"THE Law and the Gospel are two keys. The Law is the key that shutteth up all men under condemnation, and the Gospel is the key which opens the door and lets them out." - Tyndall.

"If prayer in the name of Jesus is the ship that is to convey us to the opposite shore, where all that is desirable is to be obtained, it is evident that there must be among us a lack of people who know how to sail with this bark. The condition in which we are proves it; otherwise, things would have a different appearance in the midst of us. Heaven would not remain so little known and enjoyed. Spiritual barrenness would soon vanish. The Church would flourish like the lily, and gift upon gift would be showered down upon us from on high. Our weakness judges and condemns us. We know not how to make use of the key which has been given to us; and what Jesus said to his disciples may also be applied to ourselves, 'Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name.'" — / Krummacher.

THE Soul waiting at the cross sees Christ hanging upon it. The sweet voices of angels cry, "He is a Saviour;" and the waiting soul turns longingly and lovingly to him with solemn inquiry.

IS HE A COMPETENT SAVIOUR? When a man is charged with crime, beaten down by menaces, exposed to condemnation, he seeks an advocate to manage his defence, and plead his cause in the trial. The question he asks is, "Is this advocate competent?" If the case is important, if the crime charged on him involves great consequences, and, if proved, will be followed with terrible punishment, he is not willing to trust the case in

the hands of a novice, who, by his ignorance of law, or his dulness in other respects, will fail to set the strong points in the defence clearly before the jury. He desires to know. how long the advocate has been practising at the bar, what important cases he has had, what success has attended his legal efforts, and what is thought of his powers as a pleader. He wishes to know who has intrusted this advocate with important cases, and with what skill he managed them. If he is told that the counsel recommended has had but few important cases, and those were lost by him, that men who understand the importance of legal skill never employ him, that his reputation as a pleader is poor, it is at once decided. He will not retain him: it would be madness for him to do so. To secure such an advocate would be to throw his case away. But if he is told that the lawyer has been engaged in several important state or criminal trials, has uniformly managed them with great skill, has been pitted against the most eloquent men who ever addressed a jury, and never lost any case com

mitted to him, it is a different thing altogether. "This is the advocate for me," he says; and he at once retains him for the trial.

If a man is sick, and wants a physician; if his case is desperate, almost hopeless; if he needs to be treated with the utmost medical skill, he inquires whether the medical man recommended is skilful in the healing art, and has a reputation for success in his vocation. If he finds that the man kills more than he cures, as some do; if a person who employs him once never dares do so again; if he is never invited to consult with other members of the medical fraternity, then the sick man rejects his services as worthless. But if he finds that the physician has always been successful, has lost but few patients, has a high reputation as a man of skill and learning, he employs him, puts himself into his hands, and says, "Sir, do the best you can for me: I have entire confidence in your skill."

Now, if a man wants a Saviour for his soul, it is perfectly proper that he should be solicitous as to the competency of the one pre