of sun, moon, and stars; but it was useless: there was not a flower that looked to the fair face of heaven, not a leaf that fluttered in the wind, but it reminded her of something of that one never-ending subject. The sun, moon, and stars seemed only remembered by her as having lighted up the skies under which she had walked with her lover. There was, as I said before, one thought in her head, one name on her lip, and one love in her heart. I grew weary of my amiable relative, and I left her to herself.

66

Now, lovely as God's children are, kind, good, and gentle as they are, it is not much to be wondered at that they should be deserted; for they are almost always dwelling on one subject. The love of God is their continual theme; when once it is begun, there is no end to it: they have one thought in their heads, one name on their lips, and one love in their hearts.

The rolling orbs proclaim in heaven
His goodness every hour,

And glowing proofs of love are given
In every leaf and flower.

Worldly people have so many subjects to occupy their attention, that they cannot be confined so much to this one, and therefore it is that they leave God's people to themselves."

A PRECIOUS PROMISE.

like me,

THOUGH you may not, have grey hairs on your head, yet you may have made the remark, that there are many of the comforts of this life suited only to particular seasons and circumstances; some for summer, and some for winter; some for day, and some for night; some for health, and some for sickness; but the precious portions and promises of the Book of Truth seem calculated for all times, and for all situations in which we can be placed.

Let us take up one of them. "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God," Heb. iv. 9. What a blessed portion is this for the soul that hungers after righteousness! What a blessed expectation for the weary pilgrim who is toil-worn, and faint with his journey! What a blessed haven for the tempest-tost Christian mariner ! What a sus

taining staff! What a firm rock to tread on! What a blessed encouragement to the discouraged, to be assured, notwithstanding every fear and every disappointment, that "there remaineth a rest to the people of God."

Are you one of these people? Have you the mark in the forehead? the token in the heart? the witness in the spirit? Rejoice, then, with exceeding great joy. You may have been buffeted, and

66

A PRECIOUS PROMISE.

you may be buffeted again. Weary you may be of worldly toil and trouble, and weary you will be; but what of that? The hand of the Eternal has graven the sentence, "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God;" and that rest shall assuredly be yours.

This is a precious portion and promise for the beginning or the latter end of the year. It will do for the spring, the summer, the autumn, and the winter. It is an elixir of life, that will keep without injury in all climates, and may be taken at night or morning with equal advantage: nay, it may be a comforting cordial to you every hour of the day, and every minute of the hour. Let come what will, riches or poverty, health or sickness, joy or sorrow, life or death, the promise still holds good, "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God."

THE CRAZY MAN AND HIS WATCH.

A POOR crazy fellow, one day, on finding his watch half an hour too slow, insisted upon it that the sun had gone down that evening half an hour sooner than it ought to have done; when a soberminded neighbour of his assured him, that, be that

THE CRAZY MAN AND HIS WATCH.

67

as it might, he would find it wiser and easier to regulate his watch by the sun, than to attempt to order the sun's revolutions by his watch.

How many conceited Socialists, how many vainglorious Deists, and how many proud Atheists, are acting as this poor crazy man acted! Poor, purblind, mortal creatures would do well to remember, when cavilling at the word and works of Almighty God, that it is much more likely, than the contrary, that Wisdom, Power, and Goodness, should be right, and that ignorance, weakness, infirmity, and folly, should be wrong.

THE BANIAN TREE.

WHAT a mercy it is, when our faith and love towards the Redeemer are strong enough to enable us, like the bee that gathers honey alike from the rose and the thistle, to gather instruction, comfort, and encouragement, from every thing around us! Then it is that we can rejoice "with joy unspeakable," in the midst of manifold blessings; then it is that

Meekly, humbly, bending low,

Amid our griefs we kiss the rod;

And find, in every earthly woe,

The mingled mercies of our God.

On reading, the other day, an account of the Banian tree, I was struck with the comparison which might be made between this tree, and the humble and sincere Christian who lives a life of faith in the Son of God, and seeks not only to know, but to do his will.

The Banian tree is found in more beauty and perfection in the scorching clime of India, than in other places. It is sometimes called the Burr tree, or Indian fig, and is different from any tree that grows in England. Each tree is in itself a grove, and sometimes spreads to an amazing extent; hardly ever decaying while the earth affords it sustenance. Every branch from the main body throws out its own roots several yards from the ground: these, at first, are thin, slender fibres; but they grow thicker until they reach the surface, and then, striking into the ground, increase to large trunks, and become parent trees, shooting out new branches, which produce roots, and trees, in the same manner as before: thus the tree grows, every branch producing a succession of stems, until the whole assumes the appearance of a grove.

A Banian tree, with its many trunks, forms the most beautiful bowers and cool recesses that can be imagined; its leaves are large, soft, and of a lively green; its fruit is a small fig, which, when quite