My heart, already melted by a sense of the greatness of my sin, is even more so when I think of the greatness of Thy mercy. "Rend your hearts, and not your garments," exclaims Thy prophet; "and turn unto the Lord your God."1 My heart is rent; it has become soft and yielding; take and mould it according to Thy will.

"As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till He come." 2 So writes the apostle; and, in truth, O Lord, partaking Thy body and blood in the Supper is a sort of compensation for Thine absence-an earnest to sustain my hopes until the time when I shall possess Thyself. Thou enterest into my soul now mollified, and wilt this hour fill the spiritual mouth of Thy disciple as surely as he opens it and hungers after Thee. "Thy flesh is meat indeed, and Thy blood is drink indeed," as Thou hast said; and although at all times I am conscious of Thy presence, I yet thank Thee that in this ordinance Thou comest in a visible way to help my faith, and givest me assurance that Thou holdest communion with my soul, and art joined to me in spiritual wedlock. What the bread is to my body, a nutritious food; what the wine is to my spirits, an exhilarating juice,-that, O my God and Saviour, are Thy body and blood to my soul; they mysteriously impart to it nutriment and life. Yes, of a truth, never am I more sensible of the magnitude either of my own guilt or of Thy condescension, than when I leave Thy table, bearing with me the consciousness of being knit afresh as a member to Thy body.

I can well conceive how much more elevating this solemnity would prove, could it be said of all who engage in it that they know what they do; and if that holy awe with which the thought of Thy condescension inspires the hearts of some, penetrated the hearts of all, and all hearts in an equal degree. On the other hand, however, it also puts me to shame when

I see that Thou dost not reject even those of whom that can21 Cor. xi. 26.

1 Joel, ii. 13.

I

not just be said. Only let the heart be sincerely yearning after Thee, only let the soul be seeking comfort, although, perchance, with ill-defined notions of Thee-a personal Lord and Saviour-Thou dost not withhold Thyself from it. And by so doing, oh what an example dost Thou set me not to scorn even the weak members of Thy Church, but on a day like this, without comparing or finding fault, to acknowledge myself one with all who desire publicly to show forth Thy death! There, beside a veteran grown grey in the battles of the faith, sits one who appears (so far, at least, as is known to me) a mere child of the world; beside the youth of quality, some poor and aged mother; beside the man of learning, an untutored maid; and yet to each of all these souls Thou drawest near, so truly and so closely that their spiritual mouth tastes the savour of Thy presence. This thought has often deeply humbled my carnal pride and love of censure; for how lightly do I presume to deny the claim of many to fellowship with Thee, while yet it is evident that often where we least suspect it there is a secret yearning of the soul after Thee, and unalterably steadfast is the word Thou hast spoken: "He who cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out."

And how dare I, the sinful fellow-servant, take upon me to cast out any who have not been cast out by Thee, the Master? On this day I will learn to overlook the infirmities and forgive the faults of my brethren, especially those of my nearest connections. Thy Word declares that no oblation is acceptable so long as the heart which supplicates forgiveness of Thee has not itself learned to forgive others. When, therefore, I leave Thy table, refreshed by Thy love, I will meet them all with a new heart. They are not merely my brethren, they are also Thine. Oh, were there no other ground for loving and respecting them, let me love and respect them for this, that they have been nourished and refreshed by Thy body and blood. Give me grace, O my God, to renew my covenant with Thee; and although I should again stumble, I will learn by degrees to walk with a firmer step. Most deeply do I feel

how, more than all else, the thought of Thy condescension towards me, in spite of my many pollutions, softens my heart, and fits it for receiving Thee. On that account I go boldly to Thy table, in the confidence that I will find manna for my heart, that Thou art pleased to see me, wilt make me welcome there, and that thus my hope shall not be put to shame. Herein vouchsafe, O gracious God, to help me, for Thy boundless compassion's sake! Amen.

Whom dost Thou, dear Redeemer, call

To Thy sweet feast of grace,
Admit into the banquet-hall,
And at Thy table place?

'Tis not the proud, the rich, the strong,
With earthly good content,

But sick and weary souls, who long
For nobler nourishment.

Ah! didst Thou for the pure alone
The royal feast prepare,

Small were the hope for such a one

As me to find a share.

But since the blind, the sick, the lame,
Obtain admission free,

I, too, will venture, in God's name,

To join the company.

Yet who would think the guests he sees

Around that table placed,

Were victims all of foul disease,

With ghastly wounds defaced?

For, lo! their generous Host provides,
From His full store on high,

For each a shining robe, that hides

All his deformity.

And I, in that bright garment dressed,

Will to the table go;

For, Lord, Thou wilt not scorn a guest

Because his rank is low.

When others coldly close the door,

Wide flies the gate of grace;
And he who was the least before,

Obtains the highest place.

73.

Outset in Life.

Forth o'er the wide and stormy flood

My bark now steers its way.
Fades in the mist my sire's abode,

Now fades the upland grey.

Haunts of my childhood! far away from you,

Wide o'er the spacious main I cast an anxious view.

But see, on ocean's farthest brim,

Yon land so fair and bright,
Emerging in the distance dim,

Salutes my ravished sight.

Speed well my bark! and on that radiant shore,
Partings and seas and storms we'll fear no more.

PSALM CXIX. 9. "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse By taking heed thereto according to Thy

his way?
word."

AT

T last my little bark must leave the quiet bay in which it has hitherto found shelter, and venture forth into the mighty waters. Oh, who will help me to shun the cliffs and weather the storms, that I may reach in safety the destined haven?

I feel the paramount necessity of knowing, even in regard to my temporal calling, that I am walking in the ways of the Lord. Had I the smallest ground to suspect that the line of life on which I am about to enter had been selected for me, by either my own or my parents' vanity, my courage would fail at the very outset. But with the conviction that the Lord Himself has prescribed to me the way, I shall walk as with a hold of His hand. My daily work ought to be to me an act of worship, and my place of business a temple. Stablish,

therefore, O God, my fickle heart, that I may no more look aside to the right hand or the left, and no more court either the pleasures or applause of the world, but that in all I do, not excepting my temporal avocation, I may fix an unaverted gaze on Thee alone. When he wishes to take a good aim, the marksman closes one eye in order to collect the whole power of vision into the other. Make my eye single, that in all my pursuits Thy approbation may be my only aim. Thy approbation alone confers true greatness. The praise of his fellows can, no more than his own shadow, make a man either greater or less. May the testimony of a good conscience in the sight of God reward me every evening for the toils of the day. By dint of labour I must dig the blessing from the earth below; but no less must my prayers draw it down from heaven above. Oh let me never lose sight of that slender and mysterious thread, which extends from earth to heaven, and connects every work of man with the Divine hand, that so I may continually remember that more depends upon Thy blessing, than upon any industry and skill of my own, or all the favour and assistance of others.

Wild and tumultuous is the throng in which I now go forth to mingle. But in that throng, angels of Thine walk about in disguise. Oh that it may be my lot to meet with some of them! Lord, I beseech Thee, from my inmost heart, that on my way through life I may not journey alone. Nevertheless, should Thy wisdom deem it better for me to want a friend, and live solitary on earth, then open to me all the more freely and fully the invisible treasures of Thy friendship; and, in the strength I derive from secret fellowship with Thyself, teach me to walk to Thy praise before the children of the world. "Evil communications corrupt good manners,"1 is a precept of Gentile wisdom. To the danger of which it warns let me never be insensible. In journeying through the world, we walk upon ice and in the midst of thorns. Give me a discriminating mind, that I may discover of what spirit they are

1 1 Cor. xv. 33.