God bring with him." Let our views of the salvation by Christ, and our gratitude for it be greatly enlarged. Let

us look forward to the resurrection day, as to the completion of his plan of grace. And in the interval, both while living and when dying, let us commit our bodies to his disposal and care.

VICARIVS FILII DEI.

THE number of the beast in the Revelation of John the Divine, which the Spirit of God declares to be six hundred three score and six, has long engaged the thoughts of wise and good men. Some remarkable coincidences have been found out,especially with respect to the words Lateinos,in Greek, and Ludovicus, in Latin. The following explanation I do not recollect to have met with in print; and the circumstance which led to the discovery is curious. Some time ago, an English officer, happening to be at Rome, observed on the front of the mitre, which the pope wore at one of the solemnities of their worship, this inscription: VICARIVS FILII DEI. It instantly struck him....per. haps this is the number of the beast. He set to work, and when he had selected all the numerals, and summed them up, he found, to his great astonishment, that the whole amounted precisely to six hundred threescore and six. What stress is to be laid on this, I shall not say. The subject is recommended to the serious consideration of the

VANITY OF HUMAN HAPPINESS.

A REMARKABLE instance of the unsatisfactory nature of all worldly prosperity, and a confirmation of Solomon's maxim, Eccl. ch. ii. is afforded by the emperor Septimus Severus. "Omnia fui, et nihil expedit." "I have been all things, and all is of little value,” was his declaration after having been raised from an humble station to the imperial throne of Rome, and the sovereignty of the world.

AUTOS EO.....IPSE DIXIT.

"THUS spake Pythagoras"....his scholars said;

And all his laws were constantly obey'd.

"Thus saith the Lord".... should Christ's disciples say,
And, loving his far better laws.....obey.

POETS AND CHRISTIANS.

POETS are such by birth, 'tis said;
Nor can by rules of art be made.
But not by birth do Christians shine,
They are new made by grace divine.

HINTS ON PRAYER.

PRAYER is the sweet and strong breathing of the new bora soul, toward a covenant God in Christ, ever wishing to draw in the life supporting air of heaven, and to live in its own proper element. No hunted hart ever panted more after the water brooks, than a believing soul will pant after communion with God, through the blessed Jesus.

The beloved object of prayer is a reconciled Father, whose heart is full of tenderness to the complaints and miseries of his dear children; his promises are the declarations of his pure love; a dependence of his fulfilling them, does him honor, and is sure always to bring down the blessing.

The Holy Spirit teacheth the children of God how to pray in faith. He helpeth their infirmities in prayer, strengthens their graces, and bestows on them all their comforts. He enables them to come with boldness, and have access with confidence.

Whatever their Father has freely promised to give them in Jesus, they ask in faith, nothing wavering, for they know his promises cannot fail; and as they find them daily ful filled, their holy familiarity with him increases. He draws near to them, and they drew near to him.

This mutual intercourse is the source of much joy, and makes the house and ordinances of the Lord a delight; for there he is always disposed to hear, and will fulfil his promise to his children; "I will make them joyful," says he, "in my house of prayer.”

GOD WILL HAVE HIS OWN.

THE late Rev. Mr. Tennent, of America, an intimate ⚫ friend of Mr. Whitefield's, had in the neighborhood of his abode, a young man of amiable morals; but, like many other strict moralists, a stranger and an enemy to the power of religion, particularly the new lights, as the godly were then called in New England. For the salvation of this young person Mr. Tennent felt an ardent desire, and often poured out his heart in prayer that it would please his

divine Master to make him instrumental in the conversion of his soul to God; nor did he cease from this labor of love, until he had an answer from above. In the warmth of his heart, Mr. Tennent communicated this circumstance to a religious friend, and by some means it reached the ears of the young man, who took all possible care to avoid Mr. Tennent, least he should become religious overmuch; but, a chosen vessel must not be lost.

One morning, the good minister taking an early walk to the house of a planter at some distance from his own, the youth unexpectedly came in with his fowling piece, and some birds which he had shot; on seeing Mr. Tennent, he would fain have retired, but as the good man had placed himself between him and the door, he could not pass him. Mr. Tennent, with great good humor, entered into con. versation with him, examined his gun, and told the youth that he had been a sportsman in the earlier time of his life, and though he thought the piece which his young friend had was a good one, that which he had at home was still better, and pressed him to go home with him and look at it. The temptation was too strong to be resisted, and his former determination never to enter Mr. Tennent's door was entirely forgotten; and the more so when he had examin. ed, and was begged to accept, his friend's fowling piece. Wishing to bring him by degrees to an attention to better things, Mr. Tennent engaged his promise to breakfast with him, and proposed, as was his usual custom, to read a chapter, and go to prayer with his family; though the youth did not greatly relish the proposal, good manners forbad him to oppose it; and after reading a portion of scripture, they knelt down. In the solemn exercise of VOL. I.

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prayer Mr.Tennent was greatly enlarged, and particularly for the soul of his young guest. Pride and prejudice fell before the power of the Holy Spirit, and then was the time of love. From that day the young man became a convert to Jesus, and lived and died an ornament to the gospel. "Such power belongeth unto God."

THE WORK OF THE LORD.

He en

It was about the year 1770, on the Sabbath morning, that Mr. Neale opened his Bible to mark the passage he had studied through the week, and from which he was to deliver a discourse that day. He looked again and again, but could not find the passage. He then endeavored to recollect the words, but to his great surprise and embarrassment, neither words nor text could he recollect. deavored afterwards to fix his mind on some part of the sermon he had committed to memory, but all was gone. In this dilemma he lifted up his cry to God, and entreated that he would recal the subject to his recollection, lest he should be a terror to himself and congregation. At this instant that scripture recorded, Rom. viii. 28, darted into his mind with peculiar energy; "My soul," said he, "fed upon the precious truth."

But now the time drew nigh, when he must proceed to meeting. He again endeavored to recollect the subject which he had previously studied; but to no purpose. The above cited passage, pressed itself upon his thoughts. "When," said he, "I went into the pulpit, I was in the greatest distress and confusion, and said to God, I never served thee with nought.” In public prayer he felt an uncommon degree of the divine influence. While the