going on. The believing soul is always fit for prayer, and the believing prayer will ever find the promises of God sure. It is impossible to be more desirous to pray than God is disposed

NARRATIVES

PAUL'S VISIT TO PETER AT JERUSALEM.

BY THE REV. J. MARRAT.

to hear and answer. Those who pray most will often say, with one of the Reformers, "Trouble and perplexity compel me to pray; and prayer drives away perplexity and trouble."

PAUL, having obtained mercy in Damascus, at once began to preach Christ in that city; but, after a time, he went into Arabia. As to his purpose in going there the Holy Ghost is silent. He might go to try the effect of the Gospel in a region where it was yet unknown; but it is equally probable that, in the wilderness, or in the shadow of some huge cliff, where the step of man was seldom heard, he endeavoured to imbue his mind more thoroughly with the truths he had recently accepted as "all his salvation, and all his desire;" and to obtain, in more intimate communion with Christ, a fuller preparation for the work which henceforth was to employ all the powers of his being. Such a pause in the activities of his calling was likely to induce, not abatement, but increase of zeal; and, returning to Damascus, he met the unbelieving Jews with arguments so strong, and accents so impassioned, that, not being able to answer him, they determined to silence him by taking his life. To make his death more sure, they (Acts ix. 23-25; 2 Cor. xi. 32) persuaded “the governor under Aretas," the king of the Stony Arabia, to keep a guard of soldiers at the gate, to apprehend him if he attempted to escape. But some of those whom he once thought of taking bound to Jerusalem were now his true and loving friends, and they let him down in a basket through a window, or lattice, projecting from the city-wall.

INCIDENTS.

Thus compelled to leave the scene of his first ministry, and not as yet having any other field in view, the thought came into his mind that he would go to Jerusalem to see Peter. He left behind the rich gardens and long lines of trees surrounding Damascus as with relics of Paradise, and passed over the range of Hermon into Galilee. How his heart would leap within him, as he looked on the blue gleam of the lake, and remembered the grace and truth which had given to those waters a charm which should last for ever. The depth and sweetness of his meditations would make him half unconscious of the toil of his journey, and he went on through Samaria, and then by some well-known Judæan road, until he entered one of the gates of the city, and was again in Jerusalem.

He does not appear to have sought an immediate introduction to Peter, but wished to join the Church in prayer and breaking of bread. The disciples could scarcely believe that the fierce persecutor had been subdued to the faith of Christ, and shrunk from him. But Barnabas seems to have had no misgivings. He was a native of Cyprus, and would be more likely to hear of the events which in Damascus had so powerfully influenced a citizen of Tarsus than men whose correspondence was almost limited by the Holy Land. It is possible, also, that Barnabas might have some prophetic intimation of holy companionship with Paul in Asia Minor, and in the famed cities of his own beautiful Cyprus. So

he took Paul, and brought him to the Apostles Peter and James; (Gal. i. 19;) the others being away from Jerusalem at that time, it was arranged for him to lodge with Peter; so he "abode with him fifteen days."

The plain fisherman and the refined scholar were thus brought together, and both gained much in what was, doubtless, a delightful commingling of soul with soul. Paul's style of thought was grander and more comprehensive than that of Peter; but Peter, having been with Christ from the beginning of His public ministry to the day when He was taken up into heaven, was richer in the facts of that incomparable history.

In the calm evening, when lamps glimmered here and there among the pillars of the Temple, and the stars came out above its white entablature, they would sit together on the terraced roof of their dwelling, and Paul's face would glow with a holy excitement as he listened to Peter's memories of what he had seen and heard when with the Master. The incidents reproduced and the words repeated would not be those -only which have been recorded for us by the Evangelists. The unwritten works and teachings are more numerous (according to John's statement) than the written, and Peter had been witness of many signs and wonders not included in any of the New-Testament narratives. These would have a place in Peter's reminiscences, and it is not altogether a wild supposition that Paul heard from him "the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, It is more blessed to give than to receive." Nor would Paul be always a listener. He, too, had "seen Jesus," and would have much to tell of the blinding splendour, the awful presence, yet mild, expostulating Voice on the way to Damascus.

At other times the call of the Gentiles would be the theme. Paul was

already feeling his way to that sweep of missionary enterprise by which he eventually brought the Gospel to Europe. He accepted Christ as the true Shekinah, the brightness of which was not to be confined to a people or a locality, but to illumine all mankind. The new order of things was to embrace not the Jew only, but all men. Thoughts like these would be as fire shut up in his bones, and there is no wonder that he should wish to confer with an Apostle so eminent as Peter, on a matter which involved the ultimate destruction of all merely Jewish institutions, and the raising up of the Gentiles to the level of those who boasted an Abrahamic lineage.

But there are other questions arising out of Paul's sojourn with Peter. Did the two wander out of the city, and rest, as their Master had done, on the shaded slope of the Mount of Olives? Did they walk as far as Emmaus or Bethany? Did Paul pass the house where, with other young students of Jewish name, he once sat at the feet of Rabbi Gamaliel, or go to the spot on which he had kept the raiment of those who stoned Stephen, that he might have a keener sense of the change which had been effected in him by the Spirit of all grace.

The whole of the fifteen days was not spent in the quiet of Peter's dwelling, for Paul took part in the meetings of the Church, and disputed with the Grecian Jews; but, as at Damascus, they sought to slay him, and the brethren conducted him to Cæsarea, where he took ship for Tarsus. Having got outside the break water which protected the harbour of Cæsarea from the swell of "the great sea," the sail would bend to the breeze, the spray dash over the ship's bow, and Paul would be reminded of the stern voice of ancient prophecy as he sailed by the heights of Carmel, and saw in the distance the desolations of Tyre and Sidon; but

his mind would be more particularly occupied with the treasures of evangelical thought and expression which he had received while in Jerusalem. Yet nothing had been added to the weight of his authority as an Apostle. In that he was independent of the Church; having received his call and qualification immediately from Christ, he makes it clear that he was an Apostle before he went to Jerusalem, (Gal. i. 15-24,) and that which he gained there was not ordination to, but recognition of, his Apostolic

powers.

THE WARNING CRY.

Ar the hour of midnight, in a crowded city, there was once heard the alarming cry that the city was on fire. The watchmen ran from street to street, to awaken the sleeping inhabitants; the bells of the churches were tolled, and every effort was made to save the lives of the citizens, and to stay the progress of the devouring flames. The people rushed from their houses, heedless of their treasures, anxious only to preserve themselves and their children from death. Everywhere the fire spread, and cast its lurid light upon the overhanging clouds, giving a solemn and appalling aspect to the scene of terror and destruction beneath.

There was one house in the place which drew the gathering crowds around it. There was one person in that house who had not heard the alarm. A ladder, speedily obtained, was raised to the window, and a daring man ascended to arouse the imperilled sleeper. He beheld him in his room asleep with the flames around him. He called to him, and besought him to arise at once, and save his life. The man at last awoke, and, looking wildly around, bade the generous intruder begone, and then laid himself down again upon his burning bed. Nothing more

could be done for him. He was left to his fate. But that man was insane. In his soul the torch of reason had

gone out. We pity, rather than blame, the poor maniac for his fatal obstinacy.

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But can we cease to wonder at men exposed to far greater peril, and, after being warned by God and man, take no heed, but, regardless of every call, neglect the salvation of their immortal souls ? If it be true that our sins expose us to the wrath of God, to the flames of quenchless fire, and to the worm "that" 'never dies," it surely becomes us to take the alarm, and seek refuge in the mercy of God. And when we know that a way of escape has been opened for us in the Gospel, when conscience within, friends without, and God above, all call us to flee for safety, then, instead of consigning ourselves to sleep like the manaic, we ought at once, and with all earnestness, take the warning, obey the call, and flee for refuge to the hope that is set before us. No time should be lost in preparing for eternity. Days and years once gone can never be recalled. Privileges unimproved can never be redeemed. Time is a precious gift, which the Donor of all good has bestowed upon us, and for the use of which we must all give an account to Him at the last day. How few of our hours have been well spent! How many have been idly wasted in the pursuit of trifling pleasures! And how much of our life has already gone without thinking of God or the solemnities of eternity!

Let this appeal, dear reader, arouse you to shake the slumber from your soul, and earnestly to attend to the interests of immortality. The time past of your life is more than enough to have wrought the will of the flesh; therefore, give more earnest heed to the claims of eternity, and pass the time of your sojourn in this world in the

fear of God. The longer you delay, the more difficult will it become to prepare for heaven. The slumber which has already fallen upon your soul is becoming more profound as your days and years increase. Any one long accustomed to the calls of God, and the visitations of His Spirit, if not converted by them, is morally certain of becoming more hardened and indifferent to "the things which make for ' his "peace." The sounds which once awoke feeling and reflection, if neglected, will ere long fall powerless upon the ear, and fail to touch the heart. The Gospel, if it does not save, will lull the soul into deeper sleep, and to a more profound unconcern as to its eternal welfare. The longer the work of penitence, prayer, and preparation for heaven is put off, the more improbable does it become that it ever will be accomplished. The conscience will grow insensible, the heart hard, and the light will gradually die away into utter darkness. The truth will become the savour of death, the good Spirit will cease to strive, and the soul will be left without God.

We know not how soon the day of privilege may end. Life is brief, and uncertain as it is brief. Boast not of to-morrow. To-morrow's sun may rise upon your funeral bed. Beware of the conduct of the rich fool who dreamed of many years to come when the Judge was at the door demanding his soul at his hands. There is hope concerning you. Deeply as you may have plunged in sin, far as you may have gone in iniquity, the mercy of God can save you; and, in accents sweeter than angels use, the Almighty calls upon "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly F. K. pardon."

you:

"A CROWN OF STARS." CAN a child lead sinners to Jesus? Certainly; this has often been done. All who really love the Saviour are anxious that others should love Him too; and God will kindly employ even little ones in His service, when He sees that they are really wishful to do good. They can set a good example to their playmates, they may pray for any one that they know, and sometimes they may speak to people and try to persuade them to serve God. I have read a French anecdote I thought you would like to see in English, called "A Crown of Stars ;" and, though you may not know much about Balls, still the lesson is the same.

Isabel had just finished dressing for a Ball: she was very pretty in her white satin, and the wreath of pearls and diamonds which adorned her hair. No doubt she thought so, as she looked in the glass certainly her little sister Jane did, as she stood behind her, gently stroking the brilliant pearls.

"Take care, child; you are making my hair rough. What are you doing?"

like

"O, nothing; only I was looking at those beautiful stars in your coronet, and I was thinking about something." "What about? What could a child you think about them?" "About what our teacher said to us yesterday morning,-that all who go to heaven have a crown and a white robe; and I wondered if they look like you,. Isabel, dear."

"Certainly not, my child. What an idea!"

"Teacher said, too, that if we tried to lead any one else to Jesus, we should have a star in our crown. Now, dear, would you not like to have as many stars in your crown in heaven as there are in this one?"

"Hush, Jane, here's the carriage." After a loving kiss given hastily to her dear little sister, Isabel started for the Ball.

Jane went into her bed-room. There, before going to sleep, she prayed her Saviour to fill her crown with stars: she thought of some one she would try to lead to Jesus the next day, and asked for help in doing so.

"I pray Thee, good Lord, make Emma a Christian, so that there may be one more who loves Thee, and that I may have a star in my crown, to cast at Thy feet." Then, reposing in the love of Jesus, she went to sleep.

Isabel was at the Ball; but the words of her little questioner kept ringing in her ears. Every time that she passed one of the mirrors, and saw the flash of her diamonds, she thought, "Shall I have as many stars in my heavenly crown? Shall I have a crown at all? Certainly not, if I trifle away my life like this."

She danced two or three countrydances; then, wishing the lady of the house "Good-bye," she went home as quickly as she could. There, laying aside her jewels and her white dress, she exclaimed, "It is all over; I will never put them on again: my first thought, my chief care, shall be to

obtain a heavenly crown and a robe of righteousness. Then, going into Jane's room, she tenderly kissed the little sleeping figure, saying, "Dear, dear little sister, it is you who have led me to Jesus."

It was nearly dawn before Isabel thought of sleep: a new dawn had shone within her heart; Jane's prayer was answered; the little girl had a star in her crown.

If little Jane had reproved her sister for going to Balls and being so gay, she would probably have only made her angry. It is not proper for children to find fault with older people, who would generally only think them saucy, and take no notice of what they said. If children love the Lord, and want to do good, they should be very obedient and loving, for "actions speak louder than words." A few simple, earnest words, followed by prayer to God, will be more likely to take effect than a rebuke, however carefully given. Dear children, always remember to "do good, and be good, and good will come of it."

AIDS FOR SUNDAY - SCHOOL ADDRESSES. No. III.

The Providence of God. "New Lesson-Book;" Doctrines, Lesson IV. Catechism II., Sect. ii, Quests. 8, 9, 10.

GOD is not absent from the world which He has made. He did not, after the creation, leave the earth and its inhabitants to care for themselves; but He rules the world, and with Fatherly care provides for all His creatures. This care and government of men and things we call God's providence. The word " providence" implies a foresight of wants that will arise, and a power to arrange for their supply. Thus, God lovingly anticipates the needs of His creatures, and provides for their satisfaction. In holi

DIT.

ness, wisdom, and power He preserves and governs "all His creatures and all their actions."

I. PROVIDENTIAL PRESERVATION.-In our preservation God visits us with a double blessing, He sustains and protects.

1. If we were left to ourselves, we should immediately die. If you remove your hand from beneath an object which you have been holding, it must fall to the ground. So our being depends on God, who sustains or upholds us. A little babe is entirely dependent on its mother for food, comfort, and protection; and we are all equally dependent on God. In this sense all men may call Him "Our Father." Think how closely this providence of God surrounds you. You