an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear." "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” Psa. cxviii. 6 ; xxvii. 3; xxiii. 4.-W. Bridge. THE GRATEFUL SAILOR. THE chaplain of the Seamen's Port Society at Charleston, South Carolina, relates the following:- "I recollect the case of a young sailor who visited me at my residence. I conversed with him about the eternal interests of his soul. When he was about to leave I handed him a small bundle of tracts. He inquired of me what he was to pay; I told him nothing, but that he should carefully read them, and then give them to his shipmates. He seemed a little surprised, and offered me two dollars, and said, Take that, and appropriate it as you may think best: for,' said he, if I give you what I consider one tract is worth, which you gave me some time ago, I should give you more than I have in the world. It was the tract called "The Worth of the Soul," which caused me first to give up my infidel views, and to begin to calculate the value of my own soul.' 999 "GOD IS LOVE.”—1 John iv. 8, Is not God love? Then wherefore do I see For thee the pearl of greatest price alone. On this, through Christ, we place our humble trust, From Closet Hymns and Poems. By James Edmeston. THIS tree is considered to be the balm of Gilead, mentioned Jer. viii. 22; xlvi. 11; li. 8. It is an evergreen tree, and grows to the height of fourteen feet. The trunk is like a young cherry-tree, covered with a smooth bark, and out.. wardly of a reddish hue. The flowers are small and white, like those of the acacia. They are followed by yellow fine-scented seeds, in a reddish black pulpy nut, bitter, and rather sharp in their flavour. There were three ways by which balsam was procured from this tree; the first and most prized dropped from the tree of itself, or by means of TRACT MAG. FOURTH SERIES, NO. 6, JUNE, 1846. F incision; it was like gum, and sold for twice its weight in silver. Another kind was obtained by pressure from the nuts; and a third by boiling the twigs and young shoots in water. The balsam, or balm, was among the earlier exports from Judea to other countries. It is named, Ezek. xxvii. 17; Gen. xxxvii. 25; xliii. 11. The tree is described as growing abundantly in the neighbourhood of Jericho, and nowhere else in Syria; but it most likely came from a warmer climate, probably from the country of the queen of Sheba. One of the first things the Romans did, on making themselves masters of Judea, was to exact a certain annual tribute of this balm, which has long ceased to flourish in Judea, although it was seen not long ago in Egypt. In other parts of Africa this plant is also still found. Azab is a part of Abyssinia, near the straits of Babelmandel, supposed to be the ancient Saba, and is the native soil of the balsam of Mecca, which might have been early carried across the Red Sea to Arabia Felix. The balsam is taken as a medicine, in the quantity of about three grains; a few drops, also, will heal a fresh wound, if poured on it. The balm of Gilead is not expressly mentioned in Scripture as an emblem of Christ, but it may lead the thoughts to him, who has made himself known as the Lord that healeth-the true Physician of souls, who hath abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light. See Psalm ciii. 3; cxlvii. 3. Physician of my sin-sick soul, CHRISTINA. A KNOCK at my door was followed by the entrance of a young woman, of about twenty years of age, who coloured deeply, and seemed much distressed. "I heard, sir," she said, looking down, " that you were here, and as I know you are very kind, I wished to ask you to have pity on me, for I am very wretched. My name is Christina, and I came from Friburg." I questioned her further, and with some hesitation she owned that she had left the home of her parents eighteen months before, in the hope of meeting with a good place, in the large city of but that she was quite mistaken, and was now living in great straits, having sold almost all her clothes. I listened attentively to this young woman, and I perceived that she kept back something which pained her still more deeply. I told her so, and she confessed, that through her poverty she had fallen into great sin, and that shame for her misconduct was the cause of her greatest distress. She said with tears, "I cannot venture to write to my family, and I cannot venture to return to them. Oh! Sir, you do not know how wretched I have been for the last six months." She looked so, indeed. Though young, and pleasing in her features, she was pale and thin, and spoke with some sort of difficulty. I felt much pity for this unhappy girl, and remembering the conduct of the Saviour to the woman that was a sinner, Luke vii., I hoped that the Lord would be pleased to send some message of peace and restoration to this poor creature. I said to her, "You are wretched, it is true. How different you were at home, a plain country girl, from what you are now, though clad in smart attire!" Christina. Oh that I were still at home, and had never been near this town! Minister. And if you were once more at home, should you not be at a distance from what has ruined you u? C. Oh! I dare not go. What would my father-above all, what would my mother say? I am not worthy to enter their doors. M. But your shame before them is a trifle, compared with what you ought to feel before God. Perhaps you forget God, and that you have sinned against him. C. Oh! Sir, I should not have come here, but for such thoughts as that. God knows how often I weep over my sinful conduct. sins may be forgiven M. And do you desire that your by God? C. Indeed, sir, I do; and I wish to leave my present situation. But how can I? I am forsaken by all the world, and I have no other means of earning my living but She was ashamed to repeat her former confession, and I asked her if she knew any sort of work. She answered, "I work at my needle, and for some time I laboured very hard; but my earnings were not enough.' M. Poor girl! So you preferred idleness to labour? And the way of sin seemed easy, because you were without religion. Is not this the truth? C. I was not quite without religion. I was a Catholic, and have always done my duty. But the last six months, it is true, M. And if you were to die at this moment, should you not be afraid of the anger of God? She hung down her head, and was silent. I encouraged her to speak, saying that I wished to be of use to her, and I asked her where she expected to go if she died, for instance, the following night. C. In my religion we used to say that we should go to a place called purgatory. M. You have been taught to believe in purgatory as the punishment for venial offences, but you have committed deadly sins, such as are threatened with hell. But to say no more of your religion, let us inquire what God has said in the Holy Bible, his word, which is the truth. He declares, that the unclean, the murderer, and the thief, shall not inherit the kingdom of God. His word declares, that the punishment which your sin deserves is the eternal condemnation of hell. Such is the express declaration of God, and I now ask, what you think you must do, in order that your soul may escape this dreadful damnation. Then followed a long conversation, in which I set forth the way of salvation through the free grace of God in Christ, reminding her of the woman who came to Jesus, and washed his feet with her tears, to whom it was said, "Go in peace, thy sins are forgiven thee; and telling her, that "where sin abounded, grace did much more abound," and God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. "Therefore," I added, "instead of saying, 'I hope that God may forgive me when I have altered my ways,' if you henceforth trust in what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for you, you will no longer look forward with uncertainty, |