John v. 39. Christ is the Alpha and Omega of revelation. The ceremonial law was the shadow, of which he is the substance the Prophets testified of him-the Old Testament history contains the records of his ancestors-the Psalms of David celebrate his praises-the evangelists wrote the narrative of his life and death-the epistles contain the development of his doctrine-and the Apocalypse unfolds his future victories over his foes, and the splendour of his reign to the end of time. All the lines of revelation centre in Christ. In all your studies of the word, keep this in mind.

But a second design of the Bible regards man, which is, through this glorious revelation of God, to restore him to the Divine favour and image, which he lost by the fall. Redemption through Christ is not simply to save us from hell, but to restore us to God; not only to his love, but to his likeness. Justification by faith in Christ, is to the end that we might receive sanctification by the Spirit; having these, glorification follows as a consequence. Take in this whole design in reading the Scriptures. Be ever looking for the object of faith, which is the death of Christ; for the object of love, which is the image of Christ; and for the object of hope, which is the coming of Christ. Remember that the Scriptures are given to form a particular character; a character which is distinguished by three things-holiness, spirituality, and heavenly-mindedness. You must read, to get this character, to maintain it, to perfect it. You are to peruse the sacred volume: not only for consolation in trouble; not merely for directions in particular emergencies; much less, merely to gratify curiosity in knowing its contents, or to furnish yourselves for theological controversy; but to acquire a holy and heavenly character.

2. Read reverentially, remembering it is the word of God. Let there be a "Thus saith the Lord" sounding in your ears. Realize the fact, that it is God speaking to you in every page. Read with that awe, and reverence, and trembling, with which you would listen if Jehovah were speaking to you with an audible voice. I do not like to see the sacred volume treated with disrespect or irreverence, even in the manner of dealing with, or handling it; not from any superstitious feeling, as if there were sanctity in paper and printing-but there is in the contents; and as we are creatures of association of ideas, we are in danger

of losing our reverence for the contents, if we treat with disesteem the vehicle which conveys them. How would it aid us in the perusal of the Scriptures, if we paused before we opened them, and reflected thus, "I am now going to hear God speak to me." Into what a posture of reverential attention would such a consideration place us. How would it solemnize our minds, check our levity, and prepare us to receive the truth with all its powerful and holy influence.

3. Our perusal of the Scriptures should be habitual and constant, and not merely occasional and accidental. Some rarely take up the Scriptures, but in a season of trial or difficulty, or at a time of leisure, to while away an hour which they know not how otherwise to dispose of. This shows a great neglect, not to say contempt of the Bible. The Scriptures should be, "The Christian's own book," and his " every-day book." There is never a day in his history when he does not need them, and should not use them. David describes the good man as one who delights in the law of the Lord, and meditates therein day and night: that is, every day and night. Never let a day'pass without reading a portion of Holy Scripture; and ever consider that one duty of the day, and an important one too, has been neglected if the practice has been omitted. The truth of Scripture is the food of the mind, and we should be as regular in the meals of the soul as in those of the body.

4. Read the word of God privately. Do not satisfy yourselves with what you hear at family prayer. You want opportunity for meditation, self-application, self-examination, self-reproof, self-stimulus, and, indeed, the whole business of self-improvement. If you would perform this duty effectually, and enjoy this privilege spiritually, you must have leisure and convenience to pause and ponder; to say, "My soul, mark that! Thou art wanting in this duty, or committing this sin. This is a message from God unto thee. This promise, great and precious as it is, belongs to thee! This consolation is for thee! Look at that glorious object of faith! Contemplate that boundless prospect of glory!" Ah, you know not the secret of the Lord, which is with them that fear him, if there be nothing of this retirement, nothing of this self-communion over the Bible.

5. Let it not be your aim to read much, but to read well.

To read well is to read with understanding, with meditation, with feeling, with consolation, with improvement. A single verse thus read is better than a whole chapter carelessly and formally gone through. Some persons set themselves the daily task of reading so many chapters, and would feel very unhappy if the task were not performed. But this is all. There is no inquiry into meaning, no meditation, no self-application. They know no more when they have finished what they have been reading about, than if they had not read at all. Always look at the heading or title of a chapter before you begin to read it, that you may know what is the design of it; then connect each verse with this design of the whole chapter, and the whole chapter with the design of the whole epistle. It would greatly help you to understand the epistles, if you ascertain first their design, and occasionally read through a complete epistle at once, observing its own natural divisions, independently of the chapters, which are sometimes very injudiciously divided.

6. It is important, if you would profit, to mix faith with reading, as well as hearing. The apostle has beautifully expressed this, where he says,-" When ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe,' 1 Thess. ii. 13. Though it is the word of God, sharper than any two-edged sword, it cannot work in us without faith. The reason why it works so little in the way of holiness, consolation, and zeal, is because there is so little faith. It is often read by believers themselves without faith there is not an act and exercise of faith in it at the time; no felt sense of the truth of the chapter that is thus read; no deep conviction, no practical persuasion, of the Divine authority and power of that promise, command, invitation, or threatening, which may be before the mind. What an impression would the word always produce on us, if we paused to make these two reflections; "This chapter is God's word to me now, and all his words are true."

7. We should read the Scriptures with earnest prayer for the teaching of the Spirit. The teaching of the Spirit is not to be expected apart from the word, nor a right understanding and impression of the word apart from the teaching of the Spirit. Divine influence is not to be sought

or looked for in the way of granting us a new revelation, or new faculties, but in the way of a right direction of our present faculties, to understand the revelation we already possess. That which makes this influence necessary, is not a defect in the Bible, but in ourselves. The Bible, as a revelation, is all that is necessary: "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul" but there is a defect of the spiritual, though not mental organ in us, to receive its light. It is no fault of the sun, that a blind man cannot see the luminary. Our judgments are affected by the state of our hearts. Hence we are liable to err in our minds, because of the imperfections of our hearts. Our corruptions send up exhalations into the higher regions of our minds, and thus the atmosphere becomes cloudy, and prevents the rays of truth from shining into our souls. Hence the need of praying, Lord, open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law." We shall none of us have any more spiritual understanding than the Spirit gives us; but then he will give us as much as we seek by earnest and believing prayer. To grow in grace, and in knowledge, we must consult both the book and its Divine Author; the one by study, and the other by prayer. What a privilege should we esteem it, in reference to a human author, if he were to say, "When you want any information on any point of my work, come and ask me for illustration and explanation.' God does say this to us in reference to his book. His Spirit reveals to us his mind and will in the Scriptures.

66

"THE LORD WILL PROVIDE."

HE following beautiful instance of implicit trust in the protecting care of Divine Providence was narrated to me by a lady in connection with her father, who, in his lifetime, was a highly respected medical practitioner in one of the islands on the north coast of Scotland.

My father, she said, was not of the number of those who burden themselves with undue anxiety respecting the future. He considered himself and us as being under the especial care of One who was both able and willing to provide for our necessities; therefore he took no thought for the things of the morrow. "The Lord will provide

for you and for my little ores," was his invariable answer to my mother whenever she ventured to remonstrate with him on the impropriety of his lending too ready an ear to the sadly frequent appeals made to his benevolence by the more destitute portion of his patients; bidding aim remember how utterly destitute we should be if deprived of his protecting care.

There were many famishing cottagers residing in the storm-swept island in which my father practised as a doctor, and the daily sight of their distress was too much for his benevolent heart to witness unmoved. Accordingly he everywhere administered relief to the best of his ability; frequently stinting himself in order to administer to their necessities. Ungrudgingly he spent his time and slender resources amongst the surrounding poor, laying not up for himself treasures upon the earth. His sole reward was a good conscience arising from the conviction that he was doing his duty in the sight of God.

There never, I think, existed a more thoroughly unselfish man than my father. He thought not of danger, fatigue, or cold, when called upon to attend a patient. However great the distance-however untimely the hour, without a murmur he would provide himself with the requisite remedies, and set out on his errand of mercy.

It happened that late one stormy December evening he was summoned to attend a poor woman who lived in a cottage three miles distant from the house in which we resided. The approach to her dwelling being dangerous in the extreme, as it lay chiefly along the edge of a precipice, my mother implored him to stay at home that evening and not tempt Providence by thus needlessly running into danger, reiterating her old remonstrance, "Consider our children! what will become of them should anything happen to you?"

"The Lord will provide for you and them, Mary!" was the touching reply. These words proved to be the last we ever heard him utter. Losing his way in the darkness, and bewildered by the fierce tempest that raged wildly round, he fell over the precipice, along the edge of which some portions of his path lay, and was found the next morning lying stretched on the ground cold and dead. Ah, what a terrible trial that was for my poor mother! Her fears were at length realized. My father had been suddenly taken away from us, and there was not so much