with him; his children also attend the Sunday-school; and his home, for the first time, begins to present an appearance of peace and of domestic comfort.-From the Ninth Report of the London City Mission.

THE POTATO GROUND.

IN turning over some letters received in the month of April, I find in one of them this short account:-" You, perhaps, remember Sarah Taylor, who was an old and faithful servant at Ward-end. She now lives in one of the alms-houses, and has half-a-crown a week coming in. Though nearly blind. she is a humble, contented, and happy Christian. At this time she is attending as nurse on an old woman, as, according to the rules, the aged people when ill take care of one another. The old woman has allowed Sarah, for her kindness to her, to use her strip of garden ground, and Sarah has planted it with potatoes, by which some small sum may be cleared; but the last time Sarah called, she seemed to be rather unhappy about having the produce of this strip of land, as, above all things, she feared to become covetous."

Oh, what a lesson is here to those who labour to be rich, and covet what belongs to their neighbour. True it is, that "Godliness with contentment is great gain," 1 Tim. vi. 6; and "Better is little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasures and trouble therewith," Prov. xv. 16.

VAIN THOUGHTS.

A SERVANT of God, instead of thinking his own thoughts, should be doing his Master's work. Oh! what evils have been brought into the world by vain thoughts. David said, "I hate vain thoughts," Psa. cxix. 113, and truly he had reason to hate them with perfect hatred, for they had made him smart. He thought to rid himself of a trouble by bringing about the death of Uriah, but he was preparing affliction for his own soul. Cain thought to ease his heart by killing Abel, but he brought on himself a curse. raoh thought, by preparing his chariots, to overtake Moses, but it only hastened his destruction in the Red Sea. Judas thought, by betraying his Master, to enjoy his thirty pieces

Pha

A PRAYER FOR SAVING FAITH.

71

of silver, but they only drove him to go out and hang himself. Servant of God, whether it be spring, summer, autumn, or winter, leave off thinking thy own thoughts, and diligently do the work of thy Master.

INSTABILITY.

How unstable and given to change are mortal creatures! We are as fitful as a day in April, made up of shine and shower. At one time we are for having all things done for us, and at another for doing all things for ourselves. Let us, whatever we do, do all to the glory of God.

A PRAYER FOR SAVING FAITH.

O LORD! who art long-suffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, and hast said that whosoever liveth and believeth in Thee shall never die; I come before Thee to ask for mercy, and for grace to help, in this my time of need. Lord, I find, from thy holy word, that thou hast enabled thy servants to say, "We have known and believed

Yea, thou art he who did

the love that God hath to us.' stop the persecutor Saul in his course, and so wrought in him that he could say before Thee, the Searcher of all hearts, "The life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Lord, thy hand is not shortened that it cannot save; and, blessed be thy name, to me also is there a voice from heaven; for even unto me is thy gospel come, wherein are exceeding great and precious promises. Lord, therein are the things that I want. Thou hast convinced me of sin; thou hast made me to see and feel my lost condition. I am ruined, and undone. O Saviour of them that trust in Thee, thou didst shed thy blood for the remission of sins; Thou hast fulfilled the law, and redeemed me from the curse; Thou hast made peace with God, and opened the way into the holiest of all. I read all these things in thy word, I hear all these truths from thy ministers. I feel the want of all these blessings in my heart; but as yet I have them not. I am tied and bound with the chain of my sins. I am afar off from Thee, though I long to be brought nigh. Oh! give me grace to believe. Heavenly Father! grant me to believe the truth of thy

word, the work of thy Son, and to receive into my heart thy great salvation. Lord! nothing but this can satisfy my soul. This is the thing that I long for-I long for thy pardoning love and free Spirit.

Oh! then give me to believe. Give me that faith which is both thy gift and thy work. Give me that faith which is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen. Give me that faith by which I may come to Thee, lay hold of Thee, embrace Thee, cleave to Thee, and hide my soul in Thee. Oh let thy Spirit produce this faith in me, and so take of the things of Christ, and show them unto me, that I may experience thy love in my heart, and know that I am forgiven and saved for thy name's sake. Grant this, blessed God, for Christ Jesus' sake. Amen.

SABBATHS.

BRIGHT shadows of true rest! some shoots of bliss!
Heaven once a week;

The next world's gladness prepossessed in this;
A day to seek

Eternity in time; the steps by which

We climb above all ages; lamps that light
Man through his heap of dark days; and the rich
And full redemption of the whole week's flight,
The pulleys unto headlong man; time's bower;
The narrow way;

Transplanted paradise; God's walking hour;
The cool o' the day ;

The creature's jubilee; God's parle with dust;
Heaven here; man on those hills of myrrh, of flowers;
Angels descending; the returns of trust;

A gleam of glory after six days' showers;
The church's love feasts; time's prerogative
And interest

Deducted from the whole; the combs and hive,
And home of rest;

The milky way chalked out with suns; a clue
That guides through erring hours, and in full story;
A taste of heaven on earth; the pledge and cue

Of a full feast, and the out-courts of glory.

Vaughan (1695).

THERE are two varieties of this shrub, the narrow-leaved and the broad-leaved, which is known by its delicate white blossom. It is supposed to have been brought into England from Spain by sir Francis Carew, and sir Walter Raleigh, in 1585, when they returned from that country just before the setting out of the Spanish armada; and the tree which they brought was seen at Beddington, near Croydon, in Surrey, about ninety years afterwards. It is supposed to have lived for more than one hundred and fifty years, and to have perished in a hard frost about 1740. But in the southern parts of Europe, and in the east, it has TRACT MAG. FOURTH SERIES, NO. 4, APRIL, 1846. D

for ages been well known, and highly esteemed for its sweet smell. In Spain and Italy, it is as common as underwood, and is often employed for hedges. In the southern parts of England, it grows in the open air.

The myrtle is an evergreen, and looks cheerful even in winter. It is mentioned in Scripture, usually as an emblem of gratitude and praise, Isa. xli. 19, lv. 13; Neh. viii. 15. It was used by the Jews at the feast of tabernacles, that time of rejoicing and thanksgiving, when our blessed Lord spoke the life-giving words recorded John vii. 37, 38. See also Zech. i. 8, 13, which passage is considered to refer to Christ Jesus, the Messenger of the covenant.

A pious writer says, "This prophecy speaks of His standing among the myrtle-trees. These are trees which he himself has planted. Such are all the children of God here on earth. As branches of myrtle were anciently distributed to guests as an invitation to joy and gladness, so are these spiritual myrtles committed to the angels of God, for the increase of their joy in heaven. As in the marriage festivals of the Israelites green myrtles were carried before the bridegroom, accompanied with cheerful pious songs, so does our heavenly Bridegroom count his people's grace and glory as part of the joy set before him. The lower their situation, the greener is their leaf, the more full of sap is their stem, and the more grateful their fragrance. His trees would wither on those hills which stand in contrast to humility and poverty of spirit."

IS THERE NOT A CAUSE ?

"Is there not a cause?" said grey-headed Godfrey, as he walked across the clover field, in the direction of the village church, with a thoughtless neighbour whom he had persuaded to go with him. "Is there not a cause why we should pray to God and praise him?”

It wanted a full half-hour of service time, for let who would be late, grey-headed Godfrey was always early. It was a good measured mile from the clover field to the churchyard gate, and a pleasant walk it was in fine weather.

Sometimes in the country you have pleasant sights, at other times pleasant sounds and scents, and there are seasons when you have all these together. It was one of