POWERFUL PREACHING OF THE GOSPEL.

And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying, with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him, for the hour of his judgment is come; and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. Rev. 14:6, 7.

is said, in the Revelation of St. John, that amongst many other visions, he saw an angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell upon the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him, &c. And what next followed? another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, Babylon the great city is fallen, &c. (Rev. 14:7, 8.) See here now the efficacy and power of gospel preaching; let but the gospel be sincerely preached, Babylon must down; the devil and Dagon must fall before the ark of God's presence. Whatsoever the purposes, projects, pretenses, policies, conspiracies, combinations, and confederacies of lewd, atheistical, and wicked men be, yet they shall never be able to stop the stream of God's word, dam up the wells of salvation, or hinder the free passage of the gospel, no more than to bind up the wind in their fists, or stop the rain of heaven from watering the earth. It is true that the ministers of the gospel may, by the instruments of Satan, be stocked, stoned, hewn asunder, burned with fire, slain with the sword, clapped up in prison, fettered in chains, sequestered, plundered, decimated, &c., yet the gospel itself may be, nay, is, in lively operation, a light that can not be put out, a heat that can not be smothered, a power that can not be broken. For even then, the constant sufferings and patient bearing of the cross doth, as by a lively voice, publish and proclaim the truth of the gospel for which they suffer, and serveth to win many to the faith of Christ Jesus.

A SOLEMN JUDGMENT.

And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments. Rev. 16: 7.

A

SOMEWHAT extraordinary case of blasphemy and sudden death once occurred near Farmington, Van Buren County, Iowa. A farmer living there, while talking to his neighbors about the dry weather, began an outburst of the most terrible blasphemy, using the vilest epithets toward the Almighty and the Saviour, because he did not send rain. The man was going on in frightful language, when all at once his jaws became palsied, his tongue became powerless, his voice ceased, and he fell on the earth a corpse.

We can not regard an instance like this in any other light than as an interposition of divine Providence. Others may think differently; they may consider the man's sudden seizure and death as caused by an epileptic or apoplectic attack, and it may have been so; but, if that were conceded, it would not therefore be less a divine visitation for the horrible blasphemy in which the man was indulging. "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."

KEEPING OUR GARMENTS PURE.

Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. - Rev. 16: 15.

N a discourse on the words, " Blessed are the pure in heart,"

a sunbeam. "And while that sunbeam," said he, "may dart down into the darkest hole of filth and illuminate it, it will soil nothing, and yet not be soiled itself. So the ray of heavenly life and love existing in the perfect believer's heart, goes into and comes out into contact with the dark dwelling-places of iniquity and filth, and cheers, and enlivens, and encourages by its presence, but is always kept unspotted from the stains of the world. It is God who gives to the pure heart this great

gift and distinction. It is he only who can keep the heart in perfect peace. Suppose a white-robed female were walking along some turnpike road where the mud was flying, and where the horses and wagons, as they hurried and splashed along, at every turn and step increased the confusion, hemmed up the footpath, and threw the water and dirt. Suppose that white-robed female should find at her journey's end her dress white and spotless as when she was first robed. Would not this be a miracle? Most surely it would. But a greater miracle it is that the Christian, in waging his course through this world, in fighting through trials and temptations, and in struggling with the fiery adversary, does not have some stain or mark of conflict on his garments. He cries out, Glory to God, free and unspotted too!' It is a miracle of grace of the grace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Praises be unto his precious name!"

6

"A SCARLET-COLORED BEAST."

So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness; and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet-colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. Rev. 17:3.

THIS

HIS, it will be remembered, is the appellation given by the Holy Scriptures to the Papal power, &c. We were never inore forcibly struck with its appropriateness than by an ac*count recently given us by Dr. Muzzy, of Cincinnati, of a great procession of the pope and his cardinals, on the celebration of grand mass at St. Peter's, witnessed by him on a late visit to Rome. The pope wore the tiara, a tripled crown, worn oiiginally single, by Pope Sylvester, to which Boniface VIII., in 1300, added a second crown, and Urban V. added a third, indicating the combination of the pontifical, imperial, and royal authority, or, as some say, the sovereignty of three kingdoms. His magnificent coach was of brilliant scarlet, his splendid robe of the same color; a long train of gorgeous carriages preceded him, all of scarlet likewise, in which his cardinals were seated in scarlet attire. Headley, in describing a like pompous display seen by him at St. Peter's, speaks of the superb

plumes decorating the horses, as also of the same brilliant color. It would seem that no intelligent reader of the New Testament could contemplate such a spectacle without being somewhat impressed, like ourselves, with the applicability and accuracy of the inspired prediction.

CHRIST IS OUR KING.

These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them; for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. Rev. 17: 14.

WILL

WILLIAM DAWSON preaching in London on the offices of Christ, after presenting him as the great Teacher and Priest, who made himself an offering for sin, the preacher introduced him as the King of saints. Having shown that he was King in his own right, he proceeded to the coronation. Borrowing his ideas from scenes familiar to his audience, he marshaled the immense procession moving toward the grand temple to place the insignia of royalty upon the King of the universe.

So vividly did the preacher describe the scene, that his hearers almost thought they were gazing upon that long line of patriarchs and kings, prophets and apostles, martyrs and confessors, of every age and clime, until at length the great temple was filled, and the solemn and imposing ceremony of coronation was about to take place. The audience by this time were wrought up to the highest pitch of excitement, and while momentarily expecting to hear the anthem peal out from the vast assemblage, the preacher commenced singing,

"All hail the power of Jesus' name!

Let angels prostrate fall," &c.

The effect was electrical. The audience started to their feet, and sang the hymn with such spirit and feeling as, perhaps, it was never sung before or since. Right loyally did that great congregation pay homage to the Saviour as their Sovereign that Sabbath morning.

FAITHFUL DEALING WITH SINNERS.

For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Rev. 18: 5.

I

HAVE some here who have had warnings so terrible that they might have known better; they have gone into lusts which have brought their bodies into sickness; and perhaps this day they have crept up to this house, and they dare not tell to their neighbor who stands by their side what is the loathsomeness that even now doth breed upon their frame. And yet they will go back to the same lusts: the fool will go again to the stocks, the sheep will lick the knife that is to slay him. You will go on in your lust and in your sins, despite warnings, despite advice, until you perish in your guift. How worse than children are grown-up men! The child who goes for a merry slide upon a pond, if he be told that the ice will not bear him, starteth back affrighted; or, if he daringly creepeth upon it, how soon he leaves it if he hears but a crack upon the slender covering of the water. But you men have conscience, which tells you that your sins are vile, and that they will be your ruin; you hear the crack of sin as its thin sheet of pleasure gives way beneath your feet; ay, and some of you have seen your comrades sink in the flood, and lost, and yet ye go sliding on. Worse than childish, worse than mad, are you, thus presumptuously to play with your own everlasting state.

Spurgeon.

SOMETHING MORE VALUABLE THAN GOLD.

THAN

For in one hour so great riches is come to naught.

- Rev. 18: 17.

A

SHIP bearing a hundred emigrants has been driven from her course, and wrecked on a desert island, far from the tracks of man. There is no way of escape; but there are means of subsistence. An ocean, unvisited by ordinary voyagers, circles round their prison; but they have seed, with a rich soil to receive, and a genial climate to ripen it. Ere any. plan has been laid, or any operations begun, an exploring party