ciety as he who embodies God's word in his life; and who can so rationally hope to pass peacefully, yea, triumphantly through the dark valley of the shadow of death as he who cherishes one single truth as a light to his feet and a lamp to his path when thick darkness shall be all around?

You, brethren, are surrounded on every side by the works of man; the current of the world runs all one way; its tendency is to draw you away from the service of God and the care of your own immortal soul. There are too many rational accountable beings, well thought of in society, and in other respects not undeserving of the name of honourable men, whose chief concern, at least if we may judge of them by their outward conduct and demeanour, is to forget God. They do not consider that, in exact proportion as they succeed in doing this, they become the more entangled in the paths of the destroyer, and are brought nearer and nearer to the verge of an irretrievable destruction. It is the extreme of folly to forget God,-it must be so, unless we were quite sure that the forgetfulness would be mutual; and that He whom we despise or disregard for our present convenience, interest, or pleasure, would not remember us in judgment. But the very notion is too absurd to be tolerated for one instant. Who can evade the eye that is omniscient? Who can escape the hand of Providence? Even the destroyer, with all his potency, might ask, and ask in vain," Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?" But if you cannot escape from God; if there is one way, and but one way of escape from the paths of the destroyer;-if from such an enemy Christ is the only refuge, do not now turn a deaf ear to the warning of God's holy word, when it counsels all that are weary and heavy laden to come unto him. Let none turn a deaf ear to Christ himself, when his own voice of mercy proclaims, "I am the way, the truth and the life; and he that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out.'

Trust not to the deceitful heart which would disguise, only that it may decline from the ways of God. Be assured, that only these are the paths of contentment, and of

pleasantness, and of peace; these are the paths of life. None can be truly, because none can be permanently blessed but such as walk therein. There are constant changes in the condition of our being, and the disciples of the Saviour alone have no change to dread; for "all things shall work together for good to them that love God." Come death when and how it will; let the last enemy meet them either in the duties of active life, or at that holy place where you are now about to acknowledge the most precious of benefits, and to perform the most incumbent of duties; wherever it is Christ to live, there it will be good to die; and they who take heed to the word of God's lips may confidently say, "Life, death, things present, things to come, all are their's, and they are Christ's, and Christ is God's."

REV. R. HALL.

In the early part of the ministry of the late Rev. R. Hall, some of the more refined Socinians eagerly sought his acquaintance, and seemed to calculate on his ultimately becoming their advocate, though nothing had brought him into contact with them but the love of intelligent society and free discussion. Being one day in company with a party of this description, occasion was given for dispelling this delusion. An unguarded expression having escaped him in conversation, one of them took the liberty of tapping him on the shoulder, and saying, "We shall have you amongst us soon, I hope, sir." Startled and offended at this unreasonable anticipation, Mr. Hall'quickly replied, "Me amongst you, sir-me amongst you! Why, I should deserve to be tied to the tail of the great red dragon and whipped round the nethermost regions to all eternity."

DILEMMA.

A GAY young clergyman, who had settled in the vicinity of Colchester, meeting the Rev. R. Storry, the Vicar of St. Peter's, in that town, at a friend's house, requested the loan of a discourse, complaining of the task of weekly composition. The good natured divine acceding to the request, found among his papers a manuscript of many years standing, and obliged his new acquaintance, who preached it on the following Sunday.

him

The next morning he was waited on by a poor couple in his parish, who had been so deeply affected by the truths they had heard, that they had passed a wakeful night in tears, and now entreated him to explain more fully some passages, which they repeated. Confounded and amazed, he neither remembered these passages self, nor was able to afford the required explanation. He endeavoured, however, to soothe them, and declared that he had no intention to render them unhappy. But finding that all his tranquillizing endeavours were ineffectual, he frankly addressed the wondering couple:-"My good friends, the next time you go to Colchester, call on Mr. Storry, with my compliments, and ask him what I meant when I used that language."

THE BEST PROTECTION.

WHY those fears? Behold 'tis Jesus
Holds the helm, and guides the ship;
Spread the sails, and catch the breezes
Sent to waft us through the deep,
To the regions

Where the mourners cease to weep!
Could we stay where death is hov'ring?
Would we rest on such a shore?
No;-the awful truth discov'ring,
We could linger there no more.
We forsake it,

Leaving all we loved before.

Though the shore, we hope to land on,
Only by report is known,
Yet we freely all abandon,

Led by that report alone,
And to Jesus,

Through the trackless deep, move on.

Led by that, we brave the ocean;
Led by that, the storm defy;
Calm amidst tumultuous motion,
Knowing that our Lord is nigh:
Waves obey Him,

And the storms before Him fly.
Render'd safe by His protection,
We shall pass the watery waste;
Trusting to His wise direction,
We shall gain the port at last;
And with wonder,

Think on toils and dangers past.
Oh, what pleasures there await us!
There the tempests cease to roar !
Then it is that those who hate us
Shall molest our peace no more!
Trouble ceases

On that tranquil happy shore.

THE PREACHING OF A MINISTER OF CHRIST. His address should be simple, affectionate, and grave; his matter solid, his method clear, his expressions chaste and select, neither soaring to a false sublime, nor sinking to a mean familiarity. He should speak so plainly, that the most ignorant may understand; so seriously, that the most careless may feel; so rationally, that the most fastidious may have no room to cavil; and yet so spiritually, that the most pious may be provided with the bread of life. It is not enough that his flock be taught to know what is true, and exhorted to practise what is right. The heart must be addressed, and the affections must be awakened, or no effectual progress will be made for all knowledge will be sterile, and all performances unprofitable, unless affection interpose, to give vitality to the one, and sterling value to the other. To preach thus, it may be imagined, requires a rare assemblage of qualifications: and indeed it would be so, were any thing but Christianity the subject. But the word of God both furnishes a perfect model, and, when impressed by the Spirit of God, gives its devoted student a power, which no natural talent, no secular study, no familiarity with the masters of human eloquence, ever did, or ever could, confer. He that, with a well-prepared heart and rightly harmonised affections, drinks in the divine wisdom of our Lord's discourses, will almost infallibly attain a ready, unlaboured fluency of religious sentiment, which can hardly fail to awaken, to convince, to animate, to influence his hearers. And if he wish to enliven his discourse with irreproachable beauties both of thought and diction, he can enlist, in the service of evangelic truth, the sublimity of Isaiah, the pathetic tenderness of Jeremiah, the deep-toned energy of Job, and the varied excellences of the sweet Psalmist of Israel. Nor, be it deemed enthusiasm to say, that fervent prayer will make a more impressive preacher than all the rules of rhetoric; and that he who speaks what he doth know, and testifies what he doth feel, as in the presence of his gracious God, will win more souls to heaven than if he wielded at will the eloquence of men and angels.-Bp. Jebb.