THE SORROW OF THE WORLD. "The sorrow of the world worketh death."-2 Cor. vii. 10. "The sorrow of the world!" There is Every one must have seen what distress an ungodly man has frequently found, in the view of loss, disappointment, or pain. Raging, he teareth himself in his anger;" he will hear of nothing to pacify him; he will listen to no reason; he throws out implacable speeches against persons who seem to have had no hand in his troubles. Thus doth the sorrow of the world work death. Ahithophel was a wise man. He spake, and was reckoned, as an oracle. But he is disappointed and chagrined; he cannot carry his point. What is his refuge?" And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his ass, and arose, and gat him home to his house, to his city, and put his household in order, and-hanged himself!" Ahab was a king; and had large domains, many subjects, great riches. "I must have a garden of herbs." And he "spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs. And (when) Naboth said to Ahab, The Lord forbid it me that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee," what is his resource? "Ahab came to his house, heavy and Haman enjoys whatever he can desire; for everything which the king possesses is at his command. But Mordecai will not bow to him, as he enters the gate; his heart is torn asunder, because this poor Jew will not yield him obeisance. "The sorrow of the world worketh death!" and nothing better; no amendment, no improvement, no wisdom! "Get me," "" says Saul, a cunning woman-a woman with a familiar spirit. I despair with respect to help from God, and now I will go to the infernal spirit for advice." And when he had taken this step, the next was to call on his armour-bearer, "Draw thy sword, and thrust me through!" r Here," says Judas, "take this silver which I have had from you! I have betrayed the innocent blood!" "What is that to us ?" The very spirit of the world! "See thou to that!" "Take the money!" says he; "take it! take it! I have betrayed the innocent blood!" And what was his one resource?" He cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself!" Brethren, I am speaking of what is passing every day of our lives. You meet with these things in almost every newspaper you take up. What is the meaning of such an one having broken his heart?" The sorrow of the world hath worked death!" Such an one is pining himself into a consumption! Why?" The sorrow of the world is working death!" A rich man has shot himself! For what reason?- "The sorrow of the world worketh death!"— Rev. Richard Cecil. Be serious and exact in duty, having the weight of it upon thy heart: but be as much afraid of taking comfort from thy duties themselves as from thy sins.-Wilcox. A A prayer of the afflicted when he is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint before the Lord."” HEAR thou my prayer, O Lord most high, My days to smoke are all consumed, Because thine indignation sore- For her the appointed time is come, Brace Meole, near Shrewsbury. Its poor and destitute who cry, He will regard to them draw nigh; When gathered round their glorious King, My strength He weakened in the way, But thou, unchanged, art still the same, J. P. MEDITATIONS. As I was walking along yesterday, | verse of the 13th chapter has marginal making melody in my heart towards the reference to 1 Cor. xv., it carries the God of my salvation, to whom I had mind thither, and we find this text, drawn nigh in heaviness of spirit, through They shall revive as the corn," put my mind passed that mighty verse, "For alongside "Thou fool, that thou sowest thus saith the high and lofty One that is not quickened except it die." By inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; the Lord's promise to be as the dew to I dwell in the high and holy place, with Israel, we are taken to Isaiah xxvi. 19. him also that is of a contrite and humble There I have noted as follows:-" This spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, verse is one of those passages which is and to revive the heart of the contrite dimmed and made obscure by the introones (Isa. lvii. 15). What wondrous duction of the words in italics. If we condescension! Thou knowest, Lord, omit them, and read the verse without, my spirit is humble and my heart con- it bears a wonderful testimony to the trite; and I know, most blessedly, it is standing of the Church in Christ. the work of thine indwelling Spirit. I "Thy dead," says the Holy Spirit in cannot reason on the doctrine of the His record of Christ, "shall live." Trinity; but I know I have fellowship with the Father, through the mediation of the Son, by the indwelling energy of the Spirit Jehovah; and I know the distinction of Persons in the unity of the Godhead. What sweet meditations often arise from analyzing a word; these two, "contrite " and " revive," are highly interesting. 1. The word "contrite" is from Latin, and expresses that grinding, crushing, or pounding which corn undergoes to make flour, by which all vitality is destroyed. In this place the word is the same which, in Isa. liii. 510, is translated "bruise;" in several places, "crush;" and in many, "broken in pieces,' sore broken." One passage in which it occurs (Psa. li. 8.) is thereby brought in direct connexion with the one under consideration, "That the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice." دو 66 Revive," has not merely the meaning we now attach to it, it is to give life to, to cause to come to life; not as now understood, to refresh, to invigorate. It has this fuller meaning in Hosea xiv. 7, where, in turning to my Bible, I find I have the following note:"This is Hawker's subject for meditation May 7th, morning. He treats it spiritually, as referring to the operation of the Holy Spirit as dew on the believer's soul, reviving languishing graces, frames, &c.;" but when we notice the 14th Then the Lord Himself takes up the declaration, "My dead body-they shall arise." Then the command is spoken forth which is to cause this glorious resurrection; "Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust, for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead." Yes, sing now, O Zion, church and body of the Lord; buried with Him by participation in His death, you shall also be partaker of His resurrection. Sing while you sojourn in this tabernacle made of dust, and which shall return to the dust whence it was, when the spirit, made perfect, shall go to God who gave it, to await the consummation of glory, when He shall come to be glorified in His saints, and admired in all them that believe. Again, Hosea vi. 2. By the marginal reference (1 Cor. xv. 4), it is clear others have noted the purport of this prophecy; and by laying this scripture alongside of Isa. xxvi. 19, we see how the persons included in "us are there spoken of as included in the work of HIM. See also Rom. vi. 4, and Col. ii. 12; where is set out, that by being buried with Him by baptism into His death, we are also risen together with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead. See note (Numb. xxiii. 10), 66 Who can count the dust of Jacob?" &c. This doubtless refers first to the Jews; but also to the Israel of God. Who can count the dust of the dead in Christ, love me," says the Lord, speaking under the character of wisdom (Prov. viii. 17), "and those that seek me early SHALL find me." How is the Lord to be sought, and where? In His Word, and by prayer and supplication. Listen! "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto, according to thy Word" (Psal. cxix. 9). "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." Notwithstanding, then, the sinfulness of our poor fallen nature; though it is quite true, that "there is none good but One, that is God;" that we each and all go astray from the womb, speaking lies:" that we are in the midst of enemies, and have a threefold foe ever to combat with, the world, the flesh, and the devil; yet we have withal much very much-to encourage. "If God be for us,"-if He is pleased to put it into our hearts to seek Him; if we are led by the Holy Ghost to say, "My Father, Jesus, "ye shall have tribulation; but OLD JONATHAN, then, in conclusion, most heartily desires that God, of His great mercy, would put it into the hearts of His dear young friends early to seek Him; and to this end, he would urge the advice of his own dear sainted mother. In her every letter to her then young JONATHAN, she would say, "Read your Bible; if it be but a few verses, read it every day. It is," said she, “a warfare; but the Lord hath promised complete victory through the blood of the Lamb!"-Old Jonathan's Monthly Penny Pictorial Broad-Sheet. INSTRUCTION AND CONSOLATION. such a cold, miserable condition yourself, that to go now would be to offer a stone to the hungry brother, instead of carrying true bread! Wait till you feel a little more spiritually minded, and then go." Yes, and often long and hard is the struggle. Nor is the tempter always unsuccessful. But I am beginning to learn that such times are exactly the best times to pay such visits; they may open with a communion in sorrow on account of the dark cloud; but they usually close in sweet communion, as the precious love, blood, and salvation of the blessed Saviour, become the theme. I ALWAYS feel there is something defec- | something—either the flesh or the devil, tive in the creed, or something amiss in or both-"it is no use now, you are in the spiritual health, of any whom I believe to be children of God, when I hear them speak in any degree slightingly of reading the Word, and prayer at certain appointed seasons. Are we, then, like Quakers, to wait for some inward sensation to move us to bow the knee, or open the precious Word? I know by feeling and a saddening feeling it is too-when prayer time comes, what it is to wish one's self anywhere rather than to have, according to present realization, formally to bow the knee. Yet, how often, while pouring out the heart in bitter feeling, perhaps, before the Lord -telling Him how cold and dead we are -appealing to Him, as the Searcher of hearts, that He knows how we groan, being burdened by such a condition-in a moment, in the most tender, and divinely gracious way, He draws near, and begins to open His heart's love to us, dropping upon the inward wounds of the spirit a little of that precious balm which the dear good Physician alone can prepare. We then say, "It is good to be here." Again, how often when called upon to visit a sick or cast-down brother, a parley will go on within: "Ah!" says Now we have sweet instruction con veyed to us in the words before us, as we are led on to view them under such exercises. "To-morrow we die.” What can tend to produce earnestness in spiritual things, so powerfully as the realization of this truth? Is it by the slothful, "Oh, it is no use now, I am too hard, too cold, too full of perplexing care, too full of bitterness and rebellion, because of certain cross providences; or, I am too sad a backslider just now," that we shall find profit by the merchandize of wisdom? No!-Gospel Lecturer, A VOICE FROM THE SKIES; OR, A CHILD IN HEAVEN EXPOSTULATING WITH FRIENDS ON EARTH. FRIENDS, dear fond ones, who taught | death! For your children's sake-for me that which, under God, has brought your household's sake-for the world's me here; that which has raised me to sake-for your own sake-for the Lord's this glory-this bliss-this uninterrupted | sake, strive, dear, dear friends, to live and eternal joy;-friends-loved ones as it becometh the gospel of Christ! BEAR AND FORBEAR." Oh, seek to The Lord hath forgiven you much-oh, check each untoward rising; strive each forgive each other! Again I say, "bear to exercise a watchfulness and self- and forbear." Study each other's weakdenial. You are differently constituted, nesses, frailties, and infirmities, in such but you are not the first thus circum- a way as carefully to avoid the occasion stanced. God has brought many toge- of drawing them out, and rekindling the ther most unlike in temperament and flame of discord, animosity, or evil disposition; they have discovered that thinking. Consider who you are-who fact, but yet they have lived and hath called you-and to what you are "walked as children of light." Re- called. Oh, "Grieve not the Spirit of member, 'tis "not your rest." "Consider God, whereby you are sealed unto the how soon you will reach your journey's day of redemption!" Seek this moment end-how soon join me in this blessed reconciliation. Put away all bitterness. abode. Oh, then, strive to dwell in love At once come to a mutual understandduring the short interval. Live as you ing. Resolve to put away all lets, hinwill have wished you had done, when you derances; each and every occasion of arrive here! Live as you will have division, and unkind thought and feelwished you had done, when (as shortly ing. There must be, for a season at you must) you lay your head upon least, mutual self-sacrifice; until the your dying pillow. Think how soon you pleasure of each arises from the gratifiwill be where you last saw mee-lan- cation of the other. guishing upon the bed of suffering and HOPE IN GOD!" NONE CAN PERISH THERE!" I WAS a sinner vile and base, none can perish there!" "Twas there I cried, yea, agonized, But Jesus heard my prayer; When tempted since to doubt, and fear And when brought there, 'tis then I feel, And trust the morrow in His hands, For "none can perish there." Lord Jesus, let me always come, I love to go to thee, my God, |