among the fields of benevolence, of philanthropy and practical piety; exercising a holy and healthful influence on all around, and fostering the trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord.

Let us, then, endeavour that every work in which we engage may be a "work of faith," inasmuch as it is pursued in the belief that that is the work to which, for the time, we are called by God; and inasmuch as we are sustained in the prosecution of it by trust in divine strength, and the expectation of a divine blessing. Let us work because the Lord of Hosts is with us,* to “work all our works in us,"+ and to "bless us in all the work of our hands." But let us manifest the faith in which we work, by waiting on God, that we may renew our strength, and by devoting as much of our time, and of our energies, as the providence of God permits, to that which is, in the highest sense, "the work of the Lord," -the building up of His Church, and the dissemination of His truth.

Let us seek that all our labours may be "labours of love," labours prompted, not by the mere selfish desire to promote our own earthly interests, but by a generous regard to the welfare of others; and especially by gratitude and love to Him who hath dealt so bountifully with us. Let love to God reign in our hearts, and sit as umpire between the various objects that claim a place in our affections, and a share in our efforts. Thus whatever is felt to be most in unison with the character and the will of God, will, of necessity, acquire a place in our

* Haggai ii. 4.

Isaiah xxvi. 12.

Deut. ii. 7.

estimation, proportioned to the strength of our love to Him. By an instinct of our new nature, we will cleave to that which is Godlike and heavenly, and sit loose to that which is earthly. And even in our temporal pursuits, we will carry with us the things of Heaven, and will never wander beyond the attraction that draws us to God's presence and calls us to His immediate service.

And let us seek that all our patience may be the "patience of hope in Christ Jesus ;"-not the patience of mere apathy and torpor; but a patience which results from the hope of that glory which shall be hereafter revealed in us, and with which the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared. Hoping for that we see not, let us with patience wait for it. And let us be upheld amidst all the work and warfare to which we are now called, by the assurance that this hope shall not make us ashamed. For God Himself

shall give us the victory and secure to us the everlasting reward. Suffering with Christ now, we shall reign with Him hereafter. Faithful unto death, we shall receive

the crown of life. Striving now after more perfect conformity to the image of Christ, and greater fitness for His service, we shall at last be made altogether like to Him, and shall serve Him unweariedly and perfectly in a higher sphere. Following Him now in the path of humiliation, we shall follow Him on to glory; "we shall be satisfied, when we awake, with His likeness;" and shall hear from His lips the gracious welcome, "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter ye into the joy of your Lord."

Enthusiasm and Faith,

"He that believeth shall not make haste."-Isa. xxviii. 16.

"O for the great archangel's trump, to spread the joyful sound,
Proclaiming freedom to the slaves in Satan's fetters bound!
U for a voice like thunder, when it peals across the deep,
To startle those that idly dream, and waken those that sleep!

"O for a pen that I might dip in liquid fire, and write

The name of Jesus o'er the skies in characters of light,

That every soul that name might know, and every eye might see, And all of every tribe and tongue might bow to it the knee!

"O for an angel's fearless wing, to speed from clime to clime-
To warn and waken all who dwell within the coasts of time-
To spread before their view the things belonging to their peace,
And bid them think upon these things ere this their day shall cease!

"O for one hour of Moses' rod! O for Ithuriel's spear,

To touch the toads that whispering squat at many a dreaming ear,To shew them in their proper shape before their victim's eyes, And strip from off the ravening wolf the lamb's affected guise!

See Paradise Lost, Book iv.

"O for a rein, the whirlwind's blast in all its strength to guide, With power to share its wild career, and on its wings to ride, That with it I might rush and roam o'er all the dark domains, Where yet an undisputed sway the strong man armed maintains ;

"That I might crush and sweep from earth his palaces and towers,
His prisons and his feasting halls, and soft luxurious bowers;
His haunts obscene of brutish lust, his dungeons dark and drear,
And all with which he rules the world by blandishment or fear!

"O for a seraph's harp and voice, of Jesus' love to sing,
With melody so loud and sweet that heaven and earth might ring,
Till discord hushed its grating din, and harsh polemic sounds
Gave place to strains of harmony through all the Church's bounds!''

'Twas from a young enthusiast's lips such aspirations broke,
When first from nature's sleep of death to conscious life he woke ;
While, as he viewed this earthly scene from Contemplation's height,
The dark, mysterious maze of life seemed spread before his sight.

An aged man beside him stood, of aspect grave and mild;

He heard that burst of fervid zeal, and placidly he smiled; Long years had made him feel the truths he from the Word had learned,

And calmly thus he uttered them, as to the youth he turned :

"The ways of God are not like man's-his thoughts are not like ours; His kingdom comes not by the might that dwells in creature powers. Not all man's boasted wisdom, nor excellence of speech,

Nor trump nor harp of angel to the stony heart can reach.

"'Tis not the sweeping whirlwind, when it rends the rugged rock; 'Tis not the heaving earthquake, when the mountains feel its shock ; 'Tis not the fire wide wasting that his glory can reveal ;—

'Tis with a still small voice He bids the soul His presence feel.

"While yet on earth, our Captain said: 'I need but breathe a prayer, And legions of bright angels would to my beck repair.'

The hosts of heaven obey Him still, yet thus hath He decreed'The reapers are the angels, but man must sow the seed.'

"Go, then, and, in the strength of God, pursue with lowly mind
The labours of the vineyard in the spot to thee assigned.
Weak though thou art, yet faint not; for not by power nor might,
But by my Spirit, saith the Lord,' shall earth be filled with light."