Christ says to me, that is my business; I must attend to it; no one else can do it for me; and the negligence of those around me cannot extenuate my disobedience. Oh, we are prone to turn from ourselves to others, and to ask with Peter, "Lord, and what shall this man do?" and we need as he did the reproof of our Master, "What is that to thee? follow thou Me."

But these words of Mary may also remind us that our obedience to Christ is to be impartial: "Whatsoever He saith unto thee, do it."

We are not left to choose for ourselves; to obey one precept and to disobey another; to do what we like, and to leave undone what we do not like. There must be no reserve, no holding back in his service. Heexpects from us implicit and unwavering submission. Now here it is that so many, like the amiable young ruler, come short. They are willing to do much that Christ tells them, but not all. There is something which they cannot give up, or something which they are reluctant to perform; and they go away from the Saviour, sorrowful, perhaps, but yet unwilling to yield.

Mr. Romaine was once addressed by a lady, who expressed the great pleasure she had enjoyed under his preaching; and added, that she could comply with his requirements with the exception of one thing.

"And what is that, madam?" asked Mr. Romaine. "Cards, sir."

"You think you could not be happy without them?” 'No, sir, I know I could not?

"Then, madam, they are your God, and they must save you.'

This pointed admonition led to serious reflection, and, finally, to the abandonment of such unworthy pleasures.

Now, dear reader, is there any sinful preference, any unwelcome duty, which either makes you shrink from Christ's service, or bring dishonour upon it? Give up at once the wrong habit; take up at once the ap

pointed cross. It will not do to hesitate to halt between two opinions-to try to serve God and mammon. A half-hearted religion is no religion at all. Resolve then, that, like Caleb, you will follow the Lord "fully;" that whatsoever He says to you, you will do it. It may not seem pleasant nor expedient. You cannot, perhaps, see any reason or necessity for the injunction; but his Word alone shall win your instant compliance with it. In your position as a servant, you are not to question, but to obey; not to demur respecting your work, but to do it.

A Karen woman presented herself to a Christian minister, as a candidate for baptism. After the usual examination, he asked her whether she could give up her ornaments for Christ. It was an unexpected blow. He explained the spirit of the Gospel, and appealed to her own consciousness of vanity. She looked again and again at her handsome necklaces, and then, with an air of modest decision, she took them off, saying, 66 I love Christ more than these." Ah, dear reader, she was willing to part with all for Christ; to do whatsoever He bade her with readiness and gladness. Are you like her?

How

"Whatsoever He saith unto thee, do it." practical was this advice which the mother of Jesus gave. Do it! Not merely think about it, or talk about it; but do it. It is very important to observe how much stress is laid in Scripture, upon the deeds of men. Hearing the Word is not enough:-" Be ye doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves," James i. 22. Knowledge is not enough:-"If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them," John xiii. 17. Outward acts of worship are not enough :— Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice," 1 Sam. xv. 22. Christian profession is not enough :- "Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”

It is evident then, that prompt and heartfelt obedience to all his requirements, is what the Saviour demands from us. It is easy to echo the popular encomium, “Never man spake like this man" or to sing with the palm branch strewers in the Messiah's path, “Hosanna to the Son of David!" while we keep not his sayings, nor endeavoured to act in accordance with his will. But such conduct will never rank us among his true disciples. To approve of his commands, to discuss their meaning, to wish that we could fashion our lives in unison with them; so far as it goes, this is well; but the grand, the essential point to be ascertained is, are we doing what He bids us? For there are many now, as in Ezekiel's time, who speak one to another, saying, "Come I pray you and hear what is the Word that cometh forth from the Lord;" who sit in God's sanctuary as his people sit and hear his words; but who will not do them. The preacher is unto them as a very lovely song, of one that hath a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; they hear his words, but they do them not, Ez. xxxiii. 31, 32.

Dear reader, "Whatsoever Christ saith unto thee, do it." Your oft-repeated petition is, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven;" let your daily practice harmonize with your daily prayer. As far as you know and understand God's will, strive to accomplish it. "I made haste," says the Psalmist," and delayed not to keep thy commandments," Ps. cxix. 60.

The early history of Sir Matthew Hale furnishes an example of manly decision in doing what appeared to be right. "When at Oxford, he began his studies with every prospect of distinction; but having gone to witness some plays, he became so enamoured of the stage, that he could apply his mind to nothing else. In the midst of a brilliant career, he found himself suddenly spell-bound; and indignant at his own infatuation, he formed a resolution that he would never

enter a theatre again; a resolution which all the dramatic glories of London never tempted the young barrister to break. And it was at the same time that he witnessed a spectacle which fairly scared him from convivial compliances all the rest of his life. He was present at a college party, where one of his companions drank till he dropped down apparently dead; and shocked at the occurrence, the gownsman retired to the next room, and determined that he would never drink another health again. And there was a third habit, which had an origin equally emphatic, and was maintained with the same scrupulous tenacity. You are doubtlessly already acquainted with the memorable testimony regarding the Sabbath, which he bequeathed to his children. To that testimony the instructive fact may be added, that for thirty-six years together, he was never one Lord's day absent from the sanctuary. The circumstance in which his strict Sabbath-keeping took its rise, occurred when he was very young. A relative had died at London, when he was at home in Gloucestershire, and posting to town in order to look after some affairs of business, one horse fell lame, another died, and everything fell out so contrary, that he took it as a Divine rebuke, and never more sought business or pleasure on God's holy day."

It would be well if young people now had more of his spirit, and were as quick and uncompromising in following the dictates of their conscience, as he was. Don't rest satisfied, dear reader, with having a clear conception of your duty, but do it; set about it at once; persevere in spite of all obstacles. In no other way can you become a happy, or a consistent Christian.

"Whatever Christ saith unto thee, do it." And thus you will prove the reality of your love to Him, and win his approbation and smile. Listen to his own words; "He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me; and he that loveth Me, shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and

will manifest Myself unto him. Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you," John xiv. 21; xv. 14. Try yourself by this test; it is an easy, because a practical one. Our feelings are sometimes deceptive; our emotions are variable; and we often delude, or distress ourselves, by the reliance which we place. upon them; but if, in striving to answer the question, "Lovest thou Me?" we would honestly look at what we are doing for Christ, a satisfactory reply might soon be arrived at. A wrong spirit mortified, or a wrong temper subdued, from child-like obedience to Him, is a better proof that we are his disciples, than highly-wrought emotions, or ecstatic feelings. "Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are whom ye obey," Rom. vi. 16. Dear reader, 66 WHATSOEVER Christ saith UNTO THEE, DO IT."

ALICE H

THE WASTE OF HUMAN LIFE.

ONE thousand men, every year-so affirms the poor miners' petition to the Government perish through colliery accidents. Think of it when you sit round your cheerful coal fires. Think, that in order to supply your wants, a thousand workmen are annually sacrificed! Think of the miseries which, every year, must be created in a thousand families. What a fearful price is paid for our comforts. And what a fearful risk these colliers run, in order to obtain a livelihood.

Not willingly, however. These smutty pitsmen would rather change their venturesome life for one more guarded against danger. They would rather live, if it could reasonably be managed.

They think it could be managed if they had plenty of God's pure air. Ventilate their mines more thoroughly. Sink a few more air shafts. Appoint more