Ver, 10.-The wniversal R e ~ . "Who is the Saviour of aJ1 men, i!pecially of those tha.t believe." Pa.ul had no limited a.tonemen t to prea.ch, but that Christ died for all, and wa.s the propitiation for the sins of the whole world. There was no court of the Gentiles; for all a.like-Jew a.nd Greek-wer.e included under sin, that the gra.ce of God might appear to a.ll men. In Christ Jesus there ie neither Greek nor Jew, bond nor free; all are one in the provision ; a.ll need it; all must have it.. "Go ye into aJ1 the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." But L HE 18 THE SA v10un SPECIALLY OF THEM THAT BELIEVE; for unless faith looks up a.nd lays hold on Christ, the virtue will not come out of him, either of forgiveness or life. It matters not that the lifeboat is provided for all in the sinking ship, unless men will leap into the lifeboat. It matters not that the electric cord conveys the current, unless men adjust it to their wants. II. AND TIIIB SALVATION IS MADE MANIFEST IN EVERY AGE. In that age it stayed suicide, it raised hospitals, it emancipated Eph,·sians and Corinthians from lust, it uplifted women, it purified la.w, and it created brotherhood between Samaritan, Gentile, and Jew. In the early centuries "e see it at work in the varied peoples that united in its worship, whilst the bishops of the Church were African, Greek, Roman, and Armenian. It saved men in the catacombs from despair, and constrained them to write on their epitaphs words that breathed of hope; and it continues to save. It enlarge~ the kingdom of Christ; it l,reaks up the heptarcby of evil in the heart, as province after province becomes loyal to God; a.nd it redeems body, soul, and spirit. "Beside me there is no Saviour" is as true to-day as ever. The love of beauty often ends in mere sensuous restheticism. The seeking after righteousness often leaves the upas tree of the heart with its deadly leaves within. New ideals of social economy find man's selfishness supreme in every new adjustment of law. Selfishness never has been slain, save at the cross. But this gospel saves them that believe to-day. Men too often prefer costly ritual and formal ceremonial ; but a new heart means a Dew life, and the gospel saves them that believe.-W. M. S. Ver. 12.-.A young teacher. "Let no man despise thy youth.• Apa.rt from the direct reference of these words to the Christian apostolate, they a.re appropriate to us all in the season of youth. Spring-time is so different from autumn! Nature then is full of promise. As in spring the buds are bursting, and the birds building, and Nature's flower-show preparing, and her orchestra tuning,-still we pause to think what may come. Locusts may eat up all green things ; the hot sirocco wind,, may wither the verdure, and the fruit of the vine may fail. Still there is a blessed promise in early days. No sane man will be found to despise youth in itself. As well despise the acom because it is not an oak, or the orange blossom because it has not fruited. The spirit of the text is this-Do not act so as to lead men to despise you. I. MEN DESPISE HEBE WORD-HEROISM. Be an example in word; in conversation, which means citizenship; in charity, which means every aspect of love to God and man; in spirit, which means the atmosphere tha.t surrounds your life ; in faith, which means vital obedience to the doctrines of the gospel; and in purity, the absence of which was the curse of Asia. Minor and the cities of the E~st. Nothing gives greater power than conduct. "Character," sa.ys Ossili, "is higher than intellect." II. MEN DESPISE THE TRIFLER AND THE IDLER. If the word and the conversation be frivolous ; as death and life are in tse power of the tongue; then the man who is the rattle-brain of society is not likely to be the ornament of the Church or the admira- tion of the world. Men will, and ought, to despise such. There may be a dignified youth as well as a dignified age. It is not necessary to have a formal and unnatural decorum, but it i, necessary for those who speak on the high matters of religion to show that they live in that world of solemn realities of which they speak.-W. M. S. Ver. 14.-Spiritual negligenc,e. "Neglect not the gift that is ID th-.• Tlda II a counsel specially for Timothy a.a a teacher; but it applies to UB all. 81! THE FIRST EPISTLE 1'0 TIMOTHY. [oH, IV, 1-16.
L THE GIPT Is A REsPoNsmILITY. We are not merely receptive bcingA. A lake, unleu the living watel'I! flow through it, is stagnant and dangerous. The world of youth and beauty is a world of life. The sun pa.rte with its beams. The ocean exhales its moistur~. The tree yield_s its fruit. The air pa.sees through the lunge. 1'he river makes music of progress AS 1t passes to the sea. Here in nature thers is no e.rre8ting hand, no force of self-restraint, no self-hood. Go<l has II set in order" the courses of the rivers, and made I\ path for the light; e.nd they obey his will. Me.n can BAY "No" to God's more.I ordinations-not, of course, without he.rm e.nd penalty ; but he can e.nd too often he does (1) pervert the gift, and turn it to disloyal uses; and at other tim'es (2) he negkcts it-he lays up the ta.lent in a napkin. He turns selfish, e.nd me.re the use of bis gift by m1~use e.nd by personal ease and indulgence. The world is no better for hi• birth. The Church finds him e. selfish epicure at the banquet of God's gre.ce. IL THE GIFT VARIES. It is, however, somewhere within us. There are forces Df life hidden in the soul, gracious gifts of help e.nd healing ; but man neglects them. Sometimes he undervalues them with a perilous modesty, which forgets that the w~kest vessel can bold some water; the aimplest speech be eloquent for its Lord; the slender time be rich with opportunities. God has not made e. mistake in our creation. 'l'here are gifts of service, gifts of sympathy, gifts of prayer, which, if envy were angelic, angels might envy. Neglect not thy gift. It will be required of thee a.gain. 1t needs not age to ripen it e.nd make it ready. 11 Let no man despise thy youth; be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." "Be great in act a.s you have been in thought," se.ys Shakespeare. This is our danger-neglect. We know what it means in education, which has its now; in the dwelling, which, howe,•er well furnished, soon becomes unhealthy and unlovely through disuse e.nd dust; in exercise, which, :neglected, imperils muscle and blood and nerve. So in religion we are to be active and earnest, not resting on the couch of personal comfort, or merely enjoying, from the observatory of revelation, the vision of the heavenly shores.-W. M. S.