Britannia hath been at war lately. She did not will to go to war. But when her will was bent by circumstances, she rose up in conscious dignity, relying on God, I hope; and she said—“It is not my will that the Russian should conquer." Was she stiff and staid from want of martial exercise? Did she suffer loss, and weep over her sons slain by . . . neglect shall I say? Untoward circumstance; disease; famine; what shall I say? It matters not. She was resolved to fulfil her will. She worked at her forge. Her dock-yards were full of bustle and zeal. She gave her money liberally; and her sons pressed forward, and said—“ Here are we, here are we; send us to do thy will ; the Russian must not win." Battles were fought and won. Valour and prowess shewn. What were all these tokens of? An indomitable will! Let us not boast, but let us be thankful. It must needs be that wars come; woe to him by whom they come. Welcome, peace! But would she have come so soon without Britannia's will?

"Britons never must be slaves," we say and sing.

Britannia is invincible. But if she lets go her hold on God, and on right, her hand will become palsied; her heart faint; and she will fall to the dust, as the virgin daughter of Zion did. Them that walk in pride,

God is able to abase.

Turn from a nation to a man, take a strange case, though a suitable one. The case of a miser. His will is to be rich. He scrapeth together and saveth all, and

veth nothing. He stoopeth even to meannesses. He thereth together that which others account refuse, d turneth it to money. His ruling passion is strong. e denieth himself proper food and raiment, to do s will, his miserable will. He will be rich. The mptation, and the snares, and diverse lusts, and her things, are not seen; and the dreadful lake of struction and perdition, where so many are drowned, not seen. No! these are out of sight of mortal gaze. With most men there is no ruling passion. The ll seems like a congeries of trivialties. The big eel of their heart is clogged by evil habits, and iggishly turneth by the force of circumstances. Take a Christian. Take Paul. "The love of Christ nstraineth us," he says; he acts it too, doth he not? This one thing I do." You know the one thing. It needful for you, for me, as for Paul. He looked t on the world, on Jew, on Gentile; and he wrote on his heart (no, God wrote it) this saying "It is t the will of your Father that is in heaven that one these little ones should perish." Now he giveth self to preaching, and praying, and travelling, and rking, and suffering; and from Jerusalem and round out unto Illyricum, tradition whispers, to the utst bounds of the west, he hath fully preached the pel of Christ. Here is a will at work. Here is a 0. Here is a model man. As with Paul, so with Our actions are our raiment; our will, the weaver. may go on, but we shall not strengthen our posi

tion any more perhaps; our position is this-actions are signs of the will.

taketh us up

you.

But you will say, perhaps, the subject of the text above the world. I am ready to go with But remember, before we start, that the subjects of our solicitude (heaven's solicitude you say, aye, and truly) are creatures on earth. The little ones of Christ's flock. The frail tenants of mortality. I will put the case thus-God's providence is the token, the evidence of His will. Does that suit the case? Would you have me alter it? I know not how to do it better. Let us reason together, and consider the thing.

"It is not the will of your Father that one of these should perish;" that is, be lost, fail of salvation. Behold the supply. "A full, perfect and sufficient sacrifice, oblation and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world." "The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin." "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." Yes! Yes! you say; this will do for the Jews, to whom Christ came. This will do for the Christians, to whom He is made known; but what of the heathen? Leave them alone now; it concerns not you. God is just; He is merciful; He cannot do wrong; "these," 66 one of these," Jews, Christians. One of you, one of your children, one of your neighbours. England. Christendom.

Oh! how we shrink from a direct appeal to our consciences. How we wriggle and bend about, to get away from the stern majesty of truth, Why should

e flee? She is the handmaid of the Lord. Her eyes ffused with tears of compassion. Her heavenly feares, graceful, and beaming with mercy. Why should › flee?

Regard the providence of God over the Jews. Begin th Abraham. Visit Egypt. Travel through the ed Sea. Enter the Holy Land. Talk with the Proets; the Priests, and the Kings. What do these y to you?" Oh that we had seen what you see! 1 that we had heard what you hear!"

Ponder on the gospel story. Look at the facts of rist's history. Christ's Church. Behold the bright ory of these latter days. The means of grace aboundg. Bibles multiplied, and within the reach of all. erily Christ standeth at our door. A servant, minering to us salvation. What shall we do? Let us this; regard the providence of God as a commeny on the words of the text "It is not the will of ur Father that is in heaven, that one of these little es should perish." And go forth and preach it; each it in word and deed. Bestir ourselves, as Briania did in war. Gather up fragments of time; asions of usefulness; opportunities of doing good; the miser gathered together his stores; rather as l, that faithful servant of Christ, who counted all ngs as loss in comparison with the excellency of knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord.

If actions of men may be taken as indications of will, its character and working, so surely may the

actions of God's providence be taken as indications of His will; and tell me now, if, in this view of things, truth doth not say-" It is not the will of your Father that is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish?"

Fa

A father, possessing but common sense, and natural affection, believing the word of God, is emboldened to proceed, in the training of his child up in the way in which he should go. Human nature is a labyrinth indeed, and what windings and tortuous courses are there in the heart of a child; but here is a clue-It is not the will of heaven that he should perish. Do I address any fathers now ? I am a father myself. thers, let me bring in the mothers; Parents! do you bring up your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord? Saying and doing are two; and oftentimes there is a great gulf between them, that is, alas! never passed over. Oh! bridge it with your will. Are you possessed by the thoughts and feelings and hopes that cluster naturally on the stem of this faithful word of God? And do you believe that your children are God's children, Christ's members, heirs of heaven; or, do you despise their birthright, treating it formally; the act and deed of Holy Baptism, the signing and sealing then, as a myth or a forgery. Oh that we realized the life of things! Oh that we lived on our goodly heritage from the Lord!

Go into the towns, along the streets and lanes. Look at the fathers. Look at the mothers. Traverse Eng