ALTOGETHER LOVELY.

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eyes have seen or angels known." A Lamb truly without spot or blemish.

"All over LOVELY is my Lord,
Must be beloved and yet adored;
His worth, if all the nations knew,

Sure the whole earth would love Him too."

Oh that I could worthily set Him forth! Oh that I had the tongue of that man of God, which was like the "pen of a ready writer," when his "heart was inditing a good matter" concerning the King! "Thou art Fairer than the children of men," said he. "Thou art the Chiefest among ten thousand," said Solomon. "As the APPLE-TREE among the trees of the wood, so is my Beloved among the sons." Isaiah's lips are on fire when he talks of Christ. He calls Him the "BRANCH beautiful and glorious," the "FRUIT comely and excellent." And again he describes Him as a Mighty Conqueror arrayed in "glorious apparel, travelling in the greatness of His strength." Ezekiel paints Him as a tender SHEPHERD, going forth on the "mountains, where His sheep have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day," and gathering the poor wanderers into His fold. And the apostles, who were "eye-witnesses of His majesty," and saw how full He was of grace and truth, could not speak or write of Him without wonder and praise. If we talk of wisdom, does He not know everything? If we speak of mercy, is He not Love itself? If of glory, O how glorious must He be who made the bright sun and built the lofty sky! He is a complete universe of unimaginable beauty and multifarious excellence which eternity will not unravel; an unsearchable shoreless ocean of ineffable loveliness. ALTOGETHER LOVELY! Lavish all your love upon Him, Christian! Expend on Him all the reverential admiration, and exulting praise, and adoring delight, of which your nature is capable. Do this now, do it always, do it through all eternity, and all will fall infinitely short of His transcendent beauty. He is Fairer than all the children of men, and Brighter than all the angels of light, and infinitely more glorious than the maturest conceptions even of Cherubim and Seraphim. Alas! how deplorable that blindness which does not see His beauty so as to be in love with it! You pity the condition of the blind man, who never has aught before him but a dismal blank, while you can see the green fields, the lovely sky, and all the fair objects of which the world is so full. And you say, when you contrast your own favoured lot with his, "Truly, the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun." But yet that blind man may have his inward eye open, and be entertained with such sights of the glory of Christ, as may cause him to sing for joy.

But here is a blindness which shuts the soul quite out from the light of God's love; one who is thus blinded, "cannot see the kingdom of God;" cannot at all "see the good of His chosen." Satan blindfolds him, lest the light of the glory of the Sun of Righteousness should shine into his mind. Poor benighted soul! Oh, awake out

of sleep, and hasten to Him who counsels thee to anoint thine eyes with eye-salve of His own providing, that thou mayest see. "Rise, He calleth thee," and is waiting to perform that wondrous cure on the eyes of thy mind, which He performed on the bodily eyes of those who cried to Him, "Thou Son of David, have mercy on us.' Then you will (by that faith which is the evidence of things not seen) "behold the beauty of the Lord," while you "enquire in His temple; " and hereafter, in the land that is very far off, you shall, without a veil, "see the King in His beauty," and be "satisfied when you awake in His likeness."

"Millions of years your wond'ring eyes

Shall o'er His beauties rove;
And endless ages you'll adore
The glories of His love."

ALL AND IN ALL. Col. iii. 11. "Christ is ALL AND IN ALL." He is ALL in creation, providence, redemption, grace, glory. He is IN ALL. He is IN ALL events, making all to work together for good to His people. He is IN ALL places. "He compasses our path, and our lying down. If we ascend up into heaven, He is there; if we make our bed in hell, behold, He is there!" and whither can we flee from His presence? He is in the sunless depths of the sea, and keeps the great whale alive, and watches over the scattered bones of those who have sunk in the mighty waters, till He shall bid them rise. He is at the top of the frozen mountain, where none can stand before His cold; and there, where there is no eye but His, " He giveth snow like wool, and scattereth the hoar frost like ashes." He is alike in the waste howling wilderness, which "no man passeth through," and in the crowded city; He is equally in the hovel of the beggar and the palace of the prince. But in a higher sense, He is IN ALL the assemblies of His people, for He has appointed to meet them, and "that to bless them." And in a higher sense still, He is IN ALL their hearts, "formed in them the hope of glory."

He

Now, is Christ thus IN you? If He is, He is your ALL, and for you to live is Christ. That which men love best, is their all. The covetous man loves gold best. He worships it; he gives his time, and sells his soul for it. This is his Apple-tree among the trees. admires it above all the trees of the wood, and he seeks to protect himself under its shadow, and solace himself with its fruits—but in vain. He finds out that peace and joy do not grow on this tree; the apples he gathers from its branches do but mock his hunger, and provoke his thirst. And so, miserable and dissatisfied, he " 'pines away in his iniquity." In the same manner does the proud man seek for praise and honour. His All is to shine in the world, no matter by what means; so that he can but climb to a higher and still a higher pinnacle, and look down on his neighbours, he thinks he shall be satisfied. While she that liveth in pleasure, makes that her All, and is dead while she lives.

I could take you to a mean lodging in London, where there lives a poor woman nearly eighty, whose income is but two and sixpence per week. Yet, this is her language, "Though in the depths of poverty, I am contented and happy, for Christ is my ALL, and having Him, I am rich. I have known Him from my youth, and He has carried me to hoar hairs.' I am solitary, but not alone; Christ is my Friend and Companion. And even if death find me without a friend near, I still have Him by my side; and what can I want else? Who can do so much for me as He?" She feels she is "complete in Him." And who can be more than complete? Happy saint! destitute, but rolling in riches ;-poor, yet possessing all things. Having found one Pearl of great price, she has seized on this as her sole treasure, and thus possesses all things in one. She can say,

"I've found the Pearl of greatest price,

My heart doth sing for joy!

And sing I must-a Christ I have,
All gold without alloy..

"Christ is my Meat, Christ is my Drink,
My Med'cine and my Health,—

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My Peace, my Strength, my Joy, my Crown,
My Glory, and my Wealth.

'My Saviour is the Heaven of Heaven,-

And what shall I Him call?

My Christ is First,-my Christ is Last,-
My Christ is ALL IN ALL."

Now all, whether young or old, who come to their right mind, are led thus to make Christ their ALL. For Him they live and labour; they love to speak of Him and to praise Him. To serve Him is their meat and drink, and to promote His cause is their business. Is He thus your ALL? Very soon you will be laid in the grave. All your worldly plans will fail; and that part of you which thinks, and enjoys, and grieves, will go into another world. Do you think it will give you any pleasure there, to reflect on fine clothes, riches, or earthly pleasures? Will it matter to you there, whether you have been poor or rich? whether admired or unknown? Not at all. Life will have passed away" as a dream when one awaketh." Christ will be ALL, and these things nothing. The most obstinate lover of money, the most devoted follower of pleasure, will then own it to be so. The only question with us in eternity will be, "Did we love Christ in time?

A few years ago there lived in London a celebrated sculptor, who was often commissioned to set up costly statues and monuments, in cathedrals and other public places. This sculptor possessed both skill and genius, and by his labours he acquired more money and fame than at first he had aspired to. But he had a better portion than these, for Christ was his ALL; and so his life was useful and his death happy; as they shall be indeed with every one who thus chooses the good part. This man not only made magnificent and costly tombs for other people, but he made one for himself. It was a

very modest one, and this was the inscription:— "What I was as an artist, seemed of some importance while I lived; but what I really was as a believer in Christ Jesus, is the only thing of importance to me now." At his death, it was placed in Tottenham Court Road Chapel; where, by it, he, being dead, yet speaketh, and by that silent monument impressively remindeth every beholder that a man's glory and riches cannot go with him into the other world.

But what does go with him into the other world? The dying man takes something away, which he did not bring with him. What is it? What does that man carry away with him, who makes Christ his ALL? He takes away with him "holiness, without which no man can see the Lord." And this Christ gives him, for He is made unto him sanctification. And then the man who made riches and pleasure his all,-ah! what does he take with him? Nothing of that he has toiled for all his life? Must others gather all the riches he has heaped up? I remember reading an account of a most dreadful storm at sea, which overtook a vessel on her way from India. There was one on board who had spent his whole life in getting money, and who now was returning home, as he thought, to live at his ease and enjoy his fortune. And in that awful moment, when death stared him in the face, he "cursed his God and looked upward;" and bitterly complained that the treasures he had laboured for so earnestly, were now about to sink in the ocean. Well may the poet say,—

"How shocking must thy summons be, O death !
To him that is at ease in his possessions;

Who, counting on long years of pleasure here,
Is quite unfurnished for the world to come.'

"Ye

But does the wicked man take nothing away with him when he goes into eternity? He takes that away with him, which he would give the world to shake off. But he cannot get rid of it. It cleaves to him, and will not leave him. What is it? He takes all HIS SIN with him. And the fearful burden will sink him into hell. shall die in your sins; and where I am, thither ye cannot come." And now, you are about to go your ways into the world once more. You daily walk in the midst of tempters. And one says, "Lo here!" and another, "Lo there!" Go not after them, but remember that you have had set before you, to-day, that which is really good; viz., Jesus Christ as a TREE, bearing all manner of fruit, fruit that makes rich, fruit that gives life, fruit that quenches the soul's thirst, fruit that enlightens the eyes, and abundantly satisfies all who eat of it.

Also, that same Jesus, as the ALTOGETHER LOVELY. He has no spot, nor defect, nor blemish whatever. He is in every way worthy of your highest love. He is ALL AND IN ALL; and having Him, you will want nothing. If, in this life, God should give you outward comforts, then you will enjoy Him IN ALL. And, if you be destitute of them, then you shall enjoy ALL in od; and be able to say with Habakkuk, “Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall

ALL AND IN ALL. ANCHOR.

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fruit be in the vines, the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat,' yet, since no mildew can ever taint the fruit which grows on Christ the TREE OF LIFE, I shall still partake of that, and be able to rejoice in the Lord, and joy in the God of my salvation." Oh come, all of you, "TASTE and SEE that the Lord is good."

WHAT is a patron? A friend, but with special qualities. A friend may be poor and dependent, like ourselves; whereas a patron is higher than we: more influential, or richer, stronger, wiser, and

therefore able to do much more for us than one in our own station. Now I know of One, who more than answers to this description, and is willing to befriend you. His friendship I earnestly recommend you to make sure of this day. He can plead your cause on earth, and speak a good word for you, at the same time, in heaven. In the day of judgment, that tremendous day, He can sustain you, and, before angels and men, pronounce you free from condemnation, and own you as His favourites. Listen, then, to what I have to say of Him; and then tell me if you will not choose Him for your Patron. And first, take this Scripture image of Him. He is an ANCHOR of the soul, both sure and steadfast."

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ANCHOR. Heb. vi. 18, 19. Hope,' in these two verses, cannot well mean the grace of hope that is in us, for it is said to be a hope set before us, and a hope which we fly to, and take fast hold upon. Hope, therefore, includes, and in this verse directly signifies, the OBJECT of hope, or that which is hoped in, as it often does in other places and this object of it most directly means Christ."

The anchor is attached to the ship, to keep it steady, and hold it fast in one place. In the dark night, on a dangerous coast, when the sailor cannot see his way, he throws out his anchor: which, hid amongst the rocks under water, keeps the vessel from drifting about. Anciently, they used to have as many as eight anchors, besides a principal one which was called the sheet anchor. When Paul was on that voyage, in which he and the crew were shipwrecked, they found themselves, one night, running into great danger; and so, wishing to keep still till morning, "they cast four anchors out of the stern, and