eternal Jehovah, they have found it a good thing to draw near to God, and that he has fulfilled all their desires.

Many of us have taken courage from the example of the Saviour himself, who in the hour of bitterest sorrow "offered up prayers and supplications to him who was able to save him from death, and who, being in agony, prayed the more earnestly, and was heard in that he feared."

But it is not only when the heart is in heaviness, that it should think upon God. It is not only when the soul is vexed, that it should draw near to the throne of grace. At all seasons, and under all circumstances, prayer is not only a duty, but a privilege. There is danger in the hour of prosperity, lest those things which were intended for our wealth should prove unto us the occasion of falling; lest we should be full, and deny the bestower of our blessings, and say, "Who is the Lord ?"

Moses cried unto the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree, which when cast into the waters rendered them sweet. Here was an immediate answer to prayer; the leader no sooner applied to the proper source of help than help was vouchsafed. Skilled as he was in all the learning of the Egyptians, he could not by any art have rendered palatable the waters of Marah. It is unnecessary for us to inquire in

what way this tree acted; the scripture is silent on the point; we know not whether there was any inherent virtue in the wood itself, but this we do know, that in the whole transaction the hand of omnipotence was visibly displayed. There is an unfortunate anxiety in some minds to account for scripture miracles upon natural principles, and to get rid by false interpretations of those passages in the sacred volume, which directly point to the miraculous interpositions of the Almighty; this anxiety certainly is no favourable indication of the religious feeling of those by whom it is displayed. When the Omnipotent deigns to work, none can restrain his hand. He acts in such a manner, he employs such instruments, as he pleases: whether the tree had any quality in itself or not for sweetening the waters, there was a sufficient manifestation of divine power in directing Moses to that peculiar wood; and at all events the wood was his handywork, who now employed it for the benefit of the fainting Israelites. It was he who had caused it to grow out of the earth; and thus, in the book of Ecclesiasticus there is a decided reference to the miracle in question; "The Lord hath created medicines out of the earth, and he that is wise will not abhor them. Was not the water made sweet with wood, that the virtue thereof might be known ?" and

he hath given men skill that he might be honoured in his marvellous works; with such doth he heal men, and taketh away their pains. My son, in thy sickness be not negligent, but pray unto the Lord, and he will make thee whole.

During the whole of the march of the Israelites through the wilderness we behold the mighty hand of God stretched out for their deliverance; for the promise made to Abraham, "that in his seed all the nations of the earth should be blessed," was to be fully accomplished. Their guidance was miraculous; their course was miraculous; their supplies were miraculous; and the whole history of their wanderings, as detailed by their great leader, incontestably proves that in the midst of wrath God remembered mercy; that if he deemed it necessary to try them, and to humble them, it was to do them good in their latter end. It has been well observed, that the "displeasure of the Almighty is without passion, and his affection without weakness, for infinite wisdom and infinite integrity constitute the outlines of his dealings with the children of men." If we look at his conduct towards Israel we shall find that what was said of David may more justly be applied to him: "He fed them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands."

Fallen as the world is, and aptly compared to a waste howling wilderness, and though the whole "creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now," there is enough left for our comfort and happiness to call forth heartfelt gratitude to the bestower of every good and every perfect gift. Far from enviable is that morbid state of feeling which renders us insensible to the unmerited blessings which are strewed in our path through life, which blind us to the diversified beauties of the world around us. It is a pleasant and a proper thing to be thankful, to acknowledge the tender mercy of that Being who never wholly leaves or forsakes the work of his hands.

Still this fallen world can never fully satisfy any immortal soul, much less a soul that thirsts for the waters of life eternal. Its choicest enjoyments, and most fascinating streams of gratification, can afford no enduring happiness. It is at the best but a wilderness, where we have no continuing city, and we must be proceeding onward on our journey. In that journey we must expect to meet with disappointments, to taste of the bitter waters of Marah. But if, like Moses, we cry unto God, a tree will be cast in to sweeten the waters. He who did marvellous things in the sight of the Israelites in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan, who clave the rocks in the

Asto

wilderness, and not only sweetened the bitter waters, but gave his people drink as out of the great depths, hath promised to be with his servants in all their difficulties and trials. nishing are the effects of true heartfelt religion in alleviating the sorrows incident to mortality; blessed under all circumstances is a life of faith in the Son of God. Let not the believer therefore be dispirited when his path is strewed with thorns-when some scheme of anticipated happiness is thwarted. Shall "a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his sins?" In patience let him possess his soul. Let it be his grand object to have Canaan constantly in view-Canaan with its transcendent glories. Amidst life's darkest moments, let him fix his hopes in that land of unsullied brightness, and then, " although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the field shall yield no meat; the flocks shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet will he rejoice in the Lord, and will joy in the God of his salvation."

The path of life is a chequered path; but we are to remember, that no events are casual and fortuitous, but that all are under the guidance of infinite benevolence, for "affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring