with what joy would he say, 'It is finished!' | from heaven says, Be strong, fear not, quit you Though the apostle's sufferings were not propitia- like men, onward, onward; and when Satan tory, neither light, nor few, had the afflictions says, Soul! take thine ease; crown thyself with been which for Christ's sake he had endured; rose-buds before they wither; walk in the ways and though he was about to suffer martyrdom, of thine own heart, and in the sight of thine own and to seal his testimony with his blood, he could eyes, that thy heart may cheer thee all the look death in the face, not only without dismay, days of thy life; if we believe the tempter, but with complacency and delight. At an earlier and forsake the way of the Lord God, soon shall period he could say, 'Behold I go bound in the we find that our path is covered with darkness; Spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that it taketh fast hold on hell; and leadeth down that shall befal me there, save that the Holy to the chambers of everlasting death. Ghost witnesseth in every city that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.' He had obtained his wish; he had fulfilled his ministry; he had been found faithful; he had rejoiced to spend and to be spent in the service of the best of Masters; and with holy joy he now could say, 'I have finished my course.' Soon, very soon, will it be the lot of every one of us to say, 'I have finished my course.' O! what will these words imply when they are uttered on the brink of the grave; when all life's interests are crowded into a moment; when that moment is the last of time, and the next the beginning of eternity—that dread moment which is to seal our doom-to determine whether it is to be well with us for ever; or whether it had been better-far, far better that we had never been born! What then is this course? The apostle speaks figuratively; but the figure is easily understood. In Greece of old there were periodical assemblies, in which all had an opportunity of competing for prizes, and the much-wished prize was often an honorary, ornamental, but a fading crown. The contests were often trials of bodily strength or agility, such as running or wrestling. Rules were laid down by which the competitors were to be regulated; and none could be crowned who did not strive according to these rules. Regarding life as a race then, rules are given in the holy scriptures; the course is prescribed; the goal is heaven; and the prize is a crown of glory. The prophets, apostles, and martyrs, are held up to

us as patterns: Christ himself has left us an ex

ample that we should walk in his steps. Grace also is freely offered to us by him who giveth power unto the faint, who strengtheneth the weak hands, and confirms the feeble knees. When Christ from his throne says, Look unto me, and I will guide you to the victory; if we forget the prize, and pant after the dust, what can await us but disgrace and discomfiture? When the Lord

Think on the blessedness of running in the right course. Is there not a happiness in tracing the footsteps of prophets, and apostles, and martyrs, yea, and of the Redeemer of souls? Is there not sweet satisfaction in serving him who has bought us with a price? in esteeming, like Moses, the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, having respect unto the recompence of the reward? Is there not a foretaste of the reward of grace, even in this world; an earnest of the inheritance? And how great the consolation when life is closing, when the course is finished, and when death is at hand! At that dread moment what would it avail though we could say that we have been rich, and prosperous, and honoured of men, if we have no treasure laid up in heaven, and if we have not, through Christ, sought the favour of God? When the night cometh when no man can work, O how much worse than frivolous shall this world's affairs appear to us, if they have been our chief concern; and have weaned our hearts from the Redeemer of souls! When every day tells, in some degree, on our future destiny, how sinful to trifle-how dreadful to live in guilt! How great the wisdom, and how exquisite the happiness in laying aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; then when the time of our departure is at hand, each, like the apostle, may say, 'I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous Judge shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but to all them also who love his appearing.'

How awful, on the other hand, is the state of those, who instead of fighting the good fight, fight against God; against Christ; against the Holy Spirit; against the best wishes of good men; against the richest mercies; against their own souls! They are finishing their course, but they are advancing in the broad way which leadeth to destruction; in the downward path which taketh hold on hell. As instead of keeping the faith,

they have continued strangers to repentance to- | demned already, because he hath not believed in wards God, and to faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ, there awaits them—not the crown of righteousness, but the cup of trembling. To as many as receive him Christ gives power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name, who are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. But what is to be the final doom of those who do not receive him, who do not live by the faith of the Son of God? 'He that believeth not, is con

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whom we may have influence, We are journey- | work by unholy suggestions. His fiery darts can be shot unseen; and their venom, when felt, should speedily be counteracted by fervent ejaculations.

ing to the place, of which the Lord said, I will give it you: come with us, and we will do you good?' Then, when our hour cometh, may each of us say, 'Into thy hand I commit my spirit thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.'

::

What a beautiful example is here set us of ejaculatory prayer! The term ejaculatory is derived from a word which signifies to dart, or to shoot out suddenly, and is well-fitted to describe that kind of prayer which consists in short unpremeditated sentences, on sudden emergencies, often raised from the heart of man! The language of ejaculation is indeed often used by thoughtless and ungodly persons, when it is not the language of the heart; and not an address unto God, but a profane exclamation, as if they were invoking his help, or his protection, or his mercy, when God is not in all their thoughts; and when, instead of praying to God, they are taking his name in vain, and breaking one of his holy commandments! This is one of the marks by which the ungodly may be known. The children of God will not speak irreverently of their heavenly Father. An ejaculation may also be the cry of nature in the time of great and sudden jeopardy. He who had never prayed before,-when the ship in which he sailed is sinking amidst the billows,-will, in all likelihood, in that dread moment cry out, Lord, have mercy on my soul!' Some are so foolish as to restrain prayer in the day of health, trusting to such a cry as this in their last moments. And yet it is questionable whether, in any such case, it is the prayer of faith; whether, in any such case, there is even the remembrance of Christ, or anything more than the cry of nature in the hour of impending danger.

One advantage of ejaculatory prayer is, that it can be employed at all times, and in all places. It can be raised amidst the world's busiest scenes; and if circumstances do not admit of its being uttered aloud, the Lord of Sabaoth listeneth to the lowest whisper, and he can interpret the pious breathings of the heart. Reuben cried to the Lord in the midst of the The sons of battle, and he was entreated of them, because they put their trust in him, and he delivered their enemies into their hands. phenician woman cried unto Jesus from the The Syrobottom of her heart, Lord, help me!' And he granted her heart's desire. Blind Bartimeus cried to him, 'Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.' Peter, beginning to sink in the sea, cried, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and saved him. tempest in the sea had arisen, awoke their The disciples, when a great Master, saying, 'Lord, save us: we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea: and there was a great calm.'

In what lawful undertaking can we engage which may not with advantage be preceded by some pious ejaculation? In the day of health and prosperity is not ejaculatory prayer needed that we may not be entangled by the world? And in the time of sickness and sorrow,

how

Very, very different is the ejaculatory prayer much would sorrow be soothed, and affliction of the believer. His prayer is the aspiration of softened, by frequent ejaculations raised to the the renewed heart under the influence of the Lord! As our times are in his hand; as we are Holy Spirit: and when the cry for mercy is surrounded by dangers seen, and dangers unseen; raised, the eye of faith is also lifted up to the as in the midst of life we are in death, O let us heavenly Intercessor at the right hand of the habitually commit ourselves to the Lord in wellthrone. Short though such ejaculations be, they doing, as unto a faithful Creator; then, when are often more acceptable and more effectual than our last hour comes, we may, like Stephen, say, longer prayers. They rise fresh and warm from Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Or like Him the heart, with less mixture of impurity than to whom Stephen prayed, we may say, 'Father, often is found in longer addresses to the Almighty. into thy hands I commend my spirit; and we A child of God, at the footstool of the throne of shall assuredly find that he will keep that which the Eternal, is a spectacle which the brightest we have committed to him against that day.'

cherub may behold with delight. But when it is said, 'Behold he prayeth!' do only holy eyes behold? No. The malignant eye of the adversary is upon him also, and he strives to mar the

'I come, I come, at thy command,

I give my spirit to thy hand;
Stretch forth thine everlasting arms,
And shield me in the last alarms.

to God who gave it? Was there ever a person | may the Holy Spirit teach us to answer, accordknown to rejoice at the hour of death that he ing to his word, the following questionshad led a life of ungodliness? And has there ever been one, when stretched on his death-bed, known to lament, that 'in simplicity, and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, he had his converation in the world?' Many, however, through the hope set before them in the gospel, have been enabled to rejoice even amidst the agonies of the last conflict. We have this, among many others, as the dying testimony of a faithful servant of Christ, who, in his journey towards Zion, had not been exempted from the trials of life: 'you have been accustomed,' said he to a friend who was weeping over him, 'to take notice of the sayings of dying men, and this is mine:-That a life spent in the service of God, and in communion with him, is the most comfortable and pleasant life which any man can lead in this world.'

At that awful moment when departing life is glimmering in the socket, when the glazed eye is fixed, when the faultering pulse has almost stopped, and when the pale countenance is beginning to change, even the infidel might be convinced that the believer has the advantage of him. The believer not only rejoices in hope; but he can say, Though my hope should be illfounded-though there should be no hereafter, and though life should be but a dream, my faith has rendered that dream unspeakably more delightful. It has guided me through life; it is cheering me at death; and if it be true, as I most firmly believe it is, it shall gladden and bless me through eternity. How different in these circumstances is the state of the infidel! Even though religion were false, he has not been a gainer by rejecting it; for, in doing so, he has rejected what alone could have enlightened the dark stages of his journey; and what alone could have shed a radiance on the clouds that hang over its close. And if it be true, (and the most determined infidel cannot be sure of the contrary) then for less than nothing and vanity he has neglected the great end for which he was created, and has sealed the eternal ruin of his immortal soul.

SECOND DAY.-MORNING.

'And laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre,' Mark xv. 46.

NEVER had the grave opened to receive such a victim. Deeply interesting is the affecting record;

Where did they lay the blessed Saviour when they had taken him down from the cross? They laid him in a sepulchre hewn out of a rock.' Had the sepulchre been less secure, it would not have been so easy to gainsay the enemy, when it was said that the body was stolen away. As the sepulchre was under ground, (for they went down into it), and as it was hewn out of the solid rock, there was neither inlet nor outlet, but by the door, to which a great stone was rolled, and as the stone was sealed by those in authority, there could be no collusion betwixt the guards and his disciples. 'It was a sepulchre wherein never man before was laid; so that it could not be said that it was some other person than Jesus who arose; neither could it be said that he had been quickened by touching some holy prophet's bones.

Alas!

How was he buried? Openly. There was no secrecy; friends and foes might come. there were few friends; but they were sufficient to perform this last mournful duty, and to bear witness that he had been committed to his grave. When his disciples had fled, some faithful and affectionate women were found at the cross, and at the grave. There also do we find those who had once been faint-hearted-Nicodemus, who had come to the Saviour by night; and Joseph of Arimathea. Now, however, by strengthening grace, the weak were as David, when the strong were as tow.' Now, the lately timid Joseph, went in boldly unto Pilate and craved the body of Jesus; and he and the equally strengthened Nicodemus, having taken their revered Master from the cross, without fear of the consequences, laid him in Joseph's own sepulchre; so that by this, and his suffering as a malefactor, the prophecy was fulfilled that he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death. There also his enemies were on the alert, their malice following him even to the grave; and the next day after the preparation, (and as the Jews reckoned their day from sunset to sunset, this was immediately after Jesus was laid in the grave), they went to Pilate, and telling that he had said when he was alive that he would rise again the third day, they sought and obtained a guard, and placed it at the sepulchre, and having sealed the stone, they probably dismissed their fears.

Why was he buried? To complete his humiliation. When a monarch dies, great is the descent from the palace to the tomb; but how much greater, when it is from the glory of heaven to the darkness of the grave! It was the