174 I AM AFRAID I DIDN'T BRING HIM UP RIGHT. sublimity and grace. This could not, we think, have been the case, if the apostles had not been signally elevated above the mental condition of others, whilst penning the Scriptures. Take Paul for example, -what masculine, indomitable courage,what magnanimity,—what ardour,—what heroism does he manifest in the moment of personal danger, when advocating the religion of the cross. What bursts of fervid eloquence, what acute, masterly, logical reasoning do some of his epistles to the primitive churches contain; such, probably, as have no parallel in human lore; yet, though so highly gifted, notice the childlike simplicity, the deep contrition for past folly, the overwhelming shame with which he seems to have been suffused when recollecting his former career; notice, too, the tenderness of those emotions and sympathies which were ever and anon gushing from his heart while he thought of any who rejected Christ, and then say if while so singularly gifted, having within him elements of such seemingly dissonant characters-it were possible to have written his epistles without being inspired. Contrast John with Paul. The former, amiable, meek, and bland, the loveliest emotions of mind ever prevalent. His gospel and epistles, like himself, were imbued with the spirit of his Master, and gentleness was the pole-star of his life. Paul and John were characters wide asunder as the poles; yet both present striking illustrations of the influence of religion under the same circumstances; while the sound judgment and fidelity of both would prevent any undue love for advocating doctrines, of the truth of which they had not the most ample proof. 7. From the fulfilment of prophecy, which involves the prescience of the individual who foretells the event. A faculty which exists not in any unassisted mind. Educational Habits. THE infant son of Dutch parents, who lived on the outskirts of an American settlement, and were destroyed by a band of invading savages, was carried off to the wilderness, and adopted by an Indian family. He received the same, training as an untamed child of the forest, and grew up in the habits of the tribes of the wilderness, excelling in Indian accomplishments, robust, manly and daring, and strongly attached to Indian society and customs. Some near relations of his parents survived; and, having, after a time, discovered his retreat, they often made urgent but vain entreaties that he would return to civilized life. He persisted in refusal till far advanced in years; and when at length persuaded to make a visit to his kinsmen, he found two objections to the adoption of their habits,-first, he could not endure the taste of salt, the Indians having always preserved their meat by drying; and next, be utterly abhorred falsehood, in all its modifications and disguises, as indicating a mean and cowardly disposition; and, when pressed on the subject of religion, he answered, in a manner of caustic reproach, that he could not believe the Great Spirit to be the patron of a nation of cowards and liars. This little story illustrates the force of educational habits, and suggests how important it is to "train up a child in the way in which he should go;" but it shows also, in a strong light, the impressions which the aggregate character of a professedly Christian people makes upon untutored minds, and exhibits to Christian communities the necessity of "walking in wisdom toward those who are without." Is it not true of many a people in the present day, as anciently it was of the Jews, that "through them the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles ?" Friendly Monitions to Parents. "I am afraid I didn't bring him up Right." SUCH was the heart-rending exclamation of a mother, as she sat-for she was unable to stand-in an agony of grief, by the coffin of a son, ready to be lowered into the grave. It was Sabbath evening-one of the loveliest, sweetest Sabbath evenings of last summer. The grave-yard was one of the most charming spots in the town of Ha town famed for its charming scenery. It was on the summit of a high hill, commanding a full view of the valleys of the H. and W. rivers. In all the rich magnificence of midsummer, and in the solemn, heavenly stillness of a summer Sabbath evening, were those beautiful valleys beheld, stretching for miles east and south, toward the Green Mountains. Painful was the contrast, the moral contrast, between the face SWEDISH LAWS WITH RESPECT TO INTOXICATION. of nature, as there beheld, and the scene which I shall now attempt to describe. An immense concourse stood around that newly opened grave, deeply sympathizing with the grief of heart-broken parents, come to bury a son, and thrilled with horror at the cause of that son's death. He had died the day before-not by slow consumption-not by a deadly epidemic-not by the hand of a ruffian murderer: oh, no! for then had the anguish of his mother's heart been less intense. He had died by his own hand. We stood by the unblest grave of a suicide. It was this fact that filled his mother's heart with overflowing, unmitigated woe, and thrilled the community with horror. The bearers had taken up the coffin, to let it slowly down into the grave. The mother uttered a piercing shriek, and sunk to the ground, groaning, "Oh, I am afraid I didn't bring him up right!" I stood at her side, beheld her prostrate on the earth, heard her cry of anguish, and would gladly have ministered to her wounded spirit but could not, for well I knew that she had not brought up her son right. I knew that she had hitherto lived without God and hope in the world, and had brought up her family without religion. I knew that she had seldom taken them to the sanctuaryhad never taught them to pray, nor prayed with them-had never taught them to hallow the Sabbath, to fear God, nor follow the Saviour. Consequently, they had grown up without fixed religious principles, without support and solace in the hour of adversity—an hour which comes to all. That hour had come to her beloved son. He had but recently married a young, gay, and beautiful wife. For awhile they seemed happy in each other. But neighbours saw a change come over them. Their tempers were found to be uncongenial. The demon of jealousy took possession of the young husband's heart. This burden became insupportable-insupportable, because he bore it alone, having no God to cast it upon. In an evil hour he committed the dreadful deed of suicide. And when I saw his poor mother's over. whelming grief, and heard her piercing exclamation, I knew she had sad reason for self-reproach. I hardly knew how to 175 comfort her. I could only wish that other parents present, and witnessing the sad scene, and hearing her piercing cry, might take warning from her example. I wished that Mrs. A., who, though a professor of religion, permits her young daughters to dissipate their time, and to indulge in many extravagances, might take warning from this poor mother's sorrow and self-reproach; lest, standing some, perhaps, not distant day by an impenitent daughter's deathbed, she experience similar grief, and utter a similar lamentation. I wished, too, that Brother B. might lay to heart that sad scene, and resolve hereafter to take his boys to the sanctuary with him every Sabbath, instead of allowing them to go he knows not where; lest at some future day, mourning over their disgrace or destruction, he, too, shall bitterly lament, "I am afraid I didn't bring them up right!" And I thought of Deacon C., and wished he had been there-Deacon C., whose sons, like Eli's, make themselves vile by their wicked ways, and 'he restrains them not.' I earnestly wished the deacon had been there, to take warning, and be saved the sight which probably awaits him-the sight of sons ruined and lost for time and eternity, and the bitter self-reproach of not having brought them up right.' stood among 6 Oh, it seemed to me, as that horror-stricken throng, and by the side of that grief-stricken mother, both a terrible and a profitable scene for parents to behold. Never did I more deeply realize the importance of bringing up children ' in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.' I am permitted to conclude this sad narrative with the pleasing statement, that that stricken mother now humbly hopes she has found pardon for not bringing up her son right, and that she is humbly endeavouring to walk with God. It is evident however, to all who see her, that her health and frame have sustained a shock from which she will never recover, that ere long she will go down to the grave, mourning for her poor son, whom she "didn't bring up right."-Mother's Magazine. Temperance Advocate. Swedish Laws with respect to Intoxication. THE laws against intoxication are enforced with great rigour in Sweden. Whoever is and seen drunk, is fined, for the first offence, three dollars; for the second, six; for the third and fourth, a still larger sum, and is also deprived of the right of voting at elections, and of being appointed a representa tive. He is, besides, publicly exposed in The Dying Drunkard. His joyless wife supports his head, His weeping children's love would ease Their ill-paid love destroys his peace; His boon companions-where are they What have gay friends to do with those EVENING TALK. "BE not slothful in business" is a divine months or years to sit risk-free against all the accidents which affect life and health. The Holy Spirit faithfully describes and affectingly reproves them, in these most appropriate words: "Go to now, ye that say, To-day or to-morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell and get gain," &c. As a practical illustration of this passage, Dr. Clarke transcribes a story told by the celebrated Persian poet Saady. "I knew," says the poet, "a merchant who used to travel with a hundred camels laden with merchandise, and who had forty slaves in his employ. This person took me one day to his warehouse, and entertained me a long time with conversation good for nothing. 'I have,' says he, 'such a partner in Turquestan, such and such a property in India, a bond for so much cash in such a province, a security for such another sum.' Then, changing the subject, he said, 'I purpose to go and settle at Alexandia, because the air of that city is salubrious.' Correcting himself, he said, 'No, I will not go to Alexandia, the African sea (the Mediterranean) is too dangerous; but I will make another voyage, and after that I will retire into some quiet corner of the world, and give up a mercantile life.' I asked him what voyage he intended to make. He answered, 'I intend to take brimstone to Persia and China, where I am informed it brings a good price; from China I shall take porcelain to Greece; from Greece I shall take gold tissue to India; from India I shall carry steel to Haleb (Aleppo); from Haleb I shall carry glass to Yemen (Arabia Felix); and from Yemen I shall carry printed goods to Persia. When this is accomplished, I shall bid farewell to the mercantile life, which requires so many troublesome journeys, and spend the rest of my life in a shop.' How different was the spirit of this merchant from the humble, contented hope of a sincere Christian! Yet thousands of our own population, from the poorest dealers to the richest capitalists, so exactly resemble him, that, in his picture, they may see their own likeness. Can they, then, sincerely call themselves believers in Providence, and lovers of heavenly good? Let persons who make extraordinary exertions to obtain wealth, think of these words: "Covetousseek chiefly the wealth of a new heart ness is idolatry." Happy are they who and the smiles of God,-the gift of Imma nuel's love, making them "rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom!" Printed by JOHN KENNEDY, at his Printing Office, 35, Theology. SELF-EXAMINATION ON THE CLOSE OF THE YEAR. BY REV. J. A. JAMES. ONE use we should make of the end of our years, is to consider them as resting places on the hill of life, or stages in its journey, where we should pause, turn round, take out our map, and inquire whether we are in the right road, and what progress we are making. Self-examination is a duty enjoined upon us both by reason and Scripture. Observe with what vehemence the Apostle enforces it. "Examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith, prove your own selves: know ye not your own selves, that Jesus Christ is in you except ye be reprobates." 2 Cor. xiii. 5. This, recollect, was addressed to professing Christians, and is an exercise in which all true believers have ever practised themselves. No one can be really in earnest about the salvation of his soul, who never looks with solicitude into his spiritual state. : If we examine ourselves, it must be by some rule, and the only one of any authority in this case is the word of God. The holy scriptures are the only touch-stone which God will acknowledge. These are the balances of the sanctuary; the legal standard in the assay office of heaven; all that will not stand this test must be thrown aside, as reprobate silver. To the law and the testimony, then, must be our appeal. Our faith must be tested by the gospel; our practice by the law; and our spirit and temper by the mind of Christ. He is the model, the pattern, the measure by which all his followers are to be examined, for both law and gospel are embodied in him. I will now lay down some rules and considerations and cautions by which this important business must be carried on. 1. Do not examine yourselves only by your own notion of what a Christian is and should be, and be satisfied if you come up to that, because that notion may itself be wrong. Many frame to themselves an exceedingly inaccurate idea of what is included in religion; and yet if they possess this are quite contented. This is what the Apostle calls," comparing themselves with themselves," and has led in innumerable cases to self-delusion and self-destruction. Before you are satisfied, then, with the conclusion that you answer to your own idea of a Christian, take good care to examine by the bible whether that idea itself be a scriptural one. 2. Do not examine yourselves merely by the creeds and catechisms, the formularies, rites, and ceremonies of any particular church; or by the sentiments, opinions, and criteria of any individual uninspired writer; nor be satisfied if you imagine you come up to these standards. Such tests need themselves to be tried, for they are all fallible. The bible, the bible alone, is the religion fo Christians. Uninspired works may be used with advantage, as helps, but not as infallible standards. 3. Do not be satisfied with the good opinion of others upon your state. Some persons are too prone to get rid of their fears and take refuge in the favourable estimate formed of their piety by those who rank high in their view for judgment and experience. It is more safe, in some cases, to regard the sentiments of those who are prejudiced against us. Your friends cannot see your heart. Their kindness to you and affection for you, may lead them to form the best opinion they can, and their love to you may make them blind to defects which are incompatible with sincere piety, or at any rate, with that which is N eminent. Besides, their own religion may be so defective and inconsistent, as to give easy credence, for their own sakes to the reality of yours. Do not be flattered into self-deception. Let not their ignorant and injudicious adulation stand between you and the bible; it is what this says, and not what your friends say that must determine your state. 4. Do not consider that all is right because you are admitted to membership upon the examination of a minister, or even that of a church in addition, and conclude that your Christianity is sincere because your profession has been admitted to be credible. There is a path leading from the sacramental table, trodden by thousands, to the bottomless pit! 5. Beware of judging of yourselves, by partial and detached views of your conduct. To this we are extremely prone. Ever ready to depart from universal regard to the ways of God, we are disposed to rest on some one action or set of actions, as an evidence that all is well with us, and flatter ourselves on this ground that, that we are the servants of Jehovah. It is conceivable that many may be prone from taste, situation, interest, or other circumstances to some one branch of Christian duty, who are lamentably remiss in others, the obligations of which though equally strong and plain, are unfelt and resisted. Self-examination must embrace the whole of the divine law, and the whole of our character. We must examine whether we possess that love to God and holiness which is the principle of all right obedience, and which if it be possessed, makes us willing and anxious to do the whole will of God. 6. Do not in default of present evidence, go back to past experience, and coupling this with perverted views of the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, conclude that you are Christians, although there be no satisfactory existing proofs of faith and godliness. When the conclusion is drawn from past, instead of present evidence, and the awakened conscience is hushed again to slumber by the opiate of such a sentiment as that, once a child of God, a child of God for ever, the delusion is awful, and the consequences are likely to be dreadful and eternal. 7. Do not take up the business of self-examination in order to quiet a conscience, feeling the burden of its guilt, and to free the soul from painful apprehensions of the wrath of God. If you have not known the gospel scheme of salvation by grace, and justification by faith; or having known it, have fallen into sin, and thus lost the peace and comfort of your mind, your duty, and the way to quietness and assurance, is not to set about looking into your heart, and back upon your past conduct, to find out evidences of a state of grace; nor to seek the judgment of others, who in ignorance or in kindness, may endeavour to lull your solicitude and flatter you into a good opinion of your state, by reminding you of former zeal, and telling you that God often in sovereignty withdraws from his people because they cannot bear uninterrupted comfort;-but instead of this, to apply at once by faith to the blood of Christ that cleanseth from all sin. You are to be directed to the cross, and to be required to believe the testimony that Christ will cast out none that come unto him If this does not relieve you, God has provided no other ground of comfort, and you ought to beware of seeking any other either from yourselves or from your friends. Selfexamination is never to be put in place of the exercise of faith; nor is it intended or calculated to give relief to the burdened sinner, or to restore the comfort of a trembling backslider. A person in either of these states of mind, may gain a short and fitful repose from the supposition that self-scrutiny has disclosed |