The Ecclesiastical Observer. "Come let us anew Our journer pursue Roll round with the year," And never stand still till the Master appear. AND we shall move on in one very important sense, whatever else we do or leave undone. still, for In the journey of life there is no standing "Time is winging us away, To our eternal home." In another respect, also, we do not, and cannot, long stand still. In the Divine Life we either move forward or retrograde. We crucify the flesh with its affections and lusts, or they become stronger. We appropriate the "Milk of the Word," and "grow thereby," and then new and higher results come forth in our life; or, neglecting that divinely-constituted pabulum, we sicken and pine, carnality being in the ascendant. Then we are so prone to this neglect. There is so much to do, so much to see, so much to enjoy, and withall so much to read that the good old Book is too often forgotten, or passed over with but scant attention. Indeed, in some instances, the taste is so perverted by the light-reading of the day, that the appetite will not accommodate itself to the food of heaven-the only aliment by which spiritual life can be sustained. How has it been with you, dear reader, in this particular? Have you made progress in Bible knowledge? Have you so digested the Word of Truth that it has become, therefore, a part of yourself, bringing forth fruit unto life eternal? In this particular-"Let us anew, our journey pursue," pressing onward till "the Master appear." "The Master!" What a designation! Our Master! Then we are servants? Yes-servants of the Lord Jesus. Not merely servants, but friends, and even more than friends. Blessed truth! Still we have a service to and for Him. It is a high and holy vocation: precious and Observer, Jan. 1, '75. honourable. It is a service of love-love growing out of His love for us. How, then, have we served Him this past year? With great imperfection and unworthiness certainly, when looking even at the best. In some cases, no doubt, the languor has been so intense as to warrant reference to His-" I know thy works: that thou art neither cold nor hot. I would thou wert cold or hot. So, then, because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." "As many as I love I rebuke and chasten; be zealous, therefore, and REPENT.' Let us, then, hear Him who speaks from Heaven. His adorable will Let us gladly fulfil : And our talents improve, By the patience of Hope, and the labour of Love. 66 Yes, He chastens those He loves—not for His pleasure, but for their profit; that they may partake of His holiness. Some, perhaps, exclaim, "Yes, and this last year I have had affliction enough; and I am not at all sure that it has done me much good." Very likely. But in that case, unless given up as reprobate, more may be expectedmercy being unable to withhold it. Be ye not as the horse or as the mule, which must be held in with bit and bridle." Remember the sublime saying, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it that it may bring forth more fruit." Pruning comes not on wholly barren branchesthose that bear fruit feel the knife "that they may bear more fruit." Forgetful of this we may readily exclaim "Ah, Lord! Thy chastening hand restrain, Are there not other branches bare But then the Heavenly Pruner may well reply— "On fruitful boughs my care I spend, The thick green leaves I cut away, And touch the grapes with ripening ray. "Never stand still till the Master appear." Well, the toil and the battle, so far as we are personally engaged, are not likely to last till He comes. There is the " sleep in Jesus;" and during the past year some have laid their armour aside, having fought the good fight of the faith; and, |