tarry." The words of Isaiah shall be fulfilled, " The Lord God shall wipe away tears irom off all faces ; and the rebuke of his people shall be taken away from off all the earth." One sure receipt for a patient spirit is to expect little from this world, and to be oyer " waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Heb. x. 37. Isai. XXV. 8. 1 Cor. i. 7.)
We see, thirdly, in this passage, how needful it is to tcatch the signs of the times in the project of the second advent of Christ. Our Lord teaches this lesson by a parable : *' Behold the fig-tree and all the trees : when they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the king- dom of God is nigh at hand." The disciples ignorantly supposed that Messiah's kingdom would be ushered in by universal peace. Our Lord, on the contrary, tells them that the signs which shall immediately precede it shall be wars, confusions, perplexity, and distress.
The general duty which these words should teach us is very plain. We are to observe carefully the public events of the times in which we live. We are not to be absorbed in politics, but we are to mark political events. We are not to turn prophets ourselves, but we are to study dili- gently the signs of our times. So doing, the day of Christ will not come upon us entirely unawares.
Are there any signs in our own day ? Are there any circumstances in the world around us which specially de- mand the believer's attention P Beyond doubt there are very many. The drying up of the Turkish empire, — the revival of the Bomish church, — the awakened desire of the