His services in this Circuit gave great satisfaction and high promise. The memory of them is still fragrant in many a believing heart. The Lord crowned his efforts with large success; many were added to the fold of Christ, and others were established in the faith. While with holy fervour he preached Christ to the people, little deemed he that his own course was so nigh run; and as little deemed his hearers that the voice they then so gladly heard would soon be hushed in death.

On the 10th of May, 1861, only eight months after his arrival in the Circuit, he left Battersea, in the hope of soon recruiting his enfeebled health amid home scenes. It was hoped that medicine and rest, under the Divine blessing, would speedily restore him. But on the 29th of July alarming symptoms presented themselves in the form of hemorrhage proceeding from the lungs. From this time little expectation was entertained of his recovery. He was never again able to leave his room. During thirteen weeks he was confined to his bed; but was never heard to murmur. Sometimes he would express a desire to live a little longer, that he might preach Christ to his perishing fellow-beings; and then, with meek submission, he would say, "It is all right." He seldom spoke about anything he had done for the Lord; but once he said to his mother, "Thank God! I have been at many a good prayer-meeting, and have seen a few souls brought to God." Referring to his last sermon preached at Grantham, he said, "I had a good time in the morning; but what was the secret of all that? I went through the whole of that sermon on my knees in my own room before I entered the pulpit."

During the last three weeks of his life, his sufferings were very great. His body was almost reduced to a skeleton, and he became quite helpless. On the 12th of October his father said to him, "I think you are going to heaven; but you have no fear of death?" He replied, "No; death is a gloomy subject; but there is nothing for the Christian to fear." He then repeated with a tremulous voice the lines commencing,

"Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee."

Soon after this he said to his mother, "I have great peace of mind, but no joyous feeling; but I am a poor sinner, trusting altogether to Christ."

On another occasion his mother was sitting beside him, weeping. Taking his handkerchief to wipe his tears, as they wept together, he said, "I shall not require this long. God Himself shall wipe away all tears." His father said to him, "You are nearer eternity than you ever were before." Being unable to speak, he wrote on a slate that lay beside him, "Nearer heaven."

For the last day and night of his earthly existence he was very restless. On the Sunday morning his friends could scarcely endure to witness his sufferings. He exclaimed, "Nature cannot stand this long;" and repeatedly cried, "My Lord, help me!" About ten minutes before he died he became more composed. To those gathered

VOL. X.-FIFTH SERIES.

2 Y

about his bed he said, with great cheerfulness, "Good-bye! Death is come! Get ready!" Shortly afterwards he cried, "Glory!" and then endeavoured to repeat that sublime and exulting challenge, "O death, where is thy sting?"- Here his strength failed him, and his spirit passed triumphantly to the skies.

He had found it worth living for, worth dying for, thus victoriously to trample death under his feet, and escape from this earthly state to the life which is "hid with Christ in God." Thus on a Sabbath morning the day he loved so well-this youthful minister of Christ exchanged life for immortality. God took him thus early, not in harshness, but in love. Could mortals have caught the greeting that welcomed him home, doubtless they would have heard some such commendation as this: "Well done, good and faithful servant." "Thou didst well that it was in thine heart.".

"What though short thy date?

Virtue, not rolling suns, the mind matures.

That life is long which answers life's great end."

Many were the letters that poured balm upon the stricken hearts of his parents. They bore testimony to the estimation in which he was held by the great and good who had formed his acquaintance, and watched his brief but brilliant career. He has left behind him such teachings, silent and eloquent, as the holy dead alone can give:—

"A grief in his father's soul to rest,

Mid all high thought;

And a memory unto his mother's breast,

With healing fraught;

And a name and a fame above the blight

Of earthly breath;

Beautiful! beautiful and bright!

In life and death."

THE STORM ON THE LAKE:

AN ILLUSTRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE.

(LUKE VIII. 22-25.)

THE providence of God is one of those departments of His govern ment with which we are most intimately connected; but with which we are only very partially acquainted. Its great principles are made known to us; and these furnish a basis for our judgment and our confidence. While we are assured that power is not the only attribute that is actively concerned in the events of our present condition, but that wisdom and beneficence are invariably associated with it, and regulate all its operations, yet the mode in which they harmoniously act, and the reason of many events which they immediately produce, or permit, in the current of our individual history, are involved in the profoundest obscurity.

This mystery in providence occasions the great difference with which the occurrences of life are practically regarded. Many see in all events little or nothing more than the results of an irresistible power, which it is useless to oppose; but against which their hearts rebel with deep and bitter feeling. Their only apparent consolation is a cold submission to what is deemed inevitable. This is the blind fatality of the ancients, and the pantheistic God of the moderns, which is supposed to control all things. A hearty appropriation of present good, with a stoical endurance of evil, is with some the only philosophy. Fallen humanity can descend so far as to see in surrounding phenomena nothing more than a "universal substance," which it may please to dignify with the title of God, but which it divests "of intellect and will, whose blind and indifferent activity engenders good and evil, beauty and deformity, vice and virtue, without design, without choice, without end; creating only to destroy, giving life and thought to some selected beings, merely to rend it away from them for ever."

On the other hand, the Christian in these apparently conflicting events and principles sees the presence and action of a personal and ever-living God, whose government of the world is one of grace, and who has engaged to render "all things" conducive to the advancement of man's true interests. In this Divine engagement, the Christian believer finds anchorage for his soul. His faith apprehends the fact that he is not a mere link in a chain of inevitable circumstances, -that he is not dragged, as a helpless victim, to his final destiny. He becomes conscious that he is encompassed with the presence of an infinite Intelligence, who loves him individually, and who sustains towards him the relations of an "unchangeable Friend" and a tender Father, to whom he can ever fly for refuge and for help.

But from the very nature of our present condition, the providence of God makes a constant demand on the faith of His people. That demand is not unfrequently made expressly for the trial and development of their obedience and confidence, as in the case of Abraham when he was directed to make a sacrifice of his son Isaac. To questioning unbelief it may appear strange and unnatural that a command should be given to immolate the heir of the promise on the altar of Him who gave the promise. For some such reason a popular writer, whose sympathies are strongly in favour of a negative and Bibledestroying criticism, has had the temerity to suggest that this "temptation" of Abraham was rather Satanic than Divine. On such a view, the whole transaction loses its high symbolic significance, and becomes offensive, nay, odious. But when it is regarded as a trial of the faith of Abraham, by Him who had a right to propose it, for the accomplishment of a high purpose, it becomes a truly sublime transaction. While giving to God the fullest evidence of his perfect submission and unwavering confidence, and thus of his fitness for the great honour for which he was intended, Abraham is placed in the high position of the "father of the faithful," and made the great example for the servants of God in all time. "Whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth." It is not, however, surprising, since we cannot know all the

reasons for such chastisements, if the Christian is a subject of perplexity in some of the circumstances in which his heavenly Father sees fit from time to time to place him.

The event so beautifully described by the evangelist in the passage referred to at the head of this paper is one of special interest. Viewed merely as an occurrence in the remarkable history of Jesus, and as a demonstration of His empire over all nature, it is highly instructive. But the storm upon the lake is a picture of the Christian life. Under this aspect, its importance is increased by its conveying a great prac tical lesson. With the object of furnishing comfort to the Christian in the frequently recurring tempests which agitate him, we propose to offer a few reflections on this interesting passage. We shall attempt to place the leading points in the account in what may be considered as the order of sequence. We have,

The entrance into the ship: "He went into a ship with His disciples." St. Matthew gives the connexion of this miracle with the events of the day at the close of which it occurred. So deeply moved were the people by the wondrous and benevolent actions of Jesus, that they were in danger of involving both him and themselves in serious political difficulty. They mistook the nature of His kingdom, and were for openly proclaiming Him as the rightful successor to the throne of David. To prevent all such movement on their part, He determined to withdraw from the scene. The attentive reader of the Gospel-history will not fail to have observed that on several occasions He retired into privacy after awakening the deepest feeling by some of His miracles. So here. He gave the command to His disciples to depart "unto the other side of the lake." With their imperfect views of their Master, we might have expected some indication of hesitancy from them. As He came to restore the ancient glory of Israel, why reject so favourable an opportunity of calling forth an expression of the popular will? Possibly some such thoughts passed in their minds, but were suppressed by the steady resolution of their Leader. Without a word of remonstrance, or an expression of surprise, they obey His command.

And, in the voyage of life, it must be our undeviating aim to follow the Saviour in the commands of His providence. Under the influence of worldly views and motives, we are too prone to choose our own path. The utterance of our hearts, in effect, is, "We will go into soch a city, and buy and sell, and get gain." Whereas it is not in man to direct his steps. A self-chosen position is not likely to be a safe one. The Divine directions are," Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass." With this promise there is associated the encouraging assurance that "the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord." Let those especially who are entering upon this perilous voyage, on the course of which so much depends, accept the counsel of God which is here given to them, and make Christ their Guide in all things. If He is with them in their ship, He will direct their way, and secure their safety. Without Him suffering and wreck are inevitable.

The rising of the storm: "And there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy." We doubt the correctness of Stier's intimation as to the passage being "critical from the beginning." If he means to say that the appearances in the heavens were threatening when the voyage was commenced, the assertion is altogether gratuitous, and does not well harmonize with the air of the whole transaction. On the contrary, we are at liberty to think the evening was calm and beautiful, with just enough of a breeze on the water to be grateful after the heat and toil of the day. The stillness was only broken by the ripple of gentle waves ; and the glimmer of the stars in a clear sky would add to the calmness of the scene. But now descends the storm. Quickly collecting its elements in the surrounding mountains, it swept down with the violence of a hurricane upon the bosom of the waters, and lashed them into fury. The waves now dashed over the prow of their bark, and threatened them with immediate destruction.

So in the voyage of human life. Tempests and struggles quickly succeed enjoyment and repose. It is frequently entered upon with the greatest serenity, and with the most cheering anticipations. We regard this as the order of a considerate and beneficent providence, It would be a hard lot for us indeed if the first stroke of the oar had to be taken under the darkening frowns of the coming tempest. Circumstances conspire not seldom to render our course for a time pleasing and prosperous. Its very novelty is a pleasure as long as the heavens are clear, and the waters are smooth. Golden years glide away with little to disturb the serenity of the soul. A sense of security at length steals over the heart; and we say, "I shall never be moved."

But a change is at hand. All the elements of the storm are already in being, and are only kept in check by the hand of Him who rules the winds and the waves. Soon the tokens of its gathering are obvi ous. The clouds, lately far off in the distance, now travel towards us with ominous speed. What startling reverses we are called to witness! How many are desolated by one pitiless sweep of the tempest! With what suddenness does it overtake us! We are in danger of being overwhelmed before we can place ourselves in the attitude of resist→ ance, or have resort to our imagined skill.

How varied are the forms in which adversity is permitted to strike us! In one instance, the strong man yields to his lot, and the support of the domestic fabric falls. Where peace and comfort so recently reigned, and where years of harmony and happiness were anticipated, the storm has passed in its strength, and left a scene of desolation in which some stricken and disconsolate woman, with defenceless children, are the chief objects that meet the eye. In another direction, the idol of the household is broken; and home is bereft of its light. fairest flower is torn from its stem; and spring-time is never followed. by what it so fondly promised. Again, enterprises cease to be successful; losses multiply; the careful accumulations of years disappear, in spite of the most eager and anxious attempts to arrest their flight.

The