version of Scripture; for the soul has been the sufferer, and eternity the scene of anguish, False peace has been proclaimed to the enemies of God, and the "faithful saying" made the pretext of innumerable delusions. And, even in instances where the presence of saving faith has marked, to a certain extent, the docility of a mind under divine teaching, nevertheless has there been an amount of intellectual indolence, indicative of a low condition of intelligent piety. Perhaps, if auricular confession were practised among us, some would have to acknowledge that their daily closet reading of the Scriptures, seldom exceeds a psalm, or a few verses from the New Testament. Edification undoubtedly depends, not so much on the quantity read, as on the manner of reading it; and no one will deny that, to a mind habituated to close thinking, a short passage may sometimes suggest a long train of profitable meditation. Occasionally, such a course may have its advantages. But, if we would learn the whole counsel of God, whatever he has thought proper to reveal we must account it our happiness to study. An absent friend would soon withhold from us all further correspondence, should it come to his knowledge that we leave

unread the greater portion of his letters. And we can hardly take a readier method of grieving the Holy Spirit, than to treat, with similar neglect, his gracious communications.

In the present day, and amidst the clearer views of Christian responsibility which are beginning to excite the attention of the religious world, it may not be undeserving of inquiry, whether there is not some danger of forgetting the indispensable necessity of special influence from Heaven, in order to the production and progress of piety in the soul. I am not quite

sure that all the fears, which some have felt on this head, are justified by facts, and of this I am certain, that one, whose statements have been suspected of this tendency, would rather that his right hand should forget its cunning, than give utterance to anything which should even seem to question the declaration—" Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." But, as human nature is prone to extremes, it is well to be on our guard. Avoiding Scylla, let us beware of Charybdis. A spirit of slumber is bad, but a spirit of scepticism is incomparably worse.

Among the causes of religious declension, the imperfect sanctification of the sabbath must

not be forgotten. When man was doomed to eat his bread by the sweat of his brow, one day of respite, from that sentence, was allowed him every week. The very existence of such a provision, bespeaks the rest of heaven, and is a fitting preparation for its higher enjoyments. Accordingly, the sanctification of the sabbath is accounted a test of character, and of Christian profession. With open violations of that day, religious people are but little chargeable. But, where there is no gross infringement of its sacredness, there may be, nevertheless, an almost total loss of the blessings which it is calculated to secure. Many who would justly think it sinful to open an account book, or to read a newspaper, indulge in meditations, and perhaps in conversation too, which would better befit the exchange than the sanctuary. Of little use will it be to profess to keep holy the sabbath day, while such is the case. Speaking our own words is, to a certain extent, as irreconcilable with obedience then, as seeking our own pleasure, Isaiah lviii. 13; and the difference of the sin is, not in nature, but degree. And the man whose excuse is that he cannot spend a whole day at a time, in meditating and conversing on religion, only shows that

he has yet to learn its first principles. Shall it be easy to devote six days to the things of time, and hard to devote one to the things of eternity? In truth, then, the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light.

One word here, as to the sabbath rights of servants; a matter on which the ancient law was remarkably explicit. "That thy manservant, and thy maidservant, may rest as well as thou," Deut. v. 14, was the considerate and gracious provision of Him who spake "in the mount, out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness." And, though we are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words, which voice they that heard, entreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more, Heb. xii. 18, 19, yet it can hardly be imagined that Zion has less of tenderness than Sinai, or that the city of the living God has fewer immunities than had the church in the wilderness. Clearly, then, the religious rights of servants have not been set aside by the Christian dispensation. The merciful pro

vision of Heaven comprehends all classes; and on one day in the week, at least, the rich and the poor may forget their distinctions, in the presence of Him who is the Maker of them all. Moreover, servants have as little right to render, as their masters have to claim, unnecessary labour on the sabbath. No man can sell that of which he has no authority to dispose, without incurring the guilt of fraud or theft. And, when an individual undertakes to surrender his time to the service of another, a reservation should always be understood, as to that portion of it which belongs, not to him but to God.

No sabbath services, therefore, should be required, beyond the demands of necessity; and, of that necessity, an enlightened conscience must be the judge. Some things, however, seem too obvious to require specification. To mention no more :—

When, on the sabbath, a Christian family walks to the sanctuary, over a threshold which their maidservant has been scouring that morning, or rides thither, leaving their manservant to pass his time, at the mews, the livery stables, or the public house, till his services are required to drive the carriage back again;-or, guiltless of such a disregard of decency, quietly returns,