THE NEW SONG.

267 to die to redeem it! We could never have known how much Christ pitied us,-to be willing to hang in the agonies of the cross to redeem us! We could never have known how much the Spirit of God loves us, to intercede for us, to come and plead with us, to make us like Christ in holiness for ever! We should never have known what that word mercy means. We should never have known that the holy angels loved us so that they would be willing to be ministering spirits to men, and even carry the soul of a poor beggar to heaven. We should never have known that there could be a Gospel so precious to the lost sinner, nor what the tears of the contrite sinner meant.

But now we sing the height and the depth, the length and the breadth, of the love of God in Christ Jesus! Now a multitude which no man can number will reach heaven. They will all have on white robes. They will all have a crown of life on the head. They will each have a golden harp. They will sing a new song,-one never heard in heaven before, the song of Moses and of the Lamb. God is seen by the redeemed to be such a Father as no other world has known. Christ can take the very heathen, and make them his reward, his jewels, and his glory. And he can take the very babe, and out of its lips perfect the praises of God. Death and the grave are the eater, but out of them shall come forth what is more precious than gold, and what is brighter than diamonds. Sin is the strong one, but even out of that shall come forth what is sweeter than honey,-the souls of the redeemed.

XII THE GREAT CHANGE.

"We shall all be changed."-1 Cor. xv. 51.

The love of change-Everything changes around us-The seed-The bird's egg-The caterpillar-Changes in the household-Death of EmmaThe blessed change-Christ's body laid in the tomb-Stephen-John the Baptist-The silk-worm-The rag-picker-We must all be changed.

WAS there ever a little boy who did not in the warm, beautiful summer, wish that the autumn would come, when the fruits would all be ripe ? When the autumn has come, does not this same boy wish for the winter, when the smooth ice will allow him to skate, and when the cold winds will freshen up his cheeks, and make him feel strong, and make him shout with the shouters? And when the winter is come, how he longs for the spring, when the grass will grow green, and the flowers burst their buds and bloom out,-when the birds will return, and the trees will rustle with new leaves, and the whole world seem to rejoice! So the boy loves change.

Was there ever a little girl who did not long to exchange her old doll for a new one; to take the promised new dress in her hand; to pay a visit to that distant place, where she is to ride, and to see new things, and to get hold of the new book which she has heard so much about? So the little girl loves change.

And so do all men. The farmer hastens from one crop to another, and, as soon as he has done sowing,

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begins to look forward to his harvest. The sailor on the ocean longs to see the land and enter the harbour; and when he has been on shore a few days, he longs to set out on a new voyage. The boy wants to be a youth, and the youth wants to be a man. God has so planned things, that we must have changes all the way through life. We are born, and our parents rejoice over us. We have sicknesses, and we have health. We change our homes, live in different houses, form friendships, have our friends die and leave us. At death, there will come a great change. We shall change worlds, and go from this to another. We shall change society, leaving those whom we know here, for new companions in eternity. We shall not walk, or talk, or hear, or see, or feel, just as we now do, for we shall go to the world of spirits. We shall become spirits.

What a multitude of changes do we see going on around us! Very great changes they are, too! The old man now bending on his staff, and shuffling in his walk as if his feet could not be lifted from the ground, was once a fresh, bright-eyed boy, who could shout and run. But he went to school, and grew up and became a man. Then he had a young and beautiful wife; then a family of children; but he has lived 'to see his children die, and he has buried his wife, and sold his home, and his friends and acquaintances are almost all dead, and he feels alone. The thin hair on his head is white, and his eyes are dim, and his ears are dull, and he has seen many, many changes.

Does it seem to you, little boys and girls, so bright and so fair, that you will never pass through changes, so many and so great? Oh! yes, you

will! The little child who has sickened and died has met with changes greater than any which the oldest man meets with in this life. And there is not a child who will not pass through such changes. Does it seem as if the little seed which you hold in your hand could be changed into a tree? Would you think that the little spotted bird's egg could be changed and become a thing that can fly and sing? Would you think that the poor caterpillar could ever be changed into a beautiful butterfly?

If a man leaves his house to go where he never was before, and if he knows not when he shall return, there are two occasions of great interest to him. The first is, when he leaves his home; and the second, when he returns to it. When he leaves, how much the family talk about it! He tells them what to do, and how to do it. When it comes to the very morning on which he is to leave, the

family all gather round the table, but they cannot eat. They try to talk cheerfully, but they are sad. How the man looks upon the face of his wife, and each of the children! How he walks through his house, wondering in his heart if he shall ever see these things again! When he goes out to begin his journey, what thoughts are stirred within him as he turns and looks back on his home! Will he ever see it again? And how the family feel lonely and desolate after he has gone! When will they see him again?

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The other great event is when the man returns. The family learn the name of the ship in which he is to come. They count the days she will be likely to be in coming across the ocean. They watch the winds and the storms. They prepare the house, and get everything ready to give him a warm welcome. They hear that the ship has put into the harbour; and now they watch the moment when the train or the carriage will come, bringing back the wanderer. And when he reaches home, how the children run out, and shout to meet their father! They want to take his hand, to touch his coat, to hang upon his neck! His return to his home is a great event!

Now, my dear children, there are two great changes through which every one of you must pass:-I mean when you die, and leave that body in which you live, and when you return to it at the resurrection-day. Dying is like leaving your home to go on a long journey.

Since I began to write this Lecture, and before I could finish it, a little lamb has been gathered into the fold of the Great Shepherd. She was thirteen years an inhabitant of this world. Some months ago, the Spirit of God touched her heart, and taught her that she was a lost sinner. She came to talk with me alone about the salvation of the soul. It was a time when none of my dear flock seemed to want to be led to the C herd, and I was surprised to see he minutes convinced me, as I talked wi she had been taught by the Holy S