what the apostles did for one precious irreparable hour of it, in the garden of Gethsemane-they go to sleep! Have you ever seen those marble statues, in some public square, or garden, which art has so fashioned into a perennial fountain, that through the lips, or through the hands, the clear water flows into a perpetual stream, on and on for ever; and the marble stands there-passive, cold, making no effort to arrest the gliding water? It is so that time flows through the hands of men-swift, never pausing, till it has run itself out; and there is the man petrified into a marble sleep, not feeling what it is which is passing away for ever! It is so, just so, that the destiny of nine men out of ten accomplishes itself, slipping away from them-aimless, useless, till it is too late."* May not the children of God apply to themselves, in some measure, these sentiments of stirring reproof? Have we not, too often, allowed time to slip through our hands, when those hands might have arrested the vital current, and turned it to living water for our own refreshment, and that of others? How much of this precious capital have we thrown away! With an improvident expenditure the golden coin has been squandered our substance wasted! What opportunities have we lost! What privileges forfeited! What work for God neglected! How many precious hours have we given to enervating repose, which might have been spent amidst hallowed communings, or in holy and blessed activities! How often has our absence from the sanctuary, or the prayermeeting, rehearsed in our experience the mournful event in the history of Thomas, who was not with his fellow-disciples when the Lord appeared! How many tears have fallen which our sympathy might have helped to dry up! How many hearts have been wounded which we have failed to heal! How many souls perished without hope whose last dark hours might have been illumined, had we carried to them the torch of eternal truth-the lamp of immortality! And all this unimproved and unredeemed "past" is gone from us, to Robertson. return no more for ever. "Like water spilt on the ground," it cannot be gathered up again. And the time which we now have is passing. Time present will soon be time past! "Like the rivers, time is gliding; Death is hasting: Death consigns to heaven or hell." The secret of all the failures which have been enumerated is expressed by the apostle in one word-self-will-the will of the Gentiles." Man doing his own will is the history of the world's sin and woe. The devil's success in Eden was effected by his giving to man a will of his own. The whole of the earth's subsequent history, as regards moral evil, is the history of that will in action-the conduct of those who find it no easy thing to "recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will." The workings of this will are as manifold and varied as are the phases of human character. They show themselves alike in the animal, the intellectual, the secular, and the religious nature of man. The children of God know but little of the various and subtle forms which self-will assumes. Adoption into the family of God does not exempt us from its insidious workings. So long as we carry about with us a body of sin and of death, so long shall we need the words of admonition, written by an apostle, and addressed to believers, "Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, [will] that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God." What a sublime example is presented for our imitation in the character and life of Jesus, of perfect and spotless conformity to the will of God! "He pleased not himself." He had meat to eat that the world knew not of. His language was, "My meat is to do the will of him that sent me :" "I delight to do thy will, O God." "The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" asks us to let the past "suffice to have wrought the will of the Gentiles," and in beginning a new year to renew our early vows, our first love, our young and ardent zeal, to be henceforth inspired with the holy ambition to be "conformed to the image of his Son." To attain unto this we must yield our wills to God. Satan conquered man by man doing Satan's will. Christ conquered Satan by doing God's will. And every accession to the Redeemer's kingdom, and every diminution of Satanic power, and every measure of increase of the fruits of the Spirit, in the life of the new-born soul-of love, joy, and peace-is the consequence of man surrendering his will to God. My brother! what art thou living for? for God or for self? If for God, thy being is encircled by a halo of glory which shall be ever expanding and widening with the revolving ages of eternity. But if thou art living for self, thy life must prove a failure, and thine eternity the dark covering of eternal shame and everlasting contempt. G. HUNT JACKSON. SUBJECT: Paul a Prisoner. "For this cause I, Paul, am the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles."-Ephes. iii. 1. W Analysis of Homily the Seven Hundred and Forty-Second. E have here I. A GREAT MAN IN PRISON. Prisons generally contain the lowest and vilest of men— the refuse of humanity. But they have often contained a very different class of men, the noblest and best; the men who by reason of extraordinary power of mind or greatness of soul have come into collision with the beliefs and habits of the people. Joseph, Jeremiah, John the Baptist, Peter Paul, Jesus Christ, all were imprisoned. Some of the great leaders in past reformations both of thought and conduct have been imprisoned. Socrates, Galileo, Bunyan, and many of the best men in the Nonconformist movement of 1662 are examples. These cases afford a mournful example of the blindness and corruption of men. First Men are generally too blind to recognise contemporary greatness. When the grass grows over his grave, and he is beyond the voice either of praise or blame, the worth of the great man is recognised; but very frequently not until then. Second: Men are generally too corrupt to bear with a great man whom they cannot understand. They cannot comprehend the mystery of a noble life, so they put it out of their sight; confine it as a dangerous thing. This spirit is not yet dead. Blindness and corruption are rife amongst us now. But II. A GREAT MAN IN PRISON FOR ENGAGING IN THE HIGHEST SERVICE. "I, Paul, am the the prisoner of Jesus Christ." Again, he says, "I, the prisoner in the Lord." He was a prisoner in the service of the Lord Jesus. Prisoners for debt, crime, &c., abound. Prisoners of war are numerous. here is a man made prisoner for labouring in the highest cause. The progress of the cause of Christ is synonymous with the progress of humanity in everything which constitutes its well-being. Paul was labouring in this cause. Yet they imprisoned him; and imprisoned him for so doing. Paul said things which clashed with the old notions of the men of his time, and, without fairly examining his statements, they hurried him to prison. Men now do not like their stereotyped theories disturbed. III. A GREAT MAN IN PRISON FOR TAKING THE MOST BENE"For this cause,” i.e., for holding and proclaiming the views set forth in the preceding chapter. "On behalf of you, Gentiles." Paul VOLENT POSITION IN THE HIGHEST SERVICE. was suffering for others. He was imprisoned for proclaiming these three things. (1) That when the Jews rejected the Gospel God withdrew it from them.-See examples in the "Acts of the Apostles." (2) That God willed that the Gospel should be preached to the Gentiles. (3) That God had called him to this work of preaching to the Gentiles. First Paul's position was most philosophic. The religion for humanity must be congruous, not with any special type or nation of the race, but with human nature in all ages and everywhere. The Gospel to save man must meet the needs of all and be free to all. Second: Paul's position was most benevolent. There was no narrowness in it. It recognised the common brotherhood of the race; but the Jews were too narrow, prejudiced, and bigoted to allow this, so they sent Paul to prison. HyperCalvinists have just the same spirit now. They revile the men who offer the blessings of the Gospel freely to all men. IV. THE IMPRISONMENT OF A GREAT MAN OVERRULED BY GOD FOR THE GOOD OF HIS CHURCH. In the prison Paul wrote this Epistle. Had he not been a prisoner he, most probably, would have spent all his time and energy in active labour; and none of the precious thoughts made known in such labour may have been preserved for succeeding ages. But from the prison he contributes to the religious thought and spiritual life of the church in all succeeding ages everywhere. From the prison there proceeded a letter to bless, not only the Ephesian Church, but the world also. Observe in this, First: The grandeur of Paul's spirit. It was free. It went forth amid the churches. "Stone walls did not a prison make," &c. It was benevolent. He did not moan over his own condition; but was full of the noblest solicitude for others. Second: The providence of God. Out of evil He evolves good. Paul writes in prison. Bunyan writes in prison. |