"WE ALL DO FADE AS A LEAF.'
WHEN Autumn blows, and every tree
With varying tint's array'd,
An emblem of our life we see;
For as a leaf we fade.

The change is gradual, and we
Each year feel strength decay:
Just as the leaf upon the tree

Grows sear, then falls away.
But, unobserv'd, disease oft creeps,
And strong men fall a prey:
As, after frost, the whirlwind sweeps
The withering leaves away.
Though unperceiv'd, yet certainly,
Age, with its woes, is near:
As sure as leaf on forest tree
In Autumn groweth sear.

None can resist th' approach of age,
Or bribe the dreaded king:
So trees must lose their foliage,
Until recall'd by Spring.

"Tis sin that, like the whirlwind, sweeps

The sons of men away;

But, even in death, God safely keeps
All who make Him their stay.

THE WINTER OF LIFE.

P. M.

EVERY thing on earth has its small beginning. Nature has first her bud, then her blossom, and then her flower. Time has his spring, summer, autumn, and winter; and life has its infancy, childhood, youth, manhood, and old age. We love to look on the face of the helpless babe, and watch the gaze of its yet unintelligent eye. We love to hear the lisping tongue of rosy childhood, telling in its own sweet accents all its little griefs and humble joys. We love to join in the sports of laughing youth, and think of the time when we shall enter manhood's noble prime, and the brow, now so fair, be clouded by many a trial and furrowed by many a care. But O, methinks, better than all is the aged form, that has borne the burden of seventy or eighty winters, whose mind is matured by long and deep experience, and that now stands on the shore of time a worn-out fetter, which the soul shall soon break and throw away.' Yes, I love to gaze on the hoary head and wrinkled brow, for there is a dignity resting there that awes and yet draws out affection. But, better than all, I love to hear the voice (trembling like a broken harp), tell of the good hand that

has led and guided through life's dreary desert, and which shall lead and guide until the longing soul awakes in the glories of eternity. An aged Christian, whose past years have been devoted to the service of Him who loved us, and gave Himself for us,' is the noblest form that treads the vale of life, and a gem which, in yonder world, shall shine a glorious trophy in the Redeemer's crown. Such an one I knew, and even now the memory of her name is sweet. For fifty years she lived 'dead in trespasses and sins, having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.' But a change came. The Spirit showed her the evil of her ways, of Sabbaths profaned, of a Saviour's entreaties disregarded, and for some time she was miserable. But soon the wild tumult within was hushed by a still small voice' whispering, 'Peace, be still;' and the stricken soul was led to lay all its sins on the 'sin-atoning Lamb,' and to repose on the bosom of a forgiving Saviour. From that time forward, she was filled with peace in believing, and a cheerful smile of holy joy now lighted up the time-furrowed brow. She was extremely fond of children, and well do I remember her stories of Adam and Eve, of Moses in his bulrush cradle, of Samson and his giant strength, of Daniel in the lion's den, of the weary Man and full of woes, and last of all, the cross and sepulchre. O, it was there that she delighted to dwell-she could get no farther. Then a tear stood in her eye, as she mourn. fully exclaimed, 'O, I think I see the very blood oozing out of those blessed hands and feet pierced for us;' but the tear fled, and her face gleamed with rapturous joy as she concluded with the sepulchre and these heart-restoring words, 'The Lord is risen.' Thus, step by step, she taught the youthful mind the sacred truths which are able to make wise unto salvation.' But the end came on too soon, too soon. Cholera was then sweeping off its thousands, and she, among others, fell a victim. I felt no fear as I stood at her bedside; but O, the intelligent look was gone, and the cold hands and death-bedewed brow told us that life was fast ebbing. But, He that had been her Saviour in life, was her guide through the dark valley. Her thoughts were all heavenward, and unconsciously she repeated verses such us these: 'He gave

Himself a ransom for all. God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing unto men their trespasses.' And frequently, with clasped hands, she said, 'He's been a kind Redeemer to me.' The dark October night had scarcely given place to the grey dawn, when I was called to stand beside her dying bed. Fears unchecked fell fast, when I saw the last flutter, and heard the last sigh, and then all was over.

'We saw in the dim and fitful ray, That the light of the soul had pass'd away!'

But, O we wept not as those that had no hope, for we knew that she was 'Where dazzling robes are streaming,

Where palms of victory wave,
Where glittering crowns are gleaming
With haloes kings may crave.
Where harpers' harps are stringing,
His praises to proclaim;

There her glad soul is singing,

Of Moses and the Lamb.'

THE LOVE OF GOD.

J. T.

THE love of God, produced by a sense of what He is, and what as our Creator, Preserver, and Redeemer, He has done for us, is the primary and essential principle of religion in the soul. The want of it makes the hypocrite: 'I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you.' It is the test of discipleship: 'Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?' It is the first and great commandment: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God.' It is the source of the believer's triumphs over life's ills, death's fears, the grave's gloom: 'I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.' It is hallowed fire which leaps from the celestial altar on to the sinner's bosom, which consumes the dross of unsanctified desire, and makes him live anew: The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost given unto us.' It produces a willingness to obey God, a fear of offending Him, a desire of trusting in Him, of corresponding with Him, and of being ever with Him. When duty calls us, its language is, 'Lord, what wilt thou have me

to do?' When temptation assails us: Can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?' When prosperity smiles on us: Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits!' When affliction weighs us down: 'Father, thy will be done. When death comes to us: O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law; but thanks be to God who giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ.'

How beautiful and comprehensive, then, the counsel of John, 'Keep yourselves in the love of God.'

THE SABBATH.

MANY and thrilling are the associations which the weekly recurrence of the Sabbath brings. The sun of a Sabbath morn first shed light on a finished creation. When the ball we tread on stood out a complete and lovely thing before its Maker; when Eden bloomed a little heaven below, and man, with his pure and lofty spirit, lived in its bowers; ere yet the trail of the serpent was over all, “God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it.' The beams of a Sabbath morn first shed light on a ransomed creation. Then it was that the Captain of our salvation, having battled with death in his own dark domain, shivered his fetters, rose a victor from the tomb, led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men; so that now, instead of the deep woe and shame sin had won as the heritage of the fallen, there is proffered to them the beauty, the brightness, of a purchased immortality. The Sabbath is a type, and tells of that rest which remaineth to the people of God; of that hour, when the Christlan pilgrim shall termninate his long and toilsome march through the wilderness, and cross the threshold of his Father's home; when the Christian mariner shall heave over the last ocean billow, and enter the desired haven; when the soldier of the cross shall lay off his panoply, and wear the rich robe and the bright crown. Independently, too, of these nobler recollections, there is much, much of piety, much of poetry, to make the Sabbath to a Christian's soul the very best day in all the week. The image of a grey-haired sire, the family shrine, the domestic Sunday-school, 'the big ha' Bible, once his

father's pride,' the music of the church's praise, the house girt round with the graves of his kindred, devotion's lofty peal. Oh, it cannot be that the man is on the way to heaven who loves not as his life this atom of heaven dropped on earth,—it cannot be that he is of the peculiar people if he 'call not the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable,'-that he has any claim to the character of a religious being, if the very day which affords him ample time for the lessons and services of piety, be given to another than God, that he can cherish in his bosom an honest concern for eternity, if the golden hours allotted for preparing for it, glide away, in disgust and a weariness!

THE EDITOR'S LIBRARY.

Edin

THE SUFFERING SAVIOUR: or, Meditations on the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. By the Rev. FRED. W. KRUMMACHER, D.D. burgh: T. & T. Clark. THE Author is already favourably known in this country, by several Publications, especially by his 'Elijah the Tishbite.' These productions of his pen have gained him a wide popularity, while they have ministered both delight and improvement to the pious, by whom they continue to be much read. The present Work is of a decidedly superior stamp. It displays high ability and sound judgment, on themes of fundamental importance, and of universal and permanent interest. To the attentive reader, it is fitted to impart instruction and comfort; and tens of thousands, we doubt not, will derive from the perusal of it equal pleasure and profit. The Work is divided into three Partsthe Outer Court,' the Holy Place,' and the Most Holy Place'-in order, as it is said, to point out the different stages of the Redeemer's sufferings, from their commencement to their close.' It appeared, originally, as a series of Discourses, and has been cast into its present form by the able and judicious Translator.

A summary of the Contents will give the Reader a better idea of the Work, than any statement of ours. The following, then, are the topics discussed. Under Part First, entitled, The Outer Court, we have The Announcement-The Anointing -The Entry into Jerusalem-Christ

Washing His Disciples' feet-The Passover-The Institution of the Lord's Supper- Lord, is it I?'-Judas Iscariot-The Woe denounced-The Walk to Gethsemane The Converse by the Way.

Under Part Second, or The Holy Place, these are the topics introduced: Gethsemane Conflict and Victory: Gethsemane Import and Result: The Taitor's Kiss: The Sword and the Cup: Offering and Sacrifice: Christ before Annas: The Judicial Procedure: the Fall of Peter: the Great Confession: Peter's Tears: Prophecy to us, Thon Christ:' Christ before the Sanhedrim: The End of the Traitor: Christ before Pilate: The Accusations: Christ a King: 'What is Truth?'-The Lamb of God: Christ before Herod: Pilate our Advocate: Jesus or Barabbas: Barabbas: The Scourging: Ecce Homo!-the Close of the Proceedings: The Way to the Cross: Simon of Cyrene: The Daughters of Jerusalem.

Part Third, or the Most Holy Place, comprises the topics subjoined: the Crucifixion: The Dividing of the Raiment: The Inscription: Father, forgive them:' The Malefactor: the Legacy of Love: 'Eli, Eli, Lama Sabacthani:' I thirst:' 'It is finished:' Father, into Thy hands I commit my spirit: The Signs that followed: The Wound of the Lance: The Inter

ment.

We have here fifty-three Discourses, forming a goodly Octavo, at a very moderate cost. The Work, we think, must give very general satisfaction. Of those who have a taste for religious reading, few will grudge the time devoted to a perusal of its numerous Chapters: few will feel disappointed by the discussion. To give selections were difficult, where all is so excellent. The following specimens, which are given somewhat at random, and in point of ability are not above the average of the Volume, may serve to convey some idea of its merits. Towards the close of the Chapter on Christ Washing the Disciples' feet, the Author remarks:

supposed our Lord here intended to institute an outward ecclesiastical solemnity for His Church. But there is not the slightest foundation for such an idea; nor is our Lord to blame that the washing enjoined by Him, has in some places degenerated into the mere formality of an outward act. In it He recommended no empty ceremonial, much less a cloak for hierarchical pride, to which those make it subservient, of whom it has been justly observed, that "it would be more to be wondered at, if, in genuine humility, they washed the feet of one king, than their washing the feet of a thousand poor people in the manner in which it is now performed."

The Lord, by this act, commended to His disciples that brotherly love which flows from His own heart into ours, which manifests itself in real self-denial, and willingly condescends to the most menial offices. We ought also to wash one another's feet, even in a literal sense, when necessity and circumstances require it. We ought not to imagine ourselves too high and lofty for any kind of assistance, however apparently degrading, since Christ has left us such a brilliant example in this respect. Acts of love never degrade, however menial they may be. They did not degrade the Lord of Glory; how, then, should they degrade us His unworthy

servants?

'But it is chiefly in a spiritual sense that we ought to follow the example of our Lord. We are naturally much inclined to accuse each other of faults, and we grudge and grieve each other by our severity. But our Lord recommends a washing of the feet, which arises from the charitable intention of cleansing and divesting our brother of some besetting sin. This cannot, indeed, be done with mentioning the particular offence; but there is a great difference where humility, which never judges others without first judging itself, shows another his sins, and mercy, which never grieves, but only seeks to heal, discovers infirmities, when contrasted with the self-righteous loftiness and fault-finding Pharisaism, which holds up to the poor sinner the catalogue of his transgressions. He who washes a brother's feet, in the sense intended by our Lord, places himself on the same footing with him as a sinner: enters compassionately into his fault; reveals it to him with forbearance and undissembled frankness; melts his heart, by gently reminding him of the riches of Divine goodness, which he has repaid with ingratitude; and after having thus washed his feet, whilst inciting him to repentance, he does not forget to wipe them also, by unveiling the throne of grace; depicting to his view the cross of Calvary; announcing

to him the mercy of Him who has received gifts, even for the rebellious, and by dropping into his wounds the balm of the Gospel.

Certainly we never wash each other's feet in this manner, until we know what the Lord has done for us in particular. The mystery of His cross must first have been revealed to us in the light of the Holy Spirit, ere we are able thus to wash one another's feet. We must first have experienced that, in the substantial antitype, which Simon Peter experienced in the type. Christ Himself must first wash us, before we can wash the feet of any in the manner intended by Him. Let the words, then, ever sound in our ears: "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me." May they expel all false security from our souls; give us no rest day or night, until they cast us down at His footstool, and if He has not yet cleansed us, call forth from our bosoms the words of Peter: "Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!""`

At present, we cannot quote more largely. In a succeeding Number, we may give one or two other passages which we had marked. Meanwhile, we recommend the Book as one admirably suited for the family or the Congregational Library. May it have as wide a circulation as its deservedly popular predecessor, Elijah the Tish bite.

THE CABINET.

TILL THE MOON BE NO MORE.

'İN his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endures,'-till the moon be no more. It does not follow from the words, that the moon will ever cease to exist. The idea, commonly held, of the annihilation of the starry firmament, is without foundation in Scripture. Such an idea has a pernicious influence on the human mind, inasmuch as it leads men to depreciate that which bears in such striking characters, the stamp and impress of the Divine glory. It is conjectured by astronomers, that the planets will eventually, though at a period inconceivably distant, fall into the sun, owing to the resistance of the solar ether. Were this to happen, it would not be annihilation. It would only mark the conclusion of one of those cycles, known only to the Almighty, which will succeed one another in endless progression during the countless ages of eternity. Some such catastrophe as this may be referred to in the following words of Psalm 102: 'They shall perish,