hypocrisy, the adamantine heart of Judas, they were imposed upon by his subtlety. The fact of such an imposition is not without its uses. It may serve to show that the loudest and most impassioned protestations of regard to what is good in itself, may spring from the most selfish and criminal motives! We may learn that even the pure in heart may, for a season, become the dupes and unwitting tools of the designing and hypocritical. THE VINDICATION. 66 That she THE charge urged against Mary was plausible, but nothing more. acted a froward and prodigal part was doubtless apparent to the most superficial observers; but only to them. Well was it that her deed was not left to their judgment. She could leave her justification to Him whom she so strongly loved, and so devotedly served, and it was satisfactory enough to know that he did approve. It was meet that when Mary, who had on a previous occasion sat at her Master's feet, met with him in the house of Simon, she should render to him a signal token of her devotedness. Was he not her Saviour and her God? Extraordinary occasions and persons demand extraordinary honour, service, and sacrifice. Who so honourable and deserving as the Lord Jesus? What comparable to His excellency of character? for he was the undefiled one; or to the dignity of his person? for "he was the brightness of his Father's glory" or to the grandeur of his station? for he was the Mediator "-the Head over all principality and power; or to the greatness of his achievements? for he was destined to deliver his people from the powers of earth, and death, and hell! Or what could be likened to his royal gifts? when he bestows upon his "sacramental hosts" thrones, and crowns, universal dominion, and endless life! He was a rare guest, and of this the Lord Jesus failed not to remind his disciples-" Me ye have not always." He could only stay in the house of the leper for a few hours, for his "hour" had well nigh come! The opportunity-and the final one-was presented to Mary when she might render to her Lord a wealthy homage, and she used it. She could attend to the poor afterwards. Censorious disciples condemned, and, with shocked feelings, murmured, "a great waste; but He, who knew her heart, said, "She hath wrought a good work upon me." Had the sacrifice been a myriadfold more costly, O Jesus, it would yet have been infinitely below thy worth! If we are bound to others by the ties of human pity, we are doubly bound to the Beloved by the golden chain of deepest and endless gratitude and love! "Let everlasting glories crown Thy head, my Saviour and my God! "She hath done what she could; she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying." She doubtless brought forth the most costly box she had-poured the ointment upon the person of the Son of man in no stinted measure-made the sacrifice with the utmost alacrity and gladness, and then wept because she could make no greater. She thus (though doubtless without having such a design) gave to Him an anointing for his burial! What more could she do? Are not the claims of Jesus the same now? And are not we summoned to emulate her conduct? Though we see Him not as he appeared in the days of his flesh with the eye of sense, we may yet behold, and love and serve him, by the exercise of faith. We may honour Him by a greater and more habitual regard to his Word, his people, and his cause! For these all we are and have are required. The arguments for such an unreserved surrender are numerous and irresistible! By the blood which hath redeemed us-by the knowledge that we are not our own-by the uncertain and brief tenure of life-by the vanishing show of the present world, and the "powers of the world to come," we are admonished to give our supreme thought, affection, and efforts, to Him who hath redeemed us unto God. Let us glory in the cross of Christ as the source of pardon, purity, and strength; and, through the grace of the Mediator, "do what we can; and our ability for receiving and communicating good will be increased, we shall become thrice blessed in blessing others, and the smile of divine complacency and delight will be our endless reward. The deed of "the woman was destined to become immortal. The disciples believed that when Mary brake the box" and poured the precious liquid on the head and feet of Jesus, the odours which ascended would, in fewest moments, pass away. This was their error. Like the memory of the righteous, the deed was designed to be held in "everlasting remembrance." The odours of this goodly “alabaster box" have not yet departed from earth; they fill the glorious temple of the church, and shall do to the end of time. Look upon the sacrifice of the devoted one as a symbol of one greater and infinitely more acceptable. Spectators, with one exception, could only see the external aspect, and knew not, or only very imperfectly, the sacredness of her grief, the purity of her design, and strength of her affection. She poured the pure nard upon the head of Jesus. What a declaration of her will to honour Him! She washed His feet with the same precious liquid, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and in what more significant manner could she indicate the profundity of her humility? She gave her whole self-her own broken, lowly, and loving heart-amidst the richer perfumes of holy sorrow and adoring love. The one grand lesson afforded is of unspeakable worth to the awakened one,-to the believer mourning over his infirmities and spiritual declensions,-"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit. A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." R. H. BROTHERTON. Grahamstown. Poetry. PASSING AWAY. "PASSING AWAY!" so whispers the wind, And "Passing away," doth the bright rill say, All "passing away," on the stream of time, Matter and man, we make no delay To eternity's gulf we are passing away. 'Passing away ! Mark the furrowed brow, And the pale wan cheek-how they plainly speak "Passing away!" moans the ocean's wave, Ay, passing away! both from palace and cot "Passing away!" for their hour is past- The monarch's throne, and his sword and crown, All passing away! E'en the pomp of art, His limbs are frail, and his cheeks grow pale With a bending form, and with locks grown gray, "Passing away!" All but God's bright throne, And his grace divine, and the boundless mine And his will to save, through a Saviour's blood, Page for the Young. THE BLACK SPOT. ONE day a man suddenly thought to himself, "I would like very much to eat an apple." So he went to the basket containing a large number, and picked out the largest, finestlooking one among them. Seating himself again in his chair, he looked at it and said, "Who ever saw a finer apple than that? Large, red as the cheek, and bright as the eye of a little girl. Not a spot or defect on it." By this time his knife was ready, and off came a slice large enough for a good mouthful, and, lo! the whole inside of this beautiful apple was black and bitter! 66 Now," said he, "this is too bad! But I know that this apple did not become bad all at once. First, there was a little spot in the centre, and it began to work out, and out, and out. By and by one half of the apple was spoiled, and at length it was nothing but one mass of bitterness and blackness, covered up with a beautiful skin." Now, I have sometimes seen groups of beautiful children! Such eyes, and such merry, prattling tongues! And then I have opened the Bible—and what do you think I read there? "The heart"-that is, the human heart, man's heart, woman's heart, children's hearts, all hearts-" the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." Oh, what a black spot on every, every heart! But, may be," says Hettie, "may be it will not grow any bigger." Ah! but it will! It is growing bigger all the time. And what awful work it makes when it has polluted everything within! There was once a sweet little baby, and, as he lay on his mother's knee, she thought he was so beautiful and lovely! Years after I saw a most wretched looking man. His clothes were ragged and filthy; his face was red and bloated; he could hardly walk, and as he staggered along he muttered curses and blasphemies! Oh, children, this man was that sweet little baby grown up! And the black spot had done it all! Some time ago a man crept into the bedroom at midnight where an old man slept, and killed him! It was the black spot in the heart that was the cause. In the prison you may find men, women, and children. Some have been sent there for stealing, some for fighting, and others for other crimes -but the black spot in the heart is at the bottom of all. All the swearing and drunkenness, all the gambling and Sabbathbreaking, all the lying and cheating in the world, come from this black spot in the heart. Yes, and all the anguish in the pit of woe among lost souls comes from the same source. Children, that spot is in your heart. Every cross word you speak comes from it; every act of disobedience or disrespect to your parents; all dislike of your Bible, or the Sabbath, or prayer, comes from it. Do you wish that spot to grow and grow until it covers all your heart, and pollutes all within you? If not, it must be taken away. Who can take it away? Jesus, by his Spirit. Ask Him; pray to him. Give your heart to Him, and he will make it pure and holy. Those who keep this spot till they die, go down among the devils; those who have it taken away, go up among the angels. Whither do you wish to go?-Sabbath School Visitor. A PARABLE. "The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved."-Jer. viii. 20. Ir was spring. A little seed lay in the warm ground. In the air above, the birds sang their spring songs. The green grass began to clothe the earth with its spring raiment. It was the time of nature's great revival. To this little seed God sent mes sengers. His sun with gentle warmth irradiated it, saying, "Burst into life, little seed; burst into life." His warm rains fell upon its hiding place, saying, "Burst into life, little seed." "To-morrow," said the little seed; "to-morrow." To-morrow came. And again the warm sun renewed its kind message, and the spring rain its invitation unto life; and again the seed replied, "tomorrow." So passed May. Every day brought a new invitation. Every day was marked by new delay. June came and went. July the rain no longer fell. The sun still shone, but upon an earth hard and dry by reason of the summer heat. 66 Then at length the seed awoke from its inaction. Now," it said, “I will begin to live. Now I will bring forth germ, stalk, leaf, and blossom." But now no rain fell to supply its thirst. No sun tenderly warmed it into life. The life-giving period had passed, and the little seed had died, murmuring sadly, "Too late! too late." To you, dear reader, God's invitations come as oft-repeated as the raindrops in the spring showers. Upon your heart the radiance of a Saviour's love shines inviting to eternal life. To minister, to friend, to Saviour, and to God, your answer is ever the same"To-morrow, to-morrow." But it will not be always spring. God's Spirit shall not always strive with man. The heart long shone on by God's love, but never answering it with upspringing life, grows hard and dry. And the soul which often says To-morrow," at length cries sadly, "Too late! too late!”—British Messenger. 66 Correspondence. PASTORS AND LIFE INSURANCE. To the Editors of the Primitive Church Magazine. GENTLEMEN,-Referring to a communication in the September number of the "Primitive Church," from Mr. Webb, of Eynsford, on the Insurance of the lives of the pastors of our churches, may I remind him, and, perhaps some brethren_in_the same condition as the late Mr. Pells, that the National Society for the Relief of Aged and Infirm Ministers and their Families, offers a cheap and easy way of averting such cases as Mr. Webb deplores. Only £1 1s. is required from the pastor, and £2 2s. per annum from the church or other friends, to secure all the benefits of membership. It is by far the cheapest insurance which can be effected by my brethren. I would earnestly urge this on their attention. It will be safe, and, in case of their death, supply the widows and children with a fixed annual sum. I am sure that either of the secretaries at Birmingham will be glad to supply information to any applicant. I have no beneficiary interest in it. Yours affectionately, B. EVANS. [We are happy to know that the late Mr. Pells was a member of the society to which Dr. Evans alludes. -EDS.] Reviews. Two Years After and Onwards; or, Wright, 65, Paternoster-row. WE are not among those who denounce all efforts to ascertain the import of unfulfilled prophecy. When the book of Revelation was first written, and when every prophecy contained in it had yet to receive its accomplishment, these words were uttered by God, "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein." (Rev. i. 3.) Surely, then, we are as likely to realise this blessing now, if we properly seek it, seeing that we have the benefit of much that is already fulfilled in helping us to understand that which is yet future. The larger portion of the book is explained by accomplishment: this should enable us better to understand the rest. Besides, all Scripture, unfulfilled prophecy included, is profitable, &c. (2 Tim. iii. 16, 17.) But no testimony can profit us, except so far as we understand it. Special qualifications, however, are required in the man who would be our guide in such investigations. He should know how to keep imagination rigidly in check; should have an eminent development of the critical faculty; should be deeply versed in secular and ecclesiastical history; and, above all, should be animated by an overwhelming reverence for the Divine Record, and should be possessed of a thorough, accurate, and enlightened acquaintance with the whole range of its teachings. Does the author of "Two Years After and Onwards" possess all these attributes? We fear not. He is evidently a devout Christian, and loves to glorify his Lord. A godly pious spirit breathes in all his pages. His soul is in full sympathy with his theme. His style, too, is clear, interesting, and popular. The book allures you on, so that, after you have begun it, you must read it through. But the imagination has too free play; the criticism is often faulty; and the interpretation palpably erroneous. To follow the writer through all his steps, would require a volume. In our limited space we can only point to one or two particulars. He denies in toto that the world is to be converted to God by the gospel and the Holy Spirit (p. 27), or, as he expresses it, "by moral influence." John's second beast, with the two horns, he affirms to be the Austrian power (p. 40), whereas it clearly points to the Papacy, and especially to the miracle working Popish priesthood claiming a double power, temporal and spiritual, for the Pope. (Elliott. Hora Apoc. Vol. 3, p. 177.) Daniel's little horn, mentioned 8th chapter, 9th verse, this writer identifies with the Mohammedan Antichrist! while nothing can be more apparent than its fulfilment in Antiochus Epiphanes. In one place (p. 68) our author explains the hook in the jaws of Gog (Ezek. xxxviii. 4) as predicting the check which Russia received in the Crimean war! But, farther on, this |