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is the worth of time? You will have the answer in that look of despair, and in that groan of agony, with which he takes his leave of time. Ask the dying saint,-what is the worth of time? The reply is contained in those accents of victory with which, with him, time ends, and those sounds seraphic of angel spirits with which eternity begins. Ask those bright spirits which are before the throne of God, the patriarchs of olden times, the apostles of the Lamb, the martyrs and confessors of the church, and all the myriads which compose that countless throng, which no man can number,-what is the worth of time? The answer is inscribed on their brilliant crowns, it is chanted in their songs of praise, it is written on their robes of light. Ask a lost soul what is the worth of time? Is there no answer? O yes! It is in that wail of anguish, it is in that shriek of horror!

6. Perhaps some may be disposed to ask-what is the course we must adopt for the improvement of time, and for the securing of those great purposes for which time was given? This is an important enquiry. Permit me to urge upon you a serious and prayerful consideration of the following directions:

First, Remember you have no time to squander away. None to waste in foolish mirth and trifling. None to spare for useless selfindulgence, or unnecessary sleep, or useless and extravagant decoration. of the body. None for vain amusements, for idle visits, or unprofitable conversation, for cards or dice, for balls or theatres, novels or romances. These are inconsistent with the work you have to do, and the solemn account you have to give. Let none of your time be spent in doing that upon which conscience will frown, or upon which you dare not invoke the blessing of God; or on anything which will lay a foundation for future regret, or which will give you pain to reflect upon, on the bed of death, or which you would not wish to be read aloud before men and angels, when the Judgment shall come, and the books be opened.

Secondly, If you would improve time, you must "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness," and not rest in anything short of a real conversion of the heart to God. Do not suffer any uncertainty to rest upon this question. Plead with God night and day till you possess that faith, which worketh by love, and till your own conscience, the Word of God, and the Holy Spirit, unite their testimony to assure you of your interest in Christ, your filial relation to God, and your title to everlasting life. There must be no delay, no trifling. Behold now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." To-day, if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts." To put off the work of conversion, is the greatest folly of which you can be guilty. Those who live in a state of alienation from God lose all their time. There is no action of their life which is pleasing to him, and their condition is so full of misery and danger, that no good man can look upon it but with pity and concern, or consent to live a single day in such a state for ten thousand worlds. "The carnal mind is enmity against God, it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be; so then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." They may be diligent in worldly business, they may amass wealth, they may acquire stores of learning, they may gain influence and reputation

among men, but while they are in the flesh, that is in a carnal, unrenewed state, they cannot please God. In the estimation of worldly men they may have spent their time well, but, in the judgment of God, all the years that are spent in this state are irrecoverably lost, nay worse than lost; they carry to heaven the report of ingratitude, impiety, and rebellion, which, if pardoning mercy and the blood of the Atonement prevent not, will be found against them in the great day of final account. If, then, you have been living at a distance from God, this moment make a stand, be decided. No time is to be lost, say with the Prodigal, "I will arise and go to my father." And remember who it is that hath said, "Then shall they seek me, and find me, when they search for me with their whole heart."

Thirdly, They who would improve time, must not only "be diligent in business, but fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." "Be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day." As the vital fluid circulates through every part of the human frame, so the spirit of piety and of prayer should pervade all the departments of human conduct. "Whether ye

eat or drink, or whatsoever you do, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, and to the glory of God." Religion is not to be a business of the closet, the sanctuary, and the Sabbath merely. It is to go with us into all places, into all companies, and through all time. We are to be holy on the week-day as well as on the Sabbath; and we must be devout in the shop, the market, the exchange, the factory as well as in the closet and the sanctuary. Our faith, hope, and charity; our patience, meekness, and every other grace must be seen in the ordinary transactions of life, whether domestic, social, or commercial; and herein we must exercise ourselves always to have a conscience void of offence towards God and towards men. Thus, whilst we are in the world, we shall not be of the world, and holiness unto the Lord will be written on all that we do.

Fourthly, In all the business of life, method is of great importance; and they who would improve time, should so divide and apportion it, that every duty may have its proper season and attention. The Rev. J. Todd observes: " Any one who has never made the trial is an utter stranger to the calmness and pleasure with which the soul meets her daily duties, however various, if they return periodically at the same hour. There will be a sufficiency of variety to afford relief and also stimulus. But the order should be as complete as possible. A wheel that turns constantly may move a vast power, if every cog of the wheel be right; but if there be one broken here, and another broken there, the whole machinery will suffer, and eventually go to pieces." Another great man, Richard Baxter, observes: "A wise and well skilled Christian should bring his matters into such order, that every ordinary duty should know its place, and all should be as the links of one chain which draw on one another, or as the parts of a clock or other engine, which must be all conjunct, and each right placed. A workman that hath all his tools on a heap or out of place, spends much of the day in which he should be working in looking for his tools; when he that knows the place of every one can presently take it and lose no time. If my books be thrown together on a heap, I may spend half the day in looking for them when I should use them: but if they be set in order

and I know their places, it spares me that time." So it is in the right timing of our duties.

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Lastly, The man whose income is not great, and who, notwithstanding, wishes to acquire wealth, must be careful not only of the sovereigns and shillings, but also of the pence and farthings. He must save with the utmost care, and spend with the utmost caution." So the man that would make the most time, must gather up the fragments that nothing be lost. Here covetousness is not a vice, but a virtue. Hours of leisure, must not be wasted in indolence or trifling. They must be employed in pious meditation, or profitable reading, or private prayer; or in visiting the sick, or religious conversation, or some other work of piety and benevolence. Opportunities of doing and getting good must be seized and improved; and we should be on the look-out for such opportunities, that they may not slip away unperceived. Sometimes there are special seasons, golden opportunities. Seasons when we may do and get more good than we can ordinarily; there are times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord, when God is specially near, and his Spirit is richly poured out, and there are showers of blessings. How important is it to redeem the opportunity. The mariner catches and improves the favourable breezes; the husbandman sows his seed in the proper season, makes hay whilst the sun shines, and gathers in his crops during the appointed weeks of harvest; the merchant studies the aspects of commerce, watches the changes in the markets, the rising and falling of the funds, and avails himself of every opportunity for improving his fortune. Even so the Christian should avail himself of every favourable juncture, every dispensation of divine influence, and, as he has opportunity," do good unto all men, specially to them who are of the household of faith." All this, it is obvious, will require diligence, punctuality, decision, and self-denial. We must avoid that indolence which is "the rust of the soul;" that procrastination which is, "the thief of time;" and those habits of indecision and needless self-indulgence, which, as certainly as the grossest crimes, will bring death and damnation on the soul. Let us keep in mind how short and how uncertain our time is. The progress of the Sun through the heavens tells us that the day is wasting, the changing seasons remind us that the year is revolving, and the varied colouring of our days and months shew us that the wheels of time are revolving as rapidly as silently, A before named author observes- He that hopes to look back hereafter with satisfaction upon past years, must learn to know the present value of single minutes, and endeavour to let no particle of time fall useless to the ground, and he that would escape the dear bought experience of fools, must be wise in time; and leave not conscience to answer all his cries, and moans, and fruitless wishes! with this doleful peal, Too late! too late!" T. T.

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CONTENTMENT. A contented mind is the greatest blessing a man can enjoy in this world; and if in the present life his happiness arises from subduing his desires, it will arise in the next, from the gratification of them.-Addison.

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REVIEWS AND LITERARY NOTICES.

THE GLORY OF THE REDEEMER in His Person and Work. By OCTAVIUS WINSLOW; author of Personal Declension and Revival of Religion in the Soul, &c. 12mo. 500 pp. JOHN F. SHAW.

EVERY Christian believer acknowledges, that the mind cannot be more delightfully and profitably employed, than in contemplating the glory of God as manifested by his well-beloved Son. The truths through which the glory of Christ can be seen by men, are revealed by the teachings of that book which contains "God's record of his Son, and of eternal life in him." In order, that we may rightly apprehend and duly appreciate these glorious truths, our minds must be brought to seek the illumination of the Holy Spirit, whose office it is to take of the things of Christ and reveal them unto men. Without the aid of the

Spirit, we shall either be blind to the effulgence of the glory of the Redeemer, shining from the sacred page, or we shall be mere indifferent, cold, and stupid spectators; and instead of being ourselves dignified by that glory, it will overwhelm us with destruction.

In the work before us, many of the rays of divine truth, contained in the Scriptures, exhibiting the glory of Christ, are brought together and presented under several very important and interesting aspects; to which the attention of the reader is earnestly and affectionately invited.

The work is divided into ten chapters, in which the following subjects are discussed :- -" The Pre-existent Glory of the Redeemer; the Redeemer the Revelation of the Father's glory; the Typical Glory of the Redeemer; His Prophetical Glory; the Glory of his Humiliation; the Glory of the Redeemer in his Resurrection; in his Ascension and Exaltation; the Glory of the Redeemer in his People; the Holy Spirit glorifying the Redeemer;" and, "the Glory of the Redeemer in his Second Coming." These important topics are stated, illustrated, and applied in a manner well adapted to suit the taste, interest, instruct, and profit the many. The author has not given dry critical dissertations; but expositions rich with evangelical truth, which may be easily understood by the unlearned. We do not, however, agree with him on every point. We demur to the statement, that the " burning bush" was a type of Christ. We know no Scripture warrant for such an opinion. We do not understand what is meant by saying that Christ" bore not the appearance of sin, or the punishment merely of sin, but the sin itself." We know not in what other sense, He, as our sacrifice, can have borne the sins of men, but by bearing the punishment which divine justice inflicted on him. Nor do we concur in the statements made on the question of," the possibility of a child of God falling short of eternal glory;" that is, as we understand the author's statements, as denying, the possibility of a child of God losing his religion, and so losing eternal glory. On this subject, our author eloquently declaims and affirms; and most of his observations on this subject are mere declamation and affirmation, totally unsupported by Scripture evidence. We give the following quotation as an illustration of his mode of deal

:-"If one of

ing with this question, and in proof of our statement :those given to him (Christ) of his Father, one whose sins he carried, whose curse he bore, whose soul he has renewed by the grace of his Spirit, were permitted finally and eternally to perish, where would be his glory? where the glory of his power? where the glory of his love? where the glory of his work? Gone! Every perfection of his divine being would be impeached, and every beam of his divine glory would be tarnished."

We say, this is mere oratorical declamation and bold affirmation, unsustained by evidence. It is true, a text of Scripture is quoted to confirm the statement, but it does not contain the required proof. The following is the passage quoted ;—" Father, I WILL that they also whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory." We readily admit, that this proves, that it is the will of Christ, all who believe in him should partake of his glory in heaven; but this no more proves the impossibility of a believer's drawing back unto perdition, than the following texts, expressive of the will of God, prove, that every child of man must be eternally saved, " God our Saviour, who WILL have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth and live." 1 Tim. ii. 3, 4. "The Lord is not WILLING that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." 2 Pet. iii. 9.

Our author argues, that because Christ expressed his will to be, that those whom the Father had given him should be with him in his glory, and partake of that glory; therefore, every one who has been brought by divine teaching to believe in Christ, must, without any possibility of failure, share in the glory of Christ. If such an interpretation be allowable in reference to the text to which it is applied, it must be equally proper in reference to the other texts which we have quoted. The conclusion then is, that as God willeth not that any should perish," none can ever perish! that as 'God will have all men to be saved," all men must be saved! These conclusions are contradictory to the explicit declarations of God's word, and therefore the mode of interpretation, by which they have been educed, is proved to be false.

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The fallacy of the doctrine, that a believer in Christ cannot forfeit his spiritual character and lose his soul, as assumed by our author, is evident from many passages of Scripture, which are in perfect accordance with the following words of Jehovah, "When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die." Ezek. xviii. 26. "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called to-day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end." Heb. iii. 12-14. These passages, and many others which might be adduced, prove, that the Holy Ghost teaches the possibility of believers falling away so as to lose the salvation of their souls; and we therefore consider it to be very presumptuous to assert, that if any one who has been a child of God falls short of eternal glory," Every perfection of the Divine Being would be impeached, and every beam of his divine glory would be tarnished." We are convinced, that there is no more

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