thee." The shield of true Gospel faith resists all the fiery darts of the wicked. It belongs to the nature of man, that when he conforms to the law and the Gospel of God, his conscious rectitude is a fountain of peace which cannot fail him.

In others also is provided a part of the security of the good man against evil. It is true, indeed, and will remain so as long as wickedness exists in the world, that the cross of Christ will be an offence; that those who will live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. Because they are not of the world, therefore the world hateth them. And yet it also holds true that righteousness is a great protection from evil. It is the lot of all to suffer here; and it is better, if the will of God be so, that we suffer for welldoing than for evil-doing. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. In this the righteous receive no harm, but only submit to a present loss for a future manifold gain.

But there is a divine art of living, even for the present. A righteous man can work without harm amidst the thorns and thistles of this wilderness. There are maxims of prudence relating to the use of Christian principle in worldly affairs. Godliness has promises for the life that now is. Even some natural virtues cover a multitude of sins. There are men of thorough selfishness, who become popular by natural graces, and find in some respects an agreeable path through the world; and how much more will such natural graces avail, when they are known to be not a cover of selfishness, but a true expression of love. It is true that gross and reckless wickedness sometimes gets the upper hand, much to the present grief of the friends of righteousness; but it is also true, that in the prudent and courageous resistance against wickedness, the good man is ever the stronger party, and the bad the weaker. This is the general rule. Hence we are commanded not to be overcome by evil, but to overcome evil with good. The Lord commands this; and shows that he has made it a law of his kingdom that good shall be stronger than evil. Where good does not overcome, but gives place to evil, the stronger yields to the weaker, and is traitor to itself. Love thine enemy. If you would conquer him, love him. If he hunger, feed him. If he thirst, give him drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Such, by the constitution and course of things, is the power of goodness for its own defence.

But evil men make enemies and keep them. Every selfish man has every other selfish man against him. Though evil-doers join hands like friends, yet each has reason to distrust the other, so far as he fails to forward their selfish ends. All men are natural enemies of the unrighteous, because he threatens their welfare; and it is only by a temporary balance of evil forces that a wicked man has a partial repose. He has no security with wicked companions; because companions in wickedness are always companions

in danger. He has no peace with the good, for their faces reflect his shame. But the righteous finds a heaven in the companionship of righteous men; and, in the presence of the wicked, may see his own honour reflected from the dark face of vice.

Such are some of the signs that godliness is profitable unto all things; and that God, the Saviour of all men, is especially so of them that believe. Witness the subduing power of mild, retiring virtue. See the bow relaxed that was drawn at real goodness, and the poisoned arrow dropping from its aim; for amidst the invisible springs of the world, there is a watchful eye intent upon the welfare of the followers of that which is good.

2. We find this doctrine taught in the history of good men. And here we see that the same God who dispenses sunlight and showers in common to the evil and the good, hath still a discriminating hand, not only in his special interpositions, but in the common order of the world.

The salvation of righteous Noah from the flood, and of Lot from the destruction of Sodom, were miraculous favours, indeed; but they show the disposition of God towards the righteous; and what he intends, by nature, to do in his ordinary course. If he will protect the good by miracle in extremities, how much more will he avert extremities by the general laws of his ordinary works. A capital illustration of this occurs in an early period of history, and is intended for instruction on this point to the end of time. It is the history of Joseph in Egypt. This is to be taken as one index of the invisible motions which govern human affairs. Each step of Joseph's life occurred by general laws; every important event having such a natural antecedent as observation and experience teach men to expect. Although the history is remarkable, it reveals the principles of the moral kingdom which govern human life. And this shows the natural provision in the constitution of the world for the safety of the good. This provision is sometimes resisted and prevented from reaching its good results at once. Joseph is hated by his brethren, cast into a pit, sold to Ishmaelites, carried as a slave to Egypt, thrown into prison on a false accusation, and is held a prisoner for years. Yet as the germ of the acorn by nature shoots upward and not downward, and breaks the hard crust of earth which would resist it, so goodness by nature rises in the world. It cannot be kept down. In the deepest waters of adversity its tendency is ever upward towards the surface. Joseph is hated by his brethren; but though ten would kill him, and only one would spare his life, he is saved alive. He is sold a slave to Potiphar; but he becomes overseer in Potiphar's house. He is cast into prison; but he has the care of the prison committed to his hands. He is brought out of the prison to appear before the king, and becomes lord over all Egypt. Whether in the pit, in slavery, or in prison, his motion is ever upward. His good qualities are in demand. He does always right, and therefore

prospers. All goes well with him in the depth of seeming adversity. It goes well with him in the pit, for he is not left to perish there; in traffic, as an article of merchandise, for he is sold to a good master; in slavery, for he becomes the head of his master's affairs; in prison, for he becomes keeper; in being brought before the king, for he is raised to the right hand of the throne. Through all the region of darkness, he walks in a path of light. It is the path of the just that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. We might speak of others without number. The time would fail us to collect the memoirs of the good who have walked safely amidst perils, who have found their darkness a fountain of light, and whose gloomy surroundings have only served to set off their virtue and their prosperity. The furnace harms not the gold; and the reason lies not in the accidents or circumstances of the trial, but in the nature of gold and of fire. The world harms not the good; and the reason lies in the nature of righteousness and of the world; and these depend on the nature of God.

3. We, therefore, can now understand the import of God's own words on this subject; for here he only speaks in words what he has before declared in the constitution and course of the world. There are more expressions of the word of God, entirely explicit and unqualified, on this point than on any other. God is the infinite, eternal, everywhere-present power of heaven and earth. In his secret habitation, he moves and guides all things according to the counsel of his own will; and out of his invisible dwelling he speaks to the children of men and says:

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season. His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. The Lord God is a sun and shield, the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. Trust in the Lord and do good, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about them that fear him. All things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are the called according to his purpose. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? These are only a few examples of the Lord's assurance of security to his friends. There is no other principle of the divine government confirmed by so many words as this: that the world is constructed and guided to favour the righteous man.

This law of the Divine government, then, is plain, and the friends of God have it for their encouragement. It does not secure them

against worldly trouble; but it prevents worldly trouble from harming them. "In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." The children of God may be compelled to tread upon coals of fire, but the promise is, they shall not be burned. The furnace may be seven times heated, yet the Lord will walk with his children in the furnace, and not a hair of their head shall be scorched. How different with those who choose the way of sin! Say ye to the wicked, it shall be ill with him. The ungodly are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. The ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. This is the great law that governs the world. The deviations from it are only apparent, and the appearance is only for a moment. That general law itself, which allows the evil-doer sunshine and rain, health, riches, and honour, still brings evil upon him through them or beside them, and still ordains that, though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet will his punishment one day overtake him. His sin will find him out.

To profit by this law we must rely upon it. If one would profit by the laws of the winds and the waves, he must learn what they are, and commit himself to them in full submission and trust. So of that law which provides for our safety in doing right. We must fall upon it in the way of well-doing. Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established. Cast thy bread upon the waters, in doing the works of faith and love. It is safer there than in the storehouse, watched and guarded by an evil mind. If tempted to do wrong, to gain the favour of men, remember that by thus gaining the favour of men, you will get the frown of God. Oh, love and fear the Lord, for there is no want to them that fear him. Everywhere amidst his works the Lord is waiting to meet his obedient children with his blessing. Believe in Jesus Christ. Obey the Gospel. Submit to the laws of grace. All shall be well with you in life and in death. As the fertile soil is full of bread for the hands of skilful and patient tillage, so all things are full of the favour of the Lord for the hands of those who follow that which is good. ONESYMA.

REFLECTIONS ON OUR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.

THE Superintendent of the Agricultural Department in the Patent Office at Washington, D. J. BROWN, Esq., has just compiled, from the most authentic accessible data, an estimate of the Agricultural Products of the United States, for the past year, 1855. This exhibit, so interesting in its secular aspect, in illustrating the general prosperity of the country, is suggestive of most important moral reflections. In this view it may not be deemed an inappropriate topic for such a periodical as this. For although

it is never to be forgotten that, "man shall not live by bread alone," yet it must be equally borne in mind that, according to a divine ordinance, bread is the staff of life, and that we are taught to pray, "Give us day by day our daily bread." Being thus one of the necessaries of life, it has not only an important influence upon the material prosperity of communities, but may be improved to higher ends.

What a view of our country does such an exhibit present! Providence has cast our lot in a land of vast extent, and extraordinary productiveness-nearly as large as that of all the nations of Europe

larger than the empire of Alexander, when he wept that he had no more to conquer-exceeding the magnitude of the Roman Empire, when, at the height of its glory, it was represented as comprising nearly the whole of the then known world. Possessing a soil of the greatest fertility; embosoming resources whose immensity is yet but partly explored; enjoying every variety of climate, with every possible advantage of cultivation, so that coffee is the only great product of the world that will not grow here. In such a land, with a wider area under cultivation than ever before, we have enjoyed the smiles of a benignant Providence to a most unprecedented extent. The pastures have been clothed with flocks; the valleys have been covered over with corn. Just contemplate the following table, in which the estimate is rather below than above the truth.