tative information contained in the Inspired Volume. This first and necessary part of Christian salvation can alone, like every other part of it, be effected by Divine power, and the Holy Spirit is alone able to impart life to the man who is dead in trespasses and sins: first, as we have just seen, by impressing upon his mind the truth of the Scripture history of the Fall, and of the personal share which every human being bears in it; and,

Secondly, As we shall now endeavour to show, by enabling him, when conscious of his sinful state, to embrace the gracious offers of mercy contained in the Gospel.

On a further consideration of the subject, we might be led to expect, on the other hand, that the pleasing views which the Scriptures hold out of the mercy of God, as displayed in the covenant of grace, would induce us, in the most persuasive manner, not to lose our interest in blessings so precious, and in hopes so glorious; that if we remain unaffected by the representation of the dangers to which we are exposed, we might at least be charmed with the prospect of the rich inheritance which believers will find themselves in the end entitled to enjoy. And yet, how many of us are equally indifferent to the wrath or the mercy of God! How many of us are equally unmoved by the terrors of the one, and by the promises of the other! How many of us can read and hear the Bible statements about our future happiness or our future misery, without being seemingly aware that they either do or can admit of a personal application to ourselves! This blind infatuation on the part of beings possessed of the gift of reason, and anxiously concerned for their own best and highest interests, proves too strongly that 'it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps,' even when the line of his journey is clearly traced out to him, and that he cannot move forward in it even when he is placed in it, and when a light is shed down upon him from heaven, to prevent him from wandering from it. There is, in our weak and imperfect nature, so strong a propensity to sin, so decided a preference of things temporal to things spiritual, that, if Divine grace does not rest upon us, and create new hearts within us, we can profit little or nothing by any of the doctrines, precepts, parables, incidents, promises, or

threatenings of the Gospel. Without Divine aid, we cannot obtain a saving interest in, nor a purifying influence from, any one of them. The reason of man, even when it has reached a high degree of enlightenment, and when it gives a full assent to the sinfulness of human nature, to the apparent necessity of some kind of atonement, and to the unrivalled excellence of the Gospel dispensation, in all its leading principles and views, yet cannot enable its cultivated possessor to discern with the eye of faith the wisdom of God in the peculiar doctrines of the Cross, or to experience their salutary influence upon his own heart and life. There is no power in man that can give him life, even when the Scriptures are presented to him, and when he is entreated to study them, and when he does prevail upon himself to engage seriously in the task. It is only when the Spirit of God has moved upon the face of the soul; it is only when His purifying energies have been at work in the inner man,-it is only then that they are felt to be the true and proper instrument of sanctification; because it is then only that we experience their powerful efficacy in the hands of the Spirit, and how every sentence they contain was dictated by His wise and skilful inspiration, and is able to pull our corrupt nature out of the strongholds of sin, to cast down its evil imaginations, to crucify its impure affections, to allay its boisterous passions, to root up its pernicious habits, and to bring every thought and every feeling, every word and every action, into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Then he perceives that the Word of God, when received only in the letter, when read without the teaching of the Spirit, when listened to only by the unrenewed mind, may justly be said to 'kill,' by leaving him in the power of its threatened condemnation; but that, on the contrary, when it is received not in the letter, but in the Spirit; or when it is an instrument employed by the Spirit, and made by His energy to work a radical change of all his former principles and habits, then he is joyfully convinced that it is powerfully fitted to raise him up from the death of sin, and impart life to his soul when on the point of perishing for ever.

Our readers cannot fail to perceive, from the observations that have been made on this important topic, the necessity under

which we and all other believers are placed, of receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. This invaluable boon must be bestowed upon all of us, before we can receive into the treasure of a good heart the unsearchable riches of Christ, even before we can be convinced of our real and urgent need of them. We have seen that the feelings of remorse, or the perceptions of reason, are not able, even when they are dearest and strongest, to give us such a correct and impressive view of our lost condition by the Fall, as shall serve the purpose of convincing us of sin, and working out a repentance not to be repented of. And the result is hardly at all different, when the Scriptures are put into our hands, and we are made acquainted with the humbling picture they present to us of our present degeneracy and of our future prospects. There is nothing in them that is able, of itself, to make us hate sin. There is nothing in them that is able, of itself, to alarm us with judgment. There is nothing in them that is able, of itself, to draw us to the Saviour. And yet we must entertain proper views of our lost and guilty condition; we must perceive our absolute need of the help of a Mediator; we must obtain a saving wish to share in the benefits of the sacrifice He once offered on earth, and of the intercession He now makes in heaven, before our reconciliation with God can be effected; before we can be entitled to His favour and friendship, or look forward with hope to the glory and blessedness of the redeemed.

The Holy Spirit is a necessary guide to us in every stage of our journey Zionward. He must walk with us, and counsel us, and comfort us, and quicken us, and support us, if we hope ever to arrive at that blessed place. His precious grace is one of the chief blessings which Christ procured for His people, and is, in truth, the uniting tie that connects us with the Saviour, and makes us one with Him. Let us, therefore, pray that we may receive the indwelling of the Comforter; and when our prayeris granted, let us take especial care never to resist, or grieve, or do despite to Him. When He knocks at the door of our heart, let us hasten to open it; let us welcome Him with joy; let us delight in His presence; let us beseech Him to stay with us. we are sincere and earnest in our devout wishes, He will graciously listen to us;

If

He will take up His abode in our hearts; He will erect in them a temple for His own worship and glory. He will shed His holy influences over all their volitions, thoughts, desires, feelings, and emotions. In one word, He will give us a new heart and a new mind. He will grant us all this, and nothing less than this. Let us be regular and diligent in reading the Scriptures, and in hearing them commented upon and explained. For if we do our part, the Comforter will certainly perform His. He knows His own instrument; He loves His own instrument; He is pleased to see it in our hands, and still more when we treasure it up in our hearts. And we may well believe, that its inspired pages, when seconded by His all-powerful agency, will be made profitable to our souls, and help to build us up in our most holy faith. They will be read and heard 'in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.' They will penetrate into the marrow of our very heart and soul; and by speaking to our inner man 'of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment,' they will purify it from the leaven of uncleanness; they will burn and consume the worthless dross of unholy passion and vicious habit; and they will plant in their room those divine and living principles, that will pour a shining light into the darkest recesses of the soul, dissipate the remaining dregs of its corruption, and raise it to that heavenly and inmortal life, which may be said to begin on earth, but which can alone be fully enjoyed in that better and more enduring country, so plainly opened up to our faith beyond death and the grave.

ETERNAL JUDGMENT.

N.

THE solemnities of eternal judgment should prompt you to surrender yourself to the Saviour. None can conceive what will be the solemnity, the joy, or the terror of the great day. Nor are the Scriptural statements on this subject poetical figures, but a description of solemn facts. The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and the trump of God.' 'The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven, with His mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God.' 'He shall come to be admired in His

saints, and glorified in all them that believe.' 'The trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible.' 'When the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: and before Him shall be gathered all nations; and He shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats; and He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say to them on His right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous into life eternal.' According to these infallible testimonies, the archangel will descend; the trumpet will proclaim the Judge's coming; and such a sound be heard through all the regions of this lower creation, that, compared with it, the shouts of an assembled world, or the roar of ten thousand thunders, would be stillness; for all mankind will hear. The Lord will then visibly descend. He will come with His mighty angels in flaming fire. He will come in the glory of His Father, and in His own. He cometh with ten thousands of His saints. Now 'all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good to the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil to the resurrection of damnation.' The righteous rise to glory, honour, and immortality; but the unrighteous also hear His voice. In their case that which was sown in corruption, rises in incorruption,' that it may endure a death that can never die. That which was sown in dishonour,' rises in dishonour more aggravated, 'to shame and everlasting contempt.' That which 'was sown in weakness, is raised in power;' strong to endure immortal misery. That which was sown a natural body, rises a spiritual body, to become the accursed dwelling of that immortal spirit that prostituted its powers on earth to folly, vanity, and guilt.

GOSPEL TRUTH REJECTED.

WHILST the mind is exercised only about the notions of truth in speculation

and reasonings, it is satisfied and pleased with them; yea, it will come unto a compliance with its guidance in sundry things and duties which it may perform, and yet abide upon its old foundations of self-sufficiency and satisfaction. But when, in pursuit of the ends before mentioned, the Gospel presseth to take off men wholly from their old foundations and principles of nature, to work them unto a universal change in powers, faculties, operations, and ends, to make them new creatures, it proves irksome unto that enmity which is predominant in them; which, therefore, stirreth up all the lusts of the mind and the flesh, all the deceitful policies of the old man and powers of sin, all carnal and unmortified affections, in opposition unto it. Hence spiritual truths are first neglected, then despised, and at last, on easy terms, parted withal. For men by conviction, and on rational grounds or motives, whether natural or spiritual, may receive that as truth, and give an assent unto it, which, when it should be reduced unto practice, the will and affections will not comply withal.

THE EAGLE AND THE INFANT.
ONE evening, as the sun withdrew
Behind the western hills,
The sunny ridges were in view,
But shadows filled the vales;

The feathery clouds, like dress assum'd
To grace the parting day,
As burnish'd gold were now illum'd,
Bright with the solar ray.

The hills and vales were all array'd

In summer's freshest green;
And those who stroll'd at eve delay'd,
Charm'd with the beauteous scene.

Two little girls a while admir'd

The evening's golden glory,
And when with silent gazing tir'd
They ask'd some pretty story.

Then Jessie said, 'Do sheep remain
In winter 'mong these hills?
And are there fertile fields and grain,
And lovely woody dells?'

Papa replied,-'The sheep are fed
By shepherd's timely care,
Ere snows are on the mountain spread
Their food he must prepare.

These hills are bleak, but I will tell

Of wilder far than they,

And frowning rocks, where eagles dwell, And other birds of prey.

The Pentland Frith, renown'd for storms,
Sweeps round th' Orcadian shore,
Where nature wears her wildest forms,
When furious tempests roar.

The eagles have their mountain home
High in the towering rocks,
And for their prey they often come
Down on the neighbouring flocks.
Rewards are given to all who kill
The eagles or their young:
Tho' many fall, they're numerous still,
And for destruction strong.

One day, upon Pomona's shore,

The sun shone bright on all The yellow fields, now fit before The reaper's blade to fall.

Pomona, chief of all the isles,

Has most of golden grain,
When summer on its valleys smiles,
Unhurt by drenching rain.

All hands were busy: mothers there
Had infants left at home,
Beneath an elder sister's care;

And on the field were some.

One child, not two years old, was there,
And 'mong the sheaves was laid,
And wrapp'd in flannel dress* with care,
While others round him play'd.

An eagle hover'd overhead,

As if in search of prey;

It darted where the child was laid,
And carried him away.

The children scream'd: all eyes intent,
The reapers, with dismay,
Beheld the bird, with talons bent,
Soar proudly with its prey.

They saw it sweep across the sound,
And reach the isle of Hoy :

They fear'd the child could ne'er be found,
But would the means employ.

The men ran off, and found a boat;
The oars they plied with speed,
And rapidly they reach'd the spot
To which the eagle fled.

The frowning rocks were dread and wild,
The eaglets were in sport ;-
'O mammy's bootie!'-lisped the child-
'O dinna, dinna hurt!'

The men were glad to hear the sound,
And climb'd up to the nest;
And there the infant safe they found,
Because 'twas tightly dress'd.

The eagle's talons, sharp and stout,
Did not so deeply press;
Its eyes the eaglets peck'd not out,-
They only peck'd the dress.

The women in the Orkney Islands then wore -and probably they still wear-a large flannel head-dress, called a bootie, and in this the child was wrapped.

Scarce had the reapers time to bear
Their precious prize away,
Until the parent bird was there,
To lodge some other prey.

'Twas well they were again embark'd And from the eyrie gone:

A fatal struggle might have mark'd What deeds that day were done.

Thev reach'd the shore 'mid shouts of joy: The mother now reliev'd,

Rush'd down to see her darling boy,

And in her arms receiv'd.

She rais'd to Heav'n a grateful pray'r,
And kiss'd her babe with joy,
And thank'd the reapers for their care
In rescuing her boy.

'A pretty tale, papa, that is;
But is the story true?'
I'm sure it is, for witnesses

Were there, and not a few.

The wondrous fact was widely known-
The child to manhood grew-
And he had children of his own,
And children's children too.

His grandchild, Mary Eyrie-nam'd
Thus from the eagle's nest-
With others long the fact proclaim'd,
Perhaps they still attest.

A friend of mine, whose word is true,
Some thirty years ago,

Saw there the girl, and those who knew
That as I've said 'twas so.

And now, my dears, in every pray'r,
Whatever ills you fear,

Intrust all to our Saviour's care-
You're safe while He is near.'

FALLS OF NIAGARA.

P. M.

ON one of the mightiest of those mighty streams which flow across America, and with which our largest rivers are in comparison but little brooks, is the noblest fall of water known in the world. The width of the river, and the enormous volume of water which comes roaring and splashing down an unbroken height of one hundred feet, make it impossible for any boat to shoot the fall without being torn to atoms in the 'abyss of waters' below; nor is ever any vestige found of the vessel which has once plunged into the unfathomed and unfathomable gulf.

Above this frightful scene, two or three miles up the stream, an Indian canoe was one day observed floating quietly along, with its paddle upon its side. At first, it was supposed to be empty: no one could

imagine that a man would expose himself to such well-known and imminent danger. But a turn in the current soon gave the travellers a sight of an Indian, lying idly asleep at the bottom. They were shocked. They called aloud; but he did not hear: they shouted in an agony of pity and alarm; but he was deaf to their saving cry. It chanced that the current, which was now hurrying along with increased speed as it neared the fatal precipice, drove the little boat against a point of rock with such violence, that it was whirled round and round several times. He's safe! he's safe!' cried the spectators, joyfully the man is safe; that shock must wake him.' But, alas! no! Fatigue or drunkenness (to which savages are particularly addicted) had so oppressed his senses, that it seemed more like death than sleep which held him ;—it was, indeed, the sleep | of death. All chance was gone, and they hurried along the shore, more in alarm than hope, to see the end. It soon came; for the torrent was now rolling so rapidly, that they could scarcely keep pace with the object of their interest. At length the roar of the water, which had been hitherto almost buried within the high banks below, by a sudden change of the wind, broke upon them with double violence. This dreadful noise, with which the Indian ear was so familiar, did at last arouse him. He was seen to start up, and snatch his paddle. But it was too late: the same dinning sound which had roused him from insensibility, told him at the same time that it was in vain to seek for safety now by rowing nor, indeed, had he time to try-upright, as he stood, he went over the precipice, and the boat and its occupant

were seen no more.

Reader, the river is the current of life the falls are man's end—the travellers, the ministers of the Gospel: listen thou to their call, for the boatman is, perhaps, thyself!

ings of Jordan.' It tells of a series of bereavements, rapid in succession, and rending to the parental heart. At the same time, it shows the happy influence of the Gospel in scenes overwhelming to nature. The language is much suited to the subject,-marked by plainness and simplicity. The reflections, moral and religious, interwoven with this tale of woe, are scriptural and judicious, bespeaking in the writer both sound judgment and Christian feeling. Those who were interested by its predecessor, will be still more pleased with the treatise before us. It is well adapted for families whom an all-wise Providence, in its inscrutable arrangements, has visited with similar dispensations. Both parents and children may derive from the perusal of it much valuable instruction and needed comfort. For the spiritual benefit of such, we cordially recommend it, and hope it may have, like the other, a wide circulation.

THE MERCHANT's Daughter; or, Love and Mammon. By the Author of Jessie Melville." Edinburgh: Thomas Grant.

THIS 'new and original Edinburgh Tale' is being published in Weekly Numbers. The first of these is on our table. We have perused it with much interest. The language, as might be expected from the author of the other Work named, is rich and easy. Natural scenery is painted with a skilful pencil, while events and incidents are narrated with simplicity. We cannot, of course, speak of the Work as a whole; but, judging both from the specimen before us, and from other productions by the same pen, we should form a high opinion of its excellence, whether regarded as an effort of ability, or viewed in its moral and religious tendencies. We are much pleased with what we have read, and trust the circulation will be such as to encourage the author to carry it on to completion.

THE EDITOR'S LIBRARY.

THE CHILDREN DIED. By the Author of A Boy in the Swellings of Jordan.' Edinburgh: Thomas Grant.

THIS little Work forms a very appropriate sequel to another from the pen of the same author, and entitled 'A Boy in the Swell

THE CABINET.

THE BIBLE ALONE.

LET the religion of the Bible be presented to the honest, manly heart, divested of the obscurity and misrepresentation in which creeds have enveloped it, and it