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As it is to the believer that every privilege, and every promise, of Scripture is held out, we must come unto Christ in faith; we must look to Him as our only Saviour, and seek, through His atonement alone, for the pardon of our past sins. We are not to say that we will do what we can, and that Christ will do the rest, but we must commit our all to Him, in perfect confidence, knowing that His sacrifice is complete, and that "his blood cleanseth from all sin;" we are not to say that "God is merciful, and that he will therefore overlook our small sins and failings;" but we must come unto Him with a full sense of our great sinfulness in His sight, a conviction of the great sin of ever having resisted the will of God, or of having been negligent in His service; we must lay our burden wholly before Him, as feeling assured that there is no pardon, no salvation, but through Him,-fully assured, at the same time, that, through Him, there is perfect redemption,-yes, complete redemption, and full pardon for those who come to Christ in true repentance; and who desire, for the time to come, to give themselves to His service. This is the state of mind in which we must come; there must be a desire and a sincere and earnest endeavour to serve God in newness of life. It is not enough merely to have a desire of pardon, that our consciences may be relieved, for the time, and that we may then proceed in our negligent and sinful course; but there must be a desire of pardon, that we may be in favour with God, through the sacrifice on the cross,—in order that we may henceforth serve Him, acceptably, in godly quietness, and godly love. And that we may be enabled so to serve Him, we must "come unto Christ for that other needful gift which He has promised to his people,—the gift of His holy Spirit."

The first blessed gift is pardon; and this is obtained through the merits of Christ, who has promised that no one shall be cast out who cometh unto Him. The next gift is the Spirit's influence, that sanctification of the soul, which fits and prepares it for the presence of God and His angels; so that, whenever the servant of God is called to his account, he is found ready, pardoned through the Son, sanctified through the Spirit, and proving,

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THE GOSPEL INVITATION.

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by a heart renewed to holiness and love, that he is indeed a child of God, and prepared, by His Spirit, to be an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven.

But how are we to obtain these heavenly gifts? There is a way, by which we are allowed to seek them, and are assured that we shall find them. It is by prayer. "Come unto God," then, in earnest private prayer. In all your trials and difficulties, lay your burden before Him in all your pursuits pray for His help and direction; ask His blessing on all your undertakings, and you will then soon learn to undertake nothing on which you cannot ask His blessing. A praying state of mind implies a holy state of mind; and nothing, like prayer, drives away the love of sin. "But come to God in public worship, too. Do you worship God in private? Do you seek His help? Are you anxious that His name should be glorified, and His praise set forth among men; that the knowledge of Him, and the love of Him should be extended and increased? Are you earnest in your desire that numbers should be added to those who shall be saved? Do you wish that your own consistency and sincerity should be rightly estimated ;-and this, not for your glory, but that, your light shining before men, those who see it may be brought to glorify their Father which is in heaven? Do you wish for the comforts and encouragements belonging to those who associate together for the honour of God, and their own spiritual good? And do you wish to avoid that coldness and deadness of soul, which is the portion of those who forsake the assembling of themselves together? If you really desire these things, you will pray for them in private. Pray for them in public too; come unto Christ in the courts of His house, where He has promised to be, whenever "two or three are gathered together in His name." And, when you do come together, come with a full sense of the value of such an opportunity; and lose not any of the offered advantages, by want of faith, or by a low estimate of the good that will be the portion of the humble and sincere worshipper. Be not content with being merely present, in body, in the house of the Lord: be not content with the offerings of the lips, but come to God with the sacri

fice of the heart. And “ come unto Christ" in deeds of charity; come with that Christian love, the gift of God's own Spirit, which feels for the wants of the afflicted and the poor; and especially for the spiritual destitution of those who know not God, and who are ignorant of the Gospel of Christ. Many are the opportunities which now present themselves, of showing that charity which exercises itself for the everlasting good of our fellow creatures. A peculiar portion of the divine blessing belongs to those who thus exert their love; for they are not only blessed themselves, but they bring others with them to receive blessings from God and to experience that happiness which belongs to the servants of God upon earth; and to become partakers of that blessed hope of everlasting life which God has given to every one who sincerely desires to be a follower of His blessed Son. V..

THE UNJUST STEWARD.

A CONVERSATION, to the following effect, passed between a clergyman and one of his parishioners not very long ago.

Parishioner. I have often wondered, Sir, how you like to read that parable which was read from the gospel in this morning's service (the ninth Sunday after Trinity). I mean, Sir, the account of the "unjust steward." I always feel uncomfortable when I hear it.

Clergyman. Why, how is that? I do not understand what can be your objection.

P. Why, Sir, there is an account of a steward who had robbed his master; and we here read that Christ approved of this, and praised the steward for what he had done.

C. Does it say that? I don't see any thing of that kind.

P. Why, Sir, the account says, "the Lord commended the unjust steward."

C. Yes, it certainly says that; it says "the lord" commended him; but who do you suppose is here meant by "the lord?"

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THE UNJUST STEWARD.

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P. I certainly suppose, Sir, that it means Christ; He

is always called "the Lord"; is He not, Sir?

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C. Yes: the word lord means the same as master; and as Christ is the great master of us all, we justly give Him the title of "the Lord;" but yet, as the word lord is the same as master, we may properly call every master by that name; and, at the time when our bible was put into English, the word "lord" was used in that sense even more commonly than it is now.

P. Why, then, after all, I should not wonder if "the lord" in this parable means "the master" of the unjust steward; and that it did not mean Christ at all.

C. Certainly, that is the case.

P. Well, that makes a wonderful difference: then it does not say that Christ approved of the unjust steward, or that He commended him.

C. Certainly not. What Christ said was, that the master of the steward commended him.

P. But still it seems strange, Sir, that the master should commend the steward, when he had been acting so unjustly.

C. Why, the passage requires a little consideration; we may be sure that the master who was robbed by his steward, does not praise him for robbing him; he does not approve of his injustice; he only praises his cleverness and worldly wisdom, and his sharpness and contrivance in managing well for himself in a worldly way. As if he had said, You have acted most dishonestly towards me, and I therefore dismiss you from my service, "thou mayest be no longer steward;" but I see you are wise and clever enough in managing for your own interest; I must give you credit for that; and if you had acted as well for me as you have acted for yourself, you would have deserved to have been commended for your right conduct; whereas now I can say nothing good of you, but that you show wisdom and cleverness enough when self-interest is concerned. I can only praise your cleverness, not your honesty.

P. I think I see, Sir, what you mean; and our Lord in His application of the parable, makes a difference

between the people who are "wise in their generation,” and those who are wise in heavenly things.

C. Yes; and he exhorts religious people, "the children of light," to be as active and earnest in the pursuit of heavenly things, as "the children of this world” are in earthly things. In truth, such is the energy of worldly men, such the pains they take to gain their objects, that this may well serve as a lesson to spiritual men to be as active in the pursuit of heavenly things.

P. Pray, Sir, what is the meaning of the "mammon of unrighteousness?" A neighbour of mine says that "mammon" means the same as "" Satan ;" and it seems strange then that we should be required to make friends of mammon.

C. "Mammon" means "riches." Riches, we know, are a great temptation, and often lead men into great snares and dangers; but they are like other talents committed to our charge, and must be used for the purposes for which they are sent.

Our Lord calls them the "mammon of unrighteousness," that is, the "unrighteous mammon." They are too often used to a bad purpose, and employed in unrighteousness; and, if so used, lead to, and add to, our condemnation. Our Lord exhorts us to use them to a good purpose, to employ them for the promotion of what is charitable and righteous; that, instead of leading to our condemnation, they may be made the instruments of good, and be thus the means of promoting our eternal happiness; that when all the trials and temptations of this world are over, we may be admitted into that heavenly kingdom which our blessed Saviour has purchased for us, and which He will give to all those who have been His faithful servants upon earth; He will take them, after their stewardship upon earth, to dwell with Him "in everlasting habitations."

THE CHORISTER.

A TRUE STORY.

V.

IN the west of England, in an ancient cathedral town, there lived a widow with five sons. She was a woman of deep Christian piety, and brought up her

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