given to Christ, instead of being given to us. Our cup became His; and it was a cup of wrath, a cup of terror, and a cup of judgment, yea, a cup, containing all our sins to the very dregs. So horrible a cup it was that when the blessed Jesus looked at it, He said, "O my Father, if this cup may pass from me, nevertheless not my will, but thy will be done." Our blessed Jesus came, in His sufferings to the very dregs of our cup, when under the hidings of Jehovah's face He cried out, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Another cup we shall notice is, the cup of salvation. This спр is the blessed Gospel: it is a golden cup, the work of which can never be estimated. The contents of this cup is Christ in his fulness of grace, mercy, love and peace. This gospel-cup was David's delight, as well as the delight of every heaven-born child of God. David has told us what was the refreshing draught of this cup, and what were its life-giving properties ; he says, "The Lord is the portion of my cup-my cup runneth over-I will take the cup of salvation, and will call upon the name of the Lord." O how sweet is the cup when we can take it by faith, when it becomes to us the cup of communion, and we can drink draughts of love out of it, and be of a merry heart, and a cheerful spirit, in the presence of the great Bridegroom of the banquet! There is the world's cup. Let me guard you against this, all ye that fear the Lord and profess to be strangers and pilgrims passing through this wilderness. The world's cup of vain delights will be put right in your face, go where you will. There are those constantly crying, Drink, drink, as well as those who in every hole and corner of the earth call after you with their, Buy, buy. Beware of the mother of harlots, mystical Babylon, who presents her golden cup of fornication to all that come in her way, persuading them by all the powers of eloquence and oratory she is capable of, to drink of her intoxicating beverage. Love not the world—come out from her-set not your affections on silver and gold, houses and land—all these are to perish, and how dreadful, if through loving these empty perishable things, you should, at last lose your souls in eternal perdition. There is the family cup. This is often a very bitter cup, a cup of trials, a cup we are loth to drink of, but it is needful and for wise purposes we are not able to explain. There is a needs be for this cup, however much we may shrink from the draught. We look upon the cup of losses, crosses, and bereavements, as being very bitter; we shrink from it, and say, O my Father, take this cup away, for I cannot drink it; it is so bitter, O what a bitter cup, when a father, a mother, a sister, a brother, or a darling child is taken away by death! We say, Lord, I cannot drink this cup do take it away. But our Father, for wise ends and purposes tells us we must drink it, and that not one drop out of it is in vain. our children running into the depths of iniquity, and turning their backs upon us in the face of all our counsel and admonitions, how bitter the cup; and were it not for hope, and who can tell? we should sink in despair, cease to pray, and give up all as lost. If we see There is the church's cup. How sweet her doctrines, her precepts, her laws, and ordinances, experiences, immunities, and privileges, as ministerially declared and set forth! Have you a thirst for this cup? Come in, ye blessed of the Lord-for all that is in this cup, is intended for thirsty souls. Fear not to drink of this cup, cast in thy lot with the Lord's redeemed ones, and in spite of all thy felt unworthiness to drink of this cup, thou art heartily welcome by the Master of the house, and among all His and daughters. There is heaven's cup. This is for all the saints, and consists of rest, peace, and joy, the smiling face of God, the glories of the Lamb, the beauties of angelic hosts, their delightful company, and conversation, and a general meeting "of all our friends and brethren in Christ, when they will drink of heaven's cup to the full, and never call to mind the cup of bitters they had in the world below. At this general meeting, all will drink of the cup, and with heart and hands in the sweetest union sing, "Kindred of Christ for his dear sake, A hearty welcome here receive, The joys which He alone can give." Last of all, there is hell's cup. Ask the rich man what it is. God grant my dear reader may never drink of it. It is a cup of vindictive wrath, a cup of fire and brimstone, a cup of trembling and weeping, a cup of cursing, and a cup producing eternal pains of inconceivable bitterness and strength. So dreadful was hell's cup to the rich man, that if he could have had only a drop of water out of heaven's cup, he would have felt himself under everlasting obligations to Abraham. But it could not be granted. If a damned soul in heli earnestly begs for a drop out of heaven's cup, it shall not be granted. If you would beware of hell's cup, you must learn by Almighty grace, and the fear of God, to beware of the world, sin, the flesh, and the devil. I conclude this short piece with the words: "Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with them : for they shall eat the fruit of their doings; woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him for the reward of his hands shall be given him. DEATH OF MRS. STRICKETT, OF DARTFORD, WIFE OF THE LATE MR, HENRY STRICKETT, OF ENFIELD. As early as four years of age Susanna Strickett could repeat a chapter from the Scriptures in the family, morning and evening; and as early as ten she had a desire to be baptized, which, however, was deferred till she was nearly seventeen. Some time after this she became acquainted with a young man whose name was Henry Strickett, a virtuous, and serious young man, who sat for some time under the ministry of Mr. Bird, of Cranmer Court, Clapham Rise, and whose ministry was made a special blessing to him. At this time I supplied the pulpit for Mr. Bird, and first became acquainted with Mr. Strickett, who on that occasion made himself known to me, and stated the comfort and consolation which that day's services had been to him. This intimacy between them was matured by a union. Neither were strong in their constitution, and were often the subject of indisposition. It pleased the Lord, however, to call our brother into the ministry, in which he was engaged for some time, first at Dartford, and suhsequently at Enfield, where, after a very trying and painful illness, he departed to "the saints' everlasting rest," leaving to mourn his loss his affectionate wife and little child. The death of Mr. Strickett occasioned the removal of the dear departed saint eventually to Dartford, where she resided with her parents till her death, which took place on the 3rd day of August, 1866. Her experience during her illness was most blessed. For one so young it was truly astonishing. She was married before she was twenty ; a mother before she was twenty-one; a widow before she was twenty-two; "gone to be with Jesus before she was twenty-three!" Her pathway during these few changeful years was rough and trying in providence, yet we doubt not that the dear Lord was, by these sad vicissitudes, gradually calling her nearer to Himself, and making her meet to be an early partaker of the inheritance above. A little while prior to the manifestation of the malignant disease which was the occasion of her death, she desired to join our brother Blake's church in Bishopsgate, London, this, however, was not effected. She gave some signs of consumptive disease, and her father sent her to Ramsgate for a month in hopes of her restoration. While there she had a dream, in which she distinctly heard the voice of the Lord assuring her that she was soon to join the triumphant church, and this conviction never left her; from that time she looked for death. From this time, after her return to Dartford, she sank rapidly, and fears were entertained of her speedy departure. The Lord, however, still sustained her from September 1865, till August 1866, and during this year her weakness and prostration was extreme. Confined to her room nearly the whole time, she had much fellowshlp with various Christian friends who visited her. And truly blessed it was to witness how she testified to the aboundings of Divine grace. On the occasion of my visits to her, which were not so frequent as I could have desired, I always found her on the "Rock of ages." At one time when I called upon her she said, “If my salvation is not finished, I am sure I cannot finish it: but, blessed be His name, I know it is finished." At another time she asked me to read the 23rd Psalm, which I did, and prayed with her, and she said, “Every word of that has been a blessing to me. I am sure the Lord is with me.' I said, "My dear friend, are you afraid to die?" "Afraid," she said, "Oh, no: I can leave all to go to Jesus ;" and then turning to see the little girl who was in the room, her eye moistened into tears as she thought of the separation. But again recovering herself she said, “I CAN LEAVE ALL." Thus, time after time, in my visits to her, I can testify to the grace of God in her. Her experience was very deep; her spirituality uncommon; her knowledge of the Scriptures wonderful, and her delight in them beyond anything I ever witnessed. She seemed like a flower gradually unfolding itself from the bud to the blossom. Like a shock of Doubtless the corn fully ripe, she seemed to be ready for the garner. dear Lord matured her experience, and loosed her bonds from earth, in order to take her to Himself. How wise and gracious is He in His ways! O for more submission to Him. During her long illness she evinced great resignation to the Lord's will, both in reference to her own illness, and her anticipated removal from her dear child. Her mind doubtless was much relieved by the fact that, a kind and affectionate brother had assured her that the child should be cared for by himself. This evidently composed her mind, and she looked upon it as the hand of the Lord. May the richest blessings of "the God of all grace" rest upon him who has taken such responsibility. No one felt more gratified than she did for some small tokens of sympathy which she received during her illness. And having an afflicted mother who to the last attended upon her with a mother's constancy, she expressed her deep sense and gratitude to God that He had thus favoured her. Her death was exceedingly happy. Her father was sitting up with her the last nights of her illness, and about midnight, after having waked her devoted mother, the bereaved parents saw the dear departed "sleep the sleep of death." Some days before she had been dwelling much on heaven, and looking for her departure, and now she is "absent from the body, and present with the Lord." Blessed spirit, may we follow her! The mortal remains were buried in the graveyard of Bexley Heath Baptist Chapel; on Lord's-day, August 26th, her funeral sermon was preached in the above place, from the 144th Psalm, 2nd verse, (a text which she gave me some time prior to her death): "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord; even so, saith the Spirit; for they rest from their labours, and their works do follow them." WILLIAM FRITH. A SUNDAY MORNING WITH JOHN KERSHAW, AT GOWER STREET. It is now somewhere about a quarter of a century since I was led by an affectionate parent to Gower Street Chapel, to hear the then venerable John Kershaw, of Rochdale. Full of years, and even then bending beneath the weight of time, I have still in my mind's eye the first glimpse that ever I had of John Kershaw. From my earliest infancy almost I had heard of John Kershaw, of William Gadsby, of John Warburton, of Joseph Irons, of James Castleden, and of George Coombs, and beyond that magic few I, in my childish simplicity, thought that there were no other preachers of note. 'Tis true that in the city where I was born and where I spent the first decade of my existence, there were some half-dozen chapels and numberless churches, The latter I never visited, why, I know not, unless indeed it was some unexplainable prejudice, the result perhaps of early training whch led me to believe that "no good thing" could come of such places, and later experience has led me to believe that in the numberless churches to which I have alluded, there was little of the truth to be heard. And then as to the chapels-one was a Wesleyan, which I was only allowed to visit once a year in company with my fellow scholars of the Sabbath School. A second was a Primitive-Metho dist's-primitive enough in its struc- To return then. I was running over the notices on the wrapper of the EARTHEN VESSEL for Septem ber, when my eye lit upon 66 Gower Street," and an intimation that John Kershaw would preach there the three last Sabbaths in the month, and I there and then made up my mind that if I was alive and well, I would go the first of these three Sunday mornings to hear the ancient preacher from Lancashire. Accordingly I left home early on the morning of the 16th, and upon reaching the city made my way to the Metropolitan Railway, and was speedily whirled beneath streets and houses, under gas pipes and over sewers to Gower-street, the station being almost close to the chapel. As I passed along, I began to ruminate upon the many changes which had taken place during the quarter of a century of which I have spoken, and John Kershaw's text from which he preached, when first I heard him, came to my mind, "Can a mother forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, she may, yet will I not forget thee." Well, He has not forgotten us. Bread has been given to us and our water has been sure. I passed on to the chapel. It wanted yet some half hour to the time of service; but I remembered the crowded aisles, and I knew that it used to be necessary to be there very early if one desired to be seated. The chapel doors were open, but save and except one or two elderly ladies the chapel was empty. The old place looked very familiar; true the old gas pendants had given way to the improved star light, and the pulpit was more modernly decorated, but with these slight exceptions, Gowerstreet Chapel looked the same to me as it did five and twenty years ago. In due course, I was kindly shewn to a seat with proper instructions "not to go beyond the cushion," which I obeyed and patiently awaited the commencement of the service. At eleven o'clock, the old clerk (somehow they will have old gentlemen for clerks in our places of worship) arose, and in a very good tone, read the hymn "Begone unbelief, my Saviour is near, While we were singing the first verse of that beautiful song of Newton's, the venerable old preacher emerged from the vestry, and with slow and tottering footsteps ascended the pulpit. Though somewhat weaker, he does not look twenty-five years older. His hair, as of old, was combed down over his forehead with puritanic straitness, and his snowy white neckerchief was tied loosely round his neck. The song of praise ended, the good old man read with peculiar but most appropriate emphasis, the third chapter of St. Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians, throwing in a comment here and there without removing his eyes from the book. His prayer was short but impressive. Alluding to himself, he asked the Lord to bless his aged, poor, polluted worm; and after imploring a blessing upon the whole Israel of God, the petitioner with increased emphasis exclaimed, “Bless our sovereign, and our country, and preserve to us our religious privileges!" We sang; and Mr. Kershaw rose again and announced for his text, 2 Thess. ii. 13 : "But we are bound to give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth." I took a brief note of THE SERMON preacher began as follows: of which I give the abstract. The Beloved, we find that in the preceding part of this chapter the Apostle is speaking of some that are under strong and awful delusions, believing doctrines of devils, as it is to be feared many are in the day in which we live, led on by that wicked one, Satan, captives at his will, leading many who are professors of religion into error and heresies, when they become persuaded, as Saul of Tarsus was, that he was doing God a service. But what was the result of all this? The apostle tells us: "For this cause God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believed not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. The apostle, however, was |