God and His righteousness. And whatever obstacles and provocations we may meet with in the prosecution of our design, it must be our resolve to keep a conscience void of offence towards God and towards man, and to Christ and Christianity to be faithful unto death. 2. But while, on the one hand, we resolve to maintain our integrity, and cleave to God with purpose of heart, we must take care, on the other hand, that we do not depend upon our own strength, nor trust in our own hearts, but in the Lord Jehovah, in whom alone is everlasting strength. Let us remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said,-"Without me ye can do nothing." When upon the mount of enjoyment, we may be ready to suppose that we are able to go up at once and possess the good land, and to pass through anything and everything. There is then danger lest we should forget our dependence upon God, and lose sight of the presence of our combined foes. But in awhile this joy subsides; the mind finds its level, and we learn that this is not the place of uninterrupted rest. We have again to face the enemy. Temptations arise, troubles assail, trials approach, and then we feel our need of faith in God, and of grace to help in time of need. If we intend to be faithful unto death, we must trust in the Lord at all times. Under no circumstances whatever must we confide in ourselves, nor in any arm of flesh, but in the Lord Jehovah, in whom is everlasting strength. 3. We must be humble. The valley of humility leads directly to the fountain of grace. This valley is the most seemly place for a dependent creature; besides, here flourish the graces-contentment, gratitude, and love. While the Lord beholdeth the proud afar off, He giveth grace to the humble. The Lord Jesus taught humility, both by word and deed, more than any other grace; and His favourite maxim is:-" He that humbleth himself shall be exalted." From these brief considerations we behold the necessity and power of humility to those who design to run the race set before them, and to be faithful unto death. 4. As an incentive to this preserving fidelity, let us contemplate the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus towards us. Observe, He is not only the author, but the finisher, of our faith. Moved by His own infinite love and benevolence, He came into the world to save sinners; and He never for one moment slackened His hand till the great object was accomplished. In order to achieve this, He endured the cross and despised the shame: although He was rich, yet for our sakes He became poor, that we, through His poverty, might be rich; although "He thought it not robbery to be equal with God,” yet He made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Himself the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross; Phil. ii, 6. He did not give up our cause on account of the temptations and opposition of Satan; nor of the cruel persecutions of men; nor of the mental and bodily sufferings to which He was subject, in consequence of poverty and privation. He was never weary of suffering evil, nor of doing good for us men and for our salvation; and in the kingdom, and patience, and love, and service of such a Saviour, shall we not be earnest, and faithful unto death? 5. Just look at the short time this state of trial will last, and at the glory which will follow to the faithful! It is only unto death; and death will soon approach, and then the glory begins-Be thou faithful unto death, and then, as soon as death has done, I will give thee a crown of life. This was the view that Moses took of the matter, when he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, "choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward." In this light the fidelity and the recompense were seen by all the holy prophets, apostles, confessors, and martyrs, and also by the Lord Jesus Himself, who, for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is sat down at the right hand of the throne of God; and by the apostle we are exhorted to consider Him, who endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest we be wearied and faint in our minds; Heb. xii, 1-4. III. The promise:-"I will give thee a life." crown of I. The promise is made by Jesus Christ, the faithful and the true. It is not the only promise which He has made to the faithful. In many passages in His holy Word are found "exceeding great and precious promises" of a paternal house where there are many mansions; an everlasting kingdom; a better country; a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God; an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away; a crown of life. 2. This crown is the Lord's own gift. We do not merit it. It is the gift of His own tender mercy and love. It is "the crown of life which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him:" hence, He said to His disciples,-"I appoint unto you a kingdom as my Father hath appointed unto me;" so that all His people are kings and priests, and shall reign with Him for ever, and see Him as He is. 3. The gift promised is a crown of life-of everlasting life. They that wear it shall be "for ever with the Lord;" they shall have no more sorrow nor death, but fulness of joy, and pleasures for evermore. "To him that overcometh," saith the Lord, will I grant to sit with me on my throne, even as I also overcame, and am sat down with my Father on His throne; and I will make him a pillar of my God, and he shall go no more out." Servant of Christ, be of good cheer! look up! As you pass through the desert, go on your way rejoicing, and sing a song unto the Lord, even in a strange laud :— "Thou Lord, on whom I still depend, MIGHT IN THE MIDST. ZEPH. III, 17. "The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save thee; He will rejoice over thee with joy." Sometimes a small spark causes a great fire. Very great effects are often produced by an apparently little cause. So it was in the church and kingdom of Judah. Jehoshaphat, their king, upon the whole, a good man, and a great prince, did one act the dire effects of which were felt by his posterity for several generations. He joined affinity with the idolatrous king of Israel, and gave his son Jehoram to Athaliah, the daughter of the infamous Ahab. In the sight of men this might seem a very good alliance; politically, it was very promising; it seemed a very hopeful way of uniting the two kingdoms; but in the sight of God, morally and spiritually, it was a most improper union, disapproved of by Jehovah, and fraught with ruin. The successors of Jehoshaphat became vile idolators and cruel princes, with the exception of Hezekiah and Josiah; and when the latter came to the throne, the house of God was shut up, and the people deeply sunk in idolatry; but the king opened and repaired the sacred edifice, and did his utmost to bring the people back again to the worship of the true God; and Zephaniah prophesied in the name of the Lord. By his word we learn that the state of the people was most deplorable. Jerusalem was an apostate, impure, and cruel city; she trusted not in the Lord; she drew not near to her God; her princes within her were roaring lions; her judges, ravening wolves; her prophets, light and treacherous persons; her priests polluted the sanc tuary, and did violence to the law, and the people were sunk in idolatry and crime. In consequence of these enormities they were doomed to captivity. The king did what he could to avert it. In the sanctuary of God, Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law; and Shapham the scribe took it to the king, and read it before him; and when he heard it, he rent his clothes, for he saw wrath poured out; and he sent to inquire of Huldah the prophetess; and she sent him this message :-"Because thine heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, thou shalt go to thy grave in peace; thine eyes shall not behold the sight; but I will bring evil upon this place, even all the curses that are written in the book that was read to thee, because they have forsaken me, and burned incense unto other gods; my wrath shall be poured out, and shall not be quenched.' But mercy was mixed with judgment, a remnant was to be saved-"I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of the Lord; and it shall be said to them,-Fear thou not; let not thine hands be slack." And there is still in a world that lieth in wickedness, a remnant-a despised and poor people, who trust in the name of the Lord, and to these the words of the text apply. And now let us consider, I. The might in the midst; and, I. The might in the midst. 1. The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty. To be in the midst signifies, literally, to be in the centre, or in the heart of the assembly. The presence of God in His church is in the centre, and in the circumference, and in all the space between. This is the glory in the midst, that gives light, and heat, and vigour to the whole. It is true the Divine presence fills every place; but there is a peculiar and distinct sense in which the Lord is in the midst of His church, namely, by His spiritual and gracious presence-"Wherever two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them; lo! I am with you always, even unto the end of the world; my presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest." The Lord has given signs and tokens of His glorious presence. In the Jewish church, the pillar of a cloud by day, and of fire by night, by which He led them; and the tabernacle, ark, and mercy-seat, where He met them, and communed with them; and the Urim and Thummim, by which they inquired of Him. At the dedication of the temple, the fire |