Tand watch unto prayer. HE end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.-1 St. Peter iv. 7, 8, 10.

"THE

HE end of all things is at hand." St. Peter gives this as a reason why Christians should be "sober and watch unto prayer." It is through prayer that we shall be strengthened to bear the many tribulations which "the end of all things," according to the prophecy of Jesus to His disciples, will bring. It is through prayer that we shall be able to meet the Lord. They who live in prayer, live also in personal communion with their Lord; they who pray, seek and find the countenance of Jesus. They trust Him, and when He comes they shall stand before Him, not as strangers, shy and fearful, but as well-known trusted friends whom the Lord recognises as His own. They will dare to approach their Lord without fear, in earnest love and heartfelt trust. To such a settled life of prayer belongs a watchful, waking heart. If the soul is to be ready to meet its Saviour, it must not be weighed down by earthly passions. The heart which is distracted by various passions is not capable of keeping the heavenly goal firmly before it in prayer. The storm must be calmed, the welling waves of wandering thoughts brought to rest, before one can pray in earnest. It would be still better if we so watched that these passions should never gain an entrance into the soul. We should allow nothing to have such a claim on us as to render us incapable of watching unto prayer. It is difficult to overcome temptations, it is difficult to keep our thoughts from wandering, and to solemnize our minds. What then should we do? what else, but call on the Lord for help. Ask Him to pacify the storm, that there may be a great calm; that we, with clearness of vision and freedom of will, may give ourselves entirely to prayer.

UT of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice: let Thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. If Thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mayest be feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in His Word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning. Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous redemption.-Psalm cxxx. 1-7.

THE apostles of our Lord, as they waited during those ten days which followed the Ascension, knew something of the true meaning of the words of the psalmist, "I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in His Word do I hope." They were learning the lesson of patient hopeful waiting. We also have to learn a similar lesson; we have not only to "watch unto prayer," but also to wait patiently for the answer. Frequently the Lord appears deaf to our petitions. 'Tis but to teach us perseverance in prayer. He promises gifts to us, and we long and hope for them, but He withholds them. 'Tis but to make us more earnest in our longings. Many true Christians have borne their testimony that this was ever the effect it had on them. Prayers unanswered, and gifts denied, taught them to pray more earnestly, and long and hope more intensely. Our Heavenly Father teaches us by these means the endurance required of a true soldier of Jesus Christ. He teaches us that we must never lay aside our armour. How can we conquer if we throw down our arms and hurriedly quit the field? Let us stand to our weapons, and fight on, never yielding, and victory must be ours. Let us learn patience and endurance. Oh! that we could wait," wait for the Lord," and hope in His Word. Let us wait for the Lord, as the watcher in a sick room longs for the morning, and gaze intently upwards, earnestly desiring further rays of light and hope to brighten our dark horizon. In the end we shall be rewarded, for with the Lord is "plenteous re demption" for all those who "hope in Him."

God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is He that con demneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, Who is even at the right hand of God, Who also maketh intercession for us.-Romans viii. 31-34.

[OW re-assuring, how comforting are these words.

not withdrawn Himself altogether. It was for His Church He ascended, and it is for her He now intercedes. We have an adversary, a false accuser, who speaks against us night and day; all our shortcomings and ignorances he represents in the blackest light. Well for us that we have a Friend, an Advocate, One who can put to silence the accusations of our enemy. It is well for us that He is ascended, that He sits at the right hand of God, and that He is making intercession for us. He looks down now upon us with the eyes of mercy and compassion, and sheds down blessings upon us, as we look up in faith to Him. It is a happy, a blessed thought, that Jesus Christ is our Advocate with the Father. We have no need to stand trembling before a God that stands apart in unapproachable majesty. We pray, not to a God of vengeance, Who is almighty only to destroy; we pray, not to a God Who is only a lawgiver and a harsh judge. We pray to One Who has revealed Himself as "Our Father," to One Who is a Saviour and a Sanctifier; to One Who is very near us, having taken our nature, Who can feel with and for us, Who knows by experience the meaning of sorrowing and rejoicing. We can tell this triune GodFather, Redeemer, Sanctifier,-all that we feel. We can come to Him with all our wants and fears, in all our difficulties and dangers, knowing that no one can condemn us, or even lay anything to our charge; for Christ Jesus our Advocate died, yea rather, was raised from the dead, and is at the right hand of God making intercession for us.

HRIST is not entered into the holy places made with

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hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the Presence of God for us nor yet that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; but now once in the end of the world hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation.-Hebrews ix. 21-28.

The Jewish ceremonial, with its temple, and HE Epistle to the Hebrews tells us very plainly that priesthood, and sacrifices, was established for this, along with other purposes, to be a shadow of things to come. The Jewish ritual was, as it were, a metaphor, and the office of Christ the reality. Christ is the true High Priest. He possessed all the requisites of a priest. He was holy, harmless, undefiled. He offered the true Sacrifice to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. He passed into the awful Presence to plead for those who stand without, while they lift hopeful eyes to the heavens, into which "as a Forerunner Jesus entered for us, having become a High Priest for ever." He is the medium of divine blessings bestowed upon humble worshippers. When He entered within the veil, when He went into the Holy of Holies, He received gifts to give unto men. He, as our King, as well as our High Priest, bestows these gifts, through His Holy Spirit. What is there, then, that we have not in and through Jesus Christ? By the sacrifice of Himself He fulfilled all the types and shadows that preceded this great sacrifice. With His own blood He has entered into the holiest place, and by the same blood we may, with boldness, "enter into the holy place by the way which he dedicated for us, a new and living way, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh." Yes, we have a great High Priest. We have also an Advocate, an Intercessor, an eternally present Offering before our God,

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HE exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places.—Ephesians i. 19, 20.

Wan expression

E have in the words immediately preceding these apostle for the growth of the Ephesian Church. He gives thanks for their growth in faith, in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and in love for all the saints. Faith and love are nearly-allied graces; the possession of them by the Ephesian Church was a subject for thanksgiving. We cannot help remarking how often in the Scriptures thanksgiving and prayer are united. Praise, thanksgiving, and prayer should always go together. The apostle adds prayer to thanksgiving. He thanks God for the faith and love of the Ephesians, and prays that their faith may increase, and that their love may abound more and more. It is the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, Who alone can do this for them'; to Him must they look for wisdom and enlightenment. We have a twofold reason for believing that He will do it first, because He, according to His promise, has raised Jesus from the dead, and, if Jesus be risen, we believe that we shall rise spiritually in the spiritual life here, and hereafter be raised to dwell with Him for ever; and, again, because He has set Jesus at His own right hand in heavenly places. As Head of His Church, He ever lives to help His Church. He will not see her wanting in one single grace that may be necessary for her growth. His life is her life; and, as He possesses all things, we too shall possess all those things which He sees to be necessary for us. "It is a faithful saying, if we be dead with Him, we shall also live with Him; if we suffer we shall reign with Him." "So truly our way to eternal joy is to suffer here with Christ, and our door to enter into eternal life is gladly to die with Christ, that we may rise again from death, and dwell with Him in everlasting life.'