"That coarse conception of the Divine omnipotence which assumes that a Divine purpose is never obstructed or delayed, and that every Divine volition is immediately accomplished, receives no sanction either from the Jewish or the Christian Scriptures. It receives no sanction from those discoveries of God which are accessible through the physical universe and through the moral nature of man. It looks as though God did nothing at a single stroke, nothing by an immediate and irresistible exercise of mere force. It is His will that the summer should be beautiful with flowers, and that the autumn should bring the brown corn and the purple grapes; but flowers and grapes and corn are not commanded to appear suddenly, out of nothing; the Divine will accomplishes itself gradually and by processes extremely complex and subtle. The world itself came to be a fit home for our race as the result of a history extending over vast and awful tracts of time. God intended that it should become what it now is; but His intention was accomplished by the action, through age after age, of the immense forces which are under His control. 'Fire and hail, snow and vapour, and the stormy wind' have fulfilled His word. He gave a commission to millions upon millions of living creatures to build the limestone rocks. Through untold centuries vast forests grew and perished to form the coal measures. Volcanic eruptions, frost and heat, the slow movements of glaciers, the swift rush of rivers, have all had their work to do in bringing the earth, which is our home, into its present condition. This seems to be the Divine manner of working. The Divine purposes are not achieved suddenly. God 'fainteth not, neither is He weary.' Chaos, with all its confusions, is gradually being reduced to order; the great work is not completed yet; it will reach its term only when all things are finally summed up in Christ." T. B. K.

Breviaries.

The Great Invitation,

"COME UNTO ME ALL YE THAT LABOUR AND ARE HEAVY LADEN, AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST."-Matt, ii. 28.

PERSONS ADDRESSED.

THE Being who talks like this is either more or less than a man. I. THE "Ye that labour and are heavy laden." Many are the burdens that worry and oppress the human heart in this sinful world. (1) The burden of sin. (2) The burden of weakness and infirmity. (3) The burden of unsatisfied desire. (4) The burden of doubt and mystery: (a) From the Bible. (b) Providence. (c) Consciousness. (5) The burden of worldly disappointment and sorrow. The poetry of life turns to prose, this is sure to be felt as a heavy burden. II.-THE INVITATION GIVEN. "Come unto Me." (1) He has perfect knowledge of every case. (2) He is able. Though the invitation is limitless, He can meet the highest expectations of each. (3) He is ready. "Come." The world is challenged to accept a present blessing in III.-THE BLESSED PROMISE. "I will give you rest." Mark the words. He does not say "I will" lend, or sell, or hire, but "I will give you rest." God's favour comes neither by works nor merit. It is a gift, sovereign and free. God intends His gift of rest and peace to abide with His people. Jesus said, "My peace I leave with you." "There remaineth, therefore, a rest to the people of God." PHILADELPHIA.

THOMAS KELLY.

The Highest Commerce.

"BUY THE TRUTH, AND SELL IT NOT."-Proverbs xxiii. 23.

By the word "truth" in this passage we are to understand that moral good which is the essence of religion, and which is so often recommended in Scripture as man's greatest gain. I. THE IMPORTANCE OF ACQUIRING THE TRUTH. (1) We should make diligent search for it. (2) We should be willing to sacrifice and surrender all for it. (3) Again, truth must be

obeyed in order to be made our own. It is not when the truth is coldly discussed or talked about that it does good to a man, but when it is welcomed to the soul's intimacy and familiar trust. The key to the Temple of Truth is obedience, "If any man will do His will he shall know of the doctrine." II. THE IMPORTANCE OF RETAINING THE TRUTH. "Sell it not." We should not part with it (1) Because of its intrinsic value. (2) Because it does not rise and fall in value like other things. The markets of this world are for ever fluctuating, &c. Truth is ever the same. It derives not its value from any mortal pedigree, but carries its own stamp of dignity through all the changes and vicissitudes of time. (3) Because it can be appropriated or made our own as nothing else can. "A man's life (well-being) consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth." Worldly goods are of no value to a man when the last hour comes. But true religion will go with him into adversity, into affliction, and will comfort him even in death. Therefore acquire it, and do not part with it for any price, or on any consideration.

WOOTTON BASSETT.

D. MORGAN.

A Startling Contrast.

"YE ARE LIKE UNTO WHITED SEPULCHRES."-Matt. xxiii. 27. "YE ARE THE TEMPLE OF THE Living God."-2 Corinthians vi. 16.

THESE are descriptions of humanity in different moral conditions; the highest and the lowest. Wider extremes of figure are scarcely possible. Yet they accurately picture bad and good men. There is in the conception-I.-DARKNESS IN CONTRAST WITH LIGHT. The tomb is dark, a

land of darkness as of darkuess itself; the temple is light, for there the Shekinah glows. Like the sepulchre, the sinful soul is dark in (1) ignorance, (2) woe. Like the temple, the Christly soul is light in (1) intelligence, (2) blessedness. There is in the conception-II.-CORRUPTION IN CONTRAST WITH PURITY. All description of the grave, full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness, fails to indicate the foulness of a sinful human heart; similarly, all descriptions of the lustre that filled the Holy of Holies fails to indicate the brightness of the souls who "walk in light,”

who are "lights of the world." There is in the conception-III.-THE TOKENS OF THE TRIUMPH OF EVIL IN CONTRAST WITH THE TROPHIES OF THE VICTORY OF GOOD. Sin brought death into our world. The sepulchre is sin's monument. The temple is the meeting-place between God and man, the scene of God's special manifestation, as well as God's special regard. Thus sharp and wide is the contrast between the sinful soul over which evil reigns, and the holy life in which God dwells.

EDITOR.

The Supreme Advantages of Christian Progress.

"WHEREFORE THE RATHER, BRETHREN, GIVE DILIGENCE TO MAKE YOUR CALLING AND ELECTION SURE," &c.—2 Peter i. 10, 11.

THE apostle had the most vivid realisation of spiritual and eternal realities. The facts which we shall all know when we wake up in eternity, were to him palpable and tangible. He saw clearly the supreme importance of religion, and exhorted the Members of the Church to concentrate all their energies on the great task of serving God and making their salvation sure. They must attend to the exhortation given in the preceding verses, and add grace to grace. Two facts are placed before them. I.-PROGRESS ENSURES SAFETY. "Make your calling and election sure." "Ye shall never fall." Compare this verse with a passage in the first epistle, chap. ii. verses 9, 10. The words, "calling" and "election,” are nearly synonymous. II. PROGRESS ENSURES AN ABUNDANT ENTRANCE INTO THE EVERLASTING KINGDOM OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. Refer to the ancient games. The course, the regulations, the goal, the prize. The one who carefully observed the regulations and distanced all his competitors, was crowned amid shouts of rejoicing from the crowd of spectators. Refer to the triumph of a Roman general who had returned victorious from the Refer to the striking description in the Pilgrim's Progress of the welcome to the heavenly city given to Christian and his companion. Are we working earnestly for God?

wars.

WILLENHALL.

JOSEPH SHENTON.

Christ Unable to be Hid.

"HE COULD NOT BE HID."-Mark vii. 24.

OUR Lord was apparently seeking a season of retirement. (1) For His own sake. Weary; exhausted; virtue gone out of Him, &c. Christ, with heated brow, Christ, with spent nerve, ached for privacy and rest. (2) To prevent the undue excitement of the people. He would deepen their thought, and lead on to their calmer enquiry and meditation, &c. But He could not be hid. We ask-I.- Why could not Jesus be hid? (1) Because of the influence of His own character. He was magnet, fragrance, light, &c. (2) Because of the intensity of the needs of those who were around Him. Take one example; the woman who came, appealed, argued, trusted. Who could be hid from a nature like hers? Let us learn lessons; First: Be like Jesus here. Seek necessary retirement; yet unselfishly give it up again. Second: Be like those from whom Jesus could not be hid. Earnest, eager, pertinacious. EDITOR.

Sin's Progress.

"WHEN I SAW AMONG THE SPOILS A GOODLY BABYLONISH GARMENT," &c. -Joshua vii. 21.

"I

In this verse we see the origin and growth of sin. I.-THE GLANCE, saw. II. THE GREED. "I coveted." III.-THE GUILT. "I took." Another Outline I. THE EYE. "I saw." II. THE EMOTION. coveted." III. THE ERROR. "I took."

"I

PHILADELPHIA.

THOMAS KELLY.

Sin's Progress and End.

"WHEN I SAW AMONG THE SPOILS," &c.-Joshua vii. 21.

I. THE HEAD.

"I saw." II.-THE HEART. "I coveted." III.-TAE HAND. "I took." IV. —THE HURRY. “I hid them." V.-THE HORROR "Israel stoned him." Another outline. I.-THE FASCINATION. "A... Babylonish garment," &c. II.--THE FEELING. "I coveted." III-THE FELONY. "I took." IV.-THE FEAR. "I hid them." V.-THE FATE "Israel stoned him."

PHILADELPHIA.

THOMAS KELLY,