sleep, and plenty of flannel" for children. So it comes to the old thing our grandmothers taught and used after all. There is no new fashion of building up the skeleton, or clothing it with flesh. You cannot buy ozone by the ounce vial, or bone fibre from a lime-kilu, or the fourteen or fifteen substances which go to form flesh at a druggist's shop, and administer them all by apothecaries' measure, with any hope of making up a healthy human frame by the process. A boy must catch his ozone as he catches his butterflies, in the open fields, and by the sea-side; he must find his lime in his crust or his porridge, as we all did. He must borrow his flesh-makers from the nearest ox or sheep, or parts thereof, that he can lay his hands on, by the aid of his mother's cookery, and thereby he will grow to be a man. And so morally and spiritually our families can only be healthily raised by assimilating the plain, old-fashioned food of a solid, serious, earnest godliness, such as our grandmothers had, such as the quotation we have given from Joshua expresses, which is three thousand years old and more: "I and my house will serve the Lord."

"What does your ledger say?" as to yourself? Every man is au entity-a microcosm, a little world. And he is ruler in his own kingdom. His one hat covers a kingdom; and he is either a fool or a coward who allows any one to rule there but himself (except his better half, whose dominion cannot always be resisted); he is lord of his own mind and motions, and he is responsible, under God, to no one but himself for the exercise of his unfettered powers. It is true he lives among others who have the same liberty as himself, and in this relation he has to use his liberty with deference to law.

This fact has an intimate bearing on our personal piety. It is under personal control. It can be greater or less as we will. If our "ledger" does not record better results it is our own fault, and no one's else. We cannot be made bad or good in spite of ourselves. The agency of the grace of God, without which nothing is strong or holy, forces no man; and the contrary agency, from our own evil hearts, the world and Satan, are equally powerless against our own will. We can quench the spirit, we can resist evil. We have but a few lines to spare, and we cannot go either into the metaphysics or the Scripture of this statement. We would be the last to make light of the sore temptations and hindrances which some men have to contend with; but, after all, we are what we are by choice, and the sooner and more clearly and constantly we recognise this fact, the better it will be for us in the contest we have to wage with evil. What does your "ledger" say, then? Is there any growth in grace, any greater power over evil, any greater conscientiousness than when first believed? Is there any closer walking with God, any clearer recognition of the glorious privilege of adoption and sanctification? Do not lay the blame on business, if there is not; do not lay it on the

you

Church; do not lay it on the hardness of the law; do not lay it on God. Lay it where alone it belongs-on yourself. Look at your ledger, and no one's else; and may you, and we, and all of us, for this year of eighteen hundred and seventy-two

TURN OVER A NEW LEAF !

A NEW YEAR'S WISH FOR PIOUS INVALIDS.

(3 JOHN 2.)

Ir is usual for the Apostles to begin their Apostolic epistles to Churches and to individuals with a prayer for spiritual blessings, grace, and peace. But John begins this sweet epistle to his wellbeloved Gaius, whom he loved in the truth, with a wish for temporal blessings, health, and outward prosperity. In this wish, however, two kinds of prosperity are mentioned; very different in their nature, the one temporal, and the other spiritual; the one sincerely desired, the other realized and enjoyed. It may be profitable in the opening of a new year to consider both kinds.

I. The prosperity realized-" even as thy soul prospereth."

II. The prosperity desired "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health.”

I. The prosperity realized, "even as thy soul prospereth." St. John was quite sure that his friend Gaius had a prosperous soul, and hence he speaks of it in this short sentence as an undoubted reality, even as thy soul prospereth. Let us then inquire in what this pros

perity consists, and how it is to be attained.

1. The soul prospers when it is well rooted in Divine truth. The quickened soul can never prosper unless it be rooted and settled in the faith of Christ. The soul must take root downward ere it can stand the storms of life, resist the inundations of error, or bear the fruits of piety. As the roots of a tree lay hold of the soil to gain support, and to collect nourishment, so the soul must take firm hold of the word; and the word must so abide in the soul as to become its life, its food, and its strength. The soul cannot live upon itself, it must be fed, and nourished, and strengthened by the living word. To hear the word or occasionally read it is not enough; you must meditate upon it, you must apprehend it, you must cleave to it with a purpose, your faith must hold it fast as your soul's daily life. This is the secret of the soul's well-being. Timothy was "nourished up in the words of faith and good doctrine." The young men to whom John wrote were spiritually strong: "I write unto you, young men, because ye are strong;" the cause of their strength is stated, for he immediately adds: "The word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one." Gaius is described as having the truth

dwelling in him; it dwelt in him richly, and he walked in the truth reverently. "Whoso keepeth his (Christ's) word, in him verily is the love of God perfected."

2. The soul prospereth when it is progressive in spiritual things. This will follow as a matter of course, when the soul is rooted in the principles and truths of the Gospel. There will be growth" after a godly sort." The soul in its tendencies and aspirations will be upward. It will seek the things above. It will recur with delight to the contemplation of spiritual and Divine realities. The prosperous soul is progressive in the things of the spirit, "adding to faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge patience, and to patience brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness charity." The prosperous soul is a well-cultivated and well-watered garden, where all manner of beautiful flowers and every variety of delicious fruits abound. Visited and refreshed by the dews of God's grace, by the genial influences of his Holy Spirit, by the sunshine of his blessing, the fruits of the spirit will adorn the character. The life of God in the soul, when vigorous, will force off the dry and withered leaves of formality and languor, and give you daily freshness and perennial cheerfulness. The prosperous soul is spiritually alive, and fresh, and happy. "O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man whose strength is in thee." "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree." "Those that be planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; to shew that the Lord is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness within him."

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3. The soul prospereth when the life abounds in the fruits of grace. These fruits appeared in the life of the beloved Gaius. Both brethren and strangers bore witness to his walk in the truth, his care of others, his kindness and charity. Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers; which have borne witness of thy charity before the church." He was faithful as a good steward of the manifold grace of God, and conscientious in the service of his Master. What he did he did it heartily as unto the Lord, and not unto men. He was ever ready to distribute and willing to communicate, and with such sacrifices God is well pleased. The prosperous soul is loving and sympathetic, it looks not only on its own things, but it learns also to look on the things of others. It is ready with its kind looks, kind words, and kind deeds. The man whose soul prospers will be ready to give a cup of cold water to a needy brother, to visit the sick, to comfort the bereaved, and to pray for the unsaved. He will be zealous of good works, and will do whatsoever his hand findeth to do from pure love to Christ, and with a single eye to his glory. These are the works of faith, the labours of love, the genuine produce of a thriving soul.

Such then, my dear reader, is the nature of the prosperity Gaius is said to have realized and enjoyed. It is spiritual prosperity; prosperity as appertaining to the soul, "even as thy soul prospereth;" prosperity exemplified in a fruitful life. It was prosperity that gained the commendation of the inspired John; it obtained a good report from others, for the brethren testified of the truth that was in Gaius. Like Demetrius, he had “a good report of all men, and of the truth itself: yea, and we also bear record; and ye know that our record is true" (v. 12). How different Paul speaks of the Galatians! he had his fears and doubts of their stability and progress: "I am afraid of you lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain, I stand in doubt of you." John had no such fears in reference to Gaius. He had every assurance that he was doing well and prospering in his soul. Let us proceed to notice

II. The Prosperity desired. "I wish," says John, "above all things that thou mayest prosper, and be in health ever, as thy soul prospereth." These three words, "above all things," make it appear as though the Apostle wished for health and worldly prosperity above everything else, which we are sure he did not. A better translation of John's wish is given thus: "I wish in all things, in every respect, thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth."

This is a very unusual kind of wish, because John makes soul prosperity the standard and rule of his wish for other things. In ordinary cases we should just reverse the order of our good wishes, and be very glad if those in whom we are interested had prosperity of soul equal to their health of body and success in business; but John earnestly wishes that the health and prosperity of Gaius might correspond with that of his soul.

Let us examine this wish, keeping in view the standard by which it is regulated.

1. This wish showed the interest John felt in the bodily-health and temporal prosperity of his friend. It was full of kindness, had the wish been realized he would have been free from the privations of sickness and poverty. It has been supposed that Gaius was a man of a weakly, sickly frame, and that his worldly circumstances were not so flourishing as to allow his liberal soul to devise liberal things. This is very probable; and I am satisfied, if it were so, that Gaius was prepared, by the grace of God, to bear submissively the privations and trials peculiar to sickness and penury. Still, a largehearted man, with a feeble frame and frequent sickness, and poverty pressing upon him, can do very little in the service of Christ. Health is a great blessing: its value is best known to those who have it not. Without it life is a burden; without it wealth cannot be enjoyed. It was kind therefore to wish Gaius that measure of

health that would save him from the sorrows and privations of sickness and poverty. Again

2. This wish for temporal prosperity was regulated by the measure of his spiritual; for this reason, because spiritual prosperity would preserve him from those evils to which temporal prosperity exposes men. So long as he prospered in soul he could bear the other kind of prosperity safely. This wish, therefore, is as wise as it is kind. It is neither wise nor kind to wish some men health and prosperity. There is many a man with a feeble frame and frequent sickness serving God who with health and a robust body would depart from God and become sensual. There is many a man goes to heaven with a few pence in his pocket who who would infallibly be lost for ever if he had pounds. There are many men who get to heaven in a cottage who would be sure to go to hell if they inhabited a mansion. They cannot bear prosperity. They have to learn the hard but necessary lesson of contentment with such things as they have. Let not my Christian reader flatter himself that prosperity in the shape of success in business, that prosperity which brings health, and honour, and influence would be no temptation to him. You may think so, but God knows better than you what effect prosperity would have upon your mind. How common it is to see men elated in prosperity! You may have known persons who were very sober, modest, and useful to all appearance when in humble circumstances; but when Providence has smiled upon them and improved their circumstances, their hearts have been lifted up in proportion. And is your soul so prosperous, so deeply rooted in humility as to preserve you from pride? You may have seen men who have succeeded in their worldly pursuits, and gained riches, fall into the habit of self-indulgence. Is your soul so prosperous that were God to fill your coffers you would be able to resist the temptation to feed the lusts of the flesh and the pride of life? Have you not known men make an idol of their gold? Is your soul so prosperous that if riches increased, you would be in no danger of setting your heart upon them? Rest assured that nothing but prosperity of soul can make other kinds of prosperity safe. You must be ever receiving fresh measures of Divine grace, and strength to be able to resist the temptations and surmount the dangers that appertain to a state of prosperity. Blessed be God, we have a few high-souled Christian men who have avoided these dangers and temptations. Amid all the abundance of wealth that has come upon them, they have, by Divine help, retained their equanimity and sincerity, their uprightness and integrity, their humility and sobriety; holding their wealth as stewards of God, they have been ready to yield it back into his hand whenever he has been pleased to take it, saying, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord." The Rev. Andrew Fuller says: "I have