ing of the sanctuary! So the people were restrained from bringing. Exod. xxxvi.-This ready liberality of the generation which perished in the wilderness, ought not to be overlooked.

But, from the account given in one of the chapters cited above, it is evident that these offerings were not made by all whose circumstances would have enabled them to contribute. The contributors are denominated, as many as were willing-hearted,' and all the wise-hearted:'. mode of expression which implies that there were some who wanted this willingness and wisdom of heart.

a

I have sometimes thought that the proclamation for restraining the people from giving their offerings, would occasion many varied displays of character and feeling. From considering human nature as it now appears, we may suppose that scenes something like the following would occur among the people :

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The appointed heralds sound the trumpets, the people run to learn the cause; amongst them, a young woman listens to the proclamation, and hears with grief, that the time for making offerings has expired. Her aged mother had lifted up the corner of the curtain of the tent, and saw her daughter returning in tears: she enquires the cause. The young woman answers, 'O, mother! you would not allow me to offer these ear-rings yesterday, and now it is too late!' "Comfort, my child," says the mother, "I have a broken bracelet here, which I will send this evening as from you." Ah, mother! you know that my father, Eleazer, always sai, Give unto the Lord the best. I would give the ear-rings, were they a thousand times better; but, alas! it is too late! nothing will now be accepted! they have more than enough for the work!' Is it even so? then, my child, it is most plain that you ought to be well satisfied. You have your ear-rings, and yet the sanctuary is amply provided." Alas! this is my grief that I am shut out, or rather that I have shut out myself from the pleasure of glorifying God with my substance. Oh! that I had remembered sooner another saying of my father's, Hast thou a design of doing good? -- hasten to accomplish it.'

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In another part of the camp, a man of the tribe of Manasseh was seen burdened with a load of brass. Meeting a friend, he let down the load from his shoulders, and stopped to talk as follows: - Why,' says he in great anger, this is intolerable, to issue their orders to-day, and to alter their orders to-morrow. As if to be shut out from the whole world in a wilderness were not grievance enough.' To what is it that you refer ?" Why, to the business about the offerings. They ordered us to bring the best of our possessions; and now, after I had brought a load from one end of the camp to the other, they told me that they would not take it in." "Nabal, you are wrong," replied Caleb; you were not ordered to bring an offering, you were only permitted, if your heart inclined you." To be ordered and to be permitted, is much the same thing to me, in the present state of my family.' "Your family is your greatest honour, and ougt to be your greatest comfort.” Why, I do not deny that they are comfortable enough to me, in many respects; but ever since the passage Hold, Nabal, I am afraid that you are going to speak unadvisedly. The fervent devotions and exalted strains of praise, expressed by your wife and her three daughters, after the passage of the Red Sea, were like the inspiration of the Almighty." Well, as to that I say nothing: but this business of the offerings has been from first to last a trouble to me. You know that in Egypt I dealt in brass; and, in the whole camp I may be bold to say it, there is not a better judge of brass than I am; and this piece of brass which I was carrying, I affirm to be more precious than gold. As soon then as the business of the offerings came abroad, my wits and our daughters gave me no rest till I should promise to present it as an offering for the sanctuary. I gave them some evasive answer, and carFied another piece of brass to the elders: but fool as i was, I could not keep my own secret. I told them that the one would answer for the work

of

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as well as the other; and that I was still rich in my brass. My wife pro sently trembled, and fainted away. When she came to herself, she looked upon me, and upbraided me; wept bitterly, and said that she was most miserable. I urged her to explain her meaning; she was silent: I besought her; - . she was still silent. I conjured her in the name of the Lord. She then said, “O Nabal, my beloved Nabal, O that this brass of thine had gone down with the Egyptians to the depths of the sca! I have an awful foreboding that it shall prove thy ruin, unless it is now offered to the Lord. I am afraid, thy soul shall soon be required of thee ; for thou hast lied to the Lord God of Israel.' I saw that she was greatly affected; and I promised to contribute this brass also. She and her daughters spent the who e night in prayers; and, from what I overheard, I am persuaded that their affection for me is very strong. In the morning I set out with the offering. 1I heard, by the way, that they would accept no farther contribution. However, as I greatly wished to have done with it, I went forward and entreated them to accept my offering. They told me, that there was one rule for the rich and for the poor; and that they had no power to lepart frorn it.' "O Nabal! what can riches profit in the day of wrath? Thou art not judged worthy to have thy brass laid up in the presence of Jehovah ;thou mayest still call it thine; but never shalt thou have another such opportunity of consecrating it. If thy soul is thus shut out from God, ah! what horrors of deep darkness follow!"

The scene at the place for receiving the offerings was all confusion. A multitude of all descriptions was collected. There a man was seen with a parcel of rams skins, dyed red. Here was a woman with blue, purple, and scarlet, and fine linen. Her neighbour had in one hand a beautiful box of jewels, and in the other a pot of precious spices; and before the stood an old man with his two sons, bearing a heavy load of shittim-wood. Some were clamorous, some were weeping. One, while they spoke to each other, explaining the hardships of their several conditions, in losing the opportunity of offering. Again they addressed the elders with arguments and entreaties. The answer of the elders was always the same, We have no power of dispensing with the proclamation.'

Well!' says a man, as he turned to go away with a bundle of badgerskins on his back, I take you all to witness, that I was willing to have offered all these skins; and there is a dozen of them: but if they will not take them, what can I do but carry them home again?' "Why, I am sure, Esau, thou couldst have brought them some days ago?" Yes, to be sure I could; but if I chose not to bring them till now, what is that to thee?" Perhaps, it is nothing to me, replies the elder; ، but it seems to say that thou hast but little reason to complain; for hadst thou been at all anxious, thou couldst have made thine offering sooner."

"Was ever any thing so unfortunate!” cries a woman in the crowd. "It was always in my mind to bring this yarn; but I thought that there was no need to be in such haste as some of my neighbours were; and now I shall be the only woman in our six tents whose offering has been rejected." Daughter,' says the old man with the shittim-wood, tapping her on the shoulder, remember hereafter, whatsoever thy hand finds to do, do it with all thy might. For my own part, I only wish that I had offered at once all that I had to offer.' Nay, father Uzzah," says one of the elders to him, "thou art too covetous of the pleasure of offering. How canst thou blame thyself? Thou hast brought several presents of that wood, and they are found to be of very great use in the work." 0! eries the old man, he is the God of all my mercies; he has redeemed me from all evil; he has led me, and fed me these fourscore years, What can I render unto him for all his benefits unto me? I wish that I had been here yesterday.'"Father," says his elder son, only remember how you were employed yesterday. To convert a sinner from the error of his way, is as acceptable a service as to assist in raising the holy place. The Lord knoweth, for he searcheth all hearts; and it was who taught us, he

knoweth that it is in our hearts to offer ourselves and all that we have to him.'

As they were going home, Uzzah addressed his sons as follows: You will observe, my children, that the greater part of this crowd which is now so noisy, is composed of the careless daughters and sons of Belial, who have often troubled the camp. This is always their way. When an opportunity of doing, or of receiving, good is offered them, then they slight it, and neglect all counsel: but when the opportunity is withdrawn, then who so anxious as they to regain what is irrecoverable! So men acted in the days of Noah: they believed not in the threatened deluge, till the descending waters and swollen fountains proved the wisdom and the friendship of Noah's admonitions. So have I seen men slight the promise of the woman's son, of the son of Abraham. In sickness they felt their wants their unsupported hearts failed them. I have tried to comfort them by the truth of the Deliverer who shall come; but their hearts were generally barred against it. They were anxiously looking for some comfort, yet the most comfortable light of the promise they could not see. Though I endeavoured to strengthen the light, yet to them, all was darkness. Alas! it was too late!

"Remember, my sons, that whom God calls to any duty, he calls to it now. To delay is to refuse. I saw in the crowd to-day a friend of mine, who is a very worthy man in other respects, but he is strangely unwilling to begin to do any thing. I am almost glad that he lost the opportunity of making his offering, as I hope that the grief, which I am sure he will feel, will help to correct his tardiness."

If there is any thing of nature and probability in the cases supposed above, the moral which they teach may be easily applied to existing cir

cumstances.

The Lord is strengthening the cords of Zion. The wise and the willing. hearted are allowed to consecrate a part of their gain to this service of the God of the whole earth. Let us see that we do not linger long as the slothful! Time is too short, and the advances of death too rapid, to allow a mortal creature to be dilatory! He who indulges a disposition to delay, will likely leave unaccomplished some good purposes, which he might have overtaken, if his zeal had been more fervent.

Perhaps, there are not many serious men who, on the death of soma thoughtless connection, have not felt that they have irrecoverably lost op portunities of serving him.

And how many are there in the habit of hearing the gospel, who have only got the length of intending, at some future period, to begin to lay to heart its doctrines! Alas! they know not, nor will they understand that this is the very rock on which thousands have split! An intention of believing, which is never followed by faith, cannot profit, at present, him who forms it; and, hereafter, he wil¡ find, to his confusion, that, when hẹ stands speechless before the Judge, it is too late to begin to attend to the gospel. Now is the accepted time! now is the day of salvation! Today, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts! Yet there is room but anon, it shall be said, The door is shut.

Explanation of Matthew v. 37.

JONADAB.

Let your communication be Yea, yea, Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these, cometh of evil.

Ir was customary among the Jews, when describing a man of strict probity, to say, His Yes is yes, and his No is no;' that is, You may de pend upon his word; as he declares, so it is; and, as he promises, so will he do. Our Lord is therefore, to be considered here, not as prescribing the precise terms in which we are to affirm or deny, but as enjoining suck an habitual and inflexible regard to truth, as would render swearing un

Ff

necessary, a practice which he had strictly forbidden:Swear not at all (ver. 34).

Thus, Justin Martyr says, Christ gave this injunction, to the end that we might never swear, but always speak truth; and Philo so understood it. It is to this effect that we ought never to swear, but to be so uniformly observant of truth in our conversation, that our word may always be regarded as an oath.'

In the way this passage is commonly interpreted, it has no relation to the speaking of truth; whereas the above explanation gives a more emphatical import to the sentence. Thus understood, it enjoins the right observance of truth as the sure method of superseding oaths; which are never used, in our mutual communications, without betraying a consciousness of some latent evil, -a defect in veracity, as well as in piety. Dr. Campbell in loc.

CROWDED CHURCHES.

In the Churchwardens' Accounts of St. Margaret's, Westminster, aprs the following Memorandum:

pears

S.

d.

6

1549. Also, paid to William Curlewe, for Mending of divers Pews, that were broken when Dr. Lattymer did preach See Ilustration of the Manners and Expences of Ancient Times in England,

Mr. Editor,

JUVENILE DEPARTMENT.

The following Anecdote, which occurred in the third century, may perhaps be acceptable to your Juvenile Department; and well illustrates that passage of Holy Writ which is placed above it. AMICUS JUVENTUTIS, Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise. ➡

Matt. xxi. 16,

I am

At Cæsarea, Cappadocia, a child, named Cyril, shewed uncommon fortitude. He called on the name of Jesus Christ continually, nor could threats, or blows, prevent him from openly avowing Christianity. Several children, of the same age, persecuted him; and his own father, with the applauses of many persons for his zeal in the support of Paganism, drove him out of his house. The judge ordered him to be brought before him, and said, My child, I will pardon your faults, and your father shall receive you again. It is in your power to enjoy your father's estate, provided you are wise, and take care of your own interest." "I rejoice to bear your reproaches," replied the child: "God will receive me. not sorry that I am expelled out of our house. I shall have a better mansion. I fear not death, because it will introduce me into a better life.". Divine grace having enabled him to witness this good confession, he was ordered to be bound, and led, as it were, to execution. The judge had given secret orders to bring him back again, hoping that the sight of the fire might overcome his resolution. Cyril remained in flexible. The humanity of the judge induced him still to continue his remonstrances. Your fire and your sword," says the young martyr, "are insignificant. I go to a better house! I go to more excellent riches! Dispatch me presently, that I may enjoy them!" The spectators wept through compassion. You should rather rejoice," says he, in conducting me to punishment! You know not what a city I am going to inhabit, nor what is my hope!" Thus he went to his death, and was the admiration of the whole city.

* See Milner's Church History,

Obituary.