saying true, one soweth and another reapeth. I have sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labor; other men have labored, and ye have entered into their labors."

Jesus here is supposed to have covertly alluded to his death. He was to sow the seed of Divine truth; his disciples were to reap the harvest, which would not be till after his death, which was necessary to produce the harvest; as he says of himself elsewhere, "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, [signifying what death he should die,] will draw all men unto me." He that sowed the seed should die, and they should reap. In the words of the writer before cited, "A profound glance into the soul of Christ, and the secret connection of his thoughts, is now opened to us. He cannot utter this prediction of the glorious harvest that is to follow the seed which he has sown, without the mournful though pleasant thought, that he should not live to see its gathering. He must leave the earth before the harvest-home; nay, his death itself is to prepare the way for it. So he tells his disciples that they should reap what he had sown ; but he shall rejoice with them.

Distant intimations like this were the only announcements of his approaching death, that Christ made at this early period of his ministry." The rejoicing together of Jesus and his disciples, which he here announces, was not to be realized in its highest and ultimate fruition, till they too should die, and go to be with him where he is, and there to rejoice together with him in his Father's heavenly presence, to go no more out forever.

Thus forgetful of the wants of the body, while he could gratify the hunger and thirst of his divine spirit in feeding the famishing souls of men with the bread of life, did Jesus at that ancient well of Samaria, memorable in patriarchal history, reveal himself and the eternal life to the soul of a poor, despised Samaritan woman; and at the same time instruct and prepare his disciples to enter upon the God-appointed and laborious duties of their apostleship,-unfolding to their view eternal rewards, the mutual rejoicings together of the laborers, and of all who should be saved through the instrumentality of their labors.

Neander's Life of Christ, p. 185.

LAZARUS.

BY GEORGE BETTNER, ESQ.

BEHOLD the tomb where Friendship sleeps,
The Saviour bows - he bows and weeps;
'Tis thus he mourns for those that die,
When none to soothe or save are nigh.

What tenderness reserved for thee,
Thou humble one of Bethany!

Heaven never shone in brighter beam,

From Tabor's mount or Jordan's stream.

"Hadst thou been here he had not died," What agony his bosom tried!

On Heaven he called, nor called in vain, The dead walks forth to life again.

His bands are loosed, and freed he

goes

To share the world's unpitied woes,

To feel the pangs that flesh must brave,
And find his Paradise the grave.

RUTH.

BY MRS. LYDIA JANE PIERSON.

"THY God shall be my God!" Strong was the faith Of that young Moabitess, who forsook

Her native country and her father's house
For Israel's God. There is no spot on earth,
Where sunshine is so bright, the dew so pure,
The grass so green, the summer flowers so sweet,
The birds so blithe, as in our native land.

Beside our fathers' heartstone gushes up
The only spring of human tenderness,
In which the heart can bathe without a fear

Of falsehood, treachery, or forgetfulness.

But Ruth had heard of God. She could not stay
Where men bow down to demons; so she broke
All her heart's idols, and went trembling forth,
Poor and a widow, to a strange land,

To seek the living God. No dream of love,
Of wealth, or fame, allured her. Meek of heart
Was that fair, gentle creature, who went forth

To be a gleaner in the field of him
With whom she could find grace.

prove,

Well didst thou

Thou young devoted proselyte to God,

That he is a rewarder of all those

That diligently seek him.

Couldst thou then,

While gleaning barley o'er the stubble field,
Have look'd beyond the impenetrable mist,
That hides the vista of futurity

From our presumptuous vision, thou hadst seen
Love, wealth, and princely honors waiting thee;
And thy descendants, an illustrious line
Of kings and princes, reaching down to Him,
Of whose dominion there shall be no end,
And thy name written for posterity,

And honored to the latest hour of time.