WAIT SILENTLY. "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently WAIT silently! ere thou invoke Reflect, my soul, the solemn thought, Wait silently! be passion hush'd, Wait silently! expectant wait, Wait silently! the heart prepared, Wait silently, when prayer is done, Then silently, like dew, will fall Monthly Observations. LET the Christian in his closet, after composing his mind, and lifting up his heart to God, look out, and see what is going on in this great world, and he will behold much that is fitted to exercise his thoughts, and to call forth thanksgiving, praise, supplication, and intercession. At home he will everywhere perceive tokens of goodness and of mercy. Among these he will rank a bountiful harvest, preceding the mercantile convulsions which have followed, and vastly mitigating the wide-spread calamity. He will further remark, in regard to trade and commerce, on which the British people are so mainly dependent, that less has been suffered than there was at one time reason to apprehend. He will, moreover, note, that amid the extended privation and distress actually existing, there is manifested much patience and submission. Penetrating more deeply into the heart of society, he will perceive, on all sides, notwithstanding the general deadness, which all deplore, marks of the Divine favour amongst the various denominations of Christians-in particular, a growing spirit of zeal on behalf of the perishing multitudes of our native land. Examining Zion through all her borders, he will distinctly perceive, that the means of man's salvation are still on the increase, and that, to a large extent, all things are ready for the descent of the Holy Spirit, who, although free and sovereign, as a rule, works by human instrumentality. This survey-and that is the object of it-will serve the Christian as a general guide to personal duty in the all-important exercise of prayer. As the one great thing wanted to the Church's revival and the world's conversion is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, this consideration ought to regulate the people of God in their closets, in their families, and in their more public assemblies. Amongst the subordinate points to be pleaded with a confiding and an agonising fervour are the following: 1. The thorough awakening of the universal Church through every land, but especially in this our native country. 2. The complete and entire purification of the Church general from all carnality and corruption, that she may be clothed with zeal as with a garment, and shine in the beauties of holiness. 3. The raising up and sending forth of an adequate supply of labourers into the harvest; men after God's own heart, whom he will bless and make blessings to mankind. 4. A full supply of suitable missionaries for the foreign field, more especially for India; a general awakening of the Church to the claims of that vast country to special efforts for enlightening their darkness and securing their salvation. of all Theological Colleges, and a full supply of fit and proper men to conduct them, that they may continue to be fountains of light and truth, and be kept wholly free from error and corruption. 6. A just, wise, humane, and permanent settlement of the Government of India, and the speedy diffusion of the Gospel throughout the whole of Hindostan. 7. The early and bloodless adjustment of the lamentable misunderstanding which now prevails between China and England, and the enlargement of Missionary operations throughout that vast portion of the human race. True prayer must be intelligent, as well as believing and fervent. It is, therefore, needful that the Christian should always be at special pains to inform himself on the subject of his supplication, thanksgiving, and intercession; making it the theme of frequent and devout meditation. It has been found very advantageous to draw up a sort of plan of private prayer, jotting down the main points of each head or subject. The course may comprise as many days as there are subjects; the foregoing would occupy seven days. Were a million of the faithful in Christ Jesus, during the year now begun, thus to act, the result would be to put a new face on the affairs not only of the Empire, but of the World. The renovation of the human race can be acomplished by nothing short of Almighty power, and that power will infallibly be put forth in answer to the prayers of the 5. A fresh and powerful baptism people of God. WHAT an event is the past year, with all its responsibilities, brought before us; the future, with its cares, perplexities, trials, wisely hid from our view! We know not what the next hour may develope; all is enshrouded in darkness, all concealed, that we may feel our entire dependence on Him who regulates the orbs of heaven in their course, and appoints the individual destiny of man. In a world where all is exposed to uncertainty and mutability, how needful is it to explore the future in reference to eternity! How momentous the thought to each, to all: Am I prepared for the great change? It must take place sooner or later; it may be near at hand. It is impossible to shake off the all-absorbing question: Am I prepared to die? Nothing, indeed, is worth a thought below, but how to escape the death that never dies. An unforeseen accident or a fit of sickness happens suddenly, and the soul is ushered before its Maker in the twinkling of an eye! Nothing can arrest the blow, nothing stem the torrent which hurries the bark into the deep ocean of eternity. All is solemn, impressive, that the hour is certain, fixed, irrevocable, in which the precious soul wings its way to the bar of the great Eternal! The link is precarious by which we are bound to time. We are not our own, and we have no power over the next moment of our existence. We live only by permission, and we walk every moment on the brink of an eternal world! And yet, how thoughtless, how inconsistent, how careless, how reckless, not to embrace the present to lay up in store for the future, where our destiny will for ever be fixed! Time! how precious does it appear, in which we are to be meetened for the glory of the inheritance above! The golden hours are still prolonged, to show forth the unsearchable riches of Divine grace, that we may lay hold of eternal life. Let the voice of the messenger of the covenant now be heard in all its deep solemnity, "Prepare to meet thy God!" Let the sound find its way to the awakened conscience: Is it I to whom these awful words apply? Reader! are you unprepared? Do you wilfully sin against light, conscience, reason, and refuse to yield your heart to Jesus? Do you resist the Holy Ghost, who speaks loudly to the heart, "How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?" Is it safe to peril the soul by indifference to your spiritual welfare? to trifle with your eternal interest? Is it well to proceed in a course so dangerous, so utterly opposed to the Divine will? There is but a step between you and death; and if you die without Christ, you perish everlastingly! It is an awful thought to be rejected by the Judge as reprobate silver, and to be cut off from everlasting bliss! And yet such must be your lot, if you persevere in the ways of sin, in seeking your own pleasures, in the indulgence of sensual gratification, a life of gaiety, a routine of reckless folly. To-day is yours; to-morrow your sun may set for ever. The past reminds you of lost opportunities for self-improvement, self-culture, and the acquisition of spiritual wealth. The hours squandered have sent up their account to God, and record a sad and fearful history. Nothing is lost, nothing forgotten, nothing passed over by One who has marked the progress of sin and disobedience. All things are naked to the eyes of Him who is to be our future Judge. There is no escape, no delivery from the one great searching ordeal. In the full light of revelation, in the face of Him who knoweth the secrets of the heart, in the prospect of the coming judgment, in the consciousness of individual responsibility, how fearful to die without an interest in Christ! The charms of life, with all their absorbing influence; the wealth, the honours, the dignities, the full tide of earthly pleasures, all add bitterness and wormwood to the soul without Christ in the hour of dissolution. If anything can add to the intensity of anguish in the dying hour, it is the recollection of precious time frittered away in laboriously doing nothing to further the great end of life. However important may be the earthly vocation, the claims of business, the arduous pursuits of professional or other duties, the necessity for a punctual performance of pressing engagements, it must be admitted that, above all, the absorbing interest of the soul outweighs every other consideration. To neglect the one thing needful, to maintain a studied indifference to religion, to be inattentive to the warnings of conscience, the threatenings of revealed truth, the dispensations of Divine Providence, is in fact to run counter to the solemn convictions of a righteous retribution hereafter. There is a time for reflection and serious thought, and never more so than at such a season as the opening of a new year. The past has fled, never more to return; and in the retrospect, how much there is to humble the mind, how much to call forth the prayer of strong and earnest penitence, to open the channels of the great deep within, to pour forth floods of bitter remorse, and strong cries to Him who is able to save! What solemn duties neglected! what time devoted to the world, how little to God! what Sabbaths desecrated and lost for ever! what eager desire for the things that perish! what coldness and deadness to the things which pertain to salvation! And now, my reader, what shall be your determination for the future? What will be your solemn resolution at the commencement of this year? How much depends on thought, purpose, action! Right or wrong must be your course. You must decide either to take up your cross to follow Christ fully, or you must reject him. There is no middle path. "He who is not for me is against me," said our blessed Redeemer. If you live one hour without yielding your heart supremely to Jesus, you are exposed to his wrath, and to everlasting woe! In the hour you think not the Son of Man cometh! Now only is the accepted time; to-morrow is not yours-it belongs to God. You are warned to flee from the wrath to come at once. If you despise this great offer of forgiveness and Divine acceptance through the blood of the everlasting covenant, you remain with the word unpardoned written on your brow! And what a thought to carry with you in all the busy concerns of life, amid its pleasures and smiles, this awful sentence, as a sign, a seal of righteous judgment, because you wilfully reject so great salvation ! Is it not so ? 66 "He that believeth not is condemned already," at the moment you read these awful truths, if you are not decided to yield to Christ your precious, never-dying soul ! 66 Except a man is born of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord." What is written is written: no one can set it aside. Truth must stand. It is, therefore, a period for deep reflection and study of the Word of God. Eternity is at hand. The Judge already stands at the door of your heart. He seeks admittance—he warns youhe counsels you-he entreats you. Why will ye die?" He poured out his precious blood for you? Is not this enough? Was 66 it not a costly sacrifice? Was it not love unfathomable, unsearch |