its difficulties, and when he calls they are willing. Thus, does the Captain of salvation say to any one of them, in providence, Occupy this watch-tower under the very eye of the enemy, and look for little aid from thy companions in this warfare? The willing follower takes his place accordingly, and is satisfied to know that amid all his dangers the eye of his great Leader is upon him. Does he say to another, Go forth and contend with these enemies; they will be violent in their opposition; thou wilt have restless days and sleepless nights; nevertheless, resist them? The willing follower goes forth, and, trusting to the assistance of his Leader, does his best in the conflict. Does he say to another, Go as ambassador from me to such a place, and tell the people there what terms I offer them: the majority will despise thee, and treat thy message with scorn; yet go and proclaim it, some will listen? The willing follower at once goes forth and speaks accordingly, leaving to his Master the issue of the embassy. Does he say to another, It is for the interest of my service that thou shouldst be for some time poorly fed and meanly clothed, that thou shouldst suffer many troubles in the body, because I have certain purposes to answer by thy unselfish devotedness? The willing follower is content to submit to his Leader's word; and bread and water in Christ's service are better than all worldly comforts out of it. And once more, does he say to any one, Thy time of active service is not now; thou must remain for a little on the sick-bed, and be satisfied with what comforts are sent unto thee there; such is my will, inquire no further? The ready follower is contented with his Master's order, and is willing to suffer as well as to act when Christ so pleases. So wide, then, brethren, is the interpretation we put upon the words, “a willing people." They designate a people willing for whatever is Christ's will, because they love him and trust him. And do not suppose that we have drawn a fancy sketch in thus describing them. If that willingness of which we have been speaking is something beyond your experience, cast not away the description of it as untrue; but ask yourselves whether this may not rather be the truth, that ye are not Christ's, and therefore know not what a willing service means.

II. In the second place, let me advert to the decorations of Christ's people. They appear "in the beauties of holiness."

If we have found, in the matter of willingness, a mark by which the true follower of Christ may be distinguished from the pretended follower, this additional matter which we have now to investigate makes the test yet more plain. The vision which the psalmist had of the Messiah, and which he seems to have kept before him while he wrote this psalm, was that of a leader marshalling his forces for a great enterprise, and assigning to each the place which he was to occupy. The following out of this figure will illustrate the topic at present before us. Let us imagine to ourselves a

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great army under the conduct of a commander of tried experience, encamped within sight of the enemy with whom they have to contend. Suppose the general order issued, that whenever a certain signal is given, all shall be ready to take the post marked out for them, with certain accoutrements, and in a special dress: with this plain intimation too, that these furnishings are indispensable toward the success of the expedition. Then, if when the trumpet sounds an alarm, and each man seems to hasten to his place, it should be found that this and that one had forgot or despised the order with respect to his equipment, would these who are convicted of such neglect be accounted good and faithful soldiers? Certainly not. They would, with all their apparent readiness, mar the very purpose of the enterprise. The application of these remarks to the subject before us is very obvious. It is not enough, you will perceive, that Christ's followers profess to be ready for their work; they must have the equipment which he requires, and that is holiness, else they are unfit for their place. But you may say, Can any one be willing to follow Christ, and yet be destitute of this great qualification by which his followers are distinguished? We answer, that where there is true willingness, there is everything else; but a man may appear to be willing to do many things for Christ, and yet may want the qualification by which the genuineness of his professions is to be tested. It is possible to contend for the truth, yea, to suffer for the truth, without crucifying the old man with his lusts, and putting on the new man. It is possible to act the part of an ambassador for Christ, yea, and to do it faithfully and respectably, so far as the announcing of the terms of the embassage are concerned, while at the same time personal holiness is overlooked. And there may be much appearance of contentment and resignation under poverty and on the sick-bed, and much profession of acquiescence in the will of God, without the slightest symptom of spirituality of mind beyond what these appearances indicate. And thus you will perceive that in all these cases we have the soldier, as it were, at his post, but without the great and essential equipment. It is indeed most humbling, brethren, to reflect that men may speak for Christ, and act for him, and display much zeal and devotedness in his cause, while yet they want the one thing that he especially requires, namely, holiness.

This is the peculiar and indispensable mark of his people, and that which distinguishes them as his. But how shall we describe it? What is holiness? Let us try to ascertain this. And for this purpose let us take the terms, a virtuous or good man, and a holy man, and endeavour to find out what is the difference between them. It will at once occur to you that there is a difference wherein does it consist? A good or virtuous man is one who discharges with fidelity all the duties of that station in which he is placed, who cannot be found fault with either in his conduct toward his family or in his intercourse with the world at large,

a man who may be pointed to as a pattern of excellence in all the relations which he occupies. But this is not altogether a holy man. We must feel from the very description, and from the ideas which it suggests, that there is something wanting here to constitute holiness. And what is it? I would say, in a word, that the holy man, besides having all the distinguishing qualities of the good man, is one who loathes all impurity in thought, or speech, or conduct. There is a sensitiveness about the holy man that makes him turn away from everything that can pollute, in the heart as well as in the life. To illustrate take the person of very delicate taste, as distinguished from the person of good taste. The latter will see the excellences of any work of art, and duly appreciate them; but the former, along with this, will detect a very slight error, and feel as if it marred the whole. In other words, the holy man is one who shrinks from sin as well as delights in virtue; and holiness is the shrinking from what is sinful, as well as the practice of what is good and praiseworthy. It forms, as the text tells us, the decoration of Christ's people; it constitutes their very beauty; it marks them out as his. When they are said to be clothed with the beauties of holiness, this implies that they are not only characterized by their outward conformity to the law of God, but that they seek to have the whole frame of the heart -every thought, every feeling, every breathing of the soul-regulated by God's holy will. And oh, what struggles they have with heart-corruption; what mournings for secret sin; what prayers for deliverance from its power; what self-condemnation, when to the eye of their fellow-mortals they seem almost to be perfect! Yet they do advance. Their hatred and loathing of sin become more and more intense, their resistance to it more and more steady, their triumph over it more and more complete; until at length in spirit, in affection, and in desire, they are made meet for that place into which nothing that defileth can enter. These, then, are the people of Christ. And, brethren, if we saw things in their proper light, if we could judge of the beautiful as those glorious spirits do that have never sinned, we would feel that holiness alone is real and proper beauty. It forms the glory of God's own characterthe excellence, if we may so speak, of Jehovah himself; and is not the creature made glorious indeed, when, by the grace of the Eternal Spirit, he is invested with Heaven's own beauty, and transformed into the image of his Maker? What miserable phantoms do men pursue on earth, what trifles do they toil and fight for, as contrasted with this heavenly excellence which adorns and dignifies the followers of the Lamb! Let it be ours, brethren, to pant more ardently after this highest of attainments, that we may be holy as Christ is holy, and perfect as he is perfect.

IIL But now, in the third place, I would advert to what is here said respecting the number of Christ's followers. They are "as the dew-drops from the womb

of the morning." It is well, brethren, that this psalm is prophetical, else we should not know how to interpret this part of it. We glance at the history of the Church from the time of Christ downward; and alas! while we see nation after nation outwardly submitting to the gospel, and receiving the name of Christian, we are compelled to feel that the true Church in every age has been a little flock, as Christ designated the faithful few that were around him-a little flock, and a troubled flock. The small boat with the twelve, tossed at midnight upon the waves of the Sea of Galilee, is the fittest emblem of the Church of Christ throughout the whole of her eventful history. A few witnesses for the truth with devoted hearts and willing minds, in the midst of a host of cold formalists and of deadly adversaries,what a mournful picture, and how unlike that which the psalmist beheld in vision! But it will not be always so. Heaven and earth may pass away, but God's word will not. Go forth on a morning in spring, when the first sunbeams are rolling away the morning clouds, -see how the light sparkles in the little drop which hangs upon the point of every blade. Count, if you can, those tiny mirrors which reflect in varied colours the cheering ray, and make the green earth for a moment one vast sea of light! While you are lost in wonder at this display of nature's loveliness; while you are admiring the freshness of the scene, and are drinking in health and pure enjoyment from it, the psalmist takes you by the hand, as it were, and pointing to these shining dewdrops, beautiful and countless, says, Such for number, and for fairness, will Christ's people be, when the day of his power cometh. At present you see but as through a glass, darkly. Oh, brethren, that will be a glorious time for the Church, when the prediction is fulfilledwhen she embraces the whole earth within her bosom, and when for one willing and holy servant Christ shall have thousands! When the Lord gives the word, and great is the company of them that publish it; and when the Spirit gives to that word, as he did on the day of Pentecost, power to wound, and yet to heal-to kill, and yet to make alive; that will be the e when the faithful may hold up their heads, for there shall be nothing to hurt or to destroy in all God's holy mountain. Surely this is a time worth waiting for-worth praying for! But the language of the text is applicable to an- . other time yet more eventful, and for the people of Christ more glorious. This psalm describes Messiah's triumphs over all his enemies. These shall not be completed until the morning of the resurrection. He must reign until he hath put all enemies under his feet; and the last enemy that shall be subdued is death. Then it will be that this beautiful prophecy shall have its full accomplishment. The barriers of the tomb will then be burst; the tenants of the dark sepulchre will come forth; the corrupt shall put on incorruption. John saw the bright assemblage more clearly than the psalmist, and he thus describes it: "I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all

na tions, and kindreds, and people, and tongues stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands." This is the realization of the psalmist's vision; these are the willing people in the beauties of holiness, numerous as the dew-drops from the womb of the morning. They were a few, and often a persecuted few, on earth; but now, when gathered together, who can number them? These are the trophies of Messiah's power; these the purchase of his blood. My brethren, would ye have your place among them? Then you must take it now. They came out of great tribulation; they washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Ye must wash too in that fountain; and, like them, ye must follow Christ, and wear his livery, which is holiness, if ye would be partakers of their blessedness. There is another assemblage, let me beseech you to remember, that will be gathered before Messiah on the morning of the resurrection, the transgressors of the law of nature, --the tramplers on his precious blood,-the despisers of the Spirit, the men that said, "We will not have this man to reign over us." These will be dragged out of the dark grave, and brought, all unsightly as they are, into the light of judgment. Would you be partners with them in their lot? If not, then now come forth from them, and be separate; take Christ as your leader; go after him bearing the cross, crucified to the world, and having the world crucified to you. That is the path which leads to glory, honour, and immortality.

IV. But, in the fourth place, we must consider for a moment what is here said of the way and time in which sinners are made Christ's willing followers. It is "in the day of his power."

1. As to the way of it;-not by the power or eloquence of man, but by the Spirit of the Lord, are the rebels subdued, and the unholy sanctified. The grace of the Spirit is called the rod of Christ's power, because Christ sends the Spirit; and thus, wherever the Spirit works, Christ may be said to work, or his power to be exerted. Now how does he put forth his power? What method does he employ to make his people willing? We would say, in answer to this question, He administers his government not so much by terror as by love. There are, indeed, terrible things written in the Book of God against the workers of iniquity; things so terrible, that when they are brought home to the conscience by the Spirit, they make the stoutesthearted man to tremble. Yet, brethren, we do not regard this as what may be called the peculiar display of Christ's power, because it does not of itself subdue the sinner to his authority. The man trembling under the lash of conscience, yea, driven almost to despair, is still as far from being Christ's willing follower as he ever was. It is in the infinitude of his love that Christ's power lies to draw sinners from Satan's kingdom into his own. The Spirit displays to the self-condemned soul the riches of the Saviour's grace; convinces it thus

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that God in Christ is a Being full of tenderness toward his creatures, not willing that any should perish, but that all should turn to him and live. And when the soul feels all this, the work of subjugation is completed, the rebel is changed into a child. Therefore it is, brethren, that we delight rather to speak of the love of Christ than to urge the terrors of the law. And at this time, in his name, and by his authority, we come to you, asking if ye will have salvation. Look to him by whom it is dispensed. He wears your nature; he assumed it that he might be qualified to save the lost. His body has evidently been tortured by hostile hands, for it bears the marks of torture. These wounds were endured for sinners. He now reigns, but it is that he may gather together into one, protect and raise to glory, the people given to him by the Father. Can ye reject this precious Christ? Can ye despise this wondrous love? Nay, brethren, come and let us together hail Jesus as our King and Leader, and offer him this day the homage of willing hearts; let us join in the adoration of the once faithless but then believing disciple who exclaimed, looking to the Saviour's wounds, "My Lord, and my God."

2. But again, as to the time at which Christ makes his people willing;-it is "the day of his power." People are sometimes found to speculate thus when the gospel is faithfully and forcibly preached: "Who can withstand these arguments and these appeals? Surely, if sinners are ever to be moved, these truths will move them." And yet often does it happen that the most powerful arguments and the most urgent appeals fall pointless upon the hearers, just because it is not the day of Christ's power. The sovereignty of the Lord Jesus, indeed, is peculiarly discernible in the whole process of turning sinners to himself, and in all the circumstances therewith connected. When Peter preached after the effusion of the Spirit, that was a day of power; three thousand were converted. Paul preached at Athens, more eloquently, a critic would say, and yet very few were savingly affected by his preaching; that was not a day of power. And when we look at the progress of the truth at the present time, we find no little difficulty in accounting for the effects which are produced in one case, and not in another. Christ, indeed, has always the same power; but there are special seasons for the special exercise of it. I cannot, however,. in the meantime enter upon the consideration of this subject, although it might be interesting to trace the connection between the faithful prayers and watchings. of his people on the one hand, and the exhibition of his power to save upon the other. All that we know with certainty is, that when the day of his power comes, the mountains of difficulty melt like wax at the presence of the Lord. In the case of individuals, the day of power comes under every possible diversity of circum-stances. Sometimes it comes to those who are just entering upon busy life; and then a man will perhaps be drawn from the course of pursuit which his friends

have marked out for him, and will devote himself to the preaching of the gospel, instead of taking the way to wealth and to eminence. The day of power sometimes overtakes those who have been trained to act a part in the busy haunts of pleasure and of vanity, and then farewell to all the fond anticipations of worldly friends the soul they would have imprisoned, finds its liberty and its enjoyment in Christ. The day of power is sometimes at the close of life, when a thousand prayers, that formerly seemed lost, find their answer as it were in a moment, and the sinner at the eleventh hour is plucked as a brand from the burning. The day of power is sometimes, as it is called in the Scripture, the dark and cloudy day, when Christ makes his grace known and proved in the midst of much tribulation and distress, and is embraced as a covert from the storm and a hiding-place from the tempest. But I would say here, that Christ's day of power is not yet come in the sense in which the psalmist speaks of it. There was something like it on the day of Pentecost, and something like it at the era of the Reformation, when converts might be numbered by thousands. There have been here and there throughout the world, even in our own times, some faint glimmerings of light, as if the morning of that day were to dawn. But it has not come yet; and it will not fully come, except in connection with the gathering in and the restoring of Israel. Christ has shown us what he can do by the most unlikely means, in the Pentecostal work, and at the Reformation also. He revives his people's hearts

by the evidences of his converting power from time to time in the case of individuals. But all these things are as the few ripe ears of corn where all else is green, compared with the work which shall be wrought hereafter, when nations shall be born in a day, and all shall be blessed in Christ, and shall call him blessed.

V. In conclusion, I would request you to observe how all these things redound to the glory of Christ. I can only advert in one or two sentences to this topic. Is it the glory of a monarch to reign over subjects that delight in his authority, and will do anything to please him? Christ has that glory. His people are willing. Is it the glory of a monarch to behold his subjects made happy by him? Christ has that glory. Is it the glory of a monarch to have his name in the mouths and in the hearts of his subjects? That glory is Christ's also. The willing people, the people in the beauties of holiness, the people numerous as the dew-drops, are of Christ's own making. He has all the glory of them. Let us, brethren, give him the glory. "Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever." Can you say Amen to that? Ah, brethren, if we are not willing to glorify Christ now, where is our hope for eternity? The members of the Church above all glorify him this day will ye join with them? We must stir ourselves up to higher efforts in Christ's service. Amen.

HAT minister made a mistake who commented on the words of Christ, "Be ye wise as serpents and harmless as doves." "Brethren," said he, "obey this injunction; only mingle the ingredients in the right proportion -an ounce of serpent and a pound of dove." We need a hundred pounds of each ;-the dove, to serve Christ lovingly; the serpent, to serve Christ wisely.

"Evil is wrought by want of thought

As well as want of heart."

It is not always wise to talk with all we meet on the subject of religion-sometimes it is an impertinence.

The worst bore I ever knew was one of the best Christians. He was in dead earnest. The only trouble was, he had not learned Bible tactics. He would buttonhole you right in the middle of Chestnut Street in Philadelphia, the crowd tumbling against you, and would put you through" for half an hour. How much time I have wasted dodging round the corners lest he should collar me! We both loved the glorious theme; but if a man is on his way to the dentist's, with his tooth jumping as if for a prize, he does not want to stop, even to talk about Heaven. This blessed brother had any amount of dove, but he lacked serpent.

One young man entered a stage in New York. He was burning up with zeal for his Master. An old gentleman sat in the corner reading a Bible. "There," thought young Timothy, "is a chance to scatter seed." The old gentleman alighted-he likewise. The old gentleman walked down Broadway-he likewise. Soon he came up with the old gentleman, and with dignified solicitude exclaimed, like Philip to the eunuch, "Understandest thou what thou readest?" But, unlike the eunuch, the old gentleman understood it all; and looking down upon his questioner with a fatherly smile he answered, as he patted him upon the shoulder, "Young man, I have been preaching this gospel for over thirty years; but you meant well, my young friend, you meant well." One minute from that time

"The boy, ah, where was he?"

Certainly not anywhere in the vicinity of the old gentleman. Christ always remembered the adage of the wise Solomon, "There is a time for every purpose." For thirty years he lived in the sequestered little village of Nazareth, waiting for the fit season to arrive. When that season came, he performed his work boldly and well; but not till then. Earnestness is a wild horse unless

Wisdom holds the check-rein, and Christian earnestness by itself is the worst of all.

Let a man go to work conscientiously to smash a church, and he will do it. The story of many a divided interest would be, if it were written, that one man was

determined the church should do what he conscientiously knew was right, and the other two hundred and ninetynine were so mulisbly obstinate as not to agree with him. Fervour with wisdom is zeal; without it, fanaticism; cultivate the dove, but don't forget the serpent.

Rev. GEORGE THOMAS DOWLING, Providence, R. I.

I. THE HIDDEN WISDOM OF GOD.

E

HE mind of a pious workman named Thierny was much occupied with the ways of God, which appeared to him full of inscrutable mysteries. The two questions, "How ?" and “Why?” were constantly in his thoughts,—whether he considered his own life, or the dispensations of Providence in the government of the world.

One day, in visiting a ribbon manufactory, his attention was attracted by an extraordinary piece of machinery. Countless wheels and thousands of threads were twirling in all directions: he could understand nothing of its movements.

He was informed, however, that all this motion was connected with the centre, where there was a chest which was kept shut. Anxious to understand the principle of the machine, he asked permission to see the interior.

"The master has the key," was the reply. The words were like a flash of light. Here was the answer to all his perplexing thoughts. Yes; the Master has the key. He governs and directs all. It is enough. What need I know more? "He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass" (Ps. cxlviii. 6).

II. THE TWO CROWNS.

A FRENCH officer, a Romanist, was for some months a prisoner in England. During this time he was led to

III. GOD SAW THAT IT WAS GOOD.

SOME time ago, an examination was held in a school for the deaf and dumb.

One of the poor children was asked in writing, "Who made the world?"

He took the pencil and wrote this reply :

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth."

Then he was asked, "Why did Jesus Christ come into the world?"

A smile of gratitude lighted up his face as he wrote: "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners."

At last the examiner put to him this question :-"Why were you born deaf and dumb, while I can hear and speak?"

He took up the pencil again, and, with a beautiful expression of resignation and peace, wrote these words: "Even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight."