who only spake as God spake to Him and through Him, knew that His words were the living, abiding, redeeming truth. There was nothing hesitating or conjectural about His teaching, no tone of uncertainty. "He spoke as one that had authority, and not as the Scribes."

IV. HIS MESSAGE.-1. It was deep and real. The Scribes and Pharisees were unreal. According to them, religion was a thing of ceremonies and services, of rules and regulations, of washing of hands and of cups and pots (Mark vii. 1-4); it was outward, superficial. The thought of Jesus Christ went down deep into the realities of things. God's great requirement, He said, was that we should love Him with all our heart, and our neighbour as ourself; His doctrine was that obedience, submission, self-sacrifice, and selfdenial were the true marks of piety; that kindness in deed and in word made all things clean (Luke xi. 41); that the way back to God was the path of penitence and self-surrender. 2. It was essentially spiritual. In the midst of, and in opposition to, all that was mechanical and formal, Jesus Christ taught the essential importance of the spiritual. His words, He said, were spirit and life (John vi. 63); His supreme utterance respecting God was that He is a Spirit, and that all who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth (John iv. 24). He taught the blessedness of the pure in heart and the humble in spirit (Matt. v. 3, 8). He represented the human spirit as of transcendent worth (Matt. xvi. 26). He taught that it was what came from the heart that defiled us (Mark vii. 23), that the human soul could triumph over the most adverse circumstances (Matt. v. 11, 12). 3. It was charged with hope. (1) Hope for mankind; for God was working in and for the world, establishing a universal kingdom of righteousness and peace; God was restoring the whole human race to Himself, to His favour, His likeness, His home. (2) Hope for every human soul; for God was the Father of men, caring much for all His children, watching their course, longing for their return. He taught, both by parable and by illustrative action, that the most despised among men and the worst of women might rise from their degradation and walk in purity and honour before God and man. 4. It was wonderfully frank. (1) In His reference to Himself. thinks of accusing Him of want of modesty;

No one

so far from craving notoriety, He systematically shunned it; there is nothing that suggests egotism in His language, yet did He, as He was sacredly bound to do if He would accomplish His mission, speak most freely about Himself. He declared of Himself that

He was "the light of the world," "the bread of life,' ""the resurrection and the life," that "whosoever believed in Him had everlasting life," that "without Him man could do nothing," &c., &c. (2) In His address to His audience." Except your righteousness exceed," &c. (Matt. v. 20); "Except ye repent," &c. (Luke xiii. 3).

If these qualities impressed those who heard His words as He delivered them, they may also impress us. What they needed we need also. Their way back to God and heaven is ours also. Of this earnest Teacher who speaks so hopefully, yet so frankly, let us learn diligently, and we shall become the children of wisdom, the sons and daughters of God, the heirs of the heavenly kingdom.

THE THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT. DIVINE OVERRULING.

And they brought Joseph into Egypt.GEN. xxxvii. 28.

IT is a simple incident which these words record, only too common through many ages and in many countries-a lad sold into slavery; yet it is one that had very large results. Let us

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I. TRACE THE COURSE OF EVENTS WHICH FLOWED FROM IT. We know how it affected1. Joseph; through this change in his fortunes he became a slave, an overseer, a prisoner, a prophet, i.e., interpreter, statesman, a wealthy and distinguished citizen, the saviour of his adopted country. 2. Israel; at first it threw him into deep distress, but later it led to his relief in time of famine, and in the end it secured to him peace and comfort in his declining days. 3. The people of God; for them it meant settlement in a foreign land, prosperity, neglect, persecution, bondage, the birth and training of Moses (the greatest man of the race), deliverance, the giving of the Law, &c., &c. The people of Israel and the Law they received through Moses became other than they would have been if they had not "brought Joseph into Egypt." The whole course of Hebrew history was supremely influenced by that incident; and therefore the course of human history.

For the clear, deep mark of the Jew is on the history of the world-not only Asiatic, but European and American, not only ancient, but modern and contemporary.

II. BE IMPRESSED WITH THE SERIOUSNESS OF THAT WHICH SEEMS ΤΟ BE SLIGHT.

Those Midianite merchantmen supposed that they were engaged in a very ordinary transaction; they had no idea that on the back of one of their camels they were carrying the future administrator of Egypt and the fortunes of a chosen people; they would have ridiculed the suggestion that they were doing something very much more serious and eventful than making a purchase and looking for a profit. But they were. How often since then has that which seemed to be insignificant at the time proved to be decisive of the most momentous issues. The hearing of a sermon, the reading of a letter or a book, the counsel of a companion, the sudden desire for travel or emigration-such simple incidents have led to thoughts, decisions, careers which have affected the well-being of populations, the course of nations: e.g., the determination of Robert Clive to go out to India, and again when there to pursue a military career; or the receipt by Livingstone of a letter which induced him to choose Africa as the field of his labours. The fact is that we cannot draw a line between the unimportant and the eventful. God only knows what is wrapped up in some decision to which we may come to-day, in some course of action upon which we may enter to-morrow. Only the Omniscient can tell what seeds of great events may be hidden in the few words of Divine wisdom we may address to a class of boys or girls, or in some act of helpful kindness toward a stranger in distress. Our life is larger than we think. So much so that it is well worth our while to do thoroughly everything we do, to put Christian principle into all our actions. the discharge of some very lowly duty may depend consequences, for good or evil, of the widest range.

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III. LEARN TO TRUST IN THE LEADING OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE.-To Joseph, his being brought into Egypt must have been a terrible experience; his heart must have been filled with the sorrow of despair. 1. But was it bad for Joseph in the end, and upon the whole, that he was taken there? Had no such change occurred, he would probably have spent a peaceful, prosperous pastoral life with his father. But as it was, in Egypt,

under the hard discipline there; he formed a a strong and noble character, he set an example of purity and steadfastness under strong temptation that has been an influence for good in every age; he rose to a position of splendid usefulness, he became the powerful friend of his family, and the benefactor of a great people. 2. Was it bad for Jacob? At first it was painful and distressing indeed; it seemed to him the worst thing that could have happened; but it led to his maintenance in famine, his comfort in old age; it did more, it was a trial that purified and elevated his spirit, and made his later life to be characterized by a dignity and excellency which we do not recognize in his earlier years. Was it bad for the people of God? They did, indeed, suffer bondage and hardship. But what came of that? Deliverance, restoration. And what came of that? Their knowledge, their worship, their service of God as of their Divine Redeemer. They rendered obedience unto Him who "brought them up out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." Thus were they far more powerfully attached to the Lord than otherwise they could have been. And this fidelity of theirs was their own true heritage, while it was our enrichment also.

Where we cannot see, let us trust. Let us believe in God; He rules and He overrules. Things may seem dark in our individual, or domestic, or national life; but let us remember whose hand is at the helm. Let us believe that the day, however distant, will come when these things will be seen by us in a very different light; that not only were they not unrelieved by merciful mitigations, but that they were the very things that should have happened for our own highest good, or for the welfare of the world.

THE FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT. PATRIOTISM AND PIETY.

Looking for the consolation of Israel.LUKE ii. 25.

All them that looked for redemption in Israel.-LUKE ii. 38 (marginal reading).

OUR thought is directed to-I. PATRIOTISM AND PIETY IN ISRAEL. We think of the "just and devout" Simeon and of the eminently devout Anna (ver. 37) as of those whose hearts were filled with a holy yearning for their country's good and for the coming of the kingdom of God. Their pirit was wholly unselfish and unworldly; that which

sustained within them the flame of life was a generous and pious aspiration for Israel and devotion to the cause of God. That had-1. An intense longing for their country's emancipation. Simeon was waiting for "the consolation," Anna and those likeminded with herself for "the redemption," of Israel. There could be no true consolation for Jerusalem or for Judæa until there came a

redemption worthy of the name. For it was much more than political subjection from which Israel was then suffering. It was misery enough to see the land which was once ruled by David and by Solomon under the iron heel of Rome: that was enough to fill the heart of every true patriot with sorrow and with shame. But there were worse evils than this to be deplored, evils which required a, more radical revolution before the faithful servants of God and the true sons of Israel could be comforted. Devotion had descended to unacceptable formality; the study of the will of God had sunk into a cabalistic science; obedience to the Law had been reduced to the mechanical observance of a directory; a deplorable laxity had begun to disgrace the lives of many, while the life of the people was burdened with a code of infinitesimal regulations which worried and wearied men, but gave no glory to God. Spontaneous, spiritual religion was at the lowest point, and those who, like Simeon and Anna, lived in the fear and love of God prayed and waited for a gracious spiritual revival. 2. A pure and elevated desire for the establishment of the kingdom of God. Simeon, at any rate, foresaw that the coming of the Messiah meant more than national deliverance. That little child whom he held in his arms was to be a "light to lighten the Gentiles as well as the glory of Israel. Under his rule, and through his influence, Israel was to work out the Divine purpose, to extend the knowledge of Jehovah far and wide, to establish the kingdom of God upon the earth. It was a blessed and an ennobling hope that filled the souls of these enlightened worshippers. 3. A calm trust in God. It was but a babe before them, as helpless and dependent as any other child. But these reverent and expectant hearts confidently anticipated the best and greatest issues. Simeon did not want to live until he had seen to what order of manhood that infant would attain. No shadow of mistrust, we may safely say, darkened the heart or diminished the joy of

Anna. God, who had thus fulfilled His word, would cause His kindness and His faithfulness to be complete. Little could these two devout souls, or any of those to whom they "spake of the redemption" that should be wrought, anticipate the ministry and the death of Jesus as these actually occurred; little could they foresee the struggles and the toils that would be necessary before the kingdom of God arrived; but resting in the promises of God, they were peacefully assured of a triumphant future, and they poured forth their joy and their gratitude unto the God of Israel.

II. PATRIOTISM AND PIETY AMONG OURSELVES.-1. It is well to be concerned about our country. To be absorbed in matters of personal or domestic interest is unworthy of us; to be unconcerned about the condition and the prospects of the land we live in is wholly unbecoming Christian men; it is an indifference which is guilty. 2. To be interested in its political well-being is well; we ought to care, and to care much, for the freedom and the purity of its institutions, for the harmony and contentment as also for the elevation and prosperity of its people. 3. To be earnestly occupied with its moral and spiritual regeneration is better far. As we view our country from this standpoint there is much to sadden us; there is much that makes us seek for "consolation," and makes us feel that nothing short of "redemption" will give us rest. We yearn for the time when poverty, ignorance, vice, crime, error, unbelief will have disappeared, and when prosperity, purity, happiness, and holiness will possess the land. 4. In Jesus Christ we may recognize the regenerating power. There is but one thing which will bring "consolation" to true patriots, and that is the "redemption for which they both labour and pray-the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. (1) We can be content with nothing less than a regenerated life; a life of purity and sobriety, of honesty and industry, of kindness and charity, from the palace to the cottage. (2) We are assured that this end will not be reached until Jesus Christ is the accepted, honoured, beloved Redeemer and Exemplar of all the people. All other methods of elevation have failed, and will fail. This is the one redeeming power, the one source of consolation to the sorrowing but aspiring patriot. As therefore we love our country we shall do everything in our power to bring the people of the land into

close and living association with Jesus Christ -indirectly, by so affecting their physical and social condition that they will be able to

receive His Word, directly, by preaching and teaching His redeeming truth in Church and hall, in school and home.

WILLIAM CLARKSON, B.A.

THE DOWNFALL OF JUDAH.
JER. Xxxix. 1-10.

THE northern kingdom had already fallen. Jeremiah's task was to tell king and people the hard, unpalatable truth that Judah was to follow in the steps of Israel. He probed and laid bare the causes of the impending national doom. In due time the word of Jehovah by Jeremiah was fulfilled, and Jerusalem fell.

Prophetism enables us to see into the reasons of things and to read the right spiritual interpretation of history. Let us glance at some of the causes of national downfall, as shown in the Scripture narrative. Among these are:

I. Despotism and over-centralization. Probably no one of all the Hebrew rulers dealt so many and so serious blows at the vitals of the commonwealth as Solomon. Destroying the forms of local freedom in the country, Solomon paved the way for the final dissolution of the nation. Local freedom, self-reliance, manliness were paralyzed. The nobles grew more rich and insolent, and the poor poorer and more dependent. Such a condition of things, inaugurated by Solomon and tending to increase for centuries, left a nation practically devoid of defenders and rendered it an easy prey to the great bully and robbernation from the east.

II. Mistaking party strife for patriotism. It is so easy to cloak selfishness, ambition, and personal likes and dislikes, pique and hatred, under specious pretexts and noble battle-cries that even good men as well as bad are constantly tempted to do so. The republics of antiquity and of modern Europe show many a page like those in the Bible, in which heated partisans wounded their country and murdered true lovers of God and their people in the name of patriotism and the service of Jehovah. III.

Avarice, and mistaking national

wealth for national greatness. This grasping avarice of the nobles of Judah, which ground down the peasantry, was one of the direct causes of the downfall of the kingdom. Yet in our day and nation the same disease is epidemic and chronic.

IV. Violence and oppression. How heavy the burdens of the prophet's visions, how loud the cry raised against the brutality of the oppressor! The pages of the Old Testament, from Cain to Zechariah, startle one with their story of violence and wrong. Surely, as Scripture history shows, the nations that deify brute force, oppress labour, riot in violence and blood, must pass away like Egypt and Babylon. One of our national dangers is this tendency to brutality, violence, and murder, so frequent, and often so rampant among us.

V. Trust in the letter rather than the spirit of religion. One of the characteristics of the leaders and people in Jeremiah's time was the propensity to emphasize the temple rather than to honour the Lord of the temple. These hypocrites and sinners in Zion, having lost the love of the spiritual, and knowing not the power of holiness, had become formalists. "The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are we," was their cry, so satirized by the prophet. When, therefore, the Babylonian invaders breached the wall, the princes who had practised idolatrous rites in the temple, the prophets who prophesied for gain, the priests and the Levites, all ran into the temple courts for supposed safety-even as the priest-ridden superstitious in earthquake countries vainly flee to the cathedrals-only to be ground to death.

VI. Moral rottenness. Greatest of all the causes of national downfall in Judah was the sensualism and moral decay. In all nations and civilizations God's laws are amazingly uniform. Jeremiah saw the working of the Divine law with such clearness and intensity

that he was constantly sad. A patriot to the core, he suffered perpetual pain because of the impending calamities to befall Israel. These he knew were God's chastisements because of the sins of Judah.-(W, E. Griffis).

PROMISE OF A NEW HEART.
EZEK. Xxxvi. 25-38.

I. THE new heart is a Divine gift. Jehovah declares that He will "sprinkle," "give," "put within," and "take away." Chastisements may prepare the way for, but they do not beget it. Earnest strivings against some mighty temptation are not the genesis of it. Outward and correct endeavour is not its secret. The sinner, once having betrayed his own heart, cannot get it back again. Its desires are material, its aims earthly, its activities blind. The swift sentence of death to all the objects for which it was made has overtaken it.

Many are unwilling to admit such disaster. They try to think that the progress of degeneration can be arrested, and complete restoration be secured through earnest and constant effort. But the Lord has clearly declared the folly of such attempt. They can as well add a cubit to their stature. So it is ours to receive, simply, entirely, lest any should boast. The Divine mercy and grace is thus, and ever will be, magnified, since none can claim to have merited any of the blessings which, in infinite measure they enjoy. National regeneration is as surely a Divine work as is that of the person. Armies and police and legislatures are as feeble to this end as any of the schemes a citizen invents for his own transformation. Whatever new heart it has must come down, like the New Jerusalem, "out of heaven from my God."

Certain characteristics of this new heart are (ver. 27):

1. Obedience to the Divine law. That which before was hard now becomes easy. Restraints formerly irksome now become safe limitations. Walls which once shut out now are seen savingly to enclose. Associations and employments once shunned are now sought.

Again (ver. 31), 2. Vivid remembrance of, and shame for, past sin. Blotting out and absolute removal and complete forgetfulness of the offences of the penitent belong to the Lord. They cannot mark the transgressor. He, at least, often and bitterly recalls them. The raindrops from a passing shower, ages since, fell on the soft clay bed. In the split

rock we can even tell the direction of the wind which drove them that day, for in these tiny hollows, though filled with earth, each has left its impress. So with speech, and act, and thought. Infinite grace accounts them no more against us, but deathless memory will not let them slip. "Ah, rather teach me the art of forgetting," said Themistocles, "for I often remember what I would not, and cannot forget what I would."

The new heart (vers. 28-31). 3. Ensures earthly blessings. Here, because of it, came return to fatherland for the sighing captives on the banks of the Euphrates, well-tilled fields yielding bountifully, prostrate homes raised again, and strong cities rebuilt where desolation had reigned. If God tried to teach His people any truth, it was that they should prosper that loved Him. Righteousness tends to life, to health, to wealth, to friendship, to honour. God cares to put the crown of blessings on the head that fears Him, though at the first, and for a while, it suffers much for His name's sake. Jehovah called to no barren service in the earlier day. Thrifty vineyards and oliveyards, and numerous flocks and herds were the reward then. Jesus promised His followers "an hundredfold in this present time." The countless comforts and triumphs of civilization, our comely homes and gracious industries, and kindly fellowship and ministries, are the reward now.

It also becomes (vers. 32-36), 4. A testimony to the presence and interest of the Lord. Memorial stones are set up here and there in the earth to celebrate some victory of contending forces, some wonderful escape, some noble sacrifice. Obelisk and arch, temple and hall and statue, keep for a while the great name from oblivion. But a living hero is a greater sight than the most splendid structure built to honour him. Daily exhibitions of the marvellous work of the Holy Spirit on the heart are a better and more unanswerable proof of the unseen One than all the stories we can tell of such. As He inspires, gives success to, and keeps His own, there is no disputing the agency. A converted man is worth more than countless treatises on conversion; not for his own sake often, it would seem, so much as for that of the keen watchers of this "miracle of grace," is he changed. Darwin's honest admission that a Patagonian may become a Christian is a tribute to the elevating and developing power of the Gospel, which only a demonstration could secure.