beginning! for it is in fatal connexion with the next ensuing, and yet conceals what is behind. And since temptation is sure to be early with its beginnings, so too should watching and praying; early in life, early in the day, early in every undertaking. What haste the man must make that will be beforehand with temptation! Foster.

ADEQUATE RETURNS.

WHY is it that the disciples of Christ must do more than others? Because more is done for them than is done for others. God grants favours not for their sakes who receive them, but for his sake that bestows them. Now where there is a super-addition to our privileges, there must be a super-addition to our practices. You do not look for so much splendour from the burnings of a candle, as from the beamings of the sun; nor so much moisture from the droppings of a bucket, as from the dissolving of a cloud. The heat which melts the wax, hardens the clay. God doth not exact much where little is bestowed, nor will he accept little where much is received. A drop of praises is not commensurate to a sea of favours. They can never speak good enough of God, who have tasted the goodness of God. It is but reasonable that they should bless most, who are the most blessed. Secker.

In all ages these have been the objects of disgust and dislike. Several species are venomous; but even the harmless sorts are less admired for their beauty than shunned for the qualities attributed to them, of cunning, greediness, and malice. Thus even the instrument employed by Satan has been cursed for his sake, Gen. iii. 14. But the evil spirit who deceived our first parents by the likeness of the serpent, long continued to delude their posterity by tempting them to that species of idolatry called serpent worship, of which traces have been left even in Britain; and it became the object of superstitious dread. The wicked are often compared to serpents, Matt. iii. 7; xxiii. 33; Psa. cxl. 3; lviii. 4. The Lord has promised his people power over serpents, Luke x. 19; Mark xvi. 18; Psa. xci. 13; which was strikingly exemplified by St. Paul, Acts xxviii. 4, 5. And though miracles are not now to be expected, yet those who keep in the path of duty may confidently rely on the Divine protection from TRACT MAG. THIRD SERIES, NO. 134, FEB. 1845. C

all evils, bodily and spiritual. Many missionaries, in hot climates, can relate instances of preservation from the bite of deadly serpents, as well as from other dangers; and though in some instances the servants of God have been removed by such accidents, as they are called (which was the case with Thomas Woodroffe, a youth employed by the Church Missionary Society, in India, who died in 1823, just as he was rising to maturity and usefulness), yet this must have answered some wise end in the gracious providence of God, without whom not even a sparrow can fall:

"How are thy servants bless'd, O Lord,
How sure is their defence:
Eternal Wisdom is their guide,

Their help, Omnipotence."

Most serpents eat only one meal in two or three weeks; they will then feed till they can scarcely stir, and appear swollen with the quantity they devour. A common snake, no thicker than a child's finger, was seen by Dr. Barth, swallowing a frog; and a boa, though one of the largest serpents, has a neck no thicker than a man's arm, but it will swallow a goat or antelope, first crushing or breaking its bones. In some warm countries, snakes are used for food; and many accounts have been given of the arts used in taming serpents, James iii. 7, 8; Psa. lviii. 5. Even wild serpents are described as harmless, in the peaceful days of the gospel which are yet to come, Isa. xi. 8. Whether this promise will be literally fulfilled, must be still uncertain; but in one sense it is already come to pass, where

The soul, a dreary province once

Of Satan's dark domain,

Feels a new empire form'd within,
And owns a heavenly reign.

Struck by that light, the human heart,
A barren soil no more,

Sends the sweet smell of grace abroad
Where serpents lurk'd before.

Believers are told, Matt. x. 16, to be wise as serpents; but this precept must be properly applied, like the remark in Luke xvi. 8. They are not to exchange the simplicity

that is in Christ, 2 Cor. xi. 3, for the cunning and subtilty of the old serpent, questioning and qualifying the plain words of God; but, from the policy of their enemies, to learn their need of careful circumspection, Eph. v. 15. "While Satan watches, dare we sleep?" The serpent tribe are said to sleep with their eyes open. This may or may not be true, but it furnishes an instructive admonition.

THE SPIRITUAL CHEMIST.

MEDITATION II.-UPON A PICTURE AND A STATUE.

In what a differing manner is the image and representation of the same person brought into these two pieces of art! In the one it is effected by the soft and silent touches of the pencil, which happily convey likeness and beauty together; in the other it is formed by the rough and loud strokes of the hammer, and by the deep cuttings and sculptures of instruments of steel. In as strange and far differing way is the heavenly image of God formed in the souls of new converts, when first made partakers of the Divine nature. In some God paints (if I may so speak) his own likeness, by a still and calm delineation of it upon the table of their hearts. In others he carves it by afflicting them with a great measure of terrors, and wounding their souls with a thorough sense both of the guilt and defilement of sin. But in this diversity of working, God is no way necessitated, or limited by the disposition and temper of the matter, as other agents are, but is freely guided by the counsel of his own will, which is the sole rule and measure of all his actions towards the creature, as his word is of theirs towards him. Lord, therefore, do with me what thou pleasest; let me be but thine, and I will not prescribe to thy wisdom the way to make me thine; bruise, break, wound-yea, kill, Lord, so that I may be made alive again by thy power, and bear thy holy image, according to which I was first made, and to which I can be restored only by thy grace and might.-Spurstowe.

A NEW PRAYER.

SELFISHNESS, that striking feature in man's fallen nature, may be too frequently discovered, by close examination,

even in the prayers of pious people. Many pray earnestly for personal comfort, guidance, strength, and prosperity, who pray but very coldly for their country, their relatives, or the cause of religion in the world. Their friends derive little advantage from their supplications; their worldly neighbours are but little benefited by their intercessions. An unhealthy craving after selfish comfort marks their

prayer.

À more enlarged and comprehensive spirit, however, should pervade our souls when we approach the throne of grace. To those whose prayers continually move, as it were, on the pivot of self, whose petitions seldom stray beyond the narrow bound of personal safety, peace, and joy, let us recommend a new prayer, namely, a prayer for usefulness. Our religion should be of a vigorous, diffusive character. There is much work to be done for God in the world, and Christians are the appointed instruments for doing it. We should esteem it our highest privilege to assist in this honourable cause, and consider how disgraceful it is to be an inactive Christian. If we pray for comfort, it should be as a means of increased usefulness, and not as an end in itself. Thus, when the psalmist prayed for comfort he kept this end in view: "Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation" was his prayer; but he also coupled with it the resolution, "Then will I teach transgressors thy ways," Psa. li. 12, 13. We should look around us, consider the character of the times in which we live, the peculiar duties that devolve upon us, and the special wants of the world in our day. We should strive to be before our generation, in advance even of the majority of Christians with whom we mingle, lest we be what Jesus Christ declared even Peter on one occasion was a stumbling-block and a hinderance rather than an assistance.

If you are wealthy, pray to be increasingly leavened with the spirit of self-denial and liberality, and that you may usefully lay out for God's honour and man's advantage what has been so graciously lent to you. There is many a poor and worthy family in your neighbourhood whose dreary hearth you could easily cheer. There is many a devoted minister, the hardships of whose poverty you might delicately alleviate. There is many a noble institution, whose usefulness you might extend, and whose