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those who seek mercy must of necessity renounce merit, even as God in showing mercy, must of necessity deny merit. Mercy can only be displayed on principles essential to its display.

Mercy, while dispensing her appropriate favours freely, ever broadly marks, as is necessary, the moral majesty and excellency of the law violated, and the evil of sin forgiven. She does this by dispensing all her favours to her beneficiaries through the atonement. They receive everything through the cross. They find repentance through the cross. Remission is given to them through the cross. They are cleansed in the fountain opened for sin and uncleanness. They are justified by blood. Their consciences are purged with blood. They enter into the holy place with blood. It is through the rent vail that they are conducted into the most holy place. It is through Jesus Christ they are led of the Spirit unto the Father. Thus, the majesty and excellency of the law are proclaimed, and the evil of sin is marked, that a moral awe may be inspired of the law, and a moral dread be inspired of sin in the mind of every partaker of Mercy's favours. Mercy ever magnifies Justice in the manifestation of herself.

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"Mercy shall be built up for ever." Mercy's right of manifestation will, through the atonement, last while the occasion lasts. Jesus suffered "that he might bring us to God." The atoning blood of the Lamb will retain its forgiving and sanctifying power until the last of the ransomed shall find no further occasion to exclaim, "Oh wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death ?" Human forgivenesses, extended on no atonement, are sometimes sought and granted on condition of the offence never being repeated. Were this a condition of divine forgiveness, who, then, could be saved? But it is not; and those who grieve that what they would they do not, and what they hate they do, may, as Paul did, thank God through Jesus Christ, that through the atonement, Mercy will extend her benefits until they " are saved to sin no more." Of David's Antitype and his seed it is written, "My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him.. His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven. If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; if they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; then will I visit their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes. Nevertheless, my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail." It is not to provoke an occasion, but to meet a continual necessity, lasting as the existence of the regenerate in the body that, through the atonement, it is written, "If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." From the very conditions of their existence in the world, the regenerate will be necessitated to petition for Mercy's favours in every prayer they offer. "God be merciful-propitious-to me a sinner!" will be an appropriate petition to all saints while here; and the holier they are the more appropriate will they themselves feel that petition to be to them. But the propitiation abides in power; the propitiatory is accessible; Mercy, empowered by the atonement, waits to be propitious, and the petition ever finds acceptance.-Atkinson on the Atonement.

["People will not read theology now," so said a minister of the Gospel the other day.

If so, so much the worse for the people, christian people were of course referred to by the remark: for of other people it would not be considered remarkable that they do not read theology. But how sad, if true! Not read theology! Then God's own book must be principally unread; for it abounds with theology from begining to end; and all the rich stores of thought which godly men, age after age, have drawn from its sacred pages, must remain as hidden treasure. It is hoped, however, that the readers of the Herald and Voice, do read theology, and that like their forefathers, they love it as well as read it. Let them carefully peruse the above weighty and instructive remarks on the mercy of our God as manifested through the precious atonement of our Lord. The work from which the extract is taken, has been much commended in these pages and elsewhere as a valuable dissertation on the all-important subject on which it treats. All who wish to have clear and definite ideas respecting the "one offering," should read it. The respected author we believe, still supplies copies post free, 8d. each, from his residence, 38, Rose Hill Terrace, Brighton.- ED.]

"CONSIDER THE LILIES."

MATT. XI. 28.

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THE Prince of Peace was the Prince of Preachers. "Grace was poured into his lips." We read His gracious words, and instinctively exclaim, "Never man spake like this man.' "The common people heard Him gladly;" they could understand Him. He did not mystify the things of the kingdom, but simplified them; He broke the gospel bread into small pieces, and they were fed. He was very sublime. Sublimity andsimplicity are beautifully blended in His sermon on the mount. He who is the most simple in his preaching, is the most sublime, and the most like "Teacher sent from God." We should be careful not to confound the dark sayings of men with the deep things of God. Mysterious preaching is not necessarily the mystery of godliness. In the chapter before us Christ points to the fowls of the air, and to the flowers of the fields, in order to illustrate His Heavenly Father's power to defend His children, and to provide for their every want.

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not the sparrows protected by God? Not one falls to the ground without His notice; even the fallow fledglings are guarded by Him, for

"Howl, winds of night! your force combine;
Without His high behest,
Ye shall not, in the mountain pine,
Disturb the sparrows' nest."

Are they not provided for by Him? "He feedeth them;" and if he does this for the fowls of the air, will He not do this and much more too for the heirs of heaven, who are of more value than many sparrows s? Let us then, according to the injunction of Christ, consider these things, that we may realize the joy such sweet assurance gives. We will now more especially consider the lilies. Consider them: not just look at them, admire their beauty, and go our way; but tarry with them, listening attentively to their silent voice. Who made them? God.

He made the world, and He made the lilies and clothed them with beauty, and they speak to us of Him. Creation speaks of her Creator. The great wide sea speaks of God.

What are the wild waves saying?" The sea is His. The firmament sheweth his handy-work. The stars are—

"Ever singing as they shine,

The hand that made us is divine."

But what do the lilies say? We are told that Christ probably referred to the scarlet lilies which were abundant in Palestine, and were in full bloom at the time: `consider them, and do they not speak to us of One who left the shining streets of the celestial city, to tread the rough and rugged roads of earth," travelling in the greatness of his strength, red in His apparel," His garments dyed with blood. Whose blood? Not an enemy's, for he came not as a warrior prince to

stain his robes with the blood of the slain. It was His own blood; for he came as the Prince of Peace to shed His own most precious blood, that His own people might be washed therein, and made whiter than snow.

Consider the white lilies; and they too speak of Him who spoke of Himself as the Lily of the valley. White is an emblem of purity. Christ was spotless and pure. He was without sin. He presented Himself a sacrifice to God without spot, that He might ultimately present to Him a glorious church, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. By one offering He perfected for ever them that are sanctified, and they shall walk with him in white. When Peter, James, and John saw their Master on Tabor's mount, His raiment was white as the light; and Moses and Elias appeared with Him in glory. They were dressed like Him; and all His people shall be like Him: all who sleep in Jesus will awake in His likeness. When the beloved John looked from the Isle of Patmos through the pearly gates, into the sunny land of God and home, he saw those who had gone before, wearing white robes before the throne.

Consider the lilies? Do they not remind us that as we shall be like Christ in heaven, we should endeavour to be as much like Him on earth as is possible. As He was, so are we in this world. Was he pure and holy? we should have clean hands and pure hearts. He to us, says “Be ye holy, for I am holy." Was he separate from sinners? we should come out from among them. Did he go about doing good? we should follow in His footsteps, and do good to all men, especially to the household of faith. If Christ is our Saviour, He is our exampler. If He is our Prince, He is our pattern too. The disciples were first called Christians, because they were so much like Christ. Men took notice of them, that they had been with Jesus; and the more we are with Him, the more we shall be like Him.

Consider the lilies, how rapidly they

grow; and do they not speak to us about growing in grace and in knowledge? do we know a little about ourselves about God and His word? then we shall endeavour to know more; we shall not be satisfied with our little stock of knowledge, but we shall earnestly seek to augment it by reading and meditation; and our effort will not be in vain: for "Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord."

Consider the lilies. How conspicuous they are. Other flowers of the field

may escape our notice, but these will not; they will be seen, they lift high their beauty, and command attention; and they tell us we should be conspicuous too. Are we not the lights of the world? We should let our light shine before men. "A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid." If we are saints, it will be manifested by fruits of holiness. If we are the Lord's own people, the glory of the Lord is risen upon us, and there is a strange soft light within us and around us, that must be seen. Christians are living epistles, seen and read of men. There are some men who will not read God's book, but they will read His people. May the grace of God enable us to be walking Bibles.

Consider the lilies. They grow together, in groups. We seldom see a lone lily. Do they not, then, speak to us of unity? are we not planted together? then we should grow together. Unity is strength. We should endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace. United we stand, divided we fall. Unity, is it not essential to success? and ought we not to use every legitimate means to secure it? Oh that we may be more united at the throne of the heavenly grace! for 'tis there that spirits blend; and in answer to our fervent and united prayers, may it be our privilege and joy to see many waiting at the gates of the temple, enquiring the way to happiness and God. More things are wrought by prayer then this world dreams of. There are men who tell

us that there is no power in prayer : wonderful men no doubt they are, but we say, Let them go their way, make fresh discoveries, and invent new theories, and we will go to prayer. We have tried it and have proved it. We know something of the worth of prayer. The men of God of other days were men who gave themselves unto prayer, and their deeds will be remembered when the most brilliant achievements of prayerless men will be forgotten things. Prayer makes us brave to fight the battles of life, and strong to labour for the Lord. With much prayer, and our few talents we may yet accomplish something great and good for God. Did not a praying shepherd boy do with a sling and stone, what prayerless warriors could not do with sword and shield? for by this simple means, Goliath of Gath was slain, and the stripling bore his gory head in triumph to the trembling host.

Consider the lilies. How soon they fade and fall; and the fading lilies speak to us of our mortality. We all do fade; man cometh forth like a flower-a thing of beauty, but soon to fade. Human life is very brief, a little day for us to work in. The night will soon come, when no man can work. May we be up and doing, that we may hear the Master say, "Well done." A little while, and we shall see Him. Oh, happy period ! then will the toiling servant enter into rest,--the weary pilgrim put off his sandals. His feet will stand within the gates; he will lay down his staff to grasp the palm branch, and exchange his dusty garments for the robes of whiteness. The Christian warrior will ground his arms at his Captain's feet, put off his battered armour, make the battle field resound with the final shout of victory, then ascend to God, and sing the victor's song.

Stowmarket.

D. DICKERSON.

HINTS

TO SPIRITUAL VOYAGERS.

IN a trip from Deal to Boulogne, one day last month, August, we particularly observed, on the return journey, several lighthouses brilliant with their electric lights, and thought what important lessons they were calculated to afford or suggest to every reflective mind.

May we not, with propriety, compare those portions of Holy Writ, which point out the sins and imperfections of God's people, recorded both in the Old and New Testaments, to those lighthouses upon dangerous coasts and rocks. For, in spite of unblushing infidels, and sneering sceptics pronouncing the precious Bible to be only as a bundle of fables, yet it is a fact, patent to all, that its writers have been more ingenuous and faithful in recording the faults and failings of each other than they have been in pointing out the imperfections of Paine and Voltaire in their memoirs of those characters. The impartiality of the Bible in the delineation of character is one of the striking evidences of its Divine authenticity.

Those lighthouses on rocks and quicksands seem to solemnly say to every passing vessel, "Keep at a distance, keep far from hence; there is real danger here." Thus, on the voyage of life, many beacons are erected as signs of danger, and to warn of impending peril. For while we have many examples placed before us in God's word for our imitation, we have also a great number of beacons to warn us off from habits of evil and scenes of imminent ruin. These are, however, too many for us to fully enumerate; only a few can be noticed.

On the rock of unbelief, we see there a large lamp fixed, with the solemn injunction, 66 Remember Lot's wife." On the rock upon which David had almost made shipwreck of his religion, there is another with the words, "Flee fornication."

In the tenth chapter of Paul's first

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Epistle to the Corinthians, we have several lighthouses, so so to speak, erected upon the rocks against which the children of Israel, in their progress from Egypt to Canaan, heedlessly and wickedly ran. Let us carefully consider the admonition: "Now these things were our amples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand." What an awful shipwreck! "Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples; and they are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come.' Fellow voyagers to the better land, these are as lights set on those dangerous rocks, to warn us to shun and keep far from them. The Lord help us to avoid the very appearance of evil. "Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." "And let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall."

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Sometimes a notice to mariners is posted up in some public thoroughfare, stating that there is a green buoy floating over a danger at a certain place, upon which the words "A wreck " is seen. The scriptures have marked out in a most conspicuous manner some of the rocks and quicksands, where many who once preached the fundamental doctrines of the gospel; but in steering too near the rocks and quicksands of heresies have made shipwreck of faith-that is of the doctrines thereof. Therefore, the dreadful danger is discovered by the sign, "A wreck." In this day of widespread error, may we be kept in the truth as it is in Jesus, and the truth in us, in all its experimental preciousness and sanctifying power.

Before bringing our remarks to a close, we wish to say lighthouses are used for other purposes than dang or

signals; sometimes they are used to point out the mouths of harbours or of rivers that lead into ports. The lighthouse at the mouth of a river says, as it were, to every vessel that comes that way, "There is the mouth of the river that leads to such a port; and if you are bound there, steer near here." So the godly conduct and good works of the old saints; they are left on record for us to imitate and follow; and may we seek in all our own individual lives to perpetuate like christian virtues for the imitation of the generation following.

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." With what clearness has the apostle in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews marked out the track of God's children, who, by the power of Divine grace, steered forward through storms and tempests; and then says, "Whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation."

As mariners would studiously shun all rocks, quicksands, and the like, as dangerous places, so gracious God help us to keep far from all sins and temptations. And O, great Captain of Salvation, steer our souls after the prophets, apostles, and all the saints who have fought a good fight, until we shall arrive at the haven of the New Jerusalem, to sail out no more for ever.

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