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girdeth me with strength, and MAKETH MY WAY PERFECT." May the God of Peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make us perfect in every good work to do His will, working in us that which is well-pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

THE CROSS OF CHRIST IS

The Scourge to evils that would occupy Christ's place in our hearts;

The Heavenly Sentinel, to keep enemies from entering; The Sword, to pursue and vanquish the mightiest foe; The Bread and Wine, to cheer and sustain in the fight;

The Lever to our Father's house;

"The Balm of life;

The Cure of woe;

The Measure and the Pledge of LOVE!"

TAUGHT OF GOD.-There is all the difference between hearing by the ear and seeing with the eye, as Job says; and the teaching of a school, even though it be the truth itself, and the teaching of God. "They shall be all taught of God" is a grand promise indeed; for Israel yet future, but made good now to us, in that He leads us to Jesus as the truth-the living truth, the embodied truth-"Every man, therefore, that hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto Me." Is it not generally true that a school of doctrine leads us to glory in men, the teaching of the Holy Ghost of the very same truth to glorify Christ?

BROTHERLY LOVE.

THE thing to promote brotherly love is love. The unchanging law from the first is, "herb and tree yielding fruit after his kind" (Genesis i. 11). Corn bears corn, and nettles produce nettles. And just as surely love bears love, and pride produces pride. So let us seek to sow broadcast after the Blessed Pattern, who fell into the ground and died, that He might yield fruit after His kind. One thing that may mar this is impatience, expecting fruit too soon. I have seen this

in my children, and have felt it in my own experience. I expect fruit before its time, or fruit of a kind too high, not seeing how God accepts "the good smell" of the "tender grape," while it is yet sour (Song of Sol. ii. 13). Any one can see that the image of God, when it comes, is "very good" (Gen. i. 27, 31), when the new man created in righteousness rules the whole creature; but the thing is to be like God, to see what is good in brethren from the fruit, and when any light has come, to see with God "that it is good" (Gen. i. 4). That verse in Acts, where we are told that when Barnabas went to Antioch "he saw the grace of God" in them, has been of use to me. He saw the grace of God, for he saw with the eyes of grace-" he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost"-and good men yet see grace, even when it is in the bud, where carnal and proud souls only see the flesh in some poor weak brother. Let us thus seek the things which edify, duly estimating what is of Christ in each other: so shall the body be united rather than torn asunder. Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of

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God."

MNASON OF CYPRUS, AN OLD DISCIPLE. Acts xxi. 16.

CYPRUS, a considerable island in the Mediterranean Sea between Syria and Cilicia, was renowned in heathen story for its fertility so as to be called the happy island; but it was also sadly renowned for the profligacy of its inhabitants. But even to the inhabitants of this island

the

grace of God appeared and was made effectual to the shewing forth that, in all cases where it is received, it "teaches to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people zealous of good works."

The first mention made of a disciple of the country of Cyprus, is the honourable testimony to "Joses, who by the Apostles was surnamed Barnabas (which is being interpreted, The son of consolation), a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the Apostles' feet." But there were early in the Church other disciples of the country of Cyprus; for we read, "Now they that were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only. And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus: and the hand of the Lord was with them; and a

great number believed, and turned to the Lord" (Acts xi. 19-21). The disciples of Cyprus were thus among the first to preach the Lord Jesus, outside the Jews.

When Paul and Barnabas were specially selected by the Holy Ghost, for the work of carrying the name of Jesus among the Gentiles, they immediately "departed" from Antioch to Selucia, and from thence they sailed to Cyprus. They visited the two chief cities in the island, Salamis and Paphos, and their ministry was no less strikingly marked by the conversion of Sergius Paulus, the Roman deputy, than by the infliction of blindness on Elymas the sorcerer.

On the occasion of the humiliating breach between Barnabas and Paul, two servants of the Lord sent forth on a common work by the direct appointment of the Holy Ghost, "Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus."

On Paul's last eventful visit to Jerusalem, after he and his companions had landed at Cæsarea, "they went up to Jerusalem. There went with us also certain of the disciples of Cæsarea, and brought with them one Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple, with whom we should lodge." The generous love for the truth which had wrought in Barnabas of Cyprus to sell his possession for the good of others, was evidenced in Mnason by his willingness to be the host of the Apostle and his companions in travel. But the distinctive notice of Mnason is, that he was "an old disciple," in reference not merely to his age, although that would necessarily come in, but to his being one of the early converts, who had "continued stedfastly in the Apostles' doctrine." He knew it to be a high honour to lodge them. His

value for the truth had not subsided as he advanced in age, and he had not been led to trim the doctrine of Christ so as to make it more compatible with the world or worldly religion. He had respect to "the old paths, where is the good way, and had walked therein." He had known no improvement in the doctrines originally taught by the Apostles. Doubtless, he had witnessed the rise of many novelties in his time, and seen many turned aside, and then recovered; but all these things were turned to account by one who knew Christ to be both the teacher and the doctrine of God, and had learnt to call no man master on earth; for one is our Master, even Christ.

It may be thought but a poor notice of an individual, that he was "an old disciple;" but one of the most common, and at the same time sorrowful trials to the Apostles was the readiness of their disciples to give heed to novelties. "Continuance" marks the "ways" of God (Is. lxiv. 5), instability those of men. In those described in the parable of the sower, both the stony and the thorny ground hearers appeared promising for a while, but there was no "continuance." Those represented by the good ground bring forth fruit with patience. On one occassion a sudden impulse seems to have come over the Jews, as Jesus taught in the temple. "As He spake these words, many believed on Him. Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, "If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed, and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John viii. 30-32). Their seeming faith speedily passed into angry wrangling. Gracious indeed were the words of the Lord to His

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