that seldom, if ever, ascends the mount, is to me

a mystery.

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Steward. It is not what Little Faith says, in his fits of infidelity, that shall sink him for ever; nor what a rapturous child may say in a day of prosperity, that shall immutably fix him. It is the word of the King, and not their own, that establishes them both. Jehovah says, They shall all know me, from the least to the greatest of them." "The feeble, in that day, shall be as David.” And, "he shall give a reward to his servants the prophets, and to all that fear his name, small and great." It is this that leads one to the rock, and keeps the other from the gulph. And, when Jehovah can be perjured in his oath, cease to be true, fail in his faithfulness, forget to be gracious, change in his purpose, and appear mutable in his will; then may this little one perish, but not till then. Therefore Little Faith not only stands as the everlasting hills, but he stands as firm in his royal Head as the throne of God in heaven!

Shepherd. You speak with some degree of warmth, my brother.

Steward. Because you seemed to question me in an oblique manner.

Shepherd. I own there is great propriety in what you have advanced: the safety of the whole family, doubtless, lies in the immutability of Jehovah's counsel; his promise; the covenant made; and in the Covenant Head, with whom the bargain

was struck, and in whom it must unavoidably stand, as the days of heaven. But what surprised me most was, that Little Faith, who staggers at every promise, should be enabled to stand, with his weak faith, against the united efforts of all the King's servants, could such a combination be entered into.

Steward. One of old, in his fits of infidelity, declared, "If I had called [that is, in prayer], and he had answered me [that is, if God had answered him], yet would I not believe that he had hearkened to my voice."

hold me innocent."

"I know that thou wilt not

"I shall go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death; a land of darkness, as darkness itself, and of the shadow of death, without any order," Job x. 21, 22. But, as soon as his three friends joined in the same verdict, one telling him that his wickedness was great, and his iniquities infinite, Job xxii. 5; another declaring that, if he were pure and upright, God would awake for him, and make the habitation of his righteousness prosperous, Job viii. 6; another telling him he had fulfilled the judgment of the wicked, therefore judgment and justice took hold on him, Job xxxvi. 17; another said, "Thou hast taken a pledge of thy brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing," Job xxii. 6. Yet all this did not move him. "I am not inferior to you," saith he. "What know you that I know not? I know I shall be justified; who will con

demn me? When I am tried, I shall come forth as gold." "My witness is in heaven, my record is on high." "I know that my Redeemer liveth. Whom I shall see for myself, and not another." Thus it appears, that they could neither raise him up nor knock him down; he is proof against all their consolations, and against all their invectives; and, whatever such may say in their fits of unbelief, they do not believe the same in their hearts and if you was to say as the infidelity of Little Faith does, and attempt to confirm his incredulous confession, he would resist your arguments in his heart; nor could you fix one of them upon his conscience. Him that is weak in faith receive you, for God hath received him.

"Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own Master he standeth or falleth : yea, he shall be holden up; for God is able to make him stand," Rom. xiv. 1-4. And stand he does, in spite of himself, in spite of the devil, in spite of infidelity, and in spite of all the world. Yea, if he were to play on the hole of the asp, or put his hand on the cockatrice den, he could neither be hurt nor destroyed, Isa. xi. 8, 9. For this child shall come to his grave in peace, and shall die an hundred years old, Isa. lxv. 20; "because in him there is found some good thing toward the Lord God of Israel," 1 Kings xiv. 13.

Shepherd. And, pray, does Little Faith cleave close to the King's courts, through all these dis

couragements, and many denials of seeing the King's face?

Steward. Time hath been when he did not, as was before observed; but now, none are more loyal, nor more stedfast in their visits, than Little Faith. Court days, feast days, levee days, fast days, drawing-room days, birth days, marriage days or mourning days, rout days, ball days or concert days, days of prosperity and days of adversity; when either war is declared or peace proclaimed, Little Faith is sure to be there. It is a rare thing for any to say of him, as Saul did of the son of Jesse, that his seat is empty. He has his mental changes like the moon; yet, in his regular motions, excepting indisposition of body, he is as constant as the luminaries of heaven; for Jehovah himself leads him, though it is in a way that he knows not; and will, one day or other, make darkness light before him, and crooked things straight.

Shepherd. That shews the bent of his heart: and it must be with some degree of toil that Little Faith pays his constant visits at the courts of Zion; for he does not ride in the chariot paved with love, like the daughters of Jerusalem, Cant. iii. 10; nor does he mount his horse, and ride like Ephraim, Hos. x. 11.

Steward. It matters not how he gocs; there he constantly is, and there he will be, for he is determined to know both the worst and the best of it and certain it is, that they shall not be

ashamed that wait on, nor that wait for, the King; for he never said to any of the seed, "Seek ye me in vain;" he always declares things that are right.

Shepherd. Then Little Faith has a good character at court?

Steward. None more so. Any who know him will give credit to his word; or entrust him, or credit him, with any thing. No one doubts of his loyalty or punctuality; for he exceeds others in fear, diligence, and conscientiousness, as much, or more, than some excel him in confidence, fortitude, and wisdom. His weakness, infirmity, failing, and besetting sin, is unbelief; on which account his Majesty hath said, more than once, "O thou of little faith!" Were he once master of this sin, he would be a man with a witness!

Shepherd. Some of the seed royal have had their horns iron, and their hoofs brass, Mic. iv. 13; others are called lions, Prov. xxviii. 1; or, Jehovah's goodly horse in the battle, Zech. x. 3; others, the rod of his inheritance, Jer. li. 19; others, his battleax, and his weapons of war; with which he breaks in pieces nations and kingdoms; with which he breaks in pieces the horse and his rider, the chariot and the driver; and with which he breaks in pieces both men and women, old and young; the young man and the maid; the false shepherd and his flock; the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; the captain and