moment, we should be unable to prosecute any duty. He "upholdeth all things by the word of His power." "In Him we live, and move, and have our being." Now, the continuous operation of His sustaining power and goodness cannot, surely, be a reason why we should not acknowledge Him. It ought not, by any means, to make us unmindful of our dependence.

Secondly. Because attention to the best-adapted means will not avail without His blessing. We are dependent on Him at every step. Not only are we upheld by Him in our personal agency, but it is by His providence that the connexion between cause and effect is sustained, as it was established. If the power, wisdom, and goodness of God were not in constant activity, crowning human labour, the husbandman might plough his broad acres, and scatter in abundance the choicest grain, but see no harvest for the sickle, no sheaves for the barn, and no bread for the family-board. It is the hand of man that scatters the precious seed; but he soweth “not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain but God giveth it a body as it hath pleased Him, and to every seed his own body." (1 Cor. xv. 37, 38.) Recognising this grand agency, the psalmist says, "Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: Thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: Thou preparest them corn, when Thou hast so provided for it. Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: Thou settlest the furrows thereof: Thou makest it soft with showers: Thou blessest the springing thereof. Thou crownest the year with Thy goodness; and Thy paths drop fatness. They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness and the little hills rejoice on every side. The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing.” (Psalm lxv. 9–13.) How easy for the Lord of all to cut off the staff of bread from a people! Let Him withhold His blessing; then, though they "sow much," they "bring in little ;" and "he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes." (Hag. i. 6.) Not in one department of labour only, but in all, are we dependent on the blessing of God. Often has He sent famine, in warning and correction, drying up the sources of national strength and prosperity. All things are in His hand we live on His bounty and care. It is as though He spread our tables from day to day. may we ask of Him, " Give us this day our daily bread."

66

Well, then,

Thirdly. We are taught, while we repeat this petition, that our labour does not purchase the needful supply; and that we have no right or claim to it, except on the ground of God's bounty and mercy, and as His gift. As a sinner, man has forfeited all good; and he receives no blessing on the ground of his own merit, but through the Saviour who redeemed him. We owe our very existence to Christ the Mediator. Had He not undertaken our cause, the punishment of sin (we can hardly doubt) would have been inflicted on the first sinning pair, in their immediate and eternal death; so that in them human nature would have had its beginning and its end. And, as we are indebted to the gracious interposition of Christ for our existence, so are we for whatever of good is mixed up with it. Every blessing is a

gift bestowed through Him; a gift to those who are both undeserving and helpless.

It must be observed, that we are not taught to pray for the luxuries of life, or for abundance of this world's good. There is the highest wisdom in that remarkable prayer of Agur the son of Jakeh: "Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: lest I be full, and deny Thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain." (Prov. xxx. 8, 9.) It was for daily bread that Jacob asked, when, on his way to Padan-aram, a solitary and anxious traveller, he vowed a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God: and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that Thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto Thee." (Gen. xxviii. 20-22.) To ask of God the superfluities of life, we find no warrant. "We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be there with content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." (1 Tim. vi. 7-10.) In His wise and gracious providence, God may bestow upon us more than is necessary for our comfortable sustenance; but we are not taught to ask this. It might not be for our good, or for His glory; nay, it might even tend to our spiritual and everlasting injury. If He bestow much on us, we must remember that we are put in trust for a time, and be careful to use it so as to please the Giver. We are "stewards of the manifold grace of God ;" and the time will come when we must give an account of our stewardship, and be no longer charged with its administration. If we "show all good fidelity" in the use and improvement of these bounties, we shall be rewarded as good and faithful servants; if we are unfaithful, we can look only for condemnation. Blessed is that servant whom his Lord when He cometh shall find faithful!

Finally. While trained daily to ask of God that which is needful and sufficient for us, we are implicitly taught the duty of trusting in His everwatchful providence, and of dismissing from our minds corroding cares in regard to the future. As the spirit and habit of prayer for God's blessing should underlie all diligent endeavours in our calling, so should the spirit and habit of trust in God, leading us to cast all our care upon Him. We are not to anticipate, with unbelieving anxiety, days of darkness that we may never live to see; nor to distress ourselves by the fear of imaginary evils. This is to distrust the wisdom, care, and goodness of God; and to injure our own souls. Diligence in business, with a due improvement of providential openings; a wise economy in the use of what is bestowed, with a prudent forethought as to what may be hereafter;-these are imperative duties; and

it is in connexion with these that we must look for what is needful. How great the evils which have arisen from undue anxiety, in the case of some of God's children! Their souls have been weakened; their intercourse with heaven has been interrupted; their peace has been taken away; and Satan has gained an advantage over them. Mark how the Redeemer warns us against this evil in the latter part of this chapter. (Verses 25-34.) To "take no thought" implies to dismiss inordinate concern about the things of this life; but consists with simple thoughtfulness and a moderated concern. "Care becomes a dangerous and sinful anxiety," it has been well observed, "when it goes beyond the necessity of the case; when it is dis proportionate to the temporary interests of the present life; when it leads to distrust in God; when it arises from want of submission to the lot He may be pleased to assign us; when it stretches too far into the future; when it disturbs and chafes our own minds, unfitting us for devotional exercises, and inducing the neglect of our spiritual concerns."

To conclude. What is more fitting, than that we should receive all our daily blessings with gratitude, and with the offering of praise? We should cheerfully honour the unwearied Benefactor with our substance: for what have we that we have not received? We do but render back that which has been committed to us for the advancement of His glory; and, "if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not." "The Lord loveth a cheerful giver." "Of all that Thou shalt give," said Jacob, "I will surely give the tenth unto Thee." "Vow, and pay unto the Lord your God: let all that be round about Him bring presents unto Him that ought to be feared." We are bound, for the Lord's sake, to do good to our fellow-men in general, "especially unto them who are of the household of faith ;" and this, according to the ability given us. Freely we receive; freely we should give. Thus shall we be "the children of our Father which is in heaven;" who "maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." "Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate; laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life." "To do good, and to communicate, forget not; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased."

PAGES FOR THE YOUNG.

VIII.-THE ORPHAN STUDENT.

LITTLE T. was an orphan at eight years old; and not merely an orphan, but wholly destitute. But "the Father of the fatherless," who has all hearts in His hand, inspired a relative to adopt the child, and treat him in

every respect as her own son. Still, as she had a large young family of her own, she did not feel that in justice she could do more for him than give him his education, and set him afloat to take care for himself. As soon as he was able to understand her, she laid this upon him as an incentive to industry at school; and the hint was not thrown away. At thirteen he distanced his whole class; and, having chosen the medical profession, determined within himself to work his way independently of his generous patroness. Some months after, he presented himself for examination at one of the medical Boards, that he might be admitted, if successful, to the vestibule of his profession. Of course, he was very anxious as to the result. Much hung upon it, and he spared no pains. The day arrived, and he took his place with many others, his seniors, in the examination-hall. With a beating heart he beheld the array of authorities before whom he was to stand; and many a fear clouded his young spirit. But, through the good hand of his God upon him, he not merely succeeded in gaining his entrance, but delighted his examiners by his intelligent preparation. His patroness was all anxiety, until she received the welcome tidings that T. had passed his examination with unusual credit. As soon as he returned, he flew to her to tell her all about his journey and the great event of his entrance. "O," she said, "how glad you must have been! What did you do when all was over? I suppose you were wild with joy." "I will tell you, aunt, what I did first of all," said he. "I went to my lodgings and shut myself up in my room, and then threw myself on my knees, and gave thanks to Him who had brought me through." His aunt clasped him to her heart, and replied, with tears of joy, " And He will do more than that for you, my boy, if you continue thus to seek His face early."

Is it needful to add, that T. rose to wealth and honour, as well as to the top of his profession? He became in after life the stay and staff of his benefactress, who, having thus cast her bread upon the waters, found it after many days.

DOCUMENTS ON THE SABBATH-QUESTION.

66
FROM HERAPATH'S RAILWAY JOURNAL."

It is a fact, that the best paying Railway Companies in this country, excepting one, set their faces against Sunday excursions.

All things considered, it is doubtful whether Sunday excursion-trains "pay." A correspondent, who is a large railway shareholder, doubts their paying.

Without adopting the tone of our correspondent's letter, we second his views. We say, Let the matter be inquired into; and let it be ascertained whether excursion-trains on the Sunday are profitable or unprofitable. If they do not pay, there can be no reason, human or Divine, for keeping up a practice which is viewed as undoubtedly "wrong" by some of the best

amongst us. If excursion-trains do pay, it might be a question whether they should be continued in the teeth of the adverse opinions of those who ought to be the best judges of what is morally right.

Do we see the pleasure-vans on the common road whirling out of London on Sundays, as they do in the fine weather on Mondays? No. Monday is the great day for the pleasure-van. On Sundays the churches and chapels would probably take away full half their numbers; and therefore on Sunday the pleasure-van owner, who looks closely to his pocket interest, does not run his van. The railway excursion-train is similar to the pleasure-van on the common road: but one would like to know why railway-directors, or some of them, select the very day the pleasure-van proprietors avoid for this business, namely, Sunday, when the church-bell is ringing, and most people of all classes and ages are going to church.

We have heard it said, "What can the poor labourer do, if the Sunday excursion-train is taken off? Labouring all the week long, the luxury of a run into the country will be foreign to him, if he cannot take it on Sunday." This is not the language of a poor labourer himself.......He goes on Monday, as a matter of choice; but some of the Railway Companies tempt him to a railway-trip on Sunday; and, perhaps, by their arrangements, compel him to prefer Sunday to Monday for the health-inspiring run, if performed by rail. Necessary Sunday-trains may be all very well; but the present question is, whether the professed pleasure ones, which induce the multitude to travel by fares monstrously low, should be continued. The bishops are dead against them on high grounds. On the lower grounds of commercial advantage to the Companies themselves, the result of an investigation would probably be a recommendation to discontinue them. Excursion-trains must add to the work of the railway-officials, who are generally in the six days worked up to the full extent of their powers of endurance. We should think, therefore, that the abandonment of the Sunday excursion-train would be hailed with joy by many a pointsman, guard, engine-driver, ticket-taker, porter, and money-taker; and that the efficiency of these hands and heads would be all the greater, for a relaxation from business usually accorded to people in this country.

Forced Sunday-work is hardly calculated to attract to the service of railways the best class of servants.

FROM COUNT DE MONTALEMBERT, IN THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF FRANCE, DECEMBER 10TH, 1850.

M. de Montalembert brought forward the Report of the Committee relative to the Observance of Sundays. He said, that the repose of Sundays was a blessing and a duty, and had been shamefully violated in France. The non-observance of that sacred day was a public profession of atheism -a defiance thrown at the Creator. The demoralizing effects of the neglect of that holy day might be seen in the increased number of cabarets, which amounted to three hundred and thirty-two thousand in France. It was fully time to remedy this evil, and to pay some attention to the moral