THE ANXIOUS INQUIRER'S PAGE.

SOME of our readers will remember a few lines in the SOWER respecting Peter. I have thought much about him lately, and I have thought, too, a little about the building of which he was a stone, as to what kind of a building it is, &c. The Apostle says, "Ye are God's building," and Jesus Christ, speaking of Himself, said, “Upon this rock will I build My Church." But what sort of materials does God use in His building? Many of our builders in the present day are very particular to use only bricks, because they are smooth and even, just ready for use; but God's materials are not like that. No, they are rough, hard, unshapable stones, and there is a great deal of work to be done to them, before they are in anywise fit for the building. First, they are to be dug out of the earth, for they are buried among the rubbish-buried in the world and the things of the world-and are held so fast by it, that it is by no means a comfortable process to be torn from it. And, although natural stones have no feeling, spiritual ones have. Peter says, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house." We must look at these stones, then, as lively stones, and I would ask any reader, Do you know anything of this first process? Have you had any feeling separation from the world? Or can you take pleasure in the customs, fashions, and vain amusements of it, as much as ever? Living stones know what it is in some measure to be separated from these things. In heart, lip, and life they feel sin to be a burden, and they often feel not fit company, either for the world or for the people of God. There is something going on within, and they cannot tell what it is, but it makes them pray; it makes them search the Word of God; it makes them attend the house of God; it makes them fit company, indeed, for such as the publican, who smote upon his breast, crying, "God be merciful to me a sinner!"

And if any of my readers are in this place, I would say to you, God has certainly begun a work of grace in your heart, or you would not feel these things, for the dead know not anything; and, with the Apostle, I am "confident that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it." But you must not expect a smooth path. You know you are a sinner-a rough, unsightly stone-and in process of time God will say to you, "Turn ye yet again, and I will show you greater abominations than these." He will make you see an ugly corner here, and a hard knot there; filth of the quarry sticking to you in one place, and evil propensities in another, until you are made sick of self, and cry out, "In me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing. The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint; from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot I am nothing but wounds, and bruises, and

putrifying sores. Woe is me, for I am undone !" And after awhile the Builder comes again, and with the hammer of His Word breaks off a superfluous corner, and the poor stone begins to quake. "Oh," says he, "He is surely come to make a full end of me now! He is come upon me in judgment, to cast me out of His presence for ever." But not so

Sometimes the heavenly Builder will cause the waters of affliction to come in to wash off some of the filth that remains ; sometimes the fire of persecution to burn up the wood, hay, and stubble; and sometimes the rod of correction to drive it nearer the throne of grace; but whatever the means made use of, the end is, to purify and cleanse it, and make it meet for the Master's use. "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness to them that are exercised thereby." And so long as these living stones remain on the earth there will be fresh dirt accumulated, and fresh need discovered of what the Lord told His disciples they should have-"In the world ye shall have tribulation."

"I must expect a daily cross;

Lord, sanctify the pain;

Bid every furnace purge my dross,

And yield some patient gain."

But, as God is preparing these stones, He gives them many blessings. It would be a very great blessing for the children of God even if they had tribulation all their lives, and yet have heaven at last; but God blesses them with more than this. He gives them many foretastes of glory now. He blesses them with this world's good, and often blesses them with a sweet hope in His mercy, and sometimes with blessed assurance of His love. And another blessing He bestows upon them is, as they are living stones, they love each other's company, and God bands them together in little companies, builds a little Church here and a little Church there, to remain till He removes them to the everlasting building above—

"And here as travellers we meet,

Before we reach the fields above;
To sit around our Master's feet,
To see His face and sing His love.'

So that, though they have to endure tribulation in the world, they prove also what Jesus said to His disciples, "That in Me ye might have peace."

But there may be some reader tried as I have been many times myself. I have thought that in a building, the workmen do not go far before they require scaffolding to enable them to carry on the work. This scaffolding is close to the building. A space is actually left in the wall for it to hang and rest upon the structure. It rises with the building, and appears in close connection with it, and I have thought-I was brought up by God-fearing parents, kept from outward sins and follies, to a great extent. Any of us, as a family, when quite young, were as pleased at the prospect of going to chapel of an evening, or of going to an anniversary, as many children would be of going to fairs or theatres, which are places I have never gone to in my life, nor do I remember having any inclination for it. Also, I think I may safely say that neither of our family have been guilty of filthy conversation or profane swearing. These are great blessings, and call for thankfulness. But I have often thought, What am I after all? I love the house of God and the people of God. I am united to them in Church-fellowship, and would do anything that lay in my power for any of them; but the question often arises, Am I scaffolding only, or am I a real stone? "The servant abideth not in the house for ever, but the son abideth ever." The scaffolding will be taken away, but the stones will remain. They went out from us because they were not of us, for if they had been of us, no doubt they would have remained with us." It is he that endures to the end that will be saved; the end of the scaffolding will be to be burned

"

"But they that in the Lord confide,
And shelter in His wounded side,
Shall see the danger overpast,

Stand every storm and live at last."

One thing has been an encouragement to me, and perhaps it may be to some others. I have thought the stones are cemented together, but though the scaffolding is put into the wall for a while, it is not cemented there; it is not permanently there. The cement which God uses in His building is called love. In many places in the Word of God, love is spoken of as an evidence of the new birth, such as, "He that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God; he that loveth not, knoweth not God, for God is love." John says, "We love Him because He first loved us. There is no cement in the scaffolding. It is not really united to the building, though it may be with it for years. The poet says

"Love is the golden chain that binds
The happy souls above;

And he's an heir of heaven that finds
His bosom glow with love.”

May the Lord bless us with more of this love in exercise both' to Himself and to His dear people, is the desire of

Wilts.

E. C.

COMING JUDGMENT.

BOTH heaven and earth will join together in condemning the wicked and ungodly, when God comes out of His place to punish them: "For the earth shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain." All the wrongs and bloody sins that have been committed on the earth from age to age shall be disclosed, by the earth itself bearing witness to the wickedness done in it; as it is said (Josh. xxiv. 27) "Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto us, for it hath heard all the words of the Lord which He spake unto us; it shall be for a witness to you lest ye deny your God." So it may be said the earth hath seen and heard all the wickedness done upon it; and by the recognition of conscience it shall witness and testify against the sinner. As the Lord, the omniscient God, will reveal the whole matter-even the faults that men thought were quite out of mind-their twenty, thirty, forty, or fifty years'-old wickedness will be laid as fair and fresh before them as it was the hour wherein it was committed-so the earth shall bear witness and disclose all the sins that seemed to be buried in it, for with the resurrection of the bodies of the wicked there will be a resurrection of sins. In a manner, the earth will vomit up what it swallowed down and behoved to bear solong in its breast. God will tell you the place where you committed your abomination. The wall and timber of the house will bear witness against you. Take heed, drunkard! The day will come when God will make the table you sat at stand up, as it were, in your view, and bear witness against you. Take heed, adulterer! God will make the bed to rise and witness against you. None but they that have a good Advocate and a good conscience shall escape. The earth will disclose the blood that hath been shed in Scotland [aye, and in England, and elsewhere too]. The bloody shambles will rise and witness against the persecutors." "The earth shall no more cover her slain" when "the Lord comes out of His place." RALPH ERSKINE.

AFFLICTION is the best soil for the growth of the plants of righteousness while in the wilderness.-Wakeling.

"I AM QUITE WEARY."

"I AM tired of my wretched goings on "-"I am weary in the devil's service "Satan is a hard master. He promises a happy life, and he only gives sorrow." This has been, and is, the language of many a poor sinner. Perhaps the eye of one such may fall on this page. You have run in the way of sin, you have earned the devil's wages, and now your poor heart is sad and sorrowful, and you would like to lie down quietly and die, if you did not remember those awful words, "After death the judgment.' But is there no hope for you?

There lived many years ago in England an honoured servant of God, who preached the Gospel with great power. One day, a gentle rap came at his door, and a poor miserable-looking aged female asked to speak with him. "Ah! sir," she said, "you were preaching last night. I passed the door, and hearing the voice of some one preaching, I did what I had never done before. I went in, and one of the first things I heard you say was, 'Jesus Christ is so willing to receive sinners, He will not even object to the devil's castaways. Now, sir, I have been leading a miserable life for many years, and am so worn out in the devil's service that I may with truth, I think, be called one of his castaways. Do you think, sir, Jesus Christ would receive me?" The faithful minister assured her He would, if she was willing to go to Him. This poor guilty sinner sought the Saviour, obtained mercy, became an altered character, and by her consistent conduct gave testimony that, though her sins had been of a crimson hue, the atoning blood of Christ had washed them white as snow.

Worn and weary one, go to the "Friend of sinners." Seek, and you shall find.

INFIDELITY.

THE printing press is being actively used to propagate infidel teaching, not only in Europe, but also in India, where numerous works of Mr. Bradlaugh, Mrs. Besant, and others of a kindred spirit, have been issued in the native dialect. Mr. Ossian Davies recently referred to this sad fact as follows:

"The Infidel propaganda is thus busily carried on. In Madras there is published an infidel paper bearing the name of the Thinker, full of the clap-trap of those men who are clever enough to criticize the Bible, without having once read it through. The poison of atheism and sensuousness is hawked in our public streets, and even our most sacred family ties are coarsely attacked, and our holy religion is caricatured by men and women who have sold their writing pens and their brains to the evil one. You must