you would account it the greatest of deprivations to be outside the circle of His favoured ones; you would mourn over everything that separated you from His friendship. Oh that some word of pleading might touch your heart! Oh for power to tell you how blest are those who find rest and peace in Him! Will you not take the testimony of the thousands who have tasted His grace, and found it all-satisfying? Will you not bear witness to the desolation of a heart that has no hope in Him? Will you not believe in the terrible doom of those who reject His salvation, and will not come for cleansing to His 1 Job xlii. 6. 2 Isaiah vi. 5.

3

2

Tim. ii. 21.

precious blood? Oh for a cry that would rouse you! Oh for the power so to represent Him as to attract your heart to Him! But human words can only prove effective as they are applied by the blessed Spirit. Nay, even our Lord's own message can only fulfil its mission as that blessed Spirit opens the way for its reception! But, praise God, the Holy Spirit is a Spirit of love, and He is on the side of your salvation. "The Spirit and the Bride say,

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Though any one should turn away from all else in this little paper, we pray you turn not away from that appealing, "Come"; for it will not always sound in your ears. It pleads now in unutterable love and mercy; but the day may dawn in which that Divine voice may be silent in your soul; for God hath declared, "My spirit shall not always strive with man."2 Ask Him, then, to show you, now, both yourself and Him whom it is His office and His delight to reveal. Ask Him, for He is the best, the only Teacher. Ask Him, and He will surely grant your request, and you shall know, in your own soul, the deep, deep peace which they enjoy who obey the Divine command: "Acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace; thereby good shall come unto thee."

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LUCY A. BENNNET.

The King's Motto.

"This too shall pass away."

NCE on a time, 'tis said, there came

To Solomon a king,

And asked a motto he might grave

Upon his signet ring;

Whose words might serve in prosperous times

To moderate man's pride,

Yet teach him hope in days of ill

When sorrow should betide.

1 Rev. xxii. 17.

2 Gen. vi. 3.

8 Job xxii. 21.

The sage took up the stylus sharp
That by his tablets lay,

And wrote upon the page the words,
"This too shall pass away."

In sooth a proverb for all time,
A motto true and wise,
For change is writ on everything
That is beneath the skies.

It is but for a passing hour
We bask in fortune's smile,
And poverty and pain and woe
Last but a little while.

The sands that tell our saddest hours
Full speedily are run,

And earthly glory fades like light
At setting of the sun.

I thought upon the sage's words,
And ever like a bell,

With rhythmic cadence as I mused
Upon my soul they fell.

When I beheld the children's glee,
And marked them at their play,
I seemed to hear amid their shouts,
"This too shall pass away."

I looked again, and in their place
Were youths and maidens fair;
Around them bloomed the flowers of spring,

And music filled the air.

Yet while I listened to their songs,

Amid the gladdest lay,

There clanged the notes of changing chords--"This too shall pass away."

I looked again; I saw not youth,

But men and women there,

With many a brow o'ercast with grief,
And many a heart with care.

Even as I gazed their eyes waxed dim,
Their locks grew thin and grey,
As winds of autumn whispered low,
"This too shall pass away."

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