spoke the truth, I should say, HEARTLESSNESS AS TOUCHING CHRIST. Is it nothing to you, beloved reader, that Christ is rejected and cast out by man? Oh! is it not very little thought of, and lightly esteemed? The absence of affection accounts for the little loyalty there is to the Lord Jesus. How few hearts are really true to Him! It is not possible to drill them into it; and mere knowledge cannot secure it. There is no lack of information as to Christ and His interests, yet it is a dry, cold thing, because it is not Christ. The question for the moment is, "What think ye of Christ ?"

Another truth of exceeding beauty may be seen here, namely, How genuine affection gauges everythingmeasures everything. To Him who she thought was the gardener, she says, "Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away." Observe, she does not say who it is, but, "Him;" gauging everyone's thoughts by her own; and as she was full of Him in her thoughts, supposing everyone else was like herself! Alas! how little of this we find in ourselves or around us!

But observe too how her affection was the gauge of her ability. "I will take him away." If she had reasoned or calculated, she might well have hesitated, ere she proposed such a task; but affection never calculates; its power or ability is itself.

And now the moment has arrived for Jesus to make Himself known. What a moment for Him-for her! He fulfils John x., and "calleth his own sheep by name," and she answers to John x., "The sheep hear his voice." He gives her to hear her name from His own very lips -Mary!

What a scene it is! The history of the first garden, its blight and sin, all reversed. The history of the first garden, with a fallen man and woman driven out by the hand of God, is closed at the cross of Jesus, and here in this second garden we find a risen Man and a redeemed woman, whose affection for His Person the blessed Lord appreciates at such worth, that He commissions her to be the bearer, to His disciples, of the most wonderful tidings that human lips ever announced. "Go to my brethren, and say unto them, i ascend unto my Father and your Father; and to my God and your God."

May the Lord awaken in the hearts of His people, in these days so sadly fruitful in debates, strifes, whisperings and confusion-but days of barrenness surely as to loyalty of affection for Christ-such true self-judgment as will lead to more whole-hearted devotedness, at all cost, to His person, honour, and interests!

W. T. T.

THE ROCK REFUGE.

"Trust ye in Jehovah for ever: for in Jah Jehovah is the Rock of Ages."-Is. xxvi. 4.

IN perfect peace Thou wilt him keep,
Who in Thy place is dwelling;
The storm may rage, and waters deep
Around him may be swelling;
But fixed is he, Thy word is sure,
No storm can reach that place secure,
Nor foe touch that Pavilion.

For from eternity that place

Was planned by God and founded,
Ere this round earth he hurled in space
Or lands by sea were bounded;
Aye, ere the stars, or ere the sun,
Or ere creation was begun,

'Twas laid by the Eternal.

Yea! deep in His own inmost heart-
Oh place of love unmeasured!
Where Thou the Son for ever wert,
His loved One ever treasured;

And Thou that place hast opened wide,
By wound deep pierced in Thy side,
That we by faith might enter.

And loving souls, the tried, the true,
That fortress strong have entered,
Waiting till all things are made new,
And rule in Christ be centred.
Kept free from rage of angry foes,
From Satan's darts, and sin's deep woes,
Safe sheltered in God's mansion.

Let man and devil do their worst!
SHALL GOD BE BEATEN? NEVER!
Their raging waves may madly burst,
To sink in foam for ever-

And still God's rock unshaken stands,
For neither Satan, nor man's hands

Dare touch or reach GOD'S CENTRE.

And in that day when earth shall quake,
And all things shall be proved,
Creation to its limits shake,

And heaven itself be moved,

God's dwelling-place unhurt shall rest
And all who've entered it shall test

THE STRENGTH OF GOD'S FOUNDATION.

W. M.

CORRESPONDENCE,

1. "W. B." A man who puts pasteboard into shoes and sells them for leather is unworthy of the name of Christian; indeed he is not even an honest man. We may be told, "It is the custom of the trade." Well, how does this alter the matter for one who desires to walk in the fear of God, and to keep a good conscience? It may be the custom of the trade to put shoddy into cloth, to put sand into sugar, to put water in the milk. But can a Christian, or even an honest man do such things? Most assuredly not. The conscience of a Christian must be regulated, not by the custom of the trade, but by the word of God. If this be lost sight of, there is an end to all practical Christianity in commercial life. A christian manufacturer could no more think of putting pasteboard into shoes and selling them as all leather, than he could think of picking a man's pocket. If indeed it be the custom to put pasteboard into shoes-if everybody does it, and everybody knows it, then, of course, there is no deception in the matter. But if I sell a pair of shoes as all leather, when I know they are made of leather and pasteboard, then am I a liar and a thief. I am morally worse than a highway robber, inasmuch as he openly avows what he is, what he does, and what he wants. A man who adulterates his goods is guilty of the very meanest dishonesty.

But then, supposing a person is not a manufacturer, but a salesman in a warehouse or shop-what is he to do? He does not adulterate, he merely sells. Is he dishonest, is he untrue in selling adulterated goods? Unquestionably, if he sells them for genuine. How could a true Christian-how could a really honest man declare an article to be genuine, when he knows it is not? We shall perhaps be told that this is mere scrupulosity. Be it so; we heartily wish there were more of it in commercial life. To us it seems to be only common honesty.

But it will not do in the world. Doubtless; but what does this prove? Simply that the world is untrue and dishonest. If truth and uprightness cannot get on in the world, then what must the world be?

Still, the Christian must be honest. His object is not to get on in the world or to make money, but to glorify God in his daily life. Can he glorify God by adulterating goods, and telling lies?

We feel the immense importance, dear friend, of the subject which you have brought before us. We believe it demands the serious attention of all Christians engaged in manufacture and commerce. There is immense danger of being drawn away from the path of christian integrity, and falling into the wretched spirit of covetousness and competition so rife on all hands. We have to bear in mind that Christianity is a living reality; it is divine life coming out in all the practical details of our daily history; it is not confined to the benches of a meeting room; it has more ways of shewing and expressing itself than by preaching, praying, and singing -precious, most precious as all these are in their place. It must come out in the manufactory, in the warehouse, in the shop, in the counting-house, in the daily occupation, whatever that may be. How terrible to think of a man singing and praying on the Lord's day, and, on Monday morning adulterating his bread and selling it as genuine! Oh! let us be honest, come what may. Let us walk in the fear of God. Let us, like the blessed apostle, "exercise ourselves to have always a conscience void of offence, toward God and man."

True, it may cost us something. We may have to suffer for righteousness' sake. But what is all this when compared with the deep joy of walking with God in that narrow path on which the blessed beams of His approving countenance ever shine? Is not a good conscience better far than thousands of gold and silver? Our God will take care of us. He will meet all our real need, according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Why should we ever bètake ourselves to the