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ing man, "has servants also under Him to do His will!" And was the centurion mistaken? Has He not armies of ministering spirits ever ready to fulfil His commandment, hearkening unto the voice of His word? Is He not the Lord of Hosts?

Believe it, my child, we can never depend too much on the mercy, nor trust too much to the power of our Lord Jesus Christ. Be assured, we can never ask too much from Him, if it be but with a humble sense of our own utter unworthiness, and a meek submission to His will. Does not our Lord teach us this continually? Does He not bid us learn it here, in His conduct to this centurion? When He had heard his message, He marvelled at him; He was filled with wonder and admiration at such faith in a sinful and weak human being; in a Roman centurion! "And he turned about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found such great faith, no, not in Israel. And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick." Thus he who had borne the praise of men so humbly, without being lifted up by it, was to receive public notice and praise from Christ, together with the cure which he had sought at His hands.

E. Yet I suppose this Centurion was a heathen too?

M. He had, no doubt, been a heathen; but, perhaps, from living among the Jews, and having an opportunity of knowing more of the truth, he had become a proselyte, or convert to their religion. His building a synagogue seems to show a pious, as well as a liberal spirit. But be this as it may, our Lord.

Himself declared, that He had "not found so great faith, no, not in Israel," as in this gentile centurion.

The aged Simeon, you know, declared, when our Lord was as yet a child in his arms, that He should be a light to lighten the Gentiles; and I dare say you can tell me when this prophecy first began to be fulfilled.

E. Yes, Mamma; when the wise men from the east came to worship Jesus at Bethlehem.

M. And here we have another instance of the same kind; another pledge of the salvation of the Gentiles, through the Son of God. Not only from the East, but from the West also, many our Lord said should come, and many through the mercy of God have come, to sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. Gentiles from most parts of the world, to the east and west of Jerusalem, have already become God's people, and heirs of His kingdom; while on the other hand, too many of the children of the kingdom, the Jews who were formerly heirs of the promises which God made to their fathers, have been cast out from the heavenly feast into outer darkness, to weep for their unbelief, and to gnash their teeth in bitter vexation at their grievous loss.

E. Are not we Gentiles, Mamma?

M. Yes, we are Gentiles; yet in one respect we stand now rather in the place of the Jews. For we are now by inheritance what they were in ancient times, "the children of the kingdom;" that is, being born in a Christian country, of Christian parents, and dedicated, as infants, at our baptism to the service of Christ, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, we have all the outward privi

leges of the Church of God, and are placed within reach of its spiritual blessings, that inward and spiritual grace which they are intended to convey. But there is danger, lest we resemble the Jews in resting too much on these privileges, and thinking ourselves safe because we have the name of Christ named over us in our infancy; just as they prided themselves on having Abraham for their father. But of how little value was this, if they did not become his spiritual children, that is, if they did not walk in the steps of the faith of their father Abraham. Indeed our Lord plainly told them that these privileges would only increase their condemnation, and that many far less favoured than themselves would rise up against them in the day of judgment to condemn them.

Let us think then not only of our advantages, which are many and great, but upon our danger too; and let us not suffer our Gentile brethren, who are only just now passing from the darkness of ignorance to the light of the Gospel, to outstrip us in faith and holiness. There is no country in the world where Christian privileges abound more than in our own; none where the Scriptures are spread more freely; where the Sacraments are more duly administered, or the truth of the Gospel more fully and faithfully taught. In no country is there a form of prayer more pure, more spiritual, more scriptural, than that with which God is worshipped in our Churches; I mean that form of devotion which is contained in our Prayer Book, Edward, and which is called the Liturgy of the Church of England. It is, indeed, a blessing to be born of Christian parents, and that in our favoured land; to be educated in such a Church;

thus to be "led into the path of peace, and prepared to inhabit hereafter one of the many mansions of your Father's house in heaven." I wish you from your childhood to feel how greatly God has blessed you; to value your privileges, and by God's grace to make a good use of them: lest they should be taken away from you, in some degree perhaps in this world, or you should be called to answer hereafter for neglecting them. It is a humble sense of our own unworthiness, and a full confidence in the mercy and power of Christ our Saviour which makes the safe Christian, and not the abundance of our privileges.

The Roman Centurion has left us, in more points than one, a very profitable example. He was a kind master, a good neighbour, a promoter of religion, seeking the peace and prosperity of those among whom he lived; and with all these excellent qualities, which too often lead people to feel pleased with themselves, he was deeply humble. And more, far more, than all the rest, he was a simple and sincere believer in Jesus Christ. Vain would have been all the rest, without this faith in the Son of God!

We have talked long, and I will only make one or two observations more. Religion is often considered to be almost impossible in a military life. Yet it is remarkable how many pious soldiers we read of in the Bible. And observe how this Gentile captain turns his very calling as a soldier into a lesson of piety; learning from it how he was to obey the Lord of hosts. The fact is, a man may be religious in every situation of life. A humble and believing heart is the great requisite; and the Spirit of God can give that in the bustle of the camp, as well as

in the stillness of the cloister. See too in this story that those who humble themselves shall be exalted. "I am not worthy," says the centurion concerning himself. "I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel," says the Saviour concerning the centurion. See Matt. viii. 5-13. Luke vii. 1-10.

TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY EVENING.

THE WIDOW OF NAIN.

E. I wonder what you are going to talk to me about to-night, Mamma? I have been thinking that you may not be able perhaps to tell me any thing quite so interesting, as what we had last Sunday evening. did like that account of the good centurion so very much.

I

M. I do not wonder at that: it was a very striking story, and you certainly must not always expect to be equally pleased with the subject of our conversation. Every part of our blessed Lord's history is deeply important and profitable; every portion of it contains some valuable lesson; something that is calculated to improve, or correct, or refresh our hearts. Nor do I think that you will ever have cause to complain that any hour of the time we may spend in tracing his course of mercy, when He was here on earth, was long or dull to you. At the same time there are some parts of His holy life which will be more interesting to all of us than others, and especially to the young. I am always glad when I come to them, and always ready to indulge you by dwelling as long as possible

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