word, 'When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.' What comfort for her in these words! With what confidence may she exclaim, as she thinks of them, if thought is still retained to her, Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and staff they comfort me!' And what unspeakable consolation is there in them to us, and especially to you who are by her! For God's word cannot fall to the ground; and therefore you may be well assured that while you attend to her outward comfort, there is another present with her, and another hand that upholds and strengthens her soul.

"We have not been forgetting there where remembrance is sweetest and most efficacious-you and in your peculiar circumstances. We rejoice in your peculiar privilege in being thus chosen to wait upon her we love, and we sympathize with your peculiar trial. We feel thankful that you have been so much and so long strengthened, and pray that God would still be with you. It is very much to be permitted to spend yourselves in tending one so dear to you, and who may so soon be taken away beyond the reach, and gloriously beyond the need of all attention. It is much more still

to be permitted thus to serve one of Christ's own little ones, attention to whom He counts attention to Himself. It has been appointed to us to be kept at a distance from her bedside; and our part we feel is to hold up your hands by prayer to God on your behalf."

I was very

To Miss Brown,-" 22d Jan., 1858. much grieved to hear last night of the illness of your dear father. What need there is for abiding in Christ.' I have often felt this of late. When our relations with Him wax dim or vague, how startled we are at times with unexpected temptations or unexpected trials! But in Him, with all clear, distinct, and settled between us, what comes amiss? What profound mean

ing in that key-note and chorus of Luther's psalm, ‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble! Very present! implying, first of all, that He is not far to seek. He is at hand when trouble comesyea, he is there before it, preparing and arranging for it; and, when it comes, it finds us ready and all safe within the Divine arms. But it seems to imply also, that He brings the help very close to us-a very present help. He comes in nearer than any other helper can. Next our souls God is, imparting, with Divine wisdom and power, strength and consolations to our hearts. I trust you will find how infinitely true this is, if God at this time call you to trouble."

SERMONS.

PREFATORY NOTE.

THE following Discourses, it is necessary to explain, were not written by their author with a view to publication. It is probable that, in the composition of them, he had not the most distant thought of their ever meeting the public eye in print. They were written by him in the ordinary course of his weekly preparations for the pulpit. Due allowance, it is hoped, will be made for their posthumous character, and the disadvantages usually incident to that mode of publication. In making the following selection from his manuscripts, the relatives of the author have been guided by various considerations,-by the comparative fulness with which they were written out-the importance of the occasions on which they were delivered-and their presenting on the whole, a fair specimen of his style of preaching at different periods of his ministry. They are given to the public in the hope that, by the Divine blessing, their publication may, in some measure, prolong their author's usefulness.

WILLIAM MACLAREN.

SERMONS.

I.

PREACHED ON COMMENCING HIS WORK IN COWCADDENS.

แ Compel them to come in."-LUKE xiv. 33.

BEFORE considering these words themselves, let us notice the circumstances in which they were spoken. From the beginning of the chapter, we learn that one of the chief Pharisees had invited Jesus to eat bread in his house. This invitation our Lord accepted, and went in and sat down to meat with them that were bidden. But He had entered with another purpose than simply to pass the hour, and share the rich man's feast. "His meat was to do the will of Him that sent Him, and to finish His work." And accordingly, even at that Pharisee's table, and to the guests assembled there, He began to preach the Gospel, drawing, as was His custom, His instructions and appeals from what He saw around Him. As He went on, one who heard Him exclaimed, “Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God;" that is, who shall share in the blessings of the Gospel. This he said, it would seem, taking it for granted, that being a Jew, he himself would enjoy that privilege-that his being a son of Abraham was enough to secure that. Our Lord, therefore, to warn them against this sad mistake, and to show that only they who received the Gospel when it was offered them would enjoy its blessings, addressed to them the parable we have just now read.

Let us glance next at the parable itself. A certain man, it is said, invited many to a great supper.

At