who had, age after age, "made mention of the Lord, kept not silence, and gave him no rest, until he should establish and make Jerusalem a praise in the earth." (Isa. lxii. 6, 7.) Now the time had come, when these long-delayed, but not forgotten prayers were to be answered, exceeding abundantly above all that was asked or thought of. And hence the golden censers with the incense are brought forward; they are so as a testimony to the truth and faithfulness of God who had promised the kingdom, as we have already explained, and who now redeems that promise. P. M.

THE GROUNDS OF OUR INHERITANCE.

E presume that the lawgivers of rhetoric and logic would condemn Their dictum would be,-Lay your foundations in frost, and gradually kindle into fire and animation. Peter knew nothing of their canons, and likely would have disregarded them if he had known. His soul is on fire at the outset, and he actually begins with a hymn, or doxology of praise. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy, hath begotten us again to a lively (living) hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." (1 Epis. i. 3-5). In common with other Jews, the Apostles and disciples had been looking for the glories of a noble kingdom. In fact they had been looking with more intensity than their Hebrew brethren-because of their measured insight. In measure they recognised the divine force of the King, and as they beheld His wonderful workings in regions of life and death, they kept hoping that all the reserved power would suddenly stream forth, that Roman oppressors would be swept away like stubble, and the theocratic monarchy shine out in more than ancient splendour.

W the supstle Peter decisively for his procedure in his first epistle.

In the room of the kingdom, there came something very different; the horrible gloom of a great tragedy. Their adorable Lord and King was crucified between two thieves, and cried like one forsaken through the mystical darkness. In substance, the hymn of Peter amounts to this: Our old hope was frail and perishing; it was shaken in halls of judgment, and expired in the agonies of the great passion, and we buried it in the grave of the Master. But blessed be God who, by the resurrection of His dear Son, has begotten us again to a living hope; one which cannot be shaken or perish, but must grow brighter and brighter, even to the perfect day.

Likewise, the hope looks to an inheritance unfading; all others in Paradise and Canaan had been defiled or corrupted; but there was one to be revealed at the appearing of Jesus a second time, where the tramp of the war-horse would never be heard, where rivers of blood would never run, and vultures never gather; where the bloom would never fade, or the radiance die away. There are five ways by which men may get possession of property not originally their own.

4. By Purchase. 5. By Donation.

1. Inheritance. By laws of primogeniture, by laws of succession, priority of birth, or confessed family blood, altogether conditions of flesh, our kings, nobles, and gentry get their thrones and their immense estates, and all the dignities and honours which belong to property by common consent.

We do not get our inheritance in this manner. The apostle says, "Ye were by nature the children of wrath, even as others." That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and, like water, cannot rise above its own level. The culture may be fine, philosophic, scientific, and moral; but culture is not regeneration, and all the mortal lustre languishes into the supulchre. Our Lord came to his own, and his own received him not; but to as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God; who were born not of blood, nor of the will of man, nor of the will of the flesh, but of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, but that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. It is just at this point that we get a closer connection with eternity and with God, and hear in spirit the murmur of a deeper sea, and the solemn roll of a river of life which belongs to the everlasting. When the apostle Paul writes to the Galatians, he does speak of the people who were once only servants as having become heirs, but not according to any fleshly laws : altogether by supernatural intervention of an extraordinary character. In the fulness of the time, God sent forth his Son to redeem; in order that we might receive the adoption of sons. After that he sent forth the Spirit of his Son into the hearts of obedient believers, so that the cry of Abba Father might arise with full confidence. Hence, in sonship and the joy of sonship, the members of the new holy family could realise the fact that they were heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, and could look forward to the inheritance of life from the firm ground already secured. "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God; therefore, the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; and every man that hath this hope in him, purifieth himself, even as he is pure. As we look at the case, there could have been no adoption, if God had not possessed a Son of his own; and the wonder and mystery of the love by which he has distinguished us consists in the fact that he has rescued us from the bad home of nature and fallen flesh, and given us a place in his own family. Along with the first-born, the Head of the new creation, we share the honour of a supernatural house, and look onward to the perfect unveiling. "Forget thine own people and thy Father's house; so shall the King greatly desire thy beauty, for he is thy Lord, and worship thou him." God help us with purified vision to see increasingly the spiritual lustre of our Lord, to grow Christ-like, and God-like, and ready for the solemnities of the kingdom shortly to be revealed.

2. Discovery. According to the law of nations, those who sail unknown seas, and discover new countries which are either uninhabited or which the aboriginals cannot cultivate wisely, take possession in the name of their king. It is confessed that discovery gives some right, and so there is a banner spread, and the soil is claimed on behalf of that kingdom or republic from which the adventurers hail.

We cannot claim the inheritance by the right of discovery. There is a magnificent chapter in Job (xxviii.) in which the afflicted Gentile nobleman paints in wonderful colouring, first, the strength, and second, the limitations of man.

In his strength, how amazing! He finds out the veins of silver, the dust of gold, the stones of fire, and all the jewels of land and sea. He bridges great rivers, and cuts new channels through the rocks, harnessing the elements as his slaves, and searching out all perfection.

But in his limitations, how pitiable! for there is no road to happiness and life which it is possible for him to discover. Need we marvel? The vulture's eye has never seen it, wheeling among crags and high mountains, and the lion has never found it in any solitude of the forest. It is not in the depth, nor in the sea; destruction and death have heard the fame of it, but know nothing more, and no amount of gold or rubies can open the gate or disclose the mysterious way. Men might count and measure the stars, or cleave open and read the stone-book of the earth, or master the Runic rhymes of antiquity; but could not, unaided, discover the path of life, or the road to the Holy City.

With different imagery, an apostle delivers the same lesson:-" But as it is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." (1 Cor. ii. 9, 10.) Clearly we have man before us, in the temple of the visible, with his five senses as inlets; but his eyes cannot see, or his ears hear, or his heart conceive spiritual things. Nature has no analogues or voices by which the animal or natural man can be taught them. Fine as the house is in which he lives, it would be little better than a prison if no other tidings reached him. The stars in their beauty speak of the eternal power and Godhead, but declare nothing concerning the purpose of the Creator in regard to humanity. Is there any forgiveness for sin? Can there be established communion with God? Shall dead men ever rise out of their graves? Shall truth and holiness ever have supreme force and continuous dominion? It is vain to cry out in nature, for all her priests are silent as death, and the temple is blacker than midnight. No shining orbs, or blowing winds, or running rivers, furnish authentic tidings. But the things which we could not discover from orbs of materialism or lamps of reason have been made known to us by the Spirit in the Gospel of Jesus the Christ. We have the record and the seals-a most glorious evangel.

3. Conquest. Great countries and great cities frequently change masters by the fortunes of war. Jerusalem went down before the iron force of Rome; Rome in turn fell under Goth and Vandal; Constantinople was stormed by the Saracens, and still remains in hands alien to Christianity or civilisation.

We are not to get our inheritance in this fashion. We are not strong enough to storm the City of God. In fact, if the human race could accomplish such a work in their natural condition, they would be utterly miserable inside, and would soon beat a retreat to the wilds of nature.

It must, however, be noted that the Holy City can only be occupied by fighting men, and that he who overcometh shall inherit all things. God will have men valiant in victorious faith, and there is a great continuous battle with flesh, with the world, and with its ruler. The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. There is a holy earnestness pointed out as a necessary condition of success, and those who fail in that element only perish miserably. Hence, in fighting against flesh and blood supported by principalities and powers of evil in high or heavenly places, we are exhorted to take the whole armour of God, that we may stand in the evil day. The girdle of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, are all indispensable in such a conflict, where the issues of the field are so momentous.

4. Purchase. Property changes hands by purchase, continually on a small scale, frequently on a large scale. The Americans lately purchased from Russia a great tract of country, not of much value; but men and nations like possessions, even if unprofitable. We are not rich enough to purchase the country of life eternal, and if we were, God does not sell. Besides, whatever idea of purchase there is in the transaction has been graciously realised already. The city of God and the shores of life everlasting were purchased for us by the blood of the everlasting covenant. Our redemption came not by corruptible things, such as silver and gold, but by the precious blood of Christ, the Lamb without blemish and without spot; and as he has ransomed us from so great a ruin, and made us heirs of so sublime an inheritance, he expects us to walk in dignity and purity before him, having the manners of the court to which we belong, and something of the nobility and grandeur of the kingdom.

5. Donation. We have reached the true ground. Our inheritance is a donation," According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue; whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." (2 Pet. i. 3, 4.) "And this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son." (1 John v. 11.) God does not give us in this manner either science or philosophy. By the careful observation and registration of facts in nature, until we can range them under law, we get science. By introspective study of our own nature we get philosophy. We have to watch the movements, the action, and inter-action of reason, conscience, passion, and will, until we gather up some unified apprehension of the complex man.

But the things which concern life and godliness come down from heaven in perfect formation. God giveth them, calls us to glory and virtue with a trumpet voice, and gives all the great and precious promises whereby we may overcome the world, arise above its atmosphere of death, and inherit life eternal.

We expect a nobleman to give like a nobleman, and a prince to give in a princely fashion; and surely our God has given like a God all the things which pertain to life and godliness. G. GREENWELL.

THE LAST ENEMY.

"The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death."-1 COR. XV. 26. EATH is the failure of life. When life begins to fail, the living thing begins to die; when life has utterly failed, it is dead. We often speak of "dead matter," meaning thereby lifeless matter. But properly speaking, nothing is dead that has not died, and consequently that has not lived. Now there are various kinds of life, and, therefore, various kinds of death. But death always means the failure of some kind of life. It may be used figuratively, as, for instance," the death of a hope." But we only say that, because the hope is conceived of as having been alive. "A lively hope" we read of, i.e., a living hope. When the hope ceases it is said to expire or die. Again we often use the word by way of hyperbole or exaggeration. We say the loss of such and such a thing would be death to us, when we only mean that it would make us very miserable. But that does not alter the meaning of the word death. To say that it would be death to us is to say that we could not live without it. And the simple fact is, that we say more than we mean. Many contend that God does so when he threatens death and destruction to impenitent sinners. They say he does not mean that he will actually kill or destroy them, but only that he will make them very miserable. Whether he is likely to speak in such a way on such a subject, and whether the idea is consistent with the general and particular teaching of his word, every one must judge for himself. But whatever decision they arrive at does not affect the meaning of the word death, which is the failure of life and nothing else.

But when we ask what life is, we find ourselves in the presence of the most mysterious and undefinable thing with which we are acquainted. There is nothing we know more about than we do about life; but what it is-of that I believe we know absolutely nothing. It is something which the Creator has imparted of himself to some of his creatures, in various degrees, while he has entirely withheld it from others. But what that is we know not. We can see its effects, learn its conditions, and recognise its outward signs, so as to be able to assert positively that this thing has life and that has not. We know, for instance, that a man has life and that a house has not; because we see that the man can do things which the house cannot. But his being able to do these things does not constitute his life, it is the result of his life. He is not alive because he can do them; he can do them because he is alive. But what is being alive? Or take the different kinds of life. We are as certain that a tree has life as that a man has, though there are many things which are infallible signs of life that a man can do and a tree cannot. What have they in common which we call life? There are, no doubt, certain things which they can both do, though in different ways-take nourishment, grow, propagate their species. But if you say that these powers constitute