、broad road also, so easily found and travelled on.

The

difference is in themselves, in the inward state and condition of the man. The one are more prepared by their outward circumstances to be among those that "labour and are heavy laden." The one are more likely (to speak as men) to be also "poor in spirit," and to these the kingdom of heaven belongs. The one are, at least, free from those especial hindrances which are said to make it more easy for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. If then there are these benefits attending the condition of poverty, they will certainly be found, in another world, to be far more than equal to the advantages of riches in this. Even the extremity of want and trouble will then be looked back upon as a happiness and a privilege, if it has in any degree prepared our way to pass into the heavenly mansions. If the poor have known more of the goodness of their God and Saviour, because they were in a situation to depend more simply upon Him from day to day, they will congratulate themselves hereafter on this circumstance, and consider it a mark of His especial favour. It may be hard now to avoid a murmur when they suffer and are in want, but then they will not desire to refrain from praising Him and giving Him thanks for poverty. If although poor in this world they are rich in faith, they may be assured that such riches are more than can be counted: and enough to make them content with St. Paul, to be "of all men the most miserable" "in this life." Let these riches be secured. "Make your calling and election sure." Let it not be presumed that because you are poor, therefore you are safe; as Satan tempts many a sufferer vainly to hope. Poverty can save no one but Christ alone. And if He is the Saviour of the poor, claim your privilege to be one of His flock; become poor in spirit; hear the Gospel which is preached to the poor; receive the promises as your inheritance, and as all your wealth; and remember that however entirely you may live upon that estate, you never can spend it away, but the more it shall be employed, the wider and richer it will appear.

E.

EXTRACT FROM MY FAMILY BIBLE.

MATTHEW Xv. 21-29.

You have seen the Jews put to shame by the faith of a Roman centurion, you now hear of another instance of hearty faith in one who was as "a dog" in the eyes of Israel, that favoured yet unbelieving people. In St. Mark this poor humble one is called a Greek, that is, her religion was the idolatrous religion of the Greeks; and so she is called a Greek, for the same reason that persons belonging to France, Spain, or Portugal, are called Roman Catholics, namely, because they, though not belonging to Rome, yet follow that corrupt kind of Christianity which was born and bred, and has its seat at Rome. (Horsley.) What a reproof to the Jewish people are the words in which this woman prays Christ to cast the devil out of her daughter! "Son of David" she calls Him: she saw in Him that seed of David that was to sit upon his seat, Him whose throne was to be established for ever. (Psalm lxxxix. 3, 4.) She was one of that happy number who were drawn by the Father unto Christ, and she fully shows the truth of our Lord's words, "No one can come unto me, except the Father that hath sent me draw him." (John vi. 44.) She was not an Israelite, but however little she might have read or heard of the Jewish Scriptures, she had grace to understand both who Christ was, and how He ought to be applied to, better than they who had been living for years with the writings of the prophets, and the heart-broken cries of David's psalms of penitence in their hands. Oh, my family, she did indeed go to Christ as one that felt how poor, helpless, and sinful she was; but Jesus would not hear at first. Her faith was to be tried, that she might provoke to jealousy those of Christ's own nation, by her after-cry of faith. Thus our Lord often delays to pour His comforts into the souls of praying people, that they may go on entreating, and show to others that nothing shall separate them, no, not even His silence and disregard shall separate them from Him in whom they feel they can alone find rest and peace. The disciples, finding that though Jesus answered not,

she continued crying after Him, ask Him to send her away. He gives her harsh words, not indeed to distress her, but to try her faith, and to reprove the Jews and his disciples with them for calling other people "dogs," when it appeared that among these dogs, as they called them, there were found many children of faithful Abraham. "I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel," saith our Master. In the true spirit of loving faith that the Holy Ghost had planted in her soul, this believing woman worships Him even when rebuked, and cries out with more earnestness than ever, "Lord, help me." Then follows the severest speech of Christ, "It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs." It is not right to take the blessings that belong to Israel, and to give them to those whom they look upon as dogs: yet her faith is not to be overcome, but is rather increased a hundred-fold, and it is to be brought into action a hundred times stronger. "Truth, Lord, yet the dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Though I be as a dog to Israel, and may not have their blessings to the full, surely I may pick of the crumbs that they care not for. May God the Holy Ghost cause you to mark, learn, and inwardly digest the following Scripture, that you may never despair of a gracious answer from Christ, "O woman, great is thy faith, be it unto thee even as thou wilt; and her daughter was made whole from that very hour." Who indeed, dear family, that is taught of God upon this beautiful passage of his Word, but must adore Him with the deepest adoration, and bow down his soul to Him in humblest thankfulness for sending such a gracious Saviour, to such a needy race, for sending the express image of His own person to dwell in our flesh, and to give us such instances of His love as the one before us, "Be it unto thee even as thou wilt;" my heart's desire is for you that God may incline you to wish for an intimate fellowship with Christ, then will go up your earnest and frequent prayer. Then will you wrestle in faith, nothing put back by delays in the answers of your Lord, but like this blessed woman, you will be the rather inclined to ask oftener and more faithfully. Then He

who was so gracious to this woman will be gracious unto you, it will be at last to you as you have wished, and the hour of the gracious answer to your prayers will be the hour of your greatest joy. You will learn to value Christ not only by faith, but from personal experience of His gracious love.

Tyre and Sidon were cities of Phoenicia, a division of Syria, and the Syrians called the Phoenicians Canaanites; therefore this woman is rightly said to be a Syrian Phoenician, and also a woman of Canaan.-A Layman.

A SUNDAY SCHOLAR.

MARY K., aged 18, died here last night, a labourer's daughter, and a quiet and decently behaved servant in a neighbouring town. She was brought home ill about ten days since, when I saw her. She had never made any profession of religion; but during her short illness, and especially since it took an alarming form, seemed under considerable anxiety on religious subjects. Her disorder turned to typhus fever two days since. I mention her case, because it illustrates the great value of committing to memory Scriptures, Collects, and hymns, as has been the rule in the Sunday School of this parish, where poor Mary was taught from the age of five until she went to place some years ago.

I saw her yesterday evening some hours before her death, but did not expect that the fever (though evidently a fatal one) would have allowed her so short a time. She was quite delirious, and almost totally deaf; yet knew me, and looked wistfully at me. To delirious patients, it is generally wise to speak in a cheerful common-place tone: solemnity of manner or voice. usually agitates, and drives away the flickering light which reason still retains. I did so in this case; and though it was with difficulty I made her hear me, yet a temporary and partial gleam of understanding was vouchsafed to her. I kneeled down beside her, and opened the Prayer-book, showed her what I was doing, and took her hand in mine. She then called out aloud to the family, "Come, all you kneel too." She

could not hear a word I said, for it was only by shouting close to her ear that I had been able to make her understand even my simple questions. She looked hard at me for a long while, while I was reading the beautiful prayers of our Church for the sick, but at last she began to pray aloud. Her mind was gone, and she could not frame petitions of her own; but her heart was earnestly turned towards God, and found its utterance in stringing together, according to her feelings, numbers of verses, petitions, texts, lines of hymns, &c., every one of which I could recognize as having been learned by the children at the Sunday School, or used in the public service of the Church. Memory supplied the place of mind: for instance, part of her prayer ran thus: "Lord, have mercy upon us, and incline .... I love the Lord, because He hath heard the voice. . . . O Lord, we beseech thee. Mercifully be delivered by thy goodness. Love the faithless sinner, Lord: O Lord, love her still! Spare us, good Lord! Good Lord, deliver us! Redeemed with thy most precious blood. Wash all my sins away. O my soul for ever praise... Mercy, good Lord, mercy I ask! O Lord, have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us! Save me for thy mercy's sake! Save her soul!" &c. Her prayer was all of this kind, some more, some less coherent, but all in the most imploring and piteous tone of earnestness. I paused until she had finished her delightful prayer, and then closed it with the Lord's Prayer and benediction; and as I rose she said with a sweet smile, repeating it many times, "O thank you, thank you, sir. O thank you, sir," and raised her hand to grasp mine, and as I left the room she followed me with her eyes. Who shall say how precious may have been to poor Mary the tasks which she learned by heart at her Sunday School? and I hope Sunday scholars reading this may learn to value their tasks more than is usually done. I saw poor Mary no more alive.

March 1st, 1846.

V. P.