ferings to which their tender natures are exposed, in the view of brighter visions of faith than the eye has ever seen.

There is also another kind of false magnanimity, among some men denominated honour. Perhaps we cannot better define it than by calling it the reverse of true christian principle. It is that greatness of soul which never brooks an insult. It is the endowment of certain intangible spirits, the main-spring of whose actions appears to be a spontaneous feeling of resentment. Those who are strictly actuated by it, acknowledge no terms of reconciliation with such as have provoked their vindictive choler, till they have inflicted upon them a degree of suffering, in their own estimation, equal to the injury they have received. Nothing seems adequate to redeem the characters of these men of honour from unjust scandal and reproach, but the revenge that spoils its victim. No conduct, as they suppose, can remove imputed stains from a reputation invaded by calumny, but that which sullies it with the guilt of actual crimes.-Ill-fated indeed must be the men who conform to such a standard of morals! The poor gratification of vieing with their enemies in the infliction of misery, is their only solace for the pain of a wounded spirit. Let the indulgence of these feelings be permitted, and they will at length overcome the restraints imposed upon men by a sense of decorum, break forth into outrage against the objects of their resentment, and kindle a secret fire in their own bosoms which shall one day prey upon every fibre of their souls.

Turning now from the view of such disastrous folly, let us contemplate a more grateful scene. It is the conduct of that disciple of Jesus Christ, who, in the midst of an unfriendly world, has been assailed by the tongue of slander and falshood. Perhaps malice has invented no species of torture more characteristic of its origin, more insatiate of the sufferer's anguish, or more aggravating to his natural feelings of resentment, than that which is applied to destroy the reputation of an innocent man. Unreasonable in its mildest exercise, it is naturally indiscriminate in the choice of its victims, and unrelenting in the cruelties it inflicts. The spirit that inspires it is the most subtle and uncontrolable of all the forms assumed by the Prince of the Powers of the Air. Yet this is an enemy which the most perfect christians are sometimes called to encounter. The Saviour, "who went about doing good," was eminently exposed to scandal among the men to whom first he proclaimed good will — The character it then assailed was spotless, and proportionably re

lentless was its envious rage. It rendered even Christ a man of sorrows!

How then do those, who are actuated by the spirit of the gospel, receive such injurious treatment from their fellow men? What is their reply to the unprovoked falshoods with which the slanderer attempts to destroy their influence among men, and to rob them of a fair reputation, which is a treasure dearer still? How shall they who have never learned to feel supreme contempt towards their fellow creatures, who cannot be indifferent in regard to the reputation they sustain, and who find it no alleviation of their grief to retaliate upon their wanton accusers, by rendering evil for evil-how shall they defend themselves against the unprovoked attacks of their enemies, and assert the integrity of their conduct? Not by stupid indifference; not by fiendish revenge. They deem it worse than useless to withstand the current of human passions. They know that their blind impetuosity is but a transient thing, which soon destroys itself, and that even the more deliberate feelings of envy and antipathy, if not provoked anew, must yield at length to the decisions of moral sense, which, in the breasts of all men, bears a secret testimony in favour of disinterestedness wherever it is found; for virtue is never entirely divested of her charms, not even in the eye. of the most depraved taste.

But there is another characteristic of the christian's conduct which eminently distinguishes him from the philosopher, and the man of false honour. It is that spirit of allowance, or, at least, of forgiveness and good will, which he exercises towards those who have wronged him. It was found in the heart of Jesus, when he prayed for those that nailed him to the ignominious cross, “Father, forgive them, FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO!"

To the upright christian I would say, then, be not disturbed by the malicious or envious attacks of unfriendly men. You certainly have one unavailing source of triumph; no man, however he may reproach your good name, and influence others to cast you out as evil, can in the least hinder your being good. You can wish him well, in spite of him-you can pray to your Father in heaven, and He may repay him with the blessings of forgiving and sanctifying

grace.

And I would say to the man who slanders his neighbour's character, wi o endeavours to impair his influence, and thereby to tie the hands that should be free, Methinks if you could be a witness to

what passes in the place of his retirement*; of the prayer that ascends to heaven for his own relief and for your pardon; if you could see him, as I have, disclosing the deep anxieties of his bosom to the tender partner of his adverse fortunes, and see, mingled with their tears of sorrow and of sympathy, some that as freely flow for your inhuman guilt, your heart would melt to pity before it could hate him more, and your hand would wither before it could smite him again. Make haste, then, to be reconciled to your injured friend, for the day is at hand that shall expose your oppression and bring his prayers and tears to light before us all. *H.*

THE CLOSE OF THE YEAR.

THE close of the year is a season adapted to arrest the attention of every reflecting mind, and from the busy circle of worldly pursuits, lead it to the contemplation of objects more serious and more important. It is a season which utters a voice that cannot be heard without emotion, or listened to without instruction. The voice of decaying nature greeting us, not with the tale of mirth, but the sad story of its desolation. It is heard in the murmurs of the deep, in the rude blasts that whistle around our dwellings; it echoes from the vale and the mountain's side, and is wafted on every breeze from the forest; solemn are the truths it utters, and a stranger, indeed, must be the heart to the finer feelings of our nature, which will not listen while it speaks.

We look back on the year that has closed, and how many were the bright wishes with which we hailed its entrance, how many the pleasing anticipations which gladdened our hearts, how many the schemes of happiness and gain which we formed! but, alas! how many of our wishes are blasted, our anticipations unrealized, our schemes frustrated! Where we dreamed of joy, we awoke in sorrow; where we anticipated smiles, we were greeted with tears; where we expected gain, we were met by loss: how emphatic then, is the voice which issues from the grave of the year, "Behold all is vanity."

We look back, and how many of our companions, our friends or acquaintance, who stood on the threshold of the year, and hailed it with as bright wishes, with as fond anticipations as we, are now slumbering in the mansions of the dead. We ask for them, but they

* See Frontispiece.

are gone. In an unexpected moment, while reaping the fruits of social enjoyment, or listening to the siren voice which told of months and years to come, the messenger of death was at the door; the awful summons was announced; no tears, no entreaties, no efforts could detain their departing spirits; they bade us adieu and left us for eternity. How admonitory then, is the voice which speaks from the grave of the year, "Boast not thyself of to-morrow." -We look back on the year that is past, and it appeareth like a tale that is told-a wayfaring friend that met us, just greeted, and bade adieu. Winter, which, with its hoary frost and chilling air, shrouded nature in gloom, tarried but a day. Spring, with all its loveliness, opened on our view; the voice of the turtle, mingled with the warblings of the grove, was heard in the land: we listened, when lo, the busy hum of summer's swarms gave notice that spring had departed; we beheld the trees just decked with the opening bud, now loaded with fruit, the fields whitening for the harvest, all nature vocal with gratitude to her Author; when the faded flower, the yellow leaf of autumn whispered that "the harvest was past, the summer ended;" the aspect of nature was changed; we saw the withered monuments of her glory driven at the sport of the winds; it awoke our sympathies, we thought of man, how he sports in the spring of life, toils his short-lived summer, autumn comes, and he dies. But winter has returned; we have heard the knell of the departed year, and have been summoned to its grave: let us listen then, to the voice it uttered: "Time is short."

How important the instructions which attend the close of the year! We have seen that we can place no dependance upon the world; let us then make it no longer our idol. Its pleasures, its enjoyments, its possessions, all-all are beyond our control. If we gain them, how short is their duration! on the confines of mortality they terminate; when the eyelids close in their last sleep, they disappear forever. Let, then, our wishes and our hopes linger no longer around the vanities of earth, when the glories of Heaven are opened to their view; and, as we have entered on a new year, make the loud monitions which issued from the grave of the last, our motto: "Love not the world."

Life is precarious. The bloom of youth, or the strength of maturer years furnishes no security against the approach of death. Let us then, no longer delay that preparation without which our souls. will be left desolate for eternity; and as we hail the entrance of

the year, inscribe on our hearts the truth which is reiterated from the grave of the past: "Behold, now is the day of salvation.”

Time passes quickly away; the journey of life, at longest, is short. Man passes from prattling infancy to merry childhood, from merry childhood to adventurous youth, from adventurous youth to busy manhood, from busy manhood to the verge of life: He pauses with astonishment, looks behind, and lo! his threescore years and ten have rolled away, and are "with the years beyond the flood." The world is but an inn, where man, a pilgrim to the grave, tarries but a night; on this night are suspended the awful retributions of eternity. READER, with thee it may be far spent; the twilight may already be announcing the approach of morn: attend then to the voice which is heard from the grave of the year; "Be ye also ready." If thou art slumbering over the concerns of thy soul, awake; and while mercy waits, close with her call; that when the morning dawns, it may open to thee an entrance into that world which echoes with hallelujas to the Redeemer: into that world where the veil of glory, which shrouds the Triune JEHOVAH, is continually unfolding, and the rays of heavenly light beaming brighter and brighter for eternity.

*L.*

RELIGIOUS COMMUNICATIONS.

No. IV.

BELIEF and practice are intimately connected. The principles which men believe and by which they are governed in their lives, stamp the moral qualities of their conduct. He, who adopts principles as the basis of reasoning, which are unsound, is certain of being brought, in his conclusions, to erroneous results. If errors be assumed as first principles, it is to be expected that erroneous deductions will be made from them, and that the whole superstructure of belief, built on them, will be unworthy of confidence. It is necessary to examine principles as well as conduct, and in tracing the moral quality of conduct, we must uniformly look at the principles, in which it originates.

In the Revelation which God has given to mankind, he uniformly addresses them, and exhibits himself in relation to them, as rational and accountable beings. This Revelation contains truths to be believed, truths supported by adequate evidence, and clothed with authority, as coming from God. Is it then of no consequence what we believe, provided we are outwardly moral in our lives? Can we adopt principles of belief not to be found in the Bible, and be go