direction she was pursuing, made him suspicious of some evil purpose. He turned and followed, but she had already too far preceded him. A shelving bank hid her for a moment from his sight, and before he could reach the other side, there was a heavy plunge. He hastened to the water's edge. Already far out in the eddying stream, something white, like a woman's robe, glimmered in the fading moonlight, and then, slowly and without a struggle, sank in the dark waters. He watched and waited long; but it never rose again.

"The end of these things is death."

Whether this event had any connexion with the incidents of the preceding narrative, the writer presumes not to determine, but it appears highly probable. The Nile tells no secrets, and if all be true, it has many such in keeping.

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Reader, behold in this affecting narrative, the bitter fruits of sin. Mark the steps which lead to apostasy.

"First, the love of sin, and a desire to indulge in it. "Then doubts of the truth of Christianity, because it is opposed to the practice of all sinful indulgences.

"Then a denial of the truth.

"Then further progress in iniquity; and lastly, an open confession of a system of falsehood.

"But mark the bed of the dying renegade. Νο peace was there; no strong consolation to soothe the dying pillow; no sense of pardoned sin, and acceptance with God; no hope full of immortality to illumine the dark valley of the shadow of death. All is remorse, disquietude, and darkness. Take warning then from this and other instances of the awful fruits

apostasy and infidelity. Though iniquity be sweet in thy mouth, yet in the end it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. False religion and infidelity may lead you to cast off the fear of God, and may allow you to sin with ease; but it cannot give you peace on a dying pillow, or enlighten your dark passage to the tomb with a glorious hope.

"Listen then to the cheering words of Him who says, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life.' Flee to the stronghold of Zion, ye prisoners of hope. The vilest and the most unworthy have fled to this refuge, and found shelter. Repose on the Rock of ages, and it will be well with thee for ever.'

E. P.

THE SHADOWING ROCK IN A WEARY LAND.

"A man shall be as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land."Isa. xxxii. 2.

Two ideas are here presented to the mind; the one of refreshment, the other of fatigue. Taking the latter first, we have, a weary land, in other words, a land causing weariness. We think of the desert; a vertical sun blazes around; no green refreshes the eye; no falling waters delight the ear; no song of birds is heard; long and painful is the way; and, as "the hireling earnestly desireth the shadow," so does the wayfaring man desire repose. It is "a weary land."

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Such as the desert is to our natural man, such, as believers, is this world to our spiritual man.

Consider the soil. It is dry without refreshment, and barren without beauty. "I stretch forth my hands unto thee in a barren and dry land, where no water is.” There is nothing of mere human growth which can refresh the regenerate spirit. Such refreshment must come from above. "All my springs are in thee." The eye which hath discerned Christ all fair in his perfections, can see nothing of real beauty, except in that which savours of his likeness. 0 Saviour, whilst we contemplate thine excellence, daily by thy Spirit transform us inwardly to thy likeness, and by thy coming, speedily conform us outwardly to thine image. Blessed hope! We shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

Contemplate the inhabitants of the land. They are the enemies of our God, and they crucified our Lord; whilst, as to the "peculiar people" and family to which the Christian himself belongs, they have by thousands, and tens of thousands, in all ages, cruelly tormented, and put them to death. What peace or comfort, therefore, can the believer have among the people of the land? I speak of peace; but when I speak thereof, they make them ready to battle?

Consider, again, the prince of the land. His name is Satan, the adversary, the Apollyon, the destroyer. He is "the God of this world." His power is tremendous, his cruelty beyond compare, his malice unbounded, his subtilty serpentine. Little repose can the people of God expect whilst sojourning in the country of this persecuting Pharaoh.

Observe also, the Christian's position in the land. He is an exile. Originally a voluntary wanderer from his Father's house, he is on his way back thither; but the period of his

banishment is not yet expired. How earnestly he longs for its termination! "When," cries he, shall I come and appear before the presence of God? Poor exile! In loneliness he meditates upon his father-land. There centre his fondest hopes, his warmest sympathies; and tumultuously, with exultation, his heart bounds, as he contemplates the near approach of his return.

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We might, also, view the Christian as a stranger amongst the people whose language and whose customs are foreign and painful to him, or a pilgrim engaged in a dangerous and wearying journey. But the above is sufficient to illustrate our subject. Truly it is a weary land," and that, O my soul, thou knowest right well; for thou hast eaten "ashes as it were bread, and mingled thy drink with weeping." And what marvel? for hath not thy Saviour, before thee, marked with sweat and with blood the sands of the desert through which thou art now passing?

But, let us turn from this "weary land," to a place of freshness and repose; for we read, in the midst of this desolation, of the shadow of a great rock. Such is Christ to those who know him. Not, observe, a shadowing tree, which affords not the delightful coolness of the caverned rock with all its dropping grottoes; nor yet, the shadowing roof which time decays, and heat penetrates; but a shadowing rock, yea more, "the shadow of a great rock."

Thus, this charming image presents to us Christ under the emblem of a shadow, which, where summer suns are scorching, we so much covet; the shadow of a rock, which, of all shelter, is the most delightful. And, to complete the image, it is the shadow of a great rock, perfect in its nature, ample in its extent, perpetual in its duration. Such, to the weary and heavy laden, is Christ. Come, then, my soul; here is what thou desirest. It is a 66 weary land" where thou art toiling; and here, in the land of thy weariness, is "the shadow of a great rock" for thy refreshment.

See how fitted is this provision to the Christian's wants. Is he fainting under the terror of God's fiery law? In Jesus is shelter, for its every shaft has been spent on him. He has borne its curse, as well as fulfilled its requirements. Does the believer quail under the assaults of Satan? Christ is a secure retreat, for, "for this cause was the Son of God manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” Do the lusts of the flesh shake his earthly tabernacle, and make him inwardly groan unto his God? Jesus is here also a

refuge; for sure is his word, "My people shall never be ashamed." Do persecutions, bereavements, cares, worldly losses, pain, or sorrow distress him? In all, Jesus is "the shadow of a great rock." The Christian knows in whom he has believed, and under every circumstance of trial, he finds the truth of the promise, "As thy day is, so shall thy strength be."

And the shelter which Christ affords is enduring, not only for time, but for eternity. A period is at hand, when the Lord "will arise to shake terribly the earth;" when “He shall sift the nations in the sieve of vanity, and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people causing them to err." At that solemn period, how blessed, amongst surrounding desolation, to know Christ as a hiding place! "The hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies," but they that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, which can never be moved.

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In conclusion, however, remark this-a shadowing rock, such as we are supposing, may be said to have two aspects: contemplate such a one. In the midst of the said plain, 66 weary land," it rears its gigantic head, and diffuses its ample shade around. It has a twofold aspect; one to the north, where all is shadow and refreshment; the other to the south, where everything is blazing with heat, rendered by the rock itself more intense. My fellow sinners, in both these views, such is Jesus. He is truth, and as the shadowing rock to protect, and as the fiery heat to consume. He is both a Saviour and a Judge. Consider well thy position in regard to him, and whilst time and grace are granted, haste thee to realize that which is written: "I sat down under his shadow with great delight." O. R.

OUR MERCIES.

FLOWERS.

"RELICS of Eden" flowers have been beautifully called. What reflecting Christian can look on flowers, and not feel affected by the mercy which has clothed the earth with so much that "is pleasant to the sight?" Flowers are the luxury alike of the rich and the poor; they spring up by the wayside of life, and court us to be innocently happy. Dressing these beautiful creations was the earliest occupation assigned to man in Paradise; and their culture is ofttimes the earliest voluntary task of childhood, and the later and cherished solace of the child-like spirit which turns from the more

exciting pleasures man has multiplied to himself. Associated through life with a thousand sweet remembrances, they are our little daily monitors of the frailty of this earthly existence, and the pledges of one exempt from vicissitude and decay. They speak to us of love, which delights to bless; of wisdom, which appoints the bounds of our habitation; of providential care, which overlooks not the least and meanest of God's creation. Trodden underfoot of man, they read us a lesson of humility. And last, but not least, they bid us blow like them through our little day, freely dispensing the precious gifts which we have received freely, and silently showing forth His praise who has called us out of darkness into his marvellous light.

CHEERFULNESS.

L. H. C.

A cheerful disposition, like many blessings which our heavenly Father has scattered on every side, is not sufficiently appreciated. By many, cheerfulness is scarcely thought of as a mercy; yet there are few common blessings to which we are more indebted; for cheerfulness, when sanctified, is as a little sun in the domestic circle. We know not how much enjoyment we owe to its cheering influence, to innocent gaiety, to playfulness of mind, and the inspiring tones of a happy voice. Mirth without religion, or rather, mirth where there is no sense of religion, (except in little children,) cannot impart gladness to a reflecting being; for where God is not sought unto, and there is no love for a Redeemer, there is something affecting in seeing a creature with exuberant spirits, all life and animation, without one thought of the Author and Giver of all. Christian cheerfulness, on the contrary, is delightful! It is as a tribute of gratitude to God, the spontaneous expression of happiness within; and, like the combination of flowers and music, diffuses sweetness and harmony on all around.

Yet there are many persons who love the Lord, to whom cheerfulness is often denied; physical and mental causes depress the spirits; and though these know and acknowledge that Christians are called upon to rejoice, they cannot rejoice, they have seasons of deep gloom, when they can neither feel nor feign gladness. They are resigned, but they are unable to shake off the cloud which oppresses them, until God disperses it; then they do know what it is to rejoice; then

"The happiness that follows close on sorrow,

Shows like a lamp that breaks upon the night."