ILLUSTRATIVE GLEANINGS.

FAITH AND WORKS,

37

ROMANS V. 1.-"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

JAMES ii. 24.-"Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only."

Now,

The Ferry-man.-Two gentlemen were one day crossing the river in a ferry-boat. A dispute about faith and works arose ; one saying that good works were of small importance, and that faith was everything; the other asserting the contrary. Not being able to convince each other, the ferry-man, an enlightened Christian, asked permission to give his opinion. Consent being granted, he said, "I hold in my hands two oars. That in my right hand I call 'faith;' the other, in my left, 'works.' gentlemen, please to observe, I pull the oar of faith, and pull that alone. See! the boat goes round and round, and the boat makes no progress. I do the same with the oar of works, and with a precisely similar result,-no advance. Mark! I pull both together, we go on apace, and in a very few minutes we shall be at our landing-place. So, in my humble opinion,” he added, "faith without works, or works without faith, will not suffice. Let there be both, and the haven of eternal rest is sure to be reached." As the flower is before the fruit, so is faith before good works. Faith is the parent of works, and the children will bear a resemblance to the parent.

It is not enough that the inward works of a clock are well constructed, and also the dial-plate and hands; the one must act on the other, the works must regulate the movement of the hands.-ARCHBISHOP WHATELY.

GOD'S PROMISE OF DIVINE GUIDANCE.

PSALM Xxxii. 8.-"I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go I will guide thee with mine eye."

THE only safe path in life is that which the will of God marks out for us. Our pillar of cloud and fire is to be found in the Bible. When we come to cross-roads in our pilgrimage we must look earnestly into the sacred Book, and the will of God will rise clearly before us,-a hand pointing our way. But to find this heavenly guide we must gaze with as much eagerness and faith into God's word as superstitious men used to look into globes of crystal, to try and discern therein the pictures of things distant or things to come.

And when we have discovered the way wherein God would have us walk, we must pursue it, even though it lead us up to

what is apparently impracticable, or at least frightful and perilous. Even for an earthly commander a man will do this. Of all the 600 heroes who were bidden to spur their horses to that desperate charge at Balaclava, there were none who spent a hesitating minute in doubt and questioning. The order was clear and definite, and their obedience tarried not. Shall we do less for God? Let us try to imitate Luther's serene trust in God and courageous fidelity when he stood before an angry ocean of prelates, princes, and dignitaries at the Diet of Worms; hemmed in like the Israelites by adversaries on all sides, but beholding above him the pillar of cloud and fire, bravely he said, "It is neither safe nor expedient to act against conscience. Here I take my stand. I can do no other. God help me! Amen."-Union Magazine.

EVIL PASSIONS GROW STRONGER AND STRONGER.

PROVERBS XXIX. 1.—"He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy."

The Ship on Fire.-Some few years ago a noble steamer moored in one of the harbours of the United States was discovered to be on fire. The engines were instantly started, and the prow of the vessel directed to the shore. But the flames soon rendered the helm useless, and such of the crew as were on board were obliged to jump into a small boat, and leave the steamer to her fate. Soon the engines worked more fiercely, the wheels revolved with fearful speed, and hurried the vessel through the waters. The sight was terrible. At last came one tremendous shock, and all was darkness and ruin. Such is man when seized by an evil passion, whether of pride or of envy. He grows worse and worse, and is hurried along, unless God interpose, to eternal ruin. -W. H. GROSER.

WHEN the soul of a man is deserted by the Spirit of God, as Pharaoh's was, all the passions rise up in strife and confusion, and hurry the soul downwards towards its ruin, as runaway horses, with the bits between their teeth, will furiously drag a coach downhill to its catastrophe. Alexander Smith puts these words into the mouth of such a man:—

"God leaves me to my sins, and I am changed;
My worst part is insurgent, and my will
Is weak and powerless as a trembling king
When millions rise up hungry. Woe is me!
My soul breeds sins as a dead body worms.
My heart's on fire by hell, and on I drive
To outer blackness, like a blazing ship."

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ILLUSTRATIVE GLEANINGS.

THE EVIL ONE SIN MAY DO.

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JOSHUA Vii. 1.-But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel."

Achan's Sin.-A grain of sand is a small thing. But suppose I open my watch, and drop it in among the works, what effect will it have? It will stop it, and unless it be taken out, the watch will be of no use. The different tribes of Israel were like the wheels of a great watch. Achan's one sin was like the grain of sand dropped in among them. It stopped the watch. It could not be set in motion again until the grain of sand was taken out. The sin of Achan occasioned great trouble to others as well as to himself.-DR. NEWTON.

CHRISTIANS GOD'S WORKMANSHIP.

EPHESIANS ii. 10.-" For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." Ir not the slightest movement of matter can take place without the immediate agency of God, shall we wonder that His agency is needed in the higher and more subtle processes of mind. If every echoing wind bespeak a present Deity, shall it seem strange to appeal to His power in the regeneration of a soul? Each time the furrow opens to the ploughshare, or the sail of the vessel expands to the breeze, we call in the aid of a mysterious agency, without which human efforts were vain. Can it be matter of surprise that the same mysterious agency must be invoked in every effort to break up the hardened soil of the human heart, or to communicate to the dull and moveless spirit of man, an impulse towards a nobler than earthly destiny?-DR. CAIRD.

THE HUMANITY OF CHRIST.

PHILIPPIANS ii. 5, 7.-" Christ Jesus was made in the likeness of men." Christ Asleep. He is out on the lake, in some little craft, and upon the short space of deck in the hinder part He sinks, overcome with exhaustion, and is buried in the deepest sleep. By and by a change appears. A dark and ominous cloud sailing up shuts in the sky. The lightning begins to gleam, the thunder sounds over the heads of Gerizim and Tabor, and very soon the tempest takes the little skiff, dashing the waves across it, and filling instantly the forward part with water. The little company

are thrown into the greatest alarm and confusion, unable to manage the sinking vessel, and they mingle their cries of distress with the tumult of the storm. Still Jesus sleeps, folded in that deep self-oblivion which no rage of the elements can disturb. truly and perfectly was He man as well as God!

So

CHRIST GLORIFIED IN HIS HUMILIATION.
To conquer and to save, the Son of God
Came to His own in great humility,

Who wont to ride on cherub wings abroad,
And round Him wrap the mantle of the sky.
The mountains bent their necks to form His road;
The clouds dropt down their fatness from on high;
Beneath His feet the wild waves softly flowed,
And the wind kissed His garment tremblingly.
The grave unbolted half his grisly door

(For darkness and the deep had heard His fame, No longer might their ancient rule endure);

The mightiest of mankind stood hushed and tame; And, trooping on strong wings, His angels came To work His will, and kingdom to secure; No strength He needed, save His Father's name; Babes were His heralds, and His friends the poor. BISHOP HEBER.

THE TRIUMPHS OF FAITH.

TRIUMPHANT Faith!

Who from the distant earth, looks up to heaven,
Seeing invisibility, suspending

Eternity upon the breath of God.

She can pluck mountains from their rooted thrones,
And hurl them into ocean; and from pain,
And prisons, and contempt extort the palm
Of everlasting triumph. She doth tread
Upon the neck of pride, like the free wind
On angry ocean.

Lo! with step erect

She walks o'er whirlpool waves and martyr fires,
And depths of darkness and chaotic voids;
Dissolving worlds, rent heavens, and dying suns;
Yea, and o'er paradises of earth's bliss,
And oceans of earth's gold, and pyramids

And temples of earth's glory; all these pave

Her conquering path to heaven-all these she spurns
With feet fire-shod, because her hand is placed
Immoveably in God's; her eye doth rest
Unchangeably on His; nor will she stop
Till, having cross'd the stormy waves of pain
And fiery trial, she may lay her head
Upon her Father's breast, and take the crown
From love's rejoicing hand.-EMMA TATHAM.

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