one, that he is idle, but that he is perfectly free from vice. But what is not vicious may yet be sinful; in other words, what is not a great offence against men's common notions of right and wrong, may yet be a very great one against those purer motives which we learn from the Scripture, and in the judgment of the most pure God. Thus idleness is not vicious, perhaps, but it is certainly sinful; and to strive against it is a religious duty, because it is highly offensive to God. This is so clearly shown in the parable of the ten talents, in that of the sower and the seed, and even in the account of the day of judgment, given by our Lord in the twenty-fifth chapter of St. Matthew, that it cannot require a very long proof. In the parable of the talents, the whole offence of the servant, who is cast out into outer darkness, consists in his not having made the most of the talent intrusted to him: in the parable of the sower, those soils are alike represented as bad, "which bring no fruit to perfection," whether the ground be overrun with thorns and briers, or whether it fail to produce any thing, from its mere shallowness and lightness. And in the description of the day of judgment, the sin for which the wicked are represented as turned into hell, is only that they had done no good. It is not mentioned that they were vicious in the common sense of the word; but they were sinful inasmuch as they had not done what God commanded them to do. And if it be said that this relates to the improvement of the heart, rather than of the understanding, and that though it may be a sin to neglect deeds of charity, it does not follow that it should be a sin to neglect working at books and tasks; the answer is, that it relates to neglecting the main duty of our lives, be it of whatever nature it may.' "'* Alas! how often is all this forgotten at Schools. How often is it imagined that idleness is an offence only worthy of light censure! How little value is set upon earnest, persevering, hearty diligence, in performing our appointed task, be it what it may! At school the appointed work is evidently the improvement of the mind, and preparing the young person for his future post in *Arnold's School Sermons. life. And do you think that it can be a light matter in the eyes of God, whether a young person discharge these duties faithfully or not? Do you think that they fall without the reach of the apostle's "Whatsoever ye do,” do it heartily? Ah no. If your school life be a mere blank, without any thing valuable to recollect it by, you will have lost so much of the precious span of life which God has allotted to you. Do what you will, you cannot recal one misspent hour. It has fled into the past, and cannot be revoked. But why do I speak of school-life as if it were in any case a mere blank? Such it cannot be. No part of life after infancy is a mere void space. If it contain nothing good, it will certainly contain much that is evil. If you be idle in sowing good seed, Satan will not be idle in sowing tares. At the great day it will be clearly seen that in cases innumerable the bad habits which deformed the adult were formed at school. School life cannot be a blank. It must produce effects. How continually do we see that a depraved youth is followed by a depraved manhood! If idleness and listlessness be encouraged in the boy, is there not the strongest probability that they will shew themselves in the character of the grown-up man? If you "Whatsoever we do, let us do it heartily.' apply yourselves diligently to the studies which are prescribed to you, rest assured that not merely will you derive many benefits in after years from the knowledge which your residence here will have enabled you to acquire but you will also, while thus diligently studying, be gradually forming habits of industry and selfdenial which, by God's grace, will be strengthened by practice, and be of priceless value to you in whatever station in life his providence may place you. He who does his work in one sphere of life in an earnest, hearty, self-denying spirit, from a simple sense of duty and wish to please God, will also do his duty with equal faithfulness in any other sphere of life to which he may be called. And this leads me to apply particularly the second part of the text to the circumstances of young persons at school. II. The Christian scholar must not only do his work 66 heartily, but " as to the Lord" Ambition, a desire to please, and many other motives, may make a young person hearty in his school work. But these are not the motives which should actuate a Christian. The child of God, the Christian scholar, must act from one grand ruling motive, and that motive is the "love of God"-the love of that God who made him, who redeemed him from Satan by the sacrifice of his dear Son, and who sanctifies him by his Holy Spirit. The Christian scholar's work must be done as to the Lord, and not unto men." His studies he regards as a part of his duty, appointed by God, his Father in heaven. He thinks-"Some of my tasks may be irksome to me. I may not like to do them. Perhaps I may not see the advantages of many of them. But yet my duty is plain, although I may, to some extent, work at present in the dark, not knowing to what result all these studies are intended to lead. My parents, my guardians appointed by God, have placed me at this school, and I know well that their wish is that I should diligently labour at whatever tasks are prescribed to me by my teachers. My path of duty is evidently marked out, and, by God's grace, I will walk faithfully in it, and trust in him for the result." Oh, my dear young friends that this spirit were transfused into all you do. For a true Christian must carry his religion into every thing. Nothing must be exempted from its influence. His religion must colour all his conduct, just as a little colouring matter will impart its hue to all the water into which it is thrown. The Christian scholar will conduct his studies, as well as all his other labours, from a religious motive, "as to the Lord." He will pray for a blessing on his studies, and he will draw from the word of God precepts for regulating them. Oh that study was more sanctified, more leavened with the influence of the Holy Spirit than it commonly is. It is somewhere said of a holy man of old, that he studied on his knees." Oh that such were the case with all of us whose vocation is the im provement of the mind rather than bodily toil. How would such a spirit sweeten literary toil, though the 66 most rugged and uninviting. Then let us study" as to the Lord." Let us, in our regular devotions, pray that our studies may all be sanctified, that so we may enter on our daily labours with the feeling that we have beforehand consecrated them to the Lord. And let us, while engaged in them, every now and then lift up our hearts in silent prayer to God that we may be kept in the path on which we have entered. Let our motto in all we do be-"HEARTY Work, AND AS TO THE LORD." C. THE TEACHER'S OFFICE. BY A CLERGYMAN'S DAUGhter. "Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones.” DESIREST thou a Teacher's work? Ask wisdom from above: The feeble flock of which the Lord hath made thee overseer. Alas! thou surely may'st expect some evils to endureE'en children's faults are hard to bear, and harder still to cure; They may be wilful, proud, perverse, in temper unsubdued, In mind obtuse and ignorant, in manner coarse and rude; Thou may'st contend with sluggish minds, till weary and depress'd, And trace the windings of deceit in many a youthful breast; Yet scorn them not; remember Him who loved His lambs to feed, Who never quenched the smoking flax, nor broke the bruised reed; Who for the thankless and the vile poured out His precious blood; Who makes His sun to rise upon the evil and the good. The love of God extends to all the works His hand has framed ; He would not that the meanest child should perish unreclaimed. Pray that His Holy Spirit may thy selfish heart incline To bear with all their waywardness as He has borne with thine. If by example, or by word, thou leadest them to sin, Thou perillest the precious souls that Jesus died to win; If thou from indolent neglect should'st leave their minds unsown, Or should'st their evil passions rouse, by yielding to thine own; Should'st thou intimidate the weak, and thus destroy their peace, Or drive the stubborn to rebel, by harshness or caprice; Should'st thou their kindlier feelings chill by apathy or scorn, 'Twere good for them, and for thyself, that thou hadst ne'er been born. But oh! what blessings may be thine, when thou hast daily striven To guide them in the narrow path that leadeth up to heaven;— What joy to see their youthful feet in wisdom's way remain; To know that, by the grace of God, thy labour is not vain;— To watch the dawn of perfect day in many a hopeful child; To see the crooked mind grow straight, the rugged temper mild;To mark the sinful habit checked, the stubborn will subdued ; The cold and selfish spirit warmed by love and gratitude;— To read in every sparkling eye a depth of love unknown; To hear the voice of joy and health in every silver tone! If such the joys that now repay the Teacher's work of love, If such thy recompense on earth, what must it be above! Oh! blessed are the faithful dead who die unto the Lord; Sweet is the rest they find in heaven, and great is their reward; Their works performed in humble faith are all recorded there; They see the travail of their souls, the answer to their prayer : There may the Teacher and the Taught one glorious anthem raise; And they who sow, and they who reap, unite in endless praise! SUPPRESSION OF INDIAN IDOLATRIES. MR. POYNDER writes-"As to the Church Missionary Society, I am old enough to remember when this great glacier was a mere snow-ball. Many were the evenings, when meeting the Rev. J. Pratt in the study of the Rev. William Goode, the rector of St. Anne's, Blackfriars, we could not make a quorum of the whole population of London for purposes of Church Missionary business! If any one had then told me that that blessed society could have swollen as it has, till it has disarmed all opposition and recommended itself to the protection and support of the heads of the Church of England, I fear I should have been disposed to 'laugh', as Sarah did; but so it is; and while I desire to give all the glory to |