"And it is snowing hard," said Frederick, going to the window. "It is indeed an ill night!" And thus they sat waiting and watching, hoping and fearing, and every moment expecting to hear the French trumpets. And still the snow fell thick and fast, and as it fell it drifted. House. roof and shed were buried deep beneath the soft load; streets and walls, hedges and paths, were blotted out; barriers and mounds of snow formed here and there, and where the draft was strongest, the drift was deepest. Towards nine o'clock, the uncertain notes of a trumpet-now caught-now lost, an occasional shout, and a low continual murmur, gave notice that the French had entered the city. In half an hour every house in the principal streets was occupied; there was drunkenness and revelry, blasphemy and cruelty, song and (such as it was) merriment. And from many a low house, glaring with the immense fire that the soldiers had kindled in it, you might hear the catch,— Un coup du vin ! Puis en chemin ; Il faut marcher jusqu'au matin ! But still the dwelling of Dorothea Kauff was unassaulted and unvisited. Hour after hour its inhabitants passed in dread of immediate danger; hour after hour passed over in safety. At length morning dawned, and showed them how GOD had provided for His servants. The snow had drifted so high around them, that the French, eager to be sheltered at once, had not thought it worth their while to endeavour to pierce it. And with day light they marched again; so that never was rampart more secure, nor deliverance more complete. 66 "And thus," Dorothea was wont to say, you see that God has no need to employ miracles for our defence, when He has wind and storm that are ready to be fulfilling His word." THE EIGHTY-FIFTH PSALM. (Continued from page 26.) BUT how has He turned away the captivity of Jacob? Ye see that the deliverance is a spiritual one, that it is of an inward character. "Thou hast forgiven," he says, "the offence of Thy people, and covered all their sins." Behold by what means He turns away their captivity, by the forgiveness of their sins. Sin did hold captive-by the forgiveness of sin ye are set free. Confess then that thou art in captivity, that thou mayest be worthy to be made free. For how shall he, who is not aware of his enemy, call in the aid of his Deliverer? "Thou hast covered all their sins." What meaneth "Thou hast covered?" That thou mightst not behold them. And why not behold them? That Thou mightst not take vengeance of them. Thou hast been unwilling to behold our iniquities; and because thus un willing, therefore Thou didst not behold them. "Thou hast covered all their sins. Thou hast taken away all Thy displeasure; and turned Thyself from Thy wrathful indignation." And since these things, though the words sound as though they were already past, are spoken concerning the future, he afterwards says likewise, "Turn us, O God of our salvation." What he had just related as though it had been done, how does he pray that it may be done, except because he wished to show that he was speaking, in a prophetic meaning, words having a past sense? For that what he had just spoken of as being done, was not yet done, he shows by his prayer that it may be done. "Turn us, O God of our salvation, and let Thine anger cease from us." Did you not long before say, "Thou hast turned away the captivity of Jacob; Thou hast covered all their sins; Thou hast turned Thyself from Thy wrathful indignation?" Wherefore this prayer then, "And let thine anger cease from us?" The Prophet will answer you. "I speak of those things as already done, because I see that they are to be; but because they are not as yet actually done, I pray that the things which I have now seen may come to pass. 'Let Thine anger cease from us."" "Thou wilt not be displeased at us for ever." For it is of God's displeasure that we all are mortal, and that in this earth we eat our bread in need and in the sweat of our face. For this was the doom heard by Adam when he had sinned; and we all were that Adam, for in him we all die; the doom to which he listened has overtaken us also. For we had as yet no being of ourselves, but we were in Adam. Therefore whatever befell that very Adam has followed us likewise, so that we should die, because we were in him. For those sins of parents, which they commit after their children have been born, belong not to those children; the children have their own concerns which belong to them, and the parents theirs which belong to them. Therefore it must be that they who hold by the evil ways of their parents must bear the weight of what they deserve; whereas if they change, and copy not their wicked parents, they begin to have a merit of their own, and not the merit of their parents. Insomuch that the sin of your father is no hindrance to you, if you alter, as it is not indeed to your father himself, if he reforms himself. But now what our race has received tending to mortality it has derived from Adam. And what has it derived? That frailty of the flesh, this torment of pains, this house of poverty, this chain of death, and snares of temptation. All these things do we carry about in this flesh; and this is the anger of God, because it is the punishment of God. But because our regeneration was a thing future, and by believing we were to be made new men, and in the resurrection all that mortality was to be taken away, and the freshness of the whole man was to be restored; for "as in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive; the Prophet seeing this saith, "Thou wilt not be displeased at us for ever, neither wilt Thou stretch out Thy wrath from one generation to another." "The first generation was mortal because of Thine anger, the next shall be immortal because of Thy mercy." What then, O man, hast thou done this for thine own self, that, because thou art converted unto God, thou art deserving of His mercy, whereas those that have not been converted have not obtained mercy, but have found wrath? But how couldst thou have been converted, except thou hadst been called? And was not He Who called thee, when thou wast turned away from Him, Himself the cause of thy conversion? Do not therefore take to thyself the merit of thy conversion, since, except He had called thee when thou wast fleeing away, that conversion would have been impossible. On which account the Prophet, assigning to God the benefit of the conversion itself, prays thus, saying, "Thou, O God, converting, will quicken us." Not as though we were ourselves, by our own will, without Thy pity converted unto Thee, but "Thou converting, wilt quicken us," so that not only our revival may be from Thee, but likewise the conversion itself, in order that we may be revived. "Thou, O God, converting, wilt quicken us, and Thy people shall rejoice in Thee." For their evil they shall have to thank themselves, for their good they shall rejoice in Thee. For when a man has wished to have joy from himself, in himself he has found tribulation. But now since God is all our joy, the man who desires to re 1 1 Cor. xv. 22. We joice securely will do so in Him Who | holds fast-by holding fast he abides cannot perish. For why, my Breth--and by abiding he enjoys and ren, do ye wish to rejoice in silver? rejoices in the Lord his God. Either the silver perishes, or else He Who created him will be his yourself, and no one knows which delight, and that delight, no one will perish first; but nevertheless spoils, no one can interrupt, no one this is certain, inasmuch as both are takes away. What man of might perishable; which will vanish away will threaten to take it away? What first is still uncertain. For neither ill-disposed neighbour, what robber, a man nor his silver can remain here what crafty person deprives you of always; and it is the same with gold, your God? He is able to take away with fine clothing, with houses, with from you the whole of what you money, with wide fields, yea, lastly, possess in the body, but he is not with the light itself. Do not, there- able to deprive you of Him Whom fore, rejoice in these things, but re- you have in your heart. That is the joice in that light which knows no set- very mercy which we pray God may ting sun; rejoice in that light, which show upon us: "Show us Thy merhad no yesterday to go before, which cy, O Lord, and grant us Thy salvawill have no morrow to succeed it. tion." Grant us Thine Anointed And what is that light? "I am," He One, for in Him is Thy mercy. saith, "the Light of the world." He may also say to Him, Grant us Thine Who saith to thee, "I am the Light Anointed One. He has indeed alof the world," calls thee to Himself. ready given us His Christ, but still When He calls thee, He converts we may say to Him, Give us Thy thee; when He converts thee, He Christ; for we say to Him, "Give heals thee; when He has healed thee, us this day our daily bread." And thou shalt see thy Converter, to what is our bread, but He Who has Whom it is said: "and Thy people said, "I am the Living Bread, shall rejoice in Thee." Which came down from heaven!" i "Show us Thy mercy, O Lord." We may say to Him, Give us Thine This is what we have sung, and now Anointed One. For He has given to hereof we have spoken: "Show us us Christ, but, as Man; the Very Thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us Same Whom He has given to us, as Thy salvation:" Thy salvation, Thy Man, He is about to give us, as God. Christ. Happy is he to whom the Truly to men hath He given Him, Lord shows His mercy. The very as Man, because he gave them such man who cannot be proud is he to as they were able to receive. For whom God shows His mercy. For by no mortal man could have received showing him His mercy, He convinces Christ, as God. So for men He behim, that whatever of good that man came a man; He has reserved Himhas, he has it not except from Him self, as God, for gods. Have I berein Who is all our good. And when any spoken, perhaps, presumptuously? one has perceived, that, whatever good Presumptuously, indeed, if He had he has, is not of himself, but from not Himself said, "I said, ye are God, he then sees that all which is gods, and children of the Most High." praiseworthy in him is of God's We are renewed for this very adopmercy, not of his own merit: and tion, that we may be made the sons by seeing these things he is saved of God. We are indeed such already, from pride-by not being proud he but through faith; we are so indeed is kept from becoming exalted-by in hope, but not as yet in reality. not being exalted he is preserved" For we are saved by hope," as the from falling-by not falling he stands Apostle says; "but hope that is seen upright-by standing upright he 1 John vi. 51. פ Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Hear more plainly still that the sight of the Son Himself shall afford us blessedness; and there is no difference between seeing Him and seeing the Father. He saith Himself in the Gospel, "He that loveth Me keepeth My commandments, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him." He spoke to them, saying, "I will manifest Myself to him." Wherefore? Was it not Himself Who was speaking to them? Yes, but it was flesh that beheld flesh; the heart did not behold the Divine nature. But for this purpose flesh beheld flesh, even that by faith the heart might be purified, and thence God might be seen. For it is said of the Lord, that He "purified their hearts by faith." And the Lord hath said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."" Therefore hath He promised us that He will manifest Himself to us. And consider, brethren, what must be His comeliness, Who has Himself made all the fair and comely things which we behold and love. If these are beautiful, what must He be? if these are great, how great must be He Who created them? Therefore from those things which here we love, let us long the more earnestly for Him, and despising those things place our affection upon Him; so that by this very feeling we may purify our hearts through faith, and the manifestation of Him may reach our purified hearts. The Light which is revealed to us ought to find us whole. And faith only can bring this about. Wherefore we say here, is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." But for what do we patiently wait, but to see what we believe? For now indeed we believe what we do not see; by abiding in that which believing we see not, we become worthy to see what we believe. Wherefore what says John in his Epistle?" Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be." Who would not rejoice, if to some poor traveller, totally ignorant of his birth, enduring need, and surrounded by sorrows and toils, it were suddenly declared: "You are the son of a senator; your father rejoices, to your advantage, in an ample estate; I recall you to your father." With what gladness would he exult, if no deceitful promiser were to say this! No deceitful Apostle of Christ is it that comes and says, "Why do ye despair of yourselves? or wherefore do ye afflict yourselves and become worn with grief? Why is it that in following out your own lusts, ye are willing to be consumed in the very emptiness of those pleasures? Ye have a Father; ye have a home; ye have an inheritance." And who is that father? "Beloved, we are the sons of God." Why then do we not yet see our Father? Because it hath not yet appeared what we shall be. We are already, but in hope; for what we shall be hath not yet appeared. And what shall we be? "We know," he says, "that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." But this is" And grant us Thy salvation." Give spoken of the Father; and is it not spoken of the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ? Or shall we be blest, perhaps, by beholding the Father, and not the Son? Listen to Christ's own words, "He that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father." For when the One God is seen, the Trinity is seen; the 1 Rom. viii. 24, 25. 21 John iii. 2. us Thy Christ; we have known Thy Christ: may we behold Him, not as the Jews saw Him, and crucified Him, but as the angels now see Him, and rejoice. (To be continued.) 1 John xiv. 21. 2 Acts xv. 9. 2 Matt. v. 8. 4" Comeliness seems to be that species of beauty which excites respect."-Dr. Johnson. The Cabinet. THE family of believers is under the con- tinued guardianship of the Holy Spirit. Even the hairs of their head are all num- bered. The Lord knoweth them that are His; and not one of them is lost. He is about their path, and about their bed, and searcheth out all their ways. At His com- mand, the ministering spirits go forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of sal- vation. It may be, that even now, if God were to open our eyes, we might see the air filled with the forms of glorious beings, like that multitude of the heavenly host, which first brought to the shepherds of Bethlehem the tidings of peace on earth, and good will towards man. We might see, as the servant of Elisha saw, the hills around us filled with horses, and chariots of fire: we might SAGACITY OF THE ELEPHANT.-A few days before my arrival at Enon, a troop of elephants came down, one dark and rainy night, close to the outskirts of the village. The missionaries heard them bellowing and making an extraordinary noise for a long time at the upper end of the orchard; but knowing well how dangerous it is to en- counter these animals in the night, they kept close within their houses till daybreak. Next morning, on examining the spot where they had heard the elephants, they disco- vered the cause of all this nocturnal uproar. There was, at this spot, a ditch or trench, about five or six feet in width and twelve in depth, which the industrious missionaries had recently cut through the bank of the river, on purpose to lead on the water to irrigate some part of the garden ground, and to drive a cornmill. Into this trench, which was still unfinished and without wa- If you once permit your own will to ob- tain the victory over any known duty, you will never attain to any excellence. A strict and steady perseverance in well doing can alone procure for you the favour of God.-sible at the bottom, as well as the impress of Truly the passion of Christ is the hidden treasure of God, the fulness of all virtue, the THE DAFFODILS. I WANDERED lonely, as a cloud his huge body on its sides. How he had That floats on high o'er vales and hills; if the other elephants had stationed them- When all at once I saw a crowd, A host of golden daffodils In such a jocund company. Which is the bliss of solitude; selves on either side, some of them kneeling and others on their feet, and had thus, by united efforts, hoisted their unlucky brother out of the pit.-Pringle's African Sketches. To work our own contentment, we should not labour so much to increase our substance |