absorption in the things of time and sense, and by the devotion of the whole energies to these pictures which often turn out to be a dream, and often lead to grievous offence in attempts to attain their realization, but which even when honestly realized have no such charm as he seeks to impart to them; he demands that the heart be given up to these, and offers freely of such treasures to the sanguine mind, whether his offer be ever realized or not, till in the pursuit of outward gain the worship of God and the interests of the immortal soul are lost sight of, and nothing is thought of but the attaining of position in life. Now while the word of God does not forbid a lawful ambition, and commands men to be diligent in business; and while many have prospered most who have most faithfully served God in the midst of their prosperity; while it by no means prevents the pursuit of wealth, there is one thing that it forbids sternly-the engrossing of the heart with the treasures of this world, the making the pursuit of these rather than of a good conscience in the sight of God the highest aim of our ambition, by our success or want of

success in which our happiness or misery is fixed. Such idolatry, to which we are constantly tempted, must ruin the immortal soul, make it the slave of Satan, and submit it to the influence of every unholy passion. We would therefore warn all to beware of this power; to be alive unto this danger; to resist the supremacy of such ambition; to examine into the hold which mere earthly objects have upon their affections; to seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and to make the glory of God the highest aim of their lives in whatever position placed. Our catechism opens with the brief but emphatic statement, "Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him for ever." Against such glorifying of God will Satan ever try to combat; but if we would prosper in the end we must resist all such temptation, giving the first place unto the fear of God, making the world and its affairs subordinate to this, while giving to them the attention that is due. And then, whatever befalls us, we shall be armed in the day of trial; we have a hope and joy that nothing can take from us. May this be the case with each of

us; and may we, in the strength of promised aid, resist that mammon-worshipping spirit by which so many souls are engulfed in eternal perdition, so many hopes wrecked, so many bright prospects, even of this life, blasted and destroyed.

THE ATONEMENT AND INTER

CESSION OF CHRIST.

"And having an High Priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water."-Hebrews X.

21, 22.

T

HESE verses, and those which precede them, bring strikingly to view the method of access unto the throne of grace, and the spirit in which prayer, the highest privilege of the Christian man, should be offered up. As the high priest entered into the holiest by the blood of atonement, and there obtained free access unto the presence of God, and answers to his requests, SO our High Priest hath

entered into the holiest of all on behalf of

man, by the shedding of His own blood when He offered Himself as a sacrifice upon the accursed tree. He could not enter in till He had borne the burden of the guilt of our sin unto the very dregs; till His soul was made an offering for sin; till He had passed through the dark valley of death, and had overcome the power of the grave, of which man by sin was the lawful victim. He became accursed for us, and then, by that infinite merit which He possessed, obtained through this curse the remission of the penalties of that law which threatened us with such direful consequences. The blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin. Without the shedding of this we must have. been for ever shut out from the Divine favour. The sacredness of divine law is involved in the truth of this representation. Either that law is not sacred, but flexible and changeable, or else our sins are forgiven only through the merits of our Lord's sufferings and death. There are but the two alternatives, and in the acceptance of the last are involved all the hopes and promises of the gospel.