sible spirits around us, we should doubtless attribute our deliverances to their unseen presence and aid. We are told again,— "Millions of spiritual creatures walk the earth unseen." They are constantly about us, and watch over us, as friend watches over friend. How consoling this doctrine is to the pious heart! How spiritually inspiring to know, that whatever be the dangers, disease, and death, with which we are surrounded, the man of God has around him a refuge; that in the hands of his ministering angel there is a flaming sword, to turn away all his foes, and that nought can harm him while in the hands of the Almighty! How stimulating to the fond mother is the thought, that the babe torn from her embrace in infancy by the hand of death, may be constantly about her pathway, assisting her onward to the land of immortality! "He shall give his angels charge to keep us in all our ways." 1. In this world, temptations are all around us. They arise from the five senses combined. We may well pray, lead us not into, but deliver us from, temptation. Christ himself was tempted. Satan tempted him with the passage that stands upon record. "Cast thyself down from this pinnacle, for it is written by the Psalmist, he shall give his angels charge concerning thee, and they shall bear thee up and break thy fall." Jesus said, "It is also written, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." Our Saviour knew that though angels would protect him in his humiliation, in all necessary conflicts, still the suggestion of Satan to cast himself from the temple was out of the line of duty, and had no promise. The assistance of God is only promised in cases of necessary exigency. Pursuing the line of duty always calls the blessing and protection of God. After the devil left Jesus, angels came and ministered unto him. And it is cheering for us to know, that we shall not be tempted above what we are able to bear. That with every temptation there is a way to escape. Courage, then, doubting heart! Upward-climb the hill! "Get thee hence from this place, before the Lord destroys the city!" Thou art not yet above temptation, nor wilt thou be this side of the tomb. But Jesus was a man of like passions. He has sympathy for you. "He knows what sore temptations mean, His angel shall guide you. The wings of the seraphim shall shelter you during the storm. The suggestions of the evil one shall fall prostrate at thy feet. Panoplied in the livery of heaven, with your angel guard, go forth, cut down all your foes, and shout victory over your enemies. 2. Art thou poor, bereft of thy friends, Jesus is thy friend. He sticketh closer than a brother. He is a husband to the widow-a father to the orphan girl, whose home is among strangers. Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth. Afflictions are no mark of the displeasure of God. They work for you an exceeding weight of glory. "No chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous; nevertheless, it afterwards bringeth forth the peaceable fruits of righteousness." We would always prefer a calm and summer sky: that the flowers should always bloom, and the warbling bird be ever nigh. But we have learned that the frosts, and rains, and snows, and frigid winds of winter, are necessary to purify and fertilise the earth, that the flowers may bloom in the spring, and the earth bring forth her increase for the nourishment of man. The storms that blow around us are never without design. They restore salubrity to the atmosphere. The lightnings burn up the noxious vapours; and so with the adversities or tribulations of life, they are sanctified to the Christian's good. In this way of adversity, we are not alone. The angel of the Lord is with us. His encampment is around us. "Not walls nor towers could guard so well, What a blessed truth is this! We should realise it by faith! He delivereth us from all enemies, both temporal and spiritual. "We shall obtain delivering grace, In the distressing hour." 3. Without an angel the way of death is drear and gloomy. But here we are not alone. In this Gethsemane of our troubles, we are strengthened. Let life dissolve, the silver cord and the golden bowl be broken, and a convoy of these blessed spirits gather us to the mansions of restlike the beggar Lazarus, when they caught him from the steps of the rich man's door, and carried him to Abraham's bosom; like Elijah, when they came with their fiery steeds by myriads, and with exultant shoutings entered the city of immortality! Raise up thy head, care-worn pilgrim! Behold the land afar off! The day of thy redemption draweth nigh. Jesus entered the tomb. Thou shalt go there. Angels rolled the rock away, and angels, with the great sound of a trumpet, will call thee up with all the sleeping dead. Thou shalt shake off all thy mildew, and put on the robes of immortality, and go to the judgment-seat of thy God and be approved, and join that band of harpers, in the new Jerusalem, to chant eternally the praises of thy God. NUGGETS FROM A MINISTER'S TREASURES. Он, for a mind all alive to religion, completely consecrated to God, habitually devotional. J. Foster. It appears to me that but little is accomplished, because but little is vigorously attempted; and that but little is attempted, because difficulties are magnified. A timorously cautious spirit, so far from acting with resolution, will never think itself in possession of the preliminaries for acting at all. Ibid. Perhaps perseverance has been the radical principle of every truly great character. Ibid. The internal life, the life of the immortal spirit, is all important. Who would not wish to raise it to the loftiest pitch of improvement and felicity. Ibid. Let the windows of the soul, like the windows of a house, not disclose every thing within; but at the same time admit notice of every_thing without. Ibid. Let me carry about with me that I am in a scene for the trial and the exercise of principle. This would give an object for the mind. I should feel patient and cheerful acquiescence in the peculiarities of those around me to be my business; and as in every other business, I should feel pleasure in the successful execution of it; let it be as much my care to keep down every tendency to irritation when in company, as to keep down every tendency to indolence in solitude. Chalmers. I have always had a strong tendency to communicate my feelings. This may be indulged with a confidential friend; but there is often a great deal of vanity at the bottom of it. An excellent rule is, to suspect the propriety of every communication where the personal feelings or circumstances of the speaker form part of the subject. Ibid. It is a most comfortable part of moral regimen, when one can at the same time maintain his peace by schooling down every irritable feeling, and his rights, by being as active and determined in the assertion of them, as if under the impulse of resentment. Chalmers. Watch over the interests of our Lord Jesus Christ as extensively as it may be supposed your influence can any ways reach. The assuming the character of universal pastor-as of the Pope-was a most amazing piece of insolence. And to break, though in a much less degree, on the charges of others, is certainly such a love of pre-eminence as the apostle who wrote the epistle to Gaius would by no means have approved: of this he complains in Diotrephes; and such a conduct must be very contrary to the mind and will of Christ. A concern, however, for his churches in general, an attention to their interests, and an endeavour to promote his honour in all places, as far as our influence extends, must be laudable in every minister, and highly requisite:-not by claiming jurisdiction and authority over them, but by paternal advices, and the councils of humility and affection: not giving umbrage to our brethren, weakening their hands and sinking their esteem, but mingling our zeal and prudence, and unfeigned, brotherly love. If a civil patriot ought to strive to promote the interest, not only of his own town, but of the whole kingdom, certainly a minister of Christ should not only seek the prosperity of that society to which he stands most nearly related, but of the whole kingdom of Christ. Not to mention the case of Paul, who says (1 Cor. xi.) that "The care of all the churches came upon him daily," I would remark, that he seems to recommend to us a concern for the interest of other churches besides our own, in what he says of Epaphras (Col. iv. 12, 13), “Epaphras, who is one of you, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you, in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God; for I bear him record, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are at Laodicea, and them in Hieropolis." In like manner Clemens, an apostolic father, whose epistle is expressed in the language of the purest antiquity, and who is supposed to be the person designated by Paul (Phil. iv. 5), most affectionately interested himself in the affairs of the Church at Corinth, and in the name of the Church where he ministered, "besought them to pursue the things that made for peace, and to reverence their elders." Precious remain of antiquity this! and expressive of that kind affection towards other churches and other ministers, that should animate our breasts. Harmer. It is recorded by Rapin that there was a person, who having preached very miserably before Cardinal Richelieu, went to compliment his eminence after sermon, and added at the close, with an air very unbecoming such an address, "That he had been obliged to resign himself altogether to the direction of the Holy Ghost, having had too short a time for preparation; but that he would not fail to prepare himself for another opportunity, and hoped then to do better." The Cardinal replied with a smile, "That he might at present dispense with his acknowledgments to the blessed Spirit, as being little indebted to Him in his discourse." There should be in the composition of sermons, a unity of design and perspicuity of arrangement. We should ground them upon some evident principle, and deduce from it the most obvious and natural consequences. Each part should fall gracefully into its relative place, and nothing should be introduced but what reflects light upon the leading topic. A skilful painter never diverts the eye of the spectator from the commanding figure in his picture; all the other parts are subordinate, and mutually conspire to augment its attractions and interest. This rule may be subject, like other general rules, to some variations, but a minister of a sound and well cultivated understanding will always aim to select what is most appropriate, rejecting with severity of taste all such irrelevant or inferior matter as tends to dilute and enervate the accumulative strength of his argumentation, or to withdraw the mind from the main point under discussion. Lloyd. Abstract reasonings and deductions of moral argumentation are beyond the capacities of the common people, and even the instruction derived from them is not so impressive and interesting, as that which is conveyed by sensible and picturesque language, to which our Saviour had continual recourse He has put the whole creation under contribution, and caused the visible heavens and the earth with their varied lights and productions, and the ordinary occupations of civil and domestic life, to administer to the illustration of divine subjects. Ibid. : PRECIOUSNESS OF CHRIST. To see the value of food, we must be hungry; of clothing, we must be exposed to the winter's blast; of home, we must be wanderers without a dwelling-place; of medicine, we must be sick; of competence, we must be poor. So, to see the value of the Saviour, we must see that we are poor, helpless, dying sinners; that the soul is of inestimable worth; that we have no merit of our own; and that, unless some one interposes, we must perish. Every one who becomes a true Christian is brought to this condition; and in this state he can appreciate the worth of the Saviour. In this respect, Christians are unlike the condition of the rest of mankind, for they are in no better state to appreciate the worth of the Saviour than the man in health is to appreciate the value of the healing art, or than he who has never had a want unsupplied, the kindness of one who comes to us with an abundant supply of food. The Lord Jesus is in fact of more value to them than any other benefactor. We have had benefactors who have done us good, but none who have done us such good as he has. We have had parents, teachers, kind friends, who have provided for us, taught us, relieved us; but all they have done for us is slight, compared with what he has done, The fruit of their kindness, for the most part pertains to the present life; and they have not laid down their lives for us. What he has done, pertains to our welfare to all eternity; it is the fruit of the sacrifice of his own life. How precious should the name and memory of one be, who has laid down his own life to save us! We owe all our hopes of heaven to him; and in proportion to the value of such a hope, he is precious to us. We have no hope of salvation but in him. Take that away,-blot out the name and character of the Redeemer,-and we see no way in which we could be saved. As our hope of heaven, therefore, is valuable to us; as it supports us in trial; as it comforts us in the hour of death; so is the Saviour precious; and the estimate which we form of him is in proportion to the value of such a hope. There is an intrinsic value and excellency in the character of Christ, apart from his relation to us, which makes him precious to those who can appreciate his worth. In his character, abstractly considered, there was more to attract, to interest, to love, than in that of any other one who ever lived in our world. There was more purity, more benevolence, more that was great in trying circumstances, more that was generous and self-denying, more that resembled God, than in any other one who ever appeared on earth. In the moral firmament, the character of Christ sustains a preeminence above all others who have lived, as great as the glory of the sun is superior to the feeble lights, though so numerous, which glimmer at midnight. With such views of him, it is not to be wondered at, that, however he may be estimated by the world, “to them who believe, he is PRECIOUS." Albert Barnes. BIOGRAPHY. MR. ROBERT RAMSAY, OF JAMAICA. ROBERT, the subject of this brief sketch was born the 2nd March, 1829, in the parish of St. David, in this island. His father was a Scotchman, and at the time of his birth was engaged as an overseer on a coffee property, and the mother of Robert was a slave. After his birth he was found to be of a delicate constitution, and as his father was leaving the property, Robert's early manumission from slavery was obtained for three doubloons. After a few years, his father, who was fond of him, and whose name was given him, came to reside in Kingston, and Robert was brought with him. Whilst here he was sent to school, where he spent some time not only in acquiring knowledge of letters, but of those moral sentiments which in his after life, when converted to God, became the basis of conduct and character for which he was admired by all who knew him. After being at school for a time he was removed, and was apprenticed to the business of a saddler, where he served a few months, but without making much progress. He was also placed under the care of others, who being members of the Wesleyan Conference sent him to the Wesleyan Sabbath School. His father having got married, and having a young family around him, Robert's wants were uncared for, and through poverty he was frequently prevented either going to the Sabbath school or to the house of God. For a short time his guardians were again changed, and it was not until the year 1840, when he was about 11 or 12 years of age, that he was at length settled down under the care of a kind and affectionate female friend, who was a member of the Wesleyan Methodist Association. By this friend and her daughter he was regularly taken to the house of God, and to the Sabbath school. From the seriousness of his manner, and his delight in the Sabbath school, he was subsequently appointed as an assistant teacher. About this time he was again sent to the day school of the London Missionary Society in Kingston, where, through the care and kindness of the teacher he made much progress. Above many children he was favoured with the opportunity, through his female guardian, who adopted him as her son, of visiting various private meetings of the Church, held for mutual edification and improvement among its members. At these meetings his youthful mind was imbibing principles and information which became of great value to him afterwards, when he was deprived totally of his sight. At the age of 14 or 15 years, he was led to join a class and become a member of the Kingston Society. From this time until his death he manifested much consistency of life, and won upon the affections of the preachers, the officers, and older members of the Society; yet he was ignorant of his state, and whilst he was being admired by his fellow-creatures for his outward deportment, he had only the form of godliness. The following statement was given by him on his dying bed, in a very calm and resigned spirit. "On April 13th, 1848, I was struck with a conviction that my religion was only a mere outward form, whilst my sins were still unpardoned, and my soul unprepared for a judgment seat. This state of mind was brought about by my having first on the previous Sabbath heard an awakening sermon from the Rev .Mr. Baxter, on the words "We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ." From this day I was led every |