evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind." Now the proof of our hatred of sin will be shewn in our delight in the law of God. And what is that law? It is the rule of universal purity-spotless, untainted obedience; the consecration of the heart, the affections, the understanding, the talents, the time, the means,—all to the service of God. If we hate vain thoughts and have effectually applied to the remedy, that we may be what the law of God requires, then we shall be able to determine that this is conscientiously the wish and bias of our souls; we are seeking earnestly and unreservedly for purity of heart and life. But then some may still say, How can we give ourselves credit for the desire, while innumerable failures daily shew us that vain thoughts still arise and are still occasionally cherished? and to this we reply, we are not talking of our being made in this world a perfect creature, but only of our being perfectly in earnest in seeking and using God's appointed remedy for sin. We carry about with us a body of sin and death, and we shall carry it to the grave. It will be always ready to take advantage of us. The carnal nature is enmity against God. From the abysses of corruption, evil vapours will occasionally rise to cloud our minds. But in this way we shall know that we hate them,-First, If habitually and earnestly, in the way of a sustained conflict, we carry these evils to the throne of grace and to the cross of Christ. There is a fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness in the pierced side of the Redeemer. If we are heartily and conscientiously carrying

the internal errors of every day to that fountain (which operates a parallel purification from guilt and pollution,) if we are aiming to get a renewed sense of pardon, and an increased estimate of the heinousness of such sin, as seen in the crucified Saviour,-we have one strong ground of hope that we have laid hold of the only remedy for vain thoughts.

Secondly. If we are conscious of our own inability to deliver ourselves from the suggestions of our own corrupt nature; if we believe what we are often avowing, that from God only "all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just thoughts, do proceed," and are seriously praying that God would "cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspirations of his Holy Spirit;" if we are in godly sincerity seeking that promised aid, and desiring that a spiritual and renewing influence may come upon us, to the control and eradication of our most secret and inveterate habits of evil, and lead us to holy and profitable thoughts and meditations, then we may conclude that, under the influence of the Gospel we are beginning to hate vain thoughts.

Thirdly. If we find that we are become more expert in tracing the operations of our minds, and referring our thoughts to their real motives and source, and that we now more readily detect the evil; and if we find that with this spiritual vigilance and alacrity, we do more readily, on the discovery of the evil, carry it in its first risings to Him who is able to deliver out of temptation,-then we may begin to hope that the warfare is effectually begun, which must end in victory.

There is hardly a more satisfying evidence of spiritual life than this instant crying out to the Lord

But

We will only mention one other proof that we are making progress in the cure of vain thoughts, and that is if we really approve of that faithful dealing which strips us of all specious covering, and lays bare to us unsparingly the mystery of iniquity in the heart. We do not mean if we can bear it only; for many contrive, by one subterfuge or another, to bear it too well. Ministers say strong things, but the people have each their own expedient for diluting them. this is the question, Are we thankful for that Word which is sharper than a two-edged sword, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart? Are we thankful for those ministrations, which, instead of creeping their languid way through a series of useless generalities, boldly enter the recesses of our hearts, and drag into open day the mysteries of the chamber of imagery, and say to useven in the crisis and the agony exposure-" Son of man, thou shalt see yet greater abominations than these?" The answer to this question will be one of the strongest tests of our sincerity; for surely in this matter there are none seriously desirous

of

to know the whole extent of the mischief, but those who are equally sincere in seeking for an effectual cure.

To conclude. Our salvation rests upon the fact of a victory over vain thoughts, for they cannot dwell triumphant in him who is really the temple of the Holy Ghost. There are many who profess to think little of the guilt of thoughts, so as they do not issue in acts; but anything like a rational inspection of the principles of God's moral government, would clearly ascertain the fact, that the man who before men is irreproachable in his outward conduct, may be speculatively and intentionally, and estimated of God, an adulterer, a murderer, a thief, a blasphemer. Most certainly, whenever the children of men shall stand before that Judge, who judges by what men really are, and not by what they appear to be— by the abundance of the heart, and not by the outward conduct, which circumstances may alter and constrain -then the tenor of men's thoughts will assume the most prominent part in regulating that decision; and then many a speculative sinner, long sheltered under the outward decencies of religion, and then for the first time unveiled, will share the same deadly curse with the openly profligate,—“ I never knew you. Depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

Φωνη τεθνηκοτος.

peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, may be begotten within you. When He has illumined the heart, outward things also glitter before your gaze new colours. A veil falls, as it were, from your eyes. Even beneath the

in

husk of the temporal you recognize the germs of the eternal. You see the night of sin passing away, see the old strife between existence and dis solution reconciled, and hear the murmuring of the streams of life. The infinite world of faith,- a heaven full oflight and harmony, expands before you, not merely above the earth, but even in the midst of this finite state. For although the kingdom of grace is not of this world, it exists upon it. Like as Christ from His baptism in Jordan, or from that contest in the wilderness, through which His determination to accomplish the Divine decree was sealed anew,-passed with feelings of sympathy into the midst of those who were rejoicing; so will you after the holy baptism of His Spirit and the hot conflict with the delusions of sin, return from the solitary retirement of self-examination and prayer, with a placid countenance and a greeting of peace, full of mildness, into the circles of men. Kindred qualities find each other; hence you, too, attract to yourselves pure joy wherever it approaches you, you hail everything that is really beautiful and amiable as your own property; you appreciate, and are affected by it, without preparation or premeditation; and while admiring and enjoying the sublime gifts of God exhibited by nature and the Bible, by science and art, by the past and the present; you feel yourselves in your own element. The mind then grows more and more delicately susceptible in tracing out the most concealed sources of enjoyment, and the heart more and more open to permit them to penetrate to its inmost depths, where they become associated with the most blessed feelings and anticipations. The spirit of Christ is a child-like spirit: it suffers you, unassuming as a child, to welcome heartily whatever happiness you may experience, whatever reward you may find, and to be surprised and cheered even by little things. Reconciled through Him, you repose with confidence in the paternal arms of God. You would taste the blessings of His love, even if it were not manifested in outward tokens and gifts, but you prize still more highly

even trifling boons, because they are a proof of His unmerited and inexhaustible love; you enjoy what is your own with deeper gratitude, and what is another's you not only renounce without envy, but make it through sympathy your own. And through this frame of mind, unassuming without sluggishness, and contented without meanness, through this tender susceptibility without excessive delicacy, through this lively openness to the impression of everything beautiful, free from inordinate desire for pleasure, through this childlike, peaceful disposition,-no day passes away without having brought you new enjoyments; the sources of pleasure flow in to you from the most opposite directions, every possession and calling is changed into a medium of gratification, so that even every-day things gain continual novelty and attraction, and the insignificant obtains signifi

cance.

The morning - stars praise God, which know not their path till He has called them out of nothing; the lilies of the field glorify Him, which blossom free from care, and are clothed without toil; the birds of the heaven, whose eyes wait on Him, exult in Him, without knowing His hand which satisfieth all things; His praise is in the mouth of sucklings who awake and who sink to sleep, without guile and care as they are without consciousness. How much more, then, do you glorify Him, when you do not unconsciously receive the reflection of God's love, but mirror it in conscious thought; when your heart beats responsively to the spring of creation, because it feels in it the creative breath of the Almighty; when your eye feeds with deeper rapture on the summer, because, with the outward light that touches your frame, the invisible light also has beamed on your spirit; when in the wealth of autumn's gifts you perceive yourselves not only enriched, but also blessed, because you know the Father; when the stillness of the wintry meads becomes to you a festival, because the hidden economy of God then approaches you more nearly and fills you with a deeper awe; when the success of your exer

tions, the prosperity of your worldly fortunes, penetrates you with joy, because the testimony of His favour is therein made known to you through His Spirit; when you embrace your children as pledges of His mercy;

when every social intercourse becomes dear to you, through the communion which you are enabled to hold with Him through Christ, and in the affection of those who are dear to you, you taste His grace!

M. N.

We have seen the power of Rome described as that of iron, breaking in pieces and subduing all things: we have seen the division of the empire into two, represented by the two legs: the subdivision into ten kingdoms, depicted as ten toes, and ten crowned horns. We have seen the Pagan dominion flourishing under six heads, five of which had ceased before John wrote, viz., the Kingly, Consular, Dictatorial, Decemviral, and Military Tribunal; one existed in John's time, viz., the Empire; and one was yet to come, viz., Dukedom, when the seat of chief power was removed to Constantinople. After that time the dominion ceased to be Pagan or idolatrous for a short space: and the beast was not; yet we see it rise again, more idolatrous than ever, to continue till the final destruction of all dominions inimical to that of Christ. We have seen the seat and power of dominion of the Pagan empire given to another; and we may not hesitate in applying the figure to that power, which, rising among the disturbances of the sixth and seventh centuries, flourishes still in the seat of the dragon's empire, in league with the remnant of the ten kingdoms that sprung up with it, and three of which it exterminated, as mentioned by Daniel. One of the seven heads or forms of government was wounded as unto death; but healed, so that the world wondered after the beast. And so it was, that the Empire seemed totally destroyed, until revived and maintained by the Emperor of Austria, as the head of the Holy Roman Empire. We see a symbol of the three supplanted horns in the triple tiara of the Popes. And, in

fact, so many evident marks of this most descriptive beast are evident before us, that to doubt as to its application is to wilfully blind oneself against the truth.

Let us proceed then to examine all the remaining passages in which events connected with the history and development of this last power are described.

In the first place, the duration of the beast is given as 1,260 days; a day being taken for a year: and we know that the present Roman dominion began at about the commencement of the seventh century; so that its termination must occur within the life of some now on earth.

It is a matter, therefore, of serious import; seeing the awful nature of the denunciations against all who partake of Rome's sins, that we obtain a clear view of our duty towards all her adherents and her allurements; and that we be fortified against her wiles, and encouraged to seek that help from above, without which we shall assuredly fall under the temptation that comes on all the earth; but with which we may bid defiance to the enemy, and go forth sure of the victory through Him who loveth us.

Power " was given unto him to make war with the saints." What wonder then that his policy is aggressive; that he should exercise his tyranny over men, and seek universal dominion? Shall we be surprised at the onslaught of an enemy when we know power to have been given him, even to the subjugation of the saints? When his power is foreshewn as exercised " over all kindreds, and nations, and tongues"? When we are told

But, in conjunction with the temporal power represented by this beast, we have another creature with horns as of a lamb; yet speaking as a dragon: exercising the power of the former beast in his presence, and causing the whole earth to fall prostrate before the first beast: he performs seeming miracles (not openly, but before the beast) deceiving men, and leading them to an idolatrous worship of its self-formed god. How admirable a description of the priestcraft which, mimicking lamb-like modesty, speaks in thunder, and denounces all the maledictions of heaven on its foes; which makes its own god a semblance of the mighty power whose seat it occupies, and gives it power and authority to do its utmost will among the inhabitants of earth, to utter laws and mandates, to demand adoration, and to visit with utmost penalties all who deny or refuse submission to its sway. What tyranny ever surpassed this tyranny of the lamb-dragon?

In the midst of John's vision of Roman iniquity, an angel flies in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people proclaiming at the same time that the hour of God's judgment is

come.

"And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured

out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name." Then follows a description of the last plagues that shall be poured upon the earth; while those who have gotten the victory over the beast rejoice in the presence of God.

With respect to the time of the pouring out of these vials there can be little doubt. There are three woes, emphatically so called in the Revelation. The first is the Saracenic invasion. The second the Turkish dominion and the Mahomedan supremacy in the East-terminating 1,260 years after the rise of Mahomet; and the third, which is said to follow quickly upon the others and to usher in the kingdom of Christ, cannot be far distant. So that the pouring out of these last plagues will speedily be accomplished, and judgment fall upon the followers of the beast.

Listen then to the voice of warning, "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." And we may not delay, for when the accomplishment of her full time is come, "shall her plagues come in one day, death and mourning and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire."

To make the picture of this unholy power more complete, we have a description of her riches and her merchandise; some articles of which peculiarly apply to Romanism, and to that alone, "The merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: the merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron and marble, and cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and