Sow, though the thorns may wound thee;
One wore the thorns for thee;
And though the cold world scorn thee,
Patient and hopeful be.

Sow ye beside all waters,

With a blessing and a prayer;

Name Him whose hand upholds thee,
And sow thou everywhere.

Sow when the sunlight sheddeth
Its warm and cheering ray,
For the rain of heaven descendeth
When the sunbeams pass away.
Sow when the tempest lowers,
For calmer days will break,
And the seed, in darkness nourished,
A goodly plant may make.
Sow when the morning breaketh
In beauty o'er the land;

And when the evening falleth

Withhold not thou thine hand.'

"That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.'-PHILEMON, ver. 6.

AM quite aware that by specially recording the preceding testimonies to the memory

of myself open to the charge of being actuated by a spirit of nothing more than vain and ostentatious display. At the same time I cannot help thinking, that the giving of so many tributes of respect from the pulpit, from the press, by means of official documents, and by private letters, does really present a phenomenon not undeserving of a passing notice. How comes it to pass that a mere tradesman, moving in the ordinary walks of life, should have made himself so well known, even amid the dense and enormous population of a city such as London,

my venerated father, I may be laying

and so enshrined himself in the esteem of his fellowmen, as to make his loss so deeply lamented and so extensively felt? Simply, I think, because without yielding to any ambitious aspirations, he confined himself to the sphere of life which had been assigned to him, and giving himself day by day to the diligent improvement of the talents which the providence of God had placed at his disposal, was ever ready to enter with alacrity and delight on any good work, which seemed likely to benefit his brethren of mankind, or to forward the interests of the church of Christ. He had no claims to anything like original genius. He did not even enjoy the advantages of a classical education. But he was not ashamed of the vocation which he pursued, as a mere tradesman, nor did he ever covet the company, or seek to obtrude himself on the notice of any that were moving in a higher rank of life than his own. Yet his sterling honesty was so transparent, and his outbursting affection so warm, and his burning zeal so palpable and apparent, as to invest him with commanding influence over personages moving in the highest walks of life, whilst they gave him a name and a place in the church, along with men who have left their mark on the present age, and whose memory is likely to be honoured and revered by generations that are yet unborn.

It is the memory of the righteous, not of the rich, or the noble, or the brave, which the Bible assures

us shall be held in everlasting remembrance. The greenest laurels ever planted on the conqueror's brow shall wither away. The noblest monuments ever

erected on the earth shall crumble into dust and ashes. Even the records which the most faithful and accomplished historians have ever written shall pass into oblivion and become extinct. But they that are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that have turned many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.'

'Palms of glory, raiment bright,
Crowns that never fade away,
Gird and deck the saints in light;
Priests, and kings, and conquerors they.

Yet the conquerors bring their palms
To the Lamb amidst the throne,
And proclaim, in joyful psalms,
Victory through His cross alone.

Kings for harps their crowns resign,
Crying as they strike the chords,
"Take the kingdom—it is thine,
King of kings, and Lord of lords."

They were mortal too, like us,

Ah! when we, like them shall die,
May our souls, translated thus,

Triumph, reign, and shine on high.'

HAVE specially adverted to the good works which James Nisbet, during the course of a long life, has been enabled to perform; to the high position in the Christian world to which, by means of his benevolent exertions, he has risen; and to the many tributes of respect which, in various forms, have been paid to his memory. In enforcing the lessons which his life teaches, I have, moreover, proceeded on the assumption, that whatsoever things are lovely, or honourable, or of good report, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, we are to think of these things, and to appreciate them, and to do them.

But at the same time it is well to remember, that whatever was excellent or estimable in his character, instead of springing from any virtuous principle in