costly a sacrifice, that she might honour her Lord. Such sacrifices are to be estimated, however, not by the amount given for the cause of Christ, but by the amount retained. The poor widow who gave two mites at the temple treasury, was commended by Christ, not for giving her mites, but because they were all the money she had; hence, the poor man's penny is often a greater evidence of liberality than the rich man's pound. Such is the standard by which we are to measure the sacrifice of Mary. It was not a little she did, for she did "what she could."

What is the commendation implied in this? Christ commended her noble spirit. It displayed love, and gratitude to Him, such as might well be a pattern for Christians in all countries, and in all ages. Christ vindicated her from the censoriousness of those who blamed her for her costly liberality. Surely we cannot do too much to honour Christ, and it is certain that if we did more to honour Him than we are doing, we would soon have more abundant means at our disposal. Christ commended her, because what she had done was useful to Him. He was about to suffer, and die, and be buried, and these events were so near, that He looked upon it, according to Jewish custom, as the anointing of His body before its burial. And Christ commended her, because her good deed was a bright example to all present.

Twenty-Fourth Sabbath—Morning.

THE GOSPEL REPORT.

"Who hath believed our report?"-Is. liii. 1.

EVIL reports spread quickly, and find many who believe in them; good reports are spread with difficulty, and few credit them. The gospel report has been spreading throughout the world for more than eighteen centuries, and yet the believers are fewer than the unbelievers. Think of the gospel report-our duty to believe it-and the just complaint that so few do believe.

The gospel report. It is a true report. Sin is our disease, and it tells us of a remedy and a cure; and that it is true, is evidenced by prophecy. The predictions about Christ in the Old Testament, were all minutely fulfilled; and the predictions of Christ, about himself, and His Church, and the destruction of Jerusalem, were as remarkably fulfilled. Besides, there are many other predictions fulfilled, and fulfilling, which ought to carry conviction to the mind, that the Word, which contains them, was written by the finger of God. That the report is true, is evidenced by miracles. The miracles of the prophets, of Christ, and His apostles, are numerous and varied-wrought in different countries, in the presence of numerous witnesses, who were foes as well as friends-and all for the good of

suffering humanity. No man could deny them, yet some men rejected them as evidence, by attributing them to the agency of Satan. What a hollow pretence! Would Satan attempt to pull down his own kingdom? That the report is true, is also evident, from the remarkable success of the gospel in the first age of the Church, notwithstanding the opposition and persecution of kings and governments. All the kingdoms of the world were opposed to the gospel, yet it spread, and penetrated, and triumphed. It is a report of good. It tells us of a Saviour, suitable, mighty, and willing to save. It tells us of His atonement for sin, and of pardon, and salvation, to the perishing. And it tells us of the necessity of faith, and the work of the Holy Spirit, by which all the blessings of salvation become ours. It is a public report, designed to be spread throughout the world. Faithful men are commissioned to tell it to every creature; and tell it plainly, boldly, and earnestly. Had Christian men, and Christian ministers, in all ages, done their duty, all the world would have heard of this report long ago.

Our duty is to believe it. We must first make ourselves acquainted with it. We have it in the Scriptures, which we must read, and try to understand. We have it in the ordinances of religion, on which we must regularly wait, and by which we must try to profit. And we have it in

THE GOSPEL REPORT.

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the conversation and conduct of religious men, whose light shines before us, by reflecting the light of salvation. We must, as soon as acquainted with it, believe it. We are to believe, not merely one truth, but all the truths of the gospel; we are to receive them as messages from heaven to our souls, and we are to claim and appropriate Christ, who is the sum and substance of the gospel report. We are to believe, because Jesus invites and requires us, and because, if we do not, we must inevitably perish. We are to believe, through the operation of the Holy Spirit, who rolls divine truth into the heart, and overcomes all our enmity, for, in believing, the arm of the Lord is revealed.

The just complaint, that so few believe. There was cause for this complaint under the ministry of Christ. "Though He had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on Him. That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which He spake, Lord, who hath believed our report ?" There was cause for the same complaint under the ministry of the apostles. "But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Who hath believed our report ?" And there is the same cause for complaint still. Infidelity prevails, and ruins many souls. Ignorance prevails, and envelopes the mind in darkness. And sensuality prevails, and overwhelms its victims.

Twenty-Fourth Sabbath—Evening.

THE GREAT FAMILY.

"The whole family in heaven and earth."-Eph. iii. 15.

THE family-the whole family--and their residence, require our attention.

The family, their characteristics. They are a believing family. All the children of God are so "through faith in Jesus Christ." "As many as receive Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name." They credit the testimony which God gives of His Son; they receive that Son as their Saviour; and they claim all that God has promised through Him. They are a praying family. Paul, as one of them, in the verse before the text says, "I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." Prayer is the breath of religion; the first utterance of the child of God's heart to his Father in heaven; the first way and the principal way in which he holds communion with heaven; and the grand secret of his power over temptation, over the world, and over death. "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." They are a loving family. They love the Lord Jesus Christ; they love all the followers of Christ of every name; they love the persecuted and the outcast; and they love the oppressed