decided without much debate that they would cling to duty, and let their personal safety take care of itself; and so they said to themselves and to the magistrates, “We ought to obey God," and we are determined to do it, irrespective of personal consequences. In this land and at this day we have no civil authority to confront the voice of duty, but we have that which perhaps is worse, viz.: - An irreligious public sentiment. On the whole, we think it would be easier to defy and break through a positive civil enactment, than this negative, indefinite, yet allpowerful public feeling or opinion against the commands of God. And so it comes to the same issue, after all; we have the voice of God on one side and the voice of man on the other, and are called upon to decide which we will heed and obey. The contest here is between duty and inclination, between what we ought to do, and what we would like to do.

The disciples had to break away from the mass and follow their individual convictions of right and duty; and in so doing they had to be singular, and to take a position in advance of those about them. They had to stand where they could feel no help from earthly friends or associates. And so it is now, and so it will be forevermore. When the dictates of God and the dictates of an unbelieving world come into collision; when right and duty are on one side, and custom and prevailing public sentiment on the other, then no one is a Christian or can be a Christian, until, like Peter and John, he says, "I ought to obey God rather than men," and I am determined to do. it, irrespective of personal consequences.

Again, in the case of Peter and John, there were

all of the selfish influences opposing the ought, such as love of ease, love of pleasure, desire for personal advancement, etc. They might have said, "Now, if we keep on, we shall hurt ourselves more than any one else; we shall bring ourselves into reproach and contempt; we shall destroy our own comfort and happiness; in short, we shall make ourselves miserable and wretched in every way. Besides, we shall be pointed out as disturbers of the public peace, and. we shall incur the displeasure of those who are good, honorable, upright, and law-abiding citizens." They might have weighed all these matters in their minds, but whether they did or not, the law of conscience, the law of duty, and the law of God triumphed, and they said, "We ought to obey God," and therefore we will obey him.

The same or a similar contest between duty and self-interest goes on in each soul not entirely given over to hardness and blindness. And what a struggle it is at times! There is the love of ease, the love of sinful pleasure, the desire for personal advancement, the craving of ambition and lust, all pulling one way, and on the other side, there is this all-powerful sentiment of duty; there is the feeling of the "ought" and the "ought not ;" there is the voice of conscience, and of right, and of God; and what a battle there is in the breast over these great moral issues and questions relating to personal choice and conduct! Sometimes, indeed, it seems as if the heart would be rent asunder by the fierceness of the shock; but in every Christian soul the ought, the sentiment of duty, finally conquers. No person is a Christian, or can be one, until selfishness in all forms gives way before

the voice of duty (which is the voice of God), when. ever the two come into collision. That which is agreeable is not always the most useful, and that which is pleasant is not always the best. Present enjoyment must always be sacrificed when it stands in the way of higher and more lasting good.

Suppose Peter and John had heeded the voice of self-interest instead of the voice of duty, how disas'trous would have been the result! They would have lost all that they tried to gain; ease, pleasure, personal honor, and all; while, as it was, never thinking of self-interest, or at least not heeding it, being willing to give themselves up entirely to the guidance of duty, they gained that happiness and honor which they did not seek. And hence the truth of the Saviour's words, "He that seeks to save his life shall lose it, but he that is willing to lose his life for my sake, the same shall find it."

This sentiment of duty, this feeling and knowledge expressed by the word ought, is designed of God to be the great REGULATOR of every Christian life. It is easy enough to obey God's commandments when the soul is full of warm, strong feeling; when the tide of love is high; but these seasons are short and inconstant, and when it is ebb-tide in the soul, there must be some great principle to govern life; and this regulating principle is the voice of duty, which is the voice of God. Does the question ever arise, Why should we obey God? Let the sufficient answer be, because we ought to. Do not try to add any other inducement to that simple voice of duty, the feeling of the ought in your heart and mind. Bring yourselves to this standard, and your

life will cease to be fitful and uncertain, now up, now down, now one thing, now another; but as the sentiment of duty is constant, so your action will be the same.

Why should we pray? Because we ought to, and that is enough. Why should we labor for souls? Because we ought to. Why should we live a correct and consistent Christian life? Because we ought to. This is our duty. Why should we give money to God's cause? Because we ought to. Why should we refrain from all sinful and vicious habits? Because we ought to. Why should we discountenance all wrong? Because we ought to; wrong is injurious. Why should we love and serve God? Because we ought to. It is God's command, and hence right.

And so all through the Christian life. This sentiment of duty, this feeling of the ought, must govern and control us in all that we do and say for God and human welfare. To let self-interest govern us, is to let the idea of pleasure govern us; to let worldly prudence govern us, to let the fear of man, the love of praise, the love of ease, the dictates of wicked authority govern us, is to give ourselves over to serve the devil. But to ask simply, "What is right? What does God command? What is duty?" and then to do it courageously and humbly, is to be a Christian.

TIME AND ETERNITY.

"Dropping down the troubled river,
To the tranquil, tranquil shore ;
Dropping down the misty river,
Time's willow-shaded river,

To the spring-embosomed shore;
Where the sweet light shineth ever,

And the sun goes down no more."

"Where the glory brightly dwelleth,
Where the new song sweetly swelleth,
And the discord never comes;

Where life's stream is ever laving,

And the palm is ever waving,

That must be the Home of homes."

OTHING is truer in the world of fact than this Time, left to itself, inevitably runs to waste; and when once gone, the soul has no bugle-call with which to summon back the years that have flown like Hence the control of time

birds, away.

is a prize, because it incloses such vast possibilities of achievement. A day, or a month, or a year, seems an ordinary thing, viewed superficially; but who can estimate the results which may flow therefrom? All that makes life pleasant or profitable, all that confers distinction and renown,-wealth, fame, happiness, love,