THE FACE IN THE GLASS.

By the REV. P. B. POWER, M.A., Author of The Oiled Feather,' &c.

M

OST men, when they are at work, know what they are making. They see it gradually being fashioned under their hand, and then they have it completely finished.

But men do not often see what they are fashioning themselves into by sin; very gradually, it may be, but still very surely; but the likeness will come out complete at last.

There is a great difference between the way in which a photograph and an oil painting are produced. In photography you get the picture all at once; in oil painting there are ever so many layers of colour; but the likeness comes out at last. In the life of a very eminent man, published a short time ago, there was mentioned a remarkable circumstance which set my mind thinking on this subject.

Perhaps I can do no better than give it in the very words of the book.

It appears that he had gone to one of the gambling houses which were in fashion at the time, and had played heavily and won largely.

his future life what they might, no inducement, whether of need or greed, should again tempt him to become a gambler.'

Now I shall tell you the thoughts which came into my mind when I read this.

I could not but think that," while we are enjoying (as we call it) the pleasure or excitement of sin, we do not realise what it is doing to us."

Through all the wild excitement of that night, and the pleasure of seeing gain after gain coming in, this man did not know what feelings were being stirred in him-horrible feelings, so strong as to leave their marks in his very face for a long time after. And this, repeated over and over again, would have fixed those marks in his features for ever, as a part of his very self.

Yes! Sin is making us hateful and abominable, bringing upon our souls gradually the terrible features which will befit the land of the lost; and we may be too excited, too much enjoying ourselves, too much getting the gain of earthly pleasure, or profit, of some kind, to think about it. Men are making themselves

"The day was dawning when he reached his own rooms. His writing-horrible for the future. desk stood upon a console in front of a mirror, and pausing over it to lock up his winnings, he was startled and shocked by the reflection of his face in the glass. The expression of the countenance was not only haggard, it was sinister; he had risked far more than he could afford to lose, his luck had been extraordinary, and his gains were great. But the ignoble emotions of the night had left their lingering traces on his face; and as he caught sight of his own features, still working and gleaming with the fear of a vicious excitement, he for the first time despised himself. It was then he formed a resolution that, be the circumstances of

Another thought which came into my mind was how that "there may be the earthly gains, and the spiritual loss."

No doubt there was the earthly gain here. There it was in the writing-desk. A man may have sin, and the pleasures of sin, such as they are; but with them he must take the spiritual loss.

The man who had heaped up all the goods had undoubtedly the earthly gain, but what real good was it? "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee."-Aye, "what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and los his own soul?" 2

1 Luke xii. 19.

Mark viii. 36.

What a merciful interposition when perfection, if you will, for Jesus will give we are pulled up, and are shown things it all to you, if you give yourself to Him. in their true light! I could not but think Then, one with Christ, and He with you, of this too. If this man had not caught God will see you as without spot, or sight of himself just at that very time, he blemish or any such thing.1 might have become a confirmed gambler. The pure clear glass revealed to him what he was. No doubt much of that bad expression would have worn off his face in a few hours-but it would have left something behind; and to that something, more would have been added byand-by, until the mischief was completely done. That is the way that, little by little, men become fixed in the likeness of the Evil One, and not of God.

And God by His Holy and Blessed Spirit, who works upon our souls, is ready to show you yourself, if only you will look. To "interpose" means to "step in," to "interfere," to "come between us and some person or some thing," generally some person or some thing that would hurt us. This article, for example, may be an interposition-it may come in between you and some particular sin, or sin generally; it may be a providence from God, saying, "Do not go on as you are, for see what it will bring you to."

In mercy God shows us what a horrible thing sin is, and how horrible it makes

us.

He means us to be startled at the sight. He means us to despise ourselves as entirely vile. And how are we to know our own vileness? In one way, and in one way only; that is, by looking at Him, and into Him-at Him, the Holy One, and into His holiness; we need not be afraid that we shall defile Him by doing this; we shall not, any more than this man defiled the glass, into which he looked, and which showed him what he was. The glass remained as pure as ever. Look at the Holy Jesus; compare yourself with what He was; that is the way to find out how defiled you are. God will be satisfied with no less righteousness than that of Jesus; and you know how far you are from that. But you may have that perfect righteousness in its

What an important thing too "to receive the warning and the check." If, so far as worldly things are concerned, this man had not received them, instead of becoming, as he afterwards did, a famous politician and writer, and attaining to high rank, he might have sunk down into being a wretched gambler for life.

There are countless millions now with God, who have been saved simply by receiving a warning, and a check. These were sent to them in mercy, and they took them. These came to some in one way, and to some in another; to one by a sermon, to another by a tract, to some one else by a thought, by an accident, an illness, and so forth.

And for want of receiving the warning and the check, millions have fallen into woe. They would not hear. Like the Jews, they did not know the time of their visitation.3

Is there not one thing more which comes to our mind? "The excellence of forming a good resolution, and keeping it."

This man immediately, then and there, made up his mind not to become a gambler; and he kept the resolution to the end of his life. No doubt in the society in which he mixed he had many temptations to break it; but that horrible vision followed him through his life, and made him keep his good resolution.

Make up your mind now. Now is the accepted time. Now is the day of salvation. The prodigal said, "I will arise, and go to my father," and the next thing we read is that he did it, " And he arose, and came to his father.”4

We must, with God's help, make up our mind and determine to do our part— a rejected warning! and we may sink and be degraded for ever.

OW many sheep easy to count accurately the number of are in this flock sheep, even in the very largest flock. for which the Jesus, the Good Shepherd, when he shepherd has was on earth, had only a little flock.' opened the gate? His followers at first were very few. But It is a little flock. many centuries have passed since then, I make the num- and He has a large flock now. Like the ber to be only sheep seen in the picture, some of the fourteen; but it flock of Jesus are already feeding in the is not very easy green pastures,2 and others are as yet to count a flock only on the road. The flock of Jesus is of sheep correctly, not all in the same place. Some of His even though it be sheep are in the pastures of the blessed a little flock, and the sheep standing as in heaven; others are as yet only on the still as they do in the picture, because way to that glorious land. They have generally there is very little to distin- not yet passed through the gate which is guish one sheep from another. between this world and that fair country.

It would be quite impossible to count a large flock, especially when the sheep are in motion, if the shepherd did not avail himself of the help of a door or gate for this purpose. You will notice that in the picture the gate has not been opened to its full extent. Perhaps you think that the shepherd is just in the act of opening it, and that in one moment more it will be flung wide open for the sheep to pass through all together. But that is not the case. The shepherd wishes to count his sheep, to make sure that no one has gone amissing upon the road. He has therefore opened the gate only a very little, in order that not more than one or two sheep may pass through at a time. When they are thus made to pass through one by one, it becomes quite

But though Jesus' flock in earth and heaven be a large one, so large that no man can number it,3 He knows how many are in that flock. He knows how many sheep and lambs he has safe in the fold of heaven, and how many are still upon the way.

The shepherds who tend their flocks upon the hills of Wales and Scotland know their own sheep. They know them by the mark that is on them, for every sheep bears its owner's mark upon it, and all the sheep in the same flock have the same mark upon them.

Jesus knows every one of His flock. They all bear the Owner's mark. They have been washed by His blood, and they possess His Spirit. "If any man have 1 Luke xii. 32. 2 Rev. vii. 17. Rev. vii. 9.