a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall man fade away." And the same apostle says in another place, not likening us, indeed, to the flower, but using, if possible, a more appropriate emblem, "For what is your life? it is even as a vapour;" as the blue smoke which you may see curling for a moment, and then mingling with the air; "it is even as a vapour, which appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth away." And have not we seen the truth of all this clearly shown in the death of those around us: have we never seen a little brother or sister, or play-mate or school fellow, cut down as a flower of the field? Oh when we cast our eyes around us, and when we think how many younger than ourselves, who were once accustomed to meet us here, are now gone for ever, surely we must say and feel with Job, "Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble: he cometh forth like a flower and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not." Another and affecting instance of this we have in the case of Elizabeth S-; with whom most of you were acquainted, and whose dying charge I have now to deliver to you. She was indeed a flower, beautiful in its appearance, but momentary in its duration. Would to God that many such flowers were blooming here! But, alas! we spend sabbath after sabbath in directing you to Christ, and labouring to promote the salvation of your souls; but, with some few exceptions, we appear to have laboured in vain, and spent our time, and strength, and faculties, and prayers for nought. Children! is not this a solemn, yea, an awful thought? Oh never, never forget, that the privileges which here you enjoy, if they do not promote your It has been my lot to attend the death beds of several,-and I have known some who in that awful hour were distracted with terror and fear. Do you ask me why ?— they neglected their souls,-they neglected their Saviour,-they lived forgetful of the world to come, and when death approached them they could only look forward to the terrors of judgment, and the miseries of future punishment. It was not thus with E. S. No: there is a Saviour, and she loved him; there is salvation, and she felt it; there is a heaven, and she knew that angels were waiting to conduct her thither, and therefore her "last end was peace.' Many times I visited her; but to the question, Are you happy? her constant reply was, Quite so -quite so." Death was not terrible to her,and never did I hear her speak of it, but at the same time a smile was seated on her countenance: thus did she prove the saying of Solomon to be true,— the righteous, that is, those who love and serve and fear God,"the righteous hath hope in his death." Once I said to her, Do you wish to live? She replied, "If it be the will of God that I should, -not else." I said, You have reason to be thankful, I believe, that you attended our school. answered, smiling, "Yes: it has been to me a blessing indeed." At another time she said, "I wish some of my school-fellows would come and see me. One of them came one day but when I began to talk to her, she burst into tears, and left my room, and I have seen her no more. Oh if I had them here, I would tell them all what a blessed thing it is to die-when Jesus Christ is our Saviour." The pains of her body were very great, and frequently did their violence prevent her from speaking; but she did not murmur nor repine: and She when I said to her, You appear to be in great pain; she replied, "Yes, -but it's all in mercy." She frequently spoke of the lower school; in which, for a time, she had been employed as a teacher. "Ah," she said, the little children used to mock me, and call me the little governess, and were often rude and unkind to me: but I am sure I loved them, and longed to do them good." At another time I said to her, Have you any message for me to deliver to your school-fellows? She looked at me for some time."Oh yes," she said: "tell them they can never be happy without religion: tell them that it is not a gloomy thing;-I have found that it is not. Oh what should I do now, if I had not Christ for my Saviour: tell them, if they break the sabbath, if they disobey their teachers, or their parents, if they behave badly in the house of God, or if they commit any sin wilfully, they cannot love Christ; and if they do not love Christ, how mise rable they will be: tell them to think of death, to think of their souls tell them not to neglect one opportunity of coming to the school, for every sabbath may be the last." Much more she would have said, but her cough returned, and her strength failed her. My dear children, the tongue that once uttered this, is now silent in the grave; and this place which once knew her shall know her no more for ever; but in this her dying charge "she being dead yet speaketh," and will you refuse to hear? she exhorts you to love Christ; will you refuse to love him? she beseeches you to prepare for death, but will you continue to neglect it, and thereby neglect your souls and neglect their everlasting happiness? Oh be persuaded to attend to the things which make for your eternal peace-pray daily and earnestly for the forgiveness of your sins, and the salvation of your souls" seek AUGUST 1826. the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near," if you refuse to seek, and serve him, you cannot be happy in life, in death, or for ever; but if you love and obey him, the death of your schoolfellow shall be your's, and your last end shall be like her's. I saw her once after this-but her countenance was pale with death; she was scarcely able to speak, and I left her to see her no more-yet not, I trust, for ever. Oh no! if the same Saviour that supported her, shall be our support, we too shall be happy in our death, and be happy with her in heaven. Children! that Saviour is now looking down from heaven, and his language to each of you is, "I love them that love me, and those that seek me early shall find me." Let me then close this address with the dying charge of David to his son, And thou Solomon, my son, know thou the GoD of thy fathers, and serve Him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imagination of the thoughts, if thou seek him he will be found of thee, but if thou forsake him he will cast thee off for ever." I ceased, and many a tearful eye around proclaimed that some impression had been produced, may that impression be salutary and saving: and may the death of one be rendered subservient in promoting the spiritual life of many. To my fellow labourers in this noble cause I would say, Let us not slacken in our efforts or be discouraged in our difficulties; the seed we sow may indeed for the present appear to be ineffectual, but it shall nevertheless produce a glorious harvest.-The word of God is our warrant the omnipotence of GoD our support-the glory of GoD our object; and the favour and the presence of GoD shall be our reward for ever. ☺. II. 2 Q EXTRACT FROM THE MEDITATIONS OF A CHRISTIAN. THE path of religion is alone the path of happiness, of this I am well assured. How is it then, happiness being decidedly my aim, that I seek it in the paths of sloth and vice? Am I a reasonable, am I an accountable being? religion tells me in the plainest terms I am. How is it then, that I act diametrically opposite to my real interest, and my zealous wishes? It is that I have forsaken Him who only can keep me in the right way. Reason may point out but it is religion alone that can lead me in this way. He who directs the affairs of man, who by his Providence overrules all things, he alone can comfort and support the weak-hearted and raise up them that fall-even the God of my youth, the hope of my coming years-He, he alone can lead me, he alone can keep me in the right way. I am not so far enthralled in the mazes of sin, God has not left me so entirely to the suggestions of my corrupt heart, but that I do at times feel my errors and look back with deep regret to the days that are past. Does God remember the prayers of a departed mother for the spiritual welfare of her son? Has he not forgotten the ungrateful sinner's prayers, offered up in the days of his first love? No, unmerited mercy! they are still heard through the intercessions of a crucified Redeemer. The words vibrate on my ear, and seemingly touch my heart-I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Oh! thou Great Shepherd of Israel, bring back a repentant sinner once more to thy fold, direct his wandering footsteps once more to thee-the God of mercy. Wilt thou hear a sinner's prayers, wilt thou listen to the cries of him, who, by his sins has crucified the Son of God afresh and put him to an open shame ? I know thou wilt! The door of mercy is still open to me. art waiting to be gracious. Thou Blessed Lord again do I dedicate myself, body, soul and spirit, to thy service. Though the world entice me, in Thy strength, in the power of Thy might, I will not consent. Though it offer the choicest gifts, I will hold on my way. Nothing henceforward do I hope to know, but Jesus Christ and him crucified. All the vain things that charm me most, I'll sacrifice them to his blood. What do I sacrifice, is it this world's riches? they make to themselves wings and fly away. Is it this world's honour? it is more fleeting and changeable than the winds. Is it the world's pleasure? it is the prolific source of disease and misery. What do I gain ? health, contentment, happiness in this world, eternal happiness in the world to come. Blessed Jesus keep me, O keep me for ever under the shadow of thy wings-leave me not to myself, neither to my heart's desires-let me evermore walk in the light of thy countenance and live in the possession of thee—and, when the days of my pilgrimage are ended, when I leave this vale of trouble and of tears, receive me in the plenitude of thy mercy into thy eternal kingdom, there to sing thy praise and the power of redeeming love through the countless ages of eternity. Reader, art thou looking up to Jesus, as the Israelites in the wilderness to the Brazen Serpent, for the removing of the plague which dwells in the heart of the natural man ?-Doest thou esteem him as the chiefest amongst ten thousand and the altogether lovely?-art thou living above the world although in the world ?—if so, thou, (and such as thou,) alone canst be esteemed happy. But if thou art one who having tasted that the Lord is gracious, hast forsaken his ways and walkest not now according to his commandments, what can I say? art thou prepared to meet the Lord, not as thy Saviour, thy Redeemer, thy everlasting Friend, but as thy inexorable Judge? thou canst not be. O think on these things before it be too late, before thine eyes close for ever on this mortal scene. While thou art still within reach of the Gospel sound, hear, and your soul shall live. Remember that thy day of grace will soon be spent, thou art fast hastening to the tomb, in a few years, perhaps in a few days, and thou mayest leave this earthly tabernacle for everlasting happiness or woe. Remember that there is no repentance in the grave, as the tree falls so it lies, as 'Death leaves you, Judgment finds you.' Let me then beseech you, by the grace of God, again to fly to him for pardon and for peace. He is waiting to be gracious, he is ready to receive you. But if I am addressing any who have turned a deaf ear to the Charmer, charm he never so wisely, who have never known the Lord, be assured, that if not here, yet most certainly hereafter you will find, that the way of this world was not the way of heaven. God's commands are that we must come out and be separated from this evil generation, that we must work out our salvation with fear and trembling, not give up ourselves to the world, suffering it to carry us down its guilty stream which leads to everlasting destruction. The grave has closed upon millions who, like you, have neglected the ways of the Lord, to-morrow it may close on you, their day of repentance is for ever gone, your's still remains. Look to your Bible, read it with fervent prayer to God for his enlightening grace, and you will have reason to rejoice-you will be directed to Jesus as the sinner's hope-you will be enabled to look on him as your everlasting salvation. G. PARAPHRASE ON ROMANS VIII. 28. "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God.” THE winds were loud, the night was chill, Oh, when the heart's disease is healed, more Their cruel spells; when, from the store ON THE RELIGIOUS STATE OF FRANCE.-LETTER II. : DEAR SIR, The Indifferents are a very large genus, capable of many subdivisions. The first, by bad pre-eminence, is the infidel. These are the spawn of the old Deists, and atheistic Sceptics, who in the most horrible period of the Revolution set up the Goddess of Reason, and professed themselves votaries of the religion of nature. They are men of different shades of antichristian sentiment, from the disciples of Voltaire and Rousseau to those of Volney and Dupuis. The school of Medicine in Paris abounds with them they are also found among the students of the law, and the military. They are even suspected to be concealed among the clergy. The last, of course, are cautious of divulging sentiments which might call down the censure of some superior; but the others, and especially the medical practitioners do not scruple to give their opinions in their respective circles, and to show great contempt for the priesthood. It is not surprizing that characters of this stamp should form no inconsiderable portion of the French population. If extremes meet, Superstition and Infidelity were never far distant from each other. They see the absurdity of Popery, and ridicule pretended miracles, reverence of relics, masses for the dead, celibacy of the clergy, &c. but not content with this, consider all religion as priestcraft. The better educated have just sufficient learning and philosophy to work upon their self-conceit, a quality in which the most enlightened of their countrymen are seldom found wanting; professing themselves wise, they become fools; they are ignorant of the rational arguments in favour of Protestantism; and they "do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God." The second species is the igno It is scarcely credible to what an extent ignorance prevails on religious and scriptural subjects. Some think that the word of God consists of those portions of it, found in their mass-books; others, that it is a volume containing the sayings of wise and good men, and so called rather figuratively than really. Respectable persons, well informed on other matters, have imagined it a work which always appeared in a folio shape. Doubtless, the Paris Protestant Bible Society has re moved a great deal of this positive ignorance. Still it exists in a melancholy degree, and will continue, so long as the Bible is itself a prohibited book. The following interview occurred not long since at the village of Passy, in the neighbourhood of the capital. A pious and intelligent English gentleman had occasion to visit a lady in that parish, and in order to introduce some profitable conversation, enquired if she were in the regular habit of attending her church? She told him with the most perfect indifference, that she went there once a-year. Knowing her to bear what the world esteems a reputable character, he expressed his surprise, and proceeded to point out some of the more obvious reasons for social worship. Finding her from her replies lamentably deficient in religious knowledge, he spoke of the leading truths of the Gospel, and observed that as we were all sinners, it became us to give glory to God by publicly confessing our transgressions, and suing for pardon, &c. She assured him that his observations by no means applied to her case, for she led the most harmless of lives, amusing herself in the morning with her needle, and in the evening paying a visit to some neighbour. He asked her if her neighbours thought and acted like herself? To which question she re |