I pray for more devotion, heartfelt, gospel devotion; which shall give us a victory over sin; which shall gain new and more glorious conquests for the truth; which shall make us bright and shining lights in the world. I desire to be brought into such a state of mind, of feeling, that I may forget the vanities of earth, its troubles and trials, in my love for the gospel. I would have myself and every believer feel just as the poet must have felt, when he said,

"When all thy mercies, O my God,
My rising soul surveys,

Transported with the view, I'm lost
In wonder, love, and praise!"

Let us live in this spirit; and should we not, my brother, know more of the blessings of religion, the joys of heaven, than we have ever yet experienced? So I think; so I would feel.

Recovery from Sickness.

AFTER being kept from the people of my charge, by sickness, for about six months, I have again been permitted to proclaim to them "the unsearchable riches of Christ." And I cannot dissemble to you the rapturous emotions which have thrilled my bosom, on being able once more to en

has

gage in that blessed work, which has been to me a source of unfeigned delight. My love for the ministry, and my attachment to its duties, "grow with my growth, and strengthen with my strength." For one, I adore the gospel-I admire its beauties I love its excellencies I rejoice in its lifegiving power! It has been to me a faithful companion. It has sustained me in sickness planted the flowers of immortality upon the graves of departed friends and given me joy and triumph even' at the gates of death! it inspires us with the most glorious hope, it lifts the curtain of futurity, and bids us behold, by an eye of faith, a time when sin and misery shall be o'er; when we shall exchange the sorrows and troubles of life, for the unfading joys of a brighter world, where the friendship which has been formed between us upon earth, shall be perfected in the realms of undying love. This faith it is our happiness to possess; and, with it, what joy, what bliss should be ours! Though we may meet no more upon the shores of time-though we may not be permitted to renew, upon earth, the pleasing acquaintance which has been formed between us, - yet, in our faith, we have the blissful assurance that we shall at last greet each other in a world of unclouded light, where sorrow can never come, where parting is never known; but where we shall roam amid fields of perennial felicity, loving and being loved *forever. Heaven grant that this faith may ever be our stay in life, and support in death, and its blissful reality our unfading portion in eternity!

Meeting again.

You ask when we shall meet again? A thrilling question. There is solemnity in the thought, that those dear friends we love, around whom our fondest affections are clustered, we may meet no more upon the earth. It is a thought which often intrudes itself upon my own mind, calling forth sighs and tears. There is much to bind me to earth, much for which I would live; still, I believe my hold on this existence to be slender indeed. feel that when a little period shall have passed, my days on earth will be numbered, my sorrows will end, and I shall rest in silence with those who were, but are not. May a kind Father prepare me for whatever seemeth good in his sight.

I

But, why sadness? Perhaps we may never meet, until we meet in that bright world where parting shall never come where we shall love and be loved, eternally-where we shall feast upon beauties which never change-pluck the fair flowers of unfading delight-go onward in knowledge and virtue, and bask in the light of God's everlasting smiles! There it will never be asked, When shall we meet again? No more parting forever!

17

A Social Meeting.

I HAVE just returned from one of our social meetings, or concerts of praise. We hold a meeting of this kind every Sabbath evening, and have

for a long time past. They grow better and

better.

The one this evening has been remarkably well attended. All felt that it was good to be there. O the blessed privilege I have enjoyed! The Lord be praised! I have met with my beloved brethren and sisters, who like myself love the gospel so I trust God bless them. We have mingled our prayers and praises together; we have sat together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. We have forgotten for a time the things of earth, and lingered with delight amid the joys of immortality. Our affections have taken hold on heaven. We have formed new and holier resolutions. We have prayed in faith. We have sung the sweet songs of Zion. other to love and good upon my mind has been thrilling, ecstatic, glorious. I have felt the power of God, and the quickening energies of his love. My soul has been refreshed-my hope is brighter-my faith is stronger-my zeal has been renewed my love for mankind has been kindled into a purer and holier flame. Bless the Lord for these seasons of spiritual rejoicing. May he give us more of

We have exhorted each works. And the effect

them. They are the antitypes of heaven, harbingers of endless felicity. I know not how to express the joys, the raptures, the unspeakable bliss, which I have experienced with my brethren and friends this evening. I can only give utterance to my feelings in the thrilling language of the poet :

"How blest the sacred tie that binds

In union sweet according minds;

How high, how strong their raptures swell,
There's none but kindred souls can tell.

Their hearts together seek the place
Where God reveals his smiling face;
Their ardent prayers together rise,
Like mingling flame, in sacrifice.

Nor shall the glowing flame expire
When nature droops her sick'ning fire;
Then shall they meet in realms above,
A heaven of joy, because of love!"