every mixture of corruption, every tendency to evil, - how the soul exults at the idea! But, secondly, "I shall behold thy face." I shall then, eye to eye, see that Triune Jehovah,

that adorable Saviour, whom here, though unseen, I loved; and to catch a glimpse of whose dear countenance, even thro' many intervening clouds, is now my highest joy; but there I shall behold him as he is, without any separating veil; and bask in the full beams of uncreated glory, through an eternal day-Thirdly, "I shall awake with thy likeness." Not only shall I see him, but the view shall be transforming, - I shalt be like him! This vile body shall be raised like unto his glorious body; and this soul, now contaminated by sin, shall be freed from every spot, and have his own lovely image drawn out in lively colours upon it; the linaments of which, shall be still approaching nearer and nearer to perfection, while eternity itself rolls on. Glorious period! Well might David look forward to it with holy triumph, in the anticipation of complete satisfaction! Why, O my soul, why shouldst thou start at Death, which is but the gate that leads to the fruition of such indescribable glory and felicity? Learn to act a more rational, a more Christian part; make it thy grand business to get a clear and well-founded evidence of thy interest in that precious Redeemer, whose blood and merits can alone give thee a title to those regions of consummate bliss! Then mayest thou live in joyful expectation of the hour that shall burst all thy fetters, and waft thee to his bosom; and cry out, in the language of holy longing, though not of sinful impatience, "Come, Lord Jesus, and come quickly!" E. T. Sandwich,

A MORNING WALK.

EARLY in the month of June, I rose one morning before my customary hour; and not being particularly engaged, treated myself with a rural walk. Nature was inexpressibly beautiful; the Heavens and the earth were full of their Maker's glory, and every object I beheld inspired me with wonder and joy! The scenes with which I was everywhere surrounded possessed every power to charm; and only absolute despair could survey them undelighted. After walking till I was weary, I came to a valley, in which I rested. The sun having exhaled the moisture, I sat down on the grass and indulged the following meditations:

In the course of my walk I had ascended a very lofty hill, and taken a view of the neighbouring country; vast dimen sions of the sky, and extensive tracks of land presented themselves to my view; long did my eyes travel in every direction, 3 L

and exult in the immensity of the surrounding prospects. But I am now in this humbie vale, and can extend my views no further than its contracted limits. I can also remember the time when i was happy in religion; I enjoyed my interest in the love of God, and anticipated the fruition of eternal pleasure. From Christianity I derived the firmest supports, and the most exalted delights. Reflecting on the divine perfections, and looking forward to the joys of Heaven, I felt my cares lighten, the world lost its attraction in my view,-I sustained, the trials of life without depression; and even the solemnities of death itself I contemplated without despair. My prospects were pleasing, and my situation was comfortable; but those sacred felicities, and those blissful periods are now no more-ny mind is involved in darkness and perplexity; I deplore my unhappy state, and reflect upon my departed pleasures. "Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me; when his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness." But changes are not peculiar to a solitary individual; millions who once stood, proud and prosperous, on the tall eminence of prosperity, are now in the gloomy valley of affliction and woe. Noblemen have been stripped of their possessions, and reduced to wretchedness and want; kings have been forced from their thrones, and levelled with their meanest subjects; men of all ranks have proved the instability of earthly comforts, and have known their brightest sun go down at noon. Of these remarks I perceive the importance, and feel the salutary ten-s dency; created good shall no longer be the centre of my depinde e: whatever earth can afford is frail as the morningflower and neeting as the passing wind. For all my temporal enjoyments, I will cherish constant gratitude; but for supreme happiness. I wil apply to a higher source. In the service of God I will seek felicity that cannot be shaken by the storms of lite, nor swept away by the floods of death; felicity as extensive as my desires, and as lasting as my existence.

My present situation convinces me of the impropriety of drawing conclusions from mere appearances. Were I here to judge merely from appearances, I should be ready to assert that this blooming vale and youder scattered huts, are the whole of nature, but a moment's reflection tells me that this is a very small part of creation; that beyond this confined spot are towns abounding with manufactories, palaces sparkling with grandeur, empires wealthy and spacious, innumerable muitie tudes of living creatures, and an astonishing extent of sea and land. In scarcely any case, merely by appearances, should determinations be made. Few are the objects which the human eye, from any post of observation, can distinctly survey. We see but in part. We look at the government of God; wa view him regulating and managing the affairs of the world; but

of his proceedings, only a few circumstances meet our eye. We are not sufficiently elevated, nor are our powers of vision strong enough to see the whole. There are hills and glens, countries and oceans, in the conduct of Deity which we have never seen, and which in time we never shall be able to explore. Circumscribed as our situation and faculties are, we should be careful that we draw no hasty inferences. Cool deliberation, suspended opinion, profound humility, and unreserved submission to the divine decisions, become our capacities and our state. Let man vigorously and rapidly move in the orbit of duty, but never let him start into the eccentrical excursions of precipitate and foreign.conclusion. I would not weaken the energies of ardent but modest enquiry. I would do all I can to spur the soul to application and discovery: while she is docile and humble, let her range through all the creation; let nothing check her researches but the extremities. of universal existence; I wish only to obstruct her entrance into the regions of unwarrantable presumption. In humility, in holiness, in benevolence, and in usefulness, it is impossible to proceed too far;-on the evil of sin, the advantages of Christianity, the infallible connection between causes and effects, and on every thing which is plain and revealed, to pronounce is not arrogant, to decide is not criminal; but to determine on whatever can be only partially seen and imperfectly known, is to step into a province that belongs not to man. Certainly where reason cannot explain, where philosophy cannot penetrate, and especially where Revelation has been silent, we should pause and adore.

:

It is now morning. Three hours ago that darling luminary arose and dissipated the shades of night; in every direction he diffuses his splendor, and innumerable creatures rejoice in his beams; the birds honour him with their music, and the whole creation welcomes his rising; but the sun will soon finish his diurnal task, and retire to the chambers of the west; the skies will lose their lustre, and the clouds array themselves in doleful black; the birds forget their notes and hasten to their silent nests; the flocks be consigned to their pens, and the shepherd trudge home to his hut; the crowds of the city will be dispersed, and all the business of the day terminated : a general inactivity, and a deep silence will overspread the world. Striking emblem of myself, when I shall be overtaken by the night of death! I am now in the enjoyment of health; I experience the bounties of Providence, admire the beauties of nature, and feel the supports of religion: but in a little while I shall be involved in the shades of death! To my habitation and my garden, to my pulpit and my study,to my books and my waiks, to my relations and my friends, and to all my terrestrial pursuits, I must bid an everlasting farewell: death will lay a long embargo on my

tongue, disconcert my present plans and arrangements, and deprive me of all my earthly possessions. For that solemn event, how great should be my preparation! and, till it arrive, how eminent my piety: a thousand considerations should excite my diligence; but I hope nothing should induce me to despair. If the Saviour be my friend, the dark valley will not be terrible; an exchange of worlds will not be disadvantageous; Heaven will open to my view, and I shall rise to its happy fruitions. There, desire is crowned with enjoyment; hope expires in possession, and faith will be lost in sight! There, the sun no more goes down, spring never fades, and the absence of felicity is never lamented! Millions of delights encircle each mind, and immortality is the date of every joy." When I had concluded these reflections I returned home, I hope, considerably benefitted by my morning ramble. Wimborne, Dorset.

J. F.

PARABLE OF THE SOWER.

WAY-SIDE HEARERS.

MAT. XIII. 3, 4, 18, 19.

WHEN Jehovah Jesus dwelt with men upon this earth, he spake as never man spake; and taught divine things as one having authority, not as the scribes. In all the actions which he performed, and in every word which proceeded from his gracious lips, the holiness of his heart, and the heavenly frame of his mind shone forth conspicuous. His very enemies wondered at the gracious words which he spake; while those who had spiritual discernment, felt convinced in their conscience that his was the voice of God, and not of a mere man. The fowls of the air, the flowers of the field, the fishes of the sea, the bread which he did eat, the water which he drank,-these all were improved by his holy and heavenly mind, for con veying spiritual instruction and edification to the souls of men. Even the returning seasons of the year, seed-time and harvest, were introduced by him as similitudes, to present to the view of men the all-important truths of the gospel, and the solema realities of the eternal world.

Many things did he speak in parables to the multitudes whe assembled to hear him; and to his disciples he explained and unfolded the meaning of them. The time when he spake this parable, was probably the spring season, when beholding the husbandmen casting the seed into the ground, his heavenly mind would from this common action, shew the different effects of his gospel on the hearts of men, in every age of the world. The Sower is our Lord Jesus Christ, first in his own personal ministry, afterwards by that of his apostles and by gospel mimisters in every succeeding age, to the end of time. The seed

is the word of God, the gospel of the kingdom; and the reason why it doth not produce fruits of righteousness in all who hear it, is noton account of any bad quality in theseed ; but it is owing to the soil in which it is sown; that is, the depraved tempers and dispositions of them who hear it. It is thevery same seed in quality, which from the hand of the husbandman falls upon the way side, the stony ground, the thorny, and the good ground. The same Gospel of Christ, which, to some hearers is "the savour of life unto life," is to other hearers," the savour of death unto death."

By this parable, four different classes of hearers of the gospel are described, and of those, one class only hear with "the bearing of faith, and to the saving of the soul" the other three sorts of hearers, though they hear the same word of eternal life, hear to no saving purpose. What a serious consideration! how loud a call for self-examination by every heater of the gospel! It may be observed also, that as unfruitfulness is not owing to any bad quality in the seed, neither is it imputable to the sower. Jesus, we all know, was a most faithful and indefatigable preacher, and yet many who heard the gospel preached by him, into whose lips grace was poured, did not receive it in faith and love; and their souls are this day in Hell, Paul and his fellow-labourers preached Christ crucified as the grand appointment of divine wisdom for the salvation of sinners; but while this doctrine was to some the power of God, the wisdom of God, to many others who heard it, it was a stumbling-block, and accounted foolishness. At the same time, it must be observed, that if any, under the name of servants of Christ, preach another gospel, or are unfaithful and indolent in sowing the good seed of the word of God, success is not to be expected; and awful indeed will be the doom of such cha racters! But the labours of faithful and diligent ministers, in preaching the gospel of the kingdom, cannot render it effectual to the salvation of the hearers. Under a deep impression of this, they, by fervent prayer, look up to the God of all grace, who alone can give the increase.

Those represented by the way-side, are the first class of unprofitable hearers of the gospel. It is no wonder that the seed which falls on the way-side should be unproductive: for (ver. 4.) "the fowls came to devour it up ;" which our Lord thus explains (verse 19.) "When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart: this is he who received seed by the way - side." The wicked one is Satan, that great enemy of God, and of the souls of men, ope in nature, though myriads in number. Two reasons are here assigned for unfruitfulness in this sort of hearers of the word of God: one is in themselves, and the otl.er is the agency of infernal spirits: they hear the word of the kingdom, but un