ance of all duty, it prepares for the most glorious rewards of heaven. "God hath not given unto us the spirit of fear, but of a sound mind." The latter is the opposite of the former. The prevalence of the one, is the destruction of the other. The spirit of a sound mind is a spirit of trust, of unshaken confidence in the power, presence, and goodness of God. By turning the eye of the soul upon the overruling providence of Jehovah, and lifting the heart in faith to Him" who doeth all things well," it casteth out all unmanly and slavish fear. Void of this trust, man may well tremble and be dismayed. He "finds himself dependent for happiness upon circumstances entirely beyond his control, and his best calculated hopes exposed to wreck from a thousand contingencies, which he can neither foresee nor prevent. If he have not a friend in the Supreme Disposer of all events, and an assured prospect of a better immortality, fear will be constantly present with him. His gods are upon earth. Children and friends, riches and worldly distinction, are sources to which he looks for happiness. Take these away, and what has he left?" He will, therefore, be anxious and troubled. Fear lest these, his gods should be removed, lest himself should be dashed down by death, and forced away from them all, into that world of retribution whither he has nothing to carry but the guilt of his sins, will be fatal to all stability and peace of mind, and productive of sore dismay.

The spirit of a sound mind prevents all this. It seeks for and finds a higher good than this world can afford; takes into view man's whole career, and "calmly reposes on God for light in the dark hour, and rest in the storm." He who fears God in the cordial belief of his gospel, has nothing else to fear. He resolutely closes his heart to all unmanly misgivings. "The Lord is his light and his salvation; whom shall he fear? The Lord is the strength of his life; of whom shall he be afraid?" "What energy of purpose, what indomitable will, what calm confidence in the result, must he have, who is thus girded about by omnipotence, guided by omniscience; and bound, as it were, by his faith and love, to the will of Jehovah himself." Who, then, can fully express the value of that state of mind which we are now considering? In such a world as ours, with so much to perplex and annoy, with so many enemies to our peace, with so many liabilities to err and to fall, with such constant inroads of fear on

the right and on the left, and withal, so weak and frail as we are in ourselves, how invaluable is that frame of mind which lifts our heads above the billows, and enables us, with undoubting confidence in God, to survey the present and anticipate the future.

Fear thus prevented, a calm and equable temperature of the soul is begotten. You would judge, from the mode of action adopted by some, that the world was made in a day, and that all we do here should be done in a hurry. Admit that we ought always to abound in the work of the Lord, and you do not quite satisfy them. It is not quite enough for them apparently, that you believe in doing with all your might what your hands find to do. You must do it even faster than that. They repudiate the maxim of making haste slowly. They would, in every good work, make haste hastily. In a sense which practically denies the teachings of history, and contradicts the principles on which the world is governed, they are immediatists. In their estimate of the best mode of working reforms, circumstances, existing states of mind, inveterate habits, causes that render it impossible in the nature of things to make radical changes in a moment, are overlooked. Fastening their eye with intense desire upon an end, they are not careful to appreciate the difficulties to be overcome, nor the resources to be called into requisition, before that end can be accomplished. When they speak of existing evils, it is with an impatient feeling that they must all be done away in a moment. Their arguments and persuasions are based more on what could be done were man what he should be, than on what can be done now, taking man as he is. Hence they are as ineffective, as they are bustling.

Now this perturbation of spirit, and rashness of action are carefully avoided by a person of sound mind. Taking just views of men and things, he will not give heed to rash counsels, nor hastily adopt opinions that have the semblance of good. He looks at means as well as ends. He will not, by unwise haste to secure a present inferior good, sacrifice an end, which, though distant, is incomparably more valuable. How much soever he may

deplore existing evils, and how ardently soever he may desire their removal, he will not, by bursts of passion or impulses of fury, really add to their power, and prolong their dominion.

The spirit of a sound mind exerts a healthful and powerful influence in society. Its possessor may not make so much dis

play as some others. He may be retiring and unostentatious. He may not talk so loudly about reforms in social customs and in morals, as some of his neighbors. But his influence for good will be felt far more deeply and extensively. In times of difficulty, many eyes will be turned towards him for relief. In seasons of perplexity and fear, his counsels for guidance will be eagerly sought, and promptly followed. Neglected as he may be when all is joyous and prosperous, he will be sought for and honored when any pressing or unforeseen emergency arises. Your man of real courage always shews himself when danger is imminent, and the coward heart is paralyzed with dismay. So in the great crises of social, civil, and religious life, the man of practical sagacity and true wisdom rises to view, and shews his inherent energy, and conservative power.

Nor is it alone in the great and startling events of life, that he performs his mission of mercy. As a neighbor, friend, and citizen, he will shew that he understands his relative duties, and do good unto all as he has opportunity. At an equal remove from lethargy on the one hand, and rash zeal on the other, he will move along with the energy of a calm and benevolent purpose. If he have less of the dash and noise of the land-flood, he has more of the steady and beneficent flow of the perennial stream. His is the influence which belongs to weight of character, in distinction from that which arises from sudden impulse or spasmodic effort.

Every careful observer has had occasion to mark this distinction. There are some persons who do well enough to amuse a leisure hour, but you would neither select them for intimate friends nor rely upon them in any serious emergency. They have but little stability of purpose, or strength of principle, or weight of character. There are others who say less; but they think more. By patient examination of principles, and practical skill in the application of those principles to existing events, they have established a reputation for good sense and sound judgment. They thus stand on vantage ground, high and lifted up, far above the region where petty minds are tossed hither and thither by petty difficulties. Now it is this established reputation for wisdom, this weight of character, that gives a man his most extensive and durable influence in society. He is thus enabled to speak when others keep silence; and to act wisely and beneficently, when others halt in indecision, or are inactive from despair. Thus

most faithfully he serves God and his generation, and makes himself most sincerely regretted when he dies. Thus he aids in filling those moral channels, which, becoming broader and deeper as the years roll on, shall eventually carry the tide of salvation around the globe.

Surely this is to be like Christ, and one in spirit with all who have done most for the progress of our race in knowledge and holiness. It is also to prepare the soul for the glorious rewards of heaven. On these two points we might dwell for hours with interest and profit, but our limited space will permit no more than this bare statement of them. Let the reader give them that serious thought which their importance demands; and, under the influence of all the motives above suggested, come to the question, How can the sound mind be obtained?

Originally, all minds are the creation of God. For every power we have, we are indebted to him, as also for the means of improving every power. Doubtless each one is differently endowed. as he comes from the forming hand of God, and no cultivation. can make two in all respects alike. But all who have the elementary powers of a human being, and certainly all who are living under the light of the gospel, may make attainments in practical wisdom. They may do this by earnest prayer to the mind's Author. The greatest minds that ever existed, have been the most humble and prayerful. They have brought their talents and learning, and laid them upon the altar of God, as a living sacrifice. They have practically exemplified the sentiment, that "prayer is the only true life." This spirit of prayer has been at once an evidence of a sound mind, and also an efficient means of its continuance, and increase. There is something essentially unsound in a prayerless spirit. An intelligent, well-balanced, conscientious, and truly wise mind, without reverence and devotion to God, is a contradiction in terms.

Prayer alone, however, will not meet all the exigencies of the case. God has not arranged his system of creation in such a manner as to supersede the necessity of earnest endeavor on our part. We know not what he might have done, having power to accomplish every thing within the limits of possibility; but his revealed plan is, that man shall make well-directed efforts in order to obtain any valuable blessings. Wisdom was not born with us, nor does it come to us unsought. It lies clearly within our reach;

but close observation, careful analysis, and patient study, are indispensable to its actual possession. The grand reason why one man is wise and another unwise is not, that they were born with essentially different faculties. Nor is it because one was placed in circumstances which made it impossible for him to improve his mind, while the other was so situated that wisdom came unsought. It is because one has labored assiduously to add to his knowledge, and improve his talents; while the other, sluggish, or sensual, or vain, has neglected to rectify his mistakes, supply his deficiencies, and enlarge the sphere of his observation. Let a man make the word of God his study, let him take its great principles as the guide of his life, carefully noting the events of divine Providence, and praying for divine illumination, and he will be continually correcting whatever is wayward and rash in his tendencies, an increasing that wise foresight, and conscientious regard for the just and true, which are the prime elements of a sound mind. Whatever apparent exceptions there may be to this statement, such, past all question, is the rule. If we seek, we shall find. He that "cries after knowledge and lifts up his voice for understanding; who seeks her as silver, and searches for her as for hid treasures, shall understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God."

WESTERN REMINISCENCES.

THE following letter, addressed to one of the editors of this periodical, contains some interesting fragments of history in East Tennessee, and is adapted to encourage ministers and private Christians in the humblest efforts they may make for the enlargement of Christ's kingdom. It illustrates the promise, "My word shall not return unto me void." The author has just published an interesting volume, entitled the Pilgrimage of Adam and David, a notice of which will be found in our concluding pages. He is also preparing, as we understand, sketches of the West. From his long residence in different portions of that great country, his happy talent at description, and the valuable incidents he has treasured up, we shall look forward to the appearance of the