danger of viewing affliction merely as it is in itself, regarded by the ignorant worldling as the objects of not joyous, but grievous; without taking into consider-pity, rather than of congratulation. They are supposed ation the salutary moral effects which it produces in the to be of a morose and austere disposition, utter strangers character of the sufferer. In adversity the pride of the to cheerfulness and contentment. On this very prevaChristian is humbled; he becomes more deeply sensible lent misrepresentation Miss L remarks :— of his utter weakness and unworthiness; he cleaves the more closely to the mercy and love of his heavenly Father; and he confides the more simply and the more unreservedly in the grace and guidance of his Redeemer and Lord. He feels that this world is vain and unsa tisfying; but in the multitude of his thoughts within him, the comforts of God delight his soul; and however severe may be the trials with which he has been visited, he knows that they are intended to subserve the accomplishment of the will of God-"even his sanctification." What room is there, then, for one repining thought? The Lord is withdrawing temporal comfort, that the believer may be led to "set his affections on the things which are above, where Christ sit teth on the right hand of God." Such was the experience of Miss L. She was subjected to much bodily weakness, but she was "strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might." Thus, in the year 1829 her Diary contains these remarks :— "Well might the prophet say, Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee,' the doctrines of the Holy Scriptures are calculated to maintain the soul in uniform serenity, it is unbelief contracts their influence. Oh for grace at all times to view futurity as the only consummation of life and happiness, and see that every thing, however discordant to present gratification, has an ultimate reference to it, that there is a need be' for all these things, and that the time is coming, when every dark providence will be cleared up, and it shall be made manifest that every event of this mortal state has been necessary in the great operations of the director of all things to perfect the worth of redeeming grace. "I have been blessed with much spiritual comfort for sometime past, I scarcely ever had such distinct exercises of faith, it has been often, during the past year, and the feeling is rather increasing. I have been as conscious of the divine presence as ever I was of the presence of a friend when conversing with me. I have felt within such a persuasion that God did hear my prayers; I have been given, when at the throne of grace, the power to renounce self, and sweetly and entirely to rely on Christ, that I must conclude, my exercises have been different from what the natural man ever felt. I surely know from experience the meaning of that text, To you that believe he is precious.' Oh how precious!" And again, in reference to the benefits which she had derived from affliction : "I think God has graciously led me to see that sickness and ill health, and other trials may be profitable, that they may even be pleasant when he sends them and blesses them. I never was so happy as when the fatherly corrections of God showed me that this is not my rest; my soul has relied in faith and hope, solely on the faithfulness and grace of God, through his dear Son. I felt my will say amen to God, and could repose on the precious belief, that a God of infinite wisdom and goodness, governs and guides the concerns of the universe,-the peace and joy thus produced, is unmingled joy, it is a joy in God, while self dwindles into nothing." Accustomed as we are to connect pain, and calamity, and persecution, with wretchedness and despair, the suffering disciples of the Redeemer cannot fail to be "Many who have no knowledge of religion, think it makes men gloomy. I know of no such religion. How can that which prepares us for trials-which teacheth us to expect and bear disappointments-which lowes our calculations and desires from this world—which resolves all things with sweet complacency into the will of the all-wise, all-merciful Governor of the unverse, which assures us, that Jehovah will make a things work for our good, which gives the soul this wilderness foretastes of heaven, and a hope attested by evidence which God himself has prescribed, of ultimate admission to the joys that are at his right hand for evermore. How can this religion make De gloomy?—it is impossible. O yes! I can say from experience, Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee.' I know that all He appointe My soul, trust thou in the Lord for ever, to in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.'" is best. • In 1830 Miss L-removed, with her mother, to Edinburgh, when they took up their residence at Come! Bank. Here she attended the ministrations of the lat lamented Mr Martin, who was then minister of Stockbridge Chapel. Under the instructions of this youn but highly gifted servant of the Lord Jesus, she made rapid progress in the knowledge and love of the truth. She grew up and flourished in the courts of the Lord's house, and throughout the rest of her Diary we ind almost constant reference to the Discourses of M Martin, as having refreshed and strengthened her ste! In the beginning of January 1831 she writes her sister in the following terms :— "MY DEAR R—,—I have long intended to write you, and I am set down at last. I was very much pleased with your last note. If it be, as you say, your sincere wish for yourself and children, to be within the covenant, He, who never heard that wish in vain, wi satisfy your largest wish; in this respect we cannot be too ambitious, nor can our desires be too numerous or large, put thou thy trust in God, he'll give thee thine heart's desire. 66 "To God thy way commit, him trust, It bring to pass shall he." I was sorry to hear your little darling was so ill, be I hope she will be spared to you, if it be God's will, d not, we should not desire it, but I hope you will be made willing to submit to God's will in this and every thing else, and that your will may be one with His, who knows what is best for us. We had a beautiful lee ture from Mr Martin last Sabbath, from Luke xvid 18-28. My mother received your letter; I was sorry. you did not send mine, on account of the date, it world have been very acceptable, however old, you must not do the same again. I have really enjoyed good bea for some time past, and am a good deal stronger than I have been for five years. Oh, what reason have! for gratitude and praise! My spiritual and tempore mercies are more than can be numbered. do not think that ever one so completely unworthy was ever so signally blessed as I have beeu; the ony sorrow I have, arises from sin I see and feel clinging to my every action; sin in the world, and sin in myse is the only grief I have, but I take that glorious pro mise, and rest upon it, and I would entreat you to take it also, Sin shall not have dominion over you, for ye are not under the law, but under grace. We had a beautiful sermon lately from Mr Martin on these words. I have neither time nor space to put it down here, but what he said was most comforting, that the believer was not to think, because sin sometimes prevailed, that therefore it reigned, as well might we think, that a king did not reign supreme over his realms, because a subject or two in some remote corner of the kingdom were apt to rebel." stand the great truths of the Gospel, were I to tell them.' This is quite true, but are we on that account, to desist from using the means till the enmity is taken away? No; use the means and look with faith and hope for the blessing through Christ; we should always remember that God is a sovereign, he can work with means or without, for or against them, and he does this in a way often unseen to us, and incomprehensible; we cannot say, with regard to an individual or a child, whether or not the Spirit of God has been, or is at work with them; for ought we know, they may have been sanctified from the womb, nor can we from the first dawn of reason on the soul, say it is too soon to sow the Shortly after Miss L came to reside in Edinburgh, she entertained the idea of putting in writing a record of the Lord's dealings with her from her earliest recollections. This design, had it been accomplished, might have put us in possession of a very valuable auto-good seed. biography; but from some cause or other, (perhaps from the state of her health,) she had only penned a few sentences, explanatory of her object, and the reasons for wishing to accomplish it, when she abruptly terminates the narrative. We regret the loss; but enough remains of her Diary to show, at all events, that the Spirit carried forward the work which he had graciously begun in her soul, and thus prepared her for the glorious change which she was soon to undergo. The concern which she felt for the best interests of every member of her family was a beautiful feature of her character. To her sister she was often accustomed to throw out seasonable hints in reference to the religious training of her children. The following judicious observations on that important subject may be useful to some of our readers : "This I am certain of, that God can convince a child of sin, and that it cannot by any of its own works merit heaven. He can make it willing to accept of salvation on any terms which God thinks fit to propose; carry all this on in the heart, and make it quite ready to receive the good seed, even the Gospel of Jesus, and yet not one individual be in the least aware of the great work that was going on. Now, this can be the case, I conceive, with regard to any of your children; and yet you might not know it. Now, your duty is to sow the good seed at every suitable opportunity, always asking God to bless it-to look up with confidence to God in Christ, as a covenant-keeping God, to cause the seed to take root, and bring forth fruit to his praise and glory. If any of your children were very hungry or thirsty, would it not be very cruel in you, having food, to withhold it? They may be hungering and thirsting for spiritual food, and will you not give it them (because some will tell you that they are too young to understand you), by proposing to them the grace and mercy of a Saviour? No earthly desire, however strong, can, I think, equal the desire of a soul convinced of sin and afraid of hell; and if they have never heard of Christ as he is risen, in the Bible, what do you think must be the feelings of the soul in this situation, when he hears for the first time of Christ's complete atonement, and all perfect righteousThis is offered to him, if he be willing. He has been made already, by the grace of God, completely willing. His feelings, then, can be conceived by one who has felt the same, but cannot be described to one who has not. which we O, R, you have an important charge given you by God; you cannot teach them to love God too soon, or too early impress on their minds that he is every where present, that he is all-powerful, and that they cannot be good unless he teaches them,-therefore, they should pray for his teaching; whenever they have behaved well, teach them that it is only God who has enabled them, and that they never can at any time do good without the help of a great and invisible God, that they can only get this help for Christ's sake, for what he did and suffered,-they and all men deserve hell, and would have been in it, had it not been that the Son of the great God left heaven, came to this world, obeyed the commandments for us, could never do--that his doing this pleased God as much as if we ourselves had done it, that all men deserve hell for their sins, but that Christ had died on the cross to take away sin, that he had suffered for our sins, that we might be saved from suffering the punishment we deserved; and therefore, if we believed ourselves to be sinners, if we felt that we could never without the help of God, do any thing to please him, that we could never act so as to deserve heaven, if we were willing, perfectly willing to be saved, and get there because Christ had satisfied God's justice as stated above; tell the children that if they feel thus and come to God, and pray to him to save them from the punishment and power of sin,-in other words, to save them from hell, and make them holy, for Christ's sake (that only for his sake they are to expect to be heard and not on account of ANY THING ELSE), they will be heard and answered, for God hath said, 'Him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out.' He has said in another place, to them that come to him, That he will receive them, and be a father unto them, and they shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.' Surely there is nothing in all this that a child may not understand, nothing, were it not that the heart is enmity against God, and unless taken away by him, will effectually blind us to the plan of salvation by Christ. You may say well then, if this enmity should only blind the hearts of my children, they cannot come to God in Christ, neither will they under ness? He no sooner hears of the Saviour than, with joy unspeakable, he flies to him, as just the very Saviour he stands in need of. He feels that Christ is just such a refuge from the storm, and covert from the tempest, as he stood in absolute need of. Without this, he felt that, for any thing he could do to save himself, he must perish, and that for ever; and now that he is safe, dwelling in Christ by faith, what follows? Gratitude and love spring up in his heart to his God and Redeemer, and he presents himself a living sacrifice to God, which he accounts a most reasonable service, and a most delightful one. All the sorrows he ever has spring from the remains of sin; and his chief grief while here is, that he cannot love God more or serve him better. This is no imaginary case; I have no doubt it happens often, and it was my own. 66 I hope my dear R will not think that I meant the foregoing observations or advices as if I would dictate to her. I wrote just as the words occurred to my mind; and if I have been writing what you knew, were convinced of, and acting upon, remember sisterly affection dictated every word written." It were well if Christian parents would ponder deeply these important remarks, and seek to view their chil dren habitually as immortal beings, committed to their care to be reared for the service of God here, and the enjoyment of God hereafter. After the removal of Mr Martin from Stockbridge Chapel to St George's Church, Miss L, as often as she was able to attend Church, waited upon the ministry of Dr Muir, from whose Discourses she received much edification and comfort. It was not very often, however, that she was permitted to enjoy public ordinances. Naturally of a tender and delicate frame, she was very liable to attacks of illness. In the month of August 1832, she was suddenly seized with a severe vomiting of blood, which continued at intervals for twelve hours. To a constitution already much weakened, this was a violent shock; but, by the blessing of the Almighty, she was gradually restored from what appeared to herself and the family the gates of death. Infirmity of body gave rise, as is often the case, to cloudiness in her spiritual prospects; and accordingly, we find her thus bewailing her state : "Of late I have felt my inward darkness much. This, along with a sense of sin-inward sin--has given me much sorrow, finding that in me there was nothing but sin and darkness. I have looked and cried to God in Christ alone for light and deliverance from sin; for I am blind, and sinful, and weak. I will plead this promise, (God be praised for it!) I will bring the blind by a way that they know not; I will lead them in paths which they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. Those things will I do unto them, and not forsake them. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord; let all that is within me praise the Lord.' I wish all men to praise and glorify God; but, alas! sin abounds in all men. The sins of professors, and those around me, give me much grief; the sins of those near and dear to me make me sad, sad. My hope is in the Lord, both for them and myself, or I would be in despair. Ps. xvi. 8, 9, 11." Though often conscious of the struggle between the flesh and the Spirit, she never lost sight of her Redeemer. Her views of his fulness and all-sufficiency seemed to become clearer as she advanced. Her end was near, though she knew it not. The vomiting of blood which had so alarmingly seized her in August, returned on the 1st of October following, and proved fatal. The brief record of the closing scene is thus given by a friend : : 64 Miss L's last illness continued for three days only; and, though suffering great pain, she made no complaints; for, on her mother remarking, Oh, that is severe!' she replied, Oh, no, mother! What did Christ suffer?' She often said, 'Oh, that I may triumph over death!' and, holding out her arms to her brother, said with a firm voice, William, to live is Christ, and to die unspeakable gain; I am happy.' On the Sabbath preceding her death, although not able to speak much, she requested to hear some portions of Scripture. The 40th Psalm being read to her, she earnestly exhorted her mother to wait patiently upon the Lord; and, on afterwards having heard read the two first verses of the 42d Psalın, said, That is exactly what I feel.' She was ever anxious to impart to her mother the joy she felt; and on the latter saying, Are you not sorry to leave me?' No; I am thankful to leave you, under a Gospel minister.' She took her parent's hand, and prayed' for Dr Muir (who was her minister), for Dr P, and for all from whom she had received kindness. When not asleep, she was engaged in prayer. She spoke of all her little matters; arranged every thing; said she was setting her house in order.' The state of her mind was happy, always rejoicing. O mother, what is prayer, without communion with God? I am perfectly sensible of the presence of God in my apartment.' "Her character was remarkable for great humility, self-denial, patience, kindness, charity, anxiety to be useful, and to proclaim to sinners the glad tidings of advised her in difficulty-soothed her in sorrow-bult salvation. She was the stay of her widowed mother; her up in the faith. With a singleness of heart very remarkable, she glorified God in all things; and whereever affliction was sent to any around her, she was eager to impart comfort, beseeching of the Lord to enable her to speak aright a word in season to the afflicted soul! She died October 3, 1832." That Miss L was quite aware of the approach of death, though not perhaps so suddenly as it occurred, is evident from various passages in her Diary. In anticipation of that solemn event, she penned the following affecting letter, addressed to her mother, which was found among her papers after her decease :— "MY DEAREST AND BEST OF MOTHERS,-As the ill ness I now feel may be unto death, I want to write you "Trust in the Lord, for ever trust, "Let your whole anxiety be about your immortal soul-not for the bread that perisheth, but for that which endureth unto everlasting life. Leave the guiding of your temporal affairs entirely unto God; only watch over the health of your soul, which shall live when this world, and all in it, has passed away. Pray, therefore, to God to enable you more than ever to set your affections on things in heaven (not on things on earth) where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God; for what is a man profited, if he should gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or, what can a man give in exchange for his soul?' Above all things, my mother, Search the Scriptures, for in them is eternal life; and this is life eternal, that ye should know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent." " Printed and Published by JonN JOHNSTONE, 2, Hunter Square, Edinburgh; and sold by J. R. MACNAIR & Co., 19, Glassford Street, Glasgow; JAMES NISBET & Co., HAMILTON, ADAMS & Co., and R. GROOMBRIDGE, London; W. CURRY. Junr. & Co., Dublin; W. M'COMB, Belfast; and by the Booksellers and Local Agents in all the Towns and Parishes of Scotland; and in the principal Towns in England and Ireland. Subscribers will have their copies delivered at their Residences. THE MOST of our readers are probably prepared for the announcement, that the present Number, which concludes the Third Volume of the Second Series, is also the last of the entire Work. Our editorial labours, accordingly, are now brought to a final termination; and, before laying aside the pen, we may perhaps be indulged in giving vent to a few thoughts which naturally befit such an occasion. things of time in the light of eternity. In doing so, we may have deprived the Work of that exclusively amusing air which cheap periodicals chiefly assume, but which would have been altogether unsuited to the nature and design of our undertaking. Entertainment of itself formed no part of our plan; it was our desire to entertain, only with a view to instruct. Ours was a higher vocation than that of the mere literary trifler; we have never for one moment lost sight of our originally declared aim-" to carry religion home to the heart, and to maintain its paramount im the joy and solace of human life." Setting out with such professions as these, it would have ill become us to have wasted our energies in ministering to the vitiated appetite for mere amusement, divested of all that was fitted to elevate the intellect or improve the heart. That we have not altogether failed in our object, we have had many pleasing intimations and satisfactory proofs; and although the lowering aspect of the religious world has for a time diverted men's minds into the channel of angry controversy, we doubt not that, in the good providence of God, the storm will ere long pass away, and the pure principles of a catholic Christianity will again receive their due degree of attention and regard. Nearly six years have elapsed since the present Publication was originally started, and forming, as it did, an era in the religious literature of the country, its appearance was hailed by all classes of the community with an avidity which far ex-portance, as the light of all human knowledge and ceeded the most sanguine anticipations of its projectors. From its outset, the CHRISTIAN HERALD assumed a prominent place in public estimation; and the benefits which have accrued from it to the souls of multitudes, will only be known in that day when the secrets of all hearts shall be revealed. Many and diversified in character, age, and circumstances, have been the individuals and families into whose hands our little Work must have come. "It is striking, to a degree even awful," to borrow the language of a distinguished author, "to reflect what such a book must have done; to how many it may have imparted thoughts new and affecting, and which nothing could expel; to how many it may have been made the mean of leading into a happy life, and to a happy end; how many it has arrested, disturbed, and warned, whom it could not persuade; of how many it has aggravated the responsibility, more than influenced the conduct." Such thoughts as these words suggest, impart a solemnity to our minds which we deeply feel. It has been our anxious endeavour to fulfil the great object for which the Publication was designed-" to illustrate and enforce the doctrines of the Bible;" and while we have sought to connect literature with religion, we have invariably rendered the former subservient to the latter. The exhibition of Divine Truth, in its numerous and diversified aspects and bearings, has been our primary object; thus viewing the No. 156. DECEMBER 25, 1841.-14d.] From the wide range of subjects embraced by our plan, we have found no difficulty in drawing materials of sufficient interest and variety. In the popular department of Ecclesiastical History, it is almost unnecessary to refer to the fascinating and instructive Sketches of Scottish Church History, by the Rev. Thomas M'Crie; to Mr Lorimer's interesting Papers, containing a History of the Protestant Church in France; to Dr Muirhead's rapid Sketches of the History of the Jews; and to the admirably-written Articles, which have latterly appeared, on the History of the Waldenses and the Albigenses. In the Biographical Articles, we have endeavoured to maintain the same diversity of subject and regard to practical utility as [SECOND SERIES, VOL. III. formerly. For a series of Papers on the Botany | In looking back upon the past, we are painfully reminded of the fleeting nature of all things here below. Not a few of those who, at the outset of our career, aided us alike by their counsel and their contributions, have been summoned from this earthly scene; while others, who both felt and expressed the liveliest interest in the prosperity of our peaceful undertaking, have been compelled, reluctantly, to enter the field of fierce and agitating conflict, and to devote their time, and their talents, and their almost exclusive attention, to the noble work of "contending for the faith once delivered to the saints." To have mingled in any one of the controversies, however important and necessary, which are convulsing every religious body in the country, would have been to have broken faith with the Public, declaring, as we did, in our original prospectus, that it was our purpose to "avoid merely speculative controversy, and every thing of a political aspect, in reference either to Church or State." In the maintenance of Christian principle, we have been firm and unwavering; but, while we are not conscious of, on even one occasion, sacrificing purity for the maintenance of a false and unhallowed peace, we have never deemed it our duty to step aside from our proper path-the inculcation of "the great essential Principles of Evangelical Grace and Truth." than by adopting the words of Bishop Horne, in THE WORK OF CREATION. Minister of Craig, Forfarshire. IT was the eternal purpose or pleasure of the everblessed God to glorify himself, or to manifest his glory. The means by which he executes this purpose are called his works. These works are, in one word,'" the universe, the world, and all that it contains;" all that exists, and all that comes to pass. All this is the work of God, the execution of his purpose; bringing other beings into existence, by whom and to whom he might manifest his glory. That work is twofold,-giving to the universe its first existence, and then providing for its due order and continuance; called, therefore, in the Catechism, "the works of creation and providence." "The work of creation is God's making all things of nothing, by the word of his power, in the space of six days, and all very good." God made all things.-This is the first truth that the Scriptures teach. "In the beginning God created the all things therein; and giveth to all life, and breath, heavens and the earth." "God made the world, and and all things." And this simple truth lies at the foundation of all religious worship and service. “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honour, and power; for thou hast created all things, and for thy clearest reason for our glorifying God, and for seepleasure they are and were created." This is the ing this to be our chief end, and for making it our entire duty. Nothing can possibly be plainer to every rational mind than this, that it is, and must ever be, our highest Author of our being, and of all the good that comes obligation and interest to please and serve the gracious along with that being, or that can ever flow from that being-that God (as every one may and should say, But the work of creation is something more than God's with the apostle) "whose I am, and whom I serve." making all things as they now are-giving them their present form and existence; it is, as is here farther said, perly the act of creating; not merely fashioning some "God's making all things of nothing."-This is proIn quitting our Editorial functions, we may be giving substance and existence where none was before, pre-existent matter into new and various forms, but pardoned for expressing a hope and earnest prayer,|--producing both form and being out of nothing. "He that our humble labours in the cause of Christ and stretcheth out the north over the empty space, and of our country, for these six years past, have not hangeth the earth upon nothing." This distinction is been altogether fruitless. The good seed of the clearly conveyed by the words of the inspired historian Word has been sown to an extent which it is im- of this world's origin, when he says, that "God blessed possible to calculate; and we trust that, watered the seventh day, and sanctified it; because that in it with the dew of God's Spirit, it has sprung, and will be rested from all his works, which God created and yet spring up in many a heart, bearing much fruit made;" or, as the words more properly mean, to the praise and the glory of God. For ourselves God created to make;" which God first brought into personally, we cannot better express our own feel-being, and afterwards fashioned into all the innumerable ings, in retiring from the position of an Editor, forms and creatures, with which the universe is filled. "which |