"This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them."-LUKE xv. 2.

NoT worthy, Lord, to gather up the crumbs

With trembling hand that from Thy table fall,

A weary heavy-laden sinner comes

To plead Thy promise and obey Thy call.

I am not worthy to be thought Thy child,
Nor sit the last and lowest at Thy board:
Too long a wanderer, and too oft beguiled,—
I only ask one reconciling word.

One word from Thee, my Lord,-one smile, one look,
And I could face the cold rough world again;
And with that treasure in my heart could brook
The wrath of devils and the scorn of men.

And is not mercy Thy prerogative :

Free mercy,-boundless, fathomless, Divine ?
Me Lord, the chief of sinners, me forgive!
And Thine the greater glory, only Thine.

I hear Thy voice: Thou bidst me come and rest.
I come, I kneel, I clasp Thy pierced feet;
Thou bidst me take my place,-a welcome guest
Among Thy saints, and of Thy banquet eat.

My praise can only breathe itself in prayer,
My prayer can only lose itself in Thee:
Dwell Thou for ever in my heart, and there,
Lord, let me sup with Thee: sup Thou with me.

The second hymn may be not inappropriately sung to the tender tune Via Crucis, by the Rev. S. M. Barkworth; the words being of the same keynote as that lovely hymn by Dr. Bonar,

Via Crucis.

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"My soul hangeth upon Thee."-PSALM lxiii. 9. (Prayer-book Version.)

THE ivy clasps the pine,

And climbs the while it clings: The tendrils of the vine

Are given in place of wings.

The limpet hugs the rock

The closer for the wave,

And dares the tempest's shock

In feebleness to brave.

The little child holds fast

Its father in alarms;
Or nestles down at last

Within his sheltering arms.

So hangs my soul on Thee,

O Lord, where'er I roam :
Guide, guard, hold, carry me,
And bear me safely home.

And the third hymn has been assigned to the strengthening and animating tune "Anlaby," by the same composer.

"Whom have I in heaven but Thee ? and there is none upon earth that I desire in comparison of Thee." PSALM Ixxiii. 24. (Prayer-book Version.)

WHEN Thy smile, serene and bright,
Floods my homeward path with light,
Open, Lord, mine eyes to see:
"Whom have I on earth but Thee?"

In affliction's darkest cloud,
To the dust with anguish bowed,
Let me plead confidingly:
"Jesu, whom have I but Thee?"

In the shadowy vale of death,
Be my last and labouring breath,-
"Flesh and heart are failing me:
Whom, Lord, have I now but Thee?"

Jordan past, how sweet the song!
Canaan won, how bright the throng!
But through all eternity,

Whom have I in heaven but Thee?

Chinese Teachers and Chinese Listeners.

BY THE REV. ARTHUR E. MOULE, MISSIONARY IN CHINA.

HE Chinese Government has recently requested European powers to command Christian missionaries in China not to revile the religions of the country. And English newspapers, in commenting on Lord Granville's cautious reply to the Chinese circular, request missionaries to remember that in China they have to deal with a highly civilized people.

The demand of the Chinese Government is in part reasonable, in part impracticable; and the reminder of the English newspapers is partly incorrect, partly superfluous.

Christian missionaries stand in the face of "the abominable thing which God hates." They have to preach, not a new God to be admitted, perhaps, into the Chinese pantheon, but the religion of the supreme JEHOVAH, before which all other creeds must fade and fall; and how can they but expose the follies of idolatry, and the imperfections of human philosophy But they recognise at the same time the excellencies which abound in the moral teaching of the Chinese sages, and which live in the proverbial philosophy of the people. They remember that China (though not even now a highly civilized country) could boast of civilization many centuries before our own race came into being; and they must

ever, therefore, substitute for reviling of the religion of the country, heart-stirring and importunate entreaty.

It may, perhaps, interest the readers of Evening Hours, if I offer to their notice a few examples of Chinese lore, especially of the points in which it helps the Christian preacher by way of illustration, or contrast, or parallel. I would then ask to give some instances, from personal observation, of the way in which Chinese minds receive the Gospel of Christ, when thus preached and illustrated.

One of the commonest remarks made by courteous hearers of our discourses is that Jesus, whom we preach, closely resembles Confucius; in fact, that we in the West have our Confucius: namely, Jesus. Now, if they appeal to their sacred books for a description of the character and sayings of their sage, they cannot decline to receive from our sacred books an account of the nature and character of Jesus. Chinese listeners suppose, for the moment, that the superiority of Confucius is proved by his greater antiquity: Jesus Christ came as a Teacher only 1800 years ago; Confucius was born 2,200 years ago! But "before Confucius was, I am," disposes of this vain fancy, as far as a mere quotation can dispose of it. And then we turn from the nature and