blessed God for the consolations with which he had cheered her last days, and for the glory which I felt confident she was then admitted to share.

Here then, reader, I will conclude my illustrations of the text, that “at eventide it shall be light;" not because I could not produce more, but because these are sufficient. And now should it be inquired, wherefore does it arise that so many people are found, who, though they fear the Lord, and are desirous of obeying the voice of his servants, yet walk in darkness through much of their day? It may be replied, that this is partly owing to a want of faith; partly to indistinct views of the freeness and fulness of the Gospel; often to constitutional nervous depression and bodily infirmities acting on the spirits; and partly from the power of the enemy of souls, when he is permitted to harass and perplex humble-minded pilgrims in this way. From some, or from all of these causes, many a soul now in heaven was led for months or years by a dark and gloomy path. While others were rejoicing, these were weeping; while others could trust and not be afraid, these walked in fear all the day long; while others had light and comfort in their dwelling, these had darkness and sometimes almost despair. But, blessed be God, in thousands of cases it hath come to pass, that at eventime it has been light; the clouds have broken away; the Sun of Righteousness has arisen upon them; they have been enabled to trust, and not be afraid-to rejoice in hope of

the glory of God-to die in the Lord-and to become kings and priests unto God, and the Father, with whom they shall reign for ever and ever. O that he who records this, and they who read it, may be added to the number! Then, indeed, will our sorrows be turned into joy, and the days of our mourning be for ever ended.

No. XIII.

"WHY should it be thought a thing incredible that God should raise the dead?" was a well-timed, and most interesting question, put by the great apostle Paul to Agrippa, when standing before him in bonds at Cesarea and why, it may now be asked, should it be thought impossible, or even improbable, that the feelings and exercise of the pure and sublime doctrines of the gospel of our blessed Redeemer, should be incompatible with the most refined taste and highest enjoyments of the mind of man? True, the resurrection of the dead was a doctrine of strange import, to some who visited the palace of Agrippa; and the enjoyments of active piety, the contemplation of a future state, and the endeavours to draw the attention of others to these important topics, may, to some minds, appear strange, ill-timed, and very unlikely to promote enjoyment. But in both cases the surprise will vanish as the theme is pursued ; and in the latter the enjoyment will surely follow as the pursuit is reduced to practice. It hath pleased the Divine Being to consult the present happiness, as well as the future felicity, of his rational creatures in every command he has laid on man:-not one thing has he forbidden which would not prove injurious in the possession- not one has he commanded but which,

in its very nature, is calculated to promote our peace. Did all who profess to be believers in, and followers of, Christ, indeed understand what he taught, they would at once be convinced of this: and did those who profess to reverence the divine precepts endeavour to learn them more fully in that active obedience they enjoin, then should we have multitudes, of all ranks and orders of men, coming forward and declaring that the path of Christian duty was not that rugged track they had once imagined, but that in obeying God they found much delight. This would certainly be the case in every department of Christian labours, but more especially so in visiting, instructing, and administering to the wants of those poor and needy families, which Providence has placed around our mansions, with the express view of being under our protection and kind offices. In travelling across the country, wherever the lofty roof of a nobleman's palace, or gentleman's mansion, presents itself to view, one is almost sure to find either a village, or hamlet, or at least several cottages, not far off. Very frequently these humble dwellings are so arranged, as to give a very correct idea of the mansion being a kind of bountiful mother placed in the midst of a large family, to whom they all look up with cheerful expectation of supplies in time of distress, and of counsel and comfort in the day of difficulty and sorrow. That all this is realized in many instances, there can be no doubt; and that it should not be so in every one, is matter of serious regret; not only as it concerns the poor,

but as it concerns the rich. Indeed, there is something so truly Christian, so like the practice of the Saviour, in going about doing good in the way I have hinted, that if any thing on earth can make a family of young ladies appear more amiable and lovely than all the others of their interesting sex, it is when doing as some do, who fall under my frequent notice, I mean, in taking all proper occasions of walking out to the cottages in their neighbourhood, and endeavouring to animate, to instruct, to direct and relieve those (and especially the female branches of the family) who most require such assistance. These are visits of mercy; and if conducted in the simple desire of comforting the afflicted, warning the careless, and encouraging the timid and oppressed heart, HE, who promised his blessing on the gift of a cup of cold water, will not allow such services to pass unnoticed. Much has been said of the ingratitude and stupidity of the poor, by many who have done little or nothing to befriend or instruct them. On the other hand, the ridiculous pictures of rural innocence and cottage felicity, again and again painted by our writers of novels and romances, have only served to make all the sad realities of life and positive facts appear tenfold more gloomy than they really are, to many who have but once or twice lifted up the latch of the cottager's door. To those who really understand and believe the Scriptures, there can be but one opinion, that Christian principles and practice will make the poorest individual an interesting and respectable character, while the absence of