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things but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung that I may win Christ." When the soul has found Jesus, "the pearl of great price," "the things of the world-the lust of the flesh-the lust of the eye-and the pride of life," which before were the sole objects of pursuit, have lost their power to please; all these sinful affections are nailed to the cross of Christ, and the soul can, indeed, join with the Apostle in saying, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." (Gal. vi. 14.) Now, if we profess to have found Jesus, and esteem him to be "the chiefest among ten thousand, and altogether lovely," let us ask ourselves what have we sacrificed for him? Have we given up all our old sinful ways, and made "new paths for our feet?" Or are we calling him Lord, Lord! while we do not the things which he says?"

"Some call him 'the pearl of great price,'

And say he's the fountain of joys,

But feed upon folly and vice,

And cleave to the world and its toys."

If such be our profession of religion, it is decidedly false, and assuredly will not stand the test of the great day of Christ's appearing.

Again. What have we given up in the world for Christ's sake? There must be some sacrifice here. "You cannot serve God and mammon." You cannot be the friend of God and of the world. "The friendship of the world is enmity with God; whosoever, therefore, is the friend of the world is the enemy of God." James iv. 4. There is often a great trial from this source: we do not like to be reproached for Christ's sake; to lose our reputation and influence, in wordly society; to be "small and despised" in the estimation of those who formerly looked up to us. Yet this is what we must expect, and assuredly shall suffer, if we be the faithful disciples of Christ, who has himself said, "He that forsaketh not all that he hath, cannot be my disciple." But the loss of these things will not be felt by one who has been taught by the Holy Spirit to estimate duly the knowledge of that name which is as "ointment poured forth," to the soul wounded under a sense of its own sinfulness. Those who have found such a Saviour as Jesus will feel, that all they can give in return for

the unspeakable blessings which he has purchased for them, is as nothing in comparison. Is this your experience? Or are you one of those who," with the mouth shew much love," saying, "master, we would follow thee whithersoever thou goest; but when the world puts in its claims, or when the evil heart rises up, and the sinful temper must be mortified, and thus the cross taken up, you turn aside and say, you think this sacrifice is not required. Oh! beware of such reasoning as this. Consult the Word of God before you decide upon the path of duty, and remember, that we are not to be guided by our own evil hearts, in adopting our rule of Christian practice and devotedness, but by the extensive requirements of the unerring word of truth.

The Lord bestows upon the believer all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus freely. "Ho! every one that thirsteth come ye to the waters; and he that hath no money come ye, buy and eat, yea come, buy wine and milk, without money and without price." Isa. lv. 1. And in return he demands, "My son, give me thine heart." Prov. xxiii. 26. And as the heart is the source from whence proceeds all that is good or evil in man, if we surrender this to the Lord in reality, it will assuredly follow, that all that we possess shall be his. And when we have thus wholly given ourselves to the Lord, we shall then, indeed, find in his service that perfect freedom and liberty, that settled peace and coutentment, amid all the trials of life, which was unknown and unfelt by us, while we were seeking happiness in the world, or while in religion we were halting between two opinions.

"Oh! happy day that fixed my choice,
On thee, my Saviour and my God,
Well may my glowing heart rejoice,
And tell its raptures all abroad,

'Tis done, the great transaction's done-
I am the Lord's, and he is mine;
He drew me, and I followed on,
Charmed to confess the voice divine.

Now rest, my long-divided heart,

Fixed on this blissful centre rest;

With ashes who would grudge to part,
When called on angel's bread to feast.

S.

MR. WINNING AND THE IRISH SCHOOLS.

IN the course of the present month the subject of Irish Schools was brought before the religious public of Belfast, by the Rev. Mr. Winning, in several discourses delivered in various places of worship, and in public meetings assembled for the purpose. At these meetings four of the Irish Teachers were examined in their knowledge of the Irish language, and their ability to translate it into English, as well as in their understanding of the Scriptures, and their leading doctrines. In their examinations they discovered an amazing degree of scholarship and biblical knowledge. The crowded meetings that assembled, time after time, seemed truly astonished and delighted, and all appeared to be convinced that in this society was the key to the Irish heart, and the most likely means of Ireland's regeneration. Considerable sums of money were obtained at the meetings, for the purposes, of the society-more was raised by collections, taken from house to house, by Mr. Winning, and some christian friends that accompanied him. The whole amount, it is our pleasing duty to announce,raised in a few days was upwards of £300. Surely it may be hoped there is somewhat of Christian principle leavening society, when it manifests so deep an interest in so good a cause. Let Mr. Winning and his friends persevere, and let the christian public continue to give their aid as Belfast has now done, and it will not be long till this desert land shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. Much of the society's success, it is obvious, will depend on the character of the teachers; and to enable our readers to form some opinion of that, we subjoin the following letter, addressed by a large number of them to Mr. Winning:

REV. SIR,

23d December, 1834.

WE, the Scripture Teachers, in connexion with the Irish Society, have, by the blessing of the Lord, through that instrumentality, been brought to read, study, and learn the Holy Scriptures-to view them as the only rule of faith and practice, the supreme tribunal, to whose testimony every thing in religion is to be referred.

Sensible from these Scriptures, that it is our duty and privilege to partake of Christian ordinances, and many of us, for years, being deprived of that privilege, and living disobedient to the command of Him who has said, "Do this in remembrance of me;" we now, from sincere and conscientious motives, desire to have the holy ordinance of the Lord's Supper dispensed to us in a Scriptural and Christian manner.

We believe the definition given of that ordinance, to be truly Scriptural, "the ontward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace given unto us, ordained by Christ himself, as a means whereby we receive the same, and a pledge to assure us thereof." We believe that the bread

broken is an emblem of our Lord's body broken and pierced for us, and that the wine in the cup is emblematie of Christ's blood, that was shed for us, poor, miserable, and wretched sinners. We believe, as the bread

and wine nourish our natural bodies, that the body and blood of Christ, spiritually (of which the bread and wine are emblems,) nourish and feed the soul of the true believer.-We believe, that Jesus Christ has ascended with his glorified body into heaven, to remain there "until that great day when he will come to judge the world in righteousness," and that we are not to have his corporeal presence until then. We believe, that as often as we approach the Lord's table, with humble, contrite, and believing hearts, and with a sincere desire of holding communion with our Lord, and acting in all things to his glory, that our approach will be acceptable, and that through "the outward and visible sign," bread and wine, partaken in faith, our love to God and man will be increased, our affections spiritualized, and Christ, and the blessings of the covenant of grace represented, sealed, and applied to our souls.

With these impressions upon our minds, we entreat of you, Sir, to request of the Rev. Mr. Radcliff, or the Rev. Mr. Daly, or the Hon. and Rev. Archdeacon Pakenham, (of whose piety and godly sincerity we can have no doubt,) to come down to the Kingscourt District, one of the approaching Sabbaths of this very solemn season, and with you, Rev. and Dear Sir, meet us and Mr. Russell, as Christian brethren, at the table of the Lord, that we may there solemnly partake of the emblems of the body of our Lord, broken for us, and of his precious blood shed for us: in the hope that we may feed on him, in our hearts by faith, with thanksgivings; and in doing so you will, Rev. Sir, much oblige, and, we trust, much spiritually benefit, the souls of your humble brethren in the Lord.

DESIGNATION OF A MISSIONARY TO JAMAICA. REV. THOMAS LESLIE.

THE designation of the Rev. Mr. Leslie to a Missionary Station in Jamaica, under the Scottish Missionary Society, took place in the Presbyterian Church, May-Street, on Wednesday, the 18th inst. There were two public services. At the first, the devotional exercises were conducted by the Rev. Mr. Morgan; a sermon was preached by the Rev. Mr. Waddell, (Missionary from Jamaica ;) the designation prayer was offered up by the Rev. Mr. Park, of Ballymoney; and the services were concluded with a charge to Mr. Leslie, by the Rev. Dr. Cooke. In the evening the services were conducted oy the Rev. J. A. Canning, of Downpatrick, and the newlyappointed Missionary. Mr. Waddell's discourse was founded upon the command of Christ to his apostles in Mark xvi. 15. and was simple, judicious, sound, and seasonable. The sermon of Mr. Leslie was on the corresponding passage in Mat. xxviii. 19. and was characterized by good sense, apparent sincerity, and just views of Missionary labours. The events

of that day, it is to be trusted, will not be soon forgotten. Mr. Leslie has broken new ground, being the first Missionary to the heathen from the Synod of Ulster; and we hope he has set an example which will before long be followed by many. He addressed himself ably and earnestly to the students who were in attendance; and, we doubt not, the Spirit of God sent his words home to the hearts of some of them. May a future day reveal that it was even so! Mr. Leslie departs from among us with a pure and elevated character; he goes with the prayers and sympathies of the church; and the confident expectation is that, under the blessing of God, his services will be faithful, persevering, and successful.

LITERATURE FOR THE BLIND.*

THE subject treated of in the volume whose title we have announced, is one exclusively of modern times. The peculiar privations of the blind seem to have called forth few systematic attempts for their alleviation until the latter part of the last century, and to be very inadequately conceived of by the mass even of the benevolent and Christian community of our own day. The situation of those who are shut out from the visible world has, indeed, awakened much sympathy, and led to the erection of many asylums for their reception; nor have these attempts been directed to the supply of their external wants alone; -the outline of their minds, and the systematic communication of knowledge to them, have been gradually becoming objects of deeper interest. Yet it must be evident to all who are acquainted with the state of this portion of the community, that very inadequate ideas are still formed of their physical and mental privations. In these respects, however, we hope the period is near when their wants will be more generally and better understood, and more effectually and permanently relieved. This hope is founded on the steady advance in the number and efficacy of the benevolent attempts made to better the condition of the blind, and on no facts more than those which form the subject of the volume before us-the formation of a tangible alphabet for the blind, the devising of a method of teaching them to read and write, and the publication of a series of books fitted for their These important objects have been accomplished chiefly by the in. genuity and the indefatigable zeal of the author of the volume.

use.

He commences with pointing out the peculiar privations of the blindtheir entire dependance on the kindness and attention of friends, both in a physical and moral point of view; their concealment from the public gaze, in the bosom of their own families; with the exception of the few maintained in public institutions, and their being found-from many causes easily accounted for-chiefly among the poorer classes. He then

"A Historical Sketch of the Origin and Progress of Literature for the Blind; and Practical Hints and Recommendations as to their Education. With an Appendix, containing Directions for teaching Reading and Writing to the Blind, with and without a regular teacher. By JAMES GALL. 8vo. P.p. 388. Edinburgh: GALL. 1834,"

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