What a sight is here: a waiting Saviour, and an excited, running, suppliant beggar! Jesus, God, stands still to hear the request of the wayside beggar. At this moment what feelings of hope, desire, and anxiety were the beggar's, and what sympathy and compassion were the Saviour's! Such a High-priest becomes us." O, love divine, that gave to man such a Saviour! And to the crowd what a moment of intense anxiety was this! Jesus standing still to hear the crying prayer of a wayside beggar, while he anxiously pressed his way through the throng to Jesus. What a moment of suspense to the beggar, to the crowd, and to the angels, was this. What thoughts were theirs. Earth and heaven sympathized in the scene, and waited in breathless anxiety to know the end, when the compassionating voice of Jesus fell on their ears in the inquiry made of the beggar, "What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?" The answer was ready : Lord, that I may receive my sight."

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The cure was at hand and immediate: "Jesus said unto him, Go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole; and immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way."

The Saviour put a blank into the beggar's hand to fill up. What wilt thou? Write, speak, ask what thou wilt, and it shall be done unto thee? My love, my pity, and my compassion, and my power, myself are at thy command. What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? Amazing grace! What a Christ is ours! How will He sustain His title "mighty to save." For such a Saviour, to God what debtors are we!

Nor has He changed since then, but to-day is the same, ready to hear, and

able to help all who offer Him crying prayer. Cry aloud. Press forward, nearer, nearer, on, on to His feet, His side, all ye who are ready to perish; already ye possess the pity of His heart.

Arise, he calleth thee," to receive blessings greater far than this beggar asked for of Him: pardon and eternal life, sonship of God, a throne in heaven, a crown of glory. "Arise, he calleth thee."

THE NINETIETH PSALM.

THE ninetieth Psalm might be cited as perhaps the most sublime of human compositions-the deepest in feelingloftiest in theologic conception-the most magnificent in its imaginary. True is it in its report of human life— as troubled, transitory and sinful. True in its conception of the Eternal—the Sovereign and the Judge; and yet the refuge and hope of men, who, notwithstanding the most severe trials of their faith, lose not their confidence in Him; but who in the firmness of faith pray for, as if they were predicting, a nearat-hand season of refreshment. Wrapped, one might say, in mystery, until the distant day of revelation should come, there is here conveyed the doctrine of Immortality; for in this very plaint of the brevity of the life of man, and of the sadness of these his few years of trouble, and their brevity and their gloom, there is brought into contrast the Divine immutability; and yet it is in terms of submissive piety; the thought of a life eternal is here in embryo. No taint is there in this psalm of the pride and petulance-the half-uttered blasphemy-the malign disputing or arrangement of the justice or goodness of God, which have so often shed a venomous colour upon the language of those who have writhed in anguish, personal or relative. There are few probably among those who have passed through times of bitter and distracting woe, or who have stood-the helpless spectators of the miseries of others, that have not fallen into moods of mind violently in contrast with the

devout and hopeful melancholy which breathes throughout this ode. Rightly attributed to the Hebrew lawgiver or not, it bespeaks its remote antiquity, not merely by the majestic simplicity of its style, but negatively, by the entire avoidance of those sophisticated turns of thought which belong to a late, a last age in a people's intellectual and moral history. This psalm, undoubtedly, is centuries older than the moralizing of that time when the Jewish mind had listened to what it could never bring into a true assimilation with its own mind-the abstractions of the Greek Philosophy.-Isaac Taylor.

DIVINE REST.

THIS rest, if I may so say, was of two kinds, ceasing from work (Gen. ii. 1—3; Heb. iv. 10), and a rest of complacency and delight (Gen i. 31.) This rest does not appear to have been of any continuance but quickly disturbed, for “Man in honour" (or, I suppose, in innocency, for when else could it be said that man in his own estate was in honour, except when in primeval glory, or pristine purity?) abideth not" (Ps. xlix. 12.) "And in the cool of the day the Lord drove him from the garden of Eden" (Gen. iii. 8, 24.) But it is our mercy God has a rest, which never has been, and never can be disturbed. This," saith He, "is my rest for ever; here will I dwell, for I have desired it" (Ps. exxxii. 14.) He rests, then, in His

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Church, and His rest of complacency and delight in her cannot be disturbed by man's transgressing, for the Lord Himself arranges all things for her and in her, thereby securing His own glory and her safety. "He rests in His love" (Zeph. iii. 17.) Sweet description of His resting in His Church, every way calculated to soothe her fears, engage her confidence, and constrain her to a willing subjection. Whether we regard this resting in His love as signifying the object of His love, or the manner of His resting, it is equally sweet and precious; for what He has done for her, and how He bears with her, unquestionably prove that she is the object of His love, while all His dealings with her declare that"God is love." Justice and vengeance rest on her enemies; but nothing, nothing but love is stamped and rests upon the Church. He rests in the perfections of the work of Christ; and here it is believers also rest-here by faith, and hereafter in the full enjoyment of the eternal Sabbath; where, if I may so say, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and the Church will for ever rest.

"Lord, I believe a rest remains,

To all Thy people known; A rest where pure enjoyment reigns, And Thou art lov'd alone.

"Remove this hardness from my heart,
This unbelief remove :
To me the rest of faith impart,
The sabbath of Thy love."

G.H.

science, or a gallery of art, or a school of philosophy. It is a house for God-a palace for the Great King.

In performing this act, therefore, today, we manifestly profess ourselves WORSHIPPERS of the one living and true God, and we at the same time profess it as our profound conviction that it will

be in every way for the well-being of our neighbours and fellow-citizens that they should join us in the worship and service of Almighty God. It is well for the city, and well for the country, that now and again there is laid the first stone of a new house of God. Religion

and Divine worship are essentially necessary to the very existence of the social state. A Society of Atheists could not exist. It would soon kindle into flames or dissolve into blood. Inhumanity would soon be the dark handmaid of irreligion, and each endeavouring to shut himself up in a sphere of selfishness, would answer every social claim and every tender appeal with the old heart-withering cry-" Am I my brother's keeper ?”

No doubt there is a great deal of PRACTICAL atheism spread throughout society among the thoughtful and literary classes as the fruit of speculative scepticism-among many mercantiie men as the result of unsanctified prosperity and wealth unconsecrated; among the poorer classes as the result of ignorance, over-toil, and vicious habits. And therefore we, His servants, arise and build." We tremble to think what might happen to this great people— what injury and dire calaınity, in one form or other, would surely come, if, in that great career of growth and extension which we are pursuing, there were not due admixture of "the salt" of Divine truth. Suppose England still to hold the rod of power, still to possess quickness of invention and readiness of enterprise, still to have the wealth of land and ocean poured at her feet, but at the same time to catch increasingly the taint of materialism, to grow up in an element of worldliness, and to lose the old spirit of religious faith, what in such case must she soon become? The terror, or the scourge, or the warning, or the mockery of the world. And therefore, as free and loyal citizens of this great commonwealth, we seek thus to do our part in her preservation, and in the heightening of her glory in the generations to come. We "

sware unto

the Lord," as did one of old, and vow unto the mighty God of Jacob, that we will not come into the tabernacle of our own house, nor go up into our bed, that we will not give sleep to our eyes or slumber to our eyelids, until we find out a place for the Lord, a habitation for the mighty God of Jacob.

This house is to be for the worship of God THROUGH JESUS CHRist. This is not a place where we are to MAKE a religion, or seek for it, or surround it with difficulties. It is made; it is found; it is revealed. We come here to the light of the world: we accept the unspeakable gift of God. "Without controversy" on our part, “great is the mystery of godliness; God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." For myself I must say—and I can but hope that I rightly interpret the faith and feeling of those who are here present that I accept the great doctrine of Christ crucified as THE foundationstone of a true and vital faith-as the centre, heart, and strength of the religion of the Bible-as the key-note of the whole message of salvation. I accept this doctrine, in the forms, mainly, in which it has been held and taught in the Church from the beginning. I distrust very much the subtle refinements of thought and the philosophical explanations which are thrown around the doctrine by some in the exposition of it, in our own day; and I believe that we have only to trust in it and preach it boldly as we ought to do, to make the demonstration complete that it is still the life of the world, still the fountain of peace and purity, still the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. "God forbid that we should glory save in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto us and we unto the world."

This house is to be for the worship of God through Jesus Christ by the presence, indwelling, effectual grace, and help of the Holy Spirit. "Through

to the Holy Ghost to come. It is a pledge that He shall not be denied or dishonoured, and that the souls here who shall worship the Father and believe in the Son shall pray in the Holy Ghost, keep their souls as temples, "live in the Spirit," and "walk in the Spirit."

This house, it may be hoped, will be a sacred fountain of SOCIAL JOYS. Thither the tribes will come up, the tribes of the Lord, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the Lord. We greet already those unseen companies. For our brethren and companions' sakes, we now say, "Peace be within thee." Hither shall infants be brought to receive the sweet aspersion of an early baptism unto the Lord, and to be lifted up by faith into His arms. Here shall stand young man and maiden hand in hand before the altar to make the mutual vow of plighted love, to thank God for the kindly providence that brought them together here, and trustfully to commit to Him all their future way. Here too, perhaps, on occasion, there may come the coffin holding the sacred dust, with the name written on the lid, which will be written far more deeply and held as a life-long memory in many hearts; and God shall give the oil of joy for mourning and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; and death, baffled, shall retire and flee away, while the visitors sing, "O Death, where is thy sting? O Grave, where is thy victory?"

We have a right also to look to this place, considered as the house of God, as the shrine of His holy oracles, to yield information and direction at least as to the PRINCIPLES of political and social affairs, for although the Bible gives us neither forms of civil government, nor facts of science, nor laws of art, it yet puts itself at the very centre of all human interests, and casts its directive rays around the whole circle of

human thoughts and life. Religion is all-related, and gives, herself, the clearest exposition of all her own relationships. I hope, therefore, that, as Christian people and ministers, we are not afraid of being called "political" by some who, there is too much reason to suspect, only wish to secure a monopoly of the business themselves. It is a good business, and we wish to have a share in it. The day is coming when it will be as safe as it has always been right for Christians to take a full part in all that concerns the well-being of the community and the State. Great questions are coming on for settlement; great conflicts of opinion have already begun, and we are bound by the love we bear our dear country, as well as by our loyalty to the heavenly King, to speak out our convictions, and to contend earnestly for the truth-all the more that we are free, and we wish all our fellow-christians to respect and share our liberty. We are Dissenters. I have always detested the name, and I never cease to wonder that one part of the great Christian congregation should have the power and the disposition to take a title like this, arising out of the accidents of our outward condition, in no way descriptive of our positive essential faith, and fling and fix it for ages upon another part of that congregation. We bear the name gladly, and charitably, so long as it shall be needful, for the sake of the testimony it covers; and in the hope that the time is not far distant when we shall be permit ted to rejoice in the abolition of that in the Church of England from which we dissent; and at the same time in the healthier vigour and wider enlargement for the country's good of that in her with which in the main we are cordially agreed, and for which we thank God. We have not indeed among ourselves, and we do not seek to obtain any formal unanimity of sentiment on the exact relation that ought to subsist between them, the Church and the State. Some of us object to the strength of such phraseology as "entire separation of the

Church from the State" as expressing an impossible state of things, and one not to be desired. I believe that a great severance is inevitable, is coming on; but also that beyond and out of that severance there shall arise a great and holy union, not a union of subjection and control of either by the other, but a union of cordial understanding and mutual influence, by which it shall be more apparent than it has ever yet been in the world that both are from God, and that both are necessary, not standing apart in several spheres, but acting in linked harmony for the attainment of social perfection in this life, and for a full preparation of men for the destiny of the future.

These few sentences I felt I must speak, because the occasion is fitting, but if there are any friends here to-day, who, not knowing much of our ways, our speech, our Sabbath worship, shall imagine that topics like these are frequently handled in our pulpits, I must assure these friends that they are quite mistaken. The great burden of the ministry here, as I have said, will be Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The great aim will be to draw poor helpless men to Him for cleansing, healing, strength, and full salvation. May this house rise purely to His glory and be filled with a people who shall liye to His praise! May there be such a spirit of charity and sanctity and brotherly kindness dwelling here, that all who go by shall say "We bless you in the name of the Lord." May the Lord add unto the people how many soever they be an hundredfold, and as long as the house shall stand may it yield up without ceasing a stream of sacred life to the house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." Amen.

ON CONFIRMATION.

BY REV. W. LOTHIAN, M.A. Acts xiv. 22.-"Confirming the souls of the disciples."

THE chapter from which these words are taken contains an account of the itinerant labours of Paul and Barnabas.

They had preached the Gospel with great success in various cities of Lesser Asia, particularly in Iconium, in Lystra, in Antioch of Pisidia, and in Derbe; and having "taught," or made many disciples (matheteusantes) in that city as well as in the others, they went over the same ground a second time, returning again to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, with a view to strengthen and encourage the new converts, or, as it is expressed in verse 22, “Confirming the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must, through much tribulation (or many afflictions), enter into the kingdom of God."

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So a

Observe, Paul and Barnabas are here represented as confirming the souls of the disciples." The word translated, "confirming" (episterizontes), signifies to strengthen, establish or settle, as a building on its foundation. It is used figuratively for encouraging any one about to undertake some arduous or difficult duty. Thus, a general may be said to confirm his soldiers by exhorting them to go boldly forward to face the enemy in the field of battle. teacher may be said to confirm his pupils in any branch of science, by setting before them the proofs or evidences of its truth; and religious inquirers, in like manner, may be said to be confirmed when the doctrines and duties of the Christian faith are illustrated and enforced upon them by their pastors or teachers and in this sense the word is evidently used here. God himself is sometimes represented as confirming the souls of His people, as in 1 Peter v. 10, "The God of all grace stablish (sterixai), strengthen, settle you;" and Romans xvi. 25, "Now to Him that is of power to establish or confirm you according to my Gospel," where a word derived from the same root (sterixai) is employed. At other times it is applied to men, as instruments in God's hands for establishing the faith of His people, and this they do by their counsels, encouragements, and exhortations. So in this passage, Paul and his companion