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listine cursed David by his gods. How full of faith and piety are the words of David ,

thou comest to me with a sword and with a spear, and with a shield; but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel whom thou hast defied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel ; for the battl) is the Lord's.'' The Philistine arose to meet David,-and David hasted to meet the Phi: listine. He took a stone and slang it, and

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smote the Philistine in his forehead; and he fell to the earth and died.

6. Now, my dear children, you must rea. the story yourselves to learn all the interesting particulars; but let me impress your mind with a short improvement of it. Satan, like the giant Goliath, stands to oppose our march to heaven. His attacks are powerful, and thousands fall under them. Yet remember the words of David: 'Let no man's heart fail because of him. Faith in Jesus is the arm which hurls the promises of victory against our spiritual foe. These he cannot withstand. When Jesus said, it is written'.he vanquished Satan ; and so shall we.

“Let not the young then be afraid of fighting the good fight of faith. It is not by might, nor by power, but by the Spirit of the Lord, that sin and Satan are to be over. come. If you have conquered lesser evils, as David did the lion and the bear, you should take these as gracious assurances, that the Lord will deliver you in the hour of fierce temptations, if like David-you go in faith to fight and overcome.”

" THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS LIKE UNTO A GRAIN OF MUST AKU SEED."

It was in the year 639, that an Armenian, named Constantine, was living in the city of Mananalis, when a deacon who had been a prisoner among the Saracens, having ob. tained his release, was returning home through this city. He was kindly received by Constantine, and staid some cime at his house. To reward his hospitality, he gave

the other the Epistles of St. Paul. This present, and the conversation of his guest had such an effect on the mind of Constantine, that he afterwards determined to touch no other books, and to become himself a a teacher of the doctrines contained in them. He also attacked the superstitions of the Greek church ; and going to Cibossa, lived there 27 years, spreading his opinions around. The Grecian emperor hearing of bis progress, sent Simeon, one of his courtiers, to have him stoned and his disciples dispersed : but Simeon himself became a convert, and three years after went to Ci. bossa, and succeeded Constantineas a teacher. The emperor ordered all these heretics to be burned : as many as could be found, were massed together in an immense pile and burnt ; excepting Paulus an Arabian, and his two sons. One of these was sent to Constantinople, and questioned by the Pa. triarch why he did not adore the cross ; why he did not worship and adore the holy mother of God ? &c.' He made his escape, and collecting all those of the same opinion as himself, led them to Mananalis; and under the protection of the Saracens, lived and flourished above 30 years. His disciples, not only increased there under the name of Paulicians, but spread into other parts. The empress Theodora fiercely persecuted them, and is declared by her friends to have killed one hundred thousand of these people by the sword, the gibbet, and the flanes. The gospel was still the only instrument they employed in converting others. It was by putting this into the hands of Sergius, after wards one of their great teachers, that an aged woman converted him. She thus spoke

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to the young man ; " I hear, Sir, that you excel in learning, and are besides, in every respect a good man. Tell me then, why do you not read the sacred gospels ?" He answered, “it is not lawful for any profane persons to read them, but for priests only.” "Not so," she replied, “there is no respect of persons with God: he wills, that all men should be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth ; but your priests, because they corrupt the word of God, do not read all to you." She then repeated to him various passages. He took the Gospels, examined them, and became a Paulician. For thirty four years, he preached his new evangelical truths in every city and province he could reach. His own words are, “from the east to the west, from the north to the south, have I been proclaiming the Gospel, labouring on my knees.” These people afterwards pene. trated into Europe, and were introduced into Italy and France, and there known by the name of Albigenses, Vaudois, and others.

These, in their turn, six hundred years after, were persecuted and dispersed ; and their scriptural opinions spread and grew up in other soils to a fruitful and noble harvest, which has at last filled great part of Europe with pure christianity. - Sharon Turner's Hist. of England.

ALIX.

BENEFIT OF SUNDAY SHOOLS. A young woman, aged about 27 years, who was visited by one of the Secretaries of a Bible Society, was rapidly sinking in a decline, and was fully aware that death would shortly end her race. The Visitor had placed her in a charity school, when she was about ten years of age. She received his visit with great gratitude and affection ; and lifted up her eyes to heaven in fervent prayers for the Divine Blessing to rest upon his labours among the children of the school. She then put out her worn arms, which resembled those of a skeleton, and, taking hold of his hand, said, I thank you-I thank you I thank you-for taking me into your school when a little girl: I thank you for the religious instruction you gave me : for the texts on faith and duty you taught me to repeat; and also the psalms and hymns : I knew not the value of them at that time, but I feel the value of them now. I am too weak now to read, and can scarcely hear; but I can lie in my bed and think, and repeat the texts and hymns: I find them so sweet and pleasant, that I cannot describe it. Go on, and teach poor children the Holy Scriptures : and my dying "request is, Take my poor little orphan into your school.

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