minutes more I shall be with my Saviour. I shall take my harp and celebrate his praises! My heart is oppressed-the films are coming over my eyes-I feel I am dying, and soon I shall be in glory." She then embraced the several members of the family-bade them an affectionate adieu, and requested her love to be presented to her Christian friends, with the assurance that she was happy, and should soon meet them in heaven. Amidst the pause which succeeded this last farewell, she said, "Here is my beloved husband, and there are my dear parents and sisters. I see not each separately, but together; and there are my dear babes. I am alone in the valley: but not alone-Jesus is with me!" Being reminded that while the body was sinking, she had a hope full of immortality and eternal life, she replied, "Hope? not hope, but assurance!" This was soon followed by the last struggle, when she sweetly fell asleep in Jesus, and entered into the joy of her Lord.

VOICES OF GOD.

(From Miss Varley's “ Ivy Leaves.”)

THERE'S a voice of God in the murmuring breeze,
That whispers and sings to the answering trees;
There's a voice of God in the rustling reply

Of the dancing leaves to the soft zephyr's sigh.

There's a voice of God in the fountain's low gush,-
In the mountain cataract's violent rush,

As it hurries along on its path of light,.

And in one vast volume exults in its might.

There's a voice of God in the billows' loud roar,
As, lash'd into madness, they break o'er the shore;
There's a voice of God in the musical chime

Of the rippling wavelets in summer's sweet time.

There's a voice of God in the rush of the blast,
As it sweeps on the pinions of victory past;
There's a voice of God in the crashes that tell
How the woodman-wind doth his forest-trees fell.

There's a voice of God in the perfume that's borne
From the pink woodbine's honey-tipped bugle horn,
In the incense that sweetly and silently swells
In vocalized breathings from pure lily bells.

When the lightning-flash leaps from the rifled cloud,
And its thundering mandate booms long and loud;
When the avalanche falls from its glacier height,
And buries the vales 'neath a cenotaph white,-

When the young volcano, with liquid fire,
Lights a slumbering city's funeral pyre,-
Then, then doth the voice of God loudly proclaim
His omnipotent will, and his awful name!

The chorus of stars-the faint hum of the bee-
The echoes that die in the shell of the sea-
The chirp of the cricket-the song of the swan-
Are voices declaring God's presence to man.

He whispers his love to the ears of the mind,
And thunders his wrath to the wilfully blind;
And voices, creation-lipped, loudly declare
His wisdom, his power, and his fostering care!

3. Having considered the Lord's Supper in the time and manner of its institution, let us now contemplate its important design." He took bread, brake it, and gave to the disciples saying, Take, eat, this is my body;" or, a representation of my body which is to be broken for you. By what means was the Redeemer's body broken? By scourges, by blows, by the nails which fastened his hands and feet to the cross, by the crown of thorns which was put upon his head, by the spear which pierced his side. These are the wounds, says he by the prophet, which I have received in the house of my friends. They were inflicted by the house of Israel, his own nation, kindred, and countrymen, according to the flesh. They brought him down to the dust of death. His expiring groan was heard in heaven, on earth, and in hell. It clothed the sun in sackcloth, rent the vail of the temple from the top to the bottom, divided the rocks, laid open the sepulchres to the light of day, and awakened the dead. While these circumstances furnished sensible evidences of his Messiahship, and gave amazing publicity to the event, they spread terrific grandeur over the whole scene, and for the moment suppressed the blasphemies of his persecutors, and silenced the insolence of the crowd. But Jewish malice, and Roman cruelty, formed the mildest ingredients of that cup which he had to drink. His spirit was wounded, his soul was in agony. "I have a baptism," said he, " to be baptised with, and O! how am I straitened until it be accomplished.” The punishment of human transgression rested upon him. He met death not disarmed, but disarmed it, by tasting death for every man. Here a scene presents itself to our view which is awfully sublime. It furnishes ideas too great for human conception. The tide of wrath rolling over his righteous soul; the weight of a world's guilt which he bare in his own body on the tree; the greatness of that action which opened up a new and living way to the mercy-seat, through the rent vail of his own flesh, that a world of rebels might receive forgiveness and enter the mansions of glory, present something to the mind too vast for our comprehension. We cannot fathom those awful depths of suffering into which he descended for our sake. We can only say, that this was the time of the travail of his soul, the hour of the powers of darkness. Well might his human nature hesitate and startle as he approached this fearful scene. My soul," says he, "is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. Oh! my Father, if it be possible let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will but as thou wilt." It pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief. Surely he hath "borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows." "He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our ini

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quities, the chastisement of our peace was laid upon him, and by his stripes we are healed."

"And he took the cup, and said, This is the New Testament in my blood," or a representation of the New Testament in my blood which is to be poured out on the cross for your salvation. That Testament or covenant of mercy which God was pleased to make known to man immediately after the fall, and which had been typically ratified by bleeding victims offered on Jewish altars for nearly four thousand years under the former dispensation, was now to receive a new, a more signal, and glorious ratification in the death of the great Antitype. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission; no deliverance from condemnation; no application of spiritual blessings; no communion with God; no prospect of glory. It is by the blood of the covenant alone, that our guilt is removed, and our pollutions washed away. The death of Christ not only accomplished the ancient purposes of grace and mercy in reference to fallen man, but it executed, ratified, and gloriously completed his own engagements as Mediator. At his death, the New Testament in his blood came into full and universal operation, and infallibly secures to those who repent of their sins, and believe in his name, the blessings of salvation in this world, and a heavenly inheritance in the next. "So often," says the apostle, 66 as we eat this bread, and drink this cup, we do show the Lord's death until he come," the reality of his death, its awful circumstances, its sacrificial character, its signal triumphs, its everlasting glory-show the Lord's death until he come, in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory; come to destroy his enemies, to exalt and reward his friends; to fulfil the times of the Gentiles, and bring the lost sheep of the house of Israel back to their ancient fold; to tear up the foundations of every anti-christian power, and scatter them to the winds of heaven, as chaff on the summer threshing floor; come, to establish the universal reign of truth, and purity, and love.

At the table of the Lord our thoughts are thrown back on the scenes of Gethsemane and Calvary, and led forward to the period when the parting heavens shall disclose our descending Lord in glory and majesty,

"His chariot will not long delay;
We hear the rumbling wheels, and pray,
Triumphant Lord appear"-

Come, Lord Jesus, and come quickly!

4. Let us consider the Lord's Supper in the character of its communicants. To whom was this holy ordinance first administered? To the disciples, by the Lord himself. He took bread, brake it, and gave to the disciples." Who are the disciples of Christ? There are two respects in which we may be disciples. Some are so in name only; others are so in reality. What goes to constitute a nominal disciple? A public profession of religion, regular attendance on the ministry of the word, external devotion, outward morality of conduct, formal attachment to the Saviour and his cause. These things give the character a religious aspect, and are unhappily considered by many, as including in them, all

that is necessary to constitute a true follower of Christ. But though we highly value the form of godliness, and respect the rectitude of moral actions whenever manifested, even in the slightest degree; we cannot disguise the awful possibility of the prevalence of these things where there are no deep awakenings of conscience-no self-humiliation-no godly sorrow for sin-no struggling for pardon and life-no devout identification with the cause of God, which draws forth into free and vigorous operation the talents of usefulness. True religion is not designed for personal enjoyment only, but universal diffusion. And as the disciples form the instrumentality the Redeemer employs in accomplishing the purposes of his love among mankind, they must be instructed in the things of God-cordially embrace the doctrines of the crossimitate the example of their divine Master-be supremely attached to him-be zealous for his honour-willing to suffer for his sake, and desire to be with him in glory. These are the elements of genuine discipleship, which form the character, and adorn the lives of the followers of Jesus. To them this ordinance is a feast of fat things, of wines on the lees well refined. They approach it with confidence, and gratitude, and joy. To them the table of the Lord is not surrounded with terror. The thunders of Sinai roll not here. They listen to the accents of love, and present the sacrifice of thanksgiving and praise.

5. Let us consider the Lord's Supper in the means by which spiritual benefit is conveyed to the soul. These do not consist in the outward acts of eating the bread and drinking the wine, but in exercising faith on that to which those sacred emblems refer, namely, the mediatorial work of the Son of God. They unfold the sacramental character of the great High Priest of our profession, who, by his vicarious sacrifice, made an atonement for the sins of the world. By faith, the pious believer discovers the preciousness and glory of this sacrifice, lays hold of it, appropriates its blessings to his soul; and having gathered from thence the full assurance of hope, he rejoices with "joy unspeakable and full of glory." We pity the unhappy condition of those who had so far fallen from their steadfastness, as to render themselves liable to be entangled in the heresies of men who lie in wait to deceive-men, whose prime design is, under the assumed guise of piety and benevolence, to extinguish the light of divine truth, and open the floodgates of licentiousness and crime. According to their wild, spurious theology, Christ must be disrobed of his majesty; the Sun of Righteousness must be plucked from the firmament of truth; the darkness of despair must brood again over our spirits; a chilliness, colder than death, must be diffused through the Christian system; its harmonies be broken; its grand elements be reduced to chaos, and its glory depart from us for ever. But the crown which flourishes on the head of the Redeemer is not to be torn away, nor the anchor of our hope wrested from us, by hands so rude, and spirits so vulgarly depraved. We have not so learned Christ; nor do we believe that persons walking in the fear of the Lord, will be easily corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ, or be induced to embrace errors so flagrant, so licentious, and disgusting. The voluntary reception of erroneous doctrine, is the symptom of a previously existing disease, which had vitiated and enervated the soul. That disease is, the depreciation of Christian privileges-a disease which, if not subdued and eradicated, will soon issue in consequences most distressing and deplorrable. Christian obligation must lose its hold of the soul, ere people

can identify themselves with those principles and practices which dishonour the holy name by which they are called. To our beloved brethren, therefore, we would say, give your Saviour the chief place in your affections. "Hold the beginning of your confidence steadfast unto the end. Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God; and you shall prove what is his good, acceptable, and perfect will, who has called you out of darkness into his marvellous light." When you surround his board, Jesus renews to you the pledges of his love, repeats the precious promises of his word, and imparts to your souls delightful assurances of being happy with him for ever. On your part he expects the renewal of your pledge of allegiance to him, of fealty to his of unreserved devotedness to his service and glory. cause, any man serve me, says he, him will my Father honour."

"If

6. Let us consider the Lord's Supper in reference to future happiness and glory. "But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I shall drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." "This is," as if he had said, "the last time I shall eat the passover supper with you, my disciples. That rite will now soon be abolished; its typical design in reference to me is on the eve of accomplishment; the garden, the cross, the sepulchre will complete my undertaking on earth, and close for ever the period of my humiliation and suffering. But the new ordinance which I am instituting shall continue; it shall be a standing memorial of my friendship, a perpetual pledge of my presence and favour to the end of time. It is expedient for you that I go away, that the Comforter may come, the Spirit of truth, who shall guide you into all truth. I must, therefore, ascend to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God; and in the nature I have assumed, enter that joy-that high state of exaltation and glory for which I am about to endure the cross. Myriads of adoring spirits are now waiting at the celestial portals to welcome my entrance into the mansions of light. But let not your heart be troubled; for during my absence I shall still be with you, in my superintending providence-in the supports of my Spirit in the efficacious influences of my grace-in the miraculous operations of my power-in the rich manifestations of my love. 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' And if I go away, I will come again; and in the kingdom of my Father you shall share with me in the joys and glories of a blessed eternity." If the brief, familiar illustration now given, of these very mysterious, but tender and most endearing expressions, reflects, in the most distant manner, their sublime meaning, a scene of enjoyment awaits the pious followers of Jesus, of a most transcendantly glorious a character, and of which, the richest ordinances of religion on earth furnish but the faintest representation.

The scene will be most intimate. In the present world our communion with the Lord is refreshing and delightful; but as we enjoy it through the medium of external ordinances only, it of necessity is frequently interrupted, so that, in our happiest moments, we have but obscure views of the King in his beauty, and of the land that is afar off. But when we enter the mansions prepared for us by our divine Lord, in the kingdom of his Father, we shall have a new economy, a clearer light, superior powers, richer joys; we shall drink the wine of that kingdom with the Saviour we love for ever and ever.

It will be social. The heirs of salvation will then have arrived from all the provinces of Jehovah's vast empire, and they shall sit down at the