The First of August.

IT SHALL BE WELL --- Isaiah 3:10.

"Say ye to the righeous, that it shall be well with them: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings." --- Isaiah 3:10.

"Therefore, Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end that man is peace." --- Psalm 37:37.

Many are for having that first which is not to be expected till the end; they would be glad of triumph, but will not fight; for waiting for the Lord seems to them too long: but for the most glorious promises we must often wait the longest.

Jacob was obliged to wait longer than Esau, though he had greater promises than he: and how long was it before the promise of Christ, the greatest of all, was accomplished?

It ought therefore well to be observed that it is said at last, "It shall be well with the righteous, and the the end of the upright is peace;" when his faith, love, and patience are tried in the furnace of affliction, then the acceptable year shall come, and the blessed days of joy shall appear.

As sparks break out of burning coals,
And still are upward borne;
So grief is rooted in our souls,
And man grows up to mourn.

Yet with my God I leave my cause,
And trust his promised grace;
He rules me by his well-known laws
Of love and righteousness.

Not all the pains that e'er I bore
Shall spoil my future peace;
For death and hell can do no more
Than what my Father please.