Che Drawn Sword.

ANXIOUS READER! your case may be illustrated by an incident recorded of one in ancient times. He was accustomed to flatter his king and to extol the happiness enjoyed by monarchs. To convince the flatterer of his mistaken notions, Dionysius, his sovereign, had him robed in royal garments, and caused him to be seated beneath the royal canopy that encircled the throne in the banqueting chamber. There were servants waiting on him in great array, and with the most delicate viands the tables were spread. All was there that even an epicure could desire. But Damocles could not eat. He could not enjoy all that state. He could not partake of the pleasures of that sumptuous feast. And why? He was filled with alarm. For above his head hung a naked sword, tied by a single horsehair. And the thought that in a moment that hair might break, and his life be the sacrifice, marred the enjoyments of that feast,

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THE DRAWN SWORD.

and made him forget the splendors of that throne. And was it any wonder? That naked sword, suspended by a single hair, was reason sufficient for alarm.

And is not his case an illustration of that of a sinner condemned? Over the head of every unpardoned sinner is suspended the drawn sword of Divine Justice, that may in a moment fall. "The wrath of God abideth upon him." The reason why the jailor of Philippi became alarmed at that midnight hour was because he became conscious of his danger; he awoke, as it were, to the consciousness that the sword of Justice was suspended above his head.

What to you, my anxious reader, are the pleasures of the world, while above you is that drawn sword? What to you are the charms of society, while that sword is still there? What to you is prosperity in business, or the applause of the whole world? What is it to you that all things are going well with you in this world, if in a moment your cup of bliss may be dashed from your lips and your everlasting future be shrouded in gloom? The sword of justice is still above you. That sentence of condemnation

THE DRAWN SWORD.

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is still standing out against you. In a moment that sentence may be executed. In a moment that sword may fall, and then where are all your bright hopes and present joys? For what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Again I ask you, in deep earnestness and affectionate interest, Where can you look? Whither can you fice?

You can find no place for the sole of your foot but where your God has appointed. "O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thy help found." "Look unto me and be ye saved, all ye ends of the earth." There is for you no refuge, no hope but in JESUS ONLY.

Thou art the Way, to thee alone
From sin and death we flee;
And he who would the Father seek,
Must seek him, Lord, by thee.

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way and the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but my me."-St. John xiv. 6.

Behold the Lamb of God.

AND now, inquiring reader, if indeed you are alive to your true position before God, and feel that to be one of danger, your first duty is to turn your mind to the Lord Jesus Christ-the Lamb of God. He alone can be of use to you in your present extremity. "Neither is there salvation. in any other." So was it when the jailor, in deep anxiety, asked the way of salvation. The apostles replied, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." How wise was this advice! Had the apostles told the man to do anything else, or look anywhere else, his attention would have been drawn aside from the only object that could benefit his soul.

Oh! there are times when the inquiring mind must be directed at once to the Saviour; when it must not be allowed to rest on itself, or on any other object short of Christ himself. Religious duties are well in their place; prayers are well; Bible

BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD.

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readings are well; sacraments are well; ministers are well; duties are good in their place; but not one, not any, not all of these can save the sinner; and, if under the pressing necessity of spiritual distress, the mind is turned to these instead of to Christ, it is misled and its safety endangered. How many, when anxious, flee to prayers as their Saviour, or to sacraments as their Saviour, or to human teachers, to ministers, or priests as their Saviour. How many begin to work with their feelings, and try to make their hearts or lives better, and think that is the way to be saved, that this is the way to the Father. But no; there is a more excellent way; there is a shorter road; it is the "new and living way." "I am the way," said Jesus, "no man cometh unto the Father but by me. Be assured Christ is the only being in the Universe who can be of use to the condemned sinner. He is the only source of safety and peace. Just as the Israelites, when bitten by the fiery serpents, were directed to look to the serpent of brass, erected by Moses on the pole, and by looking upon that, and upon no other object, were healed; so it is by look