epistles, known and read of all men. Thus taught, their light shines before men, and sheds a bright radiance on darkened minds.

Think of their happiness-" Great shall be the peace of thy children." They shall have peace with God. The wicked banish from their minds thoughts of God. They have no risings of love in their hearts for Him. They count Him as an enemy, and, therefore, they have no peace. But the children of God feel a fire of love burning in their bosoms to their Father in heaven. They know and believe the love He hath to them. They have a sense of His pardoning mercy, hence, their peace is great, like a river, which grows deeper and wider, as it gets nearer the ocean. They shall have peace in themselves, peace in their minds, peace in their families, peace in their lot, and their latter end shall be peace. Reader, if thou hast this peace, nothing can disturb it but sin, and thou wilt not part with it for gold. They shall have peace with all men. How dreadful and destructive is a war of elements! How revolting and distressing is a war of nations! And how wretchedly embittering is a war of words among friends and neighbours! From all these, the children of God are delivered. They live peaceably with all

men.

Linth Sabbath-Morning.

IMMEDIATE SAFETY.

"Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed."-Gen, xix. 17.

The danger to be shunned. The inhabitants of Sodom were wicked exceedingly; their sins were of the deepest dye; their impenitence seemed confirmed; their treasury of wrath was full; and their entire ruin was at hand. The righteous Lot, whose soul was vexed with their wickedness, could no longer live among them without endangering his life. Reader, if thou art of the world, thou art in Sodom, the city of the plague, and thy danger is imminent, thy ruin is impending. Art thou not anxious to save thy soul? Dost thou not see that, sooner or later, the wages of sin and folly will be misery and death? If thou wert instantly plunged into deep water, how soon wouldst thou realize the danger of losing thy life, and should not thy soul be plunged into distress because of thy sins? shouldst not thou realize thy danger and try to escape?

The duty required is "Escape." The destruction of Sodom was near, but there was a way of escape for Lot, and he must avail himself of it without delay. In like manner, O reader, thy sins expose thee to danger, but thou mayest still escape. God, in His great love to thy soul, has

D

provided an Almighty Deliverer. There is salvation in Christ. "A man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place; as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land." To this Deliverer thou must escape with all thy sins and thy sorrows, and thou wilt be received and saved. Not a moment is to be lost. The avenger of blood is at thy heels. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved."

The decision necessary-"Look not behind thee." Though sin should be sweet, though the world should be attractive, Lot and his family must quit them without a grudge. Alas! his wife wanted decision; she looked back, and became a pillar of salt. But, my reader, there must be no doublemindedness in thee, no doubting of the divine command, no hankering after the world, and no compromise between sin and duty. "How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow Him: but if Baal, then follow him." How many, through the want of decision, take a false step, which never can be recalled, and which embitters their whole existence !

The delay to be deprecated-" Neither stay thou in all the plain." There was danger in Sodom, and there was danger in the whole plain around it, and the sooner Lot was away from danger, and as far away from it as possible, the better. So, my fellow-sinner, there is danger to thee.

IMMEDIATE SAFETY.

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Thy life is short and uncertain-the destruction which sin brings is swift-and the salvation of thy soul is important. Why then delay? Suppose you saw a strong healthy man, who might be expected to live many years, would you risk all your property upon the continuance of his life for one year, without any prospect of gain? You would not. And if you would not risk your property on the continuance of the life of another, how can you think of risking your soul on the continuance of your own life, while you may not live a week?" To-day, then, if you will hear His voice, harden not your heart."

The defence to be reached-"Escape to the mountain." There was safety on the mountain, though there was danger on the plain. When the Romans were to besiege Jerusalem, the inhabitants of Judea were to flee into the mountains. The stone which smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. Thus the kingdom of Christ on earth is figured by a mountain, and whoever escapes into this mountain, shall find safety, purity, and continuance. "The Lord is my defence, and my God is the rock of my refuge." Reader, escape from thy sins, escape from the snares and temptations of life. Take refuge in Jesus. Hide thyself under the covering of His blood. And build on this Rock of Ages thy hopes of salvation.

Ninth Sabbath-Evening.

THE NOBLE BEREANS.

"These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so."-Acts xvii. 11.

The noble conduct of the Bereans-"They received the word." Jews and Greeks among them felt their need of instruction and salvation, and when Paul and Silas taught them, and preached the word, they received it as the word of God, and not of man. A heathen prince, when visiting this country, was satisfied from what he saw of the conduct of men, that the Bible was the word of God. "When I found," says he, "all good men minding the Bible, and calling it the word of God, and all bad men disregarding it, and speaking against it, I then was sure that the Bible must be, what good men called it, the word of God." Truly, the Bible is the food of the soul, and our souls can have no life in them, and no growth in grace, unless we receive the word.

The Bereans received it "with all readiness of mind." They did not find fault with the preachers, like modern Bereans. They did not cavil at the truth. They did not excite prejudice, and stir up opposition. They were hungry, and they readily accepted the bread of life. They were thir ty, and they gladly received the water of life. They greatly needed