important change, determined that when the time comes, they shall come out and be separate, they shall do well. But if any relinquish at once their endowments from the state, they shall do better for themselves, and shall know sooner the inward joy of the Lord. Let every man choose for himself what he will do, and let no man presume to upbraid his brother if he feels it not to be his duty to relinquish his present position until the time appointed. I must, however, speak the truth; and it is true that they who hold by the state cannot escape many griefs and vexations of mind, doubts and fears of spirit, which others, who act differently, shall altogether avoid; for we walk by faith, and until we show our faith by our works, we cannot be happy within ourselveswe cannot receive the reward of God. Such shall be purified for seven years after they cease to be connected with the state, and then they shall have joy, and their joy no man can take from them. "And in the day that he goeth into the sanctuary, unto the inner court to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin-offering, saith the Lord God. And it shall be unto them for an inheritance; I am their inheritance: and ye shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession." No minister of the word can experience the fulness of the joy which is represented as going into the sanctuary unto the inner court, to serve God there, until he sacrifice his all, and take up his cross and follow Christ. When they do that, their sacrifice shall become their inheritance; what they have given up for Christ's sake, they shall receive in another way, an hundred-fold even in this life. They who thus deny themselves by faith, make God their inheritance, and they shall be richly provided for; they who trust in God must trust in Him

exclusively, for they shall have no possession in Israel; God alone is their possession. "They shall eat the meat-offering, and the sin-offering, and the trespassoffering; and every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs." The willing offerings of a willing people shall be made more than sufficient to supply all the necessities of the ministry; yea, hundreds now ill-supported, will then receive abundance; and they who have abundance now, will know no lack. "And the first of all the first-fruits of all things, and every oblation of all, of every sort of your oblations, shall be the priests'; ye shall also give unto the priest the first of your dough, that he may cause the blessing to rest in thine house." The people throughout all the land have much need to be ashamed. Every one seeks his own, and few there be that come up to the mark of christian duty in their contributions in support of the cause of Christ. If God were to deal with us now as a nation, as we are even at present dealing with Him in this matter, He would turn away from us, and give the blessing to another. Hear the truth and believe it, and let every soul in the land, as he values his peace and true happiness, begin to practise it immediately. Remember that what thou receivest is not thine own; whether thy income be large or small,-whether it be the rents of property, the gains of commerce, the emoluments of office, the earnings of the sweat of thy brow, or the labour of thy mind-in every case they are the gift of God, and He demands His right, and is now come to enforce it. Hear His merciful voice, for it is in great mercy that He cries aloud to every citizen of this highly favoured empire to give cheerfully and regularly the first of all they earn or receive to Himself. It is because He

yearns to bless thee; it is because He desires to open heaven and shower down a blessing upon you until there be not room to receive it, that He commands thee with the authority of thy God and thy King to bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in His house. Obey Him; will you not hear a Father's voice in a day of mercy? Will you not make haste to do His will? Will you not loosen His hands, and leave His Spirit unstraitened within you, when He says, Return unto me and I will return unto you; and all nations shall call you blessed; for ye shall be a delightsome land. Wo unto them who will still be selfish; wo unto them who will love any thing more than they love the cause of Christ; wo unto them who will grudge in their heart, or only give what they cannot escape giving to His cause, or they would; wo unto them who will not from henceforth make that cause their chief end of existence, for it shall now be triumphant; the day of mercy to such is near an end; and every soul who will dare now to despise the glorious Redeemer, or treat Him with neglect, shall assuredly be destroyed, for these are the days of vengeance. "Cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the Lord of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen." (Mal. i. 14.) "The priest shall not eat of any thing that is dead of itself, or torn, whether it be fowl or beast." The portion of the ministers of the word shall be the best which the land can produce. Their material comforts and enjoyments will be of the highest order. If they trust with all their heart in God-strive to attain perfection in holiness-and be faithful, and diligent, and prayerful in the preaching of the word,

by which the nation shall be quickened to newness of life, the Holy Spirit being outpoured, all classes of the community shall prosper and flourish for ever and

ever.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

EZEK. chap. xlv. ver. 1-6. " Moreover, when ye shall divide by lot the land for inheritance, ye shall offer an oblation unto the Lord, an holy portion of the land: the length shall be the length of five and twenty thousand reeds, and the breadth shall be ten thousand. This shall be holy in all the borders thereof round about. Of this there shall be for the sanctuary five hundred in length, with five hundred in breadth, square round about; and fifty cubits round about for the suburbs thereof." This is the land that was once afar off, but is now near, even at the door; this is the inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for them who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. The division of it by lot is the rewarding of every man according to his works; the lot of each human being being determined entirely by his own choice. The oblation to be offered unto the Lord teaches that the first and chief desire of the true heirs of this great and eternal inheritance will be to give glory to God in the highest; the supreme place in their affections and desires will be given to God; they will truly and sincerely, and without hypocrisy, love the Lord their God with all their heart, their soul, their strength, and their mind. The measure