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But, Fourthly, another reason gradually operates on the mind with increasing force, and that is, the conviction of the utter insufficiency of this world and its enjoyments, taken at their best, to satisfy. We outlive our comforts; we drain the sources of gratification to the dregs; disappointment and trial, in various ways, teach us that this is not our rest, that it is impossible to find fulness in it. If it were not inevitable that we must die, who could be satisfied to take this present existence, with its sufferings, grievances, and sorrows, for an eternal lot? And then, taking it as it is, with the gradual increase of the infirmities and sorrows of life, the loss of friends, the coldness and heartlessness of the multitude, the ingratitude and cruelty of many, and the utter indifference of those who ought to think differently, to any interest or any feelings but their own;-this practical realization of what life is, independent of revealed religion, gradually makes a man draw towards the sanctuary of God. If there is repose and peace, and shelter from the keen and chilling air of human intercourse, it is in the sanctuary if there is a sunny spot, where all is not gloom and disaffection, it is in the several ordinances of the christian religion, where men are taught to rise above themselves and the world they live in; where their affections are called out, in some measure, though as yet but scantily, to God and towards each other; and where, in the contemplation of infinite love, they imbibe some portion of that kind and gracious spirit;—and, while they dwell on the thought of infinite might and mercy, begin to hope that all the misery of a sinful, dying, afflicted, and care-worn spirit may be relieved; and that the offered way of

escape is practically and truly a blessed reality.

Now these are reasons which we conceive do operate to bring many unto the house of God, to hear the truths of His word expounded. They are the practical convictions forced on a thoughtful mind,―forced on him partly by the very character of his circumstances, and still more mercifully pressed upon the attention by the secret agency of the Spirit of God. Providences and conscience speak for God, and often with a resistless power: they show the afflicted, dissatisfied, guilty man his misery and his danger; they show, in strong practical terms, the claims which God has upon him, and which one day He will most assuredly advance. And it is from the consideration of this subject, thus forced upon the attention, that many see it their wisdom to seek for religious knowledge. They begin to apprehend that there is a knowledge of God, the Infinitely Good, that would fill the lamentable void of the human heart, that would remove the horrors of a guilty conscience, and cheer the desponding soul with hope; that in Him is the peace that elsewhere they have sought in vain.

And this is precisely the fact. These feelings of anxiety arise out of the real wants of the soul, and it is a mercy when we begin to feel them. And the character of God's dispensation of mercy in His revealed word, is precisely calculated to meet these created anxieties and desires. We are driven to the christian Scriptures, because we are afflicted, dissatisfied, sinful, and dying. It is impossible to be in more wretched circumstances than such an one feels himself to be in. The oppression of these convictions is at times almost insupportable.

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There is a gathering gloom about such a state of heart, that no human light can penetrate; there is a load which no human hand can lighten, an anguish which no human kindness can soothe. But the remedy really is in that Gospel on which we are thus compelled to wait. It reveals to us a God meeting in sovereign mercy the awful necessities of His creatures; meeting the guilty sinner in the very crisis of his ruin, and speaking peace; passing by the wretched abandoned outcast, in his sins and in his blood, and saying to him, Live. The substance of the testimony is to this effect: that God has pitied a ruined race of beings, and devised and offered to them a complete redemption. He looked down in everlasting love and compassion on a guilty world, and when He saw His helpless creatures involved in eternal ruin through sin, He sent His Son into that world to be the propitiation for sin, and when that Son died upon the cross, He laid upon Him the iniquity of us all. He saw us deeply defiled and degraded by our inbred corruption, and He sent down the blessed influence of His Spirit to sanctify and cleanse us through faith in His Son. He saw us exposed here to misery, disease, and death, and that death made by the curse for sin eternal, and He opened for us, through the propitiatory death of His Son, the gates of immortality. This is the subject of the testimony of God in His word: "This is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son." And this is the declaration to be made by the preaching of His word. It is the Gospel of the blessed God; it is glad tidings on good authority; the declaration of reconciliation and peace, made on the

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strength of God's faithfulness and truth, and offered to every one, that he may be reconciled, and justified, and saved. And here, while the afflicted, the sinful, the dying, the conscience-stricken, the weary and heavy laden, wait around, the ministers of Christ are authorized to raise the standard of peace and hope, and to beseech men in Christ's stead to become reconciled to God. They are to tell of the love of Christ, who died for the ungodly; of the richness, freeness, fulness, of that mercy which is provided for guilty and perishing men. They are to admit all the fulness of men's complaints, to allow it all; nay, to aid the convinced sinner in looking deeper into his heart, and more accurately at the extent of his guilt and ruin, so as to deepen the conviction of guilt, and cast down the sinner in more entire prostration and humility before God. But then ministers are equally to follow the Scripture in the simplicity of its offer of remedy, when it says, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." "This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent." "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." Yes, great as may be the wants of the soul, deep as may be the sorrow of the convinced and humbling penitent, and dark the dye of his multiplied and aggravated transgressions, there is ample means of relief, wealth inexhaustible, a peace that passeth all understanding, and a stream adequate to wash away sin, and, though it "be red like crimson," to make it "white as snow.' The blood of the crucified Son of God cleanseth from all sin.

This is the cheering message which is to be delivered; this is the word of God, distributed in His house. It is

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on this life-giving declaration that we are to wait, and it will be made to those who sincerely seek it, the power of God unto salvation. There is a Divine and appointed efficacy in this word, which is to turn the heart to God, and to cheer the broken spirit with a hope full of immortality.

We shall have occasion hereafter to consider the substance and the mode of that statement to be made by the Gospel ministry; but, in the mean time, if there are any who really feel that motives such as we have described have led them to the house of God, let us entreat them to consider seriously the simple offer of Gospel mercy as suited to the necessities of their case; the evils and dangers of

the unconverted soul. That case is all darkness and distress. There is no prospect of hope. Look where you will, to the vicissitudes of time or the solemnities of eternity, you can see no healing light, no dawn of hope. But that hope is offered to you in the blood of Jesus. "Come unto me," He says. Oh, let us be encouraged to entertain this; to look at it in its certainty and faithfulness, as the testimony of God; to look at it in the majesty of its simplicity, as worthy of Omnipotence; to look at it in its fulness, as meeting the very depth of our distresses;—and believe it, and rejoice in it, as the only, but the sufficient salvation of our souls.

Φωνη τεθνηκοτος.

PRAYER OF A DEVOUT HEART DURING A TIME OF TROUBLE.

MOST great and glorious God! just and terrible in Thy judgments to all obstinate and rebellious sinners, but of infinite mercy to such as with true sorrow and hearty repentance turn unto Thee; look down I beseech Thee with mercy and compassion upon me, who am not worthy so much as to lift up my eyes to the throne of Thy glorious Majesty! O Lord, my sins are so many and so great, that it is owing to Thy mercy alone that I yet have another opportunity of humbling myself before Thee, and imploring Thy mercy. I beseech Thee, O Lord, to humble me more and more, to set my sins before me in the strongest light, and to help me to cast myself in deep contrition at the foot of the cross. [Here pause for self-examination.] Lord, save, or I perish. My omissions as well as my commissions are innumerable. What shall I say unto Thee, or what shall I do, O Thou Preserver of men? I am so vile that I cannot express it; so sinful that I am hateful to myself, and much more abominable must I needs be in Thy

sight.

Nevertheless, O Lord, be pleased to look down upon a poor sinner, who believes in the infinite mercy Thou hast revealed to all true penitents in Jesus Christ. For His sake give me time and space to repent, and give me also power to do it, by the assistance of Thy blessed Spirit.

Support me with a holy hope, confirm me with an operative and lively faith, and kindle a bright and burning charity in my soul; give me patience in suffering, and severity in judging and condemning my sins! that judging myself, I may not be condemned of Thee; that mourning for my sins I may rejoice in Thy pardon; that subduing my sins, I may live in righteousness; that denying my own will I may always endeavour to perform Thine; and that by the assistance of Thy blessed Spirit, I may overcome all carnal and spiritual wickedness. May I walk in Thy light! May I delight in Thy service! May I be wholly delivered both from the power and the punishment of sin; may my life be continually devoted to Thee, and may I pass on from an

CREATIVE GOODNESS.

humble expectation to an actual enjoyment of the glories of Thy kingdom, through Jesus Christ my blessed Lord and Saviour. Amen.

And now, O Lord, as I have been confessing my own sins, and humbling my soul before Thee, as a private individual, I desire to look upon myself in a still further light as an inhabitant of a profligate and rebellious nation, and after the example of Thy servant Daniel, to confess the sins of my people. May I feel the concern of the Psalmist when he exclaimed, "Rivers of tears run down mine eyes, because men keep not Thy law,' (Ps. cxix. 130.) And oh, that my supplications, and the supplications of all those, who at this appointed hour, have agreed solemnly to seek Thy face and to confess their own sins, and the sins of the people of this land, may meet with the gracious acceptance Thou didst vouchsafe to Daniel.. May the commandment come forth at the beginning of our suppli

An earnest invitation to the friends of the Established Church, to join with several of their brethren, clergy and laity, in setting apart one hour in the Sunday of every week for prayer and supplication, especially during the present troublous times, was published in 1757, and a form of prayer was composed upon the plan laid down in that pamphlet, of which this is an abridgement. It is mentioned in Hervey's Works, vol. vi. letter cxlii.

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cation, "to make an end of our sins, and to make reconciliation for our iniquities," that Thou mayest once more be our God and we be Thy people.

O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto Thee, but unto us confusion of face as at this day, to our kings, to our princes, to our fathers, and to ourselves, because of the trespasses which we have trespassed against Thee. We have rebelled against Thee, O Lord; we confess our wickedness, and are sorry for our sins; yea, we have all as one man transgressed against Thee, by departing from Thee and not obeying Thy voice, therefore the curse is poured out upon us; but we beseech Thee, according to Thy righteousness and gracious promises, and for the sake of Thy dear Son Jesus Christ, let Thine anger and Thy fury be turned from us; and let the consideration of our sinfulness and unworthiness, and of Thy manifold warnings to us, and long suffering towards us, increase in us true repentance, faith, love, and all holy obedience, that Thou mayst still continue Thy favour, together with the light of Thy gospel, to us and our posterity; and this we beg for Thy dear Son Jesus Christ's sake, our only Mediator and Advocate. Amen.

CREATIVE GOODNESS.-CHRIST FEEDING THE MULTITUDE. An Extract from Dr. Cumming's "Foreshadows; or Lectures on our Lord's Miracles, as Earnests of the Age to Come."

We have in this miracle, too, I may notice as I pass, an illustration of the text, "Seek first the kingdom of God, and all other things will be added." This multitude was drawn to Jesus not merely, I believe, by seeing the miracles that He wrought; for they were not sick, or lame, or blind, or deaf; but as to the miracle-worker, some in sincere and anxious admiration, others in questioning perplexity, and both to the great Prophet that should come into the world. So enthusiastic was their attachment, that they followed Him into the desert.

Listening to the words that proceeded from His mouth, they forgot they had bodies to be fed as well as souls to be enlightened; they were so intent upon the enlightening of the one, that they forgot for the time being the necessities of the other. Wonderful is the power that the mind has over the body. Let the mind be intensely interested or absorbed in any thing, and man will forget that he is hungry, thirsty, weary, cold. In the case of this multitude, they were so rapt and fascinated by all that Jesus said, that they forgot there was no food to be

purchased, and none to be borrowed, in the wilderness into which they had wandered. But they followed Jesus, and so far sought first the kingdom of God, and then they found it fulfilled," and all things will be added." So will it be with us; let us seek first to honour God, and happiness will spring up beneath our footsteps as we seek Him. "Them that honour me I will honour." And let our nation, let our country, do so at the present crisis. Let it hallow God's sabbath; let it forget the possible advantages of a Sunday post-office, and remember the obligation of the fourth commandment: let it try rather to save souls than to save time; let it be more anxious about doing what is duty, than prosecuting what is expedient; and we shall see that if the railway and the electric telegraph have been given as means of rapid communication and blessings from God, He has other blessings in store, that will render what is now thought to be expedient, less necessary and less expedient than it is supposed to be. Depend upon it, that expediency follows principle, not principle a seeming expediency; and the highest expediency in the universe is unreserved, unquestioning obedience to God.

Our blessed Lord then wrought the miracle to satisfy the wants of them who had left their homes in order to hear the Gospel. And they were conscious of the miracle; they saw it, they felt it, and there was no doubt that it was a miracle. And this leads me to suggest what a miracle is. It has often been disputed in the present day whether miracles be in the Church, one party saying they are, the other party saying they are not. The only evidence of a miracle is not fancy nor imagination, but the senses. If there be no visible miracle, there is no miracle at all; for the very definition of a miracle is, something above nature, and that the senses can see and testify to, or that on good historical authority and testimony we can accept as having been done, and so far the evidence of the interposition of God.

How or by what mysterious process this miracle was done, it is not

for us to determine. There is a difference between it and the miracle of the water being turned into wine. In the case of the water being turned into wine I made the remark, that the difference between the vine growing in the vineyard and yielding its grapes, and then ultimately coming from the press and being drunk in the shape of wine, and the immediate production of the wine, was a difference of time that the ordinary miracle takes a whole year to turn the vine sap into wine; that in the extraordinary one Christ accomplished in minutes what it takes twelve months in other circumstances to do. But here it was not merely hastening a process, but it was turning a few barley-loaves into a quantity of bread, prepared and fit for the people to eat. The only explanation of it we can give is, that the worlds were formed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things that do appear. We need to learn this lesson in looking at the miracles of God, that omnipotence can do what we cannot do; but it also can do and does do what we cannot comprehend: so that not only shall our physical powers be put into their proper narrow space, but our intellectual power shall also be taught that it is the power of a creature finite, and not of the Creator infinite. And yet we cannot but notice that the same power that was here shown is shown every day. In the seed of the corn that shoots into the stalk, the blade, and the ear, we have a miracle just every whit as great. In the acorn cast into the earth, that develops itself into the gigantic and over-shadowing oak, we have a process just as marvellous every whit as turning the few barley-loaves into a bountiful and gracious supply. But we are so accustomed to the former process, that we call it the natural one, and give the honour and glory to what we call the "laws of nature:" we are so startled by the latter process, that we are constrained to acknowledge and admit, This is the finger of God. But if the processes were reversed; if the usual law were, that the word of some being turned

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