Fit emblem of those hearts where He delights to dwell; they have nothing to recommend them to His notice, but He must by His Spirit cleanse them and prepare them for His reception. "There was no room for Him in the inn."

"The crowded inn, like sinners' hearts,

(Oh ignorance extreme)

For other guests, of various sorts,

Had room, but none for Him."

Oh, have we received Him into our hearts, or are we saying, "Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of Thy ways?"

Thus was Christ "made in the likeness of men," and truly so, for He was subject to all the sinless infirmities of His people; weariness, hunger, thirst, fatigue, and capable of sympathizing with the sorrows of others. When Lazarus died, "Jesus wept," thus showing His tender natural feelings and sympathizing heart. How He wept over that stubborn, rebellious city, Jerusalem. Listen to His loving words: "How often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, but ye would not."

But this is not the lowest point yet-" And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death." Sin could not be pardoned justly unless the sentence were executed upon the Surety. "The soul that sinneth it shall die;" and a substitute must be found, or the soul must pay the penalty. "Therefore Christ humbled Himself unto death," and that the most ignominious, "even the death of the cross." This is the climax of humiliation, this is the last scene in the tale of woe. A painful life spent in doing good, bearing the burden of His people's woes, is thus closed. "His visage was so marred, more than any man's, and His form more than the sons of men;" when thirty years of age He was taken for nearly fifty, so deeply had sorrow furrowed His brow; and though we several times read of His weeping, yet we never find that He was known to laugh. Emphatically a "Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief," and all this for His people. View Him in the garden, see the crimson drops of sweat force themselves from His holy body, and then you will obtain a view of the enormous burden of sin. Could not this be spared Him? No, He undertook, and must go through.

"Blush Christian, blush! let shame abound

If sin affect thee not with woe,

Whatever spirit be in thee found,

The spirit of Christ thou dost not know."

Though God Almighty, having infinite power to strike His enemies to the earth, yet see His forbearance, ponder over His patience; the cup of sorrow must be drained to the very dregs, and He humbles Himself to suffer the pains of hell-"The pains of hell gat hold of Him." One word would have summoned "more than twelve legions of angels" to His aid, but that one word was unspoken; for how then could the scriptures be fulfilled that thus it must be? Ye who would ponder the distresses of His precious soul, prayerfully contemplate the Psalms xxii. and lxix., Isaiah 1. 5, 6, and the whole of chap. liii. In these scriptures we may learn something of the intensity of that sorrow

which burdened His holy soul, and made Him cry out, "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me;" but it was not possible for the salvation of His elect to be accomplished without it. His foes said, "He saved others, Himself He cannot save." It was true! but not as they meant it. "He gave Himself up for us all." What a gift-"He gave Himself!" "This is your hour, and the power of darkness." What love! What grace! “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." But it was not mere death He had to suffer. How his precious body was mangled, and He who spent His life in doing good was mocked, spit upon, scourged, and crowned with thorns, as if to distinguish Him as the King of Sufferers; for we never read of another person being treated in this way. Pre-eminent in His sufferings. Oh we do not think half enough of the wonderful love that prompted the endurance of so much misery. Sure this was humiliation, this was meekness, and amidst it all not one word did He speak excepting words of love; no harsh words escaped His lips. "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do," was the prayer that ascended to heaven for His unthinking and unfeeling murderers, when they stretched Him upon the tree. What an example to us! What are all our griefs? Nothing. They cannot be in comparison with His. Lord Jesus,

"We would with Thee sympathize,

In Thy bitter passion."

Grant us weeping eyes and feeling hearts, that we may weep over Thee, whom our sins have pierced."

"The soldier pierced Thy side 'tis true,

But we have pierced Thee through and through.

And then the manner of His death-crucifixion, the death inflicted upon the worst of criminals, and always the punishment of culprits of the deepest dye. But this, all this, was not the worst. Amidst it all, had He experienced the shining of His Father's countenance, all would have been comparatively easy to bear; but as the sun hid his face from the natural world, so the strengthening brightness of that Glorious Sun was withholden, and the Son of God experienced darkness of soul. This was the bitterest ingredient in His cup of woe, and under its heavy pressure the Holy Sufferer cried out, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" And even this cry was mocked by His remorseless enemies.

"Such was the race of sinful men,

That gained that great salvation then
Such, and such only still we see,

Such they were all, and such are we."

Yes, such are we; we are no better than they. What a humiliating thought! And what was the cause of all this? Sin. Christ being the sinner's Surety, must bear the sinner's punishment. God hates sin, and therefore must ever show His detestation of it; and thus, viewing the sins of His people placed upon His Son, He must smite. Justice must be satisfied. And it was-"It is finished," said the Dying

Lamb. Redemption is completed-the great work is done-the law is honoured-" mercy and truth have met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other"-the atonement is made the vail is rent--and a 66 new and living Way" is opened to the mercy seat. This vast work was for ever ratified when Christ, triumphant over sin, Satan, death, hell, and the grave, rose and gloriously ascended into heaven, where "He ever liveth to make intercession" for all who "have fled to Him for refuge."

HEART COMMUNION.

Prone indeed are we, poor foolish children, to join up to-morrow's cares with to-day's; and it is when the enemy can get us to take his dark telescope, and look at our distant morrows, he finds us his ready prey. But how graciously has God dealt with us in handing down so many sweet testimonies in His precious word of the experiences of His saints in all ages who were exercised exactly in the same way. In the case of Jacob-it was the dark future, more than any present positive evil thing, that brought him constantly into sinking fits and bondage. Could we have taken our stand at his side when he said, "All these things are against me," and reminded him of the multiplied mercies and deliverances the Lord had bestowed upon him, would not his language rather have been, "Goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of my life?" He wrote bitter things against himself as he turned open the forward blank pages of his history, because Satan had brought his fleshly reason to bear upon matters; instead of his faith fixing itself upon the good promise the Lord had made to him. Yet we see in the issue, the Lord did not go back from His word because of poor Jacob's little faith. No, "though we believe not, He abideth faithful; He cannot deny Himself." He has said, "Thy shoes shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be:" and we shall find suitable shoes for every day's journey morning by morning provided for us. It should greatly console us, that whether it be Jacob or Job, Moses or David, Jonah or Peter, we take as a pattern, we find that, although they were continually concluding evil was coming upon them, in the Lord's good time He made it appear, that behind every cloud

"He laid the purpose of His grace

To make it better known."

Oh, that we could more simply cast our every care and need upon Him, knowing that He sends us sensible needs, that He may in due time open fully the precious supply.-Gospel Cottage Lecturer.

EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY.

"Whence but from heaven could men unskilled in arts,

In different ages born, in different parts,

Weave such agreeing truths? or how, or why,
Should all conspire to cheat us with a lie?
Unasked their pains, ungrateful their advice,

Starving their gains, and martyrdom their price."

"IT IS GOD THAT JUSTIFIETH."

ROMANS VIII. 33.

Jehovah's purposes of grace towards His elect, in the work of salvation by Jesus Christ, were accomplished, and redeeming love had triumphed over sin, death, and hell, when the Kinsman-Redeemer was received into heaven's highest glory with shouts of acclamation. Within the veil He appears, and ever liveth to make intercession for those He left behind in a world of tribulation and distress. Faithful

to His promise, "another Comforter" was sent, and sweet were the meetings enjoyed by the followers of the Nazarene under His divine power and guidance. The "corn of wheat" had fallen into the ground and died; and now in resurrection life and vigour it cannot abide alone, but bringeth forth much fruit. Jesus sees of the travail of His soul (the fruit) and is satisfied.

The glad tidings of great joy were proclaimed to the ends of the earth, and in every known place on the habitable globe a risen Christ was worshipped and adored. Persecutions arose, but these proved to be part of Jehovah's plan in bringing the seed royal of heaven to find their inheritance in Him. Princes, kings, emperors-all unite to stem the ever-flowing tide of God's good pleasure; but each fails and sinks beneath the avenging rod of Omnipotence. JEHOVAH-JESUS reigns, and will reign until all enemies are put under His feet.

Ethiopia stretches out her hands to God; while out of Egypt, at Jehovah's call, His sons and daughters come. Arabia's desert-ranger runs with glad haste to the spring of living water. The Jew, weary of the vague mysterious symbols of a burdensome ritual, finds sweet relief in "the simplicity which is in Christ." The schoolmen of Greece find all their erudition tarnished, and rejoice in the knowledge of the glory of God, which shines in the person of Jesus Christ. Strangers of Rome carry the wondrous story of an ascended Saviour's love to the imperial city; and in the land of the Forum, where laws are dispensed for the world's government-the arena where gladiators bleed and die amid the wild shouts of a pagan populace-in Rome-"Proud Rome" -hearts bend beneath the benign sway of heaven's Anointed Onethe KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

Here, in the face of persecutions the most fierce and fiendish, the covenant verities of our God are loved and confessed before frowning tyrants and their fawning legions. In the manifestation of the Father's good pleasure, saving whom He will in the Son of His love, souls were brought to enjoy sweet fellowship with the eternal Three in One. We may easily imagine how simple, yet how profitable, their meetings for meditation on the sacred scriptures would be.

The edict, by which the Jews were banished from Rome (Acts xviii. 2), was revoked, when they returned to their homes to worship in peace and quietness for a little season. Among them were many to whom the Saviour was "God over all, blessed for ever." These, with a goodly band of Romans, rejoiced in the reconciling work of our Lord Jesus Christ, and "through patience and comfort of the scriptures"

were confirmed in their hope. About this time Paul wrote his matchless epistle to all that be in Rome, beloved of God," to their great joy and consolation. In spirit, let us go back to these momentous times, and enjoy an evening's quiet fellowship with the primitive disciples.

Apelles, whose faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and love to the brethren were such that Paul, by the Holy Ghost, speaks of Him as "approved in Christ" (Rom. xvi. 10), having called a few of his friends together, produces the letter Paul had written and sent to them by Phebe. Aquila was chosen to read it for the little company, which he did with a grace and feeling that moved the hearts of all present. When he arrived at that sublime and triumphant declaration of the eternal safety of all the saints, "For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. viii. 38, 39), they all with one consent broke out in a hymn of praise to God for the revelation of such wondrous love.

When the hymn was finished, Apelles suggested that a conversation on the precious truths they had listened to might prove profitable to their souls. Aquila assented to the suggestion, saying, "Only let our conversation be seasoned with that salt which preserves from error's corrupting taint, then our fellowship will be sweet."

Apelles."True, friend Aquila, there is no safety against the subtle workings of error, but in the government and guidance of the Lord the Spirit."

Amplias."I was much interested in noticing how our beloved brother Paul ascribes every mercy to the electing love of the Father in our Lord Jesus Christ."

Aquila.-"Such is the truth of God, Amplias. Our being taken into union with our ascended Lord, justified freely from every sin our vile nature has committed or can commit, and brought to enjoy the company of the everlasting God, is purely of His rich grace and free favour. This portion of the letter warmed my heart, Being justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus' (chap. iii. 24)."

Tryphena."Oh, Aquila, I heard the other day of some rich sayings of thine on that very truth. Do give them to us now. I long to hear and know the grace of God in Christ Jesus."

Aquila.-"Do you mean the night when they of Cæsar's household met at the Prætorium ?"

Tryphena.-"The very night. If all be true that I have heard, our company will rejoice to hear thee."

Aquila."May the Lord enable me to speak to edification, and may He bless our souls with a sweet interest in His love."

Omnes.- "Amen."

Aquila. "When the Lord awoke me to a knowledge of myself, I strove with all my mind to produce a righteousness whereby God could look upon me and bless me; but He taught me that all my doings were so many sins in His sight. All that I brought, expecting