preach, but had been shamefully entreated; but here, in the metropolis of the world, he has the privilege of teaching and preaching as much as he pleases, and his labours are crowned with success: for not only is he made instrumental in convincing some of his Jewish brethren, who resided there, that Jesus is the true Messiah-men for whom he had said, "I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh;" but he is made instrumental in introducing a knowledge of the gospel even into Cæsar's palace, and of making converts within its imperial walls, Phil. i. 13, and iv. 22. And not only this, but the Spirit of God comes down upon him, in his own hired house, to such a degree, that he writes those wonderful epistles to the Ephesians, to the Philippians, to the Colossians, to Philemon, and most probably that most wonderful epistle of all, to the Hebrews,-epistles by which he was not only useful then to nearly the whole Christian Church, but by which he has been useful to all the churches in every part of the world from that day to this. Verily such a door of utterance Paul never saw before. True Christians in these latter ages have rejoiced that John Bunyan was shut up in the prison of Bedford for twelve long years for had it not been so, his celebrated work, the Pilgrim's Progress, had probably never seen the light; but how much more reason have we, when we look at the epistles which Paul wrote at Rome, to rejoice, that this holy and devoted man ever went as a prisoner there ?

2. He prayed, that he might be enabled to speak boldly in making known the mystery of Christ. The word mystery in the New Testament almost always means a thing now understood, but which was formerly either not known at all, or but imperfectly comprehended. And the gospel having, previously to the appearing of Christ and his apostles in the world, been very obscurely revealed, it is hence here, in accordance with the usual meaning of the word, called the mystery of Christ. It was this, therefore, that the apostle wished to be able to speak boldly, that is, plainly, fully, and openly. And was this an easy thing for him to do! Let us remember that he was at this time at Rome,-at Rome, the place of the idolatrous Cæsar, and the place of the most of his equally idolatrous nobles, at Rome, too, a prisoner and bound with a chain. And what was the gospel? Among other things, it was nothing less than a system of uncompromising hostility to every thing in the shape of idols and of idolatry; of opposition to every thing like reverence for Mars, Venus, Bacchus, the great Jupiter, and every other god and goddess of the Romans; and of enmity to ten thousand favorite maxims and pratices

of both the patricians and plebians. And tolerant as the Romans generally were among themselves, and to other idolators and philosophers who differed from them, it was too much to expect, that they would one and all of them submit patiently to be told, that they were all obnoxious to God, and that unless they abandoned their idols and their ways they must, without the possibility of escape, eternally perish. But this was the gospel. And had not Paul, therefore, endued as he was with all the feelings of a man, reason to fear, that he might not be able boldly to publish such unwelcome truths as these, in the metropolis of the world, that terror might overcome him, and that like Peter, in far less dangerous circumstances, he might, if he preached at all, be tempted to dissemble and to keep back some of the most offensive doctrines of revelation. He had experienced strong opposition and persecution in much inferior places,-what, then, was not to be expected here? He was bound, too, and could not make his escape as on a former occasion in another place through a window by a basket down the wall. If, therefore, he ever needed grace in his life before to be faithful, he needed it now. And hence his importunity that others might abound in prayer for him, that he might make manifest the mystery of the gospel as he ought to speak it. But he was enabled to do all things through Christ strengthening him. His own and the prayers of the churches were heard. He spoke the word with such power, that the stronghold of Satan, the imperial palace itself, fell before him, and captives to Christ were made within its walls. And, (as on a subsequent occasion, and in the same place,) the Lord stood with him, and strengthened him, so that by him the preaching was fully made known, and all the Gentiles heard. Thus, if ever prayer was answered, it was answered now.

3. He prayed also that he might obtain his liberty: and he did obtain it. The Lord delivered him out of the paw of the lion. After having been confined two years, he was, by some means or another, set free, and was afterwards, as is obvious from his epistles to Titus and Timothy, enabled to spend three or four years in his favourite work of preaching, and in visiting the churches at Jerusalem and in different parts of Greece. But his labours were now ended. He had become Paul the aged, being almost 70 years old; and it was time for him to obtain his rest and his crown. And to be put in possession of these he must needs go back to Rome; for so had the Lord determined. He was apprehended again by the Roman Government and confined; and from his epistles to Timothy he seems to have been as faithful as before, and to have been wonderfully supported in mind. But as he knew

that the time of his departure was at hand, he writes to no one, as on the former occasion, to pray for him that he might obtain his liberty. This, he was aware, would not have been agreeable to the will of God, and it was therefore not disagreeable to himself. He was willing to die the martyr's death and die he did, full of years and honors. His career had been a splendid one: and he now rested from his labours, and his holy works followed him. He had seen much of the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living; and not the least part of that goodness was, the many signal answers he had received to his prayers. And all these are written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come.

L.

IV.-Appeal to Mothers.

To the Editors of the Calcutta Christian Observer.

MY DEAR SIRS,

The accompanying address I have been induced to copy from a belief that a perusal of it may be interesting and useful to those who occupy the important station of mothers. In every country a mother's responsibility is great; but in India, where children are so much exposed to the influence of servants and the example of a corrupt society, it is greatly increased. Should you deem this worthy of a place in your valuable periodi cal, I hope it may be the means of impressing some mothers more deeply with a sense of the obligations resting upon them, and lead them to seek with more earnestness for the blessing of God upon their offspring, in their tender infancy.

To Mothers.

A MOTHER.

In the vicinity of P- there was a pious mother, who had the happiness of seeing her children, in very early life, brought to the knowledge of the truth, walking in the fear of the Lord, and ornaments in the Christian Church. A clergyman, who was travelling, heard some circumstances respecting this mother, and wished very much to see her, thinking that there might be something peculiar in her mode of giving religious instruc tion, which rendered it so effectual. He accordingly visited her, and inquired respecting the manner in which she discharged the duties of a mother, in educating her children. The woman replied, that she did not know she had been more faithful than any Christian mother would be in the religious instruction of her children. After a little conversation, however, she said:

"While my children were infants on my lap, as I washed them, I raised my heart to God, that he would wash them in that blood which cleanseth from sin. As I clothed them in the morning, I asked my Heavenly Father to clothe them with the robe of Christ's righteousness. As I provided them food, I prayed that God would feed their souls with the bread of heaven, and give them to drink of the water of life. When I prepared them for the house of God, I prayed that their bodies might be fit temples for the Holy Ghost to dwell in. When they left me for the week-day. VII.

2 F

school, I followed their infant footsteps with a prayer that their path through life might be like that of the 'just, which shineth more and more unto the perfect day.' As I committed them to rest at night, the silent breathing of my soul has been that their Heavenly Father would take them to his embrace, and fold them in his paternal arms."

Here is the influence of the silent unseen exertions of a mother; an influence which will be felt, when those external accomplishments and fleeting enjoyments, which many labour to give their children, shall be forgotten, or remembered only as the means of facilitating a rapid descent to the world of sorrow. In this little story two things strike our attention: these efforts were made early, and with a reliance on the divine blessing. This mother felt that she received her children from God, and was accountable to him for the manner in which she trained them up. She knew that her labours would be vain unless God should in mercy grant her the aid of his Spirit to sanctify and save the soul; therefore, through all the duties of the day, and all the interesting periods of childhood, she looked up to a God, who is ever near to those who call upon him, and who will listen to their cries. How happy must be that household whose God is the Lord! what heavenly joy beams from every countenance, and with what glorious hopes do they look beyond the grave to that mansion provided for them in their Father's house! and thrice happy must be that mother, who in the fear of God, and in reference to eternity, has thus performed her duty.

There are feelings in a mother's bosom, which are known only by a mother; the tie which binds her to her children, is one compared with which all other ties are feeble. It is to these feelings that the fact just stated will speak a language which must be understood; and it must strike a note on this chord that will vibrate through every fibre of the soul. While appeals are often made to him who has lived long in sin, that fall like the sound of the empty wind upon his ear, and the voice of warning thunders in its truths to hearts of adamant, the appeal now made, is to an ear which is not deaf, to a heart which can feel. The noise and tumult of the active world often drown the "still small voice" of the Gospel which sounds in the ears of the man of business; and worldly wisdom and strict calculation sometimes lead men to neglect the question, "What will it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" But this appeal is made to those in a different situation in life; to those who do not mingle in the bustle and hurry of the world; who are retired to a more quiet, though not to an unimportant sphere. In some hour of silent meditation this may fall into the hands of a mother; and the duties it recommends can be performed even while engaged in the common business of the family. It is no fiction of poetry that

"Just as the twig is bent, the tree's inclined."

"When the mind begins to open, and the attention is first arrested by the objects that surround us, much depends upon her who, in that tender period, shall make the first impressions upon that mind, and first direct its attention. It is then that the mother has an access and an influence which connot be attained at any other period. The first inquiries of the little infant must be answered by her who gave it birth. As he gazes upon those twinkling stars that glitter in the evening sky, and asks, “Who made those shining things?" it is a mother's duty to tell the little prattler of that great and good Being who dwells in the heavens, and who is the Father of all our mercies.

And so, as the mind enlarges, the mother tells the little listener of tha Jesus who lay in a manger and died on the cross. And when she soften its pillow for its nightly slumbers, and watches its closing eyes, it is he

privilege to hear it lisp, "Our Father," and direct it to love that Father whose name it so early speaks. Let this golden opportunity pass, these days of childhood roll away, and the mind be filled only with fabled stories, or sportive songs, and the precious immortal is trained for some other state than the paradise above. Do you say that you are ignorant and are not capable of giving instruction? As your child clings to your bosom and directs his inquiring countenance to you for some interesting story, you know enough to tell him of some hero or king; and can you not tell him of the King of Zion, the Prince of Peace? And what more could the learned philosopher tell this infant mind?

You are unknown and obscure did you say? But you are known to your child, and your influence with your child is greater than that of a legislator or a general. "Say not, I, who am obscure, may act without restraint, especially when secluded from the world, in the retirement of my family. Obscure! You are immortal. You must go to the judgment, and every whisper of your life will be exhibited before an assembled universe! Secluded, what if the eye of the world does not follow you into the domestic circle? Is it not restraint enough that your child is there? That child has a soul worth more than a million globes of gold. That child, too, may become a legislator, or a judge, or a pastor in a church. Take care, you are a mother! You act under a dreadful responsibility. You cannot stir without touching some string that will vibrate after your head is laid in the dust. One word of pious counsel or one word of sinful levity or passion, uttered in the hearing of your child, may produce an effect on your children's children. Nay, its influence may be felt on the other side of the globe, and may extend into eternity."

Your words are received with confidence-" my mother told me so," is an argument of sufficient weight to convince the child of the most important truths.

Here you have an influence which no other can have, and can exert it in circumstances the most favourable. It is not to open to a son the stores of science, that may qualify him to rank among the learned and the wise of the world; it is not to adorn a daughter with those accomplishments which shall attract the attention of those who crowd the hall of pleasure, or move in the circle of refinement and fashion-no, the object is far more noble, more worthy the undivided attention of those who live for immortality. That child who now prattles on your knee, or sports around your dwelling, may yet tell some perishing heathen of Jesus of Nazareth; may yet be an able soldier in the army of Immanuel, and may plant the standard of the cross on the shores of Greenland, or on the burning plains of India. Look at fucts. What first led the pious and eminently useful John Newton to the knowledge of the truth? The instructions of his mother, given at the early period of four years, fastened upon his conscience and led him to a Saviour. Can you estimate the effect of his labours? Not till you can compute the usefulness of Buchanan and Scott, who were converted by his instrumentality-till you can see the full blaze of that light which the former carried into the heart of heathen India, and witness the domestic comfort and brightening hopes occasioned by the labours of the latter. Who taught young Timothy, an early labourer in the vineyard of Jesus Christ, the first lessons of religious truth? Who led Samuel, a prophet and a judge in Israel, while he was yet young, to the house of the Lord, and dedicated him to the service of the God of heaven? A praying mother.

Though the seed thus sown in childhood may not spring up and bring forth fruit while under the maternal eye, yet we must not conclude that it is lost. A clergyman was urging upon a seaman, the duty of attending