beast of the field; nor do the cattle upon the hills desire to mount the heavens and to mingle with the fowls of the air; their power of willing is bounded by their power of executing. Herein is their freedom, and herein is the freedom of all creatures. He who wills that which he has not the power of realizing, is a slave;-and this is what the sinner is ever doing. He desires happiness from material sources, he desires to break the shackles of human responsibility, he desires to move through life, independent of the will of God; and these desires he has no power whatever to accomplish: he is struggling to accomplish eternal impracticabilities. He is like an eagle in the cage-in an unnatural position, confined, desiring to burst the bars, but has no power, bruising his breast in every attempt. A sinner, so long as he is a sinner, must be a slave. The first thing that religion does for a man, is to harmonize his will with his power, or rather bring his will into harmony with God's, and link him to almighty power. God's influence upon a bad man is restraining; and in restraining, reduces him to a felt slavery. God's influence upon a good man is to stimulate, and to strengthen; and in doing so, gives him the highest aspirations and the widest sphere of liberty. (2.) Incompatible with happiness. There never can be happiness in this state. We observe

Thirdly: That God's restraining influence upon a bad man is for the good of society. Thus Balaam had the desire to curse the chosen people-to hurl his anathemas upon their heads. But God restrained him. Thus he ever restrains wicked men-He provides a St. Helena for the world's Napoleons. The Devil himself is held in restraint; he cannot move one of his gigantic faculties without heaven's permission. Let the church rejoice. "The Lord reigneth."

My Brother, learn from this what you cannot do, what you may do, what you must do, what you ought to do. I tell you what you cannot do you cannot go beyond divine permission, you cannot thwart the plans of heaven; you may as well endeavour to arrest the Atlantic billows, or roll

back the massive orbs, as to do aught without His permission:-your soul is within His mighty grasp. I tell you what you may do you may injure men, you may desecrate your life, you may plunge your being into depths of everincreasing woe. I tell you what you must do you must serve God, whether you will or no. Whether you shall serve Him or not, comes not within your choice nor within the choice of any creature, however great or free-that you must do; you can choose whether you will serve him against your will or by your will, but you cannot choose as to whether you shall serve Him or not. I tell you what you ought to do you ought to serve God with a willing mind and a loving heart!

SUBJECT:-Paul and the Crew Feasting in the Tempest; or, Lessons on Life.

"Then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and let her fall off; and while the day was coming on, Paul besought them all to take meat," &c.-Acts xxvii. 32-37.

Analysis of Homily the Hundred and Forty-third.

THE centurion and his band promptly did what Paul's asseveration suggested. Before the mariners could descend into the boat, the sharp swords of the soldiers severed the ropes. Necessity was thereby imposed on the panic-stricken and selfish shipmen to share the fortunes of the passengers.

I. SEVERITY IS OFTEN KINDNESS, STIMULATED TO EXPRESS ITSELF ENERGETICALLY, IN VIEW OF TERRIBLE EXIGENCIES AND FORMIDABLE DANGERS. Probably, as the boat was the one moment violently dashed against the shattered ship, and the next tossed far off, by the fierce and clamorous billows, the Alexandrian sailors stood petrified by despair, or convulsed with rage. The howl of desperation may have

mingled with the roar of the tempest, and the indescribable creaking and groaning of the dilapidated ship, &c. The demon of revenge may have clamoured for work along with the "demon of the storm," &c. Yet, the stern Romans were the benefactors of the disappointed sailors. The latter may have deemed the destruction of the boat a ruthless and cruel deed the forerunner of their own ruin. In reality, however, it was an expedient, wiser, and more conducive to their safety, than the one which had been so summarily defeated. The success of their own project, in so far as the abandonment of the ship was concerned, would have been prophetic of inevitable disaster. Probabilities of reaching the shore were against them; they knew that there were breakers holding revel among the treacherous rocks, &c. But no more than the soldiers and the prisoners did they know their exact locale. Their avoidance of them, or transition through them, was very improbable; and besides, there was One, whose minister the tempest was, whom they had despised, in setting at nought His words spoken by his servant Paul. Though they had succeeded in leaving the ship, the angel of retribution might overtake them. They were subjected to no calamity when they were compelled to "abide in the ship." They were much indebted to the fierce men, who without any waste of words, remanded them to their duty. Illustrations of our position will readily

occur to the reader.

II. INTELLIGENT AND EARNEST CHRISTIANS ARE NOT STUPIFIED AND PARALYZED BY CRITICAL OCCASIONS. As the sable robes of midnight were gradually fringed with light, proclaiming the advent of the blessed dawn, Paul was not unemployed; he summoned his companions in peril to prepare to meet the emergency which the morning would reveal in all its magnitude. He may have been regarded by the heathen sailors and soldiers as a theorist, an enthusiast, or a fanatic. He was the most practical man on board of the imperilled ship. Earnest Christianity gives depth and

width to native shrewdness and sagacity. It endows with a rare tact, &c. Paul had a vivid perception of the requirements of the moment, &c. A fanatical man would have prayed and preached. Than Paul, no man ever estimated the importance of sermons more highly. In a transcendent degree, he knew the potentiality of devotional addresses; yet, being a man of profound common sense, he had regard to time and place, in practically attesting the estimation in which he held preaching and praying.

He entreated his companions to meet the urgent exigencies of the hour-to regard, in a manly and an energetic manner, the responsibilities of the present crisis. Their lives were

in jeopardy. The peril might be averted. The awful fact and the cheering contingency, were the matters on which he would have his companions to concentrate their attention and energies.

His entreaty, though not embodying evangelical truth, was expressive of the spirit of the gospel. It attested his benevolent consideration. It signified his wise appreciation of the circumstances in which they were placed. It teaches us that Christianity, like an angel of benignity, as it is, takes cognizance of man, not merely as involved in evils which proclaim the derangement of his moral relations, but as liable to the sufferings, and trials and disasters, incidental to connexion with the material world.

III. PHYSICAL APPETITE IS NOT NECESSARILY THE MIGHTIEST FORCE IN MAN. "Ye have taken nothing." This is not to be viewed absolutely. Though the fast had been more in harmony with the significance of the word, than modern fasts, the apostle did not mean to affirm that they had not partaken of any food for fourteen days. They had not taken adequate sustenance, neither having had opportunities nor inclination to enjoy a regular meal. No great physiological knowledge is required for the appreciation of his words. Even in men, whose "God is their belly," appetite succumbs to any vehement emotion. Let fear throw

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its gloomy pall around a human soul, and the dinner hour is not so eagerly longed for, nor does the sight of delicacies irresistibly appeal to the palate. Let despair envelope a

gourmand in its leaden and sombre wings, and although M. Soyer's Cookery Book is more attractive to him than a glorious epic, or a profound dissertation, or a graphic and philosophic history, the cravings of the stomach will be disregarded, and the man will make the discovery that he has faculties which can be more despotic than the organs which connect him with the cuisine.

THANKFULNESS

FOR BOUNTIES

IV. GOOD MEN EXPRESS WHICH MINISTER ΤΟ THEIR PHYSICAL WELL-BEING. Paul

"gave thanks to God." He did what the Blessed One taught us to do, not by formal counsel, but by his example. (Matt. xv. 36.) He gave a practical comment on his own declaration. (1 Tim. iv. 4.) Men who do not recognize divine kindness in the temporalities of life, are not religious. They are practical atheists. Few more saddening and repulsive spectacles than that presented by a man who sits down to "eat and drink" with no thought of God's generosity in his mind—who no more acknowledges God for his table comforts, than the dog or cat, to which he gives a morsel from his plate! Our remarks do not apply to all men who do not " 'say grace," or "ask a blessing," &c., as the formulas may be. There may be profound thankfulness, and a loving reference of bounties to God's open hand, when no word is spoken. They are applicable to those who do not, as they sit down to table-they can do it there, if not when among machinery, or tools, or wares, or ledgersthink appreciatively, for a moment, of divine goodness in supplying their physical necessities.

V. ONE GOOD MAN MAY INFLUENCE MULTITUDES OF HIS FELLOWS. "They were all of good cheer." The inspiration of hope lighted up every countenance. Two hundred and seventy-five human beings were led to realize the