94 "Turn ye now from your evil ways" (ZECHARIAH I. 4). You have no claim on God's favour, but Christ will plead for those who trust in Him, and His plea can never be rejected. Therefore you must take your right place -a sinner deserving to die, and put Christ in His right place-the one foundation and resting-place of your soul-your only hope of salvation, your Refuge, your Hidingplace, your Shield, your Saviour, your Righteousness-your all. Commit your soul entirely to Christ. Through the Spirit's grace cast yourself without the least reserve upon Him. You have nothing, but He has everything; you can do nothing, but He can do everything in you and for you. Therefore, humbly trust in Him, and doubt not that He will receive you and save you to the uttermost. His word of promise is sure and unchangeable. Never since the world began has Christ disappointed a soul that has rested on Him, and He never will.-Rev. G. Everard, M.A., Wolverhampton. The Day of Salvation. this present moment, in this present hour, God calls on us to settle the question of salvation for eternity. We need not be anxious about the dying bed. We need not inquire curiously, "How shall it fare with us when the Judge of quick and dead appears?" The great question is,— How is it with us to-day? Are we saved, or are we lost? Are we in the ark of God, or are we without, awaiting the storm of vengeance that shall burst upon the world? the world? A life of sin brings a death of sorrow; while if we to-day know and serve the Lord, we shall have boldness in the day of judgment, and no fear shall assail us there. Let us see to it that this question is rightly settled, and settled to-day, and settled as we shall wish it to be settled when we come to stand face to face with the judgment-day, and the Judge of quick and dead. "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” -The Safeguard. THERE are three things which the true Christian desires with respect to sin: justi HOW often we delight ourselves with fication, that it may not condemn; sanctifi hopes, and distress ourselves with fears concerning the time to come. We think of the day of death, of the day of judgment, with their mighty issues, and inquire, How shall it be with us in that day? There is a far more important question: How is it with us now? Our future is decided by our present. What we desire to be hereafter we may be now. Do we wish to be saved in the day of judgment? Undoubtedly we do. But if we do, our only reasonable way of securing our desire is to be saved to-day. Right here, in cation, that it may not reign; and glorification, that it may not be. WHEN a criminal is convicted of crime in China, and is to be executed, the name of his crime is written upon a slip of paper, which is fastened to a piece of bamboo stuck in his hair that all may see it. How would mankind appear with all their sins against God thus exposed to public view? THE diamond fallen into the dirt is not the less precious, and the dust raised by high winds to Heaven is not the less vile.Persian Proverb. ! "Thou, O Lord, remainest for ever" (LAMENTATIONS V. 19). 95 Nature and God. HERE are infidels who do not believe in a God who judges, and punishes, and afflicts. They believe in Nature, and in Nature's laws. But what do they gain by the change? Are not "the laws of Nature," as they term them, as immutable as those inscribed on tables of stone? Do not fires burn, floods overwhelm, waters drown, earthquakes swallow up, lightnings blast, tornadoes desolate, tempests destroy, sunbeams scorch, frosts congeal, diseases waste, pains rack, sorrows pierce, and calamities afflict manAre not toil, and labour, and kind? hunger, and famine, and pestilence, and all the nameless agonies of dying men, in accordance with "the laws of Nature?" Does not "the God of Nature" do all this? Pray, then, what do men gain by throwing away their Bibles, which they will not believe, when they must find the same facts, and worse ones, in the Book of Nature, where they can neither doubt them nor deny them? The facts will stand. Sceptics may deny man's fall, but they cannot escape its consequences. They cannot argue pain out of their bones, misery out of their hearts, nor death out of their families. They may deny that God has cursed the ground, but they cannot rid themselves of thorns and thistles, with all their arguing and with all their unbelief. And sorrow, and guilt, and condemnation, will follow them, in spite of all their doubts and sceptical objections. What then do they gain by their efforts to get rid of God? They gain just this: they put away the chastisement of a Father, and fling themselves amid the revolving gearings of an Almighty Machine that crushes them in the dust, and then grinds them to powder. They have the same facts they had before, with no possible relief from them. They retain every trouble, and reject every consolation. They have the same realities of sin, and sorrow, and penalty; they have only blotted out mercy, made penitence vain, and forgiveness and peace impossible. They have kept the disease, and flung away the remedy. Let then the infidel glory in the fact that he has preserved his death-warrant, and burned celled it; that he has kept every sorrow of up his pardon that might have canbut let the Christian rather rejoice that he earth, and rejected every joy of Heaven ;possesses every real blessing of which the ungodly man can boast, and, added to them all, he has the presence of a Divine Father, who, while He reproves in righteousness and the sympathy of an Almighty Friend, such infinite and compassionate love, that and punishes in justice, yet pardons with the heart of the penitent turns with tears to Him as the only Saviour, saying, "THERE FORGIVENESS WITH THEE, THAT THOU MAYEST BE FEARED.' -The Armoury. IS 'The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many." (MATTHEW XX. 28). 96 "Do all in the name of the Lord" (COLOSSIANS III. 17). Sitting Down with Jesus. DEATH removes the shutters from the windows of the soul. Why should we dread his coming, since his work is to let air and light into rooms which are now dark and suffocating? E commanded the multitude to sit down" (Matthew xiv. 19). They do so, in long lines, upon the verdant grass. He takes the five loaves and the two fishes out of the rustic lad's basket, and begins to distribute. The meagre provision grows, MESSAGES FROM THE MASTER; and grows, until not only are all the thousands abundantly fed, but there is a surplus of broken food to fill a dozen. baskets. There is something akin to this in our spiritual experiences. We often worry, like the disciples, about the best means of feeding our own souls, or of bringing the Gospel bread to needy souls around us. We invent new methods; we try all manner of devices; we get up "attractions" in the sanctuary and the Sabbathschool; we go into all sorts of "villages to buy." Oh! if we would only sit down. with Jesus, and accept what He bestows, with His rich blessing on it! The transcendent truth of the new birth was revealed to Nicodemus when he sat as an inquirer at the Saviour's feet. The woman of Sychar found the well of salvation only by waiting to be taught by the great Teacher. The most zealous worker needs to have instruction, prayer, reflection, and heart converse with God, or else he will become superficial and shallow. Like Mary, he must sit down with Jesus, and gain deep views of Jesus and himself. -Cuyler. Will be ready early in December, THE HALF-CROWN PACKET, consisting of one British Messenger, one Gospel Trumpet, and one Good News, monthly for one year for 2s. 6d., including postage, to any address in the United Kingdom. THE FOUR SHILLING PACKET, consisting of two British Messengers, two Gospel Trumpets, and three Good News, monthly for one year for 48., post free, to any address in the United Kingdom. Specimens of the Stirling Publications, with Catalogue, sent free by post on application to JOHN MACFARLANE, Manager, DRUMMOND'S TRACT DEPOT, Stirling, N.B. LONDON AGENTS: S. W. PARTRIDGE & Co. ALL the preaching of those who are called to preach, and all the praying of those who are called to pray, will never convert or sanctify a soul without the aid of the quick- Published and sold by the Trustees acting under a Trust Disposition and ening and sanctifying Spirit of God. Codicils relating to the STIRLING TRACT ENTERPRISE, granted by the now deceased PETER DRUMMOND, founder thereof, proprietors in Trust, at DRUMMOND'S TRACT DEPOT, Stirling, N.B. THE GOSPEL TRUMPET. Published by the Trustees of the late PETER DRUMMOND, at Drummond's Tract Depot, Stirling, N.B. "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature." 2 "Lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven" (MATT. vi. 20). The spirit thus displayed was certainly the reverse of commendable; but there was the essence of a good sermon in the utterance, as there is in the common proverb, that "Shrouds have no pockets." Earthly riches cannot be carried with us into the unseen eternity, into which we must speedily enter ; and even now they cannot confer "contentment, peace, or pleasure." A bag of gold cannot soothe an awakened conscience, nor prove a downy pillow to a troubled mind. Nay, the fear of losing money when acquired often renders the wealthiest unhappy. thousand pounds more than he was yesterday. "But, my friends," added the host, "I hardly know where to put the money, that it may be safe, and therefore I am greatly troubled." It is certainly a decided proof of the spiritual blindness of fallen human nature, that in the "race for riches" men altogether forget the responsibilities which the possession of wealth brings. What can a rich man, who has never realised that he is merely a steward for God, and acted accordingly, say for himself when he stands before the Great White Throne? And will not the rust of his gold and silver witness against him, and eat his flesh as it were fire? (James v. 3). A poor man may, however, be as covetous of the little he has of the goods of this perishing world, as the teristic of all unconverted men to cling to something of the earth as their chosen portion; and thus they are rendered absolutely bankrupt at life's close. When torn from all they loved, nought is left but remorse and despair. Two gentlemen were spending a night at the country house of a millionaire. Next morning they met in the breakfast-room, which overlooked an extensive and beauti-richest man can be. It is the characful lawn. They descried their host at a little distance, walking up and down in a manner which betrayed much anxiety, and his features, as they approached him, confirmed the apprehension that something was wrong. They ventured to inquire what was amiss; and he frankly told them that he had that morning received a letter, intimating that a speculation in which he had been engaged had resulted favourably, and he was now therefore worth ten Reader, will you have any portion remaining when you step into eternity? "The unsearchable riches of Christ" |