which he has bestowed so much labour, completed, "It makes a little short of 1000 pages, and contains 67,452 words; 30,551 more than Rottler's Dictionary, and 9000 more than the Tamil Dictionary published in Jaffna." Martyr-Monuments, Madagascar. MR. ELLIS writes, under date August 23: "The most pressing want at the present moment is places of worship. I did not expect such large congregations-800, 1000, 1500 meet every Lord's day; but, hoping that the increase of their numbers would render churches necessary, and believing that the Christians of Madagascar would ever cherish the memory of those who from among them had joined the noble army of martyrs,' I sent to the King in January last to ask him to reserve the places on which, during the last twenty-six years, the martyrs had suffered, as sites for memorial churches. The proposal pleased the king and the nobles, and greatly encouraged the Christians. Orders were immediately given that the pieces of land should be reserved for that special purpose, and his majesty has, since my arrival, assured me that the ground shall be used for no other purpose, and shall be given to us whenever we require it. I have repeatedly visited the places in company with those who had witnessed the martyrs' death, or the near relatives of those who suffered." BOOKS. WHO WILL BE A SOUL-GATHERER? By the Author of "The Way Home,' "The Child of the Kingdom," &c. Aberdeen: J, Wagrell. 32mo, 32 pp. Price One Penny. OUR AIM. By the Editor of the Sabbath School Messenger. Glasgow: Glass and Duncan. 32mo, 32 pp. Price One Penny. THE CURE FOR CARE. By the Rev. John Hall, Dublin. Belfast: C. Aitchison. 24mo, 24 pp. Price One Penny. Three specimens of the many little books for the New Year. All are excellent, while each has a special line of its own. The first mentioned, written with the usual skill and beauty of its already well-known hand, is fitted, by the blessing of God, to make many missionaries, as well as to impress many hearts. To it we are indebted for the first pages of our present number. NEW YEAR'S HYMN. TUNE "I'm a Pilgrim.” JOIN your voices,-youth rejoices By thy hand we still are fed. LORD of glory! we adore thee, Thou hast kept us, GoD of glory, From this moment, Holy Jesus, LORD of glory, &c. EDINBURGH: T. NELSON AND SONS. BY THE REV. J. H. WILSON, FOUNTAINBRIDGE, EDINBURGH. ELIEVING in Jesus is TRUSTING him. Some time ago, when I was in another part of the country, in the house of a minister, his little daughter mounted the diningroom table; and as he said, "Come!" standing at some distance from the table, ere ever I was aware, she sprang off right into his arms. I thought to myself, There is faith; at her father's word, trusting herself to him, trusting at once his power and his love! Or there is a young slater-boy on the roof of a house. He has lost his hold, and comes rolling down. You would think it next to impossible that he should not be killed on the spot. But just as he is falling over, he gets hold of a cord, which, though it bears him for the moment, is rubbing against the slates, and in an instant may snap. "Let go your hold, my man," says a voice from below, "and I'll catch you in my strong arms,-trust to me!" and instantly he quits the cord, and is safe in his deliverer's arms. That was faith. That is just another picture of you and of Jesus. You, dear children, are hanging over the very mouth of hell-hanging by a thread by a hair. You say you have godly, praying parents. You think yourselves good—you pray, you read your Bible, you sometimes weep for sin. Well, that is just a thread; in a moment it may snap, and you are lost! And Jesus, who has purchased the right to save sinners by his death, comes to you, stands underneath, and says, "Let go your hold, poor child; let go, or you'll perish; drop into my arms. I am waiting to receive you. I am strong enough, and loving enough, to bear you and to save you -trust me!" Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Believing on Jesus is LAYING HOLD of him, and RESTING on him. A vessel is wrecked; one after another of her crew is swept away and disappears. As she heaves to and fro, it seems as if every moment she would break up, and send her shivering passengers down into the deep. There is the cabin-boy, thinking of his mother and his home, and praying, though scarcely hoping, to be saved, when a plank floats past. Eagerly he lays hold of it, rests his whole weight upon it, and while others perish, he is safe. That describes you again. As you are just about to go down, the plank floats along, comes near you -within reach-within arm's length. That plank is Christ. Lay hold of him-rest yourself upon him. He can bear your whole weight-the whole weight of your sins, which would have sunk you to perdition-the whole weight of your soul. Try him; and, like a sailor-boy who tried him, you'll be able joyfully to say, even in dying, "The plank bears! the plank beays!" Oh, lay your sius on Jesus-lay your soul on Jesus-the spotless Lamb of God! Leaving all else, and resting on him alone for salvation, is believing. Believing on Jesus is COMING to him. Long ago, you might have seen two men going out together to cut wood. As they are going on busily and merrily with their work, the axe-head of one of them flies off, and, striking the other, kills him on the spot. What is to be done? If he remains where he is, his own life may have to go for that of the dead man, and if he should go to his home, the avengers of blood may follow him thither. Here is what he does. God has appointed so many towns in various parts of the country as places to which, in such cases, men may flee for safety. They are called "Cities of Refuge." If the man should be overtaken by the way, he may be put to death; but once within the gates, none dares to touch him. Now, these cities of refuge were meant as a picture of Jesus Christ, as the Refuge of sinners. "The wages of sin is death; the soul that sinneth, it shall die." What shall be done? Flee. Whither? To Jesus. Seek shelter there; and once in him, you are safe. Hence you so often find him using this very word, "Come unto me;" and complaining, "Ye will not come to me that ye may have life." Coming to Jesus, then, is believing.* From "The Golden Fountain." Edinburgh: T. Nelson and Sons. |