"I am grieved to find you so ill," I said, as I went into his little room.

"Oh, ma'am, I am dying fast!" he replied; "but what would it matter if only my soul was safe? but it isn't; and as I lie here all alone, it seems as if the devil was urging me on—as if he couldn't get me to hell fast enough!"

“ "Nor can he,” I said. "When you were strong and well he persuaded you it would be time enough to think of your soul when you were dying; and now that you are dying he wants to persuade you that it is too late, and that it is no use trying to escape. But in God's name I tell you it is not too late; and in His name I beseech you even now to flee from the wrath to come."

"But where can I flee ?" he asked, eagerly.

I opened my Bible, and, with an earnest prayer to the Holy Spirit to bring home the words to the dying lad, I read slowly and solemnly the words, "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it and is safe."* "Oh, Ned! run into that tower now, and once there, not even Satan can drag you out again !"

But, ma'am, I can't understand how the name of the Lord can be like a strong tower."

"I think you must often have seen the Duke of Ncastle," I replied; "it is just the same as a tower.”

"Oh yes, I have often seen it," he said; "and one of the gardeners, who is a friend, got me all over it one time the family were away. I never saw such a place; the walls are eighteen feet thick in some parts, with only little narrow slits for windows; then all round there is the moat; and he told me that long ago, in the time of the civil wars, the moat used to be filled with water, and that then, when the drawbridge was up, no one could get in, for there was no place to land; and that if any one tried to swim across and plant ladders against the wall, he would be sure to be killed, either by the archers shooting at him with their arrows, or else have boiling oil, or pitch, or something thrown down on * Prov. xviii. 10.

him from the top. He told me also that, in the time of Cromwell, the castle had stood a long siege and was none the worse for it. I had no idea what a wonderful place it was until I was actually inside, and saw all the contrivances for safety, and I thought how secure one would feel there, no matter what enemy came against it."

"Your friend might have told you also," I said, "that at the first rumour of war provisions were collected from far and near; the cisterns and wells were filled, the armour carefully looked after, and every one belonging to the duke, or who lived on his property, were brought into the castle for safety, the weakest being always put into the strongest place, and being the most carefully watched over; so that while the castle held out, even a little baby, or a sick child, was as safe, and, indeed, much safer than the armed men. And, Ned, the name of the Lord is just such a tower as the duke's castle, only infinitely stronger, and infinitely safer. Strong as the duke's castle is, others as strong have sometimes been obliged to surrender to the enemy, or have been starved out from want of provisions. But while the Lord himself is safe, the weakest child who runs to him is as safe as he is himself."

"As safe as he is himself!" repeated Ned; "that is safe indeed, for I remember your telling me long ago, at the Sunday School, that though Satan was a strong man, and even a strong man armed, yet that the Lord was stronger still, and could therefore conquer and overcome him. But it's his Name that is said to be the strong tower," he added; "how is that ?"

"Just because his Name stands for himself, as it says in the twentieth psalm, 'The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble; the Name of the God of Jacob defend thee.'"

"But what name is it ?" he asked; "He has so many." "And many of them are a strong tower," I replied; "but I'll take one that certainly is." And again opening my Bible, I read the words, "Thou shalt call His Name

Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins."* it your sins that give Satan such a hold over you?"

"Indeed it is, ma'am ; I feel it in my heart.”

"Isn't

"Then if you flee to Jesus, and have those sins washed away in his precious blood that cleanseth from all sin, would you not be so safe in the strong tower that Satan, try as he might, would have no further power either to hurt or to destroy you?"

"I'm sure of it," he replied; but then, as if a sudden thought had struck him, he added, "But, ma'am, it says 'the righteous runneth into it and is safe;' and I'm not righteous; nothing but a poor guilty sinner."

any

"That's true, Ned," I answered; "you are nothing but a poor guilty sinner; far more guilty, and a far greater sinner than you have idea of. But He whose name is a strong tower can make you righteous. Don't you remember how He says, 'Come, now, let us reason (or talk it over) together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; and though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool ?'"†

"Tell me more, ma'am," said the poor fellow, seeming to drink in every word.

"Well then, Ned, you being, as you say, a poor guilty sinner, deserve everlasting death; but the Lord took pity on you, and came down from heaven that he might save you. He bore all the punishment you deserved, by dying for you on the cross. In his precious blood shed for you, he offers to wash away every sin; and not only that, but to reckon his holy life and his perfect keeping of all God's commandments to your account. Oh, Ned, accept this free offer, and you will indeed be righteous!—so righteous that not even a holy God could find sin or stain on you. Come to Jesus for pardon, and for righteousness; and then if you plead for admittance into the strong tower, he will not refuse, but will keep you and guard you, for he has said, 'Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.'"

t

Sin cast out.

HE object of the gospel is both to pacify the sinner's conscience, and to purify his heart; and it is of importance to observe that what mars the one of these objects mars the other also. The best way of casting out an impure affection is to admit a pure one; and by the love of what is good to expel the love of what is evil. Thus it is, that the freer the gospel, the more sanctifying is the gospel; and the more it is received as a doctrine of grace, the more will it be felt as a doctrine according to godliness. This is one of the secrets of the Christian life, that the more a man holds of God as a pensioner, the greater is the payment of service that he renders back again. On the tenure of "Do this and live," a spirit of fearfulness is sure to enter; and the jealousies of a legal bargain chase away all confidence from the intercourse between God and man; and the creature, striving to be square and even with his Creator, is, in fact, pursuing all the while his own selfishness, instead of God's glory; and with all the conformities which he labours to accomplish, the soul of obedience is not there, the mind is not subject to the law of God, nor, indeed, under such an economy ever can be. It is only when, as in the gospel, acceptance is bestowed as a present, without money and without price, that the security which man feels in God is placed beyond the reach of disturbance, or that he can repose in him, as one friend reposes in another, or that any liberal and generous understanding can be established between them-the one party rejoicing over the other to do him good-the other finding that the truest gladness of his heart lies in the impulse of gratitude, by which it is awakened to the charms of a new moral existence.-Dr. Chalmers.

SMALL troubles are frequently the greatest trials, because we endeavour to bear them alone.

If

you I walk by faith, you will never live in sin; faith purifies the heart, gives you to realize the presence of a holy God, and will set the whole force of the soul against evil.

To indulge anger, is to admit Satan as a guest; but to indulge malice, is to close the door upon him as an inmate: in the one he finds a transient lodging; in the other, a permanent home.

Every act of sin is more injurious to him who commits it, than it can possibly be to any other who suffers by it: it will return into the conscience, and perform a strange work there.

Love to God always makes its possessor cautious.

Troubles are sent to lead us back to the Lord; but unless accompanied by special grace, they never accomplish their end.

Where will this trouble lead me? From God, and into sin, unless you seek grace to sanctify it, and restrain you.

Receive all your temporal mercies gratefully; use them with moderation; and acknowledge them constantly as favours bestowed.

A censorious spirit is generally attended with self-complacency; they think most of themselves who are constantly condemning others; he that censures himself, pities, prays for, and sympathizes with others, when their failings are discovered.

Trifles often alienate affections, and separate Christians; self-denial is a cure for this and many other diseases: devils triumph when Christians disagree, and feast when they divide.

A truly humble soul ascribes all that is good to free grace, all that is evil to itself; God is justified and glorified by every one whom he justifies and glorifies.