think so lightly of,-sin. Every such punishment should have the effect of our Lord's exhortation to the impotent man, "Go and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee." Secondly, 'for thy clemency to give thee glory.' Alas! when we receive evil we are ready to murmur, complain, or pray; but when we receive good, how backward are we to praise ! or how often to give the praise to our own skill and good management rather than to the forbearance and goodness of God! Oh that men would consider what cause we have to give praise and glory to him to whom alone it is due! And for his clemency,'this loving-kindness, which we have seen to be better than all our fears, in that he spared us the precious grain, notwithstanding our many provocations; that he made our extremity his opportunity, so that whilst the fear of his judgments should lead us to tremble at offending him who hath but to speak the word, and our hopes are all blasted and gone; (whether it be to command the heavens as brass, or to open their floodgates to drown the fruits of the earth with immoderate rain,) while his mercy should engage us to love him, and both so work together as to make us to serve him as his faithful servants for the future.

Again, as our Church has taught us the way of relief from feared danger, so has she taught us the language of praise for the mercy received.

The first altar we read o was that of Noah, built to praise God for the ceasing of the deluge. The heathen poet, in his account of a deluge (which is doubtless a corrupted tradition of Noah's deluge,) mentions the same thing as the first act of Dencalion and Pyrrha -to adore the gods. And though our danger was not

like that, yet but for the covenant and mercy of our God, why not? How would it increase the gratitude of one lately escaped and come safe to land out of a dangerous storm, to look back upon the roaring waves and threatening waters! so, to look back upon the fears when the plague of immoderate rain and waters threatened famine and its ill attendants, -riot and sedition, that we may magnify him who hath made a way of escape.

It was the overflowings of ungodliness that caused the waters to flow so high, and woe unto us if they had risen as high as our iniquities have done. Let us then confess this, and give God the glory, acknowledge his hand in that mercy so undeserved, which has relieved and comforted our souls, not only with natural comfort-deliverance from temporal difficulties-but comfort to the soul in looking upon this change as a sign of prayer heard, and if so of the anger of God abated, and the light of his countenance shining in the midst of outward blessings. We praise and glorify thy holy name for this mercy.'

Upon the holy garment of Aaron there was a bell fixed between every pomegranate, the mystery whereof was, (says one) that for every particular mercy we receive we should sound forth the Divine goodness by a particular act of praise.' Now we have received a particular mercy, we ascribe praise in the great congregation. But lest our praise should cease thus are we admonished to perpetual gratitude, "an

an will always declare the loving-kindness from generation to generation," Psalm xlv. 17, lxxix. 14.

"BEHOLD THE BRIDEGROOM COMETH."

Matthew xxv. 6.

How brightly shines the morning star,
While yet the sun his glorious car

In Eastern climes delays!
Can this a lively emblem be

Of her who waits her Lord to see,
And for his presence prays?

The Church with heavenly lustre bright
Illuminates the moral night

Which thickly spreads around,
Waiting a spotless Bride-among
An evil and despiteful throng,
With glory to be crown'd.

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She lists to catch the Bridegroom's voice
In promised signs which say Rejoice,
Behold I quickly come!"

She opes the eye of faith, and sees
Heaven sending forth its companies
To bear her to her home.

She views the Lamb in robes of white,
With thousand thousand saints in light,
Obeying his command,

Descend and seek that world again
Where he was crucified and slain,
And mock'd by ruffian band.

She longs her promised crown to wear
And rise all-glorious through the air
To meet her coming Lord;
And yet she waits in patient love,

Her strict fidelity to prove,

Confiding in his word.

Time hastens on,-faith's vision still

Does not her pleasing hopes fulfil

While yet her Lord delays;

She mounts her watch-tower there to stay

Expecting through each live-long day
The Marriage-feast to grace.

T. A. W.

REV. H. A. SIMCOE, Penheale-Press, Cornwall.

Thirdly, they are seals and confirmations of God's promise. Saint Paul saith, (Romans iv.) "Abraham received the sign of circumcision, as the seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had when he was uncircumcised." By these we stop the mouth of heretics for if they deny that our Lord Jesus Christ was delivered to death for our sins, and is risen again for our justification, we shew them our sacraments, that they were ordained to put us in remembrance of Christ, and that by the use of them we shew the Lord's death till he come. We tell them these are proofs and signs that Christ suffered death

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for us on the Cross. As Chrysostom saith, Laying out these mysteries, we stop their mouths.'

What are they nothing else but bare and naked signs? God forbid. They are the seals of God; heavenly tokens and signs of the grace, and righteousness, and mercy, given and imputed to us. Circumcision was not a bare sign: "That is not circumcision which is outward in the flesh, (saith St. Paul, Rom. ii.) but the circumcision of the heart." again, (Colossians ii.) "In Christ ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the sinful body of the flesh, through the circumcision of Christ." Even so is not baptism any bare sign.

And

Chrysostom saith, Christ's baptism is Christ's passion.' They are not bare signs; it were blasphemy so to say. The grace of God doth always work with his sacraments; but we are taught not to seek that grace in the sign, but to assure ourselves by receiving the sign, that it is given us by the thing signified. We are not washed from our sins by the water, we are not fed to eternal life by the bread and wine, but by the precious blood of our Saviour Christ, that lieth hid in these sacraments.

Bernard saith, The fashion is to deliver a ring when seizin and possession of inheritance is given; the ring is a sign of the possession; so that he which takes it may say, The ring is nothing, I care not for it, it is the inheritance which I sought for. In like manner, when Christ our Lord drew nigh to his passion he thought good to give seizin and possession of his grace to his disciples, and that they might receive his invisible grace by some visible sign.'