out of Christ.

But is it not awful to live
To live out of Christ, is

out of Christ?
to live, despising His solemn warnings,
refusing to listen to His counsels, reject-
ing His loving exhortations, and refusing
his gracious invitations. To live out of
Christ, is to live as the neighbours of
Noah, who saw him and his family enter
into the ark, but remained careless and
secure until the flood came and carried
them away. To live out of Christ, is to
live, as one who knows that the house is
on fire in which he dwells, and yet refuses
to leave it, preferring to perish in the
flames. O sinner! sinner! you are now
out of Christ, therefore you are in immi-
nent danger. You are in the greatest
peril. But there is a way of escape, and
a highway," open to all, therefore
open to
you. Jesus calls you to His feet,
to His arms, to His heart. Go to Him,
sinner, as thou art. Seek an interest in
His salvation. Seek union to His person.
Seek to be one with Christ; then, then you
are safe for ever.

it is "

MAN'S MISTAKE RECTIFIED.

WHEN we reflect on the value of the soul, the importance of salvation, the uncertainty of life, and the solemnities of eternity, we are struck with the indifference that characterizes many hearers of the gospel.

They profess to believe in the inspiration of the Bible, they assent to all the preacher delivers, and yet they remain, year after year, just in the same condition. They are not believers.-They do not realize their danger. They do not flee to Jesus as the refuge from the wrath to come. Why is this? The apostle replies, "The God of this world hath blinded the minds of them, which believe not." Is it so? What does Satan work in them bewildering and blinding them? He does, and various are the means he uses for this purpose.

I have just been directed to this subject by the death of a Christian man. He had sat under my ministry for a considerable

time. He paid great attention to what he heard. He assisted to support the cause; he saw his wife decide for Christ, but he remained unmoved.

Calling upon him one day, I introduced the subject. He said he had been brought up under the gospel, he had great repect for its institutions, he admired all consistent professors, considered it quite right for his wife to unite herself with the church, but, as for himself, he must wait until the Lord called him.

I spoke to him seriously on the subject, and left him. On the following Lord'sday evening, I preached from these words, "I have called, and ye refused" (Prov. i. 24.), and endeavoured to show that the gospel was addressed to each person individually, and that it was a call from God

-that God by the gospel called every one who heard it; but that many refused to believe and obey it.

The Holy Spirit accompanied that dis course with his own secret and invincible power; the sinner felt it, saw his mistake, was convinced of sin, of his need of Christ, and began to seek a personal interest in his salvation. What he sought he

found.

Having found the knowledge of salvation by the remission of his sins, he joined himself to the Lord's people, ultimately became an officer in the church, and last week, after a brief illness, went home to be for ever with the Lord. More than fifteen years have passed since that sermon was preached, but the effect of it remained until death; and now he who waited expecting he knew not what, but who, discovering his mistake, sought and obtained the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory, has heard another call, "Come up hither, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."

But this paper may be read by some one who is labouringing under the same mistake. My friend, do you suppose that if you attend the preaching of the gospel, and just listen to the preacher's voice, that you have performed your duty? Or do you think that you are to sit down, and expect that God will some time or other operate upon you, as if you were a mere machine? If so, your thoughts are very irrational, and equally unscriptural. God speaks to you as a man, in the language of men. He addresses you as a rational and accountable being. He tells you

what you are, a sinner; what you deserve, everlasting punishment; how you may escape it, by believing in Jesus.

for

He calls attention. He commands you to your repent. He invites you to His throne. He beseeches you to be reconciled. He He warns you of the wrath to come. offers you pardon. He entreats you to beware. He exhorts you to enter in at the strait gate.

He uses every possible form of expres. sion. He humbles himself to the lowest. He has done so to you. To you personally. He has called have refused him? you; you If so, you have done so freely, no one* compelled you. You have done so deliberately, for plenty of time has been given you. In doing so, you choose death in preference to life-you yield to Satan in preference to God. You despise your own soul. You love darkness rather than light, because your deeds are evil. You cannot say, "I was never called," for if you do, God will reply, "I called, and ye refused."

You cannot say that you were never invited; you were but you would not come. But God has not given you up yet. The very fact that these lines are placed before you proves you are not given