themselves, but unto Him which died for them and rose again" (2 Cor. v. 14, 15).

YES, LORD, we say it fully, we say it freely. We agree to all which Thou shall propose. We take Thy Will as our own will; we " annul our will before Thy will." Keep it alongside Thine, and teach us to recognise all that jars, as something by which our "Yes" may be said with more fulness.

Make sure of Christ.

From Samuel Rutherford's Letters.

I BESEECH you in the Lord Jesus, beware; beware of unsound work in the matter of your salvation. You may not, you cannot, you should not miss Christ. Then, after this day, convene all your lovers before your soul, and give them their leave and strike hands with Christ, that thereafter there may be no happiness to you but Christ, no hunting for anything but Christ, no bed at night when death cometh, but Christ. Christ, Christ, who but Christ! I know this much of Christ, He is not ill to be found, nor lordly of His love. Wo had been my part of it for evermore, if Christ had made a dainty of Himself to me. But God be thanked, I gave nothing for Christ; and now I protest, before men and angels, Christ cannot be exchanged, Christ cannot be sold, Christ cannot be weighed. Where would angels, or all the world, find a balance to weigh Him in? All lovers blush when you stand beside Christ; wo upon all love, but the love of Christ; hunger, hunger for evermore, be upon all hearers but Christ; shame, shame for evermore, be upon all glory but Christ's glory. I cry death upon all lives, but the life of Christ. Oh, what is it that holdeth us asunder! Oh, that once we could have a fair meeting! Thus recommending Christ to you, and you to Him for evermore, I rest. Grace be with you.

Taken Aside.

By C. W. Ashby.

"HE TOOK HIM ASIDE FROM THE MULTITUDE."

TAKEN aside by Jesus,

To feel the touch of His hand; To rest for awhile in the shadow Of the Rock, in a weary land.

Taken aside by Jesus,

In the loneliness, dark and drear; Where no other comfort may reach me Than His voice to my heart so dear.

Taken aside by Jesus,

That henceforth my voice may be

Made clear to tell of the love Divine,

And the Rock of Eternity.

Taken aside by Jesus,

To hear, as I never heard,

The melody ring from His wondrous voice

The tones of the Living Word.

Taken aside by Jesus,

With a broken heart to-day;

But I heard Him "sigh" in that desert place, And I heard my Beloved say :—

"It is I, and I know the pain;

It is I, and I know the loss;

It is I, thou shalt know the eternal gain;

It is I, who endured the Cross!"

Taken aside by Jesus,

Shall I shrink from the desert place;

When I hear, as I never heard before

And see Him "face to face."

Taken aside by Jesus,

Till faith seems almost sight;

And I dwell so near to my Father's house,

Almost within its light!

(Written during deep sorrow.)

"Redeemed from fear."

"FEAR NOT, FOR I HAVE REDEEMED THEE."-Isaiah xliii. 1.

By S. E. A. J.

ABSENCE of fear is a command. From Genesis to Revelation God tells His people not to fear enemies, spiritual or natural. He knows that fear, in some form or other, is a part of our fallen nature; and from even this, our Lord came to redeem us unto Himself, that "we might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life."

Soon after believers have rejoicingly sung of their Lord's power to save from fear, they unite in asking that they, trusting in His defence, "may not fear the power of any adversaries." Are we among these pleaders? If so, are we delivered from all fear?—even from that sad, hesitating fear, that after we have received our Lord's full, free forgiveness, we should grieve and dishonour Him again.

If this deliverance is not yet ours, what is the reason? "Why are ye so fearful, O ye of little faith?" (Matt. viii. 26).

Throughout God's Word we constantly find the command not to fear, coupled with the assurance of God's Presence. Apart from Him well may we fear-it is far better we should be afraid-but close under His wing, rejoicingly we cry, "I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me." The secret of absence of fear is gratefully to know our Lord is in our midst, at our side. He is "able to keep us from stumbling" (Jude 24, Rev. Vers.), and "to deliver us from the fear of defeat" (Deut. xxi. 1-5).

“Almighty."

By Ellen Dawe.

THE attributes of God seem to have come gradually to the knowledge of His servants. Thus He was first spoken of simply as "God" (Gen. i. 1); then as the "Lord God" (Gen. ii. 4); then as "Most High," ""Possessor of heaven and earth" (Gen. xiv. 18-19). His omniscience was soon realized by Hagar (Gen. xvi. 13). His supreme authority. (Gen. xviii. 25) and His eternity (Gen. xxi. 33) by Abraham. And many similar instances might be taken.

In Genesis xvii. 1, however, we find the title "Almighty" for the first time used; and it is worth notice that it is God who applies the word to Himself, "I am the Almighty God."

Does it not seem that the truth contained in it, the idea of the perfect power possessed by God, was beyond the comprehension of man, and needed His own revelation to make it known? What comfort is conveyed in the thought that our Lord God is "Almighty," and how frequently we lose the help it would afford, because we do not sufficiently realize it, and dwell upon it!

Consider that God Himself asserts it, therefore it must be true, and true to its fullest extent. If any of His servants had first ascribed this all-conquering power to Him, we might have been inclined to think that in some particular cases it would not apply-but we dare not limit God's own statement.

Yet many do, practically, limit it, although they would doubtless indignantly deny that such a thing could be possible.

Is it not, however, denying the Almighty power of God, when we despair of the conversion of some we know, who seem hardened against the Lord Jesus? Let any who feel thus remember that "nothing is too hard" for the Almighty God to accomplish. Realizing this, their prayers and efforts would be far more likely to be crowned with success, because in accordance with our Lord's own teaching (Mark. ix. 22).

Or to take another case, sometimes believers almost despair of overcoming some besetting sin, or of reaching a high standard in christian life, because of their frequent falls and failures. They forget then that their God is Almighty— Almighty to help, as well as Almighty to save. "I am the Almighty God." Oh! remember this in all seasons of difficulty and trial, in all the daily longings after holiness, in all that may seem too hard to accomplish, and then the confidence and strength that such a knowledge will impart, will smooth down every mountain of care and trial in the path of the children of God.