be," Will this thing grieve the Holy Spirit who dwells in me ?" If so, let us, by the grace of God, judge and reject it with holy decision.

May the Lord enable us to bend our earnest attention to His most precious word of exhortation, that so His holy name may be more fully glorified in our daily life!

And, now, a very few words on the subject of "the Earnest." This is a most precious aspect of the Spirit's office and work. "He is the earnest of the inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession." The inheritance is purchased; the price has been paid. But it is not yet redeemed; for this latter we wait; and while waiting, our God has, most graciously, given us the earnest of His Spirit, so that we are as sure of the inheritance as though we were already in possession of it. The earnest is a part of what we are to get. "Now he which stablisheth us with you is Christ”—most precious words!—" and hath anointed us in God; who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts." 2 Corinthians i. 21, 22.

We must carefully distinguish between purchase and redemption. Many confound them and thus suffer serious loss. Our Lord Christ has purchased the whole universe. He has paid the redemption price for the inheritance; but He has not yet laid His mighty hand, in redeeming power, thereupon. Redemption by price is one thing; redemption by power, quite another. In the year 1834, the British Legislature voted 20 millions of money to redeem the slaves in our Colonies. This was redemption by price. But then, notwithstanding the payment of this redemption price, some poor

slaves might be found huddled together in a slave ship. What was needed in their case? Redemption by power in virtue of the price. A British man of war might seize the slave ship and let go all the poor captives. This may, in some feeble manner, illustrate the difference between purchase and redemption.

In Romans viii. we have a splendid passage which we must quote for the reader. "As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creation was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who subjected it in hope that the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only it, but ourselves also, which have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body."

As regards the body of the believer, as in respect to the inheritance, the redemption price has been paid, but it is not yet redeemed, we groan within ourselves."

We sigh for the redemption. We wait for the moment of deliverance. "We look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ who shall change the body of our humiliation, that it may be fashioned like unto the body of his glory, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself." Philippians iii. 20, 21.

Glorious prospect! How precious for the weary suffering pilgrim who feels the burden of his poor crumbling tabernacle! The Lord is at hand. The voice of the archangel and the trump of God will soon be heard, and then mortality shall be swallowed up of life. Till then we are sealed with that blessed Spirit of God who is the earnest-not of His love which we possess, but-of the inheritance for which we wait.

JESUS BORE HIS SORROWS ALONE.

"Jesus bore his sorrows alone, but shares His glory with his people."

LORD, Thou didst bear

The hidings of His face who was thine all!

The noon-tide air

Scarce fanned thy bleeding brow; the bitter gall
Had touched thy lips; and fled was every friend!
Thus wert Thou left alone, Thy life of toil to end!

And Thou hast died;

For sinners, Lord, Thy precious life was given!
Thou hast supplied

Our every need; and now enthroned in heaven,

Thou art yet waiting for the joyful day,

The hour when Thou from earth shalt call Thy saints away.

And Thou hast met

Thy Father's smile, hast won Thy glorious rest;
And no regret,

No sorrow now can fill Thy peaceful breast;

Thy toils and trials past, Thy sufferings o'er,

Sweet thought, Thou blessed One! "those eyes shall weep no more."

Yet not alone

Thou bearest the glory, Lord of life and love;
Though all thine own

Thy sorrows were; and none below, above,

Thy deep, surpassing griefs and pangs could share, When, singly, Thou Thyself our weight of sin didst bear.

Thy glories, Lord

Thy bright inheritance, a crown, a throne—

Thou in Thy word

Hast promised those whom Thou didst call Thine own.
O wondrous grace, too high for us to scan,

The Son of God thus links HIMSELF in love to man!

Lord, we are, now,

United unto Thee, our living Head;
May we then see,

By faith, a risen Saviour, who was dead,

But ever liveth now to intercede,

And for His "little ones" in this dark world to plead !

And thus we may

Still rise above the fading objects here,

And view the day

When, "Lord of Lords" the Saviour shall appear;

Content to follow Him, to bear the Cross,

Counting for His FREE LOVE, all things beside "but loss."

C. A. H.

EPAPHRODITUS.

WE want the reader to turn with us for a few moments to Philippians ii., and study the brief sketch of the interesting character of Epaphroditus. There is great moral beauty in it. We are not told very much about him, but, in what we are told, we see a great deal of what is truly lovely and pleasant-much that makes us long for men of the same stamp in this our day. We cannot do better than quote the inspired record concerning him; and may the blessed Spirit apply it to our hearts, and lead us to cultivate the same lovely grace which shone so brightly in that dear and honoured servant of Christ!

"I supposed it necessary," says the blessed apostle, "to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and companion in labour, and fellow-soldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants. For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because that ye had heard that he had been sick. For indeed he was sick nigh unto death; but God had mercy on him, and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. I sent him therefore the more carefully, that when ye see him again, ye may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful. Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness; and hold such in reputation; because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me." Philippians ii. 25-30.

Now it is quite possible that some of us, on reading the above, may feel disposed to inquire if Epaphroditus