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right, as he might well have done, for he was both the elder brother and the better man, and yet he yields the point, and gives Lot that right which he might well have taken to himself.

3dly, Be sure to acknowledge the wrong done to your neighbour. Many there are who, when they have any way injured their neighbour, will not acknowledge it to be a fault, but count it a great part of manliness to stand to it "sturdily," as we used to say. This is not the way to cultivate peace among neighbours, my brethren, but acknowledge the wrong done to your neighbour, if you would live peaceably with him.

Lastly, Be very cautious of taking up or reporting any evil report of your brethren. Many there are who are glad when they have any thing, or can get any thing, to say of their neighbour. If they can hear it, they will be sure to report it. And if they should be challenged for it, "O," say they, "I am sure I did not make it." This, they think, excuses them. It was brought like a snow-ball to their door, and they must give it a kick with their foot to drive it to their neighbour's door. Ay! but the citizen of Zion, as David describes him, will not only not make a report, but will not take it up, yea, though another should bring it to his door.

And thus, I have shewn you how to live peaceably with all men. The motives for enforcing these duties are great and weighty indeed. Do this, and the God of love and peace shall be with you. No matter who shall leave you since the God of love and peace has promised that he will never leave you. It is an Old Testament promise, that a New Testament saint may take comfort from; for he hath said "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee."

I shall now shut up all, with an address suitable to the present occasion, and what I have now to say, I must be understood as speaking to those of my own congregation. My brethren, it is now sixteen years complete since I entered into the ministerial office among you, and I have, during the course of my ministry, laboured among you, for that time, according to the measure of the gift given me of God. I was, by the good hand of my God, led to that text of Scripture, Rev. iii. 3. "Remember, therefore, how thou hast received, and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour 1 will come upon thee;" so that I have left myself little more to say, at this time, but to beg of God that he would give you grace to remember and meditate upon what I spoke to you from that subject. Dear brethren, suffer it not to slip out of your mind. The scope and subject of my sermons, since I came among you, has been to preach Christ unto you. My great design was to make you sensible of your sin and misery by nature,-to cominend God and his Christ to your souls, to deter you from sin, and to allure you to duty. I believe you yourselves will bear me witness that I never stuffed my sermons with any reflections upon this or the other particular sect or party. This thing I ever despised. I never dared to bring any quarrel to the pulpit but God's quarrel against sin, for none but that I ever thought to be for the glory of God. My brethren, I bless the Lord, ten thousand times, that he ever was pleased to make me a preacher, that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; and I would not exchange the pleasure of preaching Christ's Gospel for all the gold of the Indies.

I have laboured for some time in the ministerial office among you, and wherein I have failed and come short of my duty unto you,-as who does not ?—I desire, in all humility, to fly unto that same blood of Jesus Christ that I have preached unto you, for we need to make application to the blood of Christ as well as you: we ought to fly unto it by faith, and apply it unto ourselves, that we may, with the greater confidence, preach it to you. Many a blessed and glorious day of the Gospel have I

seen in the place, and I bless the Lord for it. I have been sensibly assisted in my sermons among you; but I thought I had a call in Providence to go to another place in the Lord's vineyard, and I think so still, whatever others may reproachfully say of me. I know there has been much said in this affair, and I earnestly desire and beg of God, that he would give me grace to forgive all that hath been uncharitably said of me. One redlection, I think, I may make without offending any, viz. that if there had been less speaking and more praying among us, it had been much better with us. I do not expect, my brethren, but to meet with troubles, go where I will; but if the God of love and peace be with me, I hope I shall be enabled to combat and overcome them all at last. And, dear brethren, I request the help and assistance of your prayers, that they may fol low me, go where I will. They are of great use, both to God's ministers and people; they have been so in all ages, and are so still. Therefore, I entreat you, pray for me, that utterance may be given un to me, that I may be enabled to declare the unsearchable riches of Christ. And, on the other hand, God forbid, that I should forget thee, O Etterick, the place of my nativity -my charge, and my now glorified father's charge. God forbid, that I should cease to pray for you. And, my dear brethren, it shall greatly comfort and refresh my soul to hear that you are furnished with a well qualified Gospel minister, that shall break unto you the bread of life, and set before you the water of life. And I pray God, that the silver trumpet of the Gospel may be still continued sounding among your green hills. It is now upwards of fifty years since the Lord began to shower down blessings upon you; and yet there is plenty of provision in these higher regions; it is yet as plentiful as ever. Oh, my brethren, be much in prayer; pray severally and co-jointly; lie prostrate at a throne of grace, and protest unto God that you will not depart from thence, till he pour out his best blessings among you in such abundance, as that you shall have scarce room to receive them. "Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and of peace shall be with you." Amen."

CHRISTIAN TREASURY.

Think of Eternity.—When you hear of the death of others, how proper and useful a reflection would this be, " They are gone into eternity!" When you hear the solemn sound of a tolling bell, think, "Another soul is gone into eternity!" When you see the funeral "His time is ended; he has arof a neighbour, think, rived at his eternal home, and is fixed in an unchangeable state: Man giveth up the ghost,' said Job, and where is he?' What is become of him, whom but a few days ago we saw and conversed with? In what place, with what company, is he now? While I am thus reflecting, what does he see, and feel, and think And how soon will the same thing be said concerning me also He is dead!' Oh! that solemn, awful day, which shall finish my course; that infinitely important day when I must enter upon eternity!" Surely these just and natural reflections should make me serious, as they did a very eminent courtier and statesman in Queen Elizabeth's time, (secretary Walsingham,) whose me

This interesting fragment has been furnished by the present excellent and much respected minister of Etterick, Mr Smith. It forms the sketch of a sermon, which was preached by Mr Boston on quitting Etterick for Oxnam. "There is a tradition here," says Mr Smith," that among the many injunctions of his dying father, be was enjoined never to leave Etterick, nor the Established Church, of which he had been ordained a minister; but the impression seems soon to have worn off': the injunctions were neglected, for he ka Etterick and the Established Church, and became one of the fathers of the Relief. These Notes of his Farewell Sermon were taken in short-hand by a hearer at the time; they have never appeared a print, or any where that I know of, except in the cottage of a pros shepherd, where they have been kept as a legacy, or relic of vid preservation."

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morable words cannot fail to make some impression on every reader. This great man having retired from the busy world into the privacy of the country, some of his gay companions rallied him on his becoming religious, and told him he was melancholy. "No," said he, I am not melancholy, but I am serious; and it is fit I should be so." Ah! my friends! while we laugh, all things are serious round about us. God is serious, who exerciseth patience towards us; Christ is serious, who shed his blood for us; the Holy Spirit is serious, in striving against the obstinacy of our hearts; the Holy Scriptures bring to our ears the most serious things in the world; the whole creation is serious in serving God and us; all that are in heaven or hell are serious:-how then can we be gay? Let us then maintain a stedfast regard to eternity, wherever we are, and whatever we do. Were we deliberately to compare temporal and eternal things, we could never imagine that providing for the present life was worthy so many hours' thought and labour every day, and eternity scarcely worthy of half a thought in many hours, and perhaps not one fixed serious thought in many days. Proper thoughts of eternity will restrain our immoderate fondness for the things of time; they will shew us that the riches, honours, and pleasures of this life are all temporary, fading, and deceitful. They will teach us to follow even our lawful worldly business with moderation, by reminding us that we have more important affairs to attend to. They will abate our fondness for the distinctions of the world, which are so generally prized. The honours of this world cannot silence a clamorous conscience, much less can they suspend their possessor's eternal doom. A great man had an extraordinary mark of distinction sent him by his prince, as he lay on his death-bed Alas!" said he, looking coldly upon it, "this is of immense value in this country; but I am just going to a country where it will be of no service to me. -Anon.

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Be Consistent.-When we pray to God to mortify our worldly-mindedness, perhaps a man runs away in our debt, and we never imagine this is God's answering our prayers, but cry out vehemently against the man for running away with our money.-CROLE.

The Spirit must Bless the Word.-How quick and piercing is the Word in itself! Yet many times it never enters, being managed by a feeble arm. What weight and worth is there in every passage of the blessed Gospel! Enough, one would think, to enter and pierce the dullest soul, and wholly possess its thoughts and affections; and yet how oft does it fall as water upon a store! The things of God, which we handle, are divine, but our manner of handling is human. There is little we touch, but we leave the print of our fingers behind. If God speaks the Word himself, it will be a piercing, melting Word indeed. The Christian now knows by experience, that his most immediate joys are his sweetest joys, which have least of man, and are most directly from the Spirit. Christians, who are much in secret prayer and contemplation, are men of greatest life and joy, because they have all more immediately from God himself. Not that we should cast off hearing, reading, and conference, or neglect any ordinance of God, but to live above them, while we use them, is the way of a Christian. There is joy in these remote receivings, but the fulness of joy is in God's immediate presence. We shall then have light without a candle, and perpetual day without the sun; for "the city has no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God lightens it, and the Lamb is the light thereof; there shall be no night there, and they need no candle, neither light of the sun, and they shall reign for ever and ever.-BAXTER,

The Vanity of Sin.-Some little time ago, two children were drowned in going home from Lathom

School. They stopped by the side of a pond to play. They saw a fish floating on the water. They, perhaps, plucked a willow from the bank, and tried to get the fish to the side of the pond, but in their great eagerness they both fell in struggled for a little while-in vain cried for help and were drowned. How just a picture is this of every man who is full of the love of the world, earnestly trying to win its best favours! What are they worth to him any more than a golden fish, that some traveller who went before him has thrown away because it was dead and useless; and what is he in danger of losing but an everlasting life, more precious than the breath of this life by ten thousand times ten thousand? Oh, how many of us stand by the side of the waters of danger, please ourselves with trying to obtain the false and beautiful images that we see there, until we fall in and perish for the sake of those darling shadows! When the bodies of the two little children were taken home, how many tears did their parents shed over them! So may good angels weep over us when they see us throwing away our souls for the sake of any thing this world can give us. Learn to reason on every thing you see as if it were a shadow, for you may be sure there is nothing solid but eternity. If you cannot make such reflections yourself, read the Scriptures, or any other pious book, which will help you to see the value of eternity.-MAYOW.

Safety lies in Christ.-Christ is ever present in and with his people; and, while he is on board, the ship cannot sink. He may, indeed, seem to sleep for a time, and to disregard both the vessel and the storm. Do you awake him by prayer and supplication.—DR

GIFFORD.

A Contrast between Christ and Mahomet.-Go to your Natural Religion: Lay before her Mahomet and triumph over the spoils of thousands, and tens of thouhis disciples, arrayed in armour, and in blood, riding in sands, who fell by his victorious sword. Shew her the cities which he set in flames; the countries which he ravaged and destroyed; and the miserable distress of all the inhabitants of the earth. When she has viewed him in this scene, carry her into his retirements: Shew her the Prophet's chamber; his concubines and wives; let her hear him allege revelation and his divine commission, to justify his lust and his oppression. When she is tired with this prospect, then shew her the Blessed Jesus, humble and meek, doing good to all the sons of men, patiently instructing both the ignorant and the perverse. Let her see him in his most retired privacies; let her follow him to the Mount, and hear his devotions and supplications to God. Carry her to his table, to view his poor fare, and hear his heavenly discourse. Let her see him injured, but not provoked. Let her attend him to the tribunal, and consider the patience with which he endured the scoffs and reproaches of his enemies. Lead her to his cross, and let her view him in the agony of death, and hear his last prayer for His persecutors,-"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." When Natural Religion has viewed both, ask, Which is the Prophet of God? But her answer we have already had. When she saw part of this scene, through the eyes of the centurion who attended at the cross, by him, she spoke, and said, "Truly this Man was the Son of God."-SHERLOCK.

Christian Confidence. Even when a believer sees no light, he may feel some influence; when he cannot close with a promise, he may lay hold on an attribute; and say, though both my flesh and my heart fail, yet divine faithfulness and divine compassions fail not. Though I can hardly discern at present, either sun, moon, or stars; yet will I cast anchor in the dark, and ride it out, until the day break, and the shadows flee away.-ARROWSMITH,

SACRED POETRY.

THE LABOURER'S NOON-DAY HYMN.

Up to the throne of God is borne
The voice of pra se at early morn,
And he accepts the punctual hymn
Sung as the light of day grows dim.
Nor will he turn his ear aside
From holy offerings at noontide:
Then, here reposing, let us raise
A song of gratitude and praise.

What though our burthen be not light,
We need not toil from morn to night;
The respite of the mid-day hour
Is in the thankful creature's power.
Blest are the moments, doubly blest,
That, drawn from this one hour of rest,
Are with a ready heart bestowed
Upon the service of our God!

Why should we crave a hallowed spot?
An Altar is in each man's cot,—
A Church in every grove that spreads
Its living roof above our heads.
Look up to heaven! the industrious sun
Already half his race hath run;
He cannot halt nor go astray,
But our immortal spirits may.
Lord! since his rising in the East,
If we have faltered or transgressed,
Guide, from thy love's abundant source,
What yet remains of this day's course :
Help with thy grace, through life's short day,
Our upward and our downward way;
And glorify for us the West,
When we shall sink to final rest.

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No mingling voices sound

An infant wail alone;

A sob suppress'd-again
That short deep gasp, and then
The parting groan.

Oh! change-Oh! wond'rous change-
Burst are the prison bars-
This moment there, so low,

So agonized, and now

Beyond the stars!

Oh! change stupendous change!
There lies the soulless clod:
The Sun eternal breaks-
The new Immortal wakes-
Wakes with his God.

CAROLINE BOWLES.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Melancthon.-When Melancthon was entreated by his friends to lay aside the natural anxiety and timidity of his temper, he replied, "If I had no anxieties, I should lose a powerful incentive to prayer; but when the cares of life impel to devotion, the best means of consolation, a religious mind cannot do without them. Thus trouble compels me to prayer, and prayer drives away trouble."

Missionaries in Greece.-I am looking more, says Mr Willis, in his "Pencillings by the Way," for the amusing than the useful, in my rambles about the world, and I confess I should not have gone far out of my way to visit a missionary station any where, but chance has thrown this of Athens across my path, and I record it as a moral spectacle, to which no thinking person could be indifferent. I freely say I never have met with an equal number of my fellow-creatures, who seemed to me so indisputably and purely useful. The most cavilling mind must applaud their devoted sense of duty, bearing up against exile from country and friends, privations, trial of patience, and the many, many, ills inevitable to such an errand in a foreign land; while even the coldest politician would find, in their efforts, the best promise for an enlightened renovation of Greece.

Prayer and Painstaking.—It was an excellent part of Luther's character, that in the most critical and difficult situations, he could commit his cause to God, whom he served, with firm and entire reliance on His will; and at the same time, be as active and indefatigable in using all prudential means, as if the events depended wholly on human exertions.

A Word in Season. Mr Marshall, author of a treatise on Sanctification, in his early years, was under great distress for a long time, through a consciousness of guilt, and a dread of the divine displeasure. At last, mentioning his case to Dr Thomas Goodwin, and lamenting the greatness of his sins, that able divine replied, "You have forgotten the greatest sin of all, the sin of unbelief, in refusing to believe in Christ, and rely on his atonement and righteousness for your acceptance with God." This word in season banished his fears. He looked to Jesus, and was filled with joy and peace in believing!

Published by JOHN JOHNSTONE, at the Offices of the SCOTTISH CHRISTIAN HERALD, 104, High Street, Edinburgh, and 19, Glassford Street, Glasgow ;-JAMES NISBET & Co., and R. H. MOORE, London; D. R. BLEAKLEY, Dublin; and W. M'COMB, Belfast; and sold by the Booksellers and Local Agents in all the Towns and Parishes of Scotland; and in the principal Towns in England and Ireland.

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