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BY-ENDS AND CHRISTIAN.

By-ends. My worthy friends and fellow pilgrims, we are all, as you know, going on pilgrimage: I hope you will not take it amiss, if in order to profitable discourse, I propose unto you a question :-Suppose a man shall be able to promote himself in the world, obtain a great name, or some important advantage in the affairs of life, by putting on merely the appearance of Religion; may he not use this means to attain his end, and yet be a very honest man?

Christian. Even a babe in religion may answer ten-thousand such questions as this. If it be unlawful to follow Christ for any earthly good,-as it certainly is, John vi. 26, 27,-surely it is unlawful, nay more, it is abominable, to make of Christ and religion a stalking-horse, or a means to advance our worldly interests, and gratify our carnal desires. We do not find that any other than hypocrites ever did this. The Pharisees in our Lord's time were of this religion. They made long prayers, and loved to pray standing in the corners of the streets, and other places of public concourse; but their real object was, to obtain widows' houses, and gain a name for extraor dinary piety amongst their fellow men: but, says the Scripture, the same shall receive greater damnation. All this while, By-ends and his party stood staring one upon another, but had not one word to answer. At length Christian took upon him to speak again; if those men, said he, addressing himself now to Hopeful, a pilgrim after his own heart,-if those men there cannot stand before the sentence of man, what will they do with the sentence of God? If they are dumb now, when dealt with only with vessels of clay,

what will they do when they shall be rebuked by the flames of a devouring fire?

My dear Readers! suffer one word of friendly warning: except a man be converted from guile, hypocrisy and By-end in religion, and become simple and sincere as a little child, he shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven, Matth. xviii. 3. "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." "There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness." And finally, there are who name the name of Christ, but do not depart from iniquity;" to whom, at the last day, it will be said, "I never knew you, depart from me, ye that work iniquity." J. R.

THE DIFFICULTIES OF SALVATION.

SALVATION implies a deliverance from the guilt and power of sin, together with that state of consummate happiness and peace and joy, which awaits the redeemed in the kingdom of their God and Father above. Salvation is a purchased possession, even purchased by the precious blood of the Lamb slain. Salvation, with all its rich blessings in time and eternity, is offered freely to all who believe in the Son of God, without money and without price. It is the emphatic language of an Apostle, "How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?" The difficulties of salvation are often spoken of, but these difficulties are all our own. The difficulty of salvation is not in God, because "God so loved the world

that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." The difficulty of salvation is not in Christ, because he died to save his people from their sins, and graciously invites all to come unto him that they may have life.

Once more, the difficulty of salvation is not in the Spirit, for he is a Spirit of quickening power to the hearts of men. It is his peculiar office to "take of the things of Christ, and shew them unto us" in all their fulness and adaptation to our spiritual wants and necessities, and God has promised to give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him. If we are not saved the fault is our own; if the spiritual disease under which we labour prove fatal, it is because we cast away the remedy. If happiness and heaven be lost, it will be the consequence of our neglect of the means of securing both. O, my dear Readers, let us thankfully listen to the gracious, the condescending, language of our adorable Redeemer, "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth!" Let us not for a single instant delay seeking our interest by faith in the Saviour's blood and righteousness for pardon and acceptance before God. Every passing hour but increases the difficulty of salvation. The heart becomes more and more hardened, and therefore the avenues of conviction more and more closed. The chains of sin are riveted with a tighter and a firmer coil, and the light of hope is gradually sinking into the darkness of despair. Therefore, "behold now is the accepted time, behold now is the day of salvaCHARLES.

tion."

ANECDOTE.

THERE was a little boy, who rents; he was not six years old.

had very wicked paOne day in harvest

time, when his mother went to glean, she left him with a neighbour, as he was too young to be of any service to her. When she had been gone a short time, he began to grow very tired of doing nothing; and he slipt out of the house somehow, and went to the door of a school which was in the place, when he stopped and knocked at the door several times, until the Mistress came out, when he said, 'Pray, Mistress, take me in and teach me how to be a good boy.' The Mistress said, oh, no, you are much too young, I never take any in here under six years of age. He then went away, but when his Mother went out to glean the next day, he went again to the school, and when the Mistress came out, he again said, 'O pray take me in, and teach me to be a good boy-oh pray do.' The Mistress then could no longer resist his entreaties, and she took him in, and taught him his letters, and when he came again she often took him on her lap, and talked to him about Jesus Christ, and how he came into the world to save such little boys as he was, and he was exceedingly attentive to every thing she said to him, and became a very pious little boy.

When he was just six years old, he was taken very ill, and I was sent for to see him. When I went in and began to talk to him about Jesus Christ, he was much delighted, and said, "Oh, Sir, you talk to me the same things that Mistress did.' He then complained that he had such a very naughty heart. I

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asked him how he knew his heart was naughty, when he answered in the most simple manner, Why, Sir, Governess told me, that God made Adam and Eve quite good, but they did a naughty trick, and then they were naughty; and they had sons who were all naughty, and so, Sir, we are all naughty, and I feel my heart so very very naughty, and, Sir, do you think Jesus Christ can make it good?'

I said, oh yes, my dear little boy, Jesus Christ came into the world to make naughty hearts good. And he said, but do you think that he will make my heart good?" I said, oh yes, my dear little boy, I am sure he will, if you pray to him. He was then quite delighted, and I began to speak to him of the sufferings of Jesus. He was much grieved to hear me say that they pierced his precious hands and feet with nails; and he said, 6 Oh, Sir, if I were to see him now hanging upon the cross, I would run to him and comfort him, and climb up, and clasp him round the neck, and love him so.'

I then spoke to him about the kindness of Jesus in taking up the little children in his arms and blessing them; and the dear little child said again, Oh Sir, if I were to see him now coming up the lane, and if he were to take me up in his arms and bless me, I would kiss him, and clasp him, and love him so.'

I then left him, and on coming again I found him asleep, and his Mother sitting by him in great distress, for she said that the doctor had just been in and said, that he would wake in about a quarter of an hour either a great deal better, or a great deal worse, for that that was the turning point of his disease. I then sat down, and tried to comfort his poor Mother;

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