through thine own soul also;) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed."

The brief history of this aged worshipper of the child Jesus, as well as his words of significant import, furnish much instruction. The object of these discourses, as already stated, is to illustrate the faith and love of which Christ has been the object, and thereby to encourage and quicken our faith and love, and, if need be, to remove the coldness of our affections.

I. SIMEON IS AN EXAMPLE TO US OF FAITH IN CHRIST, AND OF STRONG AFFECTION TOWARDS HIM.

Is this the promised Messiah, this babe in the arms of a poor woman of Bethlehem, her husband bearing in his basket "a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons," unable to bring the usual offering of a lamb, but availing himself of the alternative offering prescribed for the poor? What a sight is this! What an entrance into the world, if this be the Messiah! Does this meet and fulfil Isaiah's vision, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace"? Is this "the desire of nations," "the Lord whom ye seek," "even the messenger of the covenant"? Is this "the King of the Jews," this "the man that is my fellow, saith the

Lord of hosts"? What faith Simeon must have had, to believe the simple word of God in the face of all the disparaging and contradictory circumstances of that child.

But perhaps we are tempted to say, No wonder that he believed, notwithstanding all these unfavorable circumstances; for he was moved by the Holy Ghost, and so was led, by a secret impulse upon his mind, to feel that that child was the Messiah.

And is it so easy to believe under strong impressions, when every thing that is circumstantial discourages faith? How is it with us? We have a persuasion that certain doctrines are taught in Scripture, but there is opposition to them. Some treat them with scorn, and, what is worse, we cannot explain the mysteries in them, and must confess that they are above reason. Do we still embrace the truth, as Simeon did the child Jesus, and say, Mine eyes have seen thy salvation?

We have a strong persuasion, confirmed by observation, that we ought, without delay, to make our peace with God. By impressions upon our minds, as strong as can be made consistently with our freedom, the Holy Ghost says, "To-day, after so long a time, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts." But our companions entice us, the world charms us, pleasure sings with enchanting voice, alluring us to

fancied future joys, which we feel we must obtain before we give our hearts to God, and procrastination promises a future time for repentance; and so we pass, heedless, by opening graves and alarming providences, and stop our ears against conscience and the Bible, and put our souls in jeopardy for that endless duration after death. Is it easy to obey strong impulses made upon our feelings? Are these admonitions of the Holy Ghost never resisted? Is faith the most natural and obvious thing with these hearts of ours? Let us be reproved and rebuked by this example of the aged saint in the temple. I say, this aged saint. For the days of credulity with him had passed away. Old people are slow to believe new things. They shake their heads at the sanguine hopes and the ready acquiescence of the young in promising enterprises and pretended recent discoveries. The frosts of many winters had extinguished the natural ardors of this old man, and, for him, the sun and the light, and the moon and the stars, were darkened, and the clouds returned after the rain. He was afraid of that which is high, and fears were in his way, and the almond tree flourished, and desire failed, for it was time that he should go to his long home, and for the mourners to go about the streets.

We must agree, then, that, in his circumstances, his faith was a great triumph over unfavorable

appearances; indeed, there could not possibly be less to encourage faith than at the moment when he took that child to his arms. Had he the heart of Naaman the Syrian, who went away in a rage from the prophet's door, because he was told to go and wash in Jordan, instead of receiving a cure from the prophet with ceremonious application of his hand to the leprosy, Simeon might have turned away offended, saying, Is this root out of dry ground, my Saviour? Where did he find in that humble scene any thing to gratify his fancy, any thing answering to those pictures with which imagination, perhaps, had filled his mind, while expecting the Lord's Christ? And have I waited for this? is this what Abraham desired to see? is this David's Lord and David's son? is this the burden of Isaiah? There is no beauty in him that I should desire him. It must have been the purest and the strongest faith that made that aged saint feel and act as he did. Love mingled with it, and made his faith perfect; and so, faith, working by love, purified his heart from all those worldly, pompous, and merely Jewish feelings which would have made him despise the infant Messiah. Perhaps he subjected himself to the wonder, if not to the scoffs, of bystanders, taking a young child out of the arms of his mother, a stranger to him, and uttering such words of worship, such unintelligible words "Mine eyes have seen thy salva

tion; " "A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel." Blessed saint, we need, and would emulate, thy faith and love. To the world around us Christ yet has no form nor comeliness, and when they see him there is no beauty in him that they should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men. He requires a cross daily of each of his followers. He bids them lay aside resentments, and lusts, and covetousness, which is idolatry, and all worldliness, and to be heavenly minded, and to learn of him who is meek and lowly in heart, that they may find rest unto their souls. Our hearts are slow to take all this to our arms and to our bosoms. We need Simeon's faith and Simeon's love to make us embrace Jesus Christ, with his soul-humbling doctrines and precepts, as he is offered to us in the gospel, and, regardless of the frowns and favors of men, say, Mine eyes have seen thy salvation. We need to be absorbed more in promoting the cause of that Saviour whom Simeon declared to be "a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of the people of Israel." What zeal that good man would have had for the conversion of the world, had he lived in our day. He would have had no rest till every fellow-creature had, by faith and love, seen and embraced the Lord's Christ.

We will make use of Simeon's words to the mother of our Lord for further instruction. We