Blessed One, and I see Him drawing near to the gate of the city called Nain, as recorded in the 7th of Luke" And when He was come nigh to the gate of the city, behold there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and much people of the city was with her. And when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And He came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And He said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And He delivered him to his mother." None but those who have lost their sons can tell what was this mother's feeling. None but those who have wept by a bedside on which has been lying some one as dear as one's own self, can tell what the meaning of this mother's tears was. But the Lord Jesus had a word in season for her, and He came and stopped the bier, and said, "Weep not," and that very word of Hisoh, how full of tenderness! oh, how sweetly it sounded!—must at once have dried up the fountain of her tears; and in another moment He had turned for her, her mourning into gladness, put off her sackcloth and girded her with joy, and given her back her son, saying, "Thy son liveth."

I pass on a little, and in that very same chapter, I find the Lord Jesus declared to have been in the house of a Pharisee, sitting at meat; and there came in a woman from the city, who was a sinner, and Jesus had for her-mourning as she was—a word in He said unto her, "Thy sins are forgiven.

season.

Jesus is on His journey

Thy sins which are many, are forgiven; go in peace. Thy faith hath saved thee" And though the Pharisee murmured, and though the self-righteous thought that this poor creature was one who ought not ever to have touched a holy Man of God, still He who had been anointed by the Holy Ghost knew how to speak words in season, and was able to say unto that woman, "Go in peace, thy sins are forgiven thee." Let me point you to one more passage. I would that I had time to refer to all those on which I might speak, but let me point you to one more, written in the 4th of John. to Samaria, and He sits weary by the well-side. We know the story well. The woman of Samaria who comes out must have gathered this from the words in season which He spake to her, "He loves me, He knows me, He saves me. He loves me, for He does not answer rudely, after the fashion in which I spoke to Him. He knows me, for He reads my heart through and through, and has told me all my life. He saves me, for He is the Messiah for whom my people have been looking." And as He and she sat both by that well, and the whole dark miserable review of the woman's life passed before, not only His eyes but hers, Jesus spoke words in season, leading her away from sin, and quickening her to go back to the city to which she belonged, and to become an evangelist to the praise and glory of His Name. One more passage I bring before you very briefly— that written in the 9th of John. The blind man has been healed. He knew not at first who his Healer

was. He is excommunicated by the Jews because he declares that the Man who could have healed him must have been a notable man indeed, and not a sinner. And the One who healed him finds him in the Temple after he was excommunicated, and puts to him this question, "Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is He, Lord, that I might believe on Him? And Jesus said, Thou hast both seen Him, and it is He that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe.

worshipped Him.”

And he

prophecy to

My friends, it would be a very easy, and a truly delightful task, to work out through the whole of the Gospel history the illustrations of that which I have tried to turn your minds. I commend it to you, if you will allow me to do so, as a most profitable matter of study for you; and I would ask you thus to try and trace out for yourselves how Jesus was able to speak words in season to the weary, as One anointed by the Spirit of God to be full of counsel, and to be full of understanding in the will and mind of the Lord. But if we are to go forth after the fashion of the great Example; if we are to carry peace to the mourners; if we are to speak words of counsel to those who are in want of guidance; if we are to show to those who are astray, the path of life which shall lead them back to God, and land them at last in God's glory; if we ourselves, when brought into trouble are to know the joy and the preciousness of such experiences as these to which we have been referring, we must have the anointing of the Holy

Ghost. It is that alone which will give us the word in season. And as God caused the Spirit to rest upon the Great One, in order that He might be full of counsel and understanding and might, and that He might have a heart quickened in the fear of the Lord, and by virtue of that anointing of the Spirit be enabled as the Man Christ Jesus, to fulfil His mission after the fashion of which we have been seeing examples, so must it be with us, if we are thus to go to speak for God, to labour for God, and to be successful instruments in drawing souls to God. Oh, then, we must thus possess the Spirit. Let us ask for it in rich abundance. Let us learn to pray, as Paul prayed for the Ephesians, that we may be filled with it. Let us

ask God to give us a fresh baptism this very day; for before the day is out opportunities will be presented to us to go and show forth our likeness to our great Pattern. Let us ask God that this very day we may receive in larger measure than ever hitherto the spirit of counsel and of understanding and of quickness in the fear of the Lord, so that we ourselves may have our ears opened, and may have our hearts instructed, and be able to speak words in season to them that are

weary.

The Rev. W. PENNEFATHER offered prayer, and announced the meetings to be held during the afternoon.

AFTERNOON.

After the interval allowed for rest and refreshment several meetings were held. In the Girls' School Room Dr. SCHWARTZ spoke on the subject of "Missions to the Jews, and the dealings of God with His ancient people." In the Boys' Room, and in the Room of the Church of England Young Men's Christian Association, Bible readings were held, and in the Iron Room a large number assembled to confer on the subject of the "Temporal and Spiritual Destitution of London."

This gathering, which was presided over by the Rev. W. H. AITKEN, was commenced by singing the 99th hymn, from "Hymns of Prayer and Praise":

"Great the joy when Christians meet.”

Prayer was offered by Mr. AITKEN, who then spoke as follows::

My dear Friends,-We have come together this afternoon to hear something about the destitution that exists in this great city, and other large towns, amongst the masses of our population; a destitution, on the one hand, of those provisions for the body, which we all know to be requisite; a destitution, on the other hand, of those provisions for our spiritual wants, which, thank God, we know to be equally requisite, but which, unfortunately, are not felt to be so by too many of our fellow-creatures. As I cannot say that my own work has lain so very much amongst the masses of the people, I feel that I have no remark of my own to offer on this occasion, and I shall, there