and monstrous as was the object of his inquiry, he, in all probability, would have imbrued his hands in' blood, which from the earth would have called for heavier vengeance than that which he had inflicted.

But it is both wonderful and delightful to notice how, even in this instance, God honoured the means of his own appointment for the extrication of men from the snares which Satan spreads for their ruin. R S- was not so wholly left to himself as as to throw off all the restraints of religion. The Holy Scriptures were still his companions, and threw too. much light upon the desperate course he pursued, tổ leave him in the dark about its ultimate issue. This kept up in his mind thoughts of God and a future state, which held in his passions from running the full course of their natural impetuosity. Had an allseeing and righteous Deity held no place in his belief, and had he adopted the fool's creed, "There is no God;" or had he, with the more decent sceptic, con fined the Almighty to some distant and sequestered province of his dominions, too remote to notice, and too engrossed by his own calm and glorious repose to take an interest in the affairs of men; had he excluded from the vision of the future, all that is to be dreaded in hell, and all that is to be hoped for in heaven; had he reasoned himself into the assurance, that he would have to appear before no other than an earthly tri

bunal, and that the hand of the executioner would blot out his name from the book of existence, as well as from the list of mortals, no motive would have remained sufficiently powerful to withhold him from the speedy completion of his diabolical purpose. But, happily, the fear of God was not altogether removed from his heart. He was prompted to pray for light; and light, very different from what he sought, shone forth upon his soul, and revealed, not the promise of impunity which he desired, but his own fearful condition as the slave and tool of Satan, the god of this world. The eye of the Omniscient observed his approach to the long-forsaken temple, and was fixed upon him when he bent his knee to implore the commission of a destroying dæmon. That ear, which no sound escapes, heard his prayer for liberty to shed blood. Perhaps no knee was ever before bent on earth, and no petition ever before ascended to the

throne of God for such an object!

Angels, with all

the solicituden of which their happy natures are ca pable, may well be conceived to have intently watched the expression of that eye which was turned towards so monstrous an offender. They might expect to see his anger rise, and the thunderbolts of his wrath descend and transfix the daring supplicant. But how high must their joy and their praise have risen, when they beheld the smile of pity, and heard the purpose

of mercy, and witnessed the descent of holy influence to smite, and break, and renew the sinner's heart.

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And have we not here a resplendent instance of the freeness and sovereignty of that divine grace to which man is indebted for his conversion to God, and for every step in that process which gradually, renders him meet for, and conducts him to, the kingdom of bheaven 2, “It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that brunneth, but of God that sheweth mercy For what ✅ did this man will, but permission to sin with impunity? What course did he run, but, that which, had be { >ŋeached its goal, would have crowned him with in famy, and plunged him into the gulph of dark despair > and endless misery? God shewed him gratuitous mercy, and, by an act of grace, plucked him as a brand from the burning; pardoned, sanctified, and saved him. Let none, however, presume upon the divine compassion, as though this were the commo - rule of God's righteous government. Of the thousands who rush onwards towards that wide, gate, through >which none ever return, few, very few, are made the objects of such an astonishing interference. Those exempted few, just snatched from impending ruin, both warn others, by the scantiness of their number, against presumption, and hold out an encouragement to the penitent, that forbids despair,

--was

In the congregation who attended my church at S, Mr. J was distinguished for his devout and teachable spirit. He frequented the house of God not merely as a hearer, but as a worshipper; and C while he listened to the annunciation of divine truth from the pulpit, he sat not in judgment upon the preacher, but upon himself. He received the Gospel not as the word of man, but, as it is in truth, the word of God. He was superintendant of large gunpowderL works at O- and resided in a dwelling surrounded by the machinery, buildings, and magazines of the manufactory. Danger and death necessarily lurk in every corner of such a place, and those who are employed in the manufacture of the great modern instrument of destruction, above all men ought to be prepared for an instantaneous removal to the world of spirits. Many harden their hearts against every fear of danger. They brave all the terrors of their situation, and are fool-hardy on the very brink of the pit which Jburneth with fire and brimstone. I introduce the case of Mr. J———, to shew how reasonable and unshrinking is that courage which the Gospel can infuse into the

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soul. He passed the days of many successive years in fearless security; for having built his hope on the sure foundation of the divine promises, he felt that all was safe for eternity. He enjoyed a foretaste of that life, which fear cannot alarm, nor danger reach, On two or three different occasions the powder-works had exploded within a few minutes after he had quitted them, and he was miraculously preserved when others perished. Yet fully aware as he was of the solemnity of a dying hour, and especially of the awfulness of a sudden departure from life, he lived in cheerful tranquillity. The peculiar and prevailing tempers of his character were highly favourable to the serenity of his mind. He was remarkable for the sweetness of his spirit, the tenderness as well as strength of his, affections, and his child-like docility.

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Ionce found him, when I called, sitting after his dinner diligently reading Scott's Family Bible, and sedulously comparing the passage before him with the texts referred to in the margin This s was the favourite employment of his leisure hours, and he found I it to be abundantly profitable. By thus comparing spiritual things with spiritual," he acquired a very }i sound and extensive knowledge of the Gospel, and, unfettered by the shackles of human systems, proceeded joyfully along his course, exulting "in the liberty owherewith Christ had made him free," both