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example, threatens to sweep him down on the rocks of destruction; at another, the secret, and almost imperceptible, but no less dangerous, shoals of prosperity, fame, and smiling circumstances, endanger his very existence; at another, the storms of violent temptation, the overwhelming waves of an accusing conscience, or the furious gusts of unbelief, and satanic suggestions, may be on the point of dashing him on the very reefs of perdition. And why is it, amidst so many perils, that his immortal spirit does not suffer shipwreck? Because Jesus is its anchor and its stay; the eternal God and Saviour of men is his present help in every time of trouble. Happy indeed would that merchant be, who could procure an anchor of infallible security to his vessel under every emergency. It would be considered by himself and his crew as beyond all price. But alas! such an anchor of safety for the bodies and natural lives of men, is not to be forged out of the perishing polluted materials of this sinful world. Jesus Christ, however, is all this to the Christian mariner's soul. He sends him forth, it is true, to contend with the dangers and buffetings of this world; he does not see good to remove him from its many trials so soon as human weakness might desire but while the Christian is in the world surrounded by nameless dangers, his Lord has

prayed for him, that he may be kept from the evil (John, xvii. 15); and therefore he will be preserved by that infallible and omnipotent hand which is ever stretched out to save the soul who feels its own helplessness, and casts itself wholly on the Lord Jesus as the anchor of hope.

Happy, happy Christian, whoever thou art, that hast fled to lay hold on this hope that is set before thee in the gospel! Thou mayest now be very poor in worldly circumstances, and thy limbs may totter with old age and many infirmities; thou mayest be brought very low by injustice and oppression, and all men may frown upon thee; but if thou hast indeed fled to Christ, and obtained that faith which sees things, otherwise invisible, thou wilt go on thy way rejoicing, as many have done before thee: saying,

"Though waves and storms go o'er my head,

Though strength, and health, and friends be gone;

Though joys be wither'd all and dead,

And every comfort be withdrawn ;

On this my stedfast soul relies,
Jesus, my anchor, never dies.

"Fixt on this ground will I remain,
Though my heart fail, and flesh decay;
This anchor shall my soul sustain,
When earth's foundations melt away;
Mercy's full pow'r I then shall prove,
Lov'd with an everlasting love."

No. XVII.

THE VOYAGE WELL ENDED.

"AND GOD SHALL WIPE AWAY ALL TEARS FROM THEIR

EYES; AND THERE SHALL BE NO MORE DEATH,
NEITHER SORROW, NOR CRYING, NEITHER SHALL
THERE BE ANY MORE PAIN: FOR THE FORMER
THINGS ARE PASSED AWAY."
Rev. xxi. 4.

AT length the voyage is brought to its close; the homeward-bound passage is completed. Let us reflect on this period, so much to be remembered by the wandering mariners. With what cheerful countenances, with what joyful, what inexpressible feelings, did the weather-beaten and long-absent voyagers behold and enter their long lost native port! This was the happy hour, the thoughts of which bore up their spirits under the burning suns of Africa, and amidst the snows and ice mountains of Greenland. Yes; it was the thought of home, and the hope of returning thither, that made all the evils of foreign climates bearable, and all the hardships and privations of the voyage seem light. And now these thoughts

and hopes and expectations are more than realized; the ship has entered within the pier-head, -the anchor is gone,-the sails are unbent,the crew have stripped off their tarry, filthy garments, have clothed themselves in new apparel, are gone on shore, and in the welcome smiles of their dearest friends and kindred, have forgotten all the storms, and dangers, and sufferings of the voyage, or only remember and speak of them to increase their present happi

ness.

But what is all this when compared with the long-exercised Christian ending the voyage of life in peace, and entering into that haven of eternal rest where he so much longed to be? All comparison sinks into nothing and vanity. Yet we may pursue the parallel, and observe, that it was the hope of such a happy end which supported his spirits through the numberless trials and sufferings of life. When guilt and renewed temptations depressed and grieved his soul,-when pain and sickness wrung and enfeebled his body,—when poverty marked his circumstances, and unkindness or neglect sat on the brow of every pretended friend, it was the hope of heaven that cheered his bosom, and strengthened him to contend with all the ills and fears he had to meet by the way. It was in vain for him to look to man for consolation. Wicked

men felt no desire to comfort him, and good men seldom had it in their power. Nay, they were common partakers of the same, or of very similar, trials. So that, with reference to them as well as to himself, he often sang

“While here we walk on hostile ground;
The few that we can call our friends

Are, like ourselves, with fetters bound,
And weariness our steps attends."

These things, however, did not make him despair, although they, at times, cast him down. On the contrary, he would look beyond the present scene and the present trouble, and pursue his song,

"But yet we hope to see the day,

When Zion's children shall return,
When all our griefs shall pass away,
And we no more again shall mourn.

"The thoughts that such a day will come,
Makes e'en the captive's portion sweet;
Though now we wander far from home,
In Zion soon we all shall meet."

And now, behold, in the Lord's best time, all his fears and sufferings are ended; all, and more than all, his hopes are realized; for happy experience has taught him the meaning of that voice which proclaimed to Saint John from heaven, "Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord:

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