stumble. In Psa. xxxviii. 16, the Psalmist prays that his enemies might not "rejoice over him when his foot slippeth;" and in Pea. lxvi. 9, he says of the righteous, that God "holdeth their soul in life, and suffered not their feet to be moved." In Deut. xxxii. 35, God says of the wicked, "To me be longeth vengeance, and recompense; their foot shall slide in due time." I can never forget the vividness with which the significancy of this figure was brought home to me on one particular occasion. I was going from Tekoa to Khureitun, where is one of the most remarkable caves in Palestine, called, traditionally, the cave of Adullam, though without sufficient reason. The road crowded us into a narrow footpath between a high cliff on the right hand, and an immense ravine, hundreds of feet deep, on the left. It was almost enough to make the head reel to look into the horrible chasm. A slight confusion of mind, a shelving rock, a slip of the foot, would have hurled the horse and rider to destruction in a moment. As an image of the doom of the wicked, what could be more expressive to the minds of those familiar with such places, than the words, "Their feet shall slide in due time! It was an interesting thought to me, as I was approaching Jerusalem, that one instance of this language occurs in one of the Psalms of Degrees or Pilgrimages, cxxi. 3, 4-a class of Psalms composed for the use of the Hebrews, as they went up to celebrate the yearly festivals in the capital of the nation. Nothing could be more natural than that the pious worshipper, after having surmounted the peculiar dangers of such a journey, should single out his exemption from the casualties of the way, as a special mark of the divine goodness to him. "He suffers not thy foot to slide, How often may these words have given utterance to the grateful joy with which the pilgrim from Galilee, who had crossed the steep mountains of Ephraim, or the pilgrim from the south of Judah, who had pursued his way over lofty summits and along the verge of precipices, having reached at length the holy city, has looked back, almost with shuddering, upon the perils which attended his steps, and blessed the care which watched over him, and brought him in safety to the goal of his hopes and desires! "Standing now are our feet, Within thy gates, O Jerusalem, The tribes of Jehovah as prescribed to Israel, "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me."Gen. xxxii. 26. The river that runs slow, and creeps by the banks, and begs leave of every turf of grass to let it pass, is drawn into little hollows, and spreads itself in smaller portions, and dies with diversion; but when it runs with vigorousness, and a full stream, and breaks down every obstacle, making it even as its own brow, it stays not to be tempted with little avocations, and to creep into holes, but runs into the sea through full and useful channels. So is a man's prayer. If it moves on the feet of an abated appetite, it wanders into the society of every trifling accident, and stays at the corners of the fancy, and talks with every object it meets, and cannot arrive at heaven; but when it is carried on the wings of faith and strong desires, a swift motion, and a hungry appetite, it passes on through all the intermediate regions of clouds, and stays not till it dwells at the foot of the throne, where mercy sits, and thence sends holy showers of refreshment.-Jeremy Taylor. At Anata, the Anathoth of Scripture, I observed that the roofs of some of the houses were partially covered with grassa circumstance which I noticed also in several other places. As the roofs of the common dwellings are flat, and, instead of being built of stone or wood, are coated with plaster or hardened earth, a slight crop of grass frequently springs up in that situation. Such vegetation, however, having no soil into which it can strike its roots, and being exposed to a scorching sun, rarely attains to any great height, or continues long; it is a feeble, stunted product, and soon withers away. Hence the sacred writers sometimes allude to the grass on the house-tops as an emblem of weakness, frailty, and certain destruction. Thus, in Psa. cxxix. 6, 7, it is said,— "They shall be ashamed, and turn back, They shall be as grass upon the house-tops, In Isa. xxxvii. 27, the prophet says, with Each link is strong and bright; reference to the people of Judah,— "And their inhabitants were of feeble power, They were confounded and dismayed; They became as grass of the field and the green herb, As the grass of the house-tops, and the blasted corn. Hackett's Scripture Illustrations. The master of the house had laid in a stock of earth, which was carried up, and spread evenly on the roof. The roof is thus formed of mere earth, laid on and rolled hard and flat. On the top of every house is a large stone roller, for the purpose of hardening and flattening this layer of rude soil, so that the rain may not penetrate; but upon this surface, as may be supposed, grass and weeds grow freely. It is to such grass that the psalmist alludes as useless and bad.-Jowett's Christian Researches in Syria. A VOICE FROM HEAVEN; Anticipating Resurrection-Glory. (FROM THE 'CHRISTIAN SENTINEL.") I SHINE in the light of God; His likeness stamps my brow; And love's electric chain Flows freely down, like a river of light, Do you mourn when another star Then why should your tears run down, J. L. Died April 21th, 1881. STUDY CHRIST, NOT SELF. WE have often thought that Christians miss the best road to growth in piety by a too morbid scrutiny into their own hearts, instead of an inspiring study of Christ and his teachings. We find little in ourselves that is cheering, but our sufficiency is in Christ. So long as his love is infinite and his grace omnipotent, no Christian heart need despond. We have met with some thoughts on this point which, though perhaps too Through the valley of death my feet have strongly expressed, are nevertheless sug trod, And I reign in glory now! No breaking heart is here, No keen and thrilling pain, No wasted cheek, where the frequent tear Hath rolled and left its stain. I have reached the joys of heaven: I have learn'd the song they sing, No sin, no grief, no pain; Safe in my happy home; My fears all fled, my doubts all slain, Oh! friends of mortal years, The trusted and the true! Ye are watching still in the valley of tears, But I wait to welcome you. Do I forget? oh, no! For memory's golden chain Shall bind my heart to the hearts below, Till they meet to touch again. gestive: If you will allow me for once to say what I think you will find the greatest possible help, it is in studying the character of Christ, not your own. Read the Gospels-to trace out, in every miracle, and word, and act, and touch, and in every step of the path He trod-what was His character, and how it, developed itself; and I think, with the Spirit's help, you will forget your walk in thinking of His, and your emptiness in His fulness; and thus, by beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, you will be "changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." . I do think that Satan hinders Christians more by discouraging them, with showing them their perpetual shortcomings and failures, and their sad want of conformity to Jesus, with all its results, than in any other way; and I cannot help feeling, that in urging self-examination, in the way so many good men do, they really aid the mischief. I like what McCheyne said, "For every look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ;" only I would double it and us our depravity than poring over our treble it, and almost say, "Never look at own? self at all." I believe that it is when we are most occupied with Christ that we are most useful to others, however unconscious we may be of it, and however conscious (as, of course we shall be more than ever) of our unlikeness to him. I cannot find a single instance in which, either in the Gospels or Epistles, Christians are taught, by example or by precept, to make a study of their own hearts. I cannot help thinking that inward experiences have far too much taken the place of the study of Christ and of the character of God, and that this accounts in a great measure for the low and desponding state of so very many Christians. Do you not think that the constant study of His character would far more effectually teach THE LAST OF STERNE. THE celebrated writer, Sterne, after being long the idol of the town, died in a mean lodging, without a single friend who felt interested in his fate, except Becket, his bookseller, who was the only person that attended his interment. He was buried in a graveyard near Tyburn, belonging to the parish of Marylebone; and the corpse being marked by some of the resurrection-men (as they are called), was taken up soon afterwards, and carried to an anatomyprofessor of Cambridge. A gentleman who was present at the dissection told me he recognised Sterne's face the moment he saw the body.-Life of Malone. CHINA. Missions. WE are favoured, this month, with an unusual number of letters from our missionaries in China, which claim attentive perusal. The first, from the Rev. W. S. Swanson, is addressed to the Convener, and is dated - Amoy, 3rd June, 1861. MY DEAR DR. HAMILTON, Mr. Talmage and I went, on Saturday last, to visit Pechuia, and to observe the ordinance of the Lord's Supper there. The visit besides had some features of very peculiar interest, which have refreshed our own hearts here, and will, I hope, have a similar influence on the Church at home. For some time past we have been regretting that the Pechuia Church, notwithstanding all her trials, was hardly exhibiting such signs of life as we could have wished, but of late we have been hoping that there were indications of revival. The first-fruits of these were yesterday reaped in the admission of three into the Christian Church. On Saturday night the candidates were examined for the last time, and on Sabbath they sat down with the others at the Lord's table. A large number of Christians were assembled from all the stations around, and all seemed refreshed by the exercises of the day. Besides those who were received, there are still a number of candidates desiring admission, but of whom we have not as yet got evidence so satisfactory as to warrant us to admit them by baptism into the Church of Christ. I hope the Church at home will not cease to pray for us, that these droppings may be but the tokens of an abundant harvest. At Bay-Pay, also, there are several candidates; and at Soatau, near Bay-Pay (the region of the Sisterhood), the word of the Lord seems to be taking deeper and deeper root. Of the three admitted at Pechuia one was baptized at Amoy, in infancy, her parents being Christians, and at this time was admitted, after examination, to the Church. Another is the widow of one of the Pechuia deacons, and the third is daughter of the old cloth merchant, elder at Pechuia, who resides at a distance of six miles from Pechuia, but who, though beaten by her husband, and persecuted by others, and at such a distance from ordinances, has maintained a faithful and consistent testimony. Besides these, two children of Church members were baptized. There would have been three, were it not that one died during the week, the child of the old elder's eldest son. Ere I close this letter I have still one distinguishing mark of the Lord's kindness to record. Of late we have frequently written of a suburb of Amoy, called E-NungKang; of our attempts to open a chapel there; of our failure at first, from bitter In another letter to one of the treasu. rers, dated 19th June, he says I write at present to give you an account of a visit Mr. Douglas and I have made to Bay-Pay, and from which we have just returned. hostility and persecution; then of our re- or two, to take steps towards filling up the newed attempts, and the ultimate freedom vacancies in the Eldership and Deaconship from annoyance. Yesterday the first-fruits of Pechuia and Bay-Pay, and this matter we of that station were reaped in the admis- would desire you to make a subject of spesion by baptism of a man whose case from cial prayer.-W. S. S. beginning to end is one of very deep interest. He first became impressed with the Gospel at a place half-way between this and Anhai, where on the way the "Gospel Boat used to stop. From this place he removed to E-Nung-Kang, and continued deeply interested in the Gospel. In his house at E-Nung-Kang, the first meetings in that place were held. Yesterday he was baptized by Mr. Douglas, in our little chapel there. For some time past we have been employing him as a hired man in the Gospel Boat," and have had every reason to be satisfied with his consistent walk and conversation. At the same time two of his children were baptized, and two children of another of our boatmen, thus making five in all in that place where, a few months ago, opposition and hostility to the Gospel were strongly manifested. I may also mention that both these men's wives are candidates, whom we hope soon to receive. In the American chapels in Amoy, with which we are so closely connected, there were admissions, and so also, I believe, in the London Missionary chapels. 66 Mr. Grant, as you know, will, we hope, ere you receive this, have arrived at Singapore, to manage Church matters there. In this case, of course, there are none here except Mr. Douglas and myself, and, although I should be thankful that I can even now do something in the work, yet you cannot forget that I am but eleven months here this day, and my share of work must as yet, consequently, be small. And here we are then, at present, with five important stations, and only Mr. Douglas and myself and how soon any of us may be laid aside we cannot tell. Even were Mr. Grant here, there are not sufficient for the work, and were it not that our American brethren and we mutually assist each other, the exigencies of the case would be greater than they are. As it is, the call to the Church to send more men is very loud and very strong. We leave the case with the committee, feeling certain that it will be treated by them with all Christian liberality and prudence. But, besides, we appeal to the Church, who can aid the committee in this great and important matter. This week Mr. Douglas and I propose (D.V.) starting for Anhai, and the news of that visit we shall not neglect giving you. For some time past we intended to hold a congregational meeting for the purpose of electing additional elders and deacons for this congregation, as at present there is but one elder and two deacons, while the congregation has been increasing and spreading over a large tract of country. I believe you already know, that in connection with Bay-Pay there is the sta tion at Kang-Khau, as well as the members who reside at Soa-tau. We appointed Tuesday, the 18th of June, for a congregational meeting for the above purpose, and for appointing one of their number to act as a preacher in the country around. Mr. Douglas went to Bay-Pay on Friday last, and preached on the subject there on Sabbath. On Monday I set out to join him, accompanied by Dr. and Mrs. Carnegie and Mrs. Swanson. The Doctor and the ladies only went as far as Pe chuia, returning the same night. Of course you know that for ladies to go into the country is something very new. When we got to Pechuia, the sight of the missionaries' wives created a great sensation. They went to the chapel accompanied by a great number, who seemed much astonished at such a sight, but who showed not the slightest sign of rudeness. The brethren were very much delighted to meet with them. I went on to Bay-Pay that evening, and next day our meeting was held. We had a most encouraging attendance of members from all the quarters around, some from Kang-Khau. The present chapel-keeper was elected as preacher, and the people there and then subscribed a very liberal sum (for them) towards defraying his monthly expenses. The office of chapel-keeper thus being vacant, we gave the congregation the right of election to it, although properly it be longs to us. One of the deacons already in office was unanimously elected. Thereafter, two elders and one deacon were elected, and if these are ordained there will then be three elders and three deacons in the congregation. Of those newly elected, one elder is at present preacher in Kang. P.S.-We expect, in the course of a week Khau, and if ordained, will prove very With kindest regards, I am yours ever, W. S. SWANSON. valuable, as that is so far removed from Bay-Pay. After the transaction of some minor matters of business, the meeting closed, some returning to their homes that night, and others remaining till to-day. Mr. Douglas and I felt very much cheered and refreshed by the spirit of unanimity and warmth that pervaded the minds of all. After the ordination, we will give you more particulars. We have appointed the ordination to be on 14th July, and in the intervening time to receive objections, if there be any. In haste, I am, yours most truly, nearly all are gone. At this moment one on hymns founded W. S. SWANSON. Mr. Matheson, one of the treasurers, lately received the following from the Rev. W. C. Burns, dated Swatow (Double Island), June 4th, 1861. DEAR SIR, I drew upon you as treasurer a fortnight ago (May 23rd) for £50 sterling, being my first draft on this year's account. The bills were made payable, for security, to Mr. Mackenzie, whose headquarters at present are Swatow (proper), where we draw our money. Mr. Smith, as no doubt you will hear from himselt directly, is still at Fam-chaw. We have not had a messenger from him for ten days past, and we are now again expecting one. My head quarters in his absence have been at Tat-How-Po, from which I came this morning, and to which, in the evening (D.V.), I shall walk back. We have not anything very remarkable to record in regard to the progress of the truth there. The people generally remain very indifferent to the claims of the Gospel; and the only class who come to us regularly are poor people, who hope to get a cash or two from us. Whether we preach to this class or not, they will come in large numbers and at all hours, and by fixing the morning as the time for giving them an alms, we secure that they hear what is of more value than all riches, and at the same time free ourselves from a cause of constant interruption during the day. Some of these poor people listen with attention; and I trust that in some hearts the seed of the Word may take root and bring forth fruit to life eternal. In the April number of the " Messenger," the new colloquial hymns in this dialect (not in this alphabet-a thing unknown in China generally) are alluded to. It is a cause of thankfulness that that small collection meets with much acceptance; and we give away a good many of it as a tract, besides using it in schools and in worship: 2,000 have already been printed, and 66 You mountains," and "Blow ye the trumpet, blow." Of these, the morning and evening hymns, with "I'm not ashamed," &c., and Christ the Lord is risen to-day," were first sketched by Mr. Smith. will, no doubt, be surprised to hear that Mr. Grant has gone to Singapore. First the duty seemed to lie on me; then, when I could not get away, Mr. Douglas considered the question whether he ought not to go; and finally, as you will otherwise hear, Mr. Grant having been laid aside for some weeks by a fall, the brethren at Amoy decided that he should go. Although I regret his loss for a time to the Amoy Mission, I have great hope that he may be an instrument in the Lord's hand of doing much good there, both among our own countrymen and the Chinese. I find I must finish in haste, as the steamer is at Swatow, and is now, I see, preparing to pass down by this island for our letters, &c. Pray much for us. Yours ever truly, WM. C. BURNS. The following communication, from the Rev. Alexander Grant, informs us of his safe arrival at Singapore, and states reasons for his unexpected visit to that place. His letter will be read with interest: Singapore, 21st June, 1861. MY DEAR MR. MATHESON,-You have probably heard by last mail from Mr. Douglas the reasons that led the missionaries at Amoy (and Mr. Burns at Swatow) to conclude that one of us ought to go down to see the congregation in connection with us at Singapore. Since coming here I have seen pretty much the importance of doing so from the peculiar circumstances of the congregation of the Scotch Church here. The Chinese population here is variously estimated at from sixty to as high as eighty thousand. A very large proportion of these are, as you may know, Amoy or Fokien people, and of the rest many understand |