person in our own country, recently a prisoner at the bar, only not found guilty by law-his moral character known to have been positively bad-would the judge or the prince honour such a one? Would he ask him to dine? But God's ways are not man's ways. The prodigal, then, is not only forgiven and reconciled, he is accepted. And here comes in the sweet savour of the burnt-offering. Mere forgiveness is negative, acceptance is positive. The father delights in the prodigal. The father will have the servants bring forth, not an apron to cover the beggar's nakedness-not even a coat of skin (token of the sin-offering)—not a robe according to the mere need of the half-starved swine-herd, but the best robe in his own wardrobe-something, not to make the poor prodigal glorious in his own eyes, but something to render him glorious according to the father's thoughts. Whatever "enough" may signify according to man's dictionary of unbelief, according to God it must be that which will satisfy God Himself. The father knows and chooses the robe-the son is to be honourably appareled -is to have the ring on his hand, and the shoes on his feet, not for the sake of the son's eyes, but the father's. Here, then, we have the privileges of the burnt-offering -acceptance-sweet savour-perfection; not that we are to be offered up wholly (though it may be well to learn that lesson also by the way; the Lord grant we may learn it more and more!), but that the full acceptance of Jesus, the fire of God having searched Him through and through, and brought out nothing but a sweet savour, should rest on us. And here it might be said, Surely this is all. Nay, but the two blessings already noticed are but steps to a third, the crown (in one sense) of all the offerings, just as the killing of beasts, and the mingling of wine, and the furnishing of the table, are but the preliminaries to the feast-and a feast, as the Preacher tells us (Eccl. x. 19), is made for laughter, or joy. Hitherto it might be supposed that mere compas sion dictated the dealings of the father with the son, though indeed not according to our view of the burntoffering, which we have just stated. And it might have been supposed that compassion, and the natural yearn

ings of the parent's heart, would lead him to see that his son should be filled as well as warmed, and thus that he should order the servants to provide meat for the hungry one, and strong drink for the lost one who was ready to perish, and wine for the relief of his heavy heart. But no-this would be to deny desire in the father, or only to allow it as naturally stirred up by compassion, at the sight of unsatisfied desire in another. But this is not according to God's account of Himself. God has his desire and his joy, of which our poor desires after Him, and our joy in Him, are but the faint reflection. Redemption was not a makeshift, as men say, the last resource of a foiled contriver, but the grand and perfect counterpart of the original design of the mind of God. But to return to the parable:-" And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it, and" (mark what follows) "let US eat and be merry"-not "Let the prodigal be kept from merely starving", but "Spread the feast, for I will dine with him, and he with me," many others rejoicing at the same time. Surely there is meaning in that expression in Leviticus," the food of the Lord's offering;" the Lord Himself enjoys communion with His recovered people. I would add, that the longing of God for communion with His own is expressed in various parts of the Word, especially Cant. ii. 4. How often do Christians dwell with comfort (and rightly, if they do not exclusively) on the Bridegroom's assurance of the spotlessness and beauty of the bride, and on the bride's desire for the Bridegroom, who, it is to be feared, think little of the Bridegroom's desire for the presence of the bride. I would just remark, in conclusion, that the names of the offerings in our English version are easily misunderstood, especially those of the meat-offerings and the peace-offering. The words " meat-offering," convey to modern ears the very opposite of the real meaning, i. e. it is almost the only offering in which meat, in the usual sense of the word, that is, animal food, or as we say, flesh, was absent. A

a See again Cant. viii. 13, where the sex of the dweller in the gardens, and consequently the force of the passage, is lost in our English version. It is the Bridegroom longing to hear the bride's voice (see Heb.)

more appropriate term would be meal-offering, or as the French neatly express it, "le gâteau." Again, peaceoffering sounds to unlearned ears, as if it were the same as the sin-offering-an offering of atonement, or for making peace. Prosperity-offering, or thank-offering, would be nearer the truth. Perhaps the character of the offering would be well expressed by the name communion-offering, i.e. an offering, in the partaking of which communion was enjoyed, on the ground of the prosperity which the Lord had granted.

SCRAPS.

1. THE TESTIMONY.-"I would put it to your conscience whether it must not be so, that God has a testimony for to-day,' even today. I mean not merely that He bears witness by His servants, both to those general truths which the being of a God, and such a One as He is, and the present fallen state of man necessitate, and to the blessed truths of grace and glory as displayed in the Gospel;-but this rather, that the grace of God vouchsafes to apply, by the Spirit, a word to things as they are; and the Lord thus gives by His servants a present testimony. This supposes neither a new revelation nor any addition to the perfected standard of truth-the Scripture, but only wisdom from on High to see how the written word bears upon things around us, and power to set this forth: but that God has a distinctive, and in some respects, peculiar application of the word of His grace to the passing houris my conscientious conviction. Faith is wanted and faithfulness."

2. HOPE STILL IN GOD.-" Perplexed oft as to my steps, amid the anarchy around, through want of more singleness of eye within, yet this is my comfort,. 'I am part of the Bride the Lamb's wife, and I must, therefore, be brought there where His glory requires the presence of the Bride in her perfectness.' Faithful is He who has called, who will also perform. Yet a little while (how little a while!), and I and we shall all appear in His gloryshown out, loved even as He is loved."

No. XXXI.

PHILIPPIANS, CHAP. I. 1—7.

THE object of this paper is to dwell a little on the state of the Church at Philippi, which was such as to furnish joy to the mind of the Apostle; and in doing so to trace its history. In Acts xvi. the Spirit details to us the work of God in the formation of this Church. The Apostle was fulfilling the work whereunto he had been separated by the Holy Ghost; and it is in connection with his labours at Philippi that the sovereignty of God is manifested, not only as regards the objects of His grace, but also with respect to the locality where He would have His servants labour and His Gospel preached. They were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia. "They assayed to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit suffered them not." Paul had a vision. "There stood a man of Macedonia and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia and help us;" and after he had seen the vision they immediately endeavoured to go into Macedonia assuredly gathering that the Lord had called them to preach the Gospel unto them. They reached Philippi and abode there certain days; and now we have the proof of the Lord's guidance. He opened the heart of Lydia that she attended to the things spoken of Paul. In this, the first fruit of the Apostle's service here, how simple is the work of divine grace, and how cheering is it to the servant of the Lord to find his hand thus making a way for his own truth. This is how the Word of the Lord finds free course and is glorified. We may hear the truth of God, may find ears ready to listen; but it is the Lord alone can open the heart to receive it. The seed had fallen on good ground and brought forth fruit, as recorded in the case of Lydia and her household. Then we have the conversion of the jailer; and here we have another proof of the wisdom and grace of our God in sending the light of His gospel to the soul of one who from his occupation seemed out of its reach.

Perhaps the last person that even Paul would have thought of, would have been the keeper of the prison. The ways of God in reaching the hearts of His chosen ones display the exceeding riches of His grace. "I am found of them that sought Me not." The servant of God knows not what may have to be his path, or what may be his sufferings, when his answer to the question, "Who will go for us?" is, "Here am I; send me." Paul and Silas were the Lord's; and it was his purpose to give light to the jailer, to him that "sat in darkness and in the shadow of death." The wrath of man was made subservient to His purpose. They were thrown into the inner prison, after having been beaten with many stripes, and given in to the charge of that one who was so soon to know the blessedness of peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. The hardness of the jailer's heart was proved, in that he thrust them into the inner prison and made their feet fast in the stocks. But this was his last service to Satan in his kingdom. By the power of God the question is raised in his soul, "What must I do to be saved?" and God, who commanded light to shine out of darkness, shone in his heart, to give "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." His household, as Lydia's, was also saved. Of such was the kingdom of heaven. We see the goodness of God in giving us so full an account of this part of His Church, and in the Epistle of Paul to them, carrying our thoughts forward. The joy of the Apostle as expressed in ver. 3—5, was not that they, through Him, had been brought to know Christ, but as he writes "for your fellowship in the Gospel from the first day until now." The joy of his heart was in the increase of God.

It may be that he had had little to do in bringing them to the state in which they were; for he had learned that Paul may plant, and Apollos water, but God giveth the increase; and he could say, further, "so that neither is he that planteth anything, nor he that watereth, but God that giveth the increase;" a humbling lesson for us all! The fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, manifested the grace of Him who guides and feeds His flock, though passing through a barren, trackless wilder