By Dr. Macduff

Morning Worship

O LORD, we beseech Thee to compose our minds for Thy worship and service. Draw Thou near to us, as we now draw near to Thee. Grant us the aids of Thy Holy Spirit, that all our duties, begun, carried on, and ended in Thee, may redound, through Jesus, to Thy praise and glory. Amen.

HYMN, or Psalm lxvi. 13, 14, 16-20.

            COME ye that know and fear the Lord,
And raise your thoughts above;
Let every heart and voice accord
To sing that “God is Love!”

This precious truth his word declares,
And all his mercies prove;
Jesus, the Gift of gifts appear,
To show that “God is Love!”

Behold his patience, bearing long
With those who from Him rove:
Till mighty grace their hearts subdues,
To teach them -- “God is Love!”

The work begun is carried on
By power from heaven above,
And every step, from first to last,
Declares that “God is Love!”

O may we all, while here below,
This best of blessings prove;
Til warmer hearts, in brighter worlds,
Proclaim that “God is Love!”

MICAH VI. 1-14.

HEAR ye now what the Lord saith; Arise, contend thou before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice. 2. Hear ye, O mountains, the Lord’s controversy, and ye strong foundations of the earth: for the Lord hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel. 3. O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me. 4. For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. 5. O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him from Shittim unto Gilgal; that ye may know the righteousness of the Lord. 6. Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt-offerings with calves of a year old? 7. Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my first-born for my transgressions, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8. He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? 9. The Lord’s voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hat appointed it. 10. Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the scant measure that is abominable? 11. Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights? 12. For the rich men thereof are full of violence, and the inhabitants thereof have spoken lies, and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth. 13. Therefore also will I make thee sick in smiting thee, in making thee desolate because of thy sins. 14. Thou shalt eat, but not be satisfied; and thy casting down shall be in the midst of thee; and thou shalt take hold, but shalt not deliver; and that which thou deliverest will I give up to the sword.

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Prayer.

O LORD GOD ALMIGHTY! We desire to come into Thy presence on this the morning of Thy holy Sabbath, rejoicing that we are again permitted, in Thy good providence, to see the light of another day of the Son of man. Our pillow, last night, might have been made the pillow of death. But Thou hast, in Thy mercy, spared us; we are still among the living to praise Thee. We would, with united hearts, set up our Ebenezer of thankfulness, and write upon it the inscription, “The Lord hath helped us hitherto.” May this Sabbath prove a day of holy rest to us -- a rest from sin, and a rest in God. May we welcome with gladness the return of its peaceful hours, and be enabled now to worship Thee in the beauty of holiness.

Lord, we are unworthy to come into thy presence, or so much as to lift up our eyes to the place where Thou, in glory, dwellest. What coldness in our prayers, what imperfection in our best attempts to serve Thee! We have not been living mindful of Thee. We have too often taken our blessings as matters of course. We have had unthankful spirits in the midst of daily tokens of unmerited mercy. We have not been feelingly alive to Thy wondrous grace and love in Jesus. We have not felt, as we ought, the attractive power of His cross. Our own hearts condemn us, and Thou art greater than our hearts, Thou knowest all things. All our hope is in the Son of Thy love. There is nothing but the sacrifice and continual intercession of our Great High Priest between us and everlasting destruction. O hide us in the clefts of this smitten Rock. We have no other Saviour -- and blessed be Thy name, we need no other. Bring us to live more under the constraining power of His love. May our hearts become living altars, and our lives living sacrifices. Give us a tender conscience, a broken spirit, holiness of heart, consistency of conduct, uprightness of life. May sin be increasingly hated. My holiness be increasingly loved. May we live as seeing Thee who art invisible. Strengthen us, good Lord, by the grace of Thy Holy Spirit, against all the temptations of a world lying in wickedness. May we live under the power of renewed natures and purified affections; and seek, that, as each returning Sabbath finds us nearer heaven, it may find us better prepared for it.

Bless all Thy people this day throughout the Christian world. May multitudes be added to the church, of such as shall be saved. Strengthen Thy ministering servants. May they be enabled to proclaim the whole counsel of God; and may Thy people be enabled to worship Thee in Spirit and in truth. Look in great kindness on any who may be prevented from waiting upon Thee in the services of the sanctuary. Transform every house of mourning, and every chamber of sickness, into the house of God and the gate of heaven. Have mercy on the afflicted. Spare and prolong valuable lives. Prepare the dying for death; and may the bereaved be enabled, in lowly submission to say, “Father, not our will, by Thine be done!”

We commend our beloved friends to Thy paternal keeping. May the Lord watch between them and us when we are absent one from another. Sanctify them in body, soul, and spirit, that they may at last be presented faultless before the presence of Thy glory with exceeding joy. Hear these our unworthy prayers; and all that we ask is for the Redeemer’s sake. Amen.

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THE CHURCH IN THE HOUSE.

BLESSED Lord, with whom is the residue of the Spirit, most mercifully grant us now Thy benediction and blessing. Open Thy holy scriptures to us. May we receive with meekness the ingrafted word which is able to save our souls, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

HYMN, or Psalm xl. 1-5.

SMILE on our souls, and bid us sing,
In concert with the choir above,
The glories of our Saviour King,
The condescensions of His love!

Amazing love! that stoop’d so low,
To view, with pity’s melting eye,
Vile men deserving endless woe!
Amazing love! did Jesus die!

He died, to raise to life and joy
The vile, the guilty, the undone;
O let his praise each hour employ,
Till hours no more their circles run!

He died! -- ye seraphs tune your songs,
Resound, resound the Saviour’s name!
For ev’n immortal, heavenly tongues
Can never reach the wondrous theme!

LUKE VII. 1-10.

NOW, when he had ended all his sayings in the audience of the people, he entered into Capernaum. 2. And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die. 3. And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant. 4. And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this: 5. For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue. 6. Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself, for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof: 7. Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed. 8. For I am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.

When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. 10. And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick.

EPHESIANS VI. 1-13.

CHILDREN, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 2. Honour thy father and thy mother, (which is the first commandment with promise,) 3. That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. 4. And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath; but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as to the Lord, and not to men: 8. Knowing, that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. 9. And ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening; knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him. 10. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 11. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

SERMON XIX.

“AND WHEN JESUS WAS ENTERED INTO CAPERNAUM, THERE CAME UNTO HIM A CENTURION, BESEECHING HIM, AND SAYING, LORD, MY SERVANT LIETH AT HOME SICK OF THE PALSY, GRIEVOUSLY TORMENTED. AND JESUS SAITH UNTO HIM, I WILL COME AND HEAL HIM.

-- Matt. viii. 5-7.

THE Sun of Righteousness had arisen on “Galilee of the Gentiles” -- the region and shadow of death -- with healing in His wings. From the summit of the Mount of Beatitudes, to the poor the gospel had been preached. On the plain at its base, or by the shores of the Lake, a leper had been cleansed. And now, no sooner had the Divine Philanthropist entered “His own city,” than a new suitor is at His feet. A Roman officer, whose servant was stretched on a couch of pain and death, comes to receive fresh proof of the Divine benediction, so recently uttered -- “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”

Let us look, FIRST, to the Suppliant’s previous history.

He was “a centurion,” or captain in the army of Herod -- stationed, with a hundred men under his command, in the barracks at Capernaum. We know nothing as to how long he had been resident in this town of Galilee. While there, however, he had become a Gentile proselyte. In his intercourse with the Jewish mind, he had been led to a knowledge of the true God. The bewildering polytheism, the ancestral Religion of his own land, into which he had been initiated in his youth, with its “lords many and gods many” -- the heartless vices and growing profligacy of Roman manners -- contrasted unfavourably with the sublime simplicity of the worship of Israel’s one Jehovah, and the lofty morality inculcated by the Mosaic law. Had religion been with him merely a stepping-stone in professional advancement, -- life a struggle for pay and place, to stand well at the government palace of Caesarea and Tiberias -- he had only to become the sycophant of Herod, to swear by the gods of Olympus and the Capitol, and plunge into the vices of these libertine courts.

But, in that vast Roman empire, God was preparing many minds for a kingdom whose glory and vastness the Caesar had never dreamt of. One of these “hidden ones” was this Capernaum soldier. He looked beyond the glitter and pageantry of earthly pomp and power, to more enduring realities, and sought to have the yawning gulph of his heart’s deep necessities filled with the great, the good and the true. The simple yet sublime revelations of the hebrew theology had thrown a flood of light on his path, and resolved many perplexities and doubts, whose solution he had vainly sought in his own mythological systems. An alien by birthright, he became by faith a child of Abraham; a stranger and foreigner, he had become a fellow-citizen of the household of God; and better still, he lived under the influential power of that religion which he had espoused as his creed.

We are called upon here to observe, very notably in his case, how true piety ennobles and elevates the character. Moralities -- natural virtues may, in themselves, be lovely and of good report; but when the soul in its actions and motives is pervaded and renovated by grace, it is like that same landscape bathed in sunshine, sparkling with a glory and beauty unpossessed before. Thus did the fear of God operate in the case of this centurion. It made him a better Man, a better Friend, a better Master, and perhaps a better Soldier too.

Let us look to two of these attributes as illustrated in the narrative we are now considering: --

1. He was a good Neighbour. “He loveth our nation, and hath built us a synagogue,” or literally, “He hath built the synagogue for us.”

Rooted was the hatred and scorn with which pagan nations regarded the nation of Israel. But this man had been taught, for its own and “the Fathers’ sakes,” to love it and he gave the most substantial proof of the reality of this affection; for in the centre of Capernaum, or close by the shores of the Lake, rose conspicuous the one synagogue of the town -- a strange and unwonted memorial for a Gentile Roman to raise at his own expense.

See here how religion makes the soul unselfish! Many a man, if he be well personally, is indifferent how his neighbor or the world fares. Perhaps unloved and uncared for himself, he thinks there is the less call upon him to love or care for others. He is in the midst of those who have no great claim upon him. He is too glad of the excuse or apology for steering clear of what would touch his means, or invade his time, or saddle him with new cares and responsibilities. It is the old plea, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” “No! I will live for myself -- I will clutch my gold the faster, and die amid hoards of plenty. I am a Gentile -- the blood of old Romulus is in my veins -- the memory of a proud line of heroes is my heir-loom. What care I for these dogs of Jews, these bigot Hebrews? I shall do Caesar’s work, and pocket Caesar’s pay. I shall rear my villa on this lake, and have my courtiers in the luxuries of my table, and the splendours of my retinue. What concern have I with these boors of Galilee? I am sent to curb their turbulent spirit. I will render to Caesar the things that are Caesars.

What have I to do with rendering to their God the things that are God’s?”

So speak many now; but so spake not this great and good centurion. He had riches, and he would use these riches; not for self or sin, but for the glory of that great Being he had been led to revere. Net to consecrating his own soul as a living temple of faith, and love, and grateful obedience, he had upreared a sanctuary wherein his poorer fellow-citizens might serve the God of their fathers, and where they would read and hear that law which had made him wiser and better than all his heathen teachers. The Roman soldier was sent to repress and subjugate by the sword; but the sword was sheathed, and he conquered by the weapon of kindness. He loved the nation he had been taught from his infancy to hate, and the God he served was now about to make good in his experience the old promise “Them that bless Israel I will bless.”

Himself and his servant being both by birth heathens, he felt as if he dared not personally approach the great Jewish Teacher. But he asks and willingly obtains the intervention of the elders of the city. He had proved to them a kind neighbour and generous benefactor. They are glad now of an opportunity of reciprocating his offices of regard. Though his presence in their town as an officer of the Roman army was a badge of their political servitude and degradation, yet the law of gratitude and love triumphs over all party jealousies and national animosities. They joyfully undertake the task of mediators, and hasten with his errand to the Saviour’s feet. The words of Jesus that morning on the Mount of Beatitudes had scarce died away, when they received, in the case of the centurion, a touching fulfilment, “Love ye your enemies, and do good, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest.”

2. He was a kind Master. The synagogue-building might have been a piece of Roman ostentation -- the monument which a vain man had erected in a foreign land to perpetuate his name, and secure for himself a brief immorality. It might have been even worse: it might have been erected by the old Roman, on the principle of later Romanists, as the price of a monster “indulgence” -- a sop wherewith to quiet conscience and hush suspicion, in the midst of vice, extortion, and profligacy. But far different was it in his case. The outer deeds of generosity and munificence has an inner echo in goodness of heart and a holy life. We follow him within the sacred threshold of his own homestead. It is all that we could have expected -- in happy conformity with his public character. The love whose field was the Jewish nation, had its centre and focus in the domestic hearth.

It is indeed, a beautiful and touching picture which is here presented to us: an officer seated by the bedside of his suffering servant, who was racked in torturing pain, “grievously tormented”-- “ready to die.”

Death at all times is a solemn thing Who better able to brave it than was the iron soldier of old Rome, familiar with it, as he was, under its most fearful forms? But it is one thing to face it in the hour of battle -- boldly to die a hero’s death -- and another to watch the slow and stealthy footstep of the grim Destroyer, as he creeps into our loved circles, and threatens to drag endeared inmates down to the blank of everlasting silence. That ghastly enemy confronts him now face to face, and threatens to sweep away “one dear to him” (or, as the word means, “highly valued”). Though that valued one was but a slave, occupying a different relation to his Roman master from what the British servant does to a British master, we may well come and sit at the foot of this “good centurion,” and learn lessons of kindness and affection to our inferiors and dependents.

Is there not a solemn reproof and reprimand to many, in the tear that stood in that Soldier’s eye, and the heaving emotions that struggled in his bosom for utterance, as he sat, night by night, at the couch of his slave, and sought by word and deed to alleviate his sufferings? Pure religion, and undefiled before God, led him to stoop to these offices of lowly love. That blessed Redeemer, at whose feet he was about to cast himself, illustrated, at a subsequent period of His ministry, by a significant act, this duty of condescension and kindness -- He washed His disciples feet. He told them to “go and do likewise;” and His whole gospel breathes the precept, “Condescend to men of low estate.”

The centurion of Capernaum cherishes the remembrance of years on years of faithful unremitting servitude; and now he will change places for a time with the helpless sufferer; he will be himself as one that serveth, bending over his anguished pillow in offices of affection and solicitude.

Happy would it be for social life, did Religion, more than it does, thus sanctify and hallow the holy bond uniting servant and Master! The servant working under the lofty Christian motive, “I serve the Lord Christ;” the master knowing and remembering that he has a master also in heaven: the spirit at least remaining of Boaz’ salutation to his servants as they reaped in his fields at Bethlehem -- he meeting them with the benediction “The Lord bless you,” and they responding, “The Lord bless thee!”

Such, then is a glimpse into the character -- the public and private life -- of the man who now sent the urgent message to the Saviour in behalf of his servant, and who follows up the mission of the elders of the city by himself leaving the sickbed he was tending, and prostrating himself at the Lord’s feet. We wait with anxiety to learn the particulars of this interview.

Let us look, first, to the centurion’s address to the Saviour.

Two things are very observable in his conduct and words: --

I. Observe his HUMILITY -- “Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldest come under my roof.”

What a saying for a proud Roman to a poor Jew! The elders had just, a little before, reached Jesus with the centurion’s message, enforcing it with the plea -- “That he was worthy for whom he should do this.” But different is the humble Officer’s own estimate: he felt that he was a “sinner of the Gentiles” -- an alien from the commonwealth of Israel -- having no heritage in the covenant promises and the temporal blessings therein included.

But he felt more than this. The deep things of God’s law had been revealed to his inquiring spirit. He was convinced of the deficiency and defilement of his best obedience and holiest deeds; and with no disguised, or sembled, or counterfeit humility, he bends in lowliest abasement before “the Holy One.” A higher wall of separation than the old conventional one between Jew and Gentile, separated between him and Infinite Purity. He had, doubtless, become familiar with the person and character of the Saviour from His teachings and miracles in and around Capernaum. It may be, in the sumptuous synagogue which his own munificence had reared, have heard of the miraculous Draught of fishes. He must have witnessed the results, at least, of that wondrous Sabbath evening, when disease, which in the morning had flapped its gloomy wings over many a household, at sunset fled by His mighty mandate away. It is more than likely, from his rank and position, that he knew the nobleman whose son, in the same city, had recently experienced the might of Christ’s omnipotent word. Would not the same Power that raised a son, raise a Roman bondslave? Was he not approaching One who knew no distinction between Jew and Greek, barbarian, Sythian, bond or free?

It is indeed a lovely impersonation of humility, to see this scion of proud Rome -- a captain in her armies -- one of those accustomed to curl his lip whenever the name of “Jew” was mentioned -- laying aside the pride of name and rank and nation; forgetting that he had stood among the martial legions in the Campus Martius, or sat a guest at Herod’s table; accustomed ever to command, seldom to obey; -- rushing now, in the extremity of his unselfish sorrow, to the feet of the homeless Saviour -- the carpenter’s son -- the companion of fishermen!

But while “God resisteth the proud,” He “giveth grace to the humble.” “He that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” That half-heathen worshipper and suppliant has his brow to this hour wreathed with laurel, which survives in imperishable glory, while the garlands of Roman triumphs and victors have faded into decay, and left no trace behind. He has a monument in the hearts of all loving masters, and faithful servants, and humble-hearted Christians. For “wherever the gospel is preached in all the world,” there shall this, that this Roman officer hath done, be told as a memorial of him.

II. The second feature notable (most notable), in the centurion’s conduct, is his FAITH. Whenever there is Humility, there is the concomitant grace of Faith; as a tree strikes its branches upwards in proportion as it strikes its roots downwards, so in proportion as a man is deep in humility, is he “strong in faith, giving glory to God.”

The remarkable feature in this grace of the centurion, and which drew such a tribute regarding it from the lips of Omniscience, was -- that he solicited from Jesus, for he effecting of his servant’s cure, nothing but a word. Unlike the nobleman who journeyed to Cana, and besought Jesus to “come down” to Capernaum and heal his son (imagining that the personal presence of the Healer by the sick -couch was indispensable), he requested no more than the mere utterance of the will of Omnipotence. He who of old said, amid brooding chaos, “Let there be light,” had now but to give forth the mandate, ‘Let there be Life,’ and returning health would mantle the cheeks, and the palsied hands be clasped in grateful thanksgiving.

Observe, too, as an interesting feature in the Soldier’s Faith, it took its colour and character from his Soldier-life -- “For, “ he adds, “I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me.” “I am myself a subaltern -- I am accustomed to obey the Tribune, my superior officer and the soldiers of my company, in a similar way, give prompt obedience to my orders. I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.’

The application of the appeal is evident: “If I, in this my worldly calling, have only in the name of Caesar to speak and it is done -- I believe, Lord, it is much more so with Thee. Sickness and Disease are Thy appointed messengers; they are servants executing Thy behests; they come and go at Thy command; this palsy now chaining my servant down to his couch, bid it away: -- trouble not Thyself to come and touch him, but even here, in this open street, utter the healing word, and I know the result -- my servant shall be healed.”

We may well cease to wonder at Christ denominating this a “great faith.” Faith deals with the distant, the unseen, the impalpable, the intangible. It has been well defined, “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” We are ever craving for the evidence of sense and sight; the demand of Thomas is one natural to these earthly hearts of ours, “Except I see ….I shall not believe.” But “blessed,” said the Lord, “are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” We, in this age of the Church, are in the position of that sick servant at Capernaum. To the eye of sense, we are separated from the Saviour. We see him not, -- we can touch him not -- the hand cannot steal amid the crowd to catch His garment hem -- we cannot hear His loved footsteps as of old on our thresholds; but Faith penetrates the invisible; the messenger, -- Prayer, -- meets Him in the streets of the New Jerusalem; and Faith and Prayer together -- the twin delegates from His Church below -- He has never yet sent empty away.

Go, my friends, in the spirit of that Faith to Him; believe in what He has done, and what He is still willing to do. Go and, like the centurion, beseech Him “instantly.” Make the most of fleeting opportunities. Beware of abused responsibilities. Do not wait and linger until you effect some preliminary preparation. “Just as you are,” with no posture but that of humility, and no prayer but the prayer of faith, cast yourself at His feet, saying, “Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief!” And the greater the measure of your faith, the larger and more munificent will be the recompense. Jesus tells the soldier-suppliant that the answer vouchsafed will be commensurate with the degree of his faith -- “As thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.”

Having considered the feelings manifested by the Roman centurion in addressing Jesus in behalf of his sick servant, turn we now to the Saviour’s comment on the conduct of this noble-minded soldier, and to those practical lessons with which the subject is replete.

He announces, in connection with this remarkable display of faith, the inbringing of the Gentile nations, “Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.”

This Roman soldier was the earnest-sheaf of a mighty harvest yet to be reaped from heathen lands -- the first fruits of that vast quarter of the globe where Christianity was in after ages to set up its banners and gather its noblest trophies. In the case of the recent miraculous cure on the leper, Jesus “touched” him. That leper was a Jew -- a Hebrew by birth; the “touching” him, may be taken as emblematic of the Saviour’s coming into personal contact with those of His own nation, -- “He came to His own, though His own received Him not.” In the case of the present miracle, however, there was no immediate or personal contact with the subject of it. The Saviour spake the distant word, and the Roman slave was cured. May not this have been designed as emblematic of those far off Gentiles and Gentile nations -- millions and millions -- who were never permitted, like Israel, to gaze on the Incarnate God, but who were, in after ages, to experience the power and potency of His miraculous word and will?

“Many shall come and shall sit down with Abraham!” Startling utterance this surely to these Galileans; only surpassed by this Jewish Prophet and Teacher turning round and commending openly to the crowd, the faith of a Gentile as surpassing that even of the “peculiar people.” He prefaces it with the word that marks something strange and unwonted, “Verily I say unto you.” Strange, indeed, to Jewish ears it was! That leper, miserable spectacle though he were, was descended from Abraham. He had the accents of the Hebrew tongue hanging on his lips -- he might be able to point, as most Jews were, in the absence of any other heritage, to the sepulchre where lay the ashes of his fathers: but here was a ROMAN -- the synonym of Enmity, Oppression, Profligacy! -- for, along with their conquering standards, they had imported to the shores of that quiet lake the crimes and vices of the capital. Could it be that such wild olive-branches were to be grafted into the native olive? That these Gentile wanderers are to be gathered by the Good Shepherd into one fold? These peoples, so diverse, and for long considered so antagonistic, to be fused into one mass, and that out of this mass there is to arise the Church of the future? Yes; and this Roman officer and his slave are selected as the first of these “children of God scattered abroad” who are to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the new kingdom -- the children of Abraham’s faith, partakers in Abraham’s promise, and finally to be sharers in Abraham’s glorious reward.

There are many important reflections suggested by this memorable incident -- we can only advert to two of these:--

First, we are again taught the oft repeated Scripture lesson, that in every profession and occupation of life, a man may serve God.

How often are people apt to plead their professions and worldly engagements as an apology for ungodliness! ‘I might have been a Christian,’ say many, ‘but for this adverse position in which I am placed in business. I might have been following a mother’s teachings, and reaping the blessings of a mother’s prayers; but, cast where I am, it is vain to think of a holy walk. I am, by a sad necessity, denied the happiness of a religious life.’

How different it was with this Roman soldier! Not only, soldier as he was, did he fear God; but, it is very observable, he fed and nurtured his faith from his military habits and experience. The old discipline and training of a camp-life read to him a high spiritual lesson in approaching Christ -- “For I am a man under authority,” &c.

Ah, it is beautiful when a man thus makes his trade or profession, whatever it be, suggestive of spiritual incentives and motives of action! David, in the most imperishable of poems, made his shepherd-life beautifully to shadow forth his covenant relation to God, beholding in the “green pastures’ and “still waters’ to which he led his flock, a peaceful image of spiritual safety and repose. Listen to the apostle Paul, “the tentmaker,” toiling with his own hands at the goats’ hair canvas that he “might be chargeable to no man:” as he suspends his manual labour to write an epistle to the Church at Corinth, he borrows from his homely occupation encouragement for their hearts and his own, with regard to more enduring “tents” -- for we know that when this house of our earthly tent is taken down, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” Or, at a later period, “I am an ambassador in bonds,” said he, as he wrote with the heavy iron fettering his hand; but the chain suggest the glorious contrast, “the word of God is not bound.”

And every profession may become suggestive of such and similar spiritual verities.

Is it the Husbandman? He can read in the golden harvest an undying type and pledge of spiritual blessings as the result of faith and earnest diligence in the heavenly husbandry an undying type and pledge of spiritual blessings as the result of faith and earnest diligence in the heavenly husbandry -- that “in due season we shall reap if we faint not.”

Is it the Sailor? Every wave that wafts him nearer the harbour may remind him of the vaster voyage on which he is embarked -- warn him of the treacherous storms, and tell of the glorious security of the heavenly port.

Is it the Physician? He is reminded, amid complicated troubles which perplex his experience and baffle his skill, of a Physician who, in a more inveterate trouble, can heal “all diseases.”

Is it the Merchant? He is reminded by the very vicissitudes of trade -- the ebbings and flowings in the tide of prosperity -- of the need of securing an interest in a better possession, and more enduring riches than earth can give.

Is it the Soldier? He hears mightier bugle-notes sounding to arms, “It is high time to awake out of sleep, for now is your salvation nearer than when you believed!” He is reminded of a more gigantic battle-plain than the world’s conflicting hosts ever occupied -- and the need there is of taking to himself “the whole armour of God,” -- fighting the good fight of faith, and laying hold of eternal life.

It is striking to note that the first Gentile convert welcomed to the new spiritual kingdom, the first Gentile whose prayer was heard and whose slave was healed -- was a European officer; the first of a noble army who have, in after ages, joined the ranks of the faithful. It is interesting, moreover, to know that he was not the only officer in the pay of Caesar, who, at this era of the world, and in Palestine, was brought to fear God. We have another of similar rank -- the centurion spoken of at the awful terminating scene of Gospel story, who, gazing up on the meek countenance of the Crucified, exclaimed, “Truly this was the Son of God!” We read in a subsequent period of Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band,” quartered with his men at the seat of government at Caesarea, that he was “a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayer to God alway.” We know how the apostle Paul, in his final imprisonment in Rome, melted the iron hearts of Nero’s Imperial Guard. The very soldiers between whom the chained prisoner slept, were touched by his sublime patience, his fervid prayers, his unflinching courage, his glorious hopes. And many, since then, have been the brave hearts, unwavering in the hour of duty and death, who have loved to cast their swords and shields at the foot of the Cross, and to glory, far above earthly triumphs, in that of the Roman, “This is the victory which overcometh the world, even our faith.”

We have thought of that Roman officer in connection with his Faith, and Kindness, and Humility on earth. We

May think of him at this moment -- the battle of life long ago ended -- the sword long ago slumbering in its scabbard -- the watchfires of the nightly bivouac quenched for ever -- the trumpet of battle hung mute in the heavenly halls -- seated a fellow-guest with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and the noble array of prophets and patriarchs, apostles and martyrs, in the kingdom of glory -- clothed in white robes, with the palms of a better and nobler victory in their hands!

We may learn as a second lesson, that Great faith is fostered in the midst of difficulties.

It would only be to rehearse what we have already said, to show that his pre-eminent faith of the centurion was so reared and nurtured.

The fact of being a Roman by birth -- a Pagan in religion -- a Soldier by profession, formed a three-fold impediment in the path of his spiritual life. But he manfully counted the cost, and not only was victory obtained, but when he laid the spoils at his Lord’s feet, that the Saviour declared that Israel had need to blush for their faith, when placed side by side with that of the Gentile stranger.

It is of the very nature of faith to grow in the midst of trials and obstacles. The greatest spiritual heroes of the past -- those whose faith culminated highest -- are they who “subdued kingdoms, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire.” Plunge them into the deep, like the fabled hydra they seem to rise with renovated energy.

Noah’s faith, how wondrous! Battling against the taunts and ridicule of a scoffing world, and standing alone to buffet the storm for one hundred and twenty years.

Abraham’s faith was strongest in his most trying hour, when the son of his prayers -- the child of promise -- was doomed to perish by his own hand.

The faith of the eleven Disciples was never more remarkable than when returning, orphaned and bereaved, from the Mount of Ascension -- all they had most loved vanished from their sight -- left to battle an alien world alone! Yet, we read, “they returned to Jerusalem with great joy!”

Paul’s faith never was stronger or more glorious than when the aged man was fettered in his dungeon, with almost certain death impending. “Nevertheless, I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him.”

And every martyr at the stake, and every missionary in his gigantic task, has to bear the same testimony, that it was when the tempest was highest, and the battle loudest, thy were “strong in faith, giving glory to God.” The oak is rooted firmest and fastest that has been nurtured, not amid quiet climes and in the sheltering valley, but high on the mountain-side where it has had to wrestle with the storm. That is not vigorous training for the rower, when, resting on his oar, his boat is borne down the descending stream. But his is the hardened sinew and brawny arm whose bark has to face the fiercest current, and struggle with contending wind and tide.

The great man and master-mind was once the boy at school, who bravely encountered difficulty and disadvantage; who wept hot tears over the baffling task, and dried them not till he conquered impediments, gaining mental and moral courage every step in his ascending way. So it is in the higher spiritual struggle. Bunyan’s Christian, who scrambled and ran up the ”Hill Difficulty,” was found asleep on the “Enchanted Ground.”

Be not downcast, then, if difficulties and trials surround you in your heavenly life. They may be purposely placed there by God, to train and discipline you for higher developments of faith. If He calls you to “toiling in rowing,” it may be to make you the ardier seaman -- to lead you to lift up the hands which hang down and the feeble knees, and to drive you to a holier trust in Him who has the vessel and its destinies in His hand, and who, amid gathering clouds and darkened horizon and crested billows, is ever uttering the mild rebuke to our misgivings -- “Said I not unto thee, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?’ -- J.R. MACDUFF, D.D.

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THE CHILDREN’S SERVICE.

OF A GREAT BATTLE FOUGHT WITHOUT WEAPONS OF WAR.

THERE are many cases in history in which multitudes of soldiers have been resisted by a few, or even by a single warrior, and that with success. You recollect how on one occasion strong Samson, when beset by his enemies, killed a thousand men with the first thing he cold lay his hands upon -- the jaw bone of an ass. One of David’s mighty men lifted up his spear against three hundred, whom He slew at one time. In the history of Greece we read of a king of Sparta, who has become famous for the brave way in which, with three hundred of his own subjects and a small band of other helpers, he kept a pass in the mountains against a prodigious army of the Persians, till getting through by another road, the enemy was about to surround his handful of men. Then, and only then, he rushed forth with his own strong Spartans and a few others, and fell among heaps of slain foes.

No doubt, these and the like were brave deeds. But is it not only in fighting with swords and guns that men have shown courage, and have stood up a few, or even one, against many. Bravery has been seen in battles for faith in God, and valiant souls have done exploits in contending for truth. Noah was a preacher of righteousness in a very bad time, and may be said to have fought one man against a whole world. The apostles were often led to contend with both numbers and power set against them. You remember Peter before the council, and Paul on Mars’ Hill. Afterwards Paul had to undergo trial at Rome before the emperor, when all “forsook him,” and “no man stood by him.” Luther, too, the great reformer, was once called before a great assembly of princes, and nobles, and prelates, headed by a mighty monarch, and asked to recant his teaching against popery, when he stood and resolvedly said no, adding words which will be thought on while the world lasts: “I can do no otherwise; so help me, God!” I am now to tell you of another case in which one brave, true man fought on God’s side against a multitude.

After he had foretold in Samaria a great dearth in the land, the prophet Elijah went away to a place beside a brook which ran into Jordan, and remained hidden there till the water in the little stream was dried up. How did he get food, you say? Why, God, whom all creatures obey, told some ravens to bring him bread and flesh morning and evening. But when the brook became dry, God said to him, Go to Zarephath, and stay with a widow woman there. So he journeyed to the place named, and when he came near to it he met a woman who was picking up sticks, and said to her, Would you bring me a little water; and when she was going to fetch it, he called out, And bring me a morsel of bread as well. Then she turned and told him she had only one handful of meal left, and had come out to get a few sticks to make a fire, and cook it with a small drop of oil, which was all she had, for a last meal for her son and herself. And then, she said, we must die. But the prophet answered her. Have no fear: God has sent me to stay with you, and has told me that the meal will not waste, and the oil will not fail, till he shall send rain in the land. So she took him into her house, and he stayed there a long time; and it happened as he said it would. There was always a little meal in the barrel, and a little oil in the cruse, and Elijah and the widow and her son lived on it.

At length, however, God told the prophet to go and meet King Ahab again. He did so, and when they met, Elijah told the king to gather all the people together to Mount Carmel, and to be sure to bring the priests of Baal, and the prophets of his grove. There were four hundred and fifty of these, but Elijah said, Let them all come. A day was fixed, and the people were gathered together, and the king was present, and the prophets and priests of Baal came. So the good prophet of the God of Israel gave them a challenge. He said, You are hundreds, and I am but one. Let us build two altars -- one for your god, and one for Jehovah whom I serve. Let us put a bullock on each, without any fire below, and let us call on the name of the gods we follow, and see who will answer, and send fire down to burn up the sacrifice. They said, Very well, let us do so; and he answered, Begin ye.

The priests of Baal then went to work and had an altar built; and a bullock was slain and laid upon it, and they began to cry to their idol-god to hear them. But after a long time had past, there was no answer. The sun was now high in the heavens; in fact it was near noon, and as Baal was at first a name given to the sun, I suppose they hoped that when at his height, his hot beams might help them, and they began to cry and shout very loud, O Baal, hear us, O Baal, hear us. It was all in vain. Then they leaped on the altar, and began to ut themselves with knives, thinking their streaming blood would please their god. Poor men! he was no god at all. At this sight Elijah began to mock them, and said, Cry louder, cry louder. Do not doubt that he is a god: but perhaps he is talking with some one, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep, and you must wake him. Cry louder yet. At last however, everybody saw that all was useless, and it was time for Elijah to have his turn.

The prophet, therefore, said to the people, Come near; and they pressed on closer to where he stood. Now there was an old altar there on which offerings had been made to Jehovah, though it had fallen into ruins. Elijah repaired it, and then placed a slain bullock on the top of it. To put away all ground for saying he had played a trick in the case, and hidden fire somewhere about the altar, he next told the people to pour buckets of water over the whole, once, twice, and a third time, till the ditch round the altar was filled with it, and everything was drenched. Then he knelt down and prayed to God to be pleased to show, that day, that he was God in Israel. These were the words of his prayer: “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word: Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.” God did hear him, and that at once. For immediately fire came down from heaven, and burnt up the wood and the sacrifice on the altar -- but not only that, but the stones and the earth of the altar, and licked up quite dry all the water round about it. It must have been a wonderful sight to see that flash of fire coming at the prophets prayers, and burning everything up. No wonder the people fell on their faces in awe and trembling. When they had recovered themselves a little, then the cry went up, Jehovah, he is the God; Jehovah, he is the God.

After this, Elijah had a stern work to do. The priests that had led the people astray were to be punished. They had wickedly turned God’s own chosen nation to serve idols. So the prophet told those that were present and who had been so strangely but fully taught their sin to take the false teachers and slay them on the spot. It was done as he ordered. The people took them to the brook Kishon, and killed them beside the stream. They had caused its waters to be greatly dried by provoking God to send a long drought, and now their blood flows in its channel. It was a severe, but a righteous judgment, on men who had misled a people into rebellion against their God and king.

One more thing Elijah had to do that day. He must pray for rain. The time of mercy has come back. So he went away up the mountain side, till he came to a convenient spot, and then he sat down on the ground, and bent his head down, till it rested on his hands between his knees. He was praying for rain. While he did this he sent his servant up to the top of the hill, to look out over the sea and watch for the coming of the rain. But he had to go up seven times before he could report anything. The seventh time the young man came down and said there is a cloud like a man’s hand coming up from the sea. At that word the prophet knew that the rain was at hand. So he sent word to the king. In the meantime all the sky became black, and the winds rose, and floods of water fell. The last thing I have to tell in this story is curious. What do you think Elijah now did? When the king’s coach was ready, he drew his girdle tight about him, and ran before the horses all the way to the gate of the city where the king was to stay. Happy king! if he had chosen to have the prophet always going before him to point the way.

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QUESTIONS ON THE BIBLE STORY.

1. Can you find a promise that a few shall be able to conquer many?

2. What was the name of David’s mighty follower who slew three hundred foes at once?

3. What other instances can you give of God’s power over birds, beasts, and fishes?

4. Were there many widows during the famine that Elijah was not sent to relieve?

5. What other instances have we of a little bread sufficing to furnish a great many meals?

6. Do you recollect another example of the powerlessness of an idol in the presence of the living God?

7. Can you find a command against useless repetitions like those of the priests of Baal in prayer to God?

8. Can you think of another sacrifice which, probably, God accepted by answering with fire?

9. What other prophet had a work of judgment to do in killing one whom God had sentenced to death?

10. Who else, before and after Elijah, prayed to God, not seated, but stretched on the ground?

ANSWERS to the foregoing questions will be found by consulting Josh. xxiii.; 1 Chron. xi.; Gen. vii.; 1 Kings xvii.; Luke iv.; 2 Kings iv.; Matt. xv.; John vi.; 1 Sam. v.; Matt. vi.; Gen. iv. compared with Ps. xx., margin; 1 Sam. xv.; Josh. vii.; 2 Sam. xii.; Mark xiv.

QUESTIONS ON THE BIBLE LESSONS.

1. May God’s children continue in sin that his grace may more abundantly appear in their salvation? Rom. vi. 2.

2. Did the death of Christ, as a sacrifice for sin, need to be repeated? Rom. vi. 10; Heb. ix. 26.

3. Does Christ’s having died unto sin once, secure that sin shall not have dominion over his people? Rom. vi. 14.

4. Should likeness to Christ, in the spotless righteousness of his character, be the unceasing aim of all who believe in him? Rom. vii. 4; Col. iii. 1-5.

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Prayer.

O LORD God, the living and the true God, the only God, what praise shall we give Thee that Thou hast not left us to worship gods of our own fancy, or idols that our hands have made. We thank Thee that we have been taught that our Maker and Father cannot be lower than we his own children are, and cannot be like unto gold or silver. We pray that we may have that eternal life which is in knowing Thee to be the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent. May we be kept from forsaking Thee for any idol of the heart. O God, have pity upon the nations that are still in the darkness of idolatry, and hasten the time when, taught to know thee in Thy Son Christ Jesus, they also shall say, The Lord, he is the God. This we ask for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

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EVENING WORSHIP.

O GOD, draw Thou near to us at this time. Vouchsafe us Thy blessing and the aids of Thy Holy Spirit. Gather in our wandering thoughts. Enable us to fix them on Thee, and to read and hear thy word as for eternity, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

HYMN, or Psalm lxxxv. 6-12.

OUR God, how firm his promise stands
Even when He hides his face!
He trusts in our Redeemer’s hands
His glory and his grace.

Then whence our fears and sad complaints,
Since Christ and we are one?
Our God is faithful to his saints,
Is faithful to his Son.

Beneath his smiles our hearts have lived,
And part of heaven possess’d;
We praise his name for grace received,
And trust Him for the rest.

ROMANS VI. 1-14.

WHAT shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2. God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? 3. Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? 4. Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: 6. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7. For he that is dead is freed from sin. 8. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: 9. Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 10. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 11. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 12. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. 13. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. 14. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

ROMANS VII. 1-4.

KNOW ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? 2. For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. 3. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress, though she be married to another man. 4. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.

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Prayer.

OUR Father who art in heaven, we desire, on this the close of Thy holy day, reverently to worship at thy footstool. We bless Thee for all the loving-kindness Thou hast made to pass before us; -- for all the tokens of Thy mercy we have been permitted to enjoy. Giver of all grace! draw Thou near to us: enable us to end this Sabbath with Thee, and to retire to rest in the conscious possession of Thy friendship. Forgive all the sins of the past day, -- the sins of our sacred services, -- our sins of omission and commission, of thought, word, and deed, -- whatever has been inconsistent with Thy pure and holy will. May the holy leaven of the Sabbath be made manifest throughout the week; pervading and sanctifying all its duties. Look not on us, Lord, as we are in ourselves. But behold our Shield, look upon the face of Thine Anointed. We are complete in him. Thousands of needy suppliants have repaired to His cross: and this is still His name and memorial, “Mighty to save.” May we be enabled to cleave to Him as our only Saviour. May we testify the reality of our faith and the depth of our gratitude by bringing forth all the peaceable fruit of righteousness. May we walk more closely, and humbly, and habitually with Thee our God. May every blessing we have be hallowed and consecrated to us, by connecting it, with Thyself, the great Bestower. May we submit to every cross as the appointment of Thine infinite wisdom. Transform us from day to day, and from week to week, more into the image of thy dear Son. May we love what He loves, and hate what he hates. Keep us from inactivity and sloth. Let our loins be girded and our lamps burning. May we bear about with us the lofty impress of those who are born from above and for above; and who declare plainly that they seek a better country. Thy Spirit, O God, is good, lead us unto the land of uprightness.

Bless our beloved friends wherever they are; enrol their names in the Lamb’s book of life. Bless every member of this family now surrounding Thy footstool; give them the heritage of those that fear Thee; number them with Thy saints in glory everlasting.

Draw near in great mercy unto all who are in sorrow -- to all who are mourning the loss of beloved relatives. Give them everlasting consolation and good hope through grace. Let them see no hand in their trials but Thine; saying in devout submission, “Father, not our will, but Thine, be done!”

We pray for Thy cause and kingdom everywhere. Darkness is still covering the lands, and gross darkness the people. Arise, Lord, and plead Thine own cause. May the time, to favour Zion, yea, the set time speedily come. Revive Thy work in the midst of the years. In wrath do Thou remember mercy. Direct all the hearts of Thy true people into Thy love, and into the patient waiting for Christ.

Watch Thou over us during the unconscious hours of sleep. May no evil befall us, and no plague come nigh our dwelling. If pleased to spare us to see the light of another day, may we rise fitted and prepared for all its duties. And all that we ask, or hope for, is in the name and for the sake of Jesus Christ, our only Lord and Savour. Amen.

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MORNING AND EVENING MEDITATIONS.

MONDAY.

Morning.

Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the Lord.

They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.

Hear, O heavens; and give ear, O earth: for the Lord hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.

The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master’s crib; but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider.

Ps. xiv. 4. Ps. lxxxii. 5. Isa. i. 2, 3.

Evening.

The Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in our land.

For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.

O Lord, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.

Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the Lord, nor the judgment of their God.

For thus hath the Lord said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.

Hos. iv. 1. Jer. iv. 22. Jer. v. 3, 4. Jer. iv. 27.

TUESDAY.

Morning.

Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.

Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he.

And Jesus answering, saith unto them, Have faith in God.

For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

2 Chron xx. 20. Isa xliii. 10. Mark xi. 22, 23. Heb. xi. 6.

Evening.

Teach me good judgment and knowledge: for I have believed thy commandments.

Let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God.

Then said they unto him, what shall we do, that we might work the works of God?

Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you: walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.

While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light.

Ps. cxix. 66. Heb. vi. 1. John vi. 28, 29. John xii. 35, 36.

WEDNESDAY.

Morning.

And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another.

And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and him in him: and hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God, and everyone that loveth is born of God.

1 John iii. 23, 24. 1 John iv. 6, 7.

Evening.

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

In my Father’ house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

John xiv. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

THURSDAY.

Morning.

Be not faithless, but believing.

Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

Who is a liar, but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.

Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father.

And now, little children, abide in him; that when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

John xx. 27. Matt. x. 32, 33. 1 John ii. 22, 23, 28.

Evening.

Dost thou believe on the Son of God?

He answered and said, Who is the Lord, that I might believe on him?

And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.

And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.

And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world; that they which see not might see, and that they which see might be made blind.

For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

John ix. 35, 36, 37, 38, 39. Rom. x. 11.

FRIDAY.

Morning.

Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him.

If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him:

If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:

If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful; he cannot deny himself.

Rom. vi. 8. Rom. x. 9, 10. 2 Tim. ii. 11, 12, 13.

Evening.

Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

And let us consider one another, to provoke unto love, and to good works:

For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,

But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

Heb. x. 22, 23, 24, 26, 27.

SATURDAY.

Morning.

For we walk by faith, not by sight.

While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.

He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:

Of how much sorer judgment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

2 Cor. v. 7. 2 Cor. iv. 18. Heb. x. 28, 29.

Evening.

That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Now unto him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

Eph. iii. 17, 18, 19, 20, 21.