itself with them, or seek a transient shelter under their venerated umbrage, but the joys themselves are solid and rational, accordant with the genius of Christianity, supported by the spirit of its doctrines, promised and exemplified in its sacred record, and attested to every age as matter of undoubted experience, by men of the soundest understandings. The beauties of colour, or natural scenery, remain the same, although the blind or dim-sighted cannot admire them. So do the joys of religion; and to discard as visionary, those sentiments or emotions which, from obvious moral deficiency, we are incapable of discerning, is to exemplify the workings of a most outrageous frenzy.

These five considerations then, are submitted to the reader, as a specimen of the advantages to be derived from solitude with his God. And oh ! let him subject them to serious review, for if it be the case that this species of exercise, when rightly conducted, has indeed a powerful tendency to secure to him that natural independence of mind, which belongs to him as an individual, and for which he is necessarily held responsible; that it fits him for the proper management of the moral elements, among which he moves; that it aids him most effectively in ascertaining the state of his heart; that it yields him often a most grateful relief, from the spiritual exhaustion of social life; and that it opens to him springs of specific enjoyment, which without it are but sparingly attained—if it thus goes to clear and consolidate his character, and give him nerve and decision in the Christian life, then surely it must assume an

importance in his eye, which will easily induce him to sacrifice not a little for the sake of giving it its due. Let him weigh it well, in its claims upon his notice; let him allow it to stand out before him, in its real magnitude and paramount importance; and it will find its share in the regular distribution of his time: for the want of time, so loudly deplored in almost all departments of human activity, is not absolute, but relative, arising not from an actual scarcity in that precious commodity, but from the want of due economy in the selection of its employLet him yield so far to the plainest dictates of common sense, and general experience, and enlightened self-love, as to give to that which is first in importance, the primary place in his plan of operation, and then will he find, that business or recreation, or whatsoever else there be, which interferes with his wishes and convictions, will give way, in respectful deference, to the claims of a higher duty to himself and his God.

ment.

The greatest obstruction, perhaps, to the practical adoption of this maxim, even among those who are seriously disposed, is a hankering after the idea, that a man may be a very good Christian, although greatly deficient in the exercises of the closet; especially when his situation is such as to render it very difficult, if not entirely impossible, to pay them sufficient attention. Now, it is cheerfully granted, that peculiarity of situation ought, in all reason, to modify the point for which we plead; and, by consequence, that the guilt of one man in neglecting the duties of solitude, may be far more heinous than that of another, although the instances of neglect in

both cases are nearly the same as to number. It is granted moreover, that some men, who are scarcely ever in solitude, except in the slumbers of the night, and these slumbers, it may be, of brief duration-do yet exhibit the decided symptoms of a prosperous growth in grace. But these men are few, and it is dangerous in the extreme to reduce their example to a general rule. They are anomalies in the world of piety and business, and the man who possesses not their tact, should never commit himself to their hazards. For let their secret be sought out, and we believe it will be found, that almost every one of them has acquired the happy art, of being alone in company; giving his hands, or his lips, to intercourse with man, while his heart is engaged in converse with God, or snatching his moments for spiritual soliloquy, from the transient intervals of secular business. But such instances as these, so far from palliating the neglect of the duty, present the strongest enforcement of its indispensable necessity. They show us, that the man who is much involved in the business of this world, must either make uncommon efforts to maintain his spiritual well-being, and train himself to habitudes which few are able to acquire, or sacrifice his eternal interests at the shrine of temporal advantage. They establish it, in short, beyond all contradiction, that the Christian, howsoever situated, having business of his own to transact, must withdraw himself from other business, in order to transact it; and that the man who fails to do this for any consideration whatever, is guilty of foregoing, so far as he fails, the character and prospects of a follower of Jesus Christ.

But, since the Christian must have solitude, he must also have something to aid him in rendering that solitude spiritually productive, and the best of all assistances, in such a work as this, is the close and cherished companionship of his Bible itself. It is there that he finds the subtilties of human depravity detected and laid open with unerring skill; it is there that he finds his religion propounded in its doctrines, and exemplified in its pure spirit, with a power, and authority, and persuasiveness of grace, which cannot be given to them any where else; and it is there of course, that he talks with his God, in a style of conference, the purest, and most exalting that can ever be arrived at, beneath the sun. coming directly to the Bible, he brings himself at once to the ultimate test, in all matters of difficulty; and drinks the refreshment of grace and truth, as it emanates pure from the fountain; and experiences the sweetest solacements, to sooth his sorrows, and cheer him onwards, through all the stages of his present pilgrimage.

By

In full consistency with this, however, and just because it is true, it is matter of general experience, that, in order to gain the full advantage of being regularly closeted with his Bible, the Christian must be indebted to those who have studied it before him. He needs their admonitions, to remind him of the duty, and urge him to perform it; he needs the fruit of their labours, to elicit the spirit of his Bible, and render its suggestions easily accessible, or adapt them to the state of his mind; he needs their example, to show him their manner of conducting their meditations, and induce him to

copy after it; he needs the tuition of their knowledge and experience, to correct his mistakes, and guide him to sound and solid results; and he needs to see specimens of their success, to beget in him love to exercises which are found so very consoling, and fraught with so many enriching rewards, to all who conduct them aright. To be conversant with the writings of men, however great or holy, at the expense of neglecting the oracles of God, is to throw a grievous obstruction in the way of religious prosperity; and when this is, in any case, the tendency of his conduct, the Christian has cause for alarm. But when he keeps these writings in their proper place, and makes a judicious choice of them, and submits his conscience to their reasonings, and imbibes the spirit which they breathe, their tendency is just the reverse of this, they carry him to his Bible, and not away from it; they unlock its precious treasures; they teach him to admire its teeming disclosures; they are the best means for opening his eyes to behold the wonders which it contains.

Now, we have no hesitation in setting forth this little Volume, as one of the most available of these means. It is an excellent vade mecum for the Christian to take with him into the sequestration of a pious solitude. He cannot make it his friend, without going deep into the knowledge of himself, and rising insensibly into fellowship with heaven. It flows in upon his soul in four separate streams. But although separate, these streams are congenial. Their general nature is the same. They issue from the same source the revelation of mercy to man; and