SUNDAY'READING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVIII, Issue 6099, 4 June 1881, Page 3

SUNDAY'READING.

! ADVENT LIGHT.\ : : byHev. w. hay m." h; aitkex, m.a. ";Wherefore, bclovc-J, rceing that ye look for such ■ i things, be diligent'that ye may bo found of nun in. peace, -without snot, and blameless. —2nd Peter iiU. 14.' ■ : ■ ■■■ . _ - '■ St. Paul gives us some idea of what our lives should be in this world in a well-known passage in the First Epistle to the Corinthians, where, upon referring to some of the more common relations and experiences of life, he speaks of our attitude towards each Of them as being in some sense toned and modified by the fact that time is short. In I the 7th chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians, and the 29th verse, he says, " This I say, brethren, the time is short; it remaineth that both they that have wives be as though they had none, and they that weep as though they wept not, and they that rejoiced as though they rejoiced not, and they that buy as though they possessed not, and they that use this world as not abusing it, for the fashion of this world passeth away." ' Here, you. will observe, we are.taught that all these various states of experience' or conditions of life are to be rethe Christian in the full force-of the Advent light.,. He is to judge of them, not according to the flesh,."but according to the light thrown upon' them by the thought pf the coming "day, and it-is the contemplation of things in this; new.; light that is to raise him above what,.otherwise might be the earthward influence ..of the'se_conditiohs of existence. , The' most sacred' tie, the purest; and holiest'relationship, may become a chainto bind the.soul to earth,'".unless.we avail ourselves of the means which.God has provided to liberate u.s'.fr° m such"a.downward influenced A, thing' may Tie pure in itself, and yet it niay ; exert la 'baneful l influence ;upon us, and that which IGod has' provided Ito correct aiid counteract sneh. an influence jis the light of'this gloripusVA'dveht Day inj i which it is oiir J privileg'e to.live. ! Again and' lagain, I repeat, we are'refeVreditb this as the: jp6int to-which our minds ought, continuously ■toturn. 'Forexample^arewe9oncerned;about ■our: own personal Are' we ; isolicitous aboutour'own steadfastness in the ifaith? The 'Apostle's prayer in the Ist chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthiins sxiggests' to us how wo may help to ! ensure this result byr looking, forward. He tasks for his spiritual children that they may j be found blameless unto the day of the Lord. [(Thus our-thoughts are at once led up to that as though the ,vdry. contemplation of it :was to supply us with a new motive, and provide us afresh with that confirming grace which will enable us to.stand firm as a rock against the fibrce~assaults of the" enemy, and the adverse influences of time. Are we led to examine the nature of our work for God ? Again, I say, we are directed towards that coming day; we are told that in that day every man's work shall be made manifest, aud; the;.fire .shall try: every .man's work of • what sort it is. ... ... ■ , .i. ..

Oh, how searching/is that Advent light when it is brought to bear upon our common Christian activity ! ■ How. much there is that seems to be well done which, when we come, to examine it >;in that light, will not stand the test of fire ! How many a, Christian has to confess, when'it falls upon his work, that the materials upon which he has expended so much valuable time are nothing better than straw, stubble,: and worthless rubbish,' that he has been building for himself rather than for God, in the flesh'rather thau iu the Spirit, and to feel that he dare not expose his work to the scrutiny of Him who is coming to judge His saints as well as the world. And thus we are led to judge ourselves- with an-'anticipative judgment that we be not condemned of the Lord. \

Or, again, are any of U3 conscious within ourselves of latent deceit, duplicity of purpose, a disposition to shape our life in two opposite directions? Is the eye no longer single, and therefore' the whole body in danger of becoming full of, darkness ? Hear the Apostle's prayer for the Phillipians, " that ye may be sincere and without offence unto the day of the Lord." It is the light of that day flashing into our souls, and the consideration of what that day will bring along with it, that will lead us to throw away every form of hypocrisy ; for we know that though insincerity may deceive our fellow-men, and may effectually impose upon our fellowChristians, it can never pass the scrutiny of the great Judge of all; and so, whatever may be the opinions of mankind of our labours, whatever may be the sentence passed upon bur character by those with whom we associate, we know we can never hope to hear from the great Judge's lips the words, "Well done!" unless our life has really, been lived for Him. So I miqht go on referring to one,-after another of the various conditions of human experience with which we are familiar, and point out how the light of that day affects them all; but I will not go further into detail, but will just repeat in the strongest possible terms that God designs this light to bear upon every-, thing that we have to do with ; He designs it to bear upon our homes. Let us ask ourselves this morning, Are our homes regulated on such'a principle and in such a way that we can invite, so to speak, the Advent light into them ?—that is to say, that were the j Lord to announce. His intention of visiting iis this very hour, we could welcome Him with joy and' without alarm? Are our domestic customs such as would be pleasing in the eyes of the Divine Guest, and could you allow things to proceed in His presence in their ordinary..course as they clo now without fear of grieving Him, or would His advent necessitate the change of all, and create confusion and consternation ? Is your mode of conducting business, my friend, sueh that when -'the Advent light is turned full and clear upon it, nothing but truth and nprightness stand revealed ? It is a grand thing when we are able to say, "I could meet my Lord at my office as readily as in the sanctuary. He may look ai my books just as He looks at my .heart; I have nothing to fear from His inspection." How about our social life, as we move to and fro among our fellow-men? Are we in a position to say that through God's mercy onr relations with our fellow-men are such that should He visit this very hour the world He redeemed, we shonld be prepared to invite Him to follow us into all the social relations of life, only to'find that His friends were our friends, His enemies our enemies? I mean to say, would He find that we prized as our dearest friends those whose heart 3 were given over to Him, and that we were unable to maintain the friendship or personal fellowship of those whose hearts were in rebellion against Him? Or would He find that we were entangled by the allurements and fascinations of that world whose friendship is enmity towards God? Would He find us bound by the chains of earth, crippled by the influences of society,' and, although professing ourselves citizens of Mount Zion, would He find us living very much as if we were inhabitants of the City of Destruction. Brethren, this much, then, is clear. This glorious light, this anticipation of the Advent morning, is given us that we may be in a position to judge ourselves by it and to refer all to it. But it may be asked, why should the light of the Advent Day produce more salutary effects upon our life and conduct than that light—if we can call it light —that we get by the contemplation of the certainity of death—a certainty obvions to all (unless, indeed, our Lord's second coming anticipatein the case of any of us the summons of that stern messenger), why should the light of death be less profitable to us than the lLht of the Advent morn ? To I that I may reply, first, that when God sets i before us one particular object as the hope of His Church, we do wisely in believing that it is specially 'suited to occupy- this position, and more suitable thau/ any other object. If death had been the moat suitable object for the hope of the Church, we should have -been taught to hope for death, to look-forward to it,, and to pray for its approach; but there is not a single passage in the Word'of God that justifies a prayer for death, nor any tiling that leads us to think we should look for-, ward to death with any kiud of' pleasurable anticipation or earnest desire. Now X have met with some people of God who are greatly exercised upon this point. You will hear some nervous,- timid Christian say, "I really cannot bring; myself to, view the approach of death with aught but feelings of distress; the: thought .of death rather fills me with alarm and apprehension than with feelings of comfort and consolation ;.it is not that factually apprehend that behind 'death there lies any hell for- me; but it seems to me so terrible a thing to die; I cannot desire it; I cannot hope ; for,it. .Hope of course is made up of. desire and expectation, bub I cannot say that I desire to die, though I expect to ; hence death is not to me, nor cannot be, an object for hope." To such I would reply, My dear friend, God never told you to hope for death ; so far as I can find, there is not a word in the New Testament that directs any child of God to fix his hope upon that melancholy event from which we all naturally shrink. God tells you to hope for the dawn of the day of coining glory, and for the re-appearing of Him whom the world hated and despised. Try yourselves rather by this standard, Do I love His ap-

pearing-?— Vo I feel' that I:rwould-shrjidc from, seeing my long-ahsent Lord revealed in the 'airin-OSis kingdom and glory ? -Remember that' He is coming to claim you,' that you will bo called up to meet Him iti 'the, air, so that you inay.be for ever with the Lord : does that thought 611 yon;with anguish? Do you turn , away from it as though it were opposed to your own desire and inclinations ? If that be so, depend upon it there is something .wrong, whatever that wrong may. be. I say there is somethina wrong, if you are aware of an inward shrinking from the dawn of the promised glory; but if you merely shrink from the thought of death, such, afaefc is not in itself a thing to be distressed at, but rather a most natural feeling ?for that which you are ssarcely accountable." : But now, m> dear brethren, since this is our hope, we may well say, with the Apostle Peter, "what manner of people ought we ought to be" if we really anticipate such a future? How.the presence within me of this new light, if it_be_real conviction and not mere poetic sentiment," shonld affect me in my relations to earth and earthly things ! If lam looking forward'"to a brighter and higher state of things in which all that is now aimed at »"iid sought-after, and praised and loved by men of,-the.world will have ;passed into nothingness, "how utterly different my life ought tobe fromtheirs ; How different my motives, my aims, anc\conduct! How different my thoughts and conversation! If lam to a-state of things in which the love of money and the treed of selfishness shall no longer disfigure the face of the earth,-what manner of "person ought I to'beitrthis parLimilar-respcct ?- How is it possible^for'-mc, XVhen I am JgoirigV with .the World in that direction, making it my great ambition to push my way»iu .life; 'to increase jivy substance, aiul enlarge my earthly pos-i sessions? If this-be the supreme object of my life and' exertions, -how can I be really living under'the Ad vent light?: :Ho.w: canrlbe reallv praying, .".Thv kingdom come" with anything like an lttinesty and sincerity of purpose !' If I turn my; eyes'towards that kdvent Day, do I nbt_already' seem to hear the righteous TuTTgelpeakTiig. £o~me in slow accents of deserved reproach, -"Thou art of ,tlie : earth', : , earthy — thou ■■ 'art' carnal: and jwalkest as., men— enemies'.of My cross, thou' milkiest earthly things ;!'l)ut' iwhen the day - dt~My7glorious- appearing 'comes, there will be hb'iriore money-changing and usury, no 1 iriore speculation and bargaining, noiriore'putstrippiug of each other in 'commercial, competition; - no- more' fierce, 'struggles in the race for: .wealth, . all these ,thingswill be swept away into the limbo of discarded rubbish, and what'wilt thou have left?~""Wllt'"tHbu r barfef thy;birthright for 'one morsel of meat ?'! ;My brethren, if we believe in this glorious future, what manner of persons ought w,;3 to'be ? How different should our lives be from tKe lives of those who look forward to no such day:? .

Or again, what manner-of persons-ought iwe to be in,our own. personal experience and character ? If , we : -look ! for vara : to 1 a time when He who reigns-will reign in righteousness, .introducing'along .Himself those; elements'of purity,which'belong to a higher' I world; and which will by'-aml by belong to '■His saints,' what : manner-of persons ought iwe to be?i. : Xhe unclean ;shaU"have no place 'within the Heavenly. Zion, for there shall in 'no wise enter into it.anythihg that defileth'. When 'that kingdom <is- established, those ; whose hearts are-homes of impurity must.seek!their dwelling-place,-elsewhere,, they :can never be'-adirdtted.to the presence of a holy God. If, then, we.are looking forward to a.time when'holiness and purity shall prevail upon the earth, what manner of persons should we be• in-"this respect.-?; My friends, are our hearts in tune with Advent harmonies? Are <,we in a position to look forward with holy anticipation.to the Advent Day with this thought prominent amongst others?"; When-that time comes the purity which God has already heguu to work in our own sosls will pervade the whole earth, and all those elements of uneleanness and filthiness which ; we-' already hate will" be swept away for ever. ' :.- •■■■.■ Or, again, what manner of persons ought we then to be in our life and conversation as we go in and out amongst our fellbw-men ? Can we in our social relations forget--that we are Irving amongst those who have disowned our' King's anthority and defied His will; and that we are left here to waich over His interests and extend'.His influence till He comes again? We may not live as though we were inhabitants of the City of Destruction, we belong to Mount Zion; but ,we are allowed the privilege of working for our Master amongst those 'who .'hitherto have 'been His enemies in the' hope of making them His friende ; and St.. Peter more particularly urges upon us the exhortation, "Be diligent.". Not merely is it necessary that we should see .that our own condition is healthy, but quite" as necessary that we should throw all the energy and. power of our nature into the work of life, doing all that can be done to prepare the world for the day that God is preparing for. it. Be diligent, that ye may be found of Him in, peace. .My friends, are we diligent? Do: our lives bear the, stamp of diligence upon them ? And is it the object of our' diligence that we may be found of Him in peace.? i Comej' let us dwell upon the- thought of this for a few moments, and' endeavour to, discover .'what that peace'is to be in which' we are to be found of Him., !• First, if we are' to meet the Lord with aiiy degree of satis- 1 ' faction, with any feeling of' 'holy delight, we must know something about the peace of reconciliation. We can never desire His kingdom, still, less can we.hail its appearing, unless we are ourselves at peace with Him. Here, then, is this question confronting each of us, Are we at peace with God? It may bo that we are members of a Christian Church; professing faith.in its Head, that we have joined a Christian congregation;

but the question still remains, Are we at peace'with God? If not, we can never be found of Him in peace. I observe, wherever I go, that there are a number of people in our congregations who believe in justification by faith, but who yet are not at peace with God. They admit that they can never be saved without reconciliation to God, and yet they do not claim to be reconciled. Now, let such reflect, if they are present here to-day, how impossible it must needs be for them to be found in peace when they are rejecting the offers of peace which God makes them in His Gospel. Is there a standing quarrel between thee and thy God—a controversy in which thy will has not been yielded to Him ? Nay, is the first great question not yet settled ? Are thy uuforgiven sins still upon thce ? Art thou under the curse of the broken law ? Hast thou' hitherto declined to avail thyself of the salvation which God has graciously.. brought within thy reach. Ah, my friends, there is no peace within until there is peace without—no peace in the heart till the heart is at peace with God, and no peace for the future until there is peace with respect to the past. You cannot hope to be found of Him in peace until you are at peace with Him. But why not agree with tliis your Adversary quickly ? How _ strange it seems that any should need to be entreated to.avail them-

selves of the opportunity so freely offered of obtaining peace with God ! How still more strange that they should be thus entreated by His ambassadors, 'and yet delay to accept His terms! : T ■ ■' '

What! at war with God ? a poor worm of the earth, at war with his Maker, and He whom you are at war with corning in all His glory and in overwhelming power to mete out a due reward to His adversaries ! Oh,.' my friends! don't you think it is time, while he is yet, peradventure, a great way off, to send a message to that great King who is coming with - His "twenty thousands?" Don't yon think it worth while to send an embassage to Him to inquire the conditions of peace?- Have you sent no embassage? So ? Not a sigh, a prayer, a strong desire ? Oh, my brother, art thou trifling with the greatest of all forces, : and sinning against the mightiest of all- potentates, and yet dost thou know that He is drawing nearer and nearer, and soon -will be here ? The conditions of peace, what are thoy? What a mercy it is that they are bo simple,' that He who might have demanded bo mnch should have asked bo little! Is it a hard condition that He ehoulii ask thee to lay down the- weapons of thy. warfare and .be reconciled to Him? My friends, that is all I have to ask you this momiiig. "Now, then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseechr you by us,, we pray you in Christ's stead be ye reconciled to God." That is my message 1 to those who have not obtained this first peace; How are you going to receive this message? You cannot say He asks too much. " Oh, give in your submission, comply with the. condition, accept the peace. Be diligent, the time is short. Death and judgment are hastening on, the day of the Lord is approaching, eternity will soon be here. Oh, my friends, delay not a moment if you value your present and eternal well-being. Stir yourselves up from your deadly apathy, and begin to be diligent, that ye may be found of Him in peace. But peradventure you say, as I- have no doubt many of you are able to say, through God's mercy, " Thank God, I have the peace of reconciliation; I know what it is to De at

:peace*rwith: Jesus.Christ;: piy iLord,': rYery ; good, let us look a little more closely into. the matter ; what more is necessary that we sliould be found of Him in peace? Not merely that we should be reconciled to Him, but also in a state of expectation. for His appearance; for if we are not expecting Him, if we are not looking.for Him, but tliinking about and living for other things, we are sure to be fluttered, disturbed, and eren alarmed when He does at length come. We shall be roused out of a life of quiet, calm routine only to find that because wo have not been expecting Him, we are not ready for Him. There never was a servant who, not expecting his master, when that master came, was found altogether prepared for his coming. Nay, our Lord seems to teach us that it will be to this absence of expectation on the part of the servant that his utter unpreparcdness will be due. " But and i| that servant shall say in His heart, my Lord delayeth His coming, aud shall begin to beat the menservants aud the maidens, aud to eat and drink with the drunken, the Lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketli not for Him, arid at an hour when he is not Dware of, and will cut him asunder, and will appoint him his portaon with the unbelievers." Here we; find the servant's sin visited with its owuproper Nemesis. Hβ did not expect his Lord, and so the Lord comes in a day when he looketh not for Him; and the heavy stroke falls, ithe advent of the Master finds him not in peace, but overwhelmed with terror and anguish.

i And this leads U3 to reflect that the peao here spoken of must be (if it is to bo a complete and full as it should be) the peac of a finished work, such a peace, similar ii kind, though necessarily less perfect in do gree, to that which our blessed Lord inus have felt .when He coulO. say,..-'"I hav< finished the work that Thqu gavest lie t( do," such a peace as the great Apostle fel when he oxclaimed, "I am now'ready to b< offered., _X Have fought a good fight, I hav( finished" my course, I have kept the : falth.",.i ! When the. Master .went away I read ;thai He left to His servants —to - every one His work.* Ido not read in'my Testament thai He left the ministry a work and the resi nothing toVdo. Nor' do I read that He left to diiy the office of idlers and obstructors. Have you found-out.your- work yet ?._ JDou'l you know what it is? I.should advise you to lose -no'time in discovering it, if yeni have hot already done so,'or how, can you evei hope terbe found of "Him;:in : peace? Be sure if. this,; God' has a work, for you to do and : He knows >vhat you, are specially fitted for, and what He 1 design's that you should •accomplish, and if you seek a knowledge of His will in this respect you will not seek; in vain. But oh ! I beseech you, reflect how His advent must induceconsternatiori rather than-peace when Sve have neglected the work that He hae assigned to us. Let us illustrate the matter to ourselves thus:—The proprietor of a stately mansion has 'occasion to leave home for an uncertain tiine, that may probably extend over a few months. He avails him-selLaf-tlie .opportunity to submit his house |to a : thorough cleaning and repair.! He ■leaves explicit directions that the furniture !is all to ,be moved, and fresh polished, "tlie icarpets to be shaken, the walls, ceilings, and cornices fresh decorated, the woodwork painted. Here is plentiful occupation for his servants during Mb absence, so he gives his directibns and goes hi 3 way. 1 But his servants are indolent and self-indulgent, they seize the opportunity: of their master's absence for pleasure and even for dissipation. There is plenty of time, he won't be back just yet. We need not begin with our work the moment that the master's back as turned. So they Jet the_weeksslip..by till ..the habit of indolence growing upon them they become less and less disposed to any exertion.and more and more heedless and idle. One morning the post brings a letter to say that possibly the master will be at home in a week, and that he Hopes he will find the work well in hand. Imagine the confusion and dismay : why, it has not been even commenced ; all is hurry and bustle in the vain endeavour to make a show of having done something before the.-week is out, and in the midst of the tumult there is a ring at the front door bell. Oh, horror ! the master is here. Will these servants be found ol him in peace? Will they have a "Well done" from the master's lips? .pear brethren, are any v of us very much in their case? Do we feel that our work too, so far from being finished;'-'is scarcely commenced ? -"-What will be our feeling when the solemn midnight 2ry is raised, "Behold, the Bridegroom cometh! go ye forth to meet Him ?" Will it be, "Oh, my work, my work! I have only just begun it; in fact, I have scarcelj touched it. God sent me into the world with a glorious opportunity of doing a-.grea( work, but I have lost my time, .squandered my talents, wasted my substance. The work which my Father gave uie to do, fat from accomplishing, I neglected and almosi ignored it, : and now behold the Bridegroorr cometh. How can I face Him ? How can ] look up into those burning eyes with anj other feelings than those of trepidation, anguish, grief, sorrow, loss?" All, this is not being found of Him at peace. But, further, if our peace is to be real and deep, nnd not superficial and delusive, necessary it is that the character of oui work should be such as to stand that lasl great ordeal, : for the" firo shall try everj man's work of what sort it is, and if anj man's work be destroyed he shall suffer loss, though he himself be saved but so as bj Sre. How needful it is that we should nol only be workers, but spiritual workers, ami that our work should be wrought in the power of the Holy Ghost! We read o! virgins (who once had the oil in their lamps being found without any in their vessels— they must have had it at one time, theii torches must have had oil poured upon them, or they would never have burned at all; bui these foolish virgins failed to have a permanent supply of that which was so necessary. And while they all slumbered anr: slept, at midnight there was a cry'raised, "Behold, the Bridegroom cometh! go yc out to meet Him." Then it was that they found, their lamps_going outj at the verj moment when they wanted them most tc shine they began to fail. Oh, how many ; child of God is like these unhappy virgins because he is not walking in the Spirit You have been walking after the law o: nature, according to tfie customs of thi' world, drawing your resources from eartl rather than from Heaven, and the Holj Spirit has been grieved, again and again bj your readiness to dispense with Him, am His Diviiie influence has almost ceased t< iffect you, the sacred unction no longer rest: upon you, and you no longer have the pre cious oil to fill the vessel to make the lam] burn with the clear and steady light i Eormerly displayed, Meanwhile your life ii passing away, and your unspiritual caree Iraws towards its close;. Suddenly there ii x cry raised, "Behold, the Bridegroon Cometh?" and then a flash of that Aclven , c;lory and shout of joyous acclaim, and, lo pour lamp has gone out! Where is the ligh that once blazed so clearly and brightly Where is the blessedness that once was your in the earlier davs when you loved His ap pearing ? My dear friends, we shall neve: be found of Him in peace in that gloriou: Advent Day unless we are found walking ii ihc Spirit now. Picture to yourself theblesßod scene. The lay of earth's history is drawing towards it; sventide ; the shadows are gathering round jvil seelucers are becoming worse and worse ;he Church of Christ is passing through hei ast severe trial; the individual Christian, vho has been diligent in all good works, inds himself pressed down by the mighty lower that the destroyer brings to bear upon lim in his last great effort; but in the midet >f it all he still fights the good fight of faith, ind cliug3 to the Invisible, aim resting on :lim derives a power adequate to the :mergency, and is lifted up out of his weakless into ever fresh and new joy of strength. \.ud so he works out his day's work, fuliilling his callinp, till tho shades of the veuing are suddenly exchanged for. i;he ;lory of a new dawning day; the light llazes forth in the eastern sky, the Son of Jod appears to call His own around Him ; .lid so, looking up from a finished work, ooking up from the calm of a life m which Christ Him3el£ ha.3 been the secret of calm, li's reconciled children raise their hands to ;reet Him, and s'nile with holy exultation [s they see Him draw near, as though they vouldsay, "Welcome, great King, -we arc eady for Thee, waiting for Thee. Lo, this s our God, we have waited for Him, and He vill save us. This is our God, we have vaited for Him, we will rejoice and be glad n His salvation." This is the Bridegroom

for whom our hearts have been looking through our years of trial, whom not having seen we loved. But how much better shall we love Thee now! We have walked by faith, but now the blessed moment of sight has come, and the half was never told us ,of what He is. Surely He is the Chiefest amonc ten thousand, and the altogether lovely, and we are His and He is ours for ever He has come at last to clasp His bride to His bosom. Oh, what a moment it will be when we are thus found of Him in Pe Woiild the Lord find you in peace if He were to come to-day, or would He find you

still trifling,-compromising -with the ■world; living without the power, of the Holy Ghost ? If thus—then, notin peace. ■

What, my-deal-brother, not yet even reconciled to God! Art thou still a stranger even to the power of God's grace! In the Church, but not in Christ; an heir of privileges, not: an heir of glory; a partaker of all the outward advantages of the Christian dispensation; but a stranger to the grace of God! Is that how He finds you ? Let us search ourselves this morning. '. When the king came in to see the guests he saw there a man who had not on a "wedding garmct: that matt was not found in peace. Oh, the gnilty terror that fills his heart! How the colour flies from his face ! What anguish lays hold of his inmost soul as the king draws near ! ." Friend, how earnest thou in hither? And he was speechless." Speechless because he was not found in peace. Let it not be so with any of you. Have you the wedding garment ? Have you taken this first step towards being found of Him in peace ? O living God, search the hearts of this people; lead us to see things, if it he only for a few short moments, in the light of that Advent Day. Let one beam of that Advent glory penetrate the darkness now, and let us see ourselves just as we really are. Found in peace or found in dismay, which.shall.it be?. ..„_.„..

: 0 brothers iu the Lord, let us have done with sleepiness, with worldiness, With selfishness, and with heavy lethargy, and, rising to'the dignity of our new life, act up to the standard and level of our privileges ; let us give ourselves over as willing instruments into, the hand of. Him who can use us for His'own blessed purposes, so that when He does. appear we may be found of Him in peace without spot and blameless to the glory of His grace in us. God grant it for Christ's sake !:' - : : . ! WHAT:IS CHE-iSX, TOi US?.. ; -Be we walk- ui'-Hihi.' He "is our Truth ; we embrace Him. He is our Life ; we live in Him. He is our Lord ; we choose Him to. rule over us., He is, our Master j we serVe Him. "He is our Teacher-,-instructing us in the way of salvation. He is our Prophet ;• pointing Out the future. He is our Priest, having atoned for us. He is our Advocate, ever living to make intercession for us.. He. is our Saviour, saving to the uttermost.' He is our Root; we growfrom Him. He is our Bread ; we feed upon Him. He is pur fold ; we enter it by Him. He is our Shepherd, leading its into green pastures. He is our true Vine ;we abide in Him. Ho is the Water 6f life; we slake pur thirst from Him. He is the fairest among ten thousand ; we admire Him above Everything. He is the brightness of the Father's gloryy and .the express image of His person ; we strife .to reflect His likeness. -He is the Upholder of all things; we rest upon Him. He is our Wisdom; we are guided by Him. He is our Righteousness ; [we cast all our imperfections upon Him. He is oar SanctiQe'ation ; we draw all the 'sources of holy life from Him. He is our (Redemption, rodeemirig.us from all iniquity, jHe is our. Healer, healing all our diseases. jHe is our friend, relieving us.in all necesisitirs. He is our Brother, cheering us in jour difSeulties.'—N. Bishop. . ■ ■ ■ p j

NONE OF SELF, AND ALL OF T?HEE. ' Oh, the bitter shame and sorrow, That a time should ever be Wlien I let the Saviour's pity Plead in vain, and proudly answered— i " All of self, and none of Thee." Yet He found me, .1 beheld Him < Bleeding on the accursed tree, i Heard Him pray, "Forgive them. Father," . And my wistful hears said faintly— ••Some of self, and acme of Thee." - ... . Day by day His tender mercy, -■!-.- Uenlinz, helping, fall and free, Sweet and strong, and ah ! so patient, Brought mo -lower, while 1 whispered— " Lcsa of self, and more of Thee." Higher than the hishost heavens, Deeper than the deepest sea. Lord, 'fiiy love at last has concjucrcil, Grant me now niy spirit's longing, " Xont of self, and all oj Thee." . ; ' ;•'•■■ Theodore Mokod.