dest, unambitious, charitable, and keeping the sufferings of Christ continually before your eyes. Hence the stedfastness of your faith, your fruitfulness in good works, and your enjoying so plentifully an effusion of the Holy Ghost. Thus also it was, that you lifted up your hands to God in prayer, nothing doubting, while you pled for yourselves and the whole elect of God.

"In these circumstances God greatly helped you. But it has since happened to you as it is written in the Word, My beloved did eat and drink, and he was enlarged, waxed fat and kicked.' Hence emulation, strife and insubordination. Men of no name have lifted themselves up against the honourable, and persons of no reputation against such as deserved respect, the foolish against the wise, and the young against the aged. Righteousness and peace departed from you, men forgot to fear God, and became blind in their zeal; giving themselves up especially to envy. And was it not in this way, that death first entered the world, that Cain slew his brother, that Moses had to flee from Egypt, that Aaron and Miriam were shut out from the camp, that Dathan and Abiram went down into the pit, and that David was not only hated by strangers, but also persccuted by Saul the king of Israel? But to speak of examples nearer our own time, and even of our own age, some of the very noblest pillars of the Church have, in this way, been assailed and persecuted to the death. Witness the holy apostles. Peter, for example, after much suffering, died a martyr. And Paul was in bonds seven times, was scourged, was stoned, preached In the east and to the utmost bounds of the west, and at last sealed the truth with his blood; leaving behind him an eminent pattern of faith and patience. Many others also have, like them, endured torture, and set to others a glorious example. Even women, though naturally weak in body have suffered very great crueltics with firmness and died in the faith.

"We write these things unto you, beloved, not only for your instruction, but that we ourselves also may be put in remembrance'; for we are all liable to the same temptations, and are engaged in the same conflict. Wherefore, let us lay aside all vain and unprofitable ambition, and strive after conformity to the perfect rule of our holy calling. Let us consider what it is which is most pleasing in the sight of God. Let us think how precious the blood of Christ is, and which was shed, that we might repent and be saved. Let us inquire concerning the ages that are past, and see how in all generations, men have been called to repentance. Noah preached repentance in his day, and as many as gave heed to his instructions were saved. Jonah proclaimed destruction against Nineveh, and yet through repentance its inhabitants, though strangers to the covenant, were accepted and saved. The Gospel message is an invitation to repent, and in many parts of the Word of God is it urged as a duty on all. (Ezek. xxxiii. 11; xviii. 30-32; Isa. i.; Jer. iii. 4-19; Isa. i. 16.) Let us not therefore despise, but rather value and obey his excellent and glorious will. Let us prostrate ourselves before him, laying aside all ambition, and envy, and strife, the end of which can be only death. Let us initate Enoch, and Noah, and Abraham, and Lot, and Rahab; all of whom have left us examples of righteousness amidst much that was unbelieving and wicked. (See Gen. xii. 4; xiii. 14; xv. 5; xix.; 2 Pet. ii. 6. Jude 7; Josh. ii.) Moreover, our Lord also humbled himself. He came not with any shew of pride or arrogance, though his power was very great. (See Isa. liii. 1-12; Psal. xxii. 6.) And if the Lord thus humbled himself, why should not we, who have been brought under the yoke of his grace? Let us humble ourselves as they did, who went about in goat skins and sheep skins, making known the coming of Christ. Such were

◆ These and similar passages, throughout the Epistle, are usually quoted at large and commented on.

Elijah, and Elisha, and Ezekiel, and the prophets. And with these we have other examples of similar humility; as in the case of Abraham, (Gen. xxviii. 27,) of Job, (xiv. 4,) and of Moses, (Exod. iii. 11; iv. 10.) And what shall we say of David, who expresses himself so humbly in the fifty-first Psalm? And are not all these examples recorded for our instruction as well as for the generations that are past? And ought we not, therefore, to be guided by these and to return to the exercise of that peace and holiness, after which the people of God ought continually to strive?

The

Nor ought we to neglect what God is teaching us by his works. The heavenly bodies move in the order which he has appointed, and silently obey him. Day and night succeed each other, and yet encroach not on each other's boundaries. The sun, the moon, and the many groups of stars which are thickly scattered over the heavens, have all their appointed courses; and they fulfil these without crossing each other's path. earth observes her seasons, neither doubting nor disputing the will of the Creator; and thus both man and beast are supplied with the food, which they severally require. Spring and summer, autumn and winter, give place to each other, and the winds of heaven accomplish the ends, on account of which they are sent abroad on the earth. The fountains of water also, which are alike sources of health and pleasure, withhold not their stores, but liberally supply the wants of all. And even the restless deep, hath its limits, beyond which it doth not usually pass. On all of these, has the great Creator laid his injunction, that they act in concert, and conspire towards one cominon good; and in this he has manifested his own goodness. Nor let us forget, brethren, that the eyes of God are continually upon us. None of our thoughts or intentions are concealed from him. Let us fear God. Let us reverence our Lord Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed that we might live. Let us honour such as are placed over us. Let us respect the aged. Let us instruct the young in the discipline and fear of God. Let our wives be exhorted to purity of conversation, meekness in giving counsel, and charity towards all, who truly fear God. Let their children also be instructed in the knowledge of Christ, and especially, in the importance of humility and charity, and the fear of God.

"But these exhortations will avail only, when confirmed by the faith which we have in Christ. (Ps. xxxiv. 11-19.) Our heavenly Father hath bowels of compassion towards such as fear him, and he kindly and lovingly bestows the gifts of his Spirit on such as come to him in simplicity of faith. Wherefore let us not doubt, that God will bestow on us the gifts which he has promised. Let none say,These things are often told us, but they come not to pass.' Ye fools, know ye not that one thing follows another. Take the vine for example. It first buds, then unfolds its leaves, then flowers, then come the sour grapes, and lastly the mature fruit. And after a little while, what God has said will also be accomplished. (Hab. ii. 3; Mal. iii. 1.) Our Lord himself was the first-fruits of our resurrection, and we are continually reminded of it by repeated signs. The succession of day and night teaches us this doctrine. The night lies down and the day rises, and the day departs and the night succeeds. The sower also casts his seed into the earth, and though dry and naked, it nevertheless dissolves, and by the good providence of God springs up, yielding many more. And shall it yet appear strange, that God should raise from the dead such as died in the faith of a resurrection? (Ps. iii. 5; Job ix. 27.) With him all things are possible. By the word of his power he created all things, and by the same power he is able to destroy them, and again to make alive. And what he can do, he will do; blessed and wonderful are the gifts of God! Immortal for it is impossible that he should deny himself. How

life, shining righteousness, perfect assurance, and holy temperance. So much we know; but how shall we be able to understand the things which God hath prepared in eternity, for them that love him! The Creator and Father of our spirits can alone comprehend these. He only knows their greatness and their beauty. Let us, therefore, strive, with all earnestness, to be found among those who wait for him. Let our faith rest in God, and let our conduct be according to his will. Let us come to him, through our great High Priest, through whom the eyes of our understanding have been opened; and God, even the Father, would have us to taste of immortality itself. (Hab. i. 3, 4; Ps. civ. 4; Heb. i. 7; Heb. i. 5; Ps. ii. 7, 8; Heb. i. 13; Ps. cx. 1.)

"It becomes us also to do every thing, in an orderly and consistent manner. Observe, with how much order and obedience they act, who are led on to the warfare of this world. All are not chiefs nor commanders of a thousand, nor centurions, nor inferior officers; but every one obeys the command of such as are placed over him. The great cannot do without their inferiors, and as little can these without the other. It is so with the very members of our body. They have all their several offices, and yet they all conspire to the welfare of the whole. We also are members of one body in Christ Jesus, and ought to bear with each other, and to do good to each other, and yet each to act in his own proper place. Foolish men, without, it may be, either wisdom or learning, may despise such adinonitions, and think much of themselves; but what really is man? Has he ought that came not out of the dust with him, or was bestowed upon him by the Most High? (Job iv. 16, &c.; xv. 15; iv. 19; v. 1.) We ought, therefore, to worship God, and in an orderly manner, not as if by random, but at fixed times and seasons. And let the same order be observed respecting those who minister to us: for, under the law, the chief priest had his proper duty, the ordinary priest his, the Levite also his, and such as held no sacred office theirs. The apostles preached under a commission from the Saviour; and he was himself sent by the Father. The apostles, being assured of the resurrection of Christ, and endowed also with the Spirit, went forth into all the world, proclaiming the kingdom of God. And as they thus went on preaching through different countries and cities, they appointed the first-fruits of their ministry in these, to be pastors, and deacons, over such as should afterwards believe, having first proved them by the Spirit. Nor was this any thing new; for long before, it had been written concerning these, I will appoint their overseers in righteousness, and their ministers in faith.' The apostles also knew, that contentions should arise concerning the ministry after their decease; and therefore did they leave directions how other chosen and approved men should succeed. Wherefore, we cannot think it right to throw out of their ministry such as were either appointed by apostles, or afterwards chosen by other eminent men with the consent of the whole Church, and who, with all lowliness and uprightness, had ministered to the flock of Christ. It would be no small sin to cast off such. Yet, blessed are those who, having finished their course, have entered into rest; for they fear not that any shall be able to turn them out of their place and yet ye see, how ye have cast out some, who, like them, adorned their office, and lived respectably among you.

"Ye are contentious, brethren, and zealous for things which pertain not unto salvation. Look into the Scriptures, and see, whether the righteous were ever cast off by such as were themselves righteous. They were often persecuted, but it was by the wicked. They were cast into prison, but it was by men of no religion. They were stoned, but it was by such as did themselves violate the law. They were put to death, but it was by persons full of envy and malice. Daniel was

cast into a den of lions; was that by men fearing God? Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael, were shut up in a fiery furnace; was it by men professing to worship the true God? God forbid! They were men full of wickedness, and incensed against the worshippers of the true God. But such as endured these things, were men of God, and were made partakers of honour and glory. Let us, therefore, follow their example, and not be found among the wicked and envious. Why should there be strife, and anger, and divisions, among us? Have we not all one God, one Christ, and one Spirit dwelling in us? Are we not members of one body? Or have we come to such a height of madness, as to forget that we are members one of another? Let us remember the words of Jesus: Woe to that man. It were better for him that he had never been born, than that he should have offended one of my elect.' Your divisions have perverted not a few, have discouraged many, have unsettled many, and have grieved all of us. And yet they continue. Take the Epistle of Paul into your hands. What was it that he wrote you, when first ye had received the Gospel? Verily he admonished you concerning himself, and Cephas, and Apollos; for even then ye had begun to fall into parties and factions. It is a shame, my beloved, yea, a very great shame, and unworthy of your Christian profession, to have it said that the ancient and faithful Church of Corinth should, through the influence of a few individuals, be led into a general sedition against their ministers. Nor has the report reached us only, but also such as are our enemies; and through whom the name of Christ is thus blasphemed, and ye are yourselves brought into danger. Let us, therefore, at once put an end to this evil course, and falling down before God, let us beseech him even with tears, that he would pardon and again restore us to a state of brotherly affection. This, brethren, were a high and a noble duty. Having attained to some experience of the love of Christ, we would thus be expressing our obligations to him, and inheriting the blessedness of a charitable spirit.

"Let such also as have been leaders in this matter, look well to the common end of our hope. For such as truly fear God, would rather themselves endure affliction than inflict pain upon others. Yea, it is seemly for a man to confess his error, and not to harden himself in sin. Dathan and Abiram did so, and the earth swallowed them up. Pharaoh and his hosts did so, and they were drowned in the Red Sea. But the way of the righteous was to confess their sins. Moreover, God requireth us to do so, and encourageth us with the hope of pardon. (See Ps. lxix. 34; Ps. 1. 14; Ps. li. 17.) Ye know, beloved, ye know full well, what the Scriptures say on this subject. Call to mind, then, how when Moses had fasted and humbled himself forty days and forty nights, God said, Arise, Moses, get thee down quickly from hence; for thy people whom thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt have done wickedness. They have soon transgressed the law which I gave them, and have made to themselves graven images. And the Lord said also, I have told thee again and again, that this people are stiffnecked before me. Let me, therefore, destroy them, blotting out their name from under heaven, and I will make of thee a great and wonderful nation, even much greater than they are, But Moses said, Not so, O Lord. Forgive now this people their sin, or if thou wilt not, then blot my name also out of the book of the living.' O admirable cha rity! Insuperable perfection! The servant speaks freely to his Lord. He beseeches him to forgive, or if not, even to destroy himself with them. Who among you, then, is generous, or compassionate, or charitable? Let him say, If this disturbance, this contention, this schism be upon my account, I am ready to depart, to go wherever you please, and to do whatever you command,

SO.

then he perceived a youth, stepping on deck, with a large fish in his hand. "What shall I give for that fish?" "Why, so many fish-hooks." "Well, then, put your hand into my pocket and take them." The fellow did "Now put the fish down there, on the binnacle, and bring some more, if you have any," said Mr Bennet. At once the fish, which he had just bought, was brought round from behind and presented to him again for sale. He took no notice of the knavery, but demanded, "What shall I give you for that fish?" So many hooks." "Take them: have you no other fish to sell?" A third time the same fish was offered, and the same price, in hooks, required and given, or rather taken, by the vender, out of his jacket-pockets, which happened to be well stored with this currency for traffic. A fourth time Mr B. asked, "Have you never another fish?" At this the rogues could contain their scorn no longer, but burst into laughter, and cried, "We are cheating the foreigner," (tangata ke,) supposing that their customer was not aware how often they had caught him with the same bait. Just then one of the cookies, behind, plucked off Mr Bennet's seal-skin travelling-cap. This did not give him particular alarm; on the contrary, expecting every instant to feel the stroke of the axe, it slightly occurred to him that the blow, falling upon his naked head, would more likely prove effective, and need no repetition; at the same time, in earnest inward prayer, commending his spirit to the mercy of God, in whose presence he doubted not that he should very soon appear; the thought of deliverance having no conscious place in his mind during this extremity. While Mr Bennet stood thus pinioned, and in jeopardy, the axe gleaming over his head and catching his eye whenever he looked a little askance, he marked, a few yards before him, his friend and companion, Mr Tyreman, under custody of another chief and his cookies. These wretches were, from time to time, handling his arms, his sides, and his thighs, while from the paleness of his countenance-though he remained perfectly tranquil it was evident that he was not unaware of the meaning of such familiarities; namely, that they were judging, with cannibal instinct, how well he would cut up, at the feast which they anticipated, while each, like Milton's Death

grinn'd horribly, a ghastly smile,

And bless'd his maw, destin'd to that good hour." The captain, hemmed in with spears, continued a close, but evidently a very indignant captive, near the larboard-bow; while Mr Threlkeld and his son moved backward and forward, a few steps, on Mr Bennet's left hand. In the course of the scene the carpenter, who had been in these parts before, and knew the people, came aft, till he got quite close to Mr Threlkeld, when, looking earnestly towards Mr Bennet, he said, "Sir, we shall all be murdered and eaten up, in a few minutes." Mr Bennet replied, "Carpenter, I believe that we shall certainly all be in eternity by that time, but we are in the hands of God. The carpenter then crept out of his view; but Mr Threlkeld's little boy having heard, with affright, what he had so emphatically predicted, grasped his father's hand, and cried out, sobbing bitterly, "Father!-father!-when-when they have killed us, will it will it hurt us when they eat us?" The carpenter had some apprehension of the same kind as the poor child's, and, apparently, felt greater horror of being devoured than of dying; for presently Mr Bennet who kept his eye, as much as possible, turned from the impending axe, lest the sight of it should affect his countenance,-happening to glance aloof, spied the carpenter athwart the larboard yard-arm, waiting the issue, with a stern determination, which indicated that, come what might, he had chosen his lot. On being asked by Mr Bennet, afterwards, why he had been so foolish as to go aloft, as though there were a better chance there of escaping the expected massarre

than below, he frankly answered, "I knew that I must die; but I was resolved that the savages should not eat me, and as soon as I saw them cut you down with the axe, I would have dropped down into the sea, and only have been drowned, for I had weights about me which would have sunk me at once.

The whole of this strange occurrence (during which the cannibals never ceased to rage, and threaten a destruction which an Invisible and Almighty hand stayed them from executing) lasted nearly two hours. At length deliverance came as suddenly as the peril itself had come upon us. Several voices, from different parts of the deck, cried out, "A boat! a boat!" It sounded like, "Life! life!" in our ears. Happily, it was our boat, returning from the Wesleyan settlement, in Wangaroa Bay, with the owner of our little vessel, who had gone thither in it the night before. He brought with him Mr White, the Methodist Missionary, and George, the principal chief in this part of the island. The natives immediately released us from restraint, and forbore from violence, as soon as they perceived who had come with the boat. When George got on deck, his authority at once cleared it of our enemies, who yielded implicit obedience, though reluctantly, on account of the wrong which they imagined had been wilfully done to their chief, who fell overboard at the commencement of the affray. To Mr White, also, we were greatly indebted, for his friendly assistance and seasonable interference on this occasion. At his request, George consented to remain on board, as our protector, till we should quit the station. It is remarkable that this dreadful chief, formerly the terror of Europeans, was made the Lord's instrument for preserving our lives, though, but fifteen years ago, at the head of his cookies and clansmen, he had captured the ship Boyd, Captain Thompson, and slaughtered and devoured her whole company of ninety persons, except a young woman d a cabin-boy. This act of exterminating vengeance for inhuman treatment which he had himself experienced on board, while a passenger in the same vessel from Sydney to New Zealand, took place in this very bay; and, while we were held in durance, and menaced with the like fate, a portion of the wreck of the Boyd was visible from our deck, at intervals, as the waves between rose and subsided in perpetual fluctuation.

SOME PASSAGES IN THE LIFE OF MOSES.
BY THE REV. ROBERT JAMIESON,
Minister of Westruther.
No. I.

THE PERILS OF HIS INFANCY.

The