66 ly as manifested towards His children, that is well pleasing and acceptable in His sight. Aye, let us ever keep the apostle's injunction close at heart, 'Whatsoever ye do, do all unto the glory of God"; thus may we ever strive to render our lives an "acceptable offering," a living prayer unto God. HOPE ANSTED. THE POOR CHILD'S CHRISTMAS HYMN. THEY call this happy Christmas day, To God, who hears the prayer sincere. I have no feast, I scarce have bread, Christ, the beloved Son of God, Was once like me a humble child; Though small my power of doing good, If poor and lowly all my days, I patient strive with want and woe, And then, at length, in heaven, my home, J. A. SOMETHING ABOUT LUTHER. WELL, my dears," said Mr. Merton, seating himself in his easy chair, on his return from the business which had occupied him all day, I do not seem to have seen much of either of you lately; come and have a little talk with me in the dusk." 66 Emma and Robert ran to fetch their stools, and placing them on each side of their father's chair, sat down before the fire, whose red glow shone upon their eager, happy faces, and shed a flickering light over the darkening room. "What shall we talk about, Papa ?" asked Emma, the elder of the two. "That's a silly question," cried her brother, "why we shan't get on at all if we begin in that forced way, shall we, Papa?" "Emmy's question is not so silly as you think, Master Bob," said his father, good-humouredly, "if we don't begin on some particular subject, we shall end perhaps in not having said anything at all, or at least nothing better than, 'how funnily large our shadows look thrown up against the ceiling,' or 'how hot the fire feels.’” "Oh! Papa, talk about the fire indeed! how stupid that would be." "Yes, to talk in that way about the fire would, as you say, be stupid, but yet a talk about the fire might be made very interesting. We might consider where coal comes from, and what causes that beautiful and curious flame which sends out upon us so much light and warmth; we won't talk of fire just now, however. I want you two to tell me how you liked your visit to your great aunt yesterday." "Not at all, Papa," declared Robert, "we did find it so stupid." Well, but I'm sure, Bob," said Emma, uncle and aunt were very kind; think of the oranges and seed-cake they gave us after dinner." 66 66 Oranges and seed-cake! what do I care about that? I like a good game of play better than all the oranges and seed-cake in the world!" 66 Yes, so do I, but still they meant it kindly." "Your sister is quite right, Robert," said Mr. Merton, "it was your uncle and aunt's way of giving you pleasure, and though they may'nt perhaps have chosen the way you liked best, she takes the will for the deed, and is obliged to them; but had you really nothing to do all day?" "Nothing, Papa, except looking at books of prints. After dinner, Aunt got us down some books of prints, and Emmy and I sat such a long time looking over them, till our eyes quite ached." "Poor little eyes! but what did these prints represent?" "Oh! most of them were views of towns and places abroad; the book I liked best though, was that one, Emmy, you know, where there was a picture of a man standing with a paper in his hand, before a great number of people. I can't remember that man's name now; he was a German, I know." 66 What, Luther, do you mean?" cried Emma: "that was Luther; how funny you shouldn't remember his name, he was a great reformer you know." "And why was he called a reformer, Emma ?" asked her father; can you tell us that?" Emma hesitated, and then said, she believed he was called a reformer, because he reformed the religion which was then taught to the people by the Roman Catholic priests. "That's not very clear, my dear, I will try to make it plainer,” said Mr. Merton. "You have read in the New Testament, how the Apostles went about teaching the people, and telling them to amend their lives, and to prepare for the life to come. Well, after a time, the beautiful and pure religion which they taught, got to be mixed up with a great many superstitions, the people were ordered to say their prayers in Latin, a language which many of them could not understand; and to worship before crosses, and the images of saints and "Papa," interrupted Emma, "do not Roman Catholics think it right to do all these things?" "They do, love, and the Roman Catholic religion then prevailed over Europe, with many corruptions and abuses not to be found in it now in this country. Luther was one of the first of those great men who tried to bring back our religion to what it had been when taught by the early followers of our Lord." "I should so like to know a little about Luther," said Robert, "whether he was a good man, I mean, and all that." "And you want me to tell you, I suppose," said his father, smiling; "we have now talked long enough for this evening, but some other time I shall be willing to tell all about the great reformer, that you can understand, or I remember." (To be continued.) Though our thoughts stand open and God sees them all, even when we tell him not of them, yet, because he loves us, he loves to hear them of our own speaking; even as a father delights in the little, stammering, lisping language of his beloved child. And if the affection of children be in us, we will love also to speak with our Father, and to tell him all our mind with an humble confidence, and love to be often with him in the entertainments of our secret thoughts.-DR. LEIGHTON. THE YOUNG PHARISEE. 66 In the time of our Saviour, although Judea was more especially the country of the Jews, yet, in all the towns and cities of the then civilized world, were to be found many Jews. Even then they had become a remarkable people, from the manner in which they adapted themselves so easily to the language, habits, and customs of those they lived amongst; whilst they kept their religion unchanged, and fulfilled most strictly all its duties and observances. Scattered about among the towns of Asia Minor and Greece, were there especially many Jewish settlers, carrying on various trades and handicrafts; and as the Greek and Roman inhabitants were Pagan idolators, offering worship and sacrifices to statues of gods and goddesses, the spectacle of these Jews, who worshipped one invisible God, of whom they considered themselves to be the chosen people, must have been very remarkable and strange. In these towns, their only places of assembly for religious purposes were their synagogues, which were somewhat like schools for religious instruction. as well as places for worship. It was only in the great temple at Jerusalem that sacrifices were offered; and at the great yearly festivals, Jews from all parts of the world then known, came up to join in the ceremonials which were performed in it, as their most pressing religious duty. They looked with love and reverence upon Jerusalem, as their holy city and home, in all respects connected with their nation and faith: there it was that their High Priest dwelt; there the Sanhedrim, or council of Priests, was held and there dwelt all the Doctors of the Law," whose office it was to study and teach all the books of holy writ, which contained the laws and precepts of their religion. If a Jewish youth—no matter in what part of the world his family lived,-was to be brought up to be a preacher of the law, he was sent up to Jerusalem for his education, as it was there alone he could see and learn its ceremonials, and obtain instruction from the most famous teachers. It happened thus, that a Jewish father and mother, who dwelt at Tarsus in Cilicia, having a young son, who showed early and many tokens of piety and intelligence, brought him to Jerusalem to study under Gamaliel. SAUL left the town of his birth, beside the cold deep waters of the rapid Cydnus, where he had been used to wander on its picturesque banks, and to gaze on the distant mountains with their peaks mantled with snow, and in Jerusalem soon shewed great talents and energy; an aptitude for study which would enable him to acquire much knowledge, and a command over language which would enable him to teach. His teacher was of the very strict sect called Pharisees, and Saul was brought up to be one of them. He was in his childhood, perhaps, accustomed to speak Greek, but all his studies at Jerusalem were in the Hebrew tongue. He had to study in it the five books of Moses, so as to know their contents most thoroughly; the Psalms of David, the Proverbs of Solomon, he had not only to know, but know by heart; and with all the histories of the patriarchs, and their perplexing genealogies, he had to be perfectly well acquainted. Then there were other Hebrew books that he had to study, until he knew them almost by heart; the "Talmud," a book in seven large folio volumes, which contained not only all the laws of their religion, but the minute details of their ceremonies; and another great work called the "Mishna," which not only gave all the precepts of their religion, but contained a most lengthy description of all the customs and observances of the Jewish people, such as their washing of hands, cups, and platters; making borders of such and such width to their scarfs or phylacteries; giving tithe of mint and cummin, and other such little matters, to which our Saviour referred when he said, that in remembering these they forgot the more weighty matters of the law, such as "Justice and Mercy.' All these studies helped to make, for a time, the heart of the young Pharisee, Saul, both narrow and prejudiced. He learned to think that God could only be acceptably served, by attention to all such formalities and outward observances. Though his heart had been early touched by the beauty of the sacred writings, and filled with love and reverence to the Creator, he grew up to believe that God's mercy and providence were confined only to the Jewish people, and excluded from the rest of the world. Even among the Jews he fancied that every one was an object of contempt, who did not exactly believe as the Pharisees did; and was as bitter against a Sadducee as against an idolatrous Roman. Such was Saul, at the time when, to a little band of followers, Jesus of Nazareth was teaching in Jerusalem and its neighbourhood, lessons of love and charity; and delivering to all who would listen to him, the message which he was commissioned by his Father in Heaven to pronounce to his people:- a message to tell them how acceptable to Him were all who followed after righteousness, and a promise of eternal life to those who would forsake all, and follow his beloved son. From time to time Saul must have heard of Jesus, and he must have known how cruelly he was persecuted, "even unto death." If he could not shut his ears against the wonderful accounts of the miracles which Jesus performed in testimony of his |