because it does not gratify his inclination for state and splendour. We see the fool, how he makes an expenditure beyond his power, how he ruins himself; whilst he might, with quiet contentment, enjoy the purest pleasures of life: how he himself, through his thoughtlessness, vitiates the good which his station would afford him.

His wishes, his inclinations, all rise above the duties of his calling-he therefore neglects his duties, because his heart is not in them. He becomes unfit for the work, which his station imposes on him. He gives just cause of suspicion against himself; and we doubt his usefulness in more important and weightier business, since he has not shewn himself competent in lesser things.

O my Eternal Heavenly Father! Thou author of all ranks and orders! Thou giver of riches and of poverty! Thou who castest kings from their thrones,-who drivest princes to wander as beggars among strange people-and who raisest the lowly from the ground-I entreat Thee not for riches and honours, not for authority and power; but only for a contented heart-a heart which trusts in Thy wise, Thy never-failing Providence!

The station which Thou hast assigned me in the world is sufficient, so long as I am temperate, to give me all that I require; it is sufficient to afford me and my family many a joyful hour. So will I

then, with silent thankfulness, enjoy what through Thy will I now possess, and not childishly destroy that gift which is in my grasp. I will rest contented with the good, when the

better fails me.

For who knows how long I shall live? Who knows, whether I should long enjoy what I wish for, when at length I have attained it.

Although my station has its discomforts, which I cannot avoid by any foresight or good intentions, custom will at length reconcile me to them. To make my contentment really lasting, I will habituate myself to think more of the actual advantages of my situation, than of the disadvantages. I will make this obvious to my friends and household at every opportunity. Thus will evil lose its sharpest sting, when I am less sensible to its poignancy. Thus will my mind be continually serene, while it sustains the cares of life, and fulfils the duties of my calling. Thus shall I be able to render life delightful to mein the circumstances in which I stand, be they what they may.

Naked and poor I came into the world-poor and naked I shall leave it: I shall take nothing with me but the witness of a good conscience, that in every station of my life I have been upright and useful-after the example of my Divine Instructor Jesus. Oh! for this treasure which never

shall diminish, for this blessing which will remain to me throughout eternal ages, let me perpetually strive. To this purpose, bless my endeavours, my cares, O God, for the sake of Jesus and Thy love. Amen.

VI.

THE POWER OF PRAYER.

1 THESS. V. 17.

"Pray without ceasing."

He who prays, when out of the fulness of his heart, his mouth speaketh to the Infinite Allwise Jehovah, is employed in the most solemn and sublime performance of his life. It is no earthly business; it is heavenly occupation. He passes from the realms of transitoriness into the kingdom of the Spirit to his true home; and he makes use of the highest of all privileges that can be granted to an inhabitant of the earth-communication with the Most Holy, the Most High.

All pray. Not the Christian alone, but also the poorest savage on the banks of the unknown Indian stream, humbles himself before God. Although he directs his word of prayer only to images of stone, or to the stars of heaven, his sigh is duly estimated by the unfathomable Spirit who rules the world, who controls the race of mortals, and

their fate.

The heart of the savage is full of religion, although his understanding be enveloped in deepest darkness.

He who prays with fervent devotion, and with deep humility, raises his hands, and eyes, and soul to God, presents a sight which must affect even the most dissolute, and infuse into his mind a sacred reverence for the Deity. He is constrained to acknowledge: This man is better and greater than I.'

All pray-and this necessity of the human soul to go back to the Source of its existence, is to be considered as a record of its higher extraction, and of its higher destiny in a future state.

The wisest of men pray; for in their breast the longing after an union with God is found to be the strongest. The old man prays; for to him God has more clearly revealed Himself in the wonderful occurrences of life. The king prays :-however the venal tongue of a flatterer may commend him, the tongue which would scarcely name him, if no crown and ensign of authority adorned his brow, he himself perceives his infirmities in the clearest manner. In the midst of the borrowed splendours of his majesty his heart warns him: Thou art mortal,-thou art full of sins; and many an one of thy subjects is more pious, pleasing to God than thou.'

more noble, more The vivacious youth