He said to her, "Go, call thy husband, and come hither." Now He had revealed Himself to her, and she was converted. She was lifted right out of her circumstances. She forgot her circumstances,-left her watering-pot, forgot who she was, and, now consecrated to His service, ran into the city, crying Come, see a man which told me all things that ever I did is not this the Christ?"

66

And I say to you, my reader, “Come, see a man that told me all things that ever I did;" that revealed myself to me, that showed me my sins in their true light; but more than that, who told me that on the cross He died to put those very sins away, that there He suffered, the just One in the place of the unjust, to bring us to God.

"And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did." The very fact that He had revealed all the secrets of her life to her convicted them, and they believed before they came out even.

And when they came to Him then many more believed because of His own words, "And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world." The Lord's own ministry, His speaking Himself to the heart, is sweeter far than anything any one can minister about Him even.

And now, my reader, may you know what it is to be captivated by His grace, your heart won-con

victed by His truth; your conscience reached-converted by the revelation of Himself to you; lifted above your circumstances, and made a worshipper, may you be consecrated entirely to Him and His service, your testimony to who He is, and what He can do, winning others to Him!

W. T. P. W.

HEARTS REVEALED.

N the early spring of last year we met with a very striking exemplification of the truth of Simeon's words, that by the introduction of Christ "the thoughts of many hearts should be revealed."

We

were on our way in the train to lecture at the suburban town of E. Scarcely had we taken our seat when a lady offered us a leaflet, as also to the five or six others who were in the same compartment. The leaflet was very simple, containing the very words of Scripture, such as "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John iii. 16). While we were reading it, a gentleman, in the corner by the door, turning to the lady who had given it, said,

"I hate such bigotry!" and, in language which it would not be for the profit of our readers to reproduce, commenced to denounce the giver of the leaflet. Seeing that it was now a question of Christ and His truth, and remembering His words, "He that is not with me is against me," we interposed and said,

"It is not bigotry to distribute the word of God."

This remark called forth a torrent of abuse, revealing only too plainly, by the language employed, that the speaker was an avowed atheist. Seeing that it was useless to argue with one in such a state of mind, we contented ourselves with warning him of his danger, and of the awful position he was taking in refusing the word of God; adding, "When God speaks, it is for man to hear.”

Thereupon the train drew up at our first stopping place, and the atheist leaped out of the carriage. As soon as he was gone, another gentleman spoke, and said,

I am glad you defended the Bible; I have no sympathy with such remarks as were made. Still," he added, "I have my difficulties."

"Indeed; and what are they?"

"Well, I cannot understand the justice of dooming any to everlasting destruction."

Who has done this?"

Why," he said, "it says somewhere that God has chosen some to salvation and doomed others to destruction."

"Where have you read this?" "Somewhere in the Romans."

"No," we replied, "you have not read it there, nor indeed anywhere in the Scriptures; and this is only a sample of the way in which the Bible is often treated."

We then pointed out what was exactly said, and explained, that while the salvation of any was of pure and sovereign grace, God had in His mercy offered grace to all; and that the last message to sinners in the word of God was, "Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely " (Rev. xxii. 17). All therefore would be without excuse, for the precious blood of Christ would avail for every one that believed in Him. And together with this, we pressed upon him a present and eternal salvation through faith in Christ.

Almost before we had ended, a third gentleman, a young man, spoke, and said,

"I am a Christian, but I cannot go with all you have said."

"To what do you object?"

'Well," he replied, "I believe in Christ; but I think it is presumption to say that you know that you are saved. I hope I shall be saved, but I cannot know this now."

"But," we answered, "is not the word of God the ground of our faith and the warranty of our assurance? Now this is what we read, 'These things that ye may know

have I written unto you

that ye have eternal life' (1 John v. 13). It is

plain, therefore, that God desires us to know that we are saved, and it cannot be presumption to rest with implicit confidence in His own word."

We then proceeded, once again, to point out the value of the precious blood of Christ in cleansing us from all sin (1 John i. 7), and in cleansing us for

ever.

As soon as these words had escaped our lips, the lady who had given us the leaflets interposed, and said, to our great surprise,

"I cannot agree with you in that; I feel that I need the cleansing of the blood every day of my life."

In answer to this, we expounded the truth of Heb. x., where we have a threefold testimony to the everlasting putting away of the sins of believers by the sacrifice of Christ. "By one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." We also explained the gracious provision that God has made, through the washing of water by the word---in connection with the advocacy of Christ-for the sins of believers (1 John ii. 1); showing, at the same time, that when the Lord Jesus died upon the cross He bore all our sins,-past, present, and future, -and that therefore all His people could rejoice in the knowledge that they were gone for ever; and that the proof of this, was found in the place which the Lord Jesus now occupied at the right hand of God. For if He had our sins upon Him on the cross, it is clear that they must be for ever gone if He is now in the glory of God.