On each of these events, and the persons connected with them, we may observe that they afford a lesson of encouragement to all, to be diligently waiting upon God in his ordinances when they are expecting any blessing at his hands. The returns of prayer; the fulfilment even of our most righteous desires; may not come as soon as we expect them, but they will come at last and crown all our wishes. The Redeemer will manifest himself unto us if we seek him in his temple. There it was that these holy persons poured forth for so many years their hearts unto God, and there it was that their faith and patience were at last rewarded by a sight of Jesus. To see Jesus in his word, is still an equal reason why Christians should love to frequent the Sanctuary. They who are careless or negligent in this duty, may lose the very sermon that would have brought them acquainted with Christ, and filled them with the joy of his salvation. Blessed are they who, like just Simeon and pious Anna, affectionately tread the earthly courts of the Lord's house, for there Christ himself was once brought by his Virgin mother in the days of his flesh. There he is still visible by the ministry of his word and sacraments; and he who will not see Christ in these pledges of his love, and embrace him, would not have felt a ray of devotion warming his soul had he even stood by the Virgin mother when she presented the infant Jesus in the temple of Jerusalem. E. B.

Virgin-Born! we bow before thee!

Blessed was the womb that bare thee!
Mary, Mother, meek and mild,

Blessed was she in her child.

ADDRESSES TO THE INHABITANTS OF A PARISH WORKHOUSE.

DISCOURSE II.

THE serious attention which you paid to me when I last saw you, has greatly encouraged me to pursue the plan I then laid down. My mind has since been much occupied by the choice of the best subject to select for this morning's meditation, and I have not failed earnestly to implore the aid of the blessed Spirit that this my humble attempt may be thus sanctified to you and to myself. In endeavouring to lay before you the plain rules of our duty as set forth in the Bible, I shall make the Bible my constant guide, and I trust we may all reap the benefit; for who can open the sacred page without learning what will make them happy here and blessed to all eternity, provided they do it with a sincere desire to be instructed, and humble prayer for light and sanctification. You will remember that I said I would go to the head of the stream. I have chosen for our present consideration an event which you have all heard, but which perhaps few of you may have duly considered-The Fall of Man.

There is one great mystery in our religion which, before I proceed further, I will endeavour, as far as I am able, to explain. Much remains that is beyond our mortal comprehension; but St. Paul tells us, though we now see through a glass darkly, we shall one day see face to face. At present, all that is necessary to our salvation is written so plainly, that he who runs may read; and what God has thought

fit to conceal is meant, no doubt, as a trial to our faith. Let us therefore humbly endeavour to receive the kingdom of heaven as little children, and not puzzle ourselves with what will only bewilder our minds; those hidden mysteries of God which we are told the Angels of God desire to look into, and were forbidden. Thus much it is proper we should all. know, and necessary we should all believe, and which the Articles of our Church teach; that there is but one God everlasting, without body, parts or passions; of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness; the maker of all things, both visible and invisible; and that in the unity of his Godhead, there are three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.' This, no doubt, is a hard thing to understand; but it may bring it somewhat nearer our capacities if we consider there are other things united, yet forming separate parts. souls.

Such, for instance, as our own bodies and We know that our thoughts can wander to the other end of the earth, and yet our bodies remain in the same place. We know that in sleep the body is at rest, yet the soul is still alive. Now we cannot make out this mystery, and yet we never doubt it. Of God the Father we learn from the Bible that he made the world, and all that it contains; that he existed from everlasting, and that he has neither beginning or end; that he is Omnipotent, which signifies allpowerful, that is able to perform all things; that he is Omniscient, which signifies that he knows all things; and that he is Omnipresent, which signifies that he is every where present. Yes, even in this very place, humble and retired as it may seem, he is present, and reads the hearts of all men; he knows the humble

seeker for truth; he knows the wandering careless heart; he can detect the proud self-satisfied heart. Of God the Son, we read that he was with God from before the foundation of the world; that he was God's beloved and only Son; that, in compassion to a perishing world, he left the right-hand of his Father, and, taking upon him the form of man, came upon our earth 1827 years since, where having fulfilled all righteousness, by a life of sinless purity, he died on the Cross that we might live. We are further taught that our prayers can be acceptable to God only as they are offered in his name, and trusting in his righteousness; that there is no other name whereby man can be saved, and that those only will be saved who come in faith, believing and trusting in his merits and death. Finally, we also know that, having fulfilled the redemption of man's forfeited race, he ascended into heaven in his mortal covering, and that he will come from thence at the last day and judge the world.

Of the Third Person in the blessed Trinity, we know that he proceeds from the Father and the Son, and that he is one with them. That he is the source of light and truth, and that by his influence alone we are preserved from evil, or led to do one right thing. Thus, my friends, you will perceive our prayers are imperfect, unless addressed to each person of the Godhead. We should pray that the Father would accept us through the merits of his Son, and that he would sanctify us through the influence of his Spirit. And I hope this short explanation will teach you the meaning of our Church, in the use ahe makes of the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost in baptism, and lead you to pray

with more fervor to the holy, blessed, and glorious Trinity, Three Persons and One God, to have mercy upon us miserable sinners.

(Concluded in our next.)

ASH-WEDNESDAY.

Meaning of the Term-Different Manner of Observing it-Reason of its Institution-Ancient Manner of its Observation-What the Godly Discipline Referred to by our Church-What need of its Restoration-What our Duty till then.

THIS day was anciently called Dies Cinerum,' the Day of Ashes, from the ceremony of sprinkling ashes on the head by the penitents; and 'Caput Jejunii,” the Head of the Fast, from its being the first day of Lent, a season which has been observed by the Holy Catholic Church from the earliest times as one of public fasting and humiliation, though with considerable difference as to the manner of observing it. Irenæus speaks of it as the fast of forty hours, not of days, before Easter, kept by the Church partly from the example and practice of the Apostles, and partly from those words of our Saviour, "The days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken away, and then shall they fast;" which they understood of the time, about forty hours, that our Saviour lay in the grave. To these other days were added, more or less, according to the wisdom or circumstances of different Churches. So that it is abundantly clear that the