ing as a thief. But this only proves, all the more forcibly, that the proper hope of the church of God is something quite different. And then we are at a loss to understand the meaning of the last lines,

"And oh! who would not the traitor be,

To rise and let Him in ?"

48. "J. K.," Stratford, Essex. The word in 1 Corinthians xi. 2, should be rendered "traditions, or "directions." The apostle does not specify what they were; but thank God, we know that whatever ordinances, traditions, or directions are essential for the church, to the end of time, are clearly laid down in the scriptures of the New Testament. This is quite enough for us. Men have no authority whatever to set up rites and ceremonies in the church of God; their doing so can only be regarded, by every heart loyal to Christ, as a daring usurpation of His authority, which He will, most assuredly, judge ere long. We feel increasingly impressed, dear friend, with a sense of the urgent need of testing everything by the word of God, and of rejecting whatever cannot stand the test. It is not only deeply sorrowful, but most solemn, to mark the way in which the authority of Christ, as laid down in His precious word, is virtually set aside by those who profess to be His people and His servants. It never seems to occur to people that they are really responsible before God to judge, by the light of His word, the various things in which they are engaged. Hence it comes to pass that they go on, from week to week, and year to year, with a whole host of things having not a shadow of foundation in holy scripture. How perfectly appalling to think of the end of all this! We may rest assured it will not be with a scourge of small cords that all these things will be driven out of the temple. May God the Holy Ghost rouse, by His mighty ministry, the whole church to a more profound sense of the supreme authority, and all-sufficiency of the holy scriptures !

CONVERSION: WHAT IS IT?

PART VII.

WE are now called to consider a deeply practical point in our subject. It is contained in the clause, "To serve the living and true God." This is full of interest to every truly converted soul-every true Christian. We are called "to serve." Our whole life, from the moment of our conversion to the close of our earthly career, should be characterised by a spirit of true, earnest, intelligent service. This is our high privilege, not to say our hallowed duty. It matters not what our sphere of action may be, what our line of life, or what our calling; when we are converted, we have just got one thing to do, namely, to serve God. If there be anything in our calling which is contrary to the revealed will of God-contrary to the direct teaching of His word—then we must at once abandon it, cost what may. The very first step of an obedient servant is to step out of a false position.

it

Can

Suppose, for example, the proprietor of a publichouse is converted to God. What is he to do? he go on with such a business? Can he abide in such a calling with God? Can he continue in the sale of that which entails ruin, misery, degradation, death, and perdition on thousands and hundreds of thousands? Can he possibly serve the living and true God in the bar of a public-house?

We cannot believe it. We may be deemed harsh, severe, and narrow, in writing thus. We cannot help that. We must write what we believe to be the truth.

We are persuaded that the very first act of a converted public-house keeper should be to shut up his shop, and turn his back, with stern decision, on such a godless, horrible calling. To talk of serving God in such an occupation is, in our judgment, a miserable delusion.

No doubt, the same may be said of many other callings, and the reader may feel disposed to ask, “What is a Christian to do? How can he get on ?" Our answer is simply this: We are called to serve God, and everything must be tried by this standard. The Christian has to ask himself this one question-" Can I fulfil the duties of this situation to the glory of God?" If not, he must abandon it. If we cannot connect the Name of God with our calling in life, then, assuredly, if we want to walk with God, if we aim at serving Him, if it be our one desire to be found wellpleasing in His sight-then we must give up that calling, and look to Him to open some path for us in which we can walk to His praise.

This He will do, blessed be His Name. He never fails a trusting soul. All we have to do is to cleave to Him with purpose of heart, and He will make the way plain before us. It may seem difficult at first. The path may appear narrow, rough, lonely; but our simple business is to stand for God, and not to continue for one hour in connection with anything contrary to His revealed will. A tender conscience, a single eye, a devoted heart, will settle many a question, solve many a difficulty, remove many a barrier. Indeed the very instincts of the divine nature, if only they be allowed to act, will guide in many a perplexity. "The light of the body is the eye; therefore when thine eye is single,

thy whole body also is full of light." When the purpose of the heart is true to Christ-true to His name and cause-true to the service of God, the Holy Spirit opens up the precious treasures of divine revelation to the soul, and pours a flood of living light upon the understanding, so that we see the path of service as clear as a sunbeam before us, and we have only got to tread it with a firm step.

But we must never, for one moment, lose sight of the grand fact that we are converted to the service of God. The outcome of the life which we possess must ever take the form of service to the living and true God. In our unconverted days we worshipped idols, and served divers lusts and pleasures; now, on the contrary, we worship God in the Spirit, and we are called to serve Him with all our ransomed powers. We have turned to God, to find in Him our perfect rest and satisfaction. There is not a single thing in the entire range of a create's necessities, for time and eternity, that we cannot find in our own most gracious God and Father. He has treasured up in Christ, the Son of His love, all that can satisfy the desires of the new life in us. It is our privilege to have Christ dwelling in our hearts by faith, and to be so rooted and grounded in love, as to be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that we may be filled with all the fulness of God.

Thus filled, satisfied, and strengthened, we are called to dedicate ourselves, spirit, soul, and body, to the service of Christ; to be stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. We should have

nothing else to do in this world. Whatever cannot be done as service to Christ, ought not to be done at all. This simplifies the matter amazingly. It is our sweet privilege to do everything in the Name of the Lord Jesus, and to the glory of God. We sometimes hear people speak of "a secular calling," as contrasted with what is "sacred." We question the correctness of such a distinction. Paul made tents and planted churches, but in both he served the Lord Christ. All that a Christian does ought to be sacred, because it is done as service to God. If this were borne in mind, it would enable us to connect the very simplest duties of daily life with the Lord Himself, and to bring Him into them in such a way as to impart a holy dignity and interest to all that we have to do, from morning till night. In this way, instead of finding the duties of our calling a hindrance to our communion with God, we should actually make them an occasion of waiting on Him for wisdom and grace to discharge them aright, so that His holy Name might be glorified in the most minute details of practical life.

The fact is that the service of God is a much simpler matter than some of us imagine. It does not consist in doing some wonderful things beyond the bounds of our divinely appointed sphere of action. Take the case of a domestic servant. How can she serve the living and true God? She cannot go about visiting and talking. Her sphere of action lies in the shade and retirement of her master's house. Were she to run about from house to house, she would be actually neglecting her proper work, her divinely appointed business. Hearken to the following sound and wholesome words: