like him, gathered together with their families in a solemn act of worship; for not only are “the elders, officers, and judges, and all the congregation of Israel recognized as present at this great sacrifice, but mention is also made of "the women and the little ones, and the strangers that were conversant among them."

What a contrast between these two worshipping assemblies! In the first we behold the head of a single family, in a land of strangers, establishing the service of the one true God among his relatives and dependants; treasuring up the scanty revelation of His will, and following with patient hope the leadings of His providence through faith in the Divine promises and in the last, we behold his seed, multiplied as the stars of heaven, triumphantly taking possession of the promised land, rich in the recorded will and worship of God, and rejoicing in the fulfilment of those very promises which their believing progenitors saw only "afar off," but which they were fully persuaded of and embraced, by means of that faith which gives evidence of things hoped for, though yet unseen. Such are the blessings attendant upon the family altar; such is the faithfulness of God in keeping covenant and mercy with his servants to a thousand generations.

The darkness which covered the nations has in part been dispelled, and now in place of the one family altar, there are thousands of worshipping households, daily drawing near to God, in the way of his own appointment, by means of the one perfect and sufficient sacrifice. But it would be too much to suppose that in every such assembly all are the true servants of the God whom they profess to serve. How

many a Christian family so occupied might find their prototypes in that which was collected round the altar at Sichem. One of that household, perhaps, like Abram, confessing himself a stranger and pilgrim upon earth, devoted to the service of that God who hath called him to the hope of a heavenly inheritance, and commanding his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment:—another, like Sarai, a model of conjugal and matronly duty, but defective in faith, and through that deficiency too often contributing to mar the peace and harmony of her household :—the younger member, like Lot, wearying of the pilgrim's life, thirsting for the acquisition of this world's good; for a settlement in the land, and an intercourse with its ungodly inhabitants. And the servants also: some few like Eliezer, profiting by their privileges, bowing down the head and worshipping the God of their master; fulfilling all their service heartily as unto the Lord, and becoming instrumental in conveying blessings to the families they serve: and others, like those disorderly herdsmen mentioned Gen. xiii. 7, who, in full opposition to the known habits of their employer, and to the precepts of the God of peace, spend their days in strife and contention with their fellow-servants, bringing dishonour on the religious profession of their master, in the sight of his unbelieving neighbours, grieving his heart, and causing disunion, separation, and loss in his household.

God is the author of the family, and of all the blessed results that flow from that master-contrivance of Divine wisdom. He is the God of all the families of the earth, though all do not know him as such. But there is now, as formerly, one family peculiarly

dear to him. The name which is above every name is upon them, the name of Jesus, "of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named." While strangers and pilgrims below, they appear few and feeble compared with the aborigines of the soil, the children of this world: but in that day, when the Captain of their host, the heavenly Joshua, shall arise to lead them into that rest which remaineth, they will have become a great multitude whom no man can number. The years of wandering completed, the waters of the Jordan passed,-they shall enter with joy and gladness into possession of their heavenly inheritance; they shall dwell there, and go no more out, for their rest shall be glorious.

LYDIA.

DIEU nous a daigné exprimer l'union spirituelle au Sauveur par des symboles les plus touchantes. Il la peigne, dans les Ecritures Saintes, sous les figures de l'union des rameaux à l'arbre, des membres à la tête, de la femme à son mari. * * * Je ne sais pas comment il a plu au Sauveur de faire cette union intime entre Soi et son peuple; mais j'éprouve que je ne suis qu'un râme flétri, sans être uni à Jésus, comme mon cep; que je suis une membre morte, si je ne suis pas uni à Jésus, comme ma tête; que je suis une âme veuve, sans être unie à Jésus, comme mon Epoux Eternel.-Dean of J——.

145

A PRAYER,

AS DELIVERED BEFORE A SERMON AT LONG ACRE EPISCOPAL CHAPEL, ON THE 8TH OF FEBRUARY, 1829, BY THE LATE REV. WM. HOWELS, M.A.

O THOU infinitely great and blessed God, whose love and compassion are commensurate with thyself; this glorious truth is revealed to us in the most comprehensive manner in the gift of thy Son, to deliver and redeem us from this world, and to communicate the gift of thy Spirit, to invest us in a love which is to raise us from all the ruin and depths of the fall, and to preserve us in a state of purity and holiness, and consequently of peace for ever and ever. May these sublime truths constitute the delight and glory of our lives. We have been too long feeding on the trifles of time and sense; enable us to ascend above them and to live in thy presence; forgive us the wickedness of our past lives, and do thou be pleased, in the spirit of true religion, to lead us into the recesses of our hearts, to weep over our own sins and the sins of our nation, and at the same time to repose implicit confidence in thy promises, in thy mercy, and in thy love. Enable us to make a holy and wise use of all thy providential dispensations. Bless us at the present moment: and, O thou God of heaven, be pleased to have mercy upon Britain, make her depart from iniquity, and cause thy church FEBRUARY, 1840.

L

house to house, where their steps never trod before, where they never may tread again, they go distributing everywhere the Bible, and exhorting the people to walk by the light of this lamp of salvation.

The missionary who goes into heathen lands finds them overshadowed by the gloom of paganism. Like a mighty forest, whose giant trees have for ages past excluded the light and warmth of day, it casts a deadly shade on the life of man, intercepting and perverting the natural blessings and endowments of heaven. The nations of Europe, however, dwell not in darkness such as this: the forest has been levelled to the earth. But how? By the force of human reason? No; the light which modern philosophy does possess, it has drawn from the revelation which it denies the knowledge which instructs man no longer to bow down before the vain idols of his own workmanship, and conveys to him the idea of one Great Being, the Creator and Upholder of all this material world, was not obtained by the profound researches of the reasoning sceptic, but derived by him, however unconsciously, from Christianity.

A country in which the great doctrines of our faith, though disregarded and disobeyed, have long been known and acknowledged, is in a very different position, with regard to the reception of the gospel, from a heathen land.

The colporteurs, whose labours in the latter would be useless, have been found in the former among the most successful means in reviving, by the help of the Lord, the dormant spirit of Christianity.

The profound ignorance upon religious subjects which prevails among all classes of French society, is well depicted in the following passage, extracted