Be no longer vexed at the heart, pour out your complaint before God, tell him of what troubles you; ask for His supporting grace, His help, His comfort; ask that the sweet encouragements of His word may be brought home to you now by the Spirit. Complain to Him; but not as an innocent person unduly afflicted, but as a suppliant at His throne of grace, quite undeserving, yet casting yourself upon His compassion, for His dear Son's sake, and coming to Him on the warrant of His own word. No more depression then!

CHAPTER VII.

AN EXHORTATION AGAINST FEAR.

"Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness."-Isaiah xli. 10.

I AM full of fears and apprehensions; but this comforts me, that God tells me not to fear. As if He knew all that I am feeling -and He does-He says to me, "Fear thou not." But the words are addressed to Israel; may I take them as spoken to me? Yes; for I do humbly believe in the Lord, and look in faith to my Saviour, and desire with all my heart to be His, and to serve and follow Him; and to all such the promises made to Israel belong. As, on the one hand, "they are not all Israel that are of Israel," so, on the other

hand, they who are not of Israel are counted

as Israel, if they have faith.

"Fear thou not:" I am invited, I am even told, not to fear.

And why? "Fear thou not, for I am with thee!" O gracious God, how can I fear, if Thou art with me? Nothing can come near to hurt me, if Thou art with me. Thy presence is defence enough against all evil: and if Thou art with me, Thou wilt order all for me, and take me by the hand and lead me, and Thou wilt comfort me too by Thy presence. Oh, help me to feel and know that Thou art with me, and thus not to fear !

"Be not dismayed;" but that is the very word that expresses what I often feel; I am dismayed at what threatens me, at what lies before me, at what I have to do; I am so weak, that I am dismayed at the prospect. But He who knows all hearts says to me, "Be not dismayed," thus meeting this very feeling. "For I am thy God:" that is the reason why I am not to be dismayed. God does not comfort me by telling me that I have more strength than I think, or that

things may not prove so bad as I fear, or that some man will come and help me. He gives me better comfort than this, when He says, "Be not dismayed, for I am thy God." Then, if God be for me, who can be against me? If the Almighty and Eternal be my God, what shall dismay me? Away, these fears! Away, this terror and dismay! The Lord is my God; almighty, all-knowing, allgracious, and mine.

What will my God do for me? He will strengthen me. He knows how weak I am, and will give me the very thing I needstrength. He says so. To bear all that He may lay on me, to meet all that may come to me, to do all that I may have to do, He will strengthen me. Let me but believe this, and I shall be able to say, "When I am weak, then am I strong."

Yea, I will help thee." Every day I want help, and help of various sorts. I want help in myself, and help as regards outward things. I want help against despondency, help to judge what is best, help in my thoughts, help in my words, help in my conduct; I want

help even against myself, and my prevailing faults, and my besetting sin, and my natural corruption. But all the help I feel that I want, and more, is comprised in the promise, "I will help thee." I, who know thy wants better than thou; I, who can see all that is coming; I, whose supply for thy wants is far beyond thy very wants themselves, I will help thee; I myself will help thee; whatever means and instruments I may employ, I myself will be thy helper; in all in which thou dost want help, I will help thee.

O my God and Father, O my Helper, Who hast already helped me so often, help me now by Thy Spirit to receive this promise, "I will help thee." Help me to believe that, as Thou hast helped me, so Thou wilt help me. Thy help is not exhausted; Thou hast help sufficient for all the need that I can ever be in. "Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief."

"Yea, I will uphold thee." Often I am ready to sink, and I am always prone to slip and fall: "I will uphold thee," meets this danger. And the full promise is, "I will uphold thee