THE MATCH OF THE GREAT DESTROYER.

REV. ARCHIBALD G. BROWN.

Love is strong as death.—CANT. viii: 6.

DEATH, like a Goliath, walks up and down our world,

challenging some one to enter the lists and compete with him. Incarnate Love heard, accepted the challenge, fought the battle on death's chosen territory, and won the victory.

I. The power of love. The truth of our text was shown:

1. By Christ's life. All through it, in the healing of diseases and in the raising of the dead, in his determination to go to Jerusalem, in his struggle in Gethsemane, in his death upon Calvary, it was manifest that His love was as strong as death.

2. His love was as strong as death, when death had every advantage. Christ's love was as strong as a lingering death, life slowly ebbing and fever fiercely burning. As a lonely death, the disciples all had forsaken Him, mockers only around him. Not one to pity. As a shameful death-without robes and dying a felon's death. As a God-deserted death. No child of God, no believer in Jesus ever experienced that—but Jesus cried "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me ?" Love is STRONGER than death in its conquering power. Death can do a great deal, but he cannot touch the will nor lay hold of the affection, nor destroy the believer's joy, nor stop his song, but love can carry the whole man captive. Love is stronger than death in its RETAINING power. Death can only claim the sleeping dust for a time, but love holds that dust still as its own, and on the resurrection morning, death will have to yield its prey at the call of

all-powerful love. purifying power.

Love is stronger than death in its Death does not purify; it has no power to alter character-it reduces the body to corruption, but love kisses man's sin away, his hatred and impurity and temper out of him, turns a hell into a heaven, a vulture into a dove, a lion into a lamb. Love is triumphant over death in all particulars. Love changes the vile body and makes it like unto Christ's glorious body.

for us.

II. The prayer of this love. "Set me as a seal." Christ requests us to do for Him what He has done He bears the name of every believer on his heart and on his arm. He covets a place in the heart. Queen Mary said when she was dying, that Calais would be found written upon her heart. Christ asks his name to be written there, never to be erased. Prosperity would

erase it. Domestic love would erase it, troubles would erase it. Let it remain there for ever.

Christ covets a place on your ARM, where everybody can see it. Sailors sometimes tattoo the name of their ship upon their arm. Let Christ's name be upon your

arm, where all can read it. So live, act, work that nobody can come in contact with you without saying. "There is the Master's spirit in this man. His name is upon his very arm. His every-day work is consecrated to the Saviour."

Christ offers this all-conquering love to every one who will accept it as a free gift.

Death is strong enough to crush us, and we have to meet that foe at last.

stronger than death.

Let us fly to that, which is even
Love can conquer us. It is

stronger than the grave, for it will retain its hold of us while there and through eternity besides.

NO VICTORY WITHOUT A BATTLE.

MORGAN DIX, D.D.

Let me die the death of the righteous, &c.-NUM. xxiii: 10.

THE

HE last best gift of God in this world is desired by one of the worst and most corrupt of men. The desire of the heart and the manner of life can thus be at variance-an awful contrast between the wish and the act. Men are foolish enough to think that they can have what God promises without doing what God commands have the victory without the battle. There is much of Balaam's wish still in the world-God in Balaam's death set his seal on all such contradictions as Balaam's life, and a righteous death following.

There is a unity in "Men do not gather

I. No man ought to expect to come to a good death who will not lead a good life.) The world is not governed by chance, fate or caprice, but by the just and equitable laws of a Righteous Ruler. the various parts of God's world. grapes of thorns, &c." If they could, every thing would be in confusion. We should not know what to expect. But there is unity and harmony in the workings of God's laws in nature, providence and grace. No new law in this respect has come in under the Gospel. We cannot speak of death-bed repentances with too great reserve. These repentances occur when the power of sinning forsakes the man, the man may not have forsaken his desire to sin. The Gospel holds out no hope to delay. God promises pardon to the penitent, but not a to-morrow to the procrastinator. The dying thief's case only adds weight to our argument. Common sense and God's word unite in the establishment of our proposi

tion and the familiar words of the poet sums it up. Ps. xxxvii: "Mark the perfect man, &c."

II. No wishes, however earnest, do of necessity bring with them the thing wished for. Balaam's end shows this. It would be a reversal of all that God and conscience show about causes and effects in the realm of our spiritual life. See how things are going-what keeps society healthy and sound-the ravages of "the famine. of the world." How unthinkingly men lie down and die and survivors speak of them as safe. Go away without any preparation and yet with an amazing confidence that all shall hereafter be well. Listen to people talk about sinners after death as if pain was over. They ignore future punishment. Are there not two worlds beyond? It is not Christian doctrine to speak otherwise -but a delusion-the wish elevated into a creed. Universal salvation rests only on a wish, and this comes from that other wish, to have all the world can give now, and all that heaven can give us hereafter. On this wish rests all modern scepticism. But if wishing what we want is not effectual as to the things of this life why should it be in the things of the life to come? Jude warns us not to fall into the error of Balaam. We must perform what has to be done to get the things craved. Do not forget what came of Balaam at last. The wish led to no good result. He rebelled more and more. Men cannot change the order of God's laws. Who hath rebelled against them and prospered ?

It is a good then, to die the death of the righteous, to rest like him in dignity and beauty. It is joy with peace, a trust in God that rests on strong foundations, a heart confiding in a covenant promise which it knows. to be certain and sure, perfect submission to the will of Him who is love, resignation of self, and all in those hands which come forth through the gathering darkness

-an end like this here and we shall find beyond it a home and a portion for ever.

THE PLACE OF SACRED DEPOSIT.

REV. H. CANON MELVILLE,

Behold the place where they laid Him. MARK Xvi: 6.

HESE words were addressed to the Marys, who

THE

visited the sepulcher on the Resurrection morning. Their devotedness put to shame the stronger sex. Their love had its reward. Angels announced first to them the best tidings ever proclaimed to mortal cars. resurrection of Jesus and the empty sepulcher.

I. The information given to the women. "Be not affrighted, &c."

1. The address is an acknowledgment of their devotedness. "Jesus of Nazareth," that was the name of contempt. They were seeking Him. They loved Him while living, and they love Him when dead, though He had been crucified between two thieves. We must not turn away from Christ in his humility. The cross is the source of all hope and must be clung to with adoring piety-for there only can we be comforted with the words, "Be not affrighted."

2. The address gives information as to the disappearance of Christ's body. The angels would have them see the empty sepulcher, as if that sight were enough to convince of the certainty of Christ's resurrection. So it was. His disciples were too timid to attempt the removal, and his enemies were determined to hold the dead body in their grasp. The sight of the empty place should therefore be sufficient evidence of Christ's resurrection.