A Goodly Heritage

THE REV. ROBERT M‘CHEYNE went about his public work with awful reverence. So evident was this that I remember, says his biographer, a countryman in my parish observed to me,—“Before he opened his lips, as he came along the passage, there was something about him that sorely affected me.” In the vestry there never was any idle conversation; all was preparation of the heart in approaching God, and a short prayer preceded his entering the pulpit. After announcing the subject of his discourse, he used, generally, to show the position it occupied in the context, and then proceeded to bring out the doctrines of the text after the manner of our old divines. This done, he divided his subject, and herein he was eminently skilful. “The heads of his sermons,” said a friend, “were not the milestones that tell how near you are to your journey’s end, but they were nails which fixed and fastened all he said. Divisions are often dry, but not so his divisions,—they were so textual and so feeling, and th

  That has been called the day of days, as indeed it was and is to the Church of Christ. That first Easter Day was "the day in his life which he made his own beyond all others. Not his birthday; for that meant his entrance on a life of sorrows. Not his ascension day; for that was the closing scene of a triumph already achieved. Not his transfiguration-day; for that was a momentary flash of glory in a career of pain. Not the day of his crucifixion; that was a great day for a ruined world, but for him it marked the lowest stage of humiliation and woe. The day of days in the life of Christ was the day of his resurrection." And to the first disciples especially, and to the believing Church still:

  TERROR AT THE APPROACH OF THE JUDGE. "Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, fleeing before Jehovah's terror, and the splendor of his majesty." The soul living in falsehood as its element shrinks away from the coming truth which must annihilate it. Men's fears represent to them at last their follies and their sins. "Like bats and vermin hurrying from the sudden light. Our sordid vices far from God would take their flight." The eyes that were not cast down in prayer, the mien of profane impudence that laughed at Heaven, are now shriveled, prone in the dust now before the lonely sublimity of the eternal Holiness. Those who made naught of God must learn that naught can exist which does not exist in God. E Johnson

  In a little Perthshire town there was a minister of the Gospel whose name filled the district round like ointment poured forth. A Highland drover had occasionally to pass through this town. On one occasion he tarried over the Sabbath day and went to the church. He could not make much of a continuous English discourse. But at the end he heard the minister give out for singing a part of the 34th Psalm in the Scotch Version, of which the last verse is— Ill shall the wicked slay; laid waste Shall be who hate the just. The Lord redeems His servants’ souls; None perish that Him trust. He understood the last line, and he waited for the minister in the vestry. “Sir,” he said, “you read from the Psalm Book, ‘None perish that Him trust.’ Is that true?” The man’s heart was opened. Often afterwards as he pursued his business and passed through the little town he went to see the minister. Locking hand in hand, the one or the other broke the silence by just saying, “None perish that Him trust.” Wh

  God will provide Himself a lamb, my son.’ He does not know definitely what he expects; he is ready to slay Isaac, but his faith is not quenched, though the end seems so inevitable and near. Faith was never more sharply tested, and never more triumphantly stood the test. The divine solution of the riddle was kept back till the last moment, as it usually is. The place is slowly reached, the hill slowly climbed, the altar built, the unresisting Isaac bound {with what deep thoughts in each, who can tell?}, the steady hand holding the glittering knife lifted-a moment more and it will be red with heart’s blood, and not till then does God speak. It is ever so. The trial has ‘its perfect work.’ Faith is led to the edge of the precipice, one step farther and all is over. Then God speaks, all but just too late, and yet ‘right early.’ The willingness to make the sacrifice is tested to the utmost, and being proved, the sacrifice is not required. Abraham had said to Isaac, ‘God will provide a lam

  If any man shall add unto these things. Revelation 22:18, 19 H. Bonar, D. D. I.  THE PERFECTION OF GOD'S WORD. Man may not intermeddle with it, either to add or to take away. Can man improve the works of God? — the mountains, rivers, flowers? — the blue sky, the stars, the sun? Even so is the Word of God too perfect for him to touch. II.  THE HONOUR GOD PUTS ON IT. He has magnified it, even above His works; so that he who disparages the Word of God is more guilty than he who disparages the works of God. It is the fullest expression of His mind, the completest revelation of His character. III.  OUR RESPONSIBILITIES IN REGARD TO IT. It is not given us for mere speculation or gratification; but for something far higher. We are responsible for the way we treat it, study it, profit by it. Its perfection makes our responsibility very great, and appeals to our consciences most powerfully. IV.  THE SIN OF TAMPERING WITH IT. Every low thought about the Bible is sin. Every attempt to touch

 REV. THOMAS HOG’S MARVELLOUS RESTORATION TO HEALTH. THE REV. THOMAS HOG was minister of Kiltearn, Ross, and was a remarkable man. He had much of the prophetic spirit, and the interpositions of the providence of God on his behalf, were very remarkable. An instance of this kind, which is authenticated, occurred about the year 1676, when he was apprehended for attending private conventicles. When put to trial, he joyfully submitted to a prison, rather than bind himself from preaching, and was therefore sent to the Bass Rock. The air of the place, and the close confinement, however, soon affected his health, which brought him into peculiar and great danger. In this situation, a physician was called from Edinburgh, who gave it as his opinion that, unless he was liberated, there was no hope of his recovery, and advised him to supplicate the Council for liberation for a short space of time, that means might be used for the recovering of his health. Mr. Hog hesitated to address them, for reas

 JOHN KNOX’S VOCATION. THE castle of St. Andrews being held by the Reformers after Archbishop Beaton’s death, Knox, for safety, repaired thither with his pupils from Langniddrie and Ormiston, and taught in a chapel, the ruins of which, is still called Knox’s kirk. The stated preacher at the castle was one John Rough, who was a few years younger than Knox. This man, feeling himself overwhelmed by the responsibility which the leadership of the Protestant cause had upon him, urged Knox to share his work; but Knox declining at first, he preached a sermon on the right of a congregation to elect a minister, and the responsibility by one, if he refused the call; and, addressing Knox, said—“Brother, you shall not be offended, although I speak unto you that which I have in charge, even from all those who are here present, which is this: In the name of God, and of His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the name of all that presently call you by my mouth, I charge you that you refuse not the holy vocation

THE author of “Rab and his Friends,” in a letter says—For the “heroic” old man of Haddington, my father [Rev. Dr. John Brown, Broughton Church, Edinburgh] had a peculiar reverence—as, indeed, we all have, as well we may. He was our king, the founder of our dynasty; we dated from him, and he was “hedged” accordingly by a certain sacredness or “divinity.” I well remember with what surprise and pride I found myself asked by a blacksmith’s wife, in a remote hamlet among the hop-gardens of Kent, if I was “the son of the Self-Interpreting Bible.” I possess as an heirloom the New Testament which my father fondly regarded as the one his grandfather when a herd laddie got from the Professor who heard him ask for it, and promised it if he could read a verse. He had now acquired so much of Greek as encouraged him to hope that he might at length be prepared to reap the richest of all rewards which classical learning could confer on him, the capacity of reading in the original tongue the blessed Ne

  The Grapes of Eschol by  Ellen M. Huntington Gates Among the tribes, the weary tribes, we wander; The way is long, complainings fill the air; With God so near, we fear the kings of Edom, By smitten rocks we yield us to despair. The seas gape wide and make for us a pathway, We hear the cry of Pharaoh's drowning host, But mists roll up, there's discord and confusion, And far away is Canaan's peaceful coast. Then do we see that walking close beside us, With steady step, and eyes that onward look, Are those who went before us to that country, And brought us grapes from Eschol's wondrous brook; Their faces shine, their lips are always singing, The winds of Canaan have their foreheads fanned, Alike to them are sunrise and sunsetting, Their feet make haste, they have beheld the land! O thanks and thanks, a thousand times repeated! We know your names, ye valiant, faithful few; Your lowest words are sweet as Heavenly music, Ye searched the land out better than ye knew. When th

. WHEN the Rev. Dr. Thomas Guthrie took up his abode in Edinburgh as a minister, he was determined to visit all the people in his parish, no matter whether they attended his church or not. This enabled him to understand the social condition of the city, and it frequently brought him into contact with rather strange characters. His courage, both moral and physical, was always equal to any emergency, and, by his wisdom, he made many enemies fast friends. While engaged in visiting the poor, he came one day to the door of an Irish Roman Catholic, who was determined that the Doctor should not enter his house. “You must not come in here,” said he; “you are not called nor wanted.” “My friend,” said the Doctor, “I’m going round my parish to become acquainted with the people, and have called on you only as a parishioner.” “It don’t matter,” said Paddy. “You shan’t come in here;” and lifting the poker, he said, “If ye come in here, I’ll knock ye down.” Most men would have retired or tried to rea

THE REV. JAMES FRASER, of Alness, was a Christian minister of more than ordinary piety and unction. He was much esteemed, and exercised an influence for good far beyond his parish. He had, however, a thorn in the flesh in the person of his wife, who was a cold, unheeding, worldly woman. Never did her godly husband sit down to a comfortable meal in his own house, and often would he have fainted from sheer want of needful sustenance but for the considerate kindness of some of his parishioners. She was too insensate to try to hide her treatment of him, and well was it for him on one account, that she was. His friends thus knew of his ill-treatment, and were moved to do what they could for his comfort. A godly acquaintance arranged with him to leave a supply of food in a certain place, beside his usual walk, of which he might avail himself when starved at home. Even light and fire in his study were denied to him on the long, cold, and wintry nights; and as his study was his only place of r

 JENNY GEDDES AND HER STOOL. AN order was given by the King to introduce a new Service Book into the churches of Scotland, and this was to be done on the 23rd of July, 1637. On that day a great concourse of people, including the Lord Chancellor and the Archbishop of St. Andrews, along with several members of the Privy Council, the Judges of the Supreme Court, the Magistrates of the City, and a great multitude of the citizens, assembled in the church of St. Giles, then called the “Great Church,” to witness the ceremony. In the morning the usual prayers had been read from the old Book of Common Order. The Dean of Edinburgh, in his surplice, was to read the new service, and the Bishop of Edinburgh was to preach. As soon as the Dean took his place in the reading-desk, and opened the obnoxious volume, a murmur arose in the congregation, and on his proceeding to announce the collect for the day, an old woman, named Janet Geddes, who kept a greengrocer’s stall in the High Street, is said to h

 “IF YE KENNED HOW I LOVE HIM.” A POOR idiot, who was supported by his parish in the Highlands of Scotland, passed his time in wandering from house to house. He was silent and peaceable, and won the pity of all kind hearts. He had little power to converse with his fellow-men, but seemed often in loving communion with Him who, while He is the High and Holy One, condescends to men of low estate. Yeddie, as he was called, was in the habit of whispering to himself as he trudged along the highway or performed the simple tasks which any neighbour felt at liberty to demand of him. Once, when a merry boy heard him pleading earnestly in prayer, he asked, “What ghost or goblin are you begging favours of now, Yeddie?” “Neither the one nor the tither, laddie,” he replied; “I was just having a few words with Him that neither yoursel’ nor I can see, and yet with Him that sees the baith of us!” One day Yeddie presented himself in his coarse dress and hob-nailed shoes before the minister, and, making

 THE MOTHER OF THE ERSKINES; Or, a Providential Deliverance from the Grave. A MOST remarkable deliverance from the grave was experienced by the mother of the celebrated Ralph and Ebenezer Erskine. Strange though it may appear, it could be said she died and was buried before her renowned sons were born. She wore on her finger at the time of her death a rich gold ring, which, from some domestic cause or other, was much valued by the family. After the body was laid in the coffin an attempt was made to remove the ring, but the hand and the finger were so much swollen, that it was found impossible. It was proposed to cut off the finger, but as the husband’s feelings revolted at the idea, she was buried with the ring on her finger. The sexton, who was aware of the fact, formed a resolution to possess himself of the ring, and therefore, on the night of her burial, he opened the grave and coffin. Having no scruples about cutting off the finger of a dead woman, he provided himself with a sharp

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 E. Hurndall Paul's troubles were exceedingly heavy. So the troubles of many believers have been and are. The sufferings of saints often seem severer than those of sinners. For them the furnace is made seven times hotter. But Paul with his heavy sorrows speaks of them as light, and speaks of them as they really seemed to him to be under the conditions to which he refers. No affliction could well be heavier than his, and yet it was light. So is the believer's - I.  WHEN HE CONSIDERS DURING HOW SMALL A PORTION OF HIS LIFE IT HAS TO BE BORNE. It is but "for a moment." Not so long as a second contrasted with a thousand years. Eternity makes time short. Our troubles are like Pharaoh's horsemen - they cannot pass the Red Sea of death. In this  flash  of our existence we may weep, but in the ever-continuing life of heaven we shall rejoice. "There shall I bathe my weary soul In seas of heavenly rest, And not a wave of trouble roll Across my peace

  There was but one way in which man could learn God, and that was by God becoming man. "The Word became flesh." We learn Divine truth in the ministry, the life, of God's Son. The truth as to God's character we read in the deeds of Immanuel, so gentle, yet so grand and God-like. The truth as to God's purposes of love we learn from Christ's sacrifice, from Christ's cross. The truth concerning our salvation we know when we witness Christ's victory over sin and death. It is the complete picture which portrays the complete original; he who would acquaint himself with the whole truth of God, as far as God is related to man, must take into his mind the perfect and glorious representation offered in the gospel. There is no other way in which the truth can be grasped and held by the finite, created nature. Know him who  is  the Truth; and then, then only, do you know the truth itself. J R Thomson

  THE IMPRESSIVENESS AND ATTRACTIVENESS OF SPIRITUAL BEAUTY. There are, indeed, unspiritual natures for whom it has no interest and no charm. But it is dear to Christ, who delights in it as the reflection of his own excellence. The King desires and greatly delights in the beauty of his spiritual spouse, the Church; to him she is beautiful and comely, fair as the moon, and clear as the sun. And all who share the mind of Christ take pleasure in that which delights him. The purity and unity, the Christ-like compassion and self-sacrifice of God's people, have exercised an attractive power over natures spiritual, awakened, and sensitive. By his living Church the Lord has drawn multitudes unto himself. And thus the beauty of the Church, reflecting the beauty of Christ, is the means of winning souls to the fellowship of immortal love. - Thomson

  The Psalms form the most wonderful expression of human feelings that was ever penned. Those who know the Psalms only slightly do not understand this. But those who are wise enough to know them well, to learn them by heart and use them, know that there is not any state of feeling, not any condition in life, for which that wonderful book does not furnish the most exact and well-fitted expressions that can be conceived or desired. With joy and thankfulness the Psalms run over; they abound in expressions of faith, and trust, and cheerful confidence in the mercy and goodness of God. Of penitential sorrow and distress for sins, of humble confession and repentance, they are so full that they almost seem to contain nothing else. For peaceful times, for anxious times, for times of affliction and grief, for reliance on God in the morning or in the evening, awake or asleep, at midnight or at midday, in solitude or in society,—none know so well as those who know the Psalms, or some of them, by h

  True religion is no mere mystic passive dream of devotion—a gazing in rapt reverence on the mystery of godliness, and no more. It is a system also of high comprehensive delicate law, which demands daily determined obedience. It is a doing and a being. The righteousness of Christ is excelling; it signifies infinitely more than civil law, social courtesy, or ecclesiastical discipline. It means a noble heart governing daily life in its most delicate relations and situations. It is no “rule of thumb,” but of finer discriminations than the most exquisite instruments of science. Let me not mistakenly spend life in arguing down and arguing away the lofty laws of Christ. Let me not labour to accommodate them to my weakness. Let me daily pray for the grace that will bring me up to the height of the law, and not attempt to bring down the law to my frailty.2 [Note: W. L. Watkinson.]

  Continual remembrance of God encourages the growth of the spirit. Man does not ripen naturally—that is, according to the course of his earthly nature—for eternity. He is the child of spiritual culture. By spiritual toil and effort only, by patience, by pain, by tears, can this crown of a good old age be won. It comes at the end of a good life-course, a course that has been aspiring and tending to God. It is the fruit of a continual renewing, the strengthening and unfolding of the inner man, which is not born of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of “the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever,” and “which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” And that nature needs close and constant culture; the weeds in its fields need to be cut down, and their very roots torn up, no matter what sensitive fibres may be lacerated in the process; while the seeds of the Kingdom, the germs which the good Sower has planted, have to be nurtured with many toils and tears, if in our old age we ar

 Return unto they rest, O my soul! Let the sweet cadence of this “word of Jesus” steal on thee amid the disquietudes of earth. Sheltered in Him, thou art safe for time, safe for eternity! There may be, and will be, temporary tossings, fears, and misgivings, – manifestations of inward corruption; but these will only be like the surface heavings of the ocean, while underneath there is a deep, settled calm. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace” (lit. peace, peace) “whose mind is stayed on Thee.” In the world it is care on care, trouble on trouble, sin on sin; but every wave that breaks on the believer’s soul seems sweetly to murmur, “Peace, peace!” And if the foretaste of this rest be precious, what must be the glorious consummation? Awakening in the morning of immortality, with the unquiet dream of earth over – faith lost in sight, and hope in fruition; – no more any bias to sin – no more latent principles of evil – nothing to disturb the spirit’s deep, everlasting tranquility – the trem

  Divine grace” (says Leighton, on  1 Peter 1:7 ), “even in the heart of weak and sinful man, is an invincible thing. Drown it in the waters of adversity, it rises more beautiful, as not being drowned indeed, but only washed: throw it into the furnace of fiery trials, it comes out purer, and loses nothing but the dross which our corrupt nature mixes with it.” It belongeth then, by very necessity of nature, to the child of God that he grow—grow, so to speak, in bulk of spiritual life, grow in strength of all spiritual faculties, grow in largeness of spiritual result. Where there is no growth, there is no life. The path of the just is as the shining light, which shineth more and more.1 [Note: J. Hamilton, Faith in God,

Thomas Dale, M. A. This is the language of experience, and that of no common character. The psalmist desires that all who might be partakers of his trial might be sharers in his deliverance. He tells us — I.  OF HIS EXPERIENCE. Paul, as David, speaks of having "tasted of the heavenly gift." The word is most emphatic, for the sense of taste includes most of the others — sight and smell and touch. And certainly it is so in spiritual things. There are among those who are called Christians three distinct classes. There are, first, those who hear without seeing; there are those who both hear and see, without tasting; and there are those in whom all three combine — to whom "faith cometh by hearing," in whom faith groweth by seeing, in whom faith is perfected and consummated by tasting. II.  THE INVITATION. Those who have had the experience of the psalmist cannot but desire it for others. III.  THE BLESSING. Such a man is blessed, even in the trust itself; and the blessing

   "Continuing instant in prayer." Prayer is the beginning and the end of the Christian life. We should ever go forth to the discharge of our duties, humbly asking for the Divine guidance and the Divine help. And then, when the duties are performed, we should not forget to pray that the Divine blessing should follow the work that we have done. This thought is well brought out by St. Paul in his description of the Christian's armour ( Ephesians 6:11-18 ). Having exhorted his readers to put on the whole armour of God - the girdle of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the sandals of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit - he adds, "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit." This is the fitting climax of the whole. It is the fitting conclusion of any exhortation about Christian warfare or Christian work. "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it."

  The effect on those prayed for .—The subjective effect of prayer does not cover the whole ground. Prayer has also an objective effect. A man may say, “I can quite understand the good of praying for oneself; I can quite see that, according to God’s will, these gifts of grace are to be worked for by prayer, like the gifts of God in nature; but where is the evidence that there is the slightest good in praying for others?” He might even take this line—he might say, “It is presumptuous for me to imagine that I can affect the destiny of another soul! It is against what I read of the struggle for existence by each individual in nature. It is unfair, for what is to happen to those for whom no one prays? And where is the evidence that intercession for others does any good at all?” Gilmour of Mongolia said: “Unprayed for, I feel like a diver at the bottom of a river, with no air to breathe; or like a fireman with an empty hose in a blazing building.”

Isaiah 44:20 W.M. Statham He feedeth on ashes. Man does not understand himself. Feed he must: the question is, on what? There are cravings of heart which cannot be repressed. Men are  hungry  for fame, applause, wealth, honour. Full many a time they taste this fruit; but each apple has ashes at the heart of it. What a picture of  contrast  is given us by Christ! He tells us of the true bread - the living bread, the bread which cometh down from heaven. I.  THE TABLE OF THE MEN OF THIS WORLD. Ashes! Is that all? In other words, dust! Yes; everything that does not feed the immortal nature within us is dust. Wealth is dust, and is scattered like dust. Beauty, however fascinating, turns to dust. And so far as the pursuits of man are concerned, how unsatisfying these are! The post of honour is no sooner secured than others are eager to fling the victor down. The famous "garter" is laid on the coffin and the pall. We are told the reason of this sad mistake. "A deceived  heart  

  When Mr. Campbell went upon his first mission to Africa, the Bible Society sent along with him a number of Bibles to be distributed to a Highland regiment stationed at the Cape of Good Hope. Arrived there, the regiment was drawn out in order to receive the Bibles. The box which contained them was placed in the centre, and on Mr. Campbell presenting the first Bible to one of the men he took out his pocket four shillings and sixpence for the Bible, saying, "I enlisted to serve my king arid my country, and I have been well and regularly paid, and will not accept of a Bible as a present when I can pay for it." His example was instantly followed by all the regiment. ( Anecdotes of the Old Testament. )

  THE VOCATION OF THE PREACHER of the gospel. 1.  Every true preacher is sent forth by God. 2.  He is put in trust with the Word of God, and is sent to proclaim it to others, as his messenger and ambassador ( 2 Corinthians 5:20 ); not to teach his own speculations. 3.  The purpose of the proclamation is their spiritual welfare - their instruction, edification, salvation. "They watch on behalf of your souls" ( Hebrews 13:17 ). But, too often, The aim of all Is how to shine: e'en they whose office is To preach the gospel, let the gospel sleep, And pass their own inventions off instead. The sheep, meanwhile, poor witless ones, return From pasture, fed with wind: and what avails For their excuse, they do not see their harm? Christ said not to his first conventicle, Go forth and preach impostures to the world,' But gave them truth to build on. ( Dante, 'Par.,' 29. )

 There is a story of a Roman that was condemned by a court-martial to die for breaking his rank to steal a bunch of grapes; and as he was going to his execution, his fellow soldiers laughed at, him, and others envied at. him that he should have grapes and they none: “Now (saith he) do not envy me for my bunch of grapes, for you would be loth to have them at the rate I must pay for them.” My brethren, you that are the children of grace and peace, do not envy at men of the world, at their riches and their comforts, their pleasures; for I am sure you would be loth to have them at the price they pay for them; for the end of these things is death. Mede

Dr. George Matheson, of Scotland, is (was)totally blind. He is one of the most learned and gifted men, and, above all, a cheerful and happy-hearted Christian. The following touching words from his pen ought to strengthen the Christian patience of afflicted ones: "My God, I have never thanked Thee for my thorn. I have thanked Thee a thousand times for my roses, but not once for my thorn. I have been looking forward to a world where I shall get compensation for my cross, but I have never thought of my cross as itself a present glory. Thou Divine Love, whose human path has been perfected through sufferings, teach me the glory of my cross; teach me the value of my thorn. Show me that I have climbed to Thee by the path of pain. Show me that my tears have made my rainbow. Reveal to me that my strength was the product of the hour when I wrestled until the break of day. Then shall I know that my thorn was blessed by Thee; then shall I know that my cross was a gift from Thee. I shall raise

 “He is unhappy, miserable, and most impudent, who desires to examine or search out his Maker. Thousands of thousands, and hundreds of thousands of millions of angels and archangels, do glorify him with dread, and adore him with trembling; and shall men of clay, full of sins, dispute of the Deity without fear? Horror does not shake their bodies, their minds do not tremble, but being secure and pealing, they speak of the Son of God, who suffered for me, unworthy sinner, and of both his nativities or generations; at least they’re not sensible how blind they are in the light.” Eusebius

  Severance from Christ is death   to the Church. A Christless Church is a headless trunk. We may retain the doctrine and ethic of the New Testament, but, nevertheless, amputation of the Head means death. Even a partial severance of connection involves paraylsis - loss of spiritual power and loss of spiritual feeling. II.  INTERNALLY, THE CHURCH IS THE FULLNESS OF CHRIST. It is filled with Christ. He is not only the Head above it; he is the life within it. He does not only teach, bless, command, and lead from without; he inspires his people and lives in his Church. Christ fills " all  in all;"  i.e.  the Spirit that was in Jesus of Nazareth is in the whole universe, inspiring all creation and all providence with wisdom and goodness, purity and grace. The same Spirit is in the Church. As yet, unhappily, the Church is not filled with Christ. Though Christ is received into the heart of Christians, every door within is not yet flung open to the gracious Guest. But in the perfect

  What we need so much for our life is to believe in and realize this  presence of God , both as a Holy Spirit within us and as the Infinite Spirit “around us ever.” His presence within makes itself felt in that something that would always lift us higher and lead us to follow and act out that  Best  which has ever the supreme claim upon us. His presence without is revealed in the Providence that orders our life, in that higher Will which we cannot alter or resist, in trustful acceptance of which in  everything  we alone can have peace; and in that Greater, Wiser, and Better than ourselves whom the heart craves for, and whom it finds in prayer, on whom we can cast our burdens and be sustained, to whom our labouring souls can come and find rest, to whom we can commit our way, ourselves, and all persons and interests we are concerned for, and find “the peace of God which passeth all understanding” guarding our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. “Little children,” writes the Apostle, “keep

  There is a  national menace . In these modern days one finds oneself rummaging the pages of Gibbon and Tacitus and Juvenal. Look at those old empires which lived by bread alone; by riches so enormous that it seems as if God had determined to give money a chance to do its best; living by power so vast that there were no more worlds to conquer; living by pleasure so prodigal and so refined and varied that the liveliest invention was exhausted, and the keenest appetite surfeited. Babylon, Rome, Antioch, Alexandria, Carthage,—to-day we dare not open to our children the records of the inner life of these communities. We almost hesitate to read its fearful summary in the first chapter of St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans. The old empires have gone down in ruin, and their pleasures have turned to a corruption which is an offence in the world’s nostrils. The old city which rang with the cry of “Bread and the Circus!” is only a monument now. The tourist wanders over the Palatine, and peers dow

  when the Lord called Moses to send him to Pharaoh to lead His people forth, he answered, What am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt ? Forty years before in self-confidence he had undertaken the work and had run before he was sent, and now he had learned humility and his weakness. God answered his confessed distrust with the all-sufficient assurance, “I will be with thee.” When He sends forth He goes along to accomplish His own purposes. What encouragement for all who wait on the Lord and conscious of their own weakness, go forth in service. In response to another question, God reveals His name. “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM, and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel , I AM hath sent me unto you.” God had made Himself known to Abraham as Jehovah ( Genesis 15:7 ). But here He gives the explanation of His name Jehovah. The patriarchs knew the name Jehovah, but the blessed significance of that name

  Too often the term “angel” has for us a cloudy and indeterminate meaning; but we should resolve to make it clear. We are apt to use it as a term of  race , and to distinguish the natives of heaven as angels, just as we distinguish the natives of earth as men. But it is in reality a term of  office , simply meaning an envoy, a messenger, one who is sent. Doubtless any heavenly being who is sent on an errand of love to this globe is for the time an angel; but One there is above all others who deserves the name of angel. Sent not only out from the unknown heavens, but out from the very essence and depth of the unknown God; sent to reveal God’s heart; sent to translate the Divine nature into the conditions of human nature, and to make the Divine Being not only conceivable by that which is finite, but approachable by that which is fallen; sent to discover and accomplish the Father’s purposes of grace, and to fetch home to Him each lost and wandering child—Jesus is the Prince of Missionari

  Twenty-fifth of ninth month, 1764.—At our Yearly Meeting at Philadelphia this day, John Smith of Marlborough, aged upwards of eighty years, a faithful minister, though not eloquent, stood up in our meeting of ministers and elders and, appearing to be under a great exercise of spirit, informed Friends in substance as follows: “That he had been a member of our Society upwards of sixty years, and he well remembered that, in those early times, Friends were a plain, lowly-minded people, and that there was much tenderness and contrition in their meetings. That, at twenty years from that time, the Society, increasing in wealth, and in some degree conforming to the fashions of the world, true humility was less apparent, and their meetings in general were not so lively and edifying. That at the end of forty years many of them were grown very rich, and many of the Society made a specious appearance in the world: that wearing fine costly garments, and using silver and other watches, became cust

  Two MOODS IN WHICH PEOPLE FEEL THAT TO DIE IS GAIN. 1.   The wrong mood ,  but the more usual one. W hen it is an expression of weariness and a desire to escape from suffering, responsibility, labor, temptation. This desire is a selfish one, and may mean no more than that he who expresses it is living for himself. 2.   The right mood.  When "to live is Christ." This is the mood in which St. Paul speaks. Christ had so taken possession of him that he was no longer living a separated life, but Christ's life was being lived in him. This is a bard life, but a joyous one. They who experience it find that it includes his cross, his yoke, his peace, his joy. II.  How can it be gain TO DIE, IF TO LIVE IS CHRIST? To die cannot be more  than  Christ! But it can be more  of  Christ. To the Christian death is a closer union with Christ, and is to find a higher life in him. To Jesus' to die was gain, and in the Christian, in whom Christ lives, the experience of Jesus is reproduce

  How God can be said to begin the good work in us. (a)   It is to be traced to the Father's love.  Take one who has experienced something of The "good work" in his heart - what is its history? If it is traced back and back, its beginnings are to be found in the motions of the Father's love. It goes further back than even the Divine counsels. For it was the love behind, essentially belonging to him as Father, that made him think of and decree our salvation. (b)   It is to be traced to the work of the Son.  This is not going so far back as the Father's counsels; it is rather the carrying out of these counsels. The work of Christ outside of us is the  reason why  the good work can go forward in us. The Son of God, coming into our nature and grappling with all the difficulties of our position, obtained for us redemptive virtue. That is the  decisive fact  to which the good work in us is to be traced back, just as the healing of men's bodies of old was to be trace

  some lines written by a young lady in Nova Scotia, who was an invalid for many years- "My life is a wearisome journey; I am sick of the dust and the heat The rays of the sun beat upon me; The briars are wounding my feet; But the city to which I am going Will more than my trials repay; All the toils of the road will seem nothing When I get to the end of the way. "There are so many hills to climb upward, I often am longing for rest; But he who appoints me my pathway Knows just what is needful and best. I know in his Word he has promised That my strength shall be as my day; And the toils of the road will seem nothing When I get to the end of the way. "He loves me too well to forsake me, Or give me one trial too much: All his people have dearly been purchased, And Satan can never claim such. By-and-by I shall see him and praise him In the city of unending day; And the toils of the road will seem nothing When I get to the end of the way. "Though now I am footsore and w

  The grace wherein we stand is the same as that on which Abraham stood, a righteousness reckoned, or imputed, to him when he had none of his own. The justified believer is made the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, and that righteousness is the rock on which he Stands. He does not stand on his efforts, or his intentions, or his tears, or his joys, or his varied feelings of either joy or sorrow. But he Stands on the righteousness of his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He Stands on the great fact that the Son of God has been his Substitute on the Cross, and that as the Son of man He is now his representative before the throne.E. Hoare.

  The Creator The sentence, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth,” stands like an archway at the beginning of the Universe. In the beginning of heaven, God; in the beginning of the earth, God; in the beginning of time, God; in the beginning of man, God; in the beginning of the Bible, God; in the beginning of salvation, God. Looking back at the universe to the time when the chaotic mists hung across the morning of creation, we see streaking their silvery summits that infinite word, “God.” Looking above us at the stars of the heavens, and contemplating their number and magnitude, and the power that created and sustains them, we think of “God.” Looking forward into the infinite future, toward which all are travelling, we meet with “God.” The idea of God is the centre of the spiritual universe. It is the focal point of human thought. It is the answer to the soul’s thirst. It is the universal prayer. It is the greatest idea in the world. It is the idea that over-whelms us,

  Ancient mariners sailed by the light of the stars; from the stormy bosom of the ocean they looked to the distant heavens for direction; while the firmament was clear they were safe, but when clouds intervened dangers beset their path. So, taking the words of the Lord Jesus for your guidance, you shall cross the sea of life in safety and reach the heavenly shore; but if you allow human philosophy, science, or tradition, if you permit priesthoods, ceremonies, or sacraments to come between your mind and the light of His teaching, your course must be perilous, and your progress uncertain, for He, and He only, is “the way, the truth, and the life.: T. Jones, The Divine Order

Jeremiah 10:12 Wisdom the source and sovereign of worlds David Thomas, D. D. These words give us two ideas concerning the universe. I.  It is ORGANISED BY WISDOM. 1.  This stands opposed to the idea of —(1) The eternity of the universe. The universe is not eternal in its elements, or combinations. There was a period far back in the abysses of eternity, when there was nothing, — when the Absolute One lived alone.(2) The contingent origin of the universe. It sprang from no fortuitous concourse of atoms: "By wisdom hath He founded the earth," etc. God has hollowed out the oceans, and arranged the systems of clouds. 2.  The scientific student of nature sees design and exquisite adaptations in every part of nature: "By His knowledge the depths are broken up. We are raised by science," says Lord Brougham, "to an understanding of the infinite wisdom and goodness which the Creator has displayed in all His works. Not a step can we take in any direction without perceivin

  Lamentations 1:12 Is it  nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the LORD hath afflicted  me  in the day of his fierce anger. 1:12-22 Jerusalem, sitting dejected on the ground, calls on those that passed by, to consider whether her example did not concern them. Her outward sufferings were great, but her inward sufferings were harder to bear, through the sense of guilt. Sorrow for sin must be great sorrow, and must affect the soul. Here we see the evil of sin, and may take warning to flee from the wrath to come. Whatever may be learned from the sufferings of Jerusalem, far more may be learned from the sufferings of Christ. Does he not from the cross speak to every one of us? Does he not say, Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Let all our sorrows lead us to the cross of Christ, lead us to mark his example, and cheerfully to follow him.Matthew Henry

  Man’s eyes are veiled, so that he sees but a little way into God’s law. Our intellectual perception of law is one thing and I our spiritual perception of God in law is a very different thing. To see law itself we need only a clear and disciplined understanding. To see God in law we need spiritual discernment. The eye sees only what it brings with it the power of seeing. And neither mere bodily vision nor mere intellectual vision will enable us to behold spiritual reality. The things of the spirit must be spiritually discerned. Robert Flint