the world, while secretly they held it fast. They tried to solve the impossible problem,- to to serve two masters, God and mammon. One may give all one's goods to feed the poor, yet have no true love in one's heart. This shows us that we should take the greatest care that what money we give to Christian or to charitable objects is not given through desire of man's applause, but through love to Christ, and in dependence on his promises.

VER. 3, 4, 9. THE GUILT OF THEIR DEED.-What a mortification it must have been to Ananias, when probably expecting to be loaded with praises by Peter, to find himself addressed in the sharp, cutting, crushing language of rebuke! The faithfulness of Peter was very remarkable. Ananias was a wealthy man, and had been very liberal to the Church; what of that? he was a great sinner, and he must be told that he was such. This shows what a vivid horror of sin there was at this time in the Church. Peter could not suffer sin upon his brother. Either by confession of his sin, and application to the blood of Jesus, Ananias and his sin must be separated, or both together must be driven from the Church to the place where sin and sinners dwell for ever.

What was the sin of Ananias? Observe, it was not that he had given only a part, and not the whole price of his possession to the Church. Peter expressly says that that was in his power; it was not compulsory to throw all property into the common fund. His sin was - (1.) Deceit. Though in words he told no lie, he purposely deceived; and that is the essence of a lie. (2.) He lied to God, to the Holy Ghost. [Observe here, the proof of the divinity of the Holy Ghost, ver. 3, 4.] The Holy Ghost dwelt in the Church, almost visibly, in the fulness of his power; the apostles were acting under his guidance; the plot of Ananias was therefore a blasphemous attempt to deceive the Holy Ghost, or rather, a reckless disregard of his presence in the Church. (3.) Satan had filled his

heart to do this. Ananias had allowed Satan to fill his heart. It is implied that he might have resisted, but did not. When he felt the first movement toward the sin, he should have said to himself, This is from hell-I will resist. Instead of that, he encouraged and nursed the proposal. (4.) A deliberate agreement had been made between him and his wife (see ver. 9). When two persons deliberately agree to sin, the guilt of each is greater. The one should be a check on the other, especially when the parties are husband and wife. Ever try to encourage one another in the way of good,-never in the path of sin.

VER. 5-11. THEIR DOOM, AND ITS INFLUENCE.-Their doom was very awful. Immediate death, without a moment for preparation,death on the very back of fearful sin, death that must have been followed by terrible judgment. The words have but passed the lips of the liars when they are hurried before Him who has said, "No liar shall inherit the kingdom of God." The Bible is full of warnings against the sin of lying, and this is one of the most terrible. There is no sin to which the young are more liable. Ponder its fearful guilt, spread out in this dark passage. Remember, God is a God of truth; and all liars shall have their portion in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. Let parents, too, learn how careful they should be to train their children to speak the truth, and what a fearful crime it is to train them, in any way, to deceive! Above all, let us see what black guilt there is before God, when this sin is practised within the Church; when God's fair garden is marred and desolated by this noxious weed of hell.

"Great fear came on all them that heard these things, and on all the Church." A new and terrible evidence of God's presence had been given; he was seen as the God of infinite holiness, before whom evil cannot dwell, nor fools stand. The world saw how jealous God is of his

name, and how he hates hypocrisy ; the Church saw what false hearts might be found even within her holy pale,-how much every one needed to look to himself, and, in a new exercise of faith, pray to God"Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not." May God, by his Spirit, teach the same lesson to us all!

VER. 12-16. HIGH POSITION AND INFLUENCE OF THE APOSTLES.-In pronouncing doom on Ananias and Sapphira, Peter had acted by the direct guidance of the Holy Spirit, and now it appeared that he and his brethren rose higher than ever in public estimation. When God's servants faithfully and prayerfully exercise the discipline of the Church, they need not be afraid of losing influence. In proof of the high dignity of the apostles, it is said(1.) Many miracles were done by them (ver. 12). (2.) They were together in Solomon's porch unitedly and openly in the temple, under the very eye of the priests. (3.) Of the rest (the believers) durst no man join himself unto them-they were regarded as so pre-eminently exalted. (4.) The very peopleeven such as did not believe-magnified them. (5.) The Lord caused many real believers to be added to the Church. (6.) The very shadow of Peter, like the hem of Christ's garment, or the bones of Elisha, had power to heal. (7.) From neighbouring cities multitudes of sick were brought to Jerusalem to the apostles, and every one of them was healed.

How richly did God fulfil his promise-"Them that honour me, I will honour!"

Endue us, O God, with thy Holy Spirit, that neither fearing man, nor seeking our own interest, we may evermore follow thy will, and seek thy glory; and thus, whatever our trials and temptations, may be faithful unto death, and at last receive the crown of life, through Jesus Christ. Amen.

What other passages in the Bible may this remind us of? What sort of thing does sin appear in such cases? What do they teach as to the character of Satan?

What attempt of Satan's to injure the Church had failed? What new weapon does he try? Which is the more deadly?

VER. 1, 2.-What did Ananias and Sapphira do? What was their motive for bringing a part of the price to the apostles? and what made them keep back a part? Whom did they attempt to serve together? Are large gifts to the Church or the poor a sure proof of grace? What does Paul say of this in 1 Cor. xiii.? What does this show that we should carefully look to?

VER. 3, 4, 9.-What may we remark in Peter's mode of dealing with Ananias? Of what had Peter and the Church a very vivid sense?

What was not the sin of Ananias? What four things had he and his wife done amiss? What proof of the divinity of the Holy Spirit do we find here? What is our duty when Satan begins a temptation? What should relatives and companions encourage one another to do?

VER. 5-11.-What was the doom of Ananias and Sapphira? What made it specially terrible? What does the Bible say of lies and liars?

What impression was made on all? What aspect of God's character was clearly revealed?

VER. 12-16.-Did the apostles lose confidence and affection by this very rigid case of discipline? What seven proofs are mentioned of the regard in which they were held by God and man?-Family Treasury.

THE REVIVAL IN SCOT

LAND.

SUCH a general awakening has never been experienced in Scotland. It has embraced the Shetland and Orkney Isles, until lately famous for the cold "moderatism" of their ministers and the religious impassibility of their inhabitants, the remote and almost forgotten outer Hebrides, and the scattered population of the northern Highlands. It has spread over most of the towns and villages on the east coast, and has produced signal effects on the fishing population. It has been powerfully felt in the west and south-west, especially among the miners and colliers, and is now slowly, but visibly, permeating Glasgow, Edinburgh, and other large centres of population, and innumerable small towns and villages in the country. In some villages and in districts in the thinly peopled islands, there is scarcely a house in which some of

the inmates are not deeply moved. Congregations are generally largely increased, and prayer meetings are thronged, nightly meetings for prayer and instruction are held in very many places, ministers are worn-out by crowds of earnest and importunate inquirers, hopeful conversions occur in large numbers, and hundreds of communicants have been repeatedly admitted to the Lord's table on a creditable Christian profession. The Lord's - day services and the other religious meetings are chiefly remarkable for the solemnity which pervades them, as if the worshippers were conscious of the presence of the Invisible, and also for the eagerness with which they seem to drink in offers of mercy and direct doctrinal and practical instruction.

In the Shetland Islands the churches are crowded, and regular prayer meetings are held, and earnest inquiry is being made by very many after salvation. In Lewis and Harris the work is of a remarkable character. About 100 men and women have been wonderfully changed; and it is spreading everywhere in a quiet, unobtrusive manner. Wherever the catechist holds a meeting, the room is crowded; a church which does not yet possess seats is daily thronged, and the word preached is making a powerful impression on the hearts of sinners. In this island the awakening began with a marked change in one or two men who had been careless and profane, without any external agency. In North Uist and Skye, both old and young persons are being awakened, and a religious interest is deepening from Kintyre up to the northern coast. The Highland Committee of the Free Church has received applications from ministers of several Highland districts for help, as they are overpressed from the amount of work which they are called on to undergo in connection with the awakening. In the south-west, in Dumfries, Kircudbright, Wigton, Irvine, Campbelton, Kilmarnock, Rothsay, Greenock, Glasgow, and

many other places, a very remarkable work of awakening is going on, in which hundreds of persons, of both sexes, old, middle-aged, and young, are being brought into the church without any "excitement." Many are awakened under the ordinary ministrations of the word, some at special services, or through the conversations of others, and many in the quiet of their own homes. In Glasgow and its vicinage a large number of conversions have taken place among young men, some of whom are now working with the missionary zeal of new converts. The dawn of a longwaited-for day of blessing is now apparent in Edinburgh-a spirit of religious inquiry is awaking. The churches are thronged, prayermeetings are held in numberless places, persons anxious about their souls are seeking instruction. In one of the lowest "closes " of the "old town," a nightly meeting in an old dancing saloon has been crowded for several months past, and it is estimated that several hundred persons have been awakened within its walls. Successful missions emanating from this place, have taken root recently in other parts of the city. In another low part of the town, about seventy mechanics, lately among the most riotous characters in the city, meet constantly for prayer and Scripture reading, and the ranks of the drunkards, the abandoned, the scoffers, and the ungodly, are being daily thinned.

The most apparent of the Scotch awakenings, and which merit the name revival in its popularized sense, are occurring in the fishing towns and villages on the east coast, and at Musselburgh and Newhaven, near Edinburgh. In a few of these places we recognize some of the distinctive features of the Irish revival, the agonizing cry for mercy, the conviction of sin so intense as to prostrate the physical powers, and the arrow of alarm piercing the heart suddenly while the individual is pursuing his ordinary avocations. We recognize also

the "joy unspeakable," the brotherly love, the missionary spirit, and the immediate abandonment of every questionable practice. The fishing villages contain the rudest and least educated of the Scotch population-men destitute of secular and religious knowledge-hence, a certain amount of manifest excitement is easily accounted for.

In these towns and villages the whole population has been moved. In some places the crews of boats have been simultaneously affected while at sea, and have returned to shore anxiously seeking salvation. In others the anxiety has been so great, that the boats were laid up till the fishermen had found relief from the terrible convictions which had seized them. In others, a horn sounded through the village has called men, women, and children daily to prayer. Prayer is held in the fishing-boats. The agony for sin is intense, and when those convicted are brought to Christ, they show an intense desire to lead others to the same resting-place. Men and women have been affected in nearly equal numbers, and rude and sturdy fishermen are seen vainly attempting to repress the bursting tear of contrition, or trembling with intense eagerness for the assurance of pardon. In some places the anxiety of the people is so great that the churches are open all day and nearly all night, for meetings for prayer and instruction. cries for mercy and the wailings of distress at some of these meetings resemble those with which we have become familiar in Ireland. The people are grave and serious, and, though the national character is reserved, they have now no hesitation in speaking on the subject of religion. In some villages, the public-houses have been shut, the sign-boards burnt, and the rooms opened for prayer meetings. The common practice of the fishermen was to drink to excess before going to a distant fishing-ground; now they spend the night in earnest prayer. Drunkenness, for the present, has altogether disappeared

The

from some places; in one village only, about 900 persons have joined the temperance cause. Persons who have known these villages before, are struck with wonder at the extraordinary change the publichouses closed or deserted, profanity abandoned for praise, family worship in nearly every house, and the bitter rivalries and jealousies of the fishermen exchanged for acts of kindness. The movement has sometimes sprung up apparently spontaneously, and has been propagated elsewhere by the prayers and exhortations of converts from other places. It is not now confined to the lower classes, and has penetrated to some distance inland. At one village, where a remarkable revival, unattended with any extravagance, took place, ninety persons were admitted to the Communion four months ago, including some of the oldest people in the place; and on a similarly large scale the fruits have been gathered in other villages. After making every deduction for the effect of sympathy, and of merely temporary impressions, we must regard the revival on the Scottish coast as among the most marked and general of the present period. Not a day passes without intelligence of some fresh shower of blessing upon a hitherto dry soil. So much earnest prayer is offered, and such noble evangelistic agencies are at work, that we believe that the present religious interest, great as it is, will shortly be regarded as "the day of small things." Evangelical Christendom.

UNITED PRAYER IN SHANGHAI, CHINA. As Shanghai is the town in China at which our beloved missionaries were to land, and where they will remain for some time, it will gratify our readers to learn that a spirit of holy union and prayerfulness prevails amongst the ministers of various denominations already located there. While our beloved brethren were on their voyage to that distant part, a series of united prayer meetings were held there for special blessings.

A correspondent, writing, January 20th, to the editors of Evangelical Christendom, states:

An invitation to the Church of God, throughout the world, to join in united prayer during the second week in January, of this year, which appeared in your magazine for November, had reached this place in that month. The invitation was cordially and unanimously accepted by the Shanghai missionaries. accordance with it, special prayer was made as the time drew near, that the appointed week might be a season of rich blessing.

In

On Monday, January 9, a general meeting for prayer was held, at ten o'clock, in the chapel of the London Mission. It was a solemn season; special prayer was made for all God's ministers; for all the members of the Church; for the heathen world; for the converts from heathenism; for corrupt forms of Christianity, and for the Jews. On Thursday, the 12th, a similar meeting was held in the Episcopal Church. On each evening of the week prayer meetings were held at three different centres, when, besides some of the subjects above mentioned, we pleaded for foreign residents in heathen lands; China, with reference to the present crisis; concluding on Saturday night with prayer for the "unity and increase of the Church." There was no excitement, but an increasing seriousness, and a more than usual earnestness evident in each prayer that was offered. Though the subjects were many, prayer for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit seemed to form the groundwork of all our exercises. On Sunday, the 15th, in the afternoon-after a heart-stirring sermon by the Rev. John Hobson, British Chaplain, from Eph. iii. 20, 21nearly the whole band of missionaries, being representatives of nine different bodies of Christians, joined together to commemorate the Saviour's dying love. It was a season of much spiritual enjoyment, and long to be remembered; a true Evangelical alliance, and a foretaste of the joys of heaven.

The Chinese converts participated in the enjoyments of the week. On the 9th, a general prayer meeting was held for all the missionaries and their converts, and each day in the week they have had meetings among themselves inside the city and without the walls. For some time past, the converts have held a monthly union prayer-meeting. The idea originated amongst themselves, and is a heart-cheering token to us that the Holy Spirit is at work in their midst, and causes us to rejoice in hope that the apathy over which we have long mourned shall give place to love and compassion for their heathen countrymen.

I fear China does not share the interest of the Church to the extent it ought to. We are commanded to make supplication for all men. In China one-third of the human race lives. How large an amount of prayer, then, should be offered on her behalf! About the time this reaches you, England will probably be commencing hostilities with this already distracted empire. How earnestly should Christians plead that the Lord will evolve good from these evils, and give a free entrance for the Gospel of his grace to these perishing millions.

THE GOSPEL SPREADING IN

JERUSALEM.

THE pious Bishop of the English Church in Jerusalem says:

The Gospel is preached within and without the city, in the streets and lanes; and as for those who have been impressed, they resort to my large school house, without the city, where the Scripture-readers live, to be more perfectly instructed in the way of salvation.

We shall not see the fruit of the seed sown; because, in a short time all these pilgrims will start for their respective homes; but I trust our Armenian brethren, scattered in Asia Minor, &c., will reap such fruits in the increase of their Protestant congregations. However, several have, during the last two months, openly embraced the Gospel,