active usefulness are the direct road to envy and ill-ations? And I invite you to rejoice with me, and will. The petty king of Strathcluyd was displeased with his teaching, and he was compelled to flee to North Wales. Even there he failed not to do his Master's work; he formed a religious society, and sent forth young men as Missionaries to the adjacent country. At the death of the king of Strathcluyd he was recalled by his successor, and with the utmost cheerfulness he resumed his labours in that district, which, whatever it might be then, is now distinguished for its beauty, its fertility, its wealth, and commercial enterprise. It was by the green banks and blue waters of the Clyde he preached the Word of God, and adminis. tered the holy sacraments. His name still remains as connected with the cathedral of Glasgow, and the district in which he laboured has been distinguished for its adherence to true religion. From Clydesdale, the Lords of the congregation and the champions of the covenant derived ample support, and since the days of Kentigern, Glasgow has flourished by the preaching of the Word." Kentigern died in 601, but he left behind him a deathless name. He was not so conspicuous for talents and attainments as the celebrated Columba, but he was not less useful in his sphere, and he will continue to be ranked as a benefactor of our race, and as one of the great champions of religion.

THE BLESSED CONSEQUENCES OF TRUE REPENTANCE:

A DISCOURSE.

BY THE REV. WILLIAM WALLACE DUNCAN,
Minister of Cleish.

"They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that
goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed,
shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing
his sheaves with him."-PSALM CXXVI. 5, 6.
THIS Psalm, whoever may have been its author,
was evidently written sometime after the return
of the Israelites from their captivity in Babylon.
It appears to be a song of grateful remembrance,
on a retrospect of the merciful dealings of Jehovah
toward then, in having had regard to their deep
and bitter repentance; their eager longings to re-
turn to the dear land of their nativity; their ear-
nest cries, their imploring tearful entreaties, that
he would be pleased to "turn again the captivity
of Zion as the streams in the south." And the
words of my text, with which this plaintive, yet
triumphant Psalm concludes, teach an everlasting
truth, founded on the glad experience of the joy-
ful Jews, when set free from the bondage of a
foreign yoke, and revelling in the ecstasy of hope
long deferred, but now at last fulfilled.

The truth to which I allude is strictly of a spiritual nature, and refers to the blessed result which is said to follow the experience of that "repentance which needeth not to be repented of." But I feel that my text, when taken literally, is so remarkably appropriate to the subject to which I am this day to call your particular attention, that may, I think, without impropriety, be accom

it

modated thereto.

I ask you, then, my brethren, if you have not seen the words of my text almost literally fulfilled, in the experience of this year's agricultural operThis sermon was preached on the day appointed by the Presbytery of Dunfermline for offering special thanks to the Almighty, for the abundant harvest of this year,

to be thankful to Almighty God for the abundant
harvest which has crowned the labours of the
husbandman, and filled his barns. Reflect for a
moment on the prospects of the spring. Is there
one of you who does not remember how gloomy,
how discouraging, how ominous these were? From
all parts of the land, the cry of distress arose.
Multitudes of our fellow-countrymen were reduced
to the painful alternative of either starving, or
being dependent on the benevolence of the public
for the commonest necessaries of life. The oldest
and most experienced, foreseeing the dreadful con-
sequences which would inevitably follow, in the
event of a deficiency in the harvest such as that
of last year, shook their heads in anticipation of
All who were
their worst fears being realized.
accustomed to observe the hand of Providence,
imagined, as well they might, that they perceived
a vial of wrath in preparation for being poured
on our devoted heads. Truly it may almost liter-
ally be said, that "we sowed in tears."

But what has been the end? Have we no rea-
son to be ashamed of our distrust of God? Have
the prognostications, which were so universal,
proved true or false? Have our apprehensions
been realized, or have they not? O what a kind,
and loving, and fatherly reproof has the Almighty
administered to us for our forgetfulness of that
affecting and affectionate admonition, "Consider
the lilies of the field, how they grow: they toil not,
neither do they spin; and yet, I say unto you, that
Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one
of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass
of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is
cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe
you, ye of little faith? Therefore, take no
thought, saying, what shall we eat, or what shall
we drink, or wherewithal shall we be clothed?
(for after all these things do the Gentiles seek,) for
your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need
of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom
of God and his righteousness, and all these things
shall be added unto you." Just when our faith
seemed to have yielded entirely to despair, the
hand of a gracious Providence came forth in
brightness from the lowering clouds, clothed the
pastures with luxuriant green, scattered flowers
over the fields, touched the sickly blade, and
lo! it lived, it grew, it shot forth the ear, and
laughed in the bright sunshine. I rejoice to re-
member, that a change so remarkable was not un-
noticed by us as a congregation, and that grace
was given us at the time to acknowledge the mercy
which seemed thus beautifully to take the place
of judgment, and to implore the God of heaven
and of earth, with the advancing harvest, to ripen
our rising hopes. And now that we have been
spared to see what our eyes have seen, doth it not
become us, with one heart and one soul, to offer
our most grateful acknowledgments for the signal
manner in which our supplications have been
heard? Instead of barrenness and desolation, have
we not recently cast our eyes, wherever we have

gone, over fields richly laden with the various pro- tears," denotes neither more nor less than that duce of the earth? Where nothing but failure and repentance which is the necessary accompani loss were anticipated, has not the utmost abun- ment of faith in Jesus Christ. It cannot mean dance, in many cases, appeared? Instead of con- the "sorrow of the world." Of that we are stant and uninterrupted storms, have we not now expressly told (2 Cor. vii. 10,) that it "worka delightful remembrance of weeks of dry and sunny eth death;" whereas here we are told no less weather, which brought to maturity the once droop-expressly that "they that sow in tears shall reap ing crops, and invited the reaper to go forth to his in joy." Sorrow for sin, though not certainly in cheerful task? There are few present, I will ven- itself repentance unto salvation." is an indisture to say, who can recall to mind a season, up- pensable part of it. Many a one has grieved— on the whole, more favourable than that which shed tears-beat the breast, and evinced every is just past, for cutting down and storing up the outward sign of "godly sorrow," without ever precious fruits of the earth. Sometimes it happens having known what it is truly to repent. But that only isolated districts here and there can con- never has an instance occurred of an individual gratulate themselves on such a result. But this being a true penitent, without, at the same time, year I know not one portion of the whole island being deeply grieved at the thought of his sinfulwhich is not almost as loudly called upon, as we ness and guilt. "Tears," then, though they may are, to give thanks and praise to the God of seasons be a promising sign of repentance, are by no for the plenty that abounds. Everywhere there is means a sure one. When unaccompanied by an occasion for joy. He that went forth in sorrow," apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ," "bearing precious seed," has literally "come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." Think how different, had there been another year of scarcity, would have been the present state of our beloved land-how loud would have been the cry for bread, especially in our less fertile districts-how difficult it would have been to meet the urgent, necessary, and continually increasing demand-how fiercely the flames of national discontent would have blazed, especially in our more populous cities-how distressing the scenes which everywhere should have met the eye! Assembled as we are, my brethren, this day, for the purpose of worshipping and praising God, more especially with a view to his most undeserved goodness in granting us so happy a conclusion to the labours of the year, shall we not unite together in presenting to him the warmest gratitude of our hearts? O yes! To Him that imparted warmth and geniality to the atmosphere, when so much required, "for his mercy ndureth for ever;" to Him at whose magic touch nature raised her drooping head and smiled, "for his mercy endureth for ever;" to Him who caused the sunshine and the rain to descend in grateful alternation on the fruitful fields, "for his mercy endureth for ever;" to Him who listened to our earnest cry, and granted our request, "for his mercy endureth for ever;" to Him who cause the valleys to wave with the golden fruits of harvest, and the little hills on every side to clap their hands for joy, "for his mercy endureth for ever;" | to Him who hath not left himself without a witness, in that he has granted us a fruitful season, filling our hearts with food and gladness, " for his mercy endureth for ever,"-to Him, even to Him be ascribed all thanks, and glory, and honour, and blessing, world without end. Amen.

But, my brethren, let me now direct your attention, more particularly, to the great spiritual lesson which, as I have already said, this striking and beautiful text is intended to convey.

I. What, then, are we to understand by the expression sowing in tears ?" To sow in

when they do not proceed from a clear view of what Christ has done to take away sin, or what sin has done to take away the life of Christ, they are no more to be trusted than the dew-drops of the morning, which, though they glitter like so many diamonds, disappear as soon as the sun arises and casts his golden beams athwart the earth. Alas! who that has had any dealings with the consciences of his fellow-men, knows not how little confidence is to be placed in the bitterest tears? O I have seen the most abandoned profligates weep for sin, as if nothing could ever tempt them to commit it again! yet scarcely have their tears been dried, when they have "returned like the dog to his vomit, and like the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire." But, on the other hand, there are tears which only the true penitent can shed. These are distilled in the innermost recesses of the heart, and proceed from no principle but that of faith in the declarations of that Gospel which tells of the sufferings which the Saviour of men endured ere God could pardon sin. Such were the tears which showered from the eyes of Mary Magdalene, and with which she washed the feet of Christ. Such were the tears which have been shed by the faithful in every age, all of which, to use the language of the Psalmist, God hath "put into his bottle." Such are the tears denoted in my text.

Dear brethren, have you ever grieved for sin, and if so, what has been the nature of your grief? Have your tears been like drops of dew, or have they proceeded from a clear, scriptural, heartaffecting view of the great and overwhelming truth that "even Christ our passover has been sacrificed for us?" O examine your hearts, that you may be able to answer this! You may have wept at the thought of the consequences of sin in this world and the world to come; you may have wept at the thought of the disgrace which you may have brought on your own characters in the eyes of your fellow-men; nay, you may have shed tears of sentimental sorrow, even when you have read or heard of the agonies of the garden

and the accursed tree. All this is possible, with- |
out one spark of true repentance being kindled in
your souls. Be assured, the only certain test of
the sincerity of your penitence consists in this,
"Have you, or have you not, been made to grieve
most of all in the thought of the agonies which
your sins have occasioned that holy and loving
Saviour who died upon the cross?" If, on making
this inquiry in a proper spirit, you find that such
is indeed the principal consideration which affects
your hearts with grief on reviewing the past, and
searching the principles which actuate your lives,
then, but not till then, may you know for certain
that your tears are of the right kind.

66

Christ as one that mourneth for an only son," nor "been in bitterness for Him as one that is in bitterness for his first-born," think ye that you shall be of that happy company at the harvest-home of heaven? No! you have sown in joy-joy do I say? Ah! how can that be called joy which leads to everlasting, irremediable woe? You have chosen your portion here, you have preferred the certainty of sensual bliss, or the selfish enjoyment of the "things that perish in the using," to what has appeared to you to be the uncertainty and the exceeding remoteness of that joy which shall ring for ever athwart the glorious vault of heaven. For you, therefore, there remaineth nothing but a fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indigna

66

tion. Having sown the wind" you "shall reap

II. Now, observe, what and how blessed are the consequences which flow from sorrow such as this. They that sow in tears shail reap," the whirlwind,"-reap in tears, tears, O bitterer far says my text, "in joy. He that goeth forth than any that can be shed on earth. Tears of and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubt- penitence you might have shed, and joy unspeakless come again with rejoicing, bearing his sheaves able should have been the consequence; but now— with him." Yes! my brethren, "weeping may now you shall be doomed to shed tears of remorse, endure for a night, but joy cometh in the -of remorse extorted by the recollection of calls to morning." Ps. xxx. 5. Even in this world the repentance unattended to,-means of grare nehappy effects of such sorrow as I have described glected or despised,-invitations to come to Chris will be experienced. Not in vain, ye mourners in deferred till a more convenient season, which has Zion, shall the "voice of your weeping" be heard never come,-precious opportunities which you by God. The broken and contrite heart he never have allowed to pass without one serious effort to hath despised he never shall! Through the drip- improve them. O what bitter tears will these be! ping cloud the sun shall be made to shine,-light But will they be of any use? No! It will be too shall arise in darkness, and peace shall be the por-late then! The day of grace will be gone, never to tion of your souls. For to the humble, mourning, penitent believer Christ reveals himself in love. He whispers consolation in his ear, till his tearful downcast eye is made to brighten with a glad and glorious hope, and he is constrained to exclaim, "whom having not seen I love; in whom, though now I see him not, yet, believing, I rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory!"

return! Those gates will be shut against you which never shall be opened again; for O! God" ceases to be gracious" in the dungeons of the damned!

Ah! then, if ye be wise, repent, repent in time! You have tears to shed at the death of those who are dear to you,-you have tears to shed when you have met with an unexpected disaster, and have been reduced from comparative affluence to poverty and distress,-you have tears to shed on the recital of a tale of woe: O have you no tears to shed at the thought of those sins of yours for which Christ died-those sins which pierced his sacred bosom, and caused him to exclaim, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Strange that that which of all considerations should affect us most, does, in so many instances, affect us least! Be ashamed, my brethren, of the coldness, and deadness, and unconcern with which you have hitherto contemplated the sufferings which Jesus endured for you. "Sow to yourselves in righteous

But, after all, what is the happiness which the true penitent experiences here, when compared with that which awaits him when his "faith shall issue in vision, and his hope in full fruition." It is only a slight foretaste of the joys of heaven,-a single cluster from the vineyards of Eshcol! In the presence of God there is "fulness of joy, at his right hand are pleasures," not for a season merely, but "for evermore." O what a glorious harvesthome will be celebrated by you there! Now you have sown in tears, then you shall reap in joy! Around you shall be assembled countless myriads of beings, immortal like yourselves, striking theirness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow-ground: golden harps, and singing with ecstasy the angelreapers' song! There will be no folly there, no thoughtless levity, no reckless or profane jesting, no unhallowed mirth! He whom the rapt seer of Patmos beheld in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, shall be in the midst of that happy throng the light, the life, the joy of all! There shall be no death there, "neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things shall have passed away, and God shall wipe away all tears from your eyes."

O ye who have never "sown" in the "tears" of penitential grief, who have never "mourned for

for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and
rain righteousness upon you." Sow in the tears of
godly sorrow, and be assured you shall reap in joy;
for he that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing
precious seed, shall doubtless come again with re-
joicing, bringing his sheaves with him." Yes! no
one may doubt of that! "Then shall they know,
if they follow on to know the Lord.
His goings
forth are prepared as the morning." O how cheer-
ing, how strengthening to faith are promises such
as this; "Prepared as the morning!" Who ever
doubts at night that day shall dawn again, that the
radiance of the sun is prepared to dispel the dark-

might become, we will suppose, the centre of the motions of the planets by mere mechanical causes; but

ness, and to gild the mountain tops at his appointed | we appear to find marks of contrivance. The sun hour? But not less to be trusted is the fact, that those who repent and believe in Jesus Christ" shall receive, in another world, a full reward, not "of debt" but "of grace,”—a reward which shall include all that the blood of Christ has purchased, -all that the love of God can give. Amen.

CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHY.

No. XIII.

BY THE REV. JAMES BRODIE,
Minister of Monimail.

THE SUN IN THE CENTRE.

WHEN We contemplate the solar system as a manifestation not only of the power, but of the contriving skill, of the great Creator, one of the circumstances which most readily attract our attention is the position of the sun, in reference to the planets that surround him. Containing, in his ample globe, a mass of matter, much larger than the combined magnitudes of all the other bodies in the system, this glorious orb becomes the centre of attraction round which the others move, and they, according to the law of gravitation, are thus kept in their places and guided in their course. The sun is, at the same time, the source of light and of heat; and though we cannot tell why he alone is luminous, while the planets shine by borrowed beams, or why light should continually flow out from that centre, toward which all ponderable matter is continually tending, yet the wisdom and beneficence of this arrangement are abundantly evident.

This subject is so ably treated in Professor Whewell's Bridgewater Treatise, that we cannot do better than copy the passage entire. He says, "the position of the sun in the centre could hardly have occurred by any thing which we can call chance. Let it be granted, that the law of gravitation is established, and that we have a large mass with others much smaller in its comparative vicinity. The small bodies may then move round the larger; but this will do nothing towards making it a sun to them. Their motions might take place, the whole system remaining still utterly dark and cold, without day or summer. In order that we may have something more than this blank and dead assemblage of moving clods, the machine must be lighted up and warmed. Some of the advantages of placing the hghting and warming apparatus in the centre are obvious to us. It is in this way only that we could have those regular periodical returns of solar influence, which are adapted to the constitution of the living creation. And we can easily conceive that there may be other incongruities in a system with a travelling sun, of which we can only conjecture the nature. No one probably will doubt, that the existing system with the sun in the centre, is better than any one of a different kind would be."

what caused the centre of their motions to be also the interposition was requisite to regulate the revolutions source of those vivifying influences? Allowing that no of the system, yet observe what a peculiar arrangement, in other respects, was necessary, in order that these revolutions might produce days and seasons! The machine will move of itself, we may grant; but who constructed the machine, so that its movements might answer the purposes of life? How was the candle placed upon the candlestick? How was the fire deposited on the hearth, so that the comfort and wellbeing of the family might be secured? Did these, too, fall into their places by the casual operation of gravity; and, if not, is there not here a clear evidence of intel ligent design, of arrangement with a benevolent end ?” This argument is urged with great force by Sir Isaac Newton. In his first letter to Bentley he allows that matter might form itself into masses by the force of attraction. And thus,' says he, might the sun and fixed stars be formed, supposing the matter were of a lucid nature. But how the matter should divide itself into two sorts, and that part of it which is fit to coinpose a shining body should fall down into one mass and inake a sun; and the rest which is fit to compose an opaque body, should coalesce, not into one great body, like the shining matter, but into many little ones; or if the sun at first were an opaque body like the planets, or the planets lucid bodies like the sun, how he alone should be changed into a shining body, whilst all they continue opaque, or all they be changed into opaque ones, while he continued unchanged; I do not think explicable by mere natural causes, but am forced to ascribe it to the counsel and contrivance of a voluntary Agent.'

It were foolish to make any addition to the above quotation: considered as a piece of philosophical reasoning, in proof of the being and tributes of an all-wise Creator, the argument is complete, and the conclusion cannot be denied.

But while we admire the wisdom which the great Creator has shown, in thus making the sun to be at once the centre of attraction, and the source of light, let not the Christian fail to remark the yet more beautiful harmony which is found among the attributes of Him who is at once the centre of dominion, and the source of bliss. The regulating influence of gravitation may, on the one hand, be regarded as the appropriate emblem of the natural attributes of Jehovah,—of that infinite power and allsearching wisdom, which secure for him universal dominion over the creatures; while the ceaseless brilliance that cheers the planetary system, may, on the other hand, be considered as symbolizing the moral perfections of God, the inexhaustible love and mercy which are the source of his people's joy. And, as it is the combination of various properties in the sun that fits him for the gracious end he is destined to serve, so it is the union of wisdom and goodness that constitutes the excellence of Jehovah's character as governor of all. Boundless power, without the guidance of inexhaustible benevolence, would fill the universe with woe; infinite love, without power to execute its purposes, might call forth our admiration, but could confer no positive advantage. It is only when love and might combine together that we are filled with confidence, and feel assured that all things shall work together for good. Accord- Let us farther observe, that, though we at once aplight|preciate the advantages resulting from this glorious combination of power and benevolence in God, our limited capacities can discover no more necessary connection between them than there is between attraction and light. We can easily conceive the idea of a Being possessed of infinite power and boundless dominion, but destitate of every moral perfection; an object of terror,

Now this lighting and warming by a central sun, are something superadded to the mere mechanical arrangements of the universe. There is no apparent reason why the largest mass of gravitating matter should diffuse inexhaustible supplies of light and heat, in all directions, while the other masses are merely passive with respect to such influences. There is no obvious connection between mass and luminousness or temperature. No one probably will contend that the materials of our system are necessarily luminous or hot.

ing to the conjectures of astronomers, the heat and
of the sun do not reside in its mass, but in a coating
which lies on its surface. If such a coating were fixed
there by the force of universal gravitation, how could
we avoid having a similar coating on the surface of the
earth, and of all the other globes of the system? Why
does the sun alone emit light and heat? Here, then,