A SOLEMN ADMONITION.

PASSING through a country grave-yard the other day, an inscription on a head-stone struck my eye. The stone was by the side of the path, where every one could see it, and it was placed there in memory of a young man who died at the age of seventeen. I felt it was calculated to do good, I therefore brought it away in my memory, and now copy it in hope that it may benefit some one. It was,

"Reader, one moment,
Stop, and think,
That I am in eternity!

And you are on the brink."

In eternity! A young man, only seventeen years of age, in eternity! In a fixed, a changeless state. In heaven, or in hell! Saved with an everlasting salvation, or lost for ever. If it should be the latter, what a fearful supposition! And yet many have gone to hell, before they have been seventeen years of age.

"He is in eternity, and you are on the brink." Yes, though you may be young, apparently healthy, full of life and spirits, you are on the brink of eternity. A slight

accident, a few days illness, and you are in eternity. What a solemn thought! Whatwill eternity be to you? Where will you be in eternity? Are your sins pardoned? Are you reconciled to God by the death of his Son? Are you sanctified by the Holy Spirit, and thus made meet for heaven? If not, you are on the brink of eternity: you should lose no time, for if you once pass through the portals of death in an unprepared state, all will be over with you. There is no gospel, no sabbath, no means of grace, no bible, no way of escape from the wrath of God, in hell. Once there, and your doom is fixed for ever. Think, O think, of the dreadful consequences of dying in your sins! Of going down to the grave in an unconverted state! Of dying under the curse of God! Presume not on the mercy of God, for God has no mercy for impenitent sinners. The words of Jesus will be found true to the very letter, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

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"There are no acts of pardon pass'd,
In the cold grave to which we haste;
But darkness, death, and long despair,
Reign in eternal silence there."

Behold, now is the accepted time! Behold, now is the day of salvation! Now you may be pardoned, sanctified, and saved. Now you may obtain mercy, and find grace to fit you for heaven. Now the Father will

receive and forgive you. Now the Son will wash you in his blood, and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Now the Holy Spirit will create in you a clean heart, teach you the way of truth, and fill you with joy and peace. Now believe in Jesus, now come to God by him, now ask for the Holy Spirit, and you shall be saved.

R

Eternity is just at hand;

And shall I waste my ebbing sand,
And careless view departing day,
And throw my inch of time away?

Eternity-tremendous sound!

To guilty souls a dreadful wound;
But O! if Christ and heav'n be mine,
How sweet the accents! how divine!

Be this my chief, my only care,
My high pursuit, my ardent pray'r,
An interest in the Saviour's blood,
My pardon seal'd, and peace with God.

But, should my brightest hopes be vain,
The rising doubt, how sharp its pain!
My fear, O gracious God, remove;
Confirm my title to thy love.

Search, Lord, O search my inmost heart;
And light, and hope, and joy impart :
From guilt and error set me free,
And guide me safe to heav'n and thee.

rest."

THE MATTER CLEARED UP.

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I HAD been passing through a series of trials -had been exercised with bitter disappoint ments, and was plied with powerful tempta tions. Gloom rested on the spirit, discontent was working in the mind, and the whole physical system was in a very irritable state. Everything looked dreary, and the spirit was crying out, Oh! that I had wings like a dove, for then would I fly away and be at Oh, how sweet the thought of resthow desirable repose appeared. Heaven itself was longed for now, principally, as a place of rest-as the sabbath of the soul. Sore weariness and painful languor were felt, and a disposition to fret began to appear. The way was rough, the soul was discouraged, and the design of the Lord was not perceivable. Just at this moment, when under these circumstances, the word of the Lord came home, and three words were enough to produce an entire change; they were "To HUMBLE THEE." Deut. viii. 2. Ah! then I saw what the Lord was about. I understood the design of the dispensation. I bowed the head in reverence, and exclaimed, “Be it unto me according to Thy word."

All my heavenly Father intended, by allowing me to be tried as I was, was to humble me. The design of my most gracious God was holy, just, and good. Yes, yes, I need humbling. The low place alone is the safe place for me. The lower the safer-the lower the happier. It is when I have very low views of myself that I have high and exalted views of Jesus. It is when I feel that I am viler than the earth that free grace sparkles before my eyes. O, I have found it sweet to feel as Jacob felt, and to exclaim as Jacob exclaimed, "I am not worthy of the least of all thy mercies." But our proud nature loveth not this low place. It is always aspiring and seeking to be something. Therefore it is that our heavenly Father has to use such painful discipline, and to lead us by such a rough path. The old man must be crucified-the flesh must be abased-the members must be mortified-the body of sin must be subdued and brought under. Tried believer, dost thou ask, " Why am I thus ?-why is my path so thorny, my trials so numerous, and my disappointments 80 painful and so frequent ?" It is "To

HUMBLE THEE.

Do not complain, my brother, for we must be humbled, or we shall be undone. We pray for humility, and this is how the Lord produces it. Poverty, sickness, pain, opposition, inward darkness, the discovery of hidden corruptions, and the apparent want