serpent the devil, and bind him a thousand years, cast him into the pit, and set a seal upon him, which will make the den more secure than the seal of the king of Babylon made that of the lions den, that his purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel; or the seal of the Jewish rabbies on the Saviour's sepulchre, which was intended to baffle the force of omnipotence.

The Tower-ditch may serve to remind thee of the very many who by missing the way to the strait gate, have been directed further from it by blind guides, who have groped for the wall till the leader and the led have both fell into the ditch together. Two or three persons have fell into the Tower-ditch in thy days; but it is to be feared there are many more who daily fall into a ditch far worse and far deeper than that. But there is a wall between thee and the ditch, though but a very low one, which may serve to remind thee of Zion's safety; "In that day shall this song be sung, We have a strong city, salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks." Souls encompassed with these are well secured from the ditch. The wall being so very low on the hill side, and so high on the side of the ditch, serves to shew us the side on which the miser takes a view of his bags, whose "wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall in his own conceit," Prov. xviii. 11; so the outward Tower wall appears to a person on the ditch-side; but was he upon Tower-hill it would hardly be seen; so let a worldling be stationed on

Zion-hill, and his wall vanishes altogether, and appears less than nothing. But to set a man herę is the work of him who said to the publican, "This day is salvation come to this house;" upon the proclamation of which the wall of wealth yielded up the fort of the heart, and the root of all evil was no longer a bulwark of safety.

You have a considerable number of men under arms near your dwelling both day and night; whereas Zion and her rightful sovereign have but few if any more who keep guard round their royal state bed: "Behold his bed which is Solomon's; threescore valiant men are about it, of the valiant of Israel. They all hold swords, being expert in war; every man hath his sword upon his thigh, because of fear in the night." This guard may serve to remind thee of the ministers of the gospel, who are to defend the truth, and the church of the living God, which is the ground and pillar of it, with such spiritual weapons as the Lord's armory furnishes them with. But thy sure defence is in the God of armies, who is both our guardian and our watch; "Unless the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.”

If I mistake not, thy dwelling is between two hills; one is called Great and the other Little Tower Hill. It is a blessed thing to have one's dwelling among the hills; that is, to have the ancient mountain of eternal election made sure behind, and the everlasting hill of glorification in full view before. It is prophesied that "the moun

tains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills by righteousness;" upon these God has promised showers of blessings, which make the heart soft, and cause joy unspeakable to spring up within; this crowns a gospel year with goodness, while God's paths drop fatness; "They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness, and the little hills rejoice on every side,” Psalm lxv. 11, 12.

The royal crown may serve to remind thee of the crown of knowledge with which the prudent are crowned; of the crown of lovingkindness and tender mercies, which the believer appears in on certain court days; of the crown of life promised to the faithful overcomer at his death; of the crown of righteousness, which is to be worn by kings and priests when they will appear as faithful witnesses at the day of judgment; and of the incorruptible crown of glory that is undefiled, and that never fades away, reserved in heaven for those who are kept by the mighty power of God through faith to salvation. He whose eyes are as a flanìe of fire, and on whose head are many crowns, Rev. xix. 12; will one day or other bring these forth in all their divine lustre; when the chosen fraternity are raised up from the dust, and the beggars from the dunghill, and made to sit among princes, and to inherit the throne of glory, 1Sam. ii. 8.

The royal diadem with its numerous gems brought to my mind the inconceivable beauty, and the sparkling lustre of divine majesty, that the ever blessed Saviour, the Prince of Peace, some

times appears in, when he comes to pay his ad dresses or love-visits to poor wretched sinners, in order to woo and espouse them to himself. In those nuptial days, the Lord of Hosts is a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty to the residue of his people, Isaiah xxviii. 5. Nor will Zion be less in the eyes of her royal bridegroom when he rises and shines with all his glorious majesty on her; she will be a royal diadem in the hand of her God, and be no more termed forsaken or desolate, but Hephzibah, the Lord's delight, Isaiah lxii. 3, 4. To be blessed with a savoury experience of this, and to enjoy the Spirit's sweet influences, are'summary pledges and foretastes of what is to come; these are the marks that secure the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. The soul that knows, experiences, and enjoys these things, and is persuaded in his own mind, by the Spirit of faith, of the reality of them, and of his part and lot in them, may say, as Job did, "My judgment is as a robe and a diadem."

The golden sceptre may remind thee of the sceptre of righteousness, by which every faithful subject of the King of kings is ruled. Victory over devils, the world, self, sin, and death, is the blessed effect of being under the sceptre of righteousness and the dominion of grace. It is true, none of these adversaries are destroyed in the strictest sense; but their destroying power is with respect to the elect, and they will be all beat down under our feet in due time. I am an eye witness that

you touched the golden sceptre once; but this is not enough, we must appear at court daily to renew our friendship, and give proof of our loyalty. Beware of a shyness; a distance; a lukewarmness; indulged sins; contracted guilt; an accusing devil; or, what is worse than all, an accusing conscience getting between the King and thee; these things obscure or bring a cloud over the throne of grace, which in time hinders prayer from going forth. At the worst of times, and with the worst of cases, do as some did in the days of old, who said, I will go in and stand before the King, and if I perish I perish; to whom the golden sceptre was held out, and half the kingdom promised; but Christ gives more, for the whole kingdom

is ours.

The curtana, or blunt sword of mercy, which is carried between the two swords of justice, the spiritual and the temporal, brought to my mind the terrible appearance that the Lord makes when he first comes to the chosen sinner, and wounds him with the sword of the Spirit, which separates joints and marrow, and discovers the recesses of the heart; insomuch that the poor sinner thinks he is going to destruction; whereas the sword of mercy, though it hath got two edges, yet it hath no point. The wound, or rather bruise, that the Saviour gives us with this, when he appears as conqueror, serves to make more work for him as a physician. I wound and I heal, saith the blessed Redeemer; the Lord maketh sore and bindeth up;