he minds nothing but earth. You propose the calm hearing thought of the Divine approbation, with the pleasure and honour of God's favour, to a man who says unto God, "Depart from us, we desire not the knowledge of thy ways." You preach the consolations of God, which are not small, to one who knows no consolation but in "corn, and wine, and oil." What comfort to a man from the thoughts of the shortness of human life, whose greatest trouble is that it is so short; or else is apprehensive that the end of these troubles will begin those which shall never end? He has no more title to this true comfort than he has a fitness for it; the good man only being qualified for and capable of this. Christian consolations belong only to Christians; they are of no use to others, who have "neither part nor lot in this matter," no more than in that heaven from whence they are derived. They suppose a disposition capable of them, as the rudiments of any science are previous to the operations of that science; but the promiscuous application of these comforts to all sorts of characters is mere quacking in divinity instead of approved remedies and fair practice. "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; because he hath shown unto them his covenant." The aids of ancient philosophy how dry, how insufficient they are, will appear from a few passages which I take leave to borrow from Archbishop Tillotson, one of the best of writers upon the best of subjects-" The Excellency of the Christian religion." "Some pretended to doubt whe ther there was any such thing as sense of pain; and yet when any great evil was upon them, they would certainly sigh and groan as pitifully, and cry out as loud as other men. "Others have sought to ease themselves by maintaining that afflictions were no real evils, and, therefore, wise men ought not to be troubled at them; but he must be a very wise man, indeed, that can forbear being troubled at things which are very troublesome. And yet thus Posidonius distinguished, as Cicero tells us. He could not deny pain to be very troublesome,' but he was resolved 'never to acknowledge it to be an evil.' But sure it is a very slender comfort that relies on his nice distinction, between things being troublesome and being evils, when all the evil of affliction lies in the trouble it creates to us. And when the best that can be is made of this argument, it is good for nothing but to be thrown away as a stupid paradox, and against the common sense of mankind. "Others have endeavoured to elude their trouble by a graver way of reasoning. That these things are fatal and necessary, and that we ought not to be troubled at what we cannot help. But this only proves the trouble to be as fatal as the calamity that occasions it. And, perhaps, that a thing cannot be helped, is one of the justest causes of trouble to a wise man; as Augustus smartly replied to one who administered this comfort to him on the fatality of things; this was so far from giving any ease to his mind, that, says he, This is the very thing that troubles me.' 、 "Others have tried to divert and entertain the troubles of other men by pretty and plausible sayings, such as this, That, if evils are long, they are but light; if sharp, but short; and a hundred such like. Now, I am apt to imagine, that it is but a very small comfort that a plain, ordinary man, lying under a sharp fit of the stone for a week together, receives from this fine sentence; for what pleasure soever men who are at ease and leisure may take in being the authors of witty sayings, I doubt it is but poor consolation that a man, under great and stinging afflictions, can find from them. "The best moral argument to patience, in my opinion, is the advantage of patience itself. To bear evils as quietly as we can, is the way to make them lighter and easier; but to toss, and fling, and be restless, are good for nothing but to fret and enrage our pain, to gall our sores, and make the burden upon us sit more uneasy. And this is properly no consideration of comfort, but an art of managing ourselves under our afflictions, so as not to make them more grievous than indeed they are. "But now the arguments that Christianity propounds to us are such as prove a just and reasonable encouragement for men to bear affliction patiently. And then the author mentions 'the examples of Christ and the first Christians; the glory that shall follow the light afflictions of the present time;' and closes this part of his subject with a passage in the 'life of Lipsius, who was a great studier and admirer of the stoic philosophy. When he lay on his death-bed, and one of his friends who came to visit him said, that he need not use arguments to persuade him to patience under his pains, the philosophy which he had studied so much would furnish him with motives enough to that purpose, he answers him with this ejaculation, Domine Jesu, da mihi patientiam Christianam;' that is, Lord Jesus, give me Christian patience. No patience like that which the considerations of Christianity are apt to work in us.'" This is one instance of the excellence of the Christian religion, its furnishing us with the best motives and considerations to patience under the evils and afflictions of this life. All the other philosophical thoughts, so far as they are of any use, the Christian can take, and make his best of; and when they fail, he knows where to go. He can turn to God and say, "When wilt thou comfort me?" Psa. cxix. 82. If thou dost not, all the world cannot. Without thee, "miserable comforters are they all." If thou dost not speak peace, there will be no end of my trouble. This balm is only to be found in Gilead: "Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation;" say, "Be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee." And then will I say, "In the multitude of my thoughts within me, thy comforts delight my soul." Thy comforts! comforts that come from God, which lead to him, and are fully to be enjoyed in him. The light of thy countenance, the sense of the pardon of my sins, an interest in the promises of the covenant of grace, a conquest of self-will, and consequently of every other enemy, peace these are, in comparison to all other comforts, as the "fountain of living waters" to the "broken cisterns" that can hold no water. of conscience, and joy in the Holy Ghost, the hope and prospect of eternal life near, and not the less pleasant on that account-these are consolations, indeed, that are not Prayer gives ease to the mind, small. There are two things also revives faith, hope, and patience; said of those Divine comforts that promotes holiness, as well as fetches give them infinite advantage above down comfort; it is, in short, the all other, they are "strong" and true way of handling our weapons they are "full." They are "strong against our spiritual adversaries. consolations," Heb. vi. 18. Others" Put on the whole armour of God," are too weak to bear much weight."praying with all prayer." And it A soul in all its heaviness finds they is the true way of applying our are not affliction-proof; they cannot spiritual remedy: "Is any afflicted? stand under the troubles of life, let him pray." much less will they do against the terrors of death and judgment. But the comforts that are truly Christian will bear a man up when everything else fails about him, the world sinking under him, and all is a-going. The other thing said of these Divine consolations is, that they are "full;" as Christ said to his disciples, "Let not your hearts be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me." "These things have I spoken unto you, that your joy might be full.” To have a God to apply to who is the "Father of mercies," and the "God of all consolation," the God that "comforteth them who are cast down," to have an interest in Christ, by whom we "have access unto the Father," whose grace is "sufficient for us in every time of need;" to have the "Spirit, the Comforter" by office, to do his office to us, and diffuse that joy and peace in believing which are part of the kingdom of God and the fruits of the Spirit; to have the holy Scriptures to go to, that were written on purpose that we, "through patience and comfort of the Scriptures, might have hope; He usually behaves best who is best prepared; who has not his weapons to seek when they are to be used, nor his armour to be put on when the attack is begun. It is observed, that none are more confounded when calamity comes than those who are most careless to prevent it. Principles must be fixed before they can be used; and frequent practice must settle habits before we can enjoy the benefit of that ease with which they exert themselves. Of all people they suffer most who will not allow you to mention beforehand the death of a beloved object, nor themselves to think of any such thing. "Do not speak of it: I cannot bear the thoughts of it: to be sure I shall run distracted." And so, partly for quietness' sake, and partly from complaisance, not a word is said of the matter; the dear thing is clapped to the heart; it clings and grows to the affections; and when snatched away, no wonder if the parents grieve and lament. They seem to have had no notion of their dear creature being mortal; it oversets them at once, because they have no resolution I have read of, with which consideration about them to hinder I conclude this address: I am its doing so; nothing that can weaken thinking with myself every day, how the influence of their vexation. many things are dear to me; and, Whereas he is a wise man, indeed, after I have considered them as who prepares both for his own death temporary and perishing, I preand the death of his friends; who pare myself, from that minute, to so improves his foresight of troubles, bear the loss of them without weakas to abate the uneasiness of them, ness. and puts in practice that philosophic B. GROSVEnor. The Fragment Basket. 'It is the Word of God, sir.' 'The Word of God! But who told you so?' 'God himself.' 'Himself! What folly! Has God spoken to you? What proofs can you give me of it?' 'Sir,' replied the good woman, 'prove to me that the sun is there above our heads.' "Why should I prove it? The best proof that the sun is there, is that it lights and warms us.' Ah! that is what I wish to say to you,' cried the woman triumphantly; 'the best proof that this book is the Word of God, is, that it lights and warms my soul.' The priest went away in anger." TRUE CATHOLICITY. Let us hate all spirit of sect, ecclesiastical, national or dissenting, but love Jesus Christ in every sect, ecclesiastical, national, or dissenting. The true catholicity which we have lost, and which we ought to find again, is that of love in the truth. A restor- | ation of the church is necessary-I know it, I feel it, I invoke it from the depth of my soul. Only let us follow after it in the path where it may be found. Forms, ecclesiastical constitutions, and the organization of congregations, have their importance, and even their great importance. "But seek we FIRST the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto us." Let us then, sirs, be decided and firm in the truth; and in loving those who stray, let us freely march against error. Let us place ourselves upon the eternal_rock of ages, which is the Word of God, and we will leave all these vain opinions, all these witless innovations, which endlessly are born and die in the world, tumultuously to fall beneath us.-Merle D'Aubigné. GOD'S WORD IRRESIS TIBLE. At the recent meeting of the Protestant Alliance, the Rev. Dr. M'Clure, of New York, U.S., said he had spent the last winter in Rome, and came away a hundred times more a Protestant. At Rome there was a most striking evidence that there "exists a power before which Rome was at no distant day destined to fall, and that was the power of God's holy Word. That Word in spired the greatest terror in Rome. If a Protestant died, and was to be buried there, his friends were not allowed the privilege of inscribing on his grave-stone a text of Scripture, until it had been referred to the Sacred College of Cardinals, and by them placed in the hands of a select committee; and if they reported that the text was not a dangerous one, it might be placed on the stone. If they dreaded a single text of Scripture, how must they tremble before the whole book!" Poetry. HYMN FOR NEW YEAR'S DAY. Lo! another year has fled, All its hours are past and gone, From within whose open'd leaves, Pause and ponder, O my soul ! Thou thy last award must hear. Solemn secret! who can tell? For no middle state remains- Or the pangs that never die; Narrow is the way, I know, Every appetite-denied ; To the world's allurements dead, But a glorious rest remains In that world which is to come; Clad in robes of spotless white, Then, afresh, thine armour take, Gird thee for the race anew, With the new-born year, awake! Rise, my soul! thy course pursue; What should tempt thee to delay? What should lure thee from the road? Rise, and urge thy onward way To the paradise of God! THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. I. THOU shalt not have another God, II. Thou shalt not make unto thyself III. Thou shalt not take the holy name IV. Thou shalt remember still to keep Who earth and heavens, and swelling deep, Created by his word. V. Thou shalt thy parents honour here, VI. Thou shalt not kill, nor ever bear A spite against thy foe; For deeds of blood, though hid with care, The murderer will show. VII. Thou never shalt that horrid crime, Adultery, commit; Remember the appointed time When God, the Judge, will sit. VIII. Thou shalt not steal, nor rob the poor, The hand of God is ever sure |