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upon her and her sons.
favour with which strang
gazers
and scoffers might.
sons should witness and r
hearts through all earth's tri
Obedient to the prophet's we
her sons brought the vessels to
a limpid, golden stream flowing-
it away! and as one son bore a
on empty one in its place, and the
brim; it was taken away and anc
out, pouring out, pouring out, the oil
Palestine were in the bottom of the .
every corner, pots, jars, dishes, and fi
length the mother called, "Bring anot
said, "Mother, there is not another one;
oil stayed. It ran as long as there was
If she had borrowed more vessels, she mi
was according to her faith.

She went then to the man of God and tolk. he bade her sell the oil and pay her debt, and what remained.

Gossip was lively, I fancy, about the little day.

"Oil to sell! What, Naomi, the desolate, the me and Joseph ? Where in the world did she get oi!. "Can't tell where she got it, but she is roug looked in as I came by, and the house was full o* nook and corner."

"But it can't be possible, for you know they never two little olive trees, and they didn't bear much thi know her husband couldn't have left her oil nor anyt... was one of those men who are always trying to teach t he never had anything of his own when he was alive. call him rather lacking in enterprise, though he did do good to men; but I am sure he never left any oil whe "Can't help that, the woman is round selling oil all o she has got a house full of it and I have seen it."

"Now you speak of it," says an old mother in Israel, " that Naomi came to me yesterday to borrow all the vess spare; she did not seem inclined to tell why she wanted the had been to see the prophet, and had told him about her tr is all right about the oil; the God of Elijah still lives. forgotten about the handful of meal in the barrel, an the cruse? Surely God who causes the olive tr of the flinty rocks can cause it to pour out plect cruse. Blessed be the God of Israel for

fatherless and a judge of widows is God

7

15

the

THE WORD MADE FLESH.

SON ST. JOHN'S PROLOGUE TO HIS GOSPEL.
BY THE REV. JAMES CULROSS, M.A., D.D.

No. IV.-John i. 6-13.

ph conducts us to a fresh point of view from which to

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e a God-sent man, the Evangelist tells us, whose name
This was John the Baptist, the son of Zacharias and
Ve have glimpses of his story in the Gospels, in so far
the life of Jesus, glimpses which exhibit him as a true-
le man, than whom there had not risen a greater
fare born of women. There are those who arrive at
through research, intuition, or reasoning, and be-
heir generation into farther light; there are others,
God raises up and girds for great service, though
t: this man, the Evangelist announces, was
"sent
essenger after the example of Moses or Elijah,
ecy: "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he
ay before me."

God, he did no miracle; gave no fresh or farther
truth. His special function-the scope of his
ts total significance-was witness-bearing.
came to bear witness concerning the light-the
hining uncomprehended in the darkness, and
on a new and more wonderful manifestation.
d that witness should be borne to it? Is not
Yes, if men have eyes to see; but because
s and slumber of sin, it was necessary to
testimony to the true light, distinguishing
t could only lure to death. In an obvious
prophets" formed a great system of "wit-
Acts x. 43; Rom. iii. 21); but it required
istry was the completion of it-the grand
ony. The morning star, day's harbinger,
shining in his light; and so also does
with the first rays of morning, to the
neath, or the far-stretching plain. But
even this: he not merely preceded the
line, but, having first aroused the
he actually introduced and named
ple will suffice to show the character

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day, and it is very important that it should be done, and it shall be. But I will first write that other letter, and go up the town and see the surgeon; and there will be just time to pay that money to the bank, and then I will settle down and satisfy my friend's wants. Now it happens that the surgeon keeps me waiting, or I try to crowd in a fifth duty between my already allotted four, and the time slips by and the post time comes, and "the door is locked," and the letter is not written.

The gentleman who lost his train was an example of the latter character; and in the present hurryskurry, helter-skelter race of social life, it is perhaps the type most commonly seen. But if both terminate in the same unhappy end, both are to be equally avoided.

How many are the advantages we can look back upon, and in the retrospect see that we lost them because we were not sufficiently in earnest and sufficiently early in our endeavours. How many a kindness was undone and must continue undone, because we let a something else press in before it, and it was squeezed and jostled upon one side for ever. Nay, we can perhaps see some blank, some shadow, some irretrievable ruin in our lives because we did not do the thing we had fixed and intended and fully purposed to do at the one possible conjuncture.

"Late, late, so late, and dark the night

and chill!

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Christ Himself has taught us this in the wonderful parable of the Ten Virgins (Matt. xxv.) They that were ready went in and the door was shut. They all intended to get in; they all took lamps; they all went forth to meet the bridegroom; they all came up to the very doorthey knocked and knocked again, they entreated with tears to be let in -but the door was shut-locked, to secure those who were within, to exclude those who were without.

It is somewhat noteworthy how this figure of a gate or door runs through the whole of Scripture. Our first parents, exiled from Eden, were driven forth from Paradise, and at its gates were placed cheru bim with flaming sword, lest they should force an unhallowed way to the tree of life. The Temple of Solomon lifted high and wide its glorious porch, as if to give free welcome to all, but before it stood the warders, with sword girt on thigh," that none which was unclean in anything should enter in " (2 Chron. xxiv. 19).

And even of the holy city, the New Jerusalem, we read that it had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels (Rev. xxi. 12) who shall exclude therefrom everything that defileth, and whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie.

So, then, we see that the gates are there; but they are open to those only who are fit and prepared; and blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. All will see and understand then how blessed, for all will understand then what eternity is; what to be equal with the angels is; what to be ever with the Lord is; and all will equally understand then what it is to be locked on the outside, and to be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power.

The doors will then be shut. Excuses will be pleaded then in vain; spirits would stop and linger at the gate, but in vain; would knock at the door, but in vain; would weep at the door, but in vain;-they have been long open, but they at last are closed, never to be opened again! The gentleman whom I saw excluded from the train should be a warning to us all. He came down to the station to go, he took his ticket, he came to the very door, but the pressure and urgency of his share transactions pre-occupied his

mind until it was too late. One has written with a truth and force that has made the saying almost proverbial, "Hell is paved with good intentions." And so it may be said of those who will inhabit it, that they are not so much the scoffer and the openly profane, the unbelieving and the altogether vile, as those who have intended to go to heaven; but who, in defiance of all warnings and all invitations, have put off and deferred until "the door was locked."

C. C. P.

Richmond.

LORD'S SUPPER HYMN.
COME Holy Ghost adored,
Guide us to feel and think;
To feed on memories of our Lord;
The cup of hope to drink;

Assembled in His name,

His presence to discern,

As we set forth how once He came,
How He will soon return.

Once on His lovely brow

A lowly crown of pain;

A crown of love He weareth now,
Soon one of boundless reign.

His broken life we see

Set forth by broken bread,

His early death of agony,

And thus our souls are fed.

He comes, with blest reward
Procured by past annoy;

Thus may the bruised grape afford
A soul-refreshing joy.

Thus by this simple rite

We stronger, brighter grow;

And memory and hope unite
Our present Lord to know.

Soon shall these memories dim
Be sunk in perfect sight;
Hope pass away, at seeing Him,
In infinite delight.

J. H. COOKE.

NEWS OF THE CHURCHES.

THE old chapel at Coseley (Pro- | lwydd, to Cardiff; the Rev. J. S. vidence) has been re-opened, after Hughes, of the Baptist College, considerable renovation and en- Manchester, to Irwell Terrace, largement. A new chapel has been Bacup; the Rev. T. Richards, of opened at Small Heath, near Bir- Rhymney, to Beaufort, Brecon; mingham, for the ministry of the the Rev. G. Hitchen, of Langham, Rev. C. Josephs.-The foundation Essex, to Heywood, Lancashire; stone of a new chapel has been the Rev. W. Thomas, of the Metrolaid in Lindsay Road, Sunderland, politan Tabernacle College, to for the ministry of the Rev. W. Hose and Clawson; the Rev. I. Harrison. The foundation stone Watts, of Northgate, Louth, to of a new chapel has been laid in Frogmore Street, Abergavenny; Brentnall Street, Middlesborough, the Rev. G. Hawker, of Bristol for the ministry of the Rev. R. College, to Neath, Glamorganshire; Evans. the Rev. J. T. Roberts, of Retford, to Freeman Street, Grimsby; the The Rev. C. Chapman has been Rev. T. P. Davies, late of Glasgow publicly recognised as the pastor University, to Bethesda, Bangor; of the church at Gamlingay; the the Rev. D. Jennings, late of Rev. E. Watkins, of the church at Evesham, Worcestershire, to Long Ryeford, Herefordshire; the Rev. Crendon, Bucks. The Rev. D. W. H. Elliott, of the church at Wilshere has resigned the pastorate South Side, Glasgow; the Rev. G. of the church at Prickwillow, Ely. Macdonald, late of Westray, Ork- The Rev. E. Everett has resigned ney, of the church at Branden- his pastorate at Foulsham, Norfolk. burgh, Morayshire; the Rev. E. The Rev. J. Turner has resigned Dyson, late of Ossett, of the church the pastorate at Tunbridge. The at Stanningley, near Leeds; the Rev. B. May has resigned the pasRev. W. Pontifex, late of Hayle, torate of the church at Padiham, Cornwall, of the church at Alfreton, Lancashire. The Rev. W. Stokes Middlesex; the Rev. W. T. Miller, has, on account of continued ill late of the Metropolitan Tabernacle College, of the church at Hillsley, Gloucestershire.

health, resigned his pastorate of the church in Drake Street, Rochdale. The Rev. H. S. Smith has resigned the pastorate of the church at HillThe following reports of MINIS- morton. The Rev. W. B. Hobling TERIAL CHANGES have reached us has intimated his intention to resince our last issue:-The Rev. G. sign his pastorate at Chalfont St., Hill, of Osmaston Road, Derby, to Peter's, Bucks. The Rev. G. D. South Parade, Leeds; the Rev. Cox has resigned his pastorate R. Hall, B.A., of Stratford-on-Avon, at Market Harborough. The Rev. to Newton Abbott, Devon; the E. Davis has resigned his pas Rev. W. H. Stainbury, of Wainan-torate at Grove Street, Hackney.

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