coldness, an emptiness, and a dreary desolation which is wintry indeed. It will be well if the very wintriness of his experience impels him truly to repent, and turn the face of his heart once more towards the great Sun of Righteousness. The natural sun, as we have seen, is the symbol of Christ. The sun never alters its relationship to the earth, but the earth changes its relationship to the sun, and its changes are the causes of all the different seasons of the year. In like manner, it is not the Christ of God who turns away from sinful men, but they from Him, and even when they become alienated from Him, He does not forsake them. He still continues to pity and love them, even in their sins, and does not cease to manifest His love. What is the gospel but the sunlight of His love, radiating upon them the light and warmth of His infinite compassion? It is a mighty moral magnet designed and fitted to draw the soul back again into right relationship with God. It is full of the forces of Divine attraction. Christ is 'the wisdom of God and the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.' Just as the sun exercises a mighty attractive influence

upon the earth, even in winter, so Christ-the great solar centre of the moral universe-is constantly seeking to turn the hearts of men unto Himself. 'Return unto me, for I have redeemed thee,' is the powerful and persuasive appeal of His love to every sinful heart. There is no hearer of

felt more or less the

the gospel who has not Divine drawing. But its power is moral, and therefore resistible. It draws, but does not compel; constrains, but will never force. And if it be resisted, what must be the natural and necessary result? The moral winter of the inner being shall not only be continued but deepened, and its darkness and coldness intensified. Were the earth endowed with a free will, and intelligently chose to remain in a wintry condition rather than turn to the sun and receive out of its fulness life, beauty, and joy, what would men say regarding it? Surely they would all agree that it was utterly insane! And are not all men morally mad who elect to remain in a moral winter, when by the simple acceptance of Christ and the reception of the Spirit they might rise up into a springtime of moral loveliness, a summer of spiritual develop

ment, and an autumn of abundant Christian fruitfulness? Many make this most foolish and ungrateful choice, and yet in the greatness of His patient lovingkindness the Lord continues to draw 'Turn ye, turn ye, why will ye die?' is His constantly repeated exhortation and appeal. Oh, would to God, that all who hear it would penitently and believingly cry, 'Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.' Let them open their inmost being to the inflowing of the Divine wisdom and love, and 'the Sun of Righteousness shall arise upon them with healing under his wings.' He will give them a new life, clothe them with moral beauty, and fill them with Divine peace and joy. The tempests of turbulent passion within them shall all be hushed into the sweet calm of orderly affections and right desires. Winter shall depart, and spring come. And thus they shall be saved-saved from alienation, guilt and misery, and saved to the experience and enjoyment of reconciliation, hope and blessedness. A great salvation, truly! Who will hesitate to embrace it, and pass from Winter Into Spring?

N.B.S,

13

CHAPTER XV

THE SPRING AS A SYMBOL

WHEN our side of the earth turns itself again to the sun, as it begins to do from Christmas time, a great and wonderful change is speedily effected. The days lengthen and brighten, the dreary fogs are less frequent, and a stir of new life in the earth, the grass, and the trees soon becomes apparent. The frozen frozen streams are thawed, and the liberated waters flow away to their far-off home in the sea, with mirth in their motions and music in their tones. 'God sendeth out his word and melteth them; he causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow.' The melting and flowing process may not appear to onlookers be either beautiful or pleasant, and it may bring to them even greater discomforts than those which had been inflicted by the frost and snow. But the process will pass, and day by day, as the earth continues to turn more and more to

to

the great source of light and warmth, winter will depart and spring appear. In like manner, when the alienated sinner turns to Christ as a Saviour, a great and glorious transformation is soon brought about. By the word of His truth and the wind of His spirit, God enlightens the darkened mind, softens the hard heart, and begins a work of quickening in the spirit, which by-and-by will appear in word word and action, clothing the conduct with beauty and fruitfulness, and filling the soul with gladness and song. It is by His gospel and Spirit that the Lord effects these blissful results, and therefore the more fully that the former is believed and the latter received, the sooner shall the winter of moral coldness and desolation pass away, and be followed by the sweet seasons of spiritual life and loveliness, fragrance and fruitfulness, melody and joy-seasons which shall beautify, satisfy, and glorify the soul for ever. The first effects Produced by the Divine Word and Spirit, are Not in themselves either delightful or attractive. They convince of sin, righteousness, and judgment to come, and lead the soul to penitence and self-loathing, which are not pleasant experi