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THE

JUVENILE MISSIONARY RECORD.

THE TREE OF LIFE.

IN that glorious description of the heavenly Jerusalem, contained in the twenty-second chapter of Revelation, we are told, in the second verse, that, in the midst of the street of the city, and on either side of the river, was there

The tree of Life,

which bare twelve manner of fruits,
and yielded her fruit every month:
and the leaves of the tree were for the
healing of the nations,

In such a description of the divine source of "life" for time and for eternity, how vast is the fulness of precious grace and truth that opens upon us! Let us now draw out of that fulness one or two subjects of serious meditation, suited to those prospects of the awful future which, at the beginning of another year, are forced on the attention of us all. And for this purpose, we ask our young readers to observe that, in the description of the tree of life, these two are very prominent facts in regard to it, that it 66 BARE TWELVE MANNER OF FRUITS, and that IT YIELDETH FRUIT EVERY MONTH." In other words, we beg our young friends to meditate, with seriousness and prayer, upon Two things here set forth in regard to Christ, the only source of every blessing to them for time and for eternity,-first, how full, and secondly, how unfailing, is the supply, in Christ, of everything our poor souls can need for life and happiness!

I. The tree of Life

bears twelve manner of fruits.

The greatest variety and the richest abundance mark the issues of the work of Christ as our Redeemer. If we would

VOL. V. No. I.

JANUARY 185

"declare and speak of them," (Psalm xl. 5,) "they are more than can be numbered. They cannot be reckoned up in order." Verily, this tree of life is a tree to be desired; and, blessed be God, we may look with the largest desires for all its precious fruits as freely offered to us in the Gospel! Oh! taste and see how good they are. Take, for examples, these following, and say, dear young friends, how it is possible to be otherwise than eternally happy when partaking of such fruits as these:

1. In Christ there is wisdom,-a wisdom that cannot err, to teach you in His truth-to guide your feet in the way of peace-and to open to your souls the ever-widening prospects of a growing knowledge of divine and heavenly realities.

2. Strength is in Christ, to subdue you to His obedienceto strike from you the fetters of your slavery to sin, and to sustain and perfect in you the life of godliness.

3. There is in Christ a hope which no disappointment can ever quench, and which quickens and animates the soul with the most cheering and gladsome of all prospects.

4. In Christ is Love-a love which never can fail, as the motive to "all goodness, and righteousness, and truth."

5. There is Joy in Christ-a joy that remains after every other has fled, and is for ever unspeakable and full of glory. 6. The Peace which He imparts, neither life, nor death, nor hell are able to destroy.

7. The Long-suffering which He teaches, is the secret of calmness, resignation, and sweet composure of mind amid all the vexations aud troubles of time.

8. The Gentleness which He diffuses, is the best security against the miseries that arise from quarrelling with one another.

9. The Goodness which He communicates, enables us to bear one another's burdens, and to live together as children of one father, and heirs of the same home.

10. The Faith which He works, uniting us to himself, makes us "faithful in Christ," with all the good fidelity of a devoted surrender of our hearts to His obedience.

11. The Meekness He bestows, gives rest from the agitations of the proud, whom God resisteth. And

12. The Temperance which He implants-choosing the better part which cannot be taken away-satisfies the soul with an enduring portion; and prepares for the full enjoyment of an undefiled and incorruptible inheritance !

Such are the fruits of the Spirit of life in Jesus Christ!

and all you need for happiness is to be found in these, in infinite variety, and in richest abundance !

Now, secondly consider

II. The tree of Life

yieldeth her fruit every month,

In other words, how unfailing is the constancy, and how unchanging the faithfulness of Christ, who is the divine source to you of every blessing!

No change of season, no change of climate, can alter the unfailing supplies which flow from the fulness of Christ. Come what may, the tree of life, with its wide-spreading boughs and rich clusters, offers shelter and refreshment to all who sit under its shadow! Never can you go to this tree, and find it barren. Its fruits are never out of season. Throughout the whole year of our lifetime on earth, in all its varied changes of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, there never can come a day when, going to the tree of life, you shall not find fruit, and that exactly suited to the day (Deut. xxxiii. 25).

In the bloom and sprightliness of youth, and in the infirmities of age-in the sunny days of gladness, and in the cloudy days of sorrow-in the glow of health, and under the load of sickness-in the night of death, and in the morning of the resurrection amid the solemnities of the last judgment-this tree will be found to afford shelter, and a sure supply of every needed grace and perfection, to all who have sought from it the life of their immortal souls!

He

Now, dear young friends, the fruits prepared for the spring-time of life are in store in Christ for YOU. has fruits, peculiarly happy, in readiness for those who seek Him early. And there is a most assured certainty that seeking Christ as your Saviour Now, you SHALL find Him-and in finding Him you find life everlasting! (Prov. viii. 17-21.)

Yes! CHRIST is waiting for you. For thousands of years, waiting, working, and pleading for men, He still waits, works, and pleads with you. And though rejected and despised, He is waiting still,-still urging you to receive the gifts of grace, still holding forth the offers of peace. Every month" the tree of Life continues to yield its fruits. Every moment is the work of the divine Redeemer plied with unwearied solicitude, and unbounded love. And say, dear young friends, if you can endure to think that, in the view of offers so unceasingly and affec

66

tionately made, you should still be holding out against Him as aliens and as rebels, who will not come unto Him that they may have life! Will you not then resolve that from this hour, Christ shall be kept no longer waiting for you, that you will come to him at once,-that whatever others do, you will lay hold of eternal life! And how, in coming unto Him, are you to meet the unchanging faithfulness and constancy of His love to you,-if not by your living in the exercise of an unceasing trust in Him, and by constant prayer for the supplies of His grace? Should not supplies of grace, thus continually offered, be continually sought after and accepted? "Every month" the tree of Life may yield its fruits, but how are its clusters to be gathered, if the hand of Faith is not unceasingly put forth to take them?

At the outset of another year, then, you will resolve to seek continually for grace to live in communion with Christ. He is life everlasting only to those who wait upon Him. "Ask and you shall receive." "Seek and you shall find." "Pray without ceasing." And then the fruits of the tree of Life, as they are tasted upon earth, will be the earnest of those which await you "in the paradise of God," wherein is "fulness of joy," and "pleasures for evermore."

A NEW YEAR'S WISH.
I wish you God's good Spirit from above,
To shed within your heart His holy love.

ROM V. 5.

I wish it ne'er may cool, as years may flow;
But clearer, stronger, deeper, warmer grow.

PHIL. i. 9.

I wish that, rescued from the power of sin,
That love may make and keep you pure within.

ROM. vi. 22.

I wish it may with sweet yet strong control,
From glory unto glory change your soul.

2 COR iii. 18.

Till to your Saviour's likeness fully wrought,
His love doth perfect what His blood hath bought.
1 JOHN iv. 17, 18.

I wish at once, whate'er all bliss ensures
In love made perfect-and that love be yours.

EPHES. iii. 14-19.

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