lustful, the covetous, the drunken, the proud. Fly from the way that leadeth to that resurrection, turn away your eyes in great fear and dread from those sins which are denials of Christ, which turn away Christ from us, and make a most merciful Saviour a most wrathful and angry Judge. Set your affections on things above, purify yourselves even as your Lord is pure, rise from dead works to serve the living God, lead a risen life as the disciples of the risen Christ. Be in the world but not of it, die to the world, die to sin while you live, and then when you die you shall rise again with your bodies and live with Him, who is the atonement for our sins, in the kingdom of everlasting life. Even so may it be; even so, O Saviour, grant that it may be; even so, O Holy Ghost, without whom we cannot think or do any thing that is good, work with us and in us that we may please God."

No sooner had the clergyman ended his sermon in some such words as these, than to my surprise the whole church seemed to swim before my eyes. I could see nothing distinctly for a time, and at last as my sight returned I looked up, and there before me was the picture with the old man "Time" with his hurried look, his scythe in his hand, and his hour-glass at his side

The church too had turned into my own room. The truth is, that I had fallen asleep while I was looking at the picture, and as I had been just reading the Tract for Easter Sunday, my dream had woven together the picture and the subject of the Tract; for I found that the first part of my dream had illustrated the first part of the Tract which speaks of death and the grave, while the last part, like the last part of the Tract, spoke of life and the resurrection. When I had recovered myself, the bells of my own church sounded across the valley, and I rose to go to a real church, to join in a real Easter service, and my dream gave me many subjects for serious thought to prepare me for that service as I walked across the fields.

COLLECT.

ALMIGHTY God, who through thy only-begotten Son Jesus Christ hast overcome death, and opened unto us the gate of everlasting life; we humbly beseech Thee, that, as by Thy special grace preventing us Thou dost put into our minds good desires, so by Thy continual help we may bring the same to good effect; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end.

Amen.

JOHN HENRY PARKER, OXFORD AND LONDON.

Tracts for the Christian Seasons.

FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER.

Living faith in the Resurrection.

How must the Apostles' understandings have been enlarged and enlightened, how must their faith have been quickened and confirmed, when the Lord Jesus stood among them in His risen body on the evening of the very day of His resurrection, the first Easter day! As we read in the Gospel, "He came and stood in the midst and said unto them, Peace be unto you. And when He had so said He shewed them His hands and His side." To hear His voice again and to see those five most sacred wounds was indeed a confirmation of His true and real manhood, in body as well as soul, and also a great revelation of His eternal Godhead. His own ends were visibly accomplished, "Therefore doth My Father love Me, because I lay down My life that I might take it again. No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again." But what hap

pened on the eighth day after, as on this very Sunday, was perhaps still more remarkable.

On the occasion of His first appearance, the Apostle St. Thomas was absent, and for the more confirmation of our faith, He suffered him to be doubtful of the truth of His resurrection, even to refuse altogether to believe it, unless it could be proved to him by sight and by touch. And so eight days after, on the first day of the week, Jesus stood once more in the midst of His disciples. As before, His very coming was a miracle. "He came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith He to Thomas, Reach hither Thy finger and behold My hands; and reach hither thy hand and thrust it into My side; and be not faithless, but believing." That which He offered to St. Thomas to touch and to handle, was the real body of man, with flesh and bones. But the very sight of that risen Body convinced the Apostle of unbelief; through the wounds of the manhood he discerned the Son of God, and he worshipped Him of whom he had before doubted; "And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord, and my God."

The sight of our Lord after His resurrection, convinced St. Thomas that He is perfect God as