great; still that blessed "lamp" shines on, and you read, "The blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin." 1 John i. 7. Oh, dear youthful friends! dear little children! if you are yet unwashed and unforgiven, remember that you are far from God and heaven; but very many who once were far from him are now his own beloved and loving children. Look at the lamp; see the beauteous rays it sheds upon the path of those who, washed in Jesu's blood, are walking in the way to glory! "Ye who sometimes were far off are brought nigh by the blood of Christ." Eph. ii. 13. If you will give yourselves to Him who died to redeem you, and be guided by his word, you will ever find that "lamp" shedding holy light upon your path. Yes, it will guide your feet to "an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away; reserved in heaven for you." 1 Peter i. 4. Who is preparing that home for those who "endure to the end ?" Jesus says, "In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." John xiv. 2. Are not those joyous words? Is not God's word indeed a beautiful "lamp?" If you should fear that you cannot "endure to the end," because you have to live in a sinful world, look at the "lamp," and surely you will be encouraged to go forward; for you will read that the Saviour, when commending his disciples to the Father, said, "I pray not that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil." John xvii. 15. When struggling with temptation, how quickly will that everbeaming lamp point you to a sure refuge-even Jesus! "For that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able also to deliver them that are tempted." Heb. ii. 18. Thus will this guiding "lamp" prove a faithful monitor and friend in every time of temptation and difficulty. But in the hour of death how brightly will it shed its soothing rays upon you, showing you that the Then, Beloved children, will you come by the light of this lovely" lamp" to Calvary, and there be washed from sin in the fountain opened for sin and uncleanness ? if you continue to walk by its light (which is from God), you shall at last join the saints above in that city of which "the Lamb is the light." Rev. xxi. 23. No darkness is there, no night can exist, For the sun of that city is never eclipsed; There, the light of Christ's glory illumines the sky, And reflects its soft beams upon every eye. That you will let this precious word of God be a lamp unto your feet, and a light unto your path, is the prayer of your affectionate friend, AMY. THE EDITOR'S DESK. QUERIES AND ANSWERS. ANSWER.-To understand this passage, it must be remembered that, in ancient times, men did not use such arithmetical figures as are used in the present day. Indeed, the use of a distinct character for arithmetical numbers, such as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, &c., was not known in the times of the apostles. The invention of these figures is ascribed to the Arabians; and they were introduced into England in the year 1253, or about six hundred years ago. What marks, then, did men use in their calculations before these figures were invented? They used the letters of the alphabet. Thus, the first letter stood for 1, the second for 2, the third for 3, and so on, until they came to the tenth letter; and from thence they gave the rest of the letters a higher value, in a proportion like that we give to figures now. Thus, the letters of the alphabet in ancient times served for a double purpose. They formed both words and numbers. They were applied to both writing and arithmetic. This ancient practice, then, gives a key to the meaning of the mysterious passage before us. For it is easy to see that, if the letters of the alphabet were used for numbers as well as for words, then we can soon find those letters which make up the number 666; and having found those letters, we can see, when they are put together, what word they make. Now, the Holy Spirit tells us in this passage of Scripture, that the same letters which make up the number 666 make also the name of the beast. Let us see, then, what that name is. The language in which the apostle wrote was Greek; and this, no doubt, is the language which must be used in finding the number which gives the name of the beast. Here, then, it is : Sin." His throne is in Rome, the Latin city, and in the Latin country; his prayers are Latin; his canons are Latin; his missal is Latin; his breviary is Latin; the decrees of his council are in Latin; his bulls are in Latin; he worships in Latin; he blesses in Latin; he curses in Latin; and though the Latin tongue has been a dead language for many centuries, Popery still keeps up everything in Latin, and thereby from age to age answers to the very letter the name which the Holy Ghost gave to him about 1800 years ago. It is remarkable, too, that if we apply this number in the Hebrew language, the letters give the name Rome. It ought not to be overlooked, either, that the Greek letters which spell the words, "The Latin kingdom," make just the number of 666; and what is further to be observed, the Pope calls himself "the general vicar of Christ on earth;" and the letters comprising these words in Latin make exactly the same number, 666. Thus, whether we take the name of the beast in Greek, Hebrew, or Latin, it makes the same number 666. Surely, this is plain enough. QUERY 2.-ON USURY.-PSALM XV. 5, AND LUKE XIX. 23. DEAR SIR, Having read with pleasure the questions proposed and answered in that portion of the JUVENILE INSTRUCTOR called the Editor's Desk, I beg to propose the following passages for your consideration. In Psalm xv. 5 we read, "He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things ANSWER. Usury is a word which simply means money paid for the use of money, and, of course, it is applicable to any amount of interest. When that interest is exorbitant, it is sinful; but when that interest is moderate and lawful, it is just and equit able. Men are not required, in the ordinary business of life, to lend money without just and proper interest; but they are forbidden to practise extortion, and take advantage of a poor man's necessities. Money lent is supposed to be a benefit both to the borrower and the lender; and the great rule of life should be, in all our transactions, "Do unto others as ye would that men should do unto you." In the passage quoted from Psalm xv. 5, the original word is expressive of a biting and consuming interest, such as a hard-hearted, grasping, covetous man would exact; but in the passage quoted from Luke xix. 23, the word means lawful interest-the interest paid "at the bank," a public institution, and not extorted from a poor man's necessities. Hence, in the one case it was equitable and proper; but in the other it was sinful, and an abomination to the Lord. QUERY 3.-ON VISITING THE of in Exodus xx. 5. M. W. ANSWER.-There is a sense in which the sins of a parent are visited upon his children, as when his prodigality and voluptuousness entail upon them poverty and wretchedness; when his crimes entail upon them sorrow and disgrace; and when his intemperance and lasciviousness entail upon them disease and premature death. And these evils sometimes descend from one generation to another. This is the sense in which the visitation of the sins of the father is spoken But there is another sense in which the sins of the parent are not visited upon the children, and it is thisthe guilt of these sins is not imputed to them. Though the children may bear the temporal consequences of a parent's crimes, they are not made accountable for them, and they are not doomed to suffer the penal and eternal consequences of those sins. Every man is accountable to God for himself; responsibility is never transferable. Whatever a father's sins may have been, God will always bless and save a peni tent and obedient child. This is the doctrine of Ezekiel; and the reason of its being so strongly insisted on in chapter xviii. was this: Some men, in the spirit of unbelief and rebellion, complained that God was unjust because he punished the children for the sins of the parent. Here, however, God confronts and confounds those blasphemers, and shows that no one is punished for another, no one made accountable for another, but every man must be judged and dealt with solely on his own character, the righteous being accepted and saved eternally, while the soul that sinneth must for ever die. Here it may be noted that in Ezekiel the reference is all to the soul, not the body. Hence the language," The soul that sinneth, it shall die." This is the key to the meaning of the passage. CATECHISM OF SCIENCE. THANKS to our young friends for their promptness in answering our questions. This is as it Let us hear from ought to be. them again, and from many others, in answer to the ques tions for the present month. The exercise in thinking and writing will do them good. The best and briefest of the answers shall be inserted. Our friends T. R. and S. B. forget that we ask for answers, | most likely to attract the light not questions, in this department, We may, however, answer their inquiries in a future number, but in another form. QUESTIONS ANSWERED. ANSWER TO QUESTION 13. MY DEAR SIR,-The safest part of a room during a thunderstorm is the centre of it. If the lightning were to strike the house, it would not come through the middle of the room, because the air is a bad conductor. It would come down the chimney or the walls, which are better conductors of electricity. ning. There is little danger to the person were struck with DAVID JOHNSON. The answers of Juvenis Preceptor and Samuel Gordon to this question are nearly as explicit, and equally correct. That of S. B. does not comprehend the whole of the question: he will see it is divided into three parts. ANSWER TO QUESTION 14. SIR, Snow is condensed or thickened vapour which floats in the atmosphere, but which, passing through a current of air below the freezing-point, has been frozen, and falls to the earth in a crystal During a thunderstorm, persons ought to avoid standing near to a stove or fireplace, especially if the chimney be connected with the highest part of the house. The doors of the house ought to be thrown open, to allow free circulation to the atmosphere. Should the house be struck, fireirons and all metallic substances, especially those with polished sur-lized form. faces, are likely to attract the fluid, and these ought, therefore, to be removed. Silks, glass, feathers, and kindred substances, do not attract electricity. It is, therefore, always safe to be in the midst of these. Persons who suffer much from fear at such a time ought to place the chair on which they sit upon a feather-bed, a mattress, or a hearth rug, in the middle of a room. They might then feel themselves to be perfectly secure. Persons in the open air ought to avoid standing under trees, church-spires, lofty buildings, or other high objects, and also to keep from the edges of rivers, streams, and lakes, as these are Ice is congealed water, which no longer remains in a fluid state when the temperature of the air is reduced to thirty-two degrees. Snow, therefore, is frozen vapour, and ice is frozen water.-Î remain, Sir, yours truly, JUVENIS PRECEPTOR. Burslem, Staffordshire Potteries. Similar answers to this question have been received from Jane Muers, John Howard, and William Finch. ANSWER TO QUESTION 15. DEAR SIR,- There are two reasons for the fire burning most clearly when the stars shine most brightly. |