eschew evil and do good? Of this we may be sure that God will not help those who will do nothing to help themselves. If we would have our prayers answered, we must at the same time do all in our own power to obtain what we desire.

9. Then, again, I would remind you that all our prayers must be offered up to God in the name of the Saviour. "Whatsoever ye shall ask in My name," is the Saviour's promise, "that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." The Saviour is the great representative of man at God's right hand; and all things are committed into His hands. He has the keys of life, and death, of heaven and hell. He is our perfect Mediator and Intercessor before God's throne, who is able to lay His hand upon us both. Do we not pray amiss, then, when we offer up our petitions to God and neglect to take advantage of His all-powerful intercession, and forget to ask our petitions in His name, and for His sake? Is there not an ingratitude in such neglect? Is it not an insult both to Him and to our heavenly Father? And if thus we ask amiss can we be surprised if our prayers are not heard? We cannot have a more certain guarantee for an answer to our petitions than the mediation and intercession of our blessed Lord for us. Why then ask on our own account favours which we are mercifully permitted to ask in the name and for the sake of one so powerful before God's throne ?

There is yet one more observation which I would make upon the subject of not receiving our petitions, because we ask amiss. It is one which has to do partly with the manner and partly with the time of our prayers. See that you do not pray too late after sin wilfully committed. Wait not until sin has become habitual with you before you go to God in prayer to help and deliver you. Wait not until a long protracted life of wilful impenitence has at last ended in a deathbed of shame. Delay not prayer, in all its power, until the day when the fear of death shall overtake you, and the terrors of hell shall overwhelm you. For not only is there a manner in which you may pray amiss, you may also pray at a time which is displeasing to God. You may pray too late. You may pray when your case is hopeless. You may trifle so long with God's grace and mercy-you may so deeply grieve and so powerfully resist God's Holy Spirit, Who alone can sanctify your hearts, that you may entirely quench His holy and heavenly influence. "Whatsoever we ask we receive of Him," says St. John when speaking of God, "because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight." If, however, the whole course of our past life has been one of wilful disobedience how opposite is our case to that spoken of in this passage! The words of Solomon offer us the best comment upon men of

this kind: "Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me; for that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord."

SERMON XI.

"And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And He was in the hinder part of the ship asleep on a pillow: and they awake Him and say unto Him, Master, carest Thou not that we perish ? And He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. And He said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?"-Mark iv., 37-40.

WHEN the incident occurred which is here narrated, our blessed Lord apparently had only just been speaking to the assembled multitude by parables the things concerning the kingdom of heaven. He then, as we read, "on the same day, when the even was come, saith unto them, Let us pass over to the other side; and when they had sent away the multitude, they took Him, even as He was, in the ship.' After this the storm arose, and those incidents occurred which we have before us in the text.

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It is one thing to hear, another to understand, and yet another thing still to be properly affected by what we understand. The disciples who were with our blessed Lord on this occasion upon the waters of Galilee had only just been addressed upon this point in the parable of The Sower, but

what the effect of this and other teaching of the Saviour had been upon the minds of the disciples let the narrative before us testify. They had heard from Him, doubtless, many things before now not only concerning the object of His mission, but also concerning the majesty and divinity of His person. They had, doubtless, seen many miracles performed by Him, which gave undoubted evidence that in some way or other He possessed a power which was greater than any other power in the world. And some, if not all, who were now with Him fully believed all this; yet after all how weak was their faith in Him! They evidently did not feel all His majesty, and divinity, and power. They would give Him full credit for the miracles which He had performed in time past, but they seldom seemed to give Him credit for the same power in future, and for this reason; past miracles were facts to the truth of which their eyesight was sufficient witness. To depend upon the same power being exercised at any present or at any future time would require the evidence of something else-the exercise of faith, for eyesight would be of no service here; and those who had no faith would be deprived of the only assurance for the future which could be obtained.

Thus it was with these disciples on the present occasion. Thus it is with ourselves very often.