forth sweet waters, gushing upwards to eternal life. But if, instead of Christ, some other source be found within—another cistern, which springs not from His finished work-no wonder that the soul is parched with thirst. Be assured that He only who made peace by the blood of His Cross, can speak peace to the troubled conscience. "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou only hast the words of eternal life." "Come unto Me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest; for My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

THE GOSPEL.

"And there shall be signs," &c.-LUKE xxi. 25.

HIS is a very awful description of the judgment day.

THIS

For though the primary meaning no doubt refers to the destruction of Jerusalem, our Lord, who has borrowed His figures from the prophets of the Old Testament, evidently employs the principle of a double meaning upon which their predictions are constructed. It is indeed represented in a manner sufficient to fill the human heart with consternation. What can be more awful than to wake from our tombs of long rest, or to be disturbed in the midst of our enjoyment, and the excitement of worldly busi

ness-to stand, surprised, amidst the crush of matter and convulsion of nature—to see all the busy efforts of our lives, our giddy thoughts, our cunning devices, our long laid plans brought to a period, and the only object of interest, the Son of Man, and the awful book which He opens? What a lesson does this give us, to regard the warning of the prophet, if we would not turn pale at the appearance of the Judge! Wisdom now speaks to us, Christ now pleads with us, in every chapter of the Gospels, and in every page of the Epistles of His servants the Apostles. He now sues: He woos us to come unto Him. He condescends to say, "I counsel thee to buy of Me." (Rev. iii. 18.) Oh! that we might seek Thee early, and so find Thee. Pour down, O Lord, the subduing influence of Thy Spirit, that we may, with a regenerate appetite, desire the sincere milk of Thy Word, that we may grow thereby. Blessed is the man whose trust is in Thy Word. As many as believe therein shall not be confounded. They shall lift up their heads, for their redemption draweth nigh. When He who is their life hath appeared, they shall also appear with Him in glory.

The Lord shall come! the earth shall quake;

The mountains to their centre shake

And withering from the vault of night,

The stars shall pale their feeble light.

The Lord shall come! but not the same As once in lowliness He came,

A silent Lamb before His foes,

A weary man, and full of woes.

The Lord shall come! a dreadful form, With rainbow-wreath and robes of storm, On cherub wings, and wings of wind, Appointed Judge of all mankind.

The Third Sunday in Adbent.

THE COLLECT:

O LORD Jesu Christ, who at Thy first coming didst send Thy messenger to prepare Thy way before Thee; Grant that the ministers and stewards of Thy mysteries may likewise so prepare and make ready Thy way, by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, that at Thy second coming to judge the world, we may be found an acceptable people in Thy sight, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

THE EPISTLE.

Every man shall have praise of God."-1 COR. iv. 5.

TOW incompetent are we to pronounce upon the sincerity of each other; and yet, how rash are the judgments we mutually pass upon ourselves! So many considerations are involved in a decision respecting the spiritual estate of our immortal soul, and so few of those considerations are known unto us. The sincerity of

our faith, rather than the specious appearance of particular actions, is the touchstone of our acceptance in the presence of our Father; for "man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." We argue from the faults into which our brother is betrayed, because they strike our observation; but known to the Searcher of hearts is the weight of the temptation he may have experienced, and the severity of the struggle he may have sustained. "Let me fall into the hands of the Lord," said David, "rather than into the hands of man, for His mercies are great ;" and His believing people have reason to congratulate themselves that they are not judged by themselves, much less by the world, but that the "Lord Himself is Judge." (Ps. L.) We may safely assume that many a sentence which has been passed before men shall be reversed before His tribunal, which is in heaven; and that many a timid spirit which has left this world without a comfortable assurance, will find a sweet welcome in the world to come. Oh! then, when our judgments are disposed to condemn, let us remember the case we undertake to resolve: let charity hope where reason would surmise, and pause till the Judge has appeared to decide. It is His prerogative, "who trieth the reins," to bring to light the hidden things of darkness, "and then shall every man have praise of God."