deemed us, and saved us, not for a time, but for ever, and will receive us into his heavenly kingdom, there to reign with Him, not for a time, but for ever.-Homily on the Nativity.

THE THRONE OF GRACE.-Those are welcome to the throne of grace who come oftenest, and ask the greatest things. It is otherwise in addresses to friends or great men on earth. You may be welcome to them if you come now and then, and if you ask little things; but if you come daily, and ask great things, and grow in your suits, they will quickly be weary of you. But what saith the King on this throne of grace? "Hitherto ye have asked nothing in my name; ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full."-Traill.

IGNORANCE OF NATURAL MEN.-The sun seems less than the wheel of a chariot; but reason teaches the philosopher that it is much bigger than the whole earth, and the cause that it seems so little is its great distance. The naturally wise man is equally deceived by this carnal reason, in his estimate of Jesus Christ," the Sun of Righteousness;" and the cause is the same, his great distance from Him; as the Psalmist speaks of the wicked, "Thy judgments are far above, out of his sight 1." Such a man accounts Christ and his glory a smaller matter than his own gain, honour, or pleasure; for these are near him, and he sees their quantity to the full, and counts them indeed bigger, yea, far more worth than they are. But the Apostle St. Paul, and all who are enlightened by the same Spirit, know, by faith, which is divine reason, that the excellency of Jesus Christ' far surpasses the worth of the whole earth, and all things earthly.Leighton.

VANITY OF THE WORLD.-When we lay subtle and intricate designs to obtain the things of this world, we are but like spiders, that, with a great deal of art and labour, weave a curious cobweb only to catch flies. Yea, and it may be that, before the prey be caught, both they and their web are swept down together, and trod in the dust. So when we form designs to get any worldly advantage, it is but taking a great deal of pains to catch a

fly. And possibly, before it be caught, the rude hand of death wraps us about in our cobweb, and sweeps us down into the grave; and in that very moment we and all our well-laid projects perish together3.—Bishop Hopkins.

THE COLONIAL BISHOPRICS.

THE Committee appointed to arrange measures, in concert with Her Majesty's Government, for the erection and endowment of additional bishoprics in the colonies and dependencies of Great Britain, are directing their attention to the erection of sees in Sierra Leone, Western Australia, the Mauritius, and Prince Rupert's Land. But, prior to the erection of either of these places as bishoprics, it is intended to erect a new see at Victoria, Hongkong; but 20,000l. is necessary before the consent of the Government for the foundation of a bishopric can be hoped for. At present, the committee have in hand 18,000l., to be applied to the object in question, 5000l. of which is for a college, a large portion having been subscribed by two anonymous donors, and the remainder collected under a pastoral letter of the Bishop of London. It is well known that the Lord Bishop of Calcutta is using the most strenuous efforts to obtain a subdivision of his own enormous diocese by the erection of a bishopric for the north-western provinces. Such an arrangement is imperatively required for the welfare and extension of the Church of England in Northern India; whilst the recent wonderful spread of Christianity in the southern provinces of Tanjore and Tinevelly must, ere long, force attention to the importance of sending forth a chief pastor for the special oversight of these infant Churches.— Globe.

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS.

We have received the communications of J.; S. A.; X. Y. Z.; M. P.; M. B.; E. D.; a Layman; and some anonymous correspondents.

3 Ps. cxlvi. 4.

THE BLESSEDNESS OF GOD'S PEOPLE.

We have a sure promise that our prayers will be heard, and that we shall find the help we seek for, if we are among the number of those faithful ones to whom the promise of God's blessing is made. The promise is to "God's people," the comfort is for them. "Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, saith the Lord." How deeply then, my brethren, it concerns us to know who are God's people! How all-important it is to us, that we ourselves should be among that number! "The Lord knoweth them that are his," assuredly. And shall we argue then that it is useless for us to strive, or to watch, or to pray, for that we cannot alter God's decree? This would, indeed, be to pervert a divine truth, and to turn it from its real purpose to our own destruction. "Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity;" here is a mark by which Christ's people are to be known. They depart from iniquity, and their souls are devoted to the service of God; and it is through God's grace that they are thus made his people, and that they belong to his fold. But this grace is promised to every one who asks it; to every one who comes to Christ in real ance and true faith, entirely trusting to Him, and sincerely

VOL. XXVIII.

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repent

desiring and striving to depart from iniquity, and to be zealous and earnest in the service of God. But do we say that we are Christ's people, because we have been admitted into his fold by baptism? We have great reason to be thankful that we are born in a land where the Gospel of Christ is known, and that we have, in our infancy, been dedicated to Him. But how are we living now? are we living up to the vows which are upon us? Have we now the mark which distinguishes Christ's people? Are we opposed to all that is contrary to God's will, and daily seeking to grow in grace, and to make progress in godliness. Are we advancing towards heaven? Are we fighting manfully against our spiritual enemies, our sins, and our corruptions? Are we now Christ's faithful soldiers and servants? Do we love those who love Him? and in the company of the faithful, are we seeking to gain the victory over sin, the world, and the devil? Are we thus on the Lord's side? thus his people? Is it so with us? Then we need not fear. We shall be made more than conquerors, through Him that loved us.

THE LOVE OF GOD PRODUCING HAPPINESS AND

OBEDIENCE.

V.

If we do desire to act according to the will of God, we shall constantly feel how different will be our objects, and pursuits, and occupations, from those which delight and engage the minds of those who live as if there were no God to see them and to judge them; we shall then consider what is the will of God, and what is the nature of his laws; that his laws are given to us for our own good, that they come from a God of love; and we shall then know that perfect happiness, peace, and safety, belong to those who love Him with all their heart, and all their mind, and soul, and strength. And this love of God will show itself in our love to our fellow Christians; he that loveth God is to love his brother also. But who has wholly kept this law? The humble Christian confesses that he has fallen far short. Then he looks to the sacrifice of Christ. His blood cleanseth from all sin. The faithful believer may apply this to himself. The

promises and the blessings are his. But he has this mark too; he is ever seeking to serve God; he feels his own weakness and insufficiency: but he knows that the Spirit is ready to help his infirmities, that there is a power at hand to help him, whose strength shall be made perfect in his weakness. These are his privileges and his blessings; forgiveness of sins, and consequently peace with God; the renewing help of God's Spirit; and consequently growth and progress in Christian obedience and love. Who would forego these inestimable blessings? Who would fall short of them? Who would listen to those assertions which spring from what the Apostle calls, the ignorance of foolish men? Who would rob them of their rich inheritance? Who would lose the happiness of being able to say, "I know in whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day1"

v.

THOUGHTS FOR GOOD FRIDAY.

1 COR. XV. 3.

"Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures." "CHRIST died!" and oh! what a death it was! how distinguished from all other possible experience before or since! Did Christ, the Prince of peace, the King of kings, die as a king dieth? was his the grave of human glory? Did He sink in the ripeness of age amidst the fond regrets of a loyal world, amidst the tears of universal affection? Ah, no! nothing of all this! listen, O listen, to the mighty mystery! Christ, the Son of God, the Lord of all worlds-the Fountain and Giver of life, dies the death, the accursed death, of the Cross.

"Well might the sun in darkness hide

And shut his glories in,

When Christ, the mighty Maker, died
For man the creature's sin!"

"Christ died for our sins;" this, this is the grand doctrine of the text, deeply engraven in all the afflictive narrative of our Lord's crucifixion. Listen to the lash, the deep cutting lash of the twisted scourge! look at

1 2 Tim. i. 12.