and even our enemies; and St. Paul tells us, that "love is the fulfilling of the law;" that is, to act from a principle of love to others includes all that is contained in the law, which regulates our duties to our fellow-creatures. And, my brethren, do we not see in this law the image of that God who is love? If it were universally acted upon, it would spread peace and happiness in our families and in our neighbourhoods, and go far to convert the strife, and discord, and misery, which sin has introduced into the society of this world, into tranquillity and love. In the instances which I have adduced, we may see clearly and satisfactorily, if we do but reflect, that "God is love," viz. in his work of creation, and still more in the great work of redemption, and the various means by which he is making known and rendering effectual among men this display of his infinite love. But we may rest assured also that God is love, as certainly, though perhaps not always as evidently to our present perceptions, by the daily events of his providence ;-I say we may rest satisfied that God is love, by the daily events of his providence, as certainly, though we are not always permitted to understand or trace the manner in which his love is exercised towards us in this respect: he is pleased to try our faith in the clear assurances and promises of his word, that "all things shall work together for good to them that love him;" "that our light afflictions, which are but for a moment, are intended to work out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;" that although" no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous, nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby." These and various similar passages are intended for our comfort and direction under the mysterious and often inexplicable visitations of God's providence; that "the trial of our faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise, and honour, and glory, at the appearing of Jesus Christ." Surely God has given us sufficiently clear evidences that he is love, to induce us to trust in his love, though we may be required" to walk by faith, and not by sight;" and whenever we may be led by a dark and gloomy way, in which we are not able to discover the end to which it will lead us, let us be more anxious to ascertain that the hand of God is directing us, and that we are desirous of following humbly, patiently, and cheerfully, than of curiously inquiring why we should be led by such a path, and whither it will conduct us. Abraham, at the command of God, obeyed, and went forth, not knowing whither he went. Jacob, yielding to the fears which the weakness of his faith created, declared, "all these things are against me," though he lived to see that the very events which he so much lamented were working together for his good. And thus will it be with every follower of Christ: what the Lord doeth, he may not know or understand now, but he shall know hereafter. He knows, if he can but believe it, that not even a hair of his head can fall to the ground without his heavenly Father's knowledge; and he is assured that " God is love," and that "he that spared not his only-begotten Son, but freely gave him up for us all, will, with him, also freely give us all things:" and with firm reliance on these promises, he should learn, in every thing which concerns him, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, to make known his request to God; and anticipate, with humble confidence, the fulfilment of the promise, that "the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep his heart and mind through Jesus Christ;" and while in possession of that peace which our Lord bequeathed to his people, he will reflect also upon the admonition which followed, "Let not your heart be troubled." And in the firm persuasion that the very obscurity and mystery which at present conceals the purposes of a God of love from our sight proceeds from love, we should cling more closely by faith to his promises and precepts; knowing that hereafter, when we are permitted to look back on all the way by which God has led us through the course of our earthly pilgrimage, we shall have occasion again and again to renew our praises for those very events which, if possible, we would have avoided, or ordained otherwise, and shall be permitted to see how goodness and mercy have followed us all our journey through. The more this faith is brought into exercise, the more earnestly shall we desire, and the more fervently shall we pray, that our wills may be brought into subjection to the will of God; "not as I will, O Lord, but as thou wilt." And here, my brethren, we may observe, how consoling and how cheering is the present peace and tranquillity of mind of that man who has this faith under trying and mysterious events! "the trial of his faith worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope:" his very trials and afflictions, instead of producing despair, increase his hope; and though all around and without be dark and gloomy, within there is light, which will shine more and more until the perfect day shall dawn upon him, which shall disclose the love which appointed all that has called faith and patience into exercise; and there is also, in the midst of all his trials, a joy with which a stranger intermeddleth not. O, then, my brethren, seek thus to realise to your selves the truth that "God is love," as the best remedy against hopelessness, and the firmest support in the hour of affliction. But again; that " God is love," is evident also from considering the effect intended to be produced by those events of his providence which at first sight might convey a contrary impression. When we reflect that our condition in this life is not one either of ultimate reward or punishment, but that it is one of probation and discipline, to fit and prepare us for another, we shall see an evidence of love even in the afflictions and chastisements with which we are visited; and knowing that "whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, even as a father the son in whom he delighteth," we shall be more anxious, in the time of affliction, to search and try our hearts, and pray that the correction of a Father's love may produce in us a beneficial effect, than that it may be removed from us. Let us desire that it may produce in us a greater conformity to the mind which was in Christ, more decided separation from the evil that is in the world, its pleasures, its vanities and follies, and more zeal and devotion to the cause of God. And, my Christian brethren, you who, by God's grace, are, as living branches, bringing forth fruit to the glory of God, may expect the pruning-knife of affliction to purge and cleanse you; for our Lord, comparing himself to the vine, and his people to the branches, declares, "Every branch that beareth fruit, my Father purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit." The most eminent and distinguished servants of God are those who have been called to endure a great fight of afflictions; but they have ever found the grace of God sufficient for them. And those who are described in the Apocalypse as nearest to the throne of glory, "clothed with white robes, and having palms in their hands, are those who came out of great tribulation." Cast not away, therefore, your confidence, beloved, which hath great recompense of reward; for "ye have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise." When we reflect, therefore, on the purpose for which afflictions are sent, to correct, chasten, and purify the heart of the source from which they proceed, from that God who is love, who doth not willingly afflict his people-and of the end which they are intended to accomplish in us, to prepare us for a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory-and also the gracious promises of Divine support, assured to those who cast their burden on the Lord, we may safely affirm, that even the afflictive events of God's providence may be considered as an evidence that " God is love." And now, my brethren, in conclusion, what do we learn from this subject? If" God is love," it becomes us to adore, and praise, and love God with all our hearts, to submit ourselves with resignation to his will, to desire what he has promised, to love what he has commanded, especially to seek after a saving knowledge of God's redeeming and sanctifying love, recollecting that they only are the sons of God who are led by the Spirit of God. Let us faithfully examine whether we are led by a spirit of love, both towards God and towards our neighbour, more especially those who are the children of God. It is a sad and a fearful thing to be living careless or negligent of God, slighting his infinite love, which sought us even when we were sinners, and freely offered reconciliation and peace through Christ. You, my brethren, who are here, have heard of the love of God to you; and can any of you make up your minds to resist his love, to go away and think no more of your own danger as sinners against God, and of God's love in giving his Son to redeem you from sin? O, recollect that, although I am now privileged to proclaim to you, and you are permitted to hear, that "God is love," that" God in Christ is reconciling the world unto himself;" yet remember, that God out of Christ is "a consuming fire," that shall destroy the ungodly. Now is the accepted time; but, brethren, "the time is short." Come while you are assured of admittance, lest the door of mercy be closed, and your day of grace passed away for ever. But another lesson which the apostle teaches us from this subject is, "Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another." Surely we ought to love those whom a God of infinite purity and holiness has condescended to love; and the best way we can shew our love to them, is to use all the means in our power, with prayer to God, to make them partakers of the blessings of salvation, which, through the unmerited love of God, we have ourselves received. If we did but more justly appreciate the value of the soul, how much more zealous should we be in seeking the salvation of the souls of others! But towards those who reflect the image of a God of love in their hearts, it becomes us more especially to cultivate those holy affections which should ever unite those who are influenced by one and the same Spirit, ransomed by one and the same Saviour, adopted into the same family, and, through the grace of God, are fellowheirs of the same glory. To you, beloved brethren, I would say, let the love of Christ constrain you; let it bear you down its full tide. Strive to loosen your souls from the ties which bind you down to earthly things; and let the current of holy love bear you onward in your course towards heaven. Soon will it leave darkness and sorrow behind; and, having burst the opposing gates of death, shall beyond them swell into a sea of holy, heavenly joy, which shall never ebb; when "You shall bathe your weary soul In seas of heavenly rest, Across the peaceful breast." PERAMBULATIONS; OR, WALKING OVER "That every man might keep his own possessions, In THIS formerly was done every year, and, generally, on one of the three first days of rogation-week. It is now not performed so regularly as it was in old time, nor with the same solemnities. But in many places it is still kept, and commonly on ascension-day. deed, it is much to be regretted that it should not be more constantly and carefully attended to, as a great deal of wrong, and many lawsuits and quarrels were thereby prevented; as the poet has quaintly stated in the lines with which we have headed this article. But especially may we deplore, that the religious character of this practice should have been altogether abandoned. The custom of processions, at this season, is of very remote antiquity, and by some is considered to have taken its rise from imitating, or perhaps from a desire to present to the converts a better substitute for those processions which the heathens used, at the same season, in honour of their idolatrous deity Terminus, whom they considered as the " guardian of fields and landmarks, and the keeper up of friendship and peace among men. The primitive custom used by the Christians on this occasion, was to accompany the bishop, or some of the clergy, into the fields, where litanies (or supplications) were made, and the mercy of God implored, that he would avert the evils of plague and pestilence, and give them, in due season, the fruits of the earth." The litanies, or rogations, then used gave the name of rogation-week to this time. After the Reformation these holy purposes were not lost sight of. Queen Elizabeth directed that "the Church, at certain times and convenient places, should admonish the people to give thanks unto God, on the beholding of God's benefits, for the increase and abundance of his fruits, saying the 103d Psalm," &c. It was also among the inquiries of the archdeacons, whether the practice was duly observed in the several parishes; and Herbert, in his "Country Parson," mentions the pious and sociable uses of this custom. "The country parson," he says, "loves procession, and maintains it, because there are contained therein four manifest advantages. First, a blessing of God, for the fruits of the field; secondly, justice in the preservation of bounds; thirdly, charity in loving, walking, and neighbourly accompanying one another, with reconciling of differences at that time, if there be any; fourthly, mercy in relieving the poor by a liberal distribution and largess, which at that time is or ought to be used. Wherefore he exacts of all to be present From the "Penny Sunday Reader." + Brand, Popular Antiquities. at the perambulation; and those that withdraw and sever themselves from it, he mislikes, and reproves as uncharitable and unneighbourly." And of Hooker, so celebrated for his learning and piety, it is observed, that he was remarkable on these occasions for the benevolence and devo tion, mingled with decorous cheerfulness, with which and old. And in the Book of Homilies, an address he at once edified and pleased his parishioners, young to be read to the parishioners when walking their boundaries was published by authority; and we conclude this article with an extract, which will shew the devout spirit in which it was composed. And here, in this, as well as in most of his acts, public and private, the Christian can bring into exercise the social principle of his religion, cherish piety and brotherly love, and feel his relation to both God and man. "If now, therefore, ye will have your prayers heard before Almighty God, for the increase of your corn and cattle, and for the defence thereof from unseasonable mists and blasts, from hail and other such tempests; love equity and righteousness, ensue mercy and charity, which God most requireth at our hands. Which Almighty God respecteth chiefly in making his civil laws for his people the Israelites, in charging the owners not to gather up their corn too nigh at harvest season, nor the grapes and olives in gathering-time, but to leave behind some ears of corn for the poor gleaners. (Levit. xix. 9, 10; Deut. xxiv. 19.) By this he meant to induce them to pity the poor, to relieve the needy, to shew mercy and kindness. It cannot be lost, which for his sake is distributed to the poor. For he which ministereth seed to the sower, and bread to the hungry (2 Cor. ix. 10), which sendeth down the early and the latter rain upon your fields, so to fill up the barns with corn, and the wine-presses with wine and oil (Joel, ii. 22); he, I say, who recompenseth all kinds of benefits in the resurrection of the just, he will assuredly recompense all merciful deeds shewed to the needy, howsoever unable the poor is upon whom it is bestowed. 'O,' saith Solomon, 'let not mercy and truth forsake thee. Bind them about thy neck,' saith he, and write them on the table of thy heart; so shalt thou find favour at God's hands' (Prov. iii. 3). Thus honour thou the Lord with thy riches, and with the first-fruits of thine increase; so shall thy barns be filled with abundance, and thy presses shall burst with new wine: nay, God hath promised to open the windows of heaven upon the liberal, righteous man, that he shall want nothing. He will repress the devouring caterpillar, which would devour your fruits. He will give you peace and quiet to gather in your provision; that ye may sit every man under his own vine quietly, without fear of the foreign enemies to invade you. He will give you not only food to feed on, but stomachs and good appetites to take comfort of your fruits, whereby in all things ye may have sufficiency. Finally, he will bless you with all manner of abundance in this transitory life, and endue you with all manner of benediction in the next world, in the kingdom of heaven, through the merits of our Lord and Saviour: to whom, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, be all honour everlasting. Amen." THE PREACHING OF THE CROSS.* ON mere human computation, the preaching of the cross is, of all engines, the least likely to effect a moral revolution amongst men. It would have been easy for Mahomet to predict, that by the processes which should be employed for the promulgation of his • From a Sermon by the Rev. H. Melvill, preached at the anniversary of the Newfoundland and British North America School Society. doctrines, multitudes of adherents would be gathered | present concerned with the fulfilment of his prophecy to his standard. When the sword was to hew down the refractory, and the faithful were promised a paradise in which the wine-cup should sparkle and the cheek of beauty smile, it required no vast shrewdness to calculate that the pretensions of the false prophet were likely to be favourably received. Give man a religion which flatters his pride, or which panders to his passions, and you will not be long in surrounding yourself with votaries. But you should carefully observe how little there is in the doctrine of the cross which could seem to adapt it for making way on earth. That all dependence is to be placed on the merits of a crucified Redeemer; that his death is to be our life; his blood-shedding the sole procuring cause of the forgiveness of sin,-these, the glorious and fundamental truths of the Gospel, are practically the great stumbling-blocks to its reception. The words of the apostle have lost nothing of their force in the lapse of centuries; for to them that perish the preaching of the cross is still "foolishness." We may go the round of nominal Christianity, and wherever we find selfrighteousness, or Antinomianism-the idolatry of works, or the neglect of works (which is just as bad) -we shall find, that an imperfect reception of the doctrine of the cross lies at the root of the evil; and even the indifference and opposition to religion in general, which characterise the great mass of our community, are to be traced to repugnance to this doctrine. The doctrine can make no compromise with human pride, and it wages interminable war with human passion. If I receive it, then, from its very nature, I become pledged to the crucifixion of the flesh, with its affections and lusts. If I am an idolator of intellect, I must throw to the ground the censer in which I have burnt incense; if I am an indulger of appetite, I must place a bridle where I have given the reins; if I delight in accumulating the gold and silver, I must count as dross what has engaged my affections. It cannot for an instant be concealed, even from the dullest of calculators, that, in becoming the disciples of a self-denying and crucified Lord, we pledge ourselves to a holy and determined war with sin; and on this simple account, the whole array of carnal emotions is in arms against the Gospel. So that it is not too much to say, that even when the claims of the Christian religion are outwardly admitted, the lifting up of the Saviour is virtually the impediment to his triumphs. Yea, and if you go back, for an instant, to earlier scenes, and remember the difficulties with which Christianity had to struggle at the outset, you will readily discern that the crucifixion of its Founder was of all things the most calculated to shut up the world to an obstinate rejection of his claims. It would have seemed enough to have told the polished nations of antiquity, that the author of this new faith had died as a malefactor, by the hands of his own countrymen, in order to have riveted them to a contemptuous infidelity, and to have for ever closed all inquiry into the truths of those announcements which apostles were busied in proclaiming in their cities. Yet it was in the face of all this apparent likelihood, nay, of this absolute certainty of vehement opposition, that Christ made the representation in our text. We are not at in its largest sense; we have only to observe, that whilst the preaching of the cross has been and is "foolishness" to them that perish, to them that are saved it has been and is "the power of God." In spite of what we have advanced respecting the antipathy of the men of every age to this doctrine, preaching has been successful in the exact proportion that it has been the preaching of the cross. When the ministers of Christ have given out the truth in simplicity-when there has been the least of endeavour to smooth down what is rugged, or to varnish over what is distasteful to the natural heart, multitudes both of men and of women have been added to the Church. And if you combine the facts on which we have insisted the fact, that nothing could have appeared less likely to produce a moral revolution than the preaching of the cross, and the fact, that nevertheless to this preaching must be referred whatever moral revolution has been actually produced-you can hardly fail to allow, that the Being who uttered our text must have had a keener view of the future than could be gained by mere human foresight. He prophesied (if you will allow me the expression)-he prophesied against probabilities; he affirmed that results could be brought round, which, on the commonest principles of human calculation, were sure not to be brought round. He took, as it were, the offensive part of his system of religion,-the part which every one decides must be kept in the back-ground, if you would not have the whole contemptuously rejected; and he declared, that this very part should be the engine for the subjugation of the whole family of man, And by thus freeing himself from all earthly computations, and dealing with the future as none could have dealt who could only have applied to its secret the shrewdness of a guess, or the reckoning of a finite arithmetic, he as powerfully manifested his Divinity as when he poured light upon the darkened eye-ball, or hushed the waters, or broke up the sepulchres: and we commend it to you all, as a line of argument worth following out in your own meditations, the prediction of improbable results a proof of more than human wisdom. It was quite improbable the Gospel would prove a sword on the earth; it was quite improbable that the preaching of the cross would be effectual and influential preaching. Had Jesus, therefore, spoken only as a man, he would not have spoken in the very teeth of probabilities: he might have predicted what was false, but at least he would have predicted what was likely. And hence we reckon our text amongst those internal evidences of Christianity, which are all the more valuable because indirect; and connecting the prophecy with the fulfilment, we feel, that had not Christ spoken by the Spirit of God, he never could and he never would have said, “And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me." The Cabinet. INSENSIBILITY.-Never to ask ourselves what our great want is, or what we should ask of God, if we might have the wish of our hearts, is great blindness and stupidity; and yet it is the case, not only of the grossly irreligious, but of all those who are in the practice of an external work only.-Rev. T. Adams. CHRIST. He who himself put on a crown of thorns, never intended that his followers should wear a crown of flowers: he who has told you to take up your cross daily and follow him, well knew that you would not be able truly to follow him without having daily crosses to take up.-Rev. H. Blunt. CHRISTIANITY.-Wherever Christianity goes, civilisation follows in her train; wherever she goes, the duties and the rights of mankind are practised and recognised the fetters of the slave are lightened and removed-the female sex are restored to their natural situation and their kindly influence in society; and the profession of godliness is shewn to be great riches, as contributing to the wisdom, the wealth, and the happiness of the nation which receives it. Let us compare our present condition with that of our forefathers, while the Gospel was yet unknown to them. Let us recollect that the poorest man who now hears me is more warmly clad, more comfortably lodged, enjoys a mind better stored with ideas, and greater security of liberty, life, and property, than a king among the wild Americans or the ancient Britons; and we shall feel and understand the blessings of a religion which has been a principal agent in a change so beneficial—a religion by which the ignorance of man is enlightened and his manners rendered gentle; which, by protecting the fruits of industry, has encouraged every useful invention; and which, even amid the increasing luxury of the rich, has lessened the distance between them and the poor, by calling the attention of both to that awful moment when all shall be equal in each other's eyes, as they are now in the eyes of their Maker.Bp. Heber. HEATHENS.-A large part of the world are heathens. I call those heathens who either have no God at all, or false gods. Whoever is living without God in this world-whoever is walking after his own heart's lusts -whoever is the servant of sin-whoever speaks a good word for it, and says of it, "What can it signify? there is no great harm in it, it is a mere trifle," though he knows that God has forbidden it-whoever has set up his idol in his heart, and is worshipping Belial the god of debauchery and profaneness, or Moloch the god of revenge and hatred and all fierce passions, or Mammon the god of riches and worldly-mindedness, all these are heathens in spirit. They may have been christened, but they are not Christ's; they have left him, and chosen another master. They may profess to believe in God, and may even draw nigh to him with their lips, but their hearts are far from him. They deny him in their actions and in their lives: what part, then, can they have in Christ? It is the duty of the preacher to tell such men that they must be looked upon as heathens. "Let him be to you as a heathen man," is our Saviour's own sentence (Matt. xviii. 17) against persons calling themselves Christians, yet persisting in an evil course of living.-Rev. A. W. Hare. Poetry. "MASTER, CAREST THOU NOT THAT WE PERISH?" BY MISS EMRA. (For the Church of England Magazine.) WHO dares to ask, thou faithless one, For whom thy Lord so much hath done? Thou whom he lov'd and pitied so; He died, and would not let thee go. One of his Church, that chosen band, Heirs of his purchas'd heavenly land; O canst thou perish? Dost thou dare To doubt and question of his care? Lord, dost thou care? The waves are high, And learn'd the wonders of thy name: Is threatening, Lord; canst thou not save? While the same cry was uttered there, By every sacred tear he wept, Man's feebleness the God-man shar'd!- He watches o'er our daily lot; THE OMNIPOTENCE of god. But none may all declare-the learn'd, the wise, Yet-though their lives were ages, and their days And man succeeds to man as flower to flower; The world! we gaze from earth to heaven's vast height, |