SKETCHES OF THE HISTORY OF ISRAEL.
BY THE REV. GEORGE MUIRHEAD, D. D.,
Minister of Cramond.

No. XII.

Son, who suffered, the just for the unjust, to bring | deaf ear to the calls and invitations of the everus unto God. Those who accept of the offers of lasting Gospel! If the Son of God has shed his mercy through him, are assured that they may inestimably precious blood for our redemption, have boldness or full liberty to enter into the let us receive with the warmest gratitude and joy holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living Him who came to save us, and be constrained by way which he hath consecrated for us through the his love to live not to ourselves, but to Him who vail, that is to say, his flesh. And having a High died for us, and rose again. Let us carry about Priest over the house of God, they may draw near with us a deep sense of the dying of the Lord with a true heart, in full assurance of faith. Their Jesus, that his life may be made manifest in our Redeemer hath not only died for the remission of mortal bodies. their sins, and to obtain for them every blessing they stand in need of, but he is now our Advocate with the Father, and ever liveth to make intercession for us. He is our powerful and unchangeable friend, and whatsoever we shall ask of the Father in his name, shall be given to us. It is through him that we have full access at all times to a throne of grace, to obtain mercy and grace to help us in time of need. Believers become a royal priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. In the ordinances of religion God manifests himself to them, as he does not unto the world, and affords them the pleasing experience that he is near unto all them that call upon him in sincerity and truth. In consequence of the mediation of Christ, we are assembled this day in God's house of prayer, to express our grateful remembrance of the humiliation and sufferings of the Son of God, to which we are indebted for all our privileges and hopes.

more.

4. Lastly, Christ hath suffered, the just for the unjust, to bring us to the eternal enjoyment of God. The merit of this sacrifice is not confined to our present condition. It reaches beyond death and the grave, and secures the final and everlasting Our happiness of believers in another world. present enjoyments are only earnests and foretastes of better blessings that are to come, of a glory that is to be revealed. The saints have the prospect of being brought much nearer to God hereafter; of being admitted into the presence of God, where there is fulness of joy; and of sitting down at his right hand, where are rivers of pleasure for everIn heaven they shall behold the King in his beauty; they shall have the most full displays of his glorious perfections, of his wise and righteous government, and of the riches of his grace. There they shall be engaged in more sublime exercises of devotion, and serve God in a more perfect manner than they can do at present. In that state thay shall have no longer cause to complain of vain thoughts, of cold affections, or of an evil heart of unbelief, which departeth from the living God. They shall feel no weariness or languor; they shall meet with no interruption to their intercourse with God. Their spirits shall be made perfect; every remainder of corruption shall be rooted out, and they shall become completely like to Christ by seeing him as he is.

Has infinite wisdom and love then made the most expensive provision for our happiness both here and hereafter, and shall we slight or contemn it? How great must be the guilt, how dreadful the condemnation of those who turn a

SEE LUKE 1. 67-75.

IN tracing the history of the people of Israel, we have the Fifth period, including from their return to their own land, after the Babylonish captivity, on to the time of their being cast out of their own land, and scattered over the face of the earth, as at this day. This long period may again be subdivided into three portions. The first, from their return from Babylon till the time when the stated ministration of prophets ceased among them after the time of Malachi; the second, from that

come to what has been denominated in these Sketches

time till the light of prophecy again dawned upon them
at the coming of Christ; and the third, from the
coming of Christ till the destruction of Jerusalem and
The two former of
the scattering of the nation.
these subdivisions having been considered, we are
now to enter upon the third. This was the brightest
portion by far of their eventful history. To it the
whole of their preceding history may be considered as
subservient. The great end of the selection of this
people from among the other nations, the great end of
all their religious institutions, and the great end of the
stated ministration of their prophets, was to prepare
the way for the coming of the Saviour in the fulness
of time. And this grand event is what principally
distinguishes the portion of their history now under
consideration. All former discoveries made to them
were only as the faint dawn of the morning; but then
they enjoyed the clear sunshine of noon-day. Christ,
the true light of the world, was hen revealed to them.
The people that sat in darkness saw a great light, and
to them that were under the region and shadow of
death light sprung up. This bright day, however, was
succeeded by a long dark night, even such a night as
they had never seen the like amidst all their vicissi-
tudes,a night which has lasted for nearly one thou-
sand eight hundred years, and where, as yet, we can
hardly discern the faint glimmerings of an approaching
brighter day than they have ever yet seen: a day that
shall never end, when their sun shali never set; when
the sun shall no more be their light by day, neither for
brightness shall the moon give light to them, but when
the Lord shall be their everlasting light, and the days
of their mourning shall be ended.

dawn. But the dawn will come, and will usher in a

The portion of Scripture referred to at the head of this number may serve as an introduction to this portion of their history. It is a song of praise to God for the coming of the Saviour. In this song Zacharias, inspired with the spirit of prophecy, looking back upon what former prophets had declared, sees in the coming of Christ the fulfilment of their predictions; and looking forward, rejoices in the blessed effects of Christ's coming, in delivering them out of the hands of their enemies, and in enabling them to live wholly devoted to the service of God. Blessed be the Lord

God of Israel." God is here addressed as standing in
a near relation to Israel; for he had declared himself
to be the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the
God of Jacob, and the God of their seed. Here was
their encouragement to draw near to him. And it is
in the same character and relation that we are encou-
raged to draw near to him. For it was as the God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that he promised that Seed
in which all the nations of the earth are to be blessed.
The God of Israel is blessed, because he had " visited
and redeemed his people." He had at length sent the
long-promised Saviour, through whom they were to be
delivered from all evil, from sin, Satan, death, and
hell. Surely this was to them a cause of thanksgiving.
And should it not to us also be a cause of thanksgiv-
ing, that the Seed of the woman who is to bruise the
serpent's head, He in whom all nations of the earth
shall be blessed, hath appeared to take away sin by the
sacrifice of himself? And God is blessed, because, in
the coming of the Saviour, he has manifested his faith-
fulness in fulfilling that long line of prophecies respect-
ing the coming of the Saviour, which had been delivered
by the prophets, who were from time to time sent to
the people of Israel to testify both of Christ's suffer-
ings and of the glory that should follow. And especially
were they called to bless God for the deliverance out of
the hand of their enemies, both temporal and spiritual,
that would be effected by the coming of the Saviour,
according to what God had promised to Abraham, con-
firming his promise by his oath. And this promise in-
cluded not merely a deliverance from enemies, but a
bringing them near to God; so that, in the enjoyment
of his favour, and animated by his Spirit, they might
serve him without slavish fear, with the spirit of free-
born children, and might render to him a holy and
righteous service, running in the way of his command-
ments with enlargement of heart, and that not for a
time only, but all the days of their lives.
Such were

to be the blessed fruits of the coming of the Saviour.
And such blessed fruits shall one day be abundantly
reaped by the nation of Israel, when they shall be all
righteous, and when they shall be all saved with an
everlasting salvation. And such, in some degree, are
the effects produced on all, whether Jews or Gentiles,
who do indeed receive Christ as the unspeakable gift
of God, and who have life through his name. And
with regard to them, also, all these fruits shall be abun-
dantly reaped in the world that is to come.

But it will be proper to enter somewhat more into detail respecting this portion of the history of Israel. I remark, then, that previous to the coming of the Saviour, and as the time drew near, there were those among the devout Israelites who, by a careful study of the Scriptures, and consideration of the aspects of Providence, particularly from the state of their own country, as suffering under a foreign yoke, were led to conclude, that the time was now approaching, when the long looked for Deliverer would at length appear. They waited for the consolation of Israel; and they looked for redemption in Israel. And they would, we may suppose, make it a subject of prayer, that the Lord would perform the mercy promised to the fathers; that he would, according to his promise, send redemption to his people; and that the Lord would hasten it in his time. Thus when the Lord is about to accomplish any remarkable deliverance for his people, he generally directs their faith towards that object, by giving light upon his word of promise, and thus he stirs them up to pray for the expected deliverance. Again, it may be remarked, that, in consequence partly of the attention of the devout Israelites being directed to the prospect of the Saviour's coming, a general expectation of a great Deliverer being about to appear, prevailed throughout the land of Israel.

Nor was

also in some of the heathen lands around them. This might arise from the intercourse which they had occasionally with the people of Israel, and might be strengthened by the access which some of them had to the Jewish Scriptures, by means of the Greek translation of them, called the Septuagint. But in whatever way the impression had been made, such an expectation did prevail; and we may discern in it a preparation made for the coming of the Saviour. Again, it may be remarked, that when the time drew near for the appearing of the Saviour, the spirit of prophecy, which had ceased from among the people of Israel from the time of Malachi, began again to be poured out. Anna, a widow upwards of eighty years of age, who ceased not daily to attend the worship of God in the temple, prophesied of Christ to those who looked for redemption in Israel. Aged Simeon also, to whom it had been intimated that he should not see death till he should see the Lord's Christ, was inspired with the spirit of prophecy. Zacharias also prophesied of Christ, as appears from the portion of Scripture referred to at the head of this article. Mary, the mother of our Lord, and Eliza beth also, the mother of John the Baptist, his forerunner, prophesied. Here was a favourable sign of God's returning favour to his people Israel. Here was the dawn of the morning beginning to dispel the darkness of that night which had so long hung over them, giving them the cheering prospect of a bright and glorious day.

Such preparations being made, the grand event to which they were all subservient at length arrived. To this ever, indeed, all the dispensations of Providence, whether towards the Jews or the Gentiles, that had taken place from the fall of man onwards to that time, had a reference; and I am persuaded, that no language of men or of angels can adequately express the infinite importance of this ever memorable event. It was what had never before been witnessed upon the earth, and, so far as we know, nothing like it had been previously exhibited throughout the immensity of the universe. It was an event, we have grounds for believing, deeply interesting to all orders of intelligent creatures throughout the universe. All the hosts of heaven beheld it with admiration and delight, and welcomed it with shouts of glory to God in the highest. Satan, and all the powers of darkness, beheld it with trembling, terror and dismay, as the certain prelude to the downfall of their kingdom, and as the sure foreboding of the wrath of God to come upon them to the uttermost; and to the inhabitants of this earth it was most of all interesting, to those amongst them at least who could enter into its design and purpose. It was the pledge of God's favour to sinners of mankind: it was the day-star of hope; it was the harbinger of blessings inconceivably great, blessings that shall never end, even that blessing which God commandeth from on high, which is life for ever more. It might be supposed, that an event so deeply interesting to all orders of intelligences, and so intimately connected with all God's plans of providence and grace, would be foretold. Accordingly we find, that it was announced by the prophets long before it took place. Thus said Isaiah to Ahaz: "The Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, that is, God with us." Again, the same prophet foretold: "Unto us a Child is born, a Son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulders." And the prophet Micah foretold: "Thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto me that is to be Ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.'

It might be supposed, too, that an event, standing the expectation confined to that land, but prevailed | intimately connected with the brightest manifestations

of the divine glory, and with the highest interests of
the universe of creation, would be distinguished from
other events by some extraordinary circumstances, that
it might arrest attention. Accordingly we find that no
event that had taken place since the creation, was so
signally marked out as an object of attention.
An an-
gel was sent to Zacharias to foretell the birth of John,
the Saviour's forerunner. An angel was sent to Mary
to foretell the birth of Christ. An angel was sent to
Joseph, the espoused husband of Mary, to announce the
same important tidings, that Mary, his espoused wife,
would bring forth a son, and that he should call his
name Jesus, because he would save his people from
their sins. And when Jesus was born at Bethlehem,
an angel appeared to shepherds who were watching their
flocks by night, and when they were alarmed at his
appearance, he said to them, "Fear not; for behold I
bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to
all people. For there is born to you in the city of
David a Saviour who is Christ the Lord. And imme-
diately there was with the angel a multitude of the
heavenly hosts, praising God, and saying, Glory to God
in the highest, on earth peace, goodwill towards men."
Surely all these things plainly intimated that there|
was something wonderful, mysterious, and glorious con-
nected with the birth of this child.

In

Thus, having noticed some of the remarkable circumstances connected with the birth of the Saviour, it will be necessary to show how highly the people of Israel were favoured in this portion of their history, in Christ's coming to tabernacle with them for a season. But this must be reserved for our next article. concluding the present I would only farther remark, that although this world in which we dwell be but a speck in the universe, yet I doubt not that the innumerable multitudes of intelligent creatures of all orders that inhabit the countless myriads of worlds that constitute the universe, had all of them their eyes directed to this world, as the highly favoured spot where was born a Saviour who is Christ the Lord; and that although the land of Judea be but a speck among the nations of the earth, it will be for ever distinguished above all lands as the favoured land where Christ was born, and where he tabernacled with men; and although the people of Israel have been despised, and hated, and trampled upon by the other nations, yet they shall for ever be distinguished above all the other nations of this earth, in a privilege peculiarly their own, that from among them was descended, as concerning the flesh, Christ who is over all, God blessed for ever.

And if such were the attendant circumstances, what shall we think of the event itself that was thus distinguished? Great, without controversy, is this mystery of godliness, "God manifest in the flesh;" God dwelling in the nature of man; He whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting, becoming an infant; the Holy One of God taking upon himself the likeness of sinful flesh? There is in all this an emptying of himself, a condescension, a humiliation of the Son of God, which no tongue can tell, which no heart can conceive. It will be throughout eternity the great wonder of all wonders. And then there is herein a mystery of love to the fallen race of man, that hath in it a height and depth, a length and breadth, that passeth knowledge. What may not be expected from so marvellous a display of divine condescension, grace, and love? Surely something very friendly to the fallen race of man may be anticipated from such exceeding riches of God's grace. It is even so. It is the salvation of lost sinners that is the object of this gracious interposition. He who was thus born is a Saviour. He is Christ the Lord. He came to save us from death and everlasting destruction, to save us from the hands of all our enemies,-to save us with an everlasting salvation. And are not these good tidings, good tidings of joy, good tidings of great joy, and good tidings of great joy to all people? Yes; to every one that hears of the birth of a Saviour there is a good message that may well cause his heart to leap for joy. For if it be not a message of joy to any of you, it must be either that you suppose it not to be addressed to you, or that salvation is not a matter that you care for, and the prospect of it does not make you glad. Now that the message of salvation is really addressed to you, the words of the angel put beyond a doubt. The good-DR OWEN. (Lectures on the Hebrews.) tidings are to all people. Christ is the gift of God to sinners; so that if you be one of the all people that dwell upon the earth, and a sinner, to you is this message of salvation sent. To you, God having raised up his Son Jesus, hath sent him to bless you, in turning every one of you from your iniquities. And if the message of salvation through Christ be addressed to all, is there one amongst us that can say, that it is not a joyful message? Yea, it is indeed the most joyful message that was ever proclaimed on earth. O let none amongst us put away the good tidings which God hath brought near, through our own unbelief; lest we should thus be found forsaking our own mercies, and accounting ourselves unworthy of eternal life; and lest that awful

CHRISTIAN TREASURY.

Christ our all, and in all.-Such is the frailty of the nature of man, and such the perishing condition of all created things, that none can ever obtain the least stable consolation, but what ariseth from an interest in the omnipotency, sovereignty, and eternity of the Lord Christ. What we have not in ourselves, by an interest in Christ we have in another. In him we have stability and unchangeableness; for what he is in himself he is with us, and for us. All our concerns are wrapped up and secured in him. He is ours; and though we in our persons change, yet he changeth not, nor our interest in him, which is our life, our all. Though we die, yet he dieth not; and because he liveth, we shall live also. Though all other things perish and pass away that we here make use of; yet he abideth a blessed and satisfying portion unto a believing soul. For as we are his, so all his are ours; only laid up in him, and kept for us in him. So that under all discouragements that may befal us from our own frailty and misery, and the perishing condition of outward things, we have a sweet relief tendered us in this, that we have all good things treasured up for us in him; and faith knows how to make use of all that is in Christ, to the comfort and support of the soul. This will teach us how to use earthly things; how dying creatures should use dying creatures. That is, to use them for our present service and necessity, but not as those that look after rest and satisfaction in them, which they will not afford us. Use the world, but live on Christ.

The happiness of contentment.-I should marvel that the covetous man can still be poor, when the rich man is still covetous, but that I see a poor man can be content, when the contented man is only rich; the one wanting in his store, while the other is stored in his

wants.

I see, then, we are not rich or poor by what we possess, but by what we desire. For he is not rich that hath much, but he that hath enough: nor he poor that hath but little, but he that wants more. If God then make me rich by store, I will not impoverish myself by covetousness; but if he make me poor by want, I will enrich myself by content.-WARWICK. (Spare Minutes.)

SACRED POETRY.

A MOTHER'S GRIEF.

How hallow'd are the dwellings of the dead!
There all is calm,--the noise of life hath fled.
There is a stillness in the very air,

Which awes the soul, and melts the thoughts to prayer.
The monumental piles that rise around

MISCELLANEOUS.

The Universe. It is calculated that there are eighty
millions of suns, twenty billions of miles apart from
each other. Each of these suns has assigned to it a
circular dominion in space, ten billions of miles in dia-
meter, and within which wide domain revolve, in har-
monious array and order, a retinue of at least thirty
worlds, "all differing from each other" in symmetry
of construction. Hence forming an aggregate of two
hundred and forty millions of worlds, governed by
eighty millions of suns! And it certainly cannot now
be doubted, that these vast multitudes of worlds
are peopled with myriads of intelligences, capable
of understanding and adoring the wisdom and good-
"count the number of
ness of Him who alone can
the stars," whom the "Heaven of Heavens cannot
everlasting" domi-
nion-" and whose kingdom ruleth over all."-The
Arithmetical Architecture of the Solar System, by
E. HENDERSON.

In gloomy state, or heap the shapeless ground,—
The broken urn,-the perishable dust,—
The tottering tombstone, and the fallen bust,-
All tell how brief is life's allotted span,
How vain is time,-how frail a thing is man!
Oh! let the living pause, and as they read,
Learn from the records of the silent dead,
That all is fleet and vanishing below,
And where the dead have gone, themselves must like- contain," whose dominion is an
wise go.

But mark yon new-form'd grave, that lifts its head,
Above the thousand hamlets of the dead!

Why weeps the mother there? 'Tis "hallow'd ground!"
For 'neath the turf that wraps that lowly mound
Is laid the object of her widow'd care,

The dust of him she loved-her only son-is there!
In childhood's years, oft had she on her breast
Sooth'd all his cries, and cradled him to rest;
And she had hoped while still with precept bland,
She bade the bud of opening mind expand,
That Heaven, in answer to the widow's prayer,
Would yet in love her last lone comfort spare,
With grateful smiles her kindness to repay,

And bless with filial love the evening of her day.
But from her sight, her joy, her hope, hath gone--
For God hath taken, and-God's will be done.
Yet hither oft, where the departed sleep,

The childless widow strays to watch and weep,
And still, at eve's soft hour, she lingers here,
As loath to wander from a spot so dear.
Yes! when the fire of soul,-the living charm,
That woke to life the dull material form,
To its own native heavens hath burst away,
Still Friendship dotes upon the lifeless clay,
Counts the soil hallow'd where the dead are laid,
And guards their ashes with a holy dread.
But for the mourner is there naught but gloom,
A lone existence, and an early tomb?
Is there no hope of comfort and of rest,
To calm the tortures of the aching breast?
Oh say not so! In life's bleak wilderness
There is a bud whose fragrance soothes distress :--
From life's dark sky there beams a holy ray,
Which gilds the tear it cannot wipe away-
A blessed hope, to cheer the mourner, given
'Mid death and pain,-the hope of life in Heaven.
'Tis this bright hope, which to the heaven-taught mind
Ennobles grief, and proves affliction kind,
Breathes o'er the tomb the sanctity of faith,
And flings a lustre through the shades of death.
And see! this hope, which time cannot destroy,
Hath turn'd the weeper's agony to joy ;-
Already freed in thought from earth's controls,
She feels the transports of embracing souls,
And, like morn's dew beneath the solar ray,
Her tears of grief in rapture melt away.
Upwards from earth she points her glist'ning eye,
To realms of bliss beyond the azure sky,
Where sever'd hearts, and parted friends at last,
Their toils, and pains, and tears of sorrow past,
With the soft welcomings of souls forgiven,
Salute each other to the joys of heaven;-
And the fond mother, when her griefs are o'er,
Clasps the lost babe she lov'd, to love for evermore.
JOHN ERSKINE PAUL,

The Worship of the Golden Calf.-It has generally been thought that the Israelites, in making the golden calf, which they worshipped in the wilderness, (Exod. xxxii.) were imitating the Egyptians in the worship of Apis, whom they intended to represent by the image which they constructed; as did Jeroboam, also, in setting up the calves at Bethel, (1 Kings xii. 27-30.) It must be confessed, however, that this subject is involved in considerable difficulty, and several expressions in the course of the narrative leave much room to question whether this were really the case, in either instance. It is hardly credible, that not only should the people, but Aaron also, at so short an interval after those astonishing displays of the divine majesty and power which they had witnessed, so utterly divest their minds of the occurrence as this opinion would seem to imply. Besides, it should not be lost sight of, that it attributes to them the adoption of an Egyptian deity, whom, from past circumstances, they must have reBut what seems garded as a most implacable enemy.

still more decisive against this notion, is the fact, that after the calf was formed, and recognized by the people as "the gods" who had "brought them up out of the land of Egypt," (verse 4) Aaron " built an altar before it, and made proclamation, and said, 'To-morrow is a feast to Jehovah,'"-not to Apis-to which they evidently assented, for it is added, "And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt-offerings, and brought peace-offerings," &c. (ver. 5, 6.) It seems probable, therefore, that the sin of the people in this transaction consisted not in adopting the idolatrous worship of the heathen deity, but in so far conforming to it as to set up this symbolical and forbidden representation (Exod. xx. 4) of the true God, and introducing into his worship, on this occasion, some of the abominations practised by the heathen, (ch. xxxii. 6.) -CARPENTER'S Scripture Natural History.

CONTENTS.-James Baird. (A Sketch.) By Rev. D. Lands-
borough. Part I.-Love to the Brethren. By Rev. W. Oliver,
No. II.-Colonial Sketches. No. III. By Rev. G. Burns, D.D.
By Rev. W. Patrick.-A Dis-
-Light Created before the Sun.
course. By late Rev. A. Hunter, D. D.-Sketches of the History of
Israel. By Rev. G. Muirhead, D.D. No. XII.-Christian Treasury.
*A
Extracts from Dr Owen, and Warwick.-Sacred Poetry.
Mother's Grief." By J. E. Paul.-Miscellaneous.

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(A Sketch.)

BY THE REV. DAVID LANDSBorough,
Minister of Stevenston, Ayrshire.

PART II.

PRICE 14d.

dear little boy? There is much in his character deserving of your imitation. As soon as he could read, he had great pleasure in reading his Bible; and he was very anxious to understand what he read in that blessed book. At a very early period of his life, he employed those means for being made wise unto salvation which God has prescribed, and has promised to bless. He read the Word, and pondered on it; he sought, and listened to, the instructions of his mother; and in private prayer he sought the teaching of the Spirit of God; so that when, like the children in the temple, he was made to cry out, "Hosanna to the Son of David," should we not say, "It is the Lord's doing," and remember that it is written "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou has perfected praise." Let the young, then, into whose hands this narrative may come, search the Scriptures, and seek to learn of Christ. He is the way, and the truth, and the life;" and if they believe on him, he has declared that, though they die, they shall live again, for he will raise them up at the last day.

I HAVE thus, without changing a single idea, and with very little change even on the language, related to you what this pious mother has kept embalmed in her memory for twenty years, respecting her amiable and beloved son. And should not we, and all parents, into whose hands this little record may fall, be encouraged by it to be very assiduous in our endeavours to make our children, even at an early period of their lives, acquainted with Him who said, "Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven?" In what way can we better testify our gratitude to our heavenly Father, for blessing us with dear children; or in what way can we better show the sincerity of our affection for our beloved offspring, than by seeking to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord? It is thus, also, that And let them, like this little boy, be instant in we employ the most effectual means for rendering prayer. If you wish to prosper, my young friends, them blessings to ourselves and society; as well as let your tender hearts ascend daily to God in happy and respectable in their day and generation. prayer and supplication. Prayer is the breath of We know not how soon their brief journey may the soul; and where there is none of this sweet terminate; but this we know, that if they are in-breath, how can we suppose that the soul is alive? terested in Christ, their end shall be peace; that death shall be deprived of his sting, and the grave of her victory, and that they shall live and reign with Christ for ever and ever. Painful, indeed, must it be, even to believing parents, when those cords of love, which have been winding themselves for years around the fibres of their hearts, are at once broken. But there is balm in Gilead, and a blessed Physician there, who, though he breaks, is ready to bind up; though he wounds, shows that it is his delight to heal. What a consolation to them is it, that those fair blossoms of hope, though now chilled and withered by an untimely blast, have not perished, but have only been removed, by Him who planted them, to a happier country, and a more genial clime; and that they shall again behold them blooming in beauty and fragrance in the land of perpetual Spring!

And may not the young learn much from this
VOL. III.

Prayer is as necessary to the health of the soul, as air or food is to the health and vigour of the body. Be instant, then, in prayer. Pray with all manner of prayer and supplication; and remember that prayer consists not in words merely, but that it is "the offering up of our desires to God, for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies."

This little boy was, at an early period of his life, humbled under a sense of his unworthiness, and convinced of his need of a Saviour, and led to flee to Christ as the only stronghold, the only hiding-place from the wind, and covert from the storm. This is deserving of particular notice, and constitutes, in fact, the characteristic difference between the children of God and the children of the wicked one. Whatever be the peculiarities of age, or rank, of natural dispositions, or