struggle against Him who, we may be sure, has some reason wherefore He contendeth with us. If we be in truth sensible of our fault,-if we have a genuine sorrow for having broken loose from the bands of love,-how glad, how thoroughly thankful, shall we be, that God dealeth with us as with sons! He may take from us all that wherein we trusted,—He may remove the delight of our eyes at a stroke,-He may even threaten us that we ourselves shall be lost. All we can say is, Not my will be done, O Lord, but Thine; remove from me all that keeps me from Thyself; if for Thy sake I must be lost, I will.

In speaking of David's sin in proudly numbering the people,-in pride and self-confidence, -I referred to the like feeling as too common amongst ourselves. And may not the mention of these three great punishments which God set before David, and gave him the choice of one of them, remind us that we have had like warning from God, and have been as it were touched— slightly, tenderly, mercifully touched-by the Scourge. The three punishments are-pestilence, famine, war. When we were proudly glorying in the greatness, and wealth, and prosperity of our country, again and again we have been visited

in some slight degree, indeed, but yet sufficiently

to shew us how easily we might have been visited more severely with the pestilence.

When we were in the full tide of prosperity, and enjoying the abundance of all things,-large wages, cheap provisions,-and thought that all would continue, a sudden check came, and hard times, dearness and want of work, succeeded; we had a sufficient measure of famine to shew us what it might have been,-that on us might fall that dreadful visitation which in other countries caused the death of so many.

And after all this, war has come. The hand of God is over us; we do not see the end, we do. not know whether He may bring sudden losses upon us, or inflict the chastisement of a longcontinued struggle, occasioning loss of life to many, the affliction of friends, making many widows and fatherless, and many childless, and probably also bringing much varied distress and suffering.

Let us see why the hand of God is stretched out against us, and by a timely repentance seek to turn away His indignation from us.

4. But yet once more David is not satisfied with thus humbling himself by repentance, and with meekly putting himself into his Father's hands, he must needs shew forth the praise of

Ilim who had dealt so lovingly with him. There, where the angel stood with the sword drawn to smite down his people,-there, on Mount Moriah, where afterwards the Lamb of God should be sacrificed, David built an altar, and, as a token of a grateful heart, offered sacrifices, not of that which cost him nothing, but to the value of six hundred shekels of gold.

I have chosen this particular verse as the text, because I would set before you the end of all this history, as that for which you should strive. If any have been sinful,-if any have been by God's mercy rescued from the burning and brought to repentance, if any have received the chastisement that is so healthful,-then are they doubly bound to praise their Saviour. He has full claim, no doubt, to the praise of all IIis creatures; but if there be cne who, above all, is tied by every holy and better affection to set forth His glory, it is that creature who, having once been lost, has again been brought into His enlivening presence. Gratitude, opening the heart to give freely to God of all we have, is the natural fruit of real repentance and the hope of forgiveness. David was not content with words of thanksgiving, or with outward and costless sacrifices. He would not give to God of that which cost him nothing.

Nor will any Christian who considers what his own sins have been, and how infinite is that mercy by which he has been pardoned. Give Him then the only sacrifice that remains,-give Him yourselves, and all you are masters of,give it lovingly, thankfully and I shall only add to you the words of Araunah to David,-The Lord accept thee.

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JOHN HENRY PARKER, OXFORD AND LONDON.

Sermons for the Christian Seasons.

EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.

THE DISOBEDIENT PROPHET.

1 KINGS Xiii. 30. And they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother.

THE lesson for this morning suggests many awful and solemn thoughts, for it is a history of divine punishments. The idolatrous altar rent, and the ashes poured out; the hand of the profane king dried up and withered; the future pollution of the altar by the burning of men's bones upon it, and the destruction of the houses of the high places, foretold; the man of God, who had uttered the prophecy, slain for his disobedience to the word of the Lord spoken by his own mouth, and the old prophet who had deceived him forced to condemn himself in uttering a prophecy of the punishment which he had himself brought upon his brother; all this, if only we will allow the lesson to sink deeply into our hearts, will force upon us the sense of how “evil