off all idle thoughts; no more day-dreams now; no more basking in the sun; no more sitting under the shade of trees; no more sitting down to eat and drink and rising up to play; up and be doing; the Lord calls; the Spirit calls; the Church calls; "he that hath ears to hear, let him hear." DEVOTION. ALMIGHTY and most merciful Father, who hast given us grace in times past, and dost mercifully prolong our days on the earth; grant that we may continue to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Thy dear Son. Lead us forward by Thy Spirit from strength to strength, that we may more perfectly serve Thee, and attain unto a more lively hope of Thy mercy in Christ Jesus. Quicken our dull hearts; inspire us with warmer affections for Thee, O God, and for Thy heavenly truth. Stir up the gift that is in us, and pour down from above more abundant gifts of grace, that we may make progress in heavenly things. Increase our faith as Thou dost increase our years; and the longer we are suffered to abide in Thy Church on earth, the better may our service be, the more willing our obedience, the more consistent our daily lives, the more complete our devotion to Thee. Grant this our prayer, O gracious Father, which we humbly offer at the throne of grace in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. JOHN HENRY PARKER, OXFORD AND LONDON. Tracts for the Christian Seasons. FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT. The Day of Christ. PROPER LESSONS: Morning, Isaiah i.; Evening, Isaiah ii. It is still in our power to speak of the coming of Christ. However near His day may be, He has not yet taken His seat, nor gathered all men, quick and dead, great and small, before His throne. However soon the decree may go forth concerning the end of the world, our ears are not yet startled by the trumpet of the archangel or the voice of God. Christ's coming is still a future thing. At this moment we ourselves are in the land of the living, and the dead are sleeping in their graves; the dead and the living have not yet met; the veil is between the two, the great mysterious gulf; one portion of mankind is here, another is beyond; and the day when all shall meet is among future days. So far all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. We are able to see all the accustomed sights of the world; and we are not called to gaze on the face of God, on the throne of God, on the holy angels, on the dead raised from their graves, on the many mysteries of the world beyond. The works of the world are not burned up; cities, palaces, churches, worldly riches, merchandise, silver and gold, fine apparel, chariots, implements of war, works of learning, books of scholars, beauties of art, pleasant pictures, all the wares of the world, are not given up to the fires of the last day. The world holds on her course among the other stars; the wheels of her chariot go round as of old; it is not all over; the end is not yet; heaven and hell have not received their companies; good and evil grow together till the harvest; though thousands have finished their day of trial, the trial of others is going on; the end is not yet. Though it is true there are signs of the end, and these signs thickening amongst us of late, such as distress of nations, perplexity, rumours of war, pestilence, the throes and struggles of a disordered and unquiet world; yet we must not dare to prophesy. The air may clear; these thunder-clouds, that seem to our short-sighted souls to betoken the instant coming of the Lord, may pass. We are apt to exaggerate present troubles, as though they were the worst of all and there had never been the like before; but at the same time, while we must not say the Lord will come on such a day or in such a year, we must not say He will not come at such a time. God knows the time, and it is in His own hand. If instead of prophesying we should hasten to act as though He were close at hand, we take the wise and the good part. Act as if the Judgment were near, and we shall be great gainers though the Judgment be far off; we need no prophet to tell us this, that the death of the youngest of us is near at hand; and as regards salvation or perdition, death is the end of the world; the battle is lost or won; and though the sentence is not pronounced, it is settled; the links of evidence are complete, whatever way they turn; after death we can add no good to that which is written concerning us, we can take away no evil. Now when we think of the effect on all of us of our Saviour's coming, when we seriously consider the final change we shall all undergo at that day, and when we consider in good earnest our present spiritual state with all its imperfections, we owe God thanks for the pause which our Lord makes. There are so many inconsistencies, short-comings, dry and barren |