be the language of your soul. However bitter your Column for the Young. PARABLE. FROM THE FRENCH. He A FATHER, accompanied by twin sons, was going! Ere long, however, the road became narrowerthe stones became more numerous and sharp the briers more luxuriant and prickly-the precipices were so steep that the eye was frightened to look down, and turned away with terror; and so the steps of the travellers were more and more staggering, and the danger imminent. The road they had to travel was still long; one false step might hurl them into the abyss below, while they had to take thousands of them ere they could reach the end of their journey. In this alarming position, one of the two children felt the necessity of clinging more firmly to the hand of his father. His weak and little fingers grasped it with vigour and tenacity. His brother, on the other hand, recollecting that it was not he who had taken hold of this powerful hand, but this powerful hand which had taken hold of his, walked along with perfect confidence, knowing well that he could not fall, or that if he should stumble, a strength superior to his would raise him up again. In this manner the two boys, of exactly the same age and condition, walked along; the one at the right, the other at the left, of their common father; the one trembling, the other full of confidence; the one dreading every moment that his foot might slide, or his hand slip the hold; the other watching his steps, looking to his 1 hand, but assured of the correctness and stability of both, because the power that supported was inde"A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the pendent of, and superior to, his own weakness. Now let us follow them in their journey, without remarkwidows, is God in his holy habitation."-Ps. lxviii. 5. "The Lord preserveth the strangers; he relievething any further distinctions between the boys. the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down."-Ps. cxlvi. 9. Haddington, October 28, 1776. JOHN BROWN. PASSAGES OF SCRIPTURE REFERRED TO IN "He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment."-Deut. x. 18. "All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast."-Prov. xv. 15. "Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me."-Jer. xlix. 11. "Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day."-1 Tim. v. 5. "For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God."-Isa. liv. 5,6. The slippery and dangerous path along which they had to travel continued diminishing its breadth into a narrow ledge, until the children, already worn out with fatigue, knew not where to plant their footsteps, when, dreadful to relate, both of them at once stumbled and hung over the steep abyss. Both were in a moment paralysed with horror at the sight, and with terror at the thought of their perilous situation. But, alas! their fate was very different; the one fell into the bottomless gulf beneath him-the other was suspended in the hand, and raised immediately by the manly strength of his father. Now, reader, I ask, which of the two was it that perished, and which was saved?-whether the one who quitted hold of his father's hand, or the one who depended wholly on it? You can easily determine. I may only add, that this parable represents those two classes of men, of whoni the one pretends, if not to save themselves, at least to have made themselves the first advance in the way of salvation; whilst the others acknowledge that it is God, who comes first to seek and save them. Perhaps their last words may help to show you where the truth lies.-United Secession Magazine. THE DANGER OF DELAY. FRAGMENTS. EARLY set forth on your eternal race; If they repent; but he ne'er promised time. Cheat not yourselves, as most, who then prepare For Death, when life is almost turn'd to fume; One thief was saved, that no man need despair, And but one thief, that no one might presume. DELAUNE. A FERVENT SPIRIT. A FERVENT spirit is an affectionate spirit. It is one which cries "Abba, Father." It is full of confidence and love. Peter had a fervent spirit; but it would be hard to say whether most of his fervour flowed through the outlet of adoration or activity. You remember with what a burst of praise his First Epistle begins, and how soon he passes on to practical matters: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which, according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away." "Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile and hypocrisies, and all evil speakings, as new-born babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby." "Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands." "The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder." And as in his Epistle, so in his living character. His full heart put force and promptitude into every movement. Is his Master encompassed by fierce ruffians?-Peter's ardour flashes in his ready sword, and converts the Galilean boatman into the soldier instanteous. Is there a rumour of a resurrection from Joseph's tomb?-John's nimbler foot distances his older friend; but Peter's cagerness outruns the serener love of John, and past the gazing disciple he bolts breathless into the vacant sepulchre. Is the risen Saviour on the strand?-His comrades secure the net, and turn the vessel's head for shore; but Peter plunges over the vessel's side, and, struggling through the waves, in his dripping coat falls down at his Master's feet. Does Jesus say: "Bring of the fish ye have caught?"-Ere any one could anticipate the word, Peter's brawny arm is lugging the weltering net with its glittering spoil ashore; and every eager movement unwittingly is answering beforehand the question of his Lord: "Simon, lovest thou me?" And that fervour is the best which, like Peter's, and as occasion requires, can ascend in ecstatic ascriptions of adoration and praise, or follow Christ to prison and to death; which can concentrate itself on feats of heroic devotion, or distribute itself in the affectionate assiduities of a miscellaneous industry.-Hamilton's Life in Earnest. ROBERT HALL ON SABBATH EVENING SERMONS. IN 1819, it was Mr Hall's custom to preach on the morning and afternoon of the Lord's day, but to have no service in his meeting-house in the evening. In 1823, he had substituted an evening service in place of that in the afternoon, having still, however, only two services in the day. When I visited him in the former of these years, he happened to mention that some of his people had expressed their regret that they had not had three services, as they had had two ministers. He then inquired whether I was accustomed to preach three times on the Lord's-day at 167 home. I informed him that there was an evening sermon kept up by four or five of the ministers in the town where I resided; that I preached once a month or so in my turn; but that I did not pres ch regularly three times, conceiving that it would be too much for my strength, and by no means conducive to the edification of my people. This last remark drew from Mr Hall the following observations, which were uttered with his characteristic rapidity and decision: "I would have no objection, Sir, to unite with others in keeping up one evening serion for the whole town. But I am quite of your opinion as to the pernicious effect of having evening sermon constantly in the same congregation. It is a practice which wastes the strength, and shortens the lives, of the most valuable of our ministers. And by compelling ministers to preach without proper preparation, it introduces a declamatory and superficial mode of handling divine truth. It serves, too, to make sermons a mere drug. When the people hear them in such abundance, they care nothing about them. Besides, Sir, it leads them to neglect personal and domestic religion."-Dr Balmer's Reminiscences of Robert Hall. LINES INSCRIBED ON AN OLD TOMBSTONE IN HOWNAM And DEATH is sure; SIN'S the wound, And CHRIST's the cure! Anecdote. JOHN WILLIAMS AND THE CABMAN.-Not long before Mr Williams' second departure for the South Sens, he had been attending a public meeting a few miles from town; and being obliged to return that night, a fly had been ordered to take him home. As the journey was rather long for so late an hour, he intended to have given the owner of the vehicle some extra remuneration. But to his great surprise, when he alighted at his door and inquired the fare, the poor man replied: "O Sir, I shall take nothing from you. have been to the meeting to-night and heard you speak, and I think it an honour to have had you in my fly." Most gratifying, however, as this was, Mr Williams would by no means consent to deprive the driver of his well-carned reward; and he, therefore, pressed him to receive payment. But it was in vain. When the money was held out, he fell back; and, as Mr Williams followed him, still holding his purse, to escape any further importunity, he sprung upon his box, and, again saying that he had been well paid by what he heard, he smacked his whip, and drove off, leaving Mr Williams standing near his house, smiling, but almost disposed to weep, at this delightful evidence that "the common people heard him gladly."— Prout's Life of Williams. Baily Bread. FRIDAY. "When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O Lord, held Help, Lord, to whom for help I fly, The sacred watchfulness impart, The Christian improves by trial; and is so far from being damaged, that he is benefited by it, in so far as it discovers what hold the soul has of Christ, and what hold Christ has of the soul. And as the wind in the bellows which would blow out the candle, blows up the fire; even so it often comes to pass, that such temptations do enliven the true Christian, awakening the graces of the Spirit in him, and, by that means, discovers both the reality and the strength of grace in him.-Boston. SATURDAY. "Open thy mouth wide."-Ps. lxxxi. 10. forehand with you in his sufferings, and will not be behindhand with you in his recompenses; your journey may be tedious, and your voyage perilous, but hold out with faith and patience, you will be at home shortly, and one hour in heaven will make amends for all.-Henry. TUESDAY. "Love one another."-Jons xv. 17. Lord, that we belong to thee: Oh! consider what a dishonour it is to the Gospel, that those that profess themselves sons of the same God, members of the same Christ, temples of the same Spirit, heirs of the same glory, should be jar ring one with another. It is strange and unnatural, that they who are saints in profession should be devils in practice one to another-that God's diamonds should cut one another! For wolves to devour the lambs is no wonder, but for lambs to devour one another is a wonder, and monstrous.-Dyer. WEDNESDAY. "It is the Lord; let him do what seemeth him good.”— 1 SAM. iii. 18. O Lord, my best desire fulfil, And help me to resign Life, health, and comfort to thy will, And make thy pleasure mine. We should expect more from a prince than from a pauper. Many have benevolence without resources; and in vain we address them: they may grieve to deny us, but they cannot relieve. When the woman cried, "Help, O king!" he said, "Whence should O what wisdom is it to believe and not to dispute; to help thee?" But we kneel before one whose great-submit our thoughts to God's court, and not to repine ness is unsearchable-who is Lord of all. His giving a world would be less than our giving a crumb of bread. When Alexander had bestowed a very valuable present on a poor man, his modesty would have declined it. "It is too much," said he, "for me to receive"-" But," said the conqueror, "it is not too much for me to give." God gives like himself; and he is to be addressed in character with himself.-Jay. SABBATH. "The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All Oh! what numbers, gay and blithe, What if this be the last Sabbath that ever I will see on earth? I may be called to die before I be called to hear another offer of Christ. Have I sitten the Gospel summons this Sabbath, to come and embrace Christ, or to surrender my heart to him? What if I get a summons by Death to come and appear before him, before the next Sabbath? This I cannot sit. Death is a bold messenger; he cannot be deforced. When he comes and takes a man by the throat, the proudest, stoutest, and strongest in the world, must go, whether willing or unwilling; all is one. There are many in the world at the church, in health this Sabbath, who will be on a death-bed or in eternity the next; and why may not I be one of them?- Willison. MONDAY. "If we suffer, we shall also reign with him."-2 TIM. ii. 12. Thy every suffering servant, Lord, Shall as his perfect Master be; To all thy inward life restored, And outwardly conformed to thee: Out of thy grave the saint shall rise, And grag through death, the glorious prize. Suffering ill for doing well you may think hard of, but must not think strange of; your Master is be at any acts of his justice! It is impossible to be submissive, if we stay our thoughts down among the confused rollings and wheels of second causes, as"O the place! O the time! O if this had been, this had not followed! O the linking of this accident with this time and place!" Look up to the master motion and the first wheel; see and read the decree of Heaven and the Creator of men. "How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!"Rutherford. THURSDAY. "Every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it.”— JOHN XV. 2. The wicked I perhaps may leave A while, and not reprove; I see your hearts at present filled A Christian, for the sweet fruit he bears to God and men, is compared to the noblest of all plantsthe vine. Now, as the most generous vine, if it be not pruned, runs out into many superfluous stems, and grows at last weak and fruitless, so does the best man, if he be not cut short of his desires and pruned with afflictions. If it be painful to bleed, it is worse to wither. Let me be pruned that I may grow, rather than cut up to burn.-Bishop Hall. A Stamped Edition, for circulation by Post, is also published, price 2d. each Number. Edinburgh: Printed by JoHN JOHNSTONE, residing at 2, Windsor Street, and Published by him at 2, Hunter Square. London: R. GROOMBRIDGE & SONS. Glasgow: J. R. M'NAIR & Co.; and to be had of any Bookseller throughout the Kingdom. THE CHRISTIAN TREASURY. 169 ON THE MINUTE CARE OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE. SECOND ARTICLE. one person, or the humour and caprice of another. Hence, if it be admitted that the rise and fall of empires, the lives and deaths, the successes and distresses of mankind, are un der a Divine Providence, so must it be believed likewise that the care of God reaches to all the numberless circumstances and minute causes by which these are so often determined. Every particle that floats in the air, its magnitude and motion, must be directed by infinite wisdom. Not a wind that blows but receives from him its commission; nor the slightest incident throughout immensity but is under his cogniz ance. The crawling of an insect, the tossing of a feather, the stirring of an atom, are not beneath the notice of Him who watches and cares for all-and that just because he watches and cares for all, and is everywhere present and everywhere observant-pervading and co-existing with all things he has created. And thus is it not only scripturally but philosophically true, that he feeds the young ravens when they cry, and arrays in beauty the lilies of the field; that of two sparrows that are sold for a farthing, not one falleth to the ground without his permission and appointment, and that the hairs of our head are all numbered. Ir the views already presented have not suf ficed to remove any doubt or uncertainty on the subject under consideration, there is another illustration, level to every capacity, and which I conceive must prove satisfactory to every mind. What we are contending for, is a Providence that embraces all objects and interests, even the most minute and apparently most trivial, against those who would limit the care of God to great actions and events. These last, every one who allows God to take care of anything, must believe to be under his direction; but if so, then does it follow, of necessity, that the former also are comprised in the divine plan, and fall out according to the divine intention. This is a consequence of the fact, that nothing in the universe stands alone, but all events are so interwoven and interlaced, that those of the greatest moment are often determined by others which, in our estimation, are the most unworthy of regard. This mutual connection of great things with small is so intimate, and so pervades the whole constitution of nature and scheme of Providence, that could we suppose any one circumstance left to chance or fortune, it might involve other circumstances that would change the entire course of human affairs. An alteration in one of the This view of Divine Providence is beautiparts might affect the general design; just as fully exemplified in the history of the patriarch in some complicated piece of machinery, if the Joseph. Herein we are enabled to perceive, by slightest part is disturbed, the whole is endan- the light of revelation, the design of God, and gered; or as in a building, the removal of one the methods employed for its fulfilment we of the pillars, or of a stone in one of the arches, mark the end that was to be accomplished, and may reduce the splendid fabric to ruins. The how all the subordinate causes were rendered wellbeing, for example, and even the indepen- subservient and conducive to the issue. The dent existence, of a nation, may depend on a end in view was none other than the preservasingle victory; and this again on a gale favour- tion of a distinct people, who should be the deing their fleets and armies, and scattering the positaries of revealed truth; from whom the forces of their enemies. The progress of a de- Saviour should arise, and the blessings of relistructive pestilence, that shall lay whole conti-gion be diffused over the habitable globe. For nents under contribution, may be affected by the direction of the winds, and the amount of poisonous vapour that exhales from the ground. The life of one man might have been spared, had the tower or tree that slew him in its fall been ever so little stronger or weaker, so that it should have crumbled but a moment sooner or later. The life of another, who shall influence the destinies of a kingdom to the remotest posterity, might have been taken away, had the weapon that was aimed at him received a difference of direction even by a hair's-breadth. Indeed, it is impossible to calculate the innumerable and momentous consequences that often follow from what we term the merest accidents-from a sudden thought or an inadvertent word-from the giddy carelessness of No. 15. this purpose did God raise up the patriarch, with endowments and dispositions singularly qualifying him for the work he had to perform, and sent him before his family to preserve life. He suffered him to be thrown into circumstances of the utmost peril, from which he was rescued by the most unforeseen interference; till, by a succession of dangers and escapes, he was advanced to a station of wealth and influence which enabled him to repay with signal kindness the unnatural behaviour of his brethren. Now, had one single step in the progress of this wonderful story been omitted, is it too much to say that the destinies, not of the Jews only, but of mankind, might have been deeply affected? Had Joseph been slain by his brethren, according to their first intention, instead of June 6, 1845. being sold to the Ishmaelite merchants-had he yielded to the seductions to which he was exposed in the house of Potiphar-had he not found favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison-had not the butler and baker been imprisoned along with him, so as to afford occasion of proving his skill in the interpretation of dreams had not the famine brought the sons of Jacob into Egypt to buy corn-had not the cup been found in the sack of Benjamin-had any, the least, of these circumstances fallen out otherwise than it did, the whole fortunes of the Israelites would have been changed; the progress of true religion might have received another direction, and the present aspect of the world been altogether different. Hence we gather that the divine wisdom which concerns itself about the end, concerns itself about the means also; and is still exercised in regard to the minutest events that arise, and the slightest incident that affects the character or interest of his children. This doctrine is further confirmed, not only from the whole tenor of the Scriptures, but especially from the fact of miracles and prophecy. These prove that the universe is subject to divine authority and direction, and is abandoned neither to chance and necessity, nor to the established course of natural causes. They prove that God does interpose in the affairs of the world; that he sees the end from the beginning, and determines the times before appointed; and that, through all revolutions and ages, his counsel shall stand, and he will do all his pleasure. Look, for example, to the many minute and circumstantial predictions connected with the death of Christ; such as being betrayed by his friend and companion -forsaken by kindred and acquaintance-having his garments parted, and lots cast upon his vesture his tongue cleaving to his jaws, and in his thirst receiving vinegar to drink-not a bone of him being broken-their looking on him whom they pierced-being numbered with transgressors, or, as it may be rendered, with criminals or malefactors-making his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death. How minutely were these small circumstances foretold ages before they happened! Then how exactly and punctually accomplished! And lastly, in how apparently casual and accidental a manner was the accomplishment effected!not by supernatural interposition, but by ordinary occurrences, and a combination of ordinary means. It never occurred to the agents, that they were performing what had been the subject of prophecy centuries before. They never dreamed that they were the instruments in the hand of a wise and steady Providence, who so over-ruled their volitions and actions as to forward the execution of his gracious purposes in the redemption of his people; and yet the circumstances apparently most fortuitous, all came within the scope of divine foreknowledge and divine foreordination. All of them were foreseen and predetermined by infinite wisdom, even that wisdom which is still engaged about the most inconsiderable event that affects the humblest of mankind, and the purposes and arrangements of which, therefore, as they are unfolded in the movements of Providence, it is our duty devoutly to trace. men. From this subject we may derive this important practical lesson, that we should look beyond all second and subordinate causes, and contemplate the hand of God in the various events of life. All things are under his absolute disposal, and are comprised in that plan of infinite wisdom and goodness which embraces the fortunes and interests of the boundless universe. Let us learn, therefore, in the midst of apparent irregularity, devoutly to trace the operation of Him who brings light out of darkness, and order out of confusion; that so we may form our temper to an implicit submission to his will, and may beget within ourselves a cheerful resignation to all the methods of his providence, in his dealings with the children of O what a powerful antidote should we possess against all the sorrows and distresses of life, did we thus satisfy ourselves that our interests are in his hand, and that nothing happens to us but by the permission of Him who always knows and wills what is best! How contented should we then be to have our fondest desires counteracted, and our most cherished expectations disappointed! How would it restrain our irascible affections to think that the violence of enemies, and the ingratitude of friends, can inflict upon us no injustice but what our heavenly Father sees it good for us to suffer! How would it subdue all pride in our own skill and wisdom, to refer our successes to his over-ruling providence! And how would this cheerful reliance on his faithfulness, and this full assurance of his goodness, prevent the peevish dispositions, the corroding cares, and disquieting fears which haunt the mind of him who ascribes his adversity or prosperity to nothing higher than his own abilities, or the conduct of his fellow-men, and who has no other refuge to flee to for comfort and protection: "Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink, or wherewithal you shall be clothed. Behold the fowls of the air: they sow not, neither do they reap; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Consider the lilies of the field: they toil not, neither do they spin; yet Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, shall he not much more care for you, O ye of little faith?" This reflection is especially replete with consolation and encouragement to the righteous. In their case, we know the end which divine wisdom has in view-even the salvation of their souls; and to this end, we may be assured, are all the troubles and trials of life made subservient. Are they bereaved of those that were |