It reached the heart of Lydia, a devout gentile of Asia, who had left her native country for Philippi, in order to acquire an honourable maintenance by selling purple, or materials for dyeing that colour. She was a much greater gainer than she expected: she found riches that fade not away; for "the Lord opened her heart, that she attended unto the things that were spoken of Paul." There is no other effectual teacher, my brethren, but the Lord. Many thousands heard Paul, yea and his divine Master too, without being at all the better for their preaching. This circumstance, though a cause of much regret in other respects, has been a source of great consolation to sincere ministers of the Gospel in every age since the days of Christ and his Apostles. We exhort, we entreat, we warn you by the threatenings and by the mercies of God; but, alas, with how little success! Here and there a soul is awakened and led to selfexamination; but, generally speaking

we lift up our voices to a disobedient and gainsaying people; to a sinful people laden with iniquity, who have eyes and will not see, ears and will not understand. How hard is the human heart! who can change its nature but God alone? A Paul may preach, and an Apollos may water; but it is the prerogative of the Almighty alone to give the increase. It is said the Lord opened the heart of Lydia, that she attended, that is, savingly believed the things which were spoken of Paul. And we shall find, upon examining the accounts dispersed through the book of the Acts of the Apostles, of converts being made to Christ, that their conversion is uniformly ascribed to the same divine power, God, by his Spirit, changes the heart of stone into a heart of flesh; he transforms the infidel into a Christian. All who are born unto God, are born of the Spirit. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. "No man," says the

Apostle, can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost."-" No man can come unto me," says our Saviour, "except the Father which has sent me draw him."-" It is written in the Prophets, And they shall all be taught of God."-" Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a covenant with the house of Israel and of Judah; for this is the covenant that I will make: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them in their heart: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord; for all shall know me from the least to the greatest; for I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more." And "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."

Let us examine a few instances recorded in the Acts of the Apostles; and we shall be convinced that all those who embraced Christ and Him crucified as an all-sufficient Saviour, were enabled to do so, by the Spirit of God giving efficacy to the word spoken by the Apostles: so true is it, that "faith cometh by hearing, and that people are made willing in the day of God's power."

The first remarkable instance occurs in the second chapter, in which we have an account of the glorious conversion of three thousand souls to the faith of Christ, upon the preaching of the Apostle Peter. And this effect, as well as that which is related in the subsequent verses of the same chapter, of the still farther increase in the number of disciples, and of the unanimity of the disciples, is attributed to God. It is expressly said, "The Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." The Holy Ghost prepares the ground of the heart,

and the seed takes root, sprouts, flourishes, and brings forth much fruit.

The next striking example is in the cure and conversion of the lame beggar, who was lying at the gate, which was called Beautiful, of the temple. When the people saw the man walking and praising God, they were much astonished both at the miracles, and at Peter and John who had been instrumental in the performance of the cure and conversion. These Apostles arrogated no credit to themselves for what had been done; the Holy Spirit informed them that the man had faith to be healed, and they commanded him, not in their own name or by their own power, but in the name and power of Jesus of Nazareth, to rise up and walk. Lest, indeed, the people: should run away with so false a notion, they declared, in plain terms, who was the author of the miracle. Peter said unto the people, "Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own

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