tory we have been contemplating, even the agonizing death which the Saviour endured, is described by a term of peculiar mildness, an Exodus. And well may we thus speak of this subject, for to those who die in the Lord, death is a regeneration, and the hour of their departure from this present scene is the time of their new birth into a blessed immortality. There is, however, enough of solemnity in the transactions of a dying hour, to impart to our frequent meditations thereon the most salutary influence. Reflections on death would give a tone of calm sobriety to our minds, correct and regulate our attachments to this world, and keep us in a state of watchfulness and prayer. In the time, especially, of much spiritual enjoyment, we should frequently think upon our latter end, as Christ has left us an example, who spake, on the mount of his glory, of that decease which he was shortly to accomplish at Jerusalem. And as we should meditate upon the bright prospects that await us, whenever we are overwhelmed by the pressure of present afflictions, lest we should be utterly cast down, so whenever we are in a state of elevated spiritual joy, we should meditate upon the certainty and nearness of dissolution, in order that we may not be exalted above measure by the abundance of those manifestations of the presence of our God which may have been graciously vouchsafed to us.

Let us likewise be incited by this portion of sacred history, to seek for a deeper acquaintance with the great mystery of redeeming love. The inhabitants of Heaven desire to dwell upon this all-absorbing theme; and never are the faculties of the highest angel more tried and tested than when they come into contact with this subject, which none but God him

self can fully comprehend. The immensity of space is a great subject, but the immensity of the love of God in the gift of his Son, to die for the guilty, is an infinitely greater. The death of Christ is the great centre and pivot, around which all the purposes of eternal mercy revolve. It brought together all the attributes of God into one magnificent point of concentration, for the exhibition of a love to man which shall never be extinguished; for the light that shines from the cross of Emmanuel does not resemble the brightness of a star, which diminishes as it travels on its path through space, but sheds the same amount of glory upon the most remote of this world's generations, as it did upon those who felt its first and newborn rays as they came fresh from the sacred heart of Jesus. Oh! let us then seek to know more of this great truth. Moses and Elias had often spoken and testified about it, but here they seem as if they would not lose the opportunity of drawing information from the fountain-head of divine love. May we be enabled by the Holy Spirit to meditate profitably on this great subject! and may our meditations issue in a greater manifestation of love to him! Thus shall we be prepared for the engagements of an eternal world, where our happiness shall be to join in the song of the redeemed-" Unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."

(To be continued in our next.)

417

AN EVENING HYMN.

When the last steps of ling'ring day

Are fading in the west away,

And gloomy evening over all

The landscape, spreads her fun'ral pall;

Then, O my Saviour, may I be

Still seen, and beard, and known of Thee-
Upon my darkling pathway shine,

And fill me with thy light divine.

Ere sinking in the arms of sleep,
May I my day-light follies weep;
Not with repentance light and vain,
Of which I must repent again ;-

But with that lasting change of mind
Which every folly casts behind;
Which calls me from my sin away,

Hears no excuse, brooks no delay.

Thus cleans'd from guilt, thus "pure in heart,"
The blest assurance, Lord, impart,

That thine own promise e'en to me

Shall firmly stand,-"Thou God shalt see."

Then come what will-betide what may,
Not hell itself can take away

The joyful thought; the Christian's night
Is brighter than the world's daylight.
Petersfield.

S. W. H.

THE LAST DAYS OF JEAN LOUIS M

BY AN EYE-WITNESS.

-D.

MANY families of piety and of consideration in the country where Mr. Jean Louis M-d lived and died, are witnesses to the truth of the facts which we lay before our readers. We mean, however, those readers who, in their search after truth, examine carefully into the impressions which the soul of man receives, when in those circumstances where it is least liable to deception.

Mr. Jean Louis M- -d was twenty-seven years of age, unmarried, and the son of one of the magistrates of the town of N- -n. He had been suffering for about six years from a pulmonary disease of complicated character, which had now reached its last stage. He had been tenderly nursed by his family, which was a numerous and united one; and was the object of much interest among his fellow-townsmen. He was a young man of an impartial and unbiassed disposition, and of regular and studious habits. But unfortunately he had searched for wisdom in the books of the French encyclopedists, and subsequently in the conversation of German rationalists. Their pretensions to stoical heroism, and their false and deceiving criticisms, had implanted in the heart of the young invalid the deep roots of unbelief and philosophical pride. Even to the last month of his life, he

denied the necessity of a Saviour, regarding the doctrine as incompatible with the moral condition of his soul, and the perfections of his God. Few of those who surrounded him had attempted to combat his fatal error, and none of them had succeeded in enlightening his mind either directly or indirectly; not even when they brought to him two men as remarkable for their reputation of gentle charity as for the distinguished works they have published to advance the kingdom of Christ. Indeed, he had even begun to shew a distaste to some among his own relations or friends, who had lately become engrossed in the study of the gospel. They therefore endeavoured to confine their care and attention to the bodily necessities of the poor sufferer; at the same time they did not cease to entreat the Lord, that He would cause His light to shine into his heart, in order to the salvation of his soul.

One of his sisters, whose affectionate attentions were peculiarly welcome to him, attempted yet once again, when quite alone with him, and when his sickness had nearly reached its close, to win him to seek the intercession of Christ between himself and the eternal God; and to meditate on His perfect holiness, and the love which he shewed towards us in the sacrifice of himself upon the cross. 'Do you not believe in it,' she asked, with the most anxious solicitude? 6 No; I do not believe it,' he answered, almost stifled by his excessive emotion. I know that I must soon die. I believe in God-I often pray to Him as a Saviour, but I never can believe in a divine Saviour becoming man—the Almighty had no need to send us one upon earth: therefore let us say no more on the subject.' Shortly afterwards, a crisis