Taking this view of the ordinance, we get at once to the root of the matter, and have no need to search for recondite and fanciful reasons in the scales and fins, or the chewing of the cud, and the dividing of the hoof. Neither do we need to stop at the merely external, and, in part, arbitrary distinction between one nation and another; for we have here a principle which comprehends that and much more within its bosom. We see also how completely the Jews of our Lord's time erred regarding this ordinance, from their low sense and want of spiritual insight. They erred here as in other things, by resting in the mere outward distinction-as if God cared with what sort of flesh the body was sustained! or as if the holiness he was mainly in quest of depended upon the things which ministered to men's corporeal necessities! Carnal and blind, they knew not that God is a spirit, who, in all his ordinances, deals with men as spiritual beings, and seeks to form them to the love and practice of what is morally good. Christ, therefore, sharply rebuked their folly, and declared with all plainness, that defilement in the eye of God is a disease and corruption of the heart, and that not the kind of food which enters into the body, but the kind of thoughts and affections which come out of the soul, is what properly renders men clean or unclean. This obviously implied that the outward distinction was from the first appointed only for the sake of the spiritual instruction it was fitted to convey; it implied, further, that the outward, as no longer needed, as now rather tending to mislead, was about to vanish away, that the spiritual and eternal alone might remain; and the vision shortly after unfolded to Peter, with the direction immediately following, to go and open the door of faith to the Gentiles, as in God's sight on a footing with those who had eaten nothing common or unclean, made it manifest to all, that as at first the outward symbol had been established for the sake of the spiritual reality, so again, for the sake of that reality, which could now be better secured otherwise, the symbol was finally and for ever abolished.

A REMINISCENCE.

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(From the Presbyterian Herald.) Nor long after the close of the late war with Great Britain, a young clergyman commenced labouring in B- a delightful valley in the county of New York. The church had for some time been without a preacher, and the hearts of many of the old and devoted members were pained at the declensions of some of the younger members, and at the growing wickedness that was evident in the community. The presence of the young minister was accordingly regarded by the pious with lively satisfaction and hope. For some weeks he had little time for other employment than visiting the families of the members, and hearing the story of their anxieties and fears, and their present hopes for a blessing upon their Zion.

Among those visited on these occasions, was Mr. W- -,a very aged and feeble man, and one of the oldest members of the Church. He had long been afflicted with dropsy, and was then incapable of walking or of lying on a bed. Seated in a large arm-chair, which could, by means of rollers, be moved about, he spent his days in reading or conversing with friends, and his night in interchanges of prayer and sleep. His cares and attention to worldly objects seemed to be forgotten. God, eternity, and the latterday glory of the Church, were topics most interesting to his heart. On these his heart and tongue dwelt with fervour. While conversing on them, or on religious experience, he would forget his pains and privations, and exhibit a feeling of fervid delight and joy.

On his way to a prayer-meeting, a few months after his arrival, the preacher called to visit his aged friend, and informed the old gentleman that he thought there were grounds of hope for a revival of religion. Religious meetings were full and solemn; Christians were prayerful, and some sinners exhibited evidence of thoughtfulness and deep feeling. “O, how I should love to meet with the Church once more!" cried' the old gentleman; "but I cannot meet them again in this world. I do trust to meet them in glory." "But," said the preacher, "they will come here to meet you." "No," answered the aged man, "I am going too soon. I have had within a day or two, two ill turns, that nearly took me away. Another such will be sufficient, and before next Sabbath I shall be at home."

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a moment's warning. Probably before another day my course will be run. Still, thank God, I can pray for a revival just as well as if I were

which was preached on the Monday. Under it there was great weeping and mourning. The meetings also were very great. On Sabbath, it was reckoned that there could not be fewer than thirty thousand present; but Mr. Whitefield, who has been accustomed to large meetings, estimated them at twenty thousand. The tables were placed below the brae. The whole work was conducted in the open air. There were two tents, and two ministers employed in these all day, except in the evening, when Mr. Whitefield preached to the vast multitude who remained. The number of services was seventeen, and each table, except the last, contained about a hundred, or rather more; and the issue of tokens shows that upwards of seventeen hundred must have communicated. It was, I am persuaded, a blessed time to many; and yet I am hopeful that we shall see and hear of far greater things than these. May the Lord send a plentiful rain to Glasgow, his ancient heritage, whereby multitudes in it may be made to look to Him whom they have pierced, and mourn!”

The ser

It will be observed, that in none of these accounts is there any notice of the texts from which so many impressive discourses were delivered. We have not the means of supplying any regular list of these. But we have observed, from references in some of the manuscript cases, that the action sermon, preached by Mr. M'Culloch, was from the Song of Solomon, v. 16: "His mouth is most sweet; yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem." And that the sermon preached by Mr. Whitefield on Sabbath evening, was from Isa. lv. 5: "Thy Maker is thy husband; the Lord of hosts is his name." mon preached from this text has more references to it, as having been blessed to individuals, than any other of all that great man's addresses. It is printed in the first edition of his works, and in the more recent collections of his sermons. But no one can obtain from these publications a correct impression of the sermon as delivered. We have been able to trace the same discourse as delivered in four or five places of the west, not very distant from one another, during the same season, and have seen reason to believe, that his ordinary practice was to adhere to a common outline which had been prepared, but to fill it up variously in different places, as his own feelings and a sense of duty prompted. It was in this way that he secured regularity in his general method and trains of reasoning, and yet gave all the freshness of originality, and all the directness of an immediate appeal to his addresses. Different men have different methods, as they ought, and different circumstances lead to changes even in these, which would not otherwise be advisable; but it is instructive to observe how a man of so much labour, so much eloquence, and who was so much blessed, conducted his discourses.

Some of the details occurring in this and other parts of the narrative may require explanation. These outcries and faintings, it is said, do not look well. Revivals, accompanied with exhibitions such as these, are not desirable. They ought not to be encouraged. Well, even if it should turn out so, let as first see how the matter stands. It is not alleged, then, be it observed, that there is any virtue in such bodily manifestations. It is not wished that anything should be done for the purpose of promoting these. It is admitted that the demand put forth in the Gospel is not, My son, give me thy tears, or thy groaning, or thy fainting, or thy bodily suffering of whatever kind; but, "My son, give me thy heart." These are regarded merely as effects; and it is alleged that, as such, there is not in them anything contrary either to reason or Scripture. The mother

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weeps, and, it may be, faints over the loss of a beloved child; the mercantile adventurer is distracted on hearing of some heavy and overwhelming loss; and the condemned criminal is removed from the bar agitated and convulsed; and is there anything unnatural in the tears, or even in strong bodily agitation on his part, who has just been brought to see that his soul, as well as his body, is in a lost, and, as appears to him, a hopeless condition? Then, every one conversant with the common sympathies of our nature must be aware how much our feelings, whether of joy or of sorrow, are heightened by the sight and the hearing of others in like circumstances; and it will from this be seen how much of the things observed at Cambuslang must have been owing to the vast concourse of people assembled, and to the intensity of the impressions produced. And if we now turn to Scripture, there must surely be something of this kind conveyed in such a passage as the following: "They shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him as one" mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn." (Zech. xii. 10.) And it is difficult to conceive of the multitude who heard Peter on the day of Pentecost, otherwise than as resembling the meeting at Cambuslang. Peter's audience, as well as Whitefield's, must have consisted of many thousands. This vast assembly were pricked in their hearts, and cried out, as men who saw themselves lost, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" and not fewer than three thousand found peace under that sermon, and were saved. It is true we are not told of bodily agitations; but this was not to be expected in so brief a history, nor was it necessary, as these are merely the natural effects of such feelings as are here expressed.

But why, say some, have so many sermons and so many preachers, as if to awaken and keep up such excited feelings? Simply because they were found necessary. Men's minds are usually so thoroughly engaged with the things of this world, as to require all that can be done to bring them into a state even of proper concern about their eternal well-being. The common feeling is, that men require only to be informed on the subjects brought before them. But why, then, was it that, "in the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink (John vii. 37.) Was it not just because of the little interest which they had been taking in his previous teaching, and because of the sense which he had of their condition? And the same thing is true in such! circumstances as these under consideration. The saying of our Lord has need to be often repeated and considered: Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things, but one thing needful."

But it is the opinion, we know, of some who sympathize with all this, that such gatherings on sacramental occasions are not advisable. Without offering any thing controversially on this subject, it is well that we do not shut our eyes on purposes actually served by such meetings. It is of itself an important fact, that most of the remarkable revivals which have occurred in Scotland have been more or less in connection with these-have been eminently forwarded by them. They have also served the important purpose of extended fellowship among God's people connected with different congregations, and even different parts of the country. In consequence of this intercourse, these were often the means of opening communications between different places, and of promoting the work of God in these. freshed by what they heard, and saw, and felt, each

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little company returned to their own locality; and, in very many cases, their knowledge of each other, their intercourse when brought together in such solemn circumstances, and their opportunities of meeting afterwards, led to the employment of means which would not otherwise have been thought of, and, through these, to the revival of God's work in their own neighbourhood.

It is also to be observed, as regards the number of ministers brought together on such occasions, that the various gifts thus employed, no doubt, contributed to the effects produced. Different men, all excellent in their own way, are nevertheless very differently endowed. Some are fitted to awaken, some to melt, some to comfort, some to lay open the deceitfulness of the heart, some to solve difficult questions, and some to unfold the mysteries of the gospel. These and other gifts are really wanted, and hence another reason why greater effects have been experienced on such occasions than under the ordinary ministrations of some one instructor. And perhaps we should add, that there is really a blessing in Christian fellowship, which comes to be greatly more felt when its feelings traverse their usual limits, and bring together, as of one family, many otherwise strangers, or known only by report.

The excitement produced by the first communion was very great. Some had been disappointed at not being able to attend the former; some who were present had been so distracted with a sense of their condition, that they dared not to venture; and such as had been forward, and found Him whom they so much loved, eagerly panted for a renewed opportunity of the same enjoyment. But besides these personal feelings, there were extraordinary reports carried into all parts of the country. The meetings had been large, and many of those present were from a distance, and had never seen anything of the kind before. They went, therefore, to their own places, proclaiming to all the things which they had seen and heard; and the effect was, an extraordinary desire that a renewed opportunity of witnessing something similar should be afforded; many who had not been present on the former occasion, resolving that in these circumstances they also would

attend.

(To be continued.)

"NOT UNPROTECTED."

We met the following singular narrative, the other day, in the volume of a Canadian missionary who has recently published certain reminiscences of his life and labours :

About this period I went to attend the sale of the effects of Mr. M, a respectable farmer, who had died at one of my out-settlements a few months before. He had left a widow, a very amiable and pious woman, and three children, to mourn his loss. The lone widow thought herself unequal to the management of the large farm which her husband had occupied. She therefore took a cottage in the village where I lived, and was now selling everything off, except a little furniture.

After the sale was over I went into the house to see her. I congratulated her upon the plan she had adopted, and remarked that she would be much more comfortable, not only in being relieved from the cares of a business she could

This kept the poor mother awake; and she thought she heard, in the pauses of the tempest, some strange and unusual noise, seemingly at the back of the house. While eagerly listening to catch the sound again, she was startled by the violent barking of a dog, apparently in a room in the front of the house immediately beneath the bed-chamber. This alarmed her still more, as they had no dog of their own.

She immediately rose, and going to her maid's They first peeped into the room where they had room, awoke her, and they went down together. heard the dog. It was moonlight, at least partially so, for the night was cloudy; still it was light enough to distinguish objects, although but faintly. They saw an immense black dog! scratching and gnawing furiously at the door leading into the kitchen whence she thought|| the noise she first heard had proceeded.

She requested the servant to open the door which the dog was attacking so violently. The girl was a determined and resolute creature, de-l' when the dog rushed out, and the widow saw void of fear, and she did so without hesitation; through the open door two men at the kitchen window, which was open. The men instantly retreated, and the dog leaped through the window after them. A violent scuffle ensued, and it was evident, from the occasional yelping of the noble animal, that he sometimes had the worst of it.

The noise of the contest, however, gradually receded, till Mrs. Mcould hear only now and then a faint and distant bark. The robbers, or perhaps murderers, had taken out a pane of glass, which had enabled them to undo the fastening of the window, when, but for the dog, they would doubtless have accomplished their purpose. The mistress and maid got a light, and secured the window as well as they could.

They then dressed themselves, for to think of sleeping any more that night was out of the

question. They had not, however, got down stairs the second time before they heard their protector scratching at the outer door for admittance. They immediately opened it, when he came in wagging his bushy tail, and fawning upon each of them in turn, to be patted and praised for his prowess. He then stretched his huge bulk, at full length, beside the warm stove, closed his eyes, and went to sleep.

The next morning they gave him a breakfast any dog might have envied; after which nothing could induce him to prolong his visit. He stood whining impatiently at the door till it was opened, when he galloped off in a great hurry, and they never saw him afterward.

They had never seen the dog before, nor did they ever know to whom he belonged. It was a very singular circumstance, and they could only suppose that he came with some stranger to the sale. The family moved the following day to their new cottage in the village; and when my wife and I called upon them, Mrs. M- reminded me that, when I last saw her, she had told me that they were not unprotected.

A CHAIN PARABLE.

I one day preached on the general corruption of mankind (says the Rev. Mr. Leopolt of India), and the impossibility of being saved by our own works. A person present expressed his surprise at my assertions, and thought it strange that I should enforce the necessity of our keeping the whole law, if we desired not to be saved by our own merits. It was unjust, he urged, to consider a man cursed who continueth not in all the words of the law to do them; and cried out, "How can this be true, that whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all? How can this be? If I keep six of the commandments, and break four, have I not kept the majority? And is not God in justice bound to give me heaven, because I have kept two more than

I have broken?"

In explaining these truths, we can easily make ourselves understood to cultivated minds; but I could never make the common people understand me without a parable. Instead of entering into an argument, I have often replied by describing a scene on the Ganges:-"The day was dismal, the wind roared, the thunder pealed, the lightning was vivid, the waves of the Ganges raged, the stream was swollen, and the current rapid; the infuriated elements threatened destruction to every vessel on its waters; no boat could outlive the storm for any length of time. But see, what is that? It is a boat in distress, filled with people, rapidly hurried along by the waves. Between the peals of thunder the shrieks of the people are heard; they fear the rocks on the shore to which the current is driving them. What can be done for them? Could they but be drawn into this creek, they would be safe. Those on the shore look anxiously around, and discover a chain near them. A man instantly fastens a stone to a rope binds the other

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end to the chain, and flings the stone into the boat. The rope is caught; the people eagerly lay hold on the chain; while those on shore begin to draw them, amid the raging elements, towards the creek. They already rejoice at the prospect of deliverance; but when they are within a few yards of the land, one link of the chain breaks! I do not say ten links, but one link in the middle of the chain. What shall these distressed people do now?-shall they still cling to the unbroken links?" "No! no," exclaimed one of my hearers; "overboard with the chain, or it will sink them sooner." What, then, shall they do?" "Cast themselves upon the mercy of God," exclaimed another. "True," I replied; "if one commandment be broken, it is as though all of them were broken. We cannot be saved by them; we must trust in the mercy of God, and lay hold on the almighty hand of Christ, which is stretched out to save us.' " I have frequently used this parable, and always found it to answer.

THE ONLY THING NEGLECTED. LET opportunity be presently improved for the soul. It is embraced, by all, in lowest concernments for the body. The husbandman, the merchant, the lawyer, the seaman-they all mind their opportunity, their season. Yea, for the very cutting of trees we observe our times. Yea, the fittest seasons are embraced for sinful undertakings: the thief observeth the removal of the watch, the sleepiness of the inhabitant; yea, the devil makes use of the shortness of his time to increase his rage. And shall opportunities for our salvation be only neglected? What, Christians! only fools for our souls? I have read a story in an old author concerning a devout man, who, after the sun was some hours up, went to the chamberdoor of an old bishop, and the bishop being asleep in his bed, the good man knocked at his door, using these words, "The sparrows are awaked and a-chirping; and is it fit for bishops to be sleeping? And may not I rather say, The men of the world, persons of all employments and trades, yea, the sons of violence-they embrace their season, they are up betimes; and shall the people of God, shall professors, then be asleep when these are awake and active?

How great is the woe of those whose day is done, and yet their work is not done, but still to do! You have seen their end upon earth, but you have not heard their cries and their self-bewailings in hell. How many have been cut off before your eyes, who ceased to be before they began to live! Improve examples, lest you become examples. Your schooling is cheap, when it is at the cost of another. Let the lashes of divine severity that have fallen upon others quicken thee in thy spiritual pace and travelling towards heaven. Why should God stay for you rather than for them? Thou canst not mis-spend thy time at so cheap a rate, as they did by whom God hath warned thee. Hell is not so full of souls as it is of delayed purposes. What would not lost souls give for a crumb of that time of which now in this world they make refuse? If the foresight of their tears for neglecting the day of grace fetched tears from Christ (Luke xix. 41, 42), how great shall the feeling be of the eternal effects of their inexcusable folly! How exuberant, but unfruitful, shall be the flood of their own tears for their former slothfulness, never enough to be bewailed, because never at all to be re