walk again without success, she went to her room, and prayed earnestly that somehow God would tell her what to do, and would help her. Soon she was called to supper, and while at the table heard the churchbells, and was told on inquiry that it was prayer-meeting night in several of the churches. The thought struck her, that there was the place to look for a good family; and she went at once to the nearest church. Who can doubt that she was directed there? "WHAT IS THAT TO THEE?" WHEN I am called to die, To yield my spirit to His sacred keeping, My trust in Him who doeth all things well, What road shall lead me up the holy mountain ; The guidance of the Hand that e'er has led If faint and feeble be the distant warning, And brighter growing till the red east shines How grateful should I feel! That I might still behold my loved ones longer, The loves that buoyant life can ne'er unveil, If sudden be the stroke, If all unheralded His solemn coming, Like flash fast followed by the thunder's booming, While pale with fear we hold our bated breath, How blest the favoured lot! Departure we should dread, at once to rise And whether speedy messenger obeying, On His dear love my willing trust would dwell; PICKINGS FROM MY PORTFOLIO. THERE is a period at which meu ome to be strangely impressed ith the thought, "I am growing d." I suppose there is a year or vo in which all have the feelingmay not be a painful one, but it is sad one; it is a tender, minor eling-"I have passed my youth; am never to be a boy again; I am ever to be young any more; not only am I a man, but as a man I have signs and tokens of the failure Of some parts of my organization." It is said of athletes, boxers, and vrestlers, that they have a second reath. After they have gone through rhat may be said to be their first trength, there is a rallying of the ystem; and then they are said to ave come to their second breath. when it slants even one degree, you see that the shadow creeps down the other side, and grows longer and longer as it goes down. There are many of you that have seen the shadow run on the wrong side, and it is growing longer and longer. Your sun is going down towards the western horizon. Then they are on their second reath they hold out a great while. do it is with our thoughts in respect growing old. We have a sad eeling to get over, which arises rom the consciousness that we are becoming aged; but after we have got over that feeling, they never feel old, though they are eighty years of age. They come to their second breath in that regard! Now, do you begin to have a consciousness that you are failing? do you find that your feet grow heavier than they used to be? Are there not persons here that have some difficulty about the years? Have you thought that persons talked less clearly than they used to? not thought that people never Have you did not pronounce their words as plainly a If a man has been accustomed to think of his life mainly as centred or fixed here, it is not possible that he should not feel sadness at the indications of decaying powers, of limited accomplishments, of being compelled to lay down his part of the duties of active life. But if he feel that these things are working out for him "a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" in the life that is to come, he can look upon them with composure, if not with cheerfulness. as you were taught to pronounce yours in the school that you attended? Does it not seem to you hat the spectacle makers are growng slack? Are there no times when you feel that the shadow is turned? All day long the sun goes up, and up, and up, till at last it stands at flush noon-day; and then, We do not know what mountains, rich with gold, are worth, till we begin to dig; and the more we dig the more we become impressed with its great value. So long as the gold is covered up, and locked in the hard quartz, it is worthless. It is by blasting, by rending, by destroying, that the precious ore is brought and made serviceable. Now, we carry in us that which is more precious than the ore, to obtain which we blast, and rend, and destroy the rock. It is just this that the apostle thinks of when he says, "We have this treasure in earthen vessels." We are like a casket made of earth, inside of which is preciousness, it may be of ointment, or jewels, or something else. The real value consists in that which the casket contains. This body may be shattered, the casket may be destroyed, and yet all that is valuable may remain. Who cares, then, whether the hair be white or black? Who cares whether the eye be far-sighted or near-sighted? Who cares whether the hearing be poor or good? Who cares what becomes of the senses? This is not my whole life. This body is not my only heritage. I go to that bright land where the immortal part shines up and on for ever and ever. And this consideration takes away the sadness occasioned by the consciousness of the failure of the earthly faculties.— Henry Ward Beecher. WHILE We live in the body, entire freedom from the burden of care is not to be obtained; and though such freedom may be coveted by the selfish, it cannot, in the nature of things, be desired or possessed by the loving; for care is but the thoughtfulness of love seeking the well-being of its object in the midst of evil or of danger which it feels powerless to avert. God our Father does not forbid care, but carefulness; does not forbid us to be anxious, but to be overanxious. He who invites us to "cast our care on Him, for He careth for us," thereby sanctions care in us, while He relieves it by assuring us of the reality of His own care for us. What our Father commands is: "Be careful for nothing"-that is, be not careful or over-anxious about anything-"but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God." And what He promises is: "The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ." These words, which express the will of God as it is everywhere revealed in Christ Jesus, and in all He has commanded and promised, forbid over-anxiety about anything, whatever that may be. They exclude, therefore, over-anxious thoughts about spiritual as well as temporal things, about the soul as about the body, about the highest interests which can affect our fellowmen and society as well as about the ordinary cares of every-day life. It is the blessed will of Him who knows and governs all, that we should never permit an over-anxious spirit at any time to oppress us, but rather that at all times, and in all circumstances, the peace of God should keep our mind and heart through Jesus Christ. Can it be that such a privilege as this is freely bestowed on careworn, anxious men? and if so, can it be that we shall not seek to possess what is promised in the word of God, "who cannot lie"? It seems, indeed, impossible that mortal man should ever be able to enjoy so blessed a boon. And man by his unaided power could never do so. But what is impossible for is possible for God. It is God only who can give His own peace, and sustain it in the heart.-Dr. Norman Macleod. man SO MINISTERS have often occasion to regret the change which takes place among their hearers when they are dismissed from the house of prayer. Many who appear deeply impressed with the word of God and the solemnities of His worship, become, as soon as these are ended, frivolous and careless; their conversation is unprofitable, their manner light, and their general deportment inconsistent as to excite an appre hension in the mind of their pastor, that, so far as they are concerned, he has "laboured in vain, and spent his strength for naught." If it be required to observe decency and order while we are in the sanctuary, engaged in its important work, surely it is needful that somewhat like these should be discernible in the manner of our retiring from that holy place and employment; this should not resemble that of a gay, tumultuous throng, who have just quitted scenes of fashionable dissipation or public entertainment. Whoever desires to obtain permanent dvantage by the public celebration f religious ordinances, must retire rom them with a serious mind to he performance of private duties; and, above all things, endeavour to preserve a lasting remembrance of hat which has been spoken unto im by the word of the Lord. Is his our practice? Do we retire from the temple to secret meditation and prayer in our closet? The Lord nable us to do this.-Rev. Henry Draper. STRENGTH OF CHARACTER Consists of two things-power of will, and power of self-restraint. It requires two things, therefore-strong feelings, and strong command over them. Now, it is here we make a great mistake; we mistake strong feelings for strong character. A man who bears all before him-before whose frown domestics tremble and the children quake, because he has his will obeyed, and his own way in all things-we call him a strong man: the truth is, that is the weak man; it is his passions that are strong; he that is mastered by them is weak. You must measure the strength of a man by the power of the feelings he subdues, not by the power of those which subdue him. And composure is very often the highest result of strength. hence Did we never see a man receive a flagrant insult, only growing a little pale, and then reply quietly? This is a man spiritually strong. Or, did we never see a man in anguish stand, as if carved out of solid rock, mastering himself? Or, one bearing a hopeless, daily trial, remaining silent, and never tell the world what cankered his home peace? That is strength! He who, with strong passions, remains chaste; he who, keenly sensitive, with manly powers of indignation in him, can be provoked, and yet restrain himself, and forgive,—these are the strong men, the spiritual heroes.Rev. F. W. Robertson. Ir is almost frightful, and altogether humiliating, to think how much there is in the common ongoing of domestic and social life, which deserves nothing but to be instantly and for ever forgotten. Yet it is equally amazing how large a class seem to have no other business but to repeat and perpetuate these very things. That is the vocation of gossips-an order of society that perpetrates more mischief than all the combined plagues of Egypt together. You may have noticed how many speeches there are which become mischievous by being heard a second time; and what an army of both sexes are sworn to see to it, that the fatal repetition shall be had. Blessed is that man or woman that can let drop all the burrs and thistles, instead of picking them up and fastening them to the next passenger. Would we only let the vexing and malicious sayings die, how fast the lacerated and scandal-ridden world would get healed and tranquillized! -Huntington. FEAR not, thou that longest to be at home. A few steps more and thou art there. Death to God's people is but a ferry-boat. Every day and every hour the boat pushes off with some of the saints, and returns for more. Soon, O believer, it will be said to thee, as it was to her in the Gospel, "The Master is come, and calleth for thee." When you are got to the boundary of your race below, and stand on the verge of heaven and the confines of immortality, then there will be nothing but the short valley of death between you and the promised land; the labours of your pilgrimage will then be on the point of conclusion, and you will have nothing to do but to entreat God, as Moses did, "I pray Thee, let me go over and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon." -Toplady. NEWS OF THE CHURCHES. THE Baptist Chapel at Parkend, Gloucestershire, has been reopened after alterations and improvements. -The foundation stone of a new chapel has been laid at Hyde, Cheshire, for the pastorate of the Rev. G. Hughes.-A new and very handsome chapel has been opened in Moss-lane East, Manchester, for the ministry of the Rev. R. Chenery. -The foundation-stone of a new chapel has been laid in York Road, Leeds, for the ministry of the Rev. J. Compston.-The foundation-stone of a new chapel has been laid at Addlestone, near Weybridge, for the ministry of the Rev. E. Leach. -The foundation-stone of a new chapel has been laid at Barrow-inFurness, for the ministry of the Rev. H. D. Brown.-A new tabernacle has been opened at Notting Hill, London, for the ministry of Mr. Varley. The chapel at South Molton, Devon, has been reopened, after thorough renovation and repair. A new chapel has been opened at Prince's End, Tipton, Staffordshire. The Rev. J. Hanson has been recognized as the pastor of the church at Bingley, Yorkshire.-The Rev. W. T. Rosevear has been recognized as the pastor of the church at St. Michael's, Coventry, on his resettlement there. The following reports of MINISTERIAL CHANGES have reached us since our last issue:-The Rev. S. Skingle, of the Metropolitan Tabernacle College, to Whitchurch, Hants; the Rev. E. E. Walter, of the same college, to Soho Street, Liverpool; the Rev. J. Billington, of Pinner, Middlesex, to Potter Street, Harlow, Essex; the Rev. Dr. Hillier, of the Tabernacle, South Shields, to Ridg mount, Beds; the Rev. J. Hier, of Swindon, to Lifton, Devon; the Rev. J. T. Owers, of Loscoe, to Burtonon-Trent; the Rev. J. Mursell, of Hallfield Chapel, Bradford, to Bewick Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne. After nearly fifty years spent in the ministry, more than seventeen of which he has been the pastor of the church at Winchcombe, Gloucestershire, the Rev. R. Grace has re signed his pastorate. The Rev. W. Eddison has intimated his intention to resign the pastorate of the church at Rishworth, Halifax. The Rev. R. L. M'Dougall has resigned the pas torate of the church in Mint Lane, Lincoln. The Rev. S. Bool has resigned the pastorate of the church at Bovey Tracey, South Devon, and has gone to Nova Scotia. The Rev. C. Bright has resigned the pastorate at Church, Accrington. The Rev. J. G. Hall has resigned the pastorate of the Irwell Terrace Baptist Church, Bacup, near Manchester. We regret to announce the death of the Rev. Hugh Anderson, of Edinburgh, formerly of Bratton, Wilts; also of the Rev. B. J. Evans, of Great Shelford, Cambs; also of the Rev. G. Kew, of Gresham Chapel, Brixton. "They rest from their labours, and their works do follow them." |