man.

would bind our souls down to earth, and limit our prospects to a merely temporal existence. The requirements of that law which is holy, just, and good, are hard sayings to the natural No principle but that of divine grace can carry us through the arduous struggle of surmounting the opposition of our corrupt hearts. In order to counteract the influence of the carnal mind, we must strive unweariedly to crucify the flesh with its affections and lusts, we must labour strenuously to eradicate from our bosoms every evil propensity, though dear to us as a right eye, we must resolve firmly to abandon every forbidden pursuit, though profitable to us as a right hand. And under a deep sense of our own insufficiency for these things, we must fervently pray for the assistance of the Holy Spirit to help our infirmities, and strengthen us with all might in the inner man.

2. We may be said to be weary of well-doing when we become remiss in the active duties of Religion. Self-denial in refraining from evil, is an important step in the acquisition of Christian virtue. But we must not sit down contented with this solitary attainment. We are exhorted to go on from grace to grace. It would not be enough to yield even a perfect compliance, were that in our power, with the divine prohibitions; we must also obey the positive injunctions of God's Word. And in our endeavours to fulfil this part of our Christian obligation, we have again to encounter the same reluctance and opposition from our infirm and apostate nature.

Christ declared, in a comparative sense, that "his yoke is easy and his burden light." Yet the disciple of Jesus has much to accomplish, if he would approve himself a zealous, and diligent, and faithful servant of his God and Saviour. In the performance of the duties he owes directly to his Maker, he has to maintain a constant struggle with the natural indisposition of his own heart to the cultivation of piety. We are commanded to pray. But how often do we find ourselves unfit for holding devout communion with the Father of our Spirits. Not unfrequently our minds are listless, our attention is distracted, our Own thoughts wander, when we attempt to engage in this exercise. We either experience disturbance from without, or we feel discomposure within. Yet notwithstanding all these discouragements, we must still persevere in our devotions: we "ought always to pray and not to faint." We are enjoined to "search the Scriptures," and to meditate upon them. But when we peruse the sacred oracles, it is not at all times with equal understanding or pleasure. We may formally study the pages of the Bible, and derive little or no benefit from the consolations and instructions they contain. In consequence of a careless or undevout frame of mind, the blessed volume of inspiration may be to us a sealed book, both as to light and comfort, and therefore be disrelished as insipid and uninteresting. Still we must not lay it aside; it must continue to form the subject of

our serious and prayerful meditation. Public worship is an ordinance of divine appointment. We are required to join with the people of God in the services of the sanctuary. But a regular attendance in the House of Prayer may be given, while our acts of worship there are neither acceptable to the Most High, nor profitable to our souls. Nay, the Sabbath, from the decline of a devotional spirit on our part, may become to us a wearisomeness instead of being our delight. Yet must we not, for such reasons, forsake the assembling of ourselves together, or neglect any of the means of grace, but persist stedfastly in the use of them, and pray more earnestly for a blessing upon them.

Again, in the faithful discharge of our Christian duty towards our brethren of mankind, we frequently meet with severe trials of temper, much provocation, and many instances of ingratitude, which the natural heart fails not to plead as valid excuses for its own selfish reluctance. The superiors with whom we stand connected may be proud and overbearing, harsh and oppressive. We must not, however, return sullenness for their austerity, nor forget the duties of our place. We must be obedient to them in every thing lawful, not only to avert the effects of their displeasure, but also for conscience sake. We must be submissive, as long as the relation subsists, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward and unkind. The equals by whom we are more immediately surrounded, may be troublesome, or disobliging, or unfriendly. Still our obligations, in reference to them, remain substantially the same. Whatever intercourse takes place between them and us must be regulated, as far as we are concerned, by the principles of the Gospel. We must not render evil for evil, but shew forbearance and long-suffering. We must not resent acts of unkindness, but do good unto all as we have opportunity. We must not cherish enmity, even against those who may have manifested a hostile spirit towards us, but endea vour to live peaceably, if possible, with every fellow-creature. Inferiors and dependants about us may be discontented or ungrateful; yet we must not allow ourselves to be easily provoked by their mistakes or faults, we must not hastily cast them off from our favour, or withdraw from them our assistance and protection. Either discontent or ingratitude in them is sinful, and should doubtless be discouraged; but if properly considered, these offences, on their part, against all right feeling, not to say religion, only enhance our condescension and sympathy; because it thus becomes more evident that we are actuated by truly Christian motives, in commiserating their necessities, or promoting their good.

3. We may be said to weary in well-doing, when we begin to repine under the afflictive dispensations of Providence.

The season of adversity is a trying season. None can know the temptations incident to it, but those who have felt its pressure. In the full

nothing good at the hand of our righteous and justly offended Maker. His unmerited benignity is the source of all the blessings we now possess, or hope to enjoy. When we have done our utmost, we are but unprofitable servants. "It is of God's mercy that we are not consumed." Eternal life, then, must be the reward of grace and not of debt; "it is the gift of God through Jesus Christ our Lord." Even the progress we have made in the attainment of Christian virtue is not the result of our own unaided efforts. Whatever victory we have obtained over our spiritual enemies, -whatever advancement we have made in the path of holiness, and in preparation for heaven, the praise is due, not to us, but to the divine assistance. "By the grace of God we are what we are." All boasting, therefore, is excluded. But this doctrine of human insufficiency in nowise destroys the necessity of human endeavours. We are commanded to work out our salvation with fear and trembling; while, at the same time, we are reminded that it is God "who worketh in us to will and to do of his good pleasure." The belief that the Almighty achieves for us what we cannot achieve for ourselves, implies no disparagement of our weak powers. And the assurance that He co-operates with us in all the good we accomplish, affords the highest encouragement to our feeble exertions.

The language of the text expressly corroborates these statements. The figure made use of is borrowed from the gathering in of the crop in harvest, in connexion with the previous agricultural labours. The husbandman first diligently prepares his field, and commits the seed to the ground with care; he then anxiously watches the progress of the plant, and spares no pains to promote its growth. When it has reached maturity, he joyfully reaps the fruits of his toil and unremitting attention. But is the husbandman, therefore, the sole author of that plentiful increase which rewards his industry? Was his skill the only agency? Was his arm the only instrument necessary to the production of that abundance which repays his diligence? Had the rain that watered the soil, and the sun that warmed the atmosphere, no influence? Had the blessing of heaven no share in the springing of the seed and the ripening of the full ear? Who gave fertility to the ground? Who supplied health, and sustenance, and vigour, during the process of cultivation, to the laborious peasant and his patient cattle? Who, but GOD? And God, who constituted the material system of the universe, has also appointed the means of grace and the way of salvation. Faith in the divine pledge, differently expressed indeed, is exercised by the husbandman, as well as by the Christian. The former cultivates his fields in a full reliance upon the established order of the seasons, and the constancy of nature's laws and operations. The latter commences and pursues his course in a firm belief in the doctrines of Revelation, especially the gracious discoveries of the Gospel. The one labours in the management of his crop, as if success

power.

depended wholly upon his own efforts, though perfectly aware every day that it lies beyond his The other labours in his spiritual vocation, as if diligence could ensure his object, though deeply sensible that his own endeavours must all prove unavailing without higher aid.

The husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and the latter rain. And why should the Christian weary or faint? The prize he has in view is far nobler,-the certainty of his obtaining it is infinitely greater; temporary clouds may darken his sky, momentary storms may alarm his fears, occasional misgivings may obscure his prospects, but the promise of God stands unshaken and sure. The divine covenant cannot be broken. "Wherefore, let us be stedfast and unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as we know that our labour shall not be in vain in the Lord."

THE VAUDOIS PASTOR; A SKETCH. A PECULIAR interest attaches to the Waldenses, or Vaudois Protestants, from the tenacity with which they have adhered to the pure doctrines of the Gospel, amid the surrounding darkness and superstition. Situated in the valleys of the Cottian Alps, shut out from almost all intercourse with the other churches of the Reformation, and doomed frequently to suffer persecution the most severe, they are not ashamed to avow, and unflinchingly to maintain, the genuine Scriptural tenets handed down to them by their forefathers. Few in number, poor in outward circumstances, simple in manners, and comparatively unenlightened, so far as concerns mere worldly knowledge, they have drunk deep of that infinitely higher knowledge, which "maketh wise unto salvation." From the researches of Dr Gilly among this simple-hearted Christian people, we cannot fail to entertain the highest admiration of their charac ter. The very scenery amid which they dwelt, beautiful and romantic though it is, seems invested with a kind of rural grandeur, derived from the scattered huts of the Waldensian Christians.

The subject of the following Sketch, RODOLPHE PEYRANI, was a pastor in the Alpine regions, inhabited by the poor Vaudois or Waldenses. The village of Pomaretto, where he resided, was situated in the valley of Perosa, "built upon a declivity, just where the mountains begin to increase in height and number, with rocks above, and torrents below." The scenery around it is wild and romantic in the extreme, but the village itself is far from being inviting in its appearance. “The street," says Dr Gilly, in his account of his visit to the place, "which we slowly ascended, was narrow and dirty, the houses, or rather cabins, small and inconve nient, and poverty, in the strictest sense of the word, stared us in the face at every step we took. did we cast our eyes about, in search of some better looking corner, in which we might descry a habitation fit for the reception of the supreme pastor of the Churches of the Waldenses. The street was every where no better than a confined lane." Such was the miserable condition of the village in which was situated the residence of Rodolphe Peyrani, the Moderator of

In vain

the Vaudois. His personal appearance cannot be better described than in the graphic language of the narrator himself.

We

"We were received at the door by a mild, sensible, and modest-looking young man, dressed in faded black, to whom we communicated our wish of being introduced to M. Peyrani. He replied, that his father was very unwell, but would be happy to see any English gentlemen, who did him the honour of a visit. were afraid that we might disturb the invalid, and therefore hesitated to intrude, until we had begged M. Vertu to see M. Peyrani first, and ascertain whether the sight of strangers would be agreeable. The answer was in our favour, and we were now conducted up a narrow stair-case, through a very small bed-room, whose size was still further contracted by several book-cases. This led into another bed-room, more amply provided still with shelves and books. The apartment was about fourteen feet square, low, and without any kind of decoration of paint or paper hanging. At a small fire, where the fuel was supplied in too scanty a portion to impart warmth to the room, and by the side of a table covered with books, parchments, and manuscripts, sat a slender, feeble-looking old man, whose whole frame was bowed down by infirmity. A nightcap was on his head, and at first sight we supposed he had a long white beard hanging down upon his neck; but, upon his rising to welcome us, we perceived that it was no beard, | but whiskers of a length which are not often seen, and which had a very singular effect. His dress consisted of a shabby, time-worn, black suit, and white worsted stockings, so darned and patched, that it is difficult to say, whether any portion of the original hose remained. Over his shoulder was thrown what once had been a cloak, but now a shred only, and more like the remains of a horse-cloth, than part of a clerical dress.

This

cloak, in the animation of his discourse, frequently fell from his shoulders, and was replaced by his son with a degree of filial tenderness and attention extremely prepossessing.

"The sickly-looking sufferer, in this humble costume, in this garb of indigence, was the Moderator of the Vaudois; the successor of a line of prelates, whom tradition would extend to the Apostles themselves; the high-priest of a church, which is, beyond all shadow of doubt, the parent church of every Protestant community in Europe, and which centuries of persecution have not been able to destroy. It is indeed a vine, which has stretched her branches to the sea, and her boughs unto the river: but while her branches are flourishing, the wild boar out of the wood doth root up the stem, and the wild beasts of the field devour it.' And unless the same Providence which first planted this vine, and made room for it, shall turn again, and look down from hea ven, and visit it, it must, it is feared, perish; for nothing short of the divine succours can enable men to bear up against the poverty, humiliation, and deprivations to which most of the Vaudois clergy are exposed to this hour."

This worthy messenger of Christ, thus doomed to sickness and poverty, was, at the time when Dr Gilly visited him, upwards of seventy-one years of age. So limited was his income, that it did not exceed £40 a-year. Yet, with this paltry pittance, he was obliged to meet the demands of a family, the calls of charity, the expenses incidental to his situation, as Moderator, and the additional wants of sickness, age and infirmity. In circumstances such as these, the calm contentment, and cheerful resignation of Peyrani, were remarkably conspicuous. He was evidently a man of a superior mind, and his heart was deeply imbued with the spirit of his Master. The character of the man is thus finely described :

"The welcome which we received from our venerable host, was expressed with all the warmth and sincerity of one, whose kindly feelings had not yet been chilled by years or sufferings; and the manner in which it was delivered, displayed a knowledge of the world, and a fine tact of good breeding, which are not looked for in Alpine solitudes, or in the dusty study of a recluse. We were predisposed to respect his virtues and piety, and had been given to understand that he was a man of the first literary acquirements; but we did not expect to find the tone and manners of one, whose brows would do honour to the mitre of any diocese in Europe. There was nothing of querulousness in any of his observations, nor did he once express himself with the least degree of bitterness upon the subject of his own grievances, or those of his community. That which we gathered from him upon these topics, was related more in the form of historical detail, than as matters which so materially concerned himself and connections. "Our conversation was held generally in French; sometimes we addressed him in English, which he understood, but did not speak; but when I engrossed his discourse to myself, we spoke in Latin, as being the language in which we could not mistake each other, and affording the most certain medium of communica tion upon ecclesiastical subjects, where I was anxious to ascertain facts with precision. Nothing could be more choice or classical than his selection of words; and I was not more surprised by his fluency of diction, than by the extraordinary felicity with which he applied whole sentences from ancient poets, and even prose authors, to convey his sentiments.

"M. Peyrani spoke with so much rapidity, and his thoughts followed each other in such quick succession, that he never suffered himself to be at a loss for words. If the Latin term did not immediately occur to him, he made no pause, but instantly supplied its place by a French or Italian phrase. This animation of manner had such an effect upon his whole frame, that very soon after we began to converse with him, the wrinkles seemed to fall from his brow, a hectic colour succeeded to the pallidness of his countenance, and the feeble and stooping figure, which first stood before us, elevated itself by degrees, and acquired new strength and energy. In fact, while he was favouring me with a short history of himself, I might have forgotten that he had exceeded the usual limits of man's short span; and I must repeat, that it is impossible to admire sufficiently the Christian character of the individual, or of the church which he represented, when I recollect the meek resignation with which he submitted to his hard fate, and the forbearance he exhibited, whenever his remarks led him to talk of the vexatious and oppressive proceedings, which have never ceased to mark the line of conduct pursued by the Sardinian government, in regard to the churches of the Waldenses."

The poverty of the Moderator of the Vaudois must have been sometimes deeply distressing; as a proof of which, we may quote the following passage from Dr Gilly.

"M. Peyrani's book-shelves were loaded with more number of the volumes which lay scattered about the than they could well bear; and when I noticed the room, or were disposed in order, wherever a place could be found for them, he told me, that if he were now in possession of all that once were his, the whole of his own, and the adjoining house, would be insufficient to contain them. He said he had bought a great many himself; but the principal portion of his library was the accumulation of his father and grandfather, and of more distant ancestors; and expressed much regret that he could no longer display the folios, and curious old manuscripts that had been handed down to him. I asked what had become of them. They have been sold,' he replied, with considerable emotion; for he had been