peace," under the calm and loving protection of the parental roof-when you are free from the thousand secular cares and anxieties, of those who are farther advanced in life; how will you contend with the "horses," the strong passions and prejudices, which you will find yourself in possession of when you have left this "land of peace," and gone out into the open world for yourself, the subject of a thousand harrassing cares and strong temptations, amid the awful swelling of the perilous Jordan of life, where the banks are overflowing with evil, and where the wild beasts prowl in search of their prey?

Secondly: We apply it to health and disease. There is required, especially in adult life and for investigating minds, a large amount of mental abstraction as the necessary means of attaining religion. The evidences of the Bible have to be weighed, and the meanings of the Bible to be elicited, realized, and appropriated. Disease and suffering are not only unfavourable to such abstraction, but, in many cases, necessarily prevent its exercise. Often have good men on their bed of sickness exclaimed, "It is well that we have not religion to seek now, for we have no power of thought." If a man, therefore, cannot contend with the "footmen," the difficulties to the attainment of religion in the days of health—the “land of peace," how will he be able to contend with the "horses "the greater evils in the days of affliction -the "swelling of Jordan"? Some are putting off religion The solicitudes surging over

to the sick bed. It is madness. the mind, like the overflowing waters of the Jordan, and the physical sufferings tearing the system like beasts of prey, may render it all but impossible then.

What is

Thirdly We apply it to life and death. : religion? The surrendering of our all to God,—the yielding up of ourselves as a living sacrifice. How can the man, therefore, who cannot resign himself to a commercial loss, or who responds most inadequately, if at all, to the claims of benevolence in life, be able, cheerfully, to yield his friends,

property, and all he has, and is, to the great God in death? The man who cannot now give cheerfully his property to Christ, is not likely in death to give cheerfully his all;-to say with a hopeful heart, "Into thy hands, O God, I commit my spirit." But then, if he does not give himself, he will be taken.

From the forementioned thoughts learn thou-practise thou -my brother, the art of mastering every difficulty as it comes. Each conquest gives power for more signal triumphs. Each victorious blow nerves our being for nobler deeds. Let us remember that mastering the "footmen' " will qualify us to conquer the "horses." conquer as we go.

To overcome at last, we must Let us traverse life's arena, like the

apocalyptic warrior, "conquering and to conquer."

"Let us then be up and doing,

With a heart for any fate :
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labour and to wait."

SUBJECT:-The Good Man on Earth in his Intercessory Function.

"And he showed me Joshua, the high priest, standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the Lord said unto Satan, the Lord rebuke thee, O Satan ; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the Angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment."-Zechariah, iii. 1-5.

Analysis of Homily the Ninety-fifth.

OUR Prophet here delivers to the Jews who had been..

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He

restored from Babylon,* a vision which he had witnessed in order to encourage them in the work of rebuilding the temple. The scene of the vision seems to have been the temple. saw Joshua, the high priest, standing before the Lord on their behalf, robed in "defiled garments." He saw Satan," the great enemy of humanity, oppose him in his intercessory engagements; but he was, nevertheless, rebuked by Jehovah; and he heard a divine voice commanding the "filthy garments" to be taken away from the priest, declaring the removal of his iniquity, ordering a "mitre" to be put on his head, commanding him to be clothed in new raiment, and promising him other great blessings if he would but "walk" in the ways" of God.

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Regarding the vision as we do, as a symbolical revelation of Joshua in his representative aspect-as the high priest of the Jewish people then existing, we feel authorized to infer from it two or three ideas, touching the intercessory functions of good men while on earth.

The Jews, who had been Seventy years in the Babylonian captivity, and many, probably, of the ten tribes, had availed themselves of the liberty granted to them by Cyrus, to return to their own country and to rebuild the temple at Jerusalem. Zerubbabel, grandson of King Jehoiachin, and Joshua, a grandson of Jonadak, and ten of the elders accompanied by nearly fifty thousand had returned to Judea. (Ezra, ii. 64, Neh. vii. 7.) Zerubbabel, who had directed this multitude on the homeward journey, was appointed Governor of Judea. Instead of commencing the re-erection of the temple at once, they had an idea that the work should not be undertaken until Seventy years had expired from the time of its destruction-according to the duration of the captivity. Meanwhile they were building splendid dwellings for themselves and adorning their apartments with ornamental work. To correct their mistake and to excite them to duty, two eminent prophets were sent to them in the second year of Darius, about two hundred and fifty years before Christ-Haggai and Zachariah. These appealed to Zerubabbel, the Governor, to Joshua, who was then their high priest, and to the whole people, so powerfully, that the building of the House of God was once more resumed, (Ezra, xviii.— xxviii., 1—2: Hagg. i. 2—15: Zechariah, ii. 5—17.) See Jahn's Hebrew Commonwealth.

I. THAT THE GOOD MAN, IN HIS INTERCESSORY FUNCTIONS ON EARTH, HAS TO BEAR BEFORE GOD THE MORAL IMPERFECTIONS OF HIS RACE. Joshua had on a "filthy garment. This was evidently intended to represent the corrupt state of the Jewish people. The seventy years' captivity had not purified them; for now, instead of setting themselves to the work of rebuilding the House of the Lord, they were taken up with their own personal concerns, and excusing themselves by saying "the time is not come."

Here then is a characteristic feature of a good man's intercession while on earth. He has to bear the imperfections of his fellow creatures before God. Intercession itself we consider to be an obligation resting on all minds, in all worlds for ever. Prayer, either for self or others, is not confined to earth. What is prayer for self, but a living sense of dependence upon God? And where is there a virtuous mind in the universe, without this sense? This, indeed, lies at the root of all true religion. And what is prayer for others, or intercession, but a deep living sympathy with them, a desire for their highest interests? And does not this benevolent feeling lie at the basis of all moral excellence? There is not a saint nor an angel in heaven, we suppose, who does not desire the progress of kindred spirits; and what is this, but intercession?

But that which distinguishes intercession on earth is, that we have to remember the moral corruption of our race. In heaven there is no defilement. All there are either clad in the robes of pristine holiness, or in garments washed and made white in "the blood of the lamb." But here, all are in filthy garments-garments stained by sensuality, worldliness, idolatry, falsehood, and dishonesty. Here the pious parent has to appear before God for sinful children, the minister for a sinful people, and the pious sovereign for a sinful nation.

We infer

II. THAT THE GOOD MAN, IN HIS INTERCESSORY FUNCTION

ON EARTH, HAS TO ANTAGONIST. The prophet saw Satan standing at his right hand, to resist him. The existence of some mighty spirit or spirits, who are determined foes of the truth, virtue, and happiness of man, is rendered more than probable by a number of considerations, independent of the testimony of the Bible: such, for example, are the general belief of the race, the conflicting phenomena of the moral world, the unaccountable opposite impressions of which all are conscious. But the Bible is most clear on this subject. Under various names, the "serpent"-the "devil"-the "God of this world" -"the prince of the power of the air," this great enemy of the race is brought under our notice.

CONTEND WITH A MIGHTY SPIRITUAL

Now, this enemy stood up to resist Joshua in his intercessions. And who will say that he is not now specially active with the good man, when he draws near to God? In how many ways may he hinder our prayers? Sometimes he may suggest to us, even in the very time of our prayers, doubts as to the existence of God: we may be tempted to ask, are we sure that there is a God? May not the idea be a delusion, for who has ever seen or heard him? Or, granting his existence, he may suggest whether he would condescend to attend to the affairs of an individual. We may be tempted to the supposition that he takes care of the great but overlooks the little; or that the universe is so thoroughly and absolutely under a system of laws, that he will not interpose on behalf of any of his creatures. Or granting that he does exist, and that he attends to the prayers of some, Satan may suggest that I am too worthless for his notice, that it is presumptuous for me to address his awful majesty-I am too great a sinner ever to be attended to.

In

In such suggestions as these, Satan may be said to stand up against us when we appear before the Lord. This, again, is a peculiarity of our intercessory functions on earth. heaven, we presume, no enemy will intrude on our devotions-no Satan will stand up to resist as we appear before