that without him were lost, lead you to him to be changed from sin to holiness, to receive of the constant influence of his Word and Spirit, to be indeed his disciple, and to be assimilated to him. Be united to the Saviour by love to him and to his truth. Be united to him as the branch to the vine, which gives it of its own nourishment and life. The stem of the natural tree is the great channel from whence the juices, fitly prepared, ascend in numerous veins, giving birth to numerous branches, and affording them all their supplies for growth, and producing their leaves and their fruit. Separate the branch from the stem, it withers and dies at once; injure its union and attachment, by partial separation, and the branch bleeds, and losing its invigorating nourishment, wears an impaired and sickly character. Or let some disease, some canker eat into it, and it grows unseemly and deformed, its blossoms fade, or it bears an evil and bitter fruit. Or is the branch overgrown with those vegetable substances which are apt to fasten upon it, these, by degrees, rob it of its proper vigour, they gradually overspread the branch till its appearance is wholly changed, and, at last, both buds and leaves are no more discernible. Even so hath our Saviour taught us that he is the vine, and that we are the branches, (John xv. 5,) branches that cannot bear fruit unless we abide in him and he in us.

May God, in his grace and mercy, grant that you may experience the fulfilment of his promises; may you know that God is with you of a truth, that he keeps you for himself, the Israel of God, to inherit his blessings.

SUFFERINGS OF THE CREW OF THE VIEWFORTH OF KIRKALDY, ONE OF THE ICEBOUND WHALERS, OF 1835.

No. III.

BY THE REV. J. THOMSON,

One of the Ministers of Dysart.

I PROCEED now to the consideration of the dangers to which the lives of our brave mariners were exposed, from the time in which the fields of ice began to break up around them, till the period when a merciful God effected their deliverance. This part of the narrative possesses more than ordinary interest, as it exhibits so many and so striking evidences of that special providence which was exercised in their behalf.

We have contemplated nature in a state of repose, when around the Viewforth lay an unbroken field of ice to the extent of three hundred miles. Were the question then asked, Was it possible to effect her deliverance that season, from a situation becoming every day more and more hazardous? is it not obvious, judging from the state of things, that the most experienced could only give a desponding reply,-human power was utterly inadequate to break up the mighty barrier which seemed to conspire to prevent the escape of the frail bark. The seamen knew this, and made up their minds to encounter all the rigours of an Arctic winter. But when all refuge failed them, save the mercy of their heavenly Father, He on whom they reposed all their hopes, interposed timeously in their behalf, and, with an outstretched arm, rescued them from all the evils of their condition. "With God nothing is impossible." All

The

ment.

To describe the scene that followed, when a commission was given to the winds and the tides to break up the immense fields of ice, by which the Viewforth, and the other ships in like circumstances, were prevented from making their way homeward, were a task altogether impracticable. From an early period in October, down to the time when our brave seamen were finally delivered from danger, there was a constant succession of heavy gales. The war of elements commenced with indescribable fury. The lowering sky, the masses of clouds moving hurriedly, indicated that a tremendous conflict was speedily to ensue. Accordingly, on the 24 of November, it blew a perfect hurricane. The solid masses of ice that covered the surface of the deep quickly began to yield to the force of the agitation beneath louder and more terrific than that of thunder. The them, and to break up in wild disorder, with a noise icebergs were put in motion. One after another, impelled by the winds and tides, came down on each side of the ship, sweeping, irresistibly, every obstacle before it, and plowing up the fields of ice which had hitherto been deemed impenetrable. And, glancing at this scene of turmoil, what but the power of Jehovah could have preserved the helpless bark, while driven southwards, about a thousand miles, through the broken ice, often heaved up mast high?

66

But I must give a few extracts, in order to exhibit the situation of the ship at this stage of the eventful narrative. Sabbath, Nov. 15.-" Another awful and eventful day. The wind did not take off till nine A. M., and when daylight came, what a scene presented itself to our view!-the wreck of the Middleton. I cannot express the feelings that went to our hearts when we first saw our companions in such a state. Every one regarded another in mute despair. Six of our men went over to assist them, as they saw a boat coming towards us; and what a melancholy tale they brought back! 'How thankful ought we to be to Thee, O Omnipotent God, for having sustained us through this dreadful night, and spared us as living monuments of thy mercy." 18th. "We have been driving along this ironbound coast at the rate of nearly four miles an hour. The ice drove us in with the land, and what a terrible sight to see the great towering mountains frowning above us, and expecting, every moment, that the ship would be dashed in pieces. At one time we were afraid she was gone, and got our provisions and clothes upon the ice; but, thanks be to God, our gallant ship is still spared." Dec. 6." This is the Lord's most holy day, a day in which man rests from his labours, and one in which He has dealt mercifully with us. It blows a complete gale, driving us fast along the land, and the ice squeezing as high as our bulwarks, yet we have escaped uninjured." Dec. 10." The ice is now warring and crashing in a most awful manner. It would, indeed, be difficult for the imagination to conceive what is now going on around us, and the prospect that lies open to our view. The ship is now drifting, and working her way through interminable fields of ice, while regions of eternal frost every where meet the eye. The entire scene presents

nothing but desolation in its most awful form. Frowning cliffs and naked glaciers shew us there is no home for us here, should we be forced to leave the ship." Dec. 23." At two in the morning pitch dark. A pressure took the ship, (it was blowing a gale of wind at the time,) and lifted her up clean on the top altogether. She leaned again, and fell down in about half an hour; and, to add to our dismal situation, she was stove, and, from that day to this, we have never left the pump a moment.' This was a very memorable occurrence, and I shall have occasion, by and bye, to refer to it. I request any readers to bear it in remembrance, and to think of the situation of the Viewforth, now that an alarming leak was added to her other perils.

Before bringing this part of the subject to a close, it is proper to advert to the danger to which the crew of the Viewforth were exposed from icebergs. Some of these are of great inagnitude. "On the 1st of October, came on a terrible mass of ice, higher than our ship's masts, and aground in forty-five fathoms of water. Coining right upon a ridge of bergs which we had hardly conceived it possible to clear; the Jane was lifted up two feet out of the water, by a pressure of ice; the Middleton had the ice squeezed up as high as her channels, and our own got some severe contusions, but a gracious Providence watched over us. We drove through between two hergs which a line could have reached, and soon found the ice more open, but the gale continued." Dec. 8. "We are now driving past a tremendous iceberg. Arthur's Seat arrayed in one of its most wintry garbs is not to be compared with it."

That I may not weary the patience of my readers by farther details of danger, I now proceed to specify a few remarkable instances of the special providence of God, which occurred in the history of the crew of the Viewforth.

1. An occurrence, which took place on the 13th of November. "We made a narrow escape this morning about four. It rained sleet, and was very hazy, when a blink of a few minutes shewed land right a-head of us it was Cape Dunbar. The land was N. N. E.; and had the wind continued in the same direction, another hour would have driven us on the face of the rocks, and instant destruction would have been our inevitable fate. But a gracious Providence ruled it otherwise: a land breeze sprung up, slackening the run of the ice, and we got worked out with some difficulty." Blind must he be, who does not see the hand of a merciful God in that event!

2. The crew of the Viewforth, on perceiving the vessel so completely icebound, were of opinion, that it would materially contribute to her safety, were a dock eut in the solid ice, in which she might lie, with greater security, when the field of ice in which she was locked should begin to move and break up. Accordingly, we find them employed at this work on the 25th November. They toiled hard and long, but to no purpose. Though they supposed a sufficient space had been cleared, the ship could not be moved. This may, to some, appear a trivial circumstance; but, how short-sighted is man! On their want of success in that undertaking, their preservation was afterwards, and that at no distant period, made to hinge; for when the field of ice in which the vessel was imbedded began to move, she was driven down furiously, at the mercy of the winds and tides. One of the icebergs, mountain high, to which I have alluded above, lay directly in her course. The moment it was beheld, all on board concluded that their destruction was inevitable. They immediately went below deck for prayer, with the exception of the captain, who remained to watch their fate. Under the impression that they were on the brink of eternity, and that Omnipotence alone could rescue them from impending death, they cried to God to protect and save them. And let it be recorded, to the glory of his name,

the Hearer of Prayer graciously heard their agonising cry for mercy, and afforded a deliverance, truly marvellous, just while they were earnestly engaged in pleading at his throne of grace-the ship glided closely by the huge berg that threatened ruin; and, what is singular, the only part of the ice in which the Viewforth was inclosed, was cut away by the berg, that very dock which they had thought so essential to her safety. Had she been there, her destruction would have been unavoidable and instantaneous.

3. The leak occasioned by the pressure sustained on the 23d December was over-ruled for the preservation of the crew of the Viewforth. I beg to state the following facts regarding it: And, first, it happened just at the time when the men stood in need of some powerful motive to bodily exertion. We have seen how prone they were to yield to the torpid influence of the cold, and how inactivity increased their danger. Now ordinary motives to exertion, in the absence of immediate danger, were not of sufficient power over their minds. Hence the necessity of something to rouse their energies. The leak, which appeared to them, at first, as destructive of all chance of escape, was the very means employed for preventing them from yielding to lassitude and despair. Now all was activity--the pump going at the rate of 270 strokes in the half hour. By those exertions, heat was effectually restored to their chilling frames, and hope to their drooping spirits. Secondly, the leak was never so great as to master them. Thirdly, in proportion as their strength began to fail, the leak diminished; so that by the time they arrived in Dysart harbour, it was easily subdued. And who, on reviewing these facts, can doubt, the special interposition of Providence in their behalf?

4. Scanty though their provisions were for a long period, they lasted, through good management, till their wants were generously supplied at Stromness. They were never absolutely without food.

5. When they got clear from the ice, on the 30th of January, the wind was favourable for their return homewards, and continued so during the remaining part of the voyage, a circumstance of no small importance, considering their extreme weakness, and that by this time only about twelve hands could do any thing for the navigation of the ship. Sterne beautifully remarks, that God tempers the wind to the new shorn lamb." Here we have a still more striking instance of accommodation. The sails which were set on the 30th of January did not require to be altered till the ship arrived off Stromness on the 14th of February.

6. The storm which drove back Captain Ross of the Cove, the vessel sent out in quest of the icebound whalers, was most favourable to the Viewforth, and the means of rescuing her famishing crew from their sufferings and privations. The meeting of these ships was most seasonable. Captain Ross's conduct was, in every respect, praiseworthy. So was also that of the inhabitants of Stromness, who vied with each other in acts of kindness and hospitality. Nor must I forget the Christian part which the Rev. Peter Learmonth, the minister of Stromness, acted towards the sufferers, in so promptly and affectionately ministering to them spiritual support and consolation.

7. When the Viewforth, after her return to Dysart harbour, was undergoing repairs, on the patent slip, a singular discovery was made, which indicated the hand of a merciful Providence in her preservation. It appeared, on inspecting the damage sustained on the 23d December, when violently thrown up upon the ice, that, directly opposite that part of the bottom which was most seriously injured, was the head of one of the water casks, which, by the shock sustained on that occasion, was forcibly pressed into the place which had received the fatal blow, and thus prevented the ship from sinking. The gap was so wide, that, were it not

for that circumstance, the destruction of the crew must have been inevitable. The sensations of those who, on the removal of the cask, and the ice by which it was still surrounded, perceived the extent of their danger, will not be soon forgotten. The impression produced on the public mind here, on learning this fresh instance of the care of God towards these seamen, warrants me to record the fact, that it may the more clearly appear to whom the glory of preserving their lives is due And, considering their great debility, and the many other evils of their lot, what a mercy that the extent of the danger sustained by the ship was concealed from them till after their arrival! Verily there is but a step between us and death." But "the Lord is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble." "He brings the blind by a way they knew not; he leads them in paths they have not known." Even in the midst of danger, "he giveth his beloved sleep."

EXPERIENCE OF THE HEATHEN.

BY THE REV. J. A. WALLACE,
Minister of Hawick.
No. III.

HEATHEN GREENLANDERS' IDEAS OF A

FUTURE STATE.

THE idea of a future state is strongly impressed on the human mind, and exercises considerable influence over the hopes and fears of man. In consequence of this fact, the difficulties connected with the conversion of a world that lieth in wickedness, seem to be rendered somewhat less formidable than they might otherwise have been. Take, for example, a heathen country, and let it be supposed that its inhabitants have no knowledge or anxiety in regard to the realities of an eternal world, that all their enjoyments are limited to the present state of existence, and that the impression is deeply engraven on their minds that at death they are to perish for ever. In that case, it would be exceedingly difficult to make the truths of Christianity to bear effectually upon them. Even the Gospel, though bringing "life and immortality to light," would meet with no response in the feelings of their hearts, and all their previous habits and modes of thinking would present almost insurmountable obstacles to its reception. But only grant that their spirits, degraded though they be, are often the birthplace of "thoughts that wander through eternity;' that there are those amongst them " who, through fear of death, are all their lifetime subject to bondage;" and that they are not without their own views, imperfect though they are, in regard to a heaven, a resurrection and a hell, then, assuredly, the case is as different as it is encouraging. We see, even in their fears, their misgivings, their restlessness of spirit, something like the incipient preparation for the blessings of the Gospel of Peace. And instead of despising their experience in the day of small things, we are almost justified in regarding it as furnishing materials for the Christian missionary to work upon, and making ready a people prepared for the Lord.

"

Hence it is easy to conjecture what conceptions they form to themselves of the future state. In general they

imagine it to be a better state than this temporal life, and they believe that it never ends. But they differ much in their sentiments about the site and circumstances of the place.

Many, or most of them, place their elysium in the abysses of the occan, or the bowels of the earth, and think the deep cavities of the rocks are the avenues leading to it. There dwells the Good Spirit; there a joyous summer is perpetual, and a shining sun is obscured by no night; there is the fair limpid stream, and an exuberance of fowls, fishes, rein-deer, and their beloved seals, and these are all to be caught without toil. But to these seats none must approach but those that have been diligent at their work,-that have performed great exploits,-have mastered many whales and scals, have undergone great hardships,-have been drowned in the sea, or died in childbed.

"Others, that are more charmed with the beauty of the celestial bodies, soar beyond the rainbow, to the loftiest sky, to seek their paradise there.

"On the other hand, they situate their hell in the subterraneous regions, which are devoid of light and heat, and filled with perpetual terror and anxiety.

"Some of them assert that the soul stays five days by the grave where the body lies; then the person rises again, and seeks his maintenance in the other world, as he did in this. Therefore the hunting implements of the deceased are deposited by his grave. But as the more considerate Greenlanders have seen that both the body and the hunting instruments lie upon the place and rot, they believe nothing of this, and know nothing of that resurrection which is true. Yet some few have uttered the following hints towards it, which are the more worthy of notice, because they contain at the same time, some trace of a Supreme Being. They say, that in distant future periods, when all mankind shall have died and be extinct, the terrestrial globe shall be dashed to pieces, and purified from the blood of the dead by a vast flood of water. Then a wind shall blow the clean washed dust together, and replace it in a more beautiFrom that time there will be no ful form than ever. more bare and barren rocks, but the whole will be a level champaign, overspread with verdure and delight. The animals will also rise and reanimate in vast abundance. But as for men, He that is above will breathe upon them, and they shall live. But they can give no account who He is that is above."

In these brief extracts we discern traces of some of the most momentous doctrines of Scripture. The resurrection of the body, the immortality of the soul, the blessedness of heaven, and the misery of hell, are all distinctly recognised, though in a way somewhat accommodated to the habits and conceptions of a carnal mind. And by referring to the knowledge which these people possess of such solemn realities, we can account for a fact which might otherwise appear to be inexplicable, that their minds are often filled with indescribable horror in the immediate prospect of dissolution, whilst their lamentations for the dead are marked with all the emphasis of hopeless and inconsolable distress. Not that we mean to affirm that it is the natural tendency of these, or any other doctrines of Scripture, to impair the comforts of the human mind, or to afford nourishment to feelings of despair, but merely that such doc

trines, if but imperfectly understood, and especially when viewed apart from their connection with the Gospel of the Great Redeemer, can scarcely fail to be occasions of agitation and alarm, rather than sources of sweet and refreshing consolation. Such, accordingly, seems to be the case with these poor heathens. Theirs is not a state of utter darkness, else they might sleep on and take their rest, totally unconscious of the eternity that is before them. Nor is it, on the other hand, a state of perfect light, for, in that case, they might walk with out stumbling, and find rest and peace unto their souls. Theirs is rather a kind of melancholy twilight, as remote from the clearest sunshine as from the darkest shadows of death; a state of fearful, undefinable, and interminable suspense. The light breaking in upon their spirits is enough to disturb their slumbers, to distract them with troubled visions, and to give a gloomier aspect to the darkness that is around them, but totally insufficient to point them to the Cross, or to conduct them to paths of Peace. They have a heaven, an immortality and a hell; but what are these without a Saviour to wash them in his blood, or a Spirit to lead them to the mercy-seat, or a hope, both sure and stedfast, entering into that within the vail? They are little better than clouds that are without water, carried about of tempests; trees whose fruit withereth, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; waves of the sea raging with an everlasting restlessness; wandering stars shedding but a fitful light on the path of the weary wilderness, whilst disclosing more horribly to their view the blackness of darkness for ever!

66

a

Is such the condition of these unhappy men? Then how strong are the obligations which lie on the Christian world to make known to them that salvation which God has prepared before the face of all people; light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of his people Israel;" and if even these outcast portions of the creation seem as if they were groaning to be delivered from their bondage, and waiting, as with anxious spirits, for the manifestation of the sons of God; "Oh! how beautiful upon the mountains must be the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto them, thy God reigneth!"

CHRISTIAN TREASURY.

Keep the end of your being in view.-You have never yet asked in earnest, for what purpose you came into the world. What wonder, then, that ye wander and and walk at random, seeing ye have not proposed to yourselves any certain scope and aim? This is great folly, and you would not be so foolish in any petty business. "The light of the body is the eye," if that be not light, the whole body is full of darkness. If your intention be once rightly established, all your course will orderly; but if you be dark and blind in this point, and have not considered it, you cannot walk in the light, your whole way is darkness. The right consideration of the great end would shine unto you, and direct your way; but while you have not proposed this end unto yourselves, even the enjoyment of God, you must spend your time either in doing nothing to that purpose, or in doing contrary to it. All your other lawful business, your callings, and occupations, are but by the bye; they are not the end, nor the way, but you make them only your business, while they are altogether impertinent to this end. And the rest of your walking in lusts and

ignorance, is not only impertinent, but inconsistent with it, and contrary to it. If you think you have it before your eyes to enjoy God, I pray you look on the way you choose. Is your drunkenness, your swearing, your uncleanness, your contentions, and railings, and such works of the flesh,- -are those the ways to enjoy God? Be not deceived; you who draw not near to God often in secret, and by faith in his Son Jesus Christ, as lost, miserable sinners, to be saved and reconciled by Him, you have no fellowship with him, and shall not enjoy You whose hearts are given to your him bereafter. covetousness, who have many lovers and idols besides him, you cannot say, Whom have I besides thee on the earth? No; you have many other things besides God. You can have nothing of God, except ye make him all to you, unless you have him alone!" My undefiled is one." He must be alone, for his glory he will not give to another. If you divide your affections, and pretend to give him one part, and your lusts another part, you give no part of it to any other thing. But as for those may do so, but he will not divide his glory so; he will souls that come to him, and see their own misery without him, O how good it is! It is not only good but the very best, yea only good. There is none good save one, that is God; and there is nothing good for us but this one,-to be near God; and so near as to be one spirit with the Lord, for he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit. Rejoice in your portion, and long for the possession of it. Let all your meditations, and affections, and conversation proclaim this, "Whom have I in heaven but thee, and there is none on the earth that I desire besides thee." And certainly God will guide you to the end, and receive you into glory. Then you shall rest from your labours, for you shall dwell in him, and enjoy that which you longed and laboured for. Let the consideration of our end unite the hearts of Christians here; for how absurd is it that those who shall be made perfect in one, should not only go contrariwise, but have contrary minds and affections.-BINNING.

Reflect ere it be too late. Whatever we are doing, or wherever we are going, time is still advancing, and we are hastening, as fast as it can carry us, either to heaven or to hell.-EADE.

The improvement of Affliction.-Learn not only patience under your afflictions, but also profitably to improve them to your soul's good; learn by them how thereof are, that a sharp, or a lingering sickness renders vain and unprofitable things the world and the pleasures them utterly tasteless. Learn how vain and weak a thing human nature is, which is pulled down to the gates of death, and clothed with rottenness and corruption, by a little disorder in the blood, in a nerve, in a vein, in an artery. And, since we have so little hold of a temporal life, which is shaken and shattered by any small occurrence, accident, or distemper, learn to lay hold of eternal life, and of that covenant of peace and salvation which Christ hath brought for all that believe and obey the gospel of peace and salvation; there, there shall be no death, no sickness, no pain, no weakness, but a state of unchangeable and everlasting happiness. If you thus improve affliction you shall be gainers by it, and most certain it is, that there is no more probable way under heaven to be delivered from affliction, if the wise God see fit, than thus to improve it; for affliction is a messenger, and the rod hath a voice, and that is to require mankind to be the more patient, and the more humble, and the more to acknowledge God in all our ways. And if men listen to this voice and conform to it, the rod hath done its errand, and either will leave a man, or else give him singular comfort even under the sharpest affliction; and this affliction, "which is but for a moment," thus improved, will "work for us an exceeding and eternal weight of glory." SIR MATHEW HALE,

SACRED POETRY.

PARAPHRASE OF CANTICLES, CHAP. II. 8-13. BY THE REV. ARCHIBALD M'CONECHY, Minister of Bunkle.

The Ancient Church looking forward with joy to the times of the Gospel.

"TIs my beloved's voice; he comes,
His eager steps I see;

O'er mountains like the bounding hart
He leaps, he flies to me.

He by our arbour early stood,

And bright as morn arose,

He through the lattice look'd, and all
His beauty did disclose.

He spake, arise my soul, he said,
And here no longer stay;
To where unfading joys abound,
Arise, and come away.

The winter and the rain is o'er,

The flowers now deck the fields,
The vine puts forth her fragrant grapes,
Her fruit the fig-tree yields.

The birds their cheerful song resuine,
Enlivening every grove;
The turtle, in melodious strains,

Now wakes his voice to love.

Arise, my love, the morning breaks
And ushers in the day;

The Jewish symbols are fulfilled,
The shadows flee away.

THE TEAR.

BY A FIFESHIRE FORESTER.

WHAT brought thee there, thou trembling tear,
On that fair cheek to glow;
Like dew-drop on the blush-rose shed?

Art thou the child of woe?
Or was it joy's gay breath that stirred
Gently thy placid fount,

And made thee from its secret depths
In sweet suffusion mount?

No; it was neither grief nor joy,
But gratitude sincere,
That drew from feeling's holy source
That sympathetic tear.

It was the sufferings that were borne,
The promise which was given,
By Him, who died that sinful souls

Might rise through blood to heaven.
It was the blest Record of Love
And pardon in the sky,

That touched that sinner's contrite heart,
And filled that beaming eye;
And thrilled with voiceless harmony
Through every trembling chord,
And sweetly glowed, in that young breast
Devoted to its Lord.

And such a tear e'en angel eyes
In heavenly halls might shed,
While kneeling round the throne of Him
Whose heart for sinners bled.
And such a tear for evermore
Before the blest may shine,

For God preserves his children's tears,,
In his celestial shrine.

And blest that eye, which o'er the page

Of pardoning love can melt;

And blest that heart, that such a thrill
Of grateful love hath felt!
For brightly through eternal years

Such love-drops may begem
The sapphire walls and golden gates,
Of New Jerusalem.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Special Providence.-The late Rev. E. Jones, of Trevathin, in South Wales, being on a visit to some friends, when his finances were very low, had a sum of money given him to purchase some malt; but on his way home, passing through a village, and visiting several distressed families, he gave away all his money. On reaching home, he told his wife, who possessed a kindred spirit with himself, what he had done. commended his conduct, and then showed him the precise quantity of malt which his money would have purchased, which a neighbouring farmer had just sent them.

She

The early use of the Scriptures.-We learn from the writings of St. Chrysostom, that the Scriptures were in use amongst the people in his day; since he often exhorts even the poorest of them to make the Scriptures their daily study; to read them after their usual meals, and in the hearing of their wives and children: assuring them, that "the servant and the rustic, the widow and the infant, might understand them. "- "Are the Scriptures only to be read by the monks?" asks the worthy patriarch; or are they not still more needful for you, as the man who is daily exposed to dangers and to wounds stands most in need of the physician?"

Where is the Man who has seriously examined and yet does not believe ?—Sir Isaac Newton set out in life a clamorous infidel, but, on a nice examination of the evidences for Christianity, he found reason to change his opinion. When the celebrated Dr Edmund Halley was talking infidelity before him, Sir Isaac Newton addressed him in these or the like words: "Dr Halley, I am always glad to hear you when you speak about astronomy, or other parts of the mathematics, because that is a subject you have studied, and well understand; but you should not talk of Christianity, for you have not studied it. I have; and am certain that you know nothing of the matter.' This was a just reproof, and one that would be very suitable to be given to half the infidels of the present day, for they often speak of what they have never studied, and what, in fact, they are entirely ignorant of. Dr Johnson, therefore, well observed, that "no honest man could be a Deist, for no man could be so after a fair examination of the proofs of Christianity." On the name of Hume being mentioned to him, No, sir," said he, "Hume owned to a clergyman in the bishopric of Durham, that he had never read the New Testament with attention."

Volume I., elegantly bound, either in one, (Price Seven Shillings,) or in two parts, (Price Eight Shillings,) is now ready. Separate Numbers to complete Sets may at all times be had.

Published by JOHN JOHNSTONE, at the Offices of the SCOTTISH CHRISTIAN HERALD, 104, High Street, Edinburgh, and 19, Glassford Street, Glasgow; JAMES NISBET & Co., HAMILTON, ADAMS & Co., and R. GROOMBRIDGE, London; W. CURRY, Junr. & Co., Dublin; and W. M'COMB, Belfast; and sold by the Booksellers and Local Agents in all the Towns and Parishes of Scotland; and in the principal Towns in England and Ireland.

Subscribers in Edinburgh and Leith will have their copies delivered at their own residences regularly, by leaving their addresses with the Publisher, or with John Lindsay & Co., 7, South St. Andrew Street.-Subscribers in Glasgow will, in like manner, have their copies delivered, by leaving their addresses at the Publishing Office there, 19, Glassford Street.

Subscription (payable in advance) per quarter, of twelve weeks, Is. 6d.-per half-year, of twenty-four weeks, 3s.--per year, of forty eight weeks, 6s.-Monthly Parts, containing four Numbers cach, stitched in a printed wrapper, price Sixpence,