ne, from which all pleasure is excluded! is the only true source of pleasure, perent as the soul in which it dwells; immue as the Deity, who is the Father of spirits. what transcendent goodness, that God should order our religion, that all its doctrines and ecepts should minister to our advantage in the present life, as well as in that which is to Come, and this just in proportion as we comply with its dictates! We may carry an easy heart, a cheerful countenance, and an affable deportment."

The sentiments expressed in this Extract hom Miss SPRECKLEY's Diary, perfectly correpond with reason, scripture, and experience. With reason, which indicates that as the spring at creation is benevolent, its end is also be

voleut, and that, that which connects the Lier with the former, must be the principal ol, the sum and substance of human happi

Religion is that principle: it implies a wledge of God, his character and designs; owledge of ourselves, our immortality,

, accountability, and the exercise of dispositions, and the performance of tions which properly result from the of these relations; it is a voluntary

co-operation with God, in the accomplishment of his own ends; and thus, rendering the Creator and the creature, one in affection and design, it at once secures the glory of God and the happiness of man. It accords with scripture, which declares, that “Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace," that "happy is the man that findeth wisdom, that the merchandize of it is better than silver, and the gain thereof, than fine gold-that she is more precious than rubies, and that all the things that can be desired, are not to be compared to her." With experience, which while it proves that the way of transgressors is hard, evinces that the man is blessed who delights in the commandments of the Lord-the sense of reconciliation, through faith in Christ—the enjoyment of the divine presence-the pleasures of hope the harmony of the renewed facul ties conspiring to do the will of God, the ineffable union with the Godhead, experienced by every genuine believer in Christ, are sources of happiness, which words are unable to describe: they cannot be conceived by unregenerate minds: they constitute that secret of the Lord, which is only revealed to them that fear him, the very effulgence of his glory, burst

ing through the veil of the covering which has been cast upon the hearts of all men, and affording to the ransomed spirit the foretaste and pledge of heaven. Nevertheless, all the representations of the ability of religion to confer happiness, are deemed visionary and fantastic by the men of the world; accustomed to taste no higher pleasures than those of sense, and morally disqualified for the perception and enjoyment of spiritual objects, they feel the strongest antipathy against those who profess a relish for them; and their very existence is attributed to the fecundity of the imagination, and the sportive dreams of disordered passions. Perhaps there is not a more common and fatal objection to religion than this; men desire happiness, but they cannot be prevailed upon to believe that it is to be found in religion-honors, riches, sensual gratifications are all sought after as the materiel of enjoyment, without success; disappointment in pursuit, and dissatisfaction in possession, are universally experienced; the most laborious and successful find they have hewn to themselves broken cisterns, which can hold no water, and yet no wisdom is learnt by the repeated failure of the experiment: the same circle of

vanities is trodden by the young and unexperienced in hope, by the aged in despair. Who will shew us any good? is the universal demand; and yet a deaf ear is turned to the voice which cries, "Ho! every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters," whose bright and cheering streams roll along the desert untasted, while the stagnant and putrid waters of transgression are quaffed with unquenchable avidity, notwithstanding they afflict and destroy the immortal soul. O fatal perverseness of human nature ! Woeful ruin of her dignity, that the bliss of angels should be despised, and the pleasures of beasts be coveted, as the only good of rational and immortal man! :

SECTION II.

The Christian Ministry-Character of Miss SPRECKLEY as a hearer-Extracts from her Diary-Migra · tion of Birds-Benevolence of God-Friendship with Christ-Creation and Fall of Man-Providence→ Reflections.

THE public and stated ministry of the word of God, obviously holds a primary place among the institutions of the christian church. St. Paul, in the Epistle to the Ephesians, furnishes us with a luminous and comprehensive statement of its origin, nature, and design. “When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. He gave some Apostles, and some Prophets, and some Evangelists, and some Pastors and Teachers, for the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come in the unity of the faith, and