that God would, by His Spirit, renew our hearts to holiness, for "without holiness no man shall see the Lord." Our corrupt nature, when unrenewed by Divine Grace, is unfit for the presence of God; yes, wholly unfit for the society of" the spirits of just men made perfect." With this unholy nature, not delighting in the service of God, and dead to his love, we cannot be prepared to dwell with God, and the Lamb, and the Angels, and the Saints. Our nature, then, must be renewed by the Divine Spirit, or we have not on that wedding garment which alone will prepare us to sit down in the presence of God. And, if we would know whether we are now thus clothed, whether we are in a state of acceptance with God, let us be assured of this truth, that, if we love the service of sin, we are not the servants of God: for no man can serve two masters, whose demands are opposite; and therefore, whilst we love our sins, it is plain that we do not love our God. Whenever, therefore, we enter into the house of prayer, let us join with our hearts, as well as with our lips, that God would bestow upon us the blessings which we come to ask for. To have these opportunities of meeting together, to have places of public worship open on every Sabbath, is a means of good for which we cannot be too thankful,-where it shall please God to dwell amongst us, -a place where many a soul may be brought to God. And may no one profess here to serve God, who does not serve Him also with his heart. The devout worship of God is every way blessed; the neglect of it one great means by which the enemy tempts us, and leads us to destruction. V. EFFECTS OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION IN THE WORLD. WHEN the power of the religion of Christ is received into the heart of man, it does, in truth, produce that effect which is described in Scripture, he becomes a "new creature ; "there is a 66 new creation" in the mind; and those things which, before, were most acceptable and gratifying to him, are now seen in a totally different light. The true Christian sees how much of sin is connected with those pursuits which delight the natural man ; 1838.] EFFECTS OF RELIGION. 223 and, when he has become a spiritual man, he only delights in those things which promote the cause of piety towards God, and the real interest and happiness of his fellow Christians. But, besides the effect which the Christian religion produces on the minds of those individuals who receive it in sincerity and faith, its public and general effects are so striking, that any one, who observes this, must see that such a change could be produced by no other religion than one which came from God. For the civilization of a nation we are indebted to the religion of Christ: and those who, themselves, pay no honour to the Gospel, are partakers of the benefits of it, in the peace, the order, and the happiness which the public acknowledgment of that religion, and the laws and regulations connected with it, produce: they receive this benefit, whilst they deny their obligations to it: they profit by its general advantages, but, unhappily for themselves, scorn it, and therefore lose all those benefits of which they themselves might have been partakers. Mr. Kay, a missionary to Caffraria, in the South of Africa, describes the effects produced by the teaching of the Gospel by the Missionaries. Let any considerate person read and think of the good, and the increased happiness which this produced : 1. The deportment of the Caffre is manifestly altered. 2. Marriage has been introduced. 3. Their views of the female character are confessedly elevated. 4. Their heathenish cruelties have been materially checked. 5. War has been unquestionably prevented. 6. A peaceful disposition has, in numerous instances, been induced. 7. A desire for education has increased. 8. Commerce and agriculture have been promoted. 9. The Sabbath has been established. 10. The rite of sepulture also, is now observed. V. SIR, EXAMINE THYSELF. THE writer of the following remarks sends them for publication in the Cottager's Visitor, if you consider them worthy of a place in it. I OFTEN hear persons express the desire, that others were more religious. Now this is a wish, which we should indeed long to see accomplished. Would that this missionary spirit were more shed abroad in our hearts; then should we fully enter into that beautiful expression in the Lord's prayer, "thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven." O that every member of the community lived in the fear of the Lord! then divisions and schisms would rapidly decrease amongst us. But, from even a slight knowledge of the human heart, and of my own in particular, I much fear that a Pharisaical feeling of self satisfaction frequently causes us thus to express ourselves. We should be very careful how we judge of any one's religious state; perhaps the persons we censure do not profess much religion; we may have been more favoured, our understandings may be more enlightened, our gospel privileges greater; therefore more is expected from us. Above all, if grace has been vouchsafed to us, giving us a knowledge of our own hearts, of their extreme sinfulness, and our inability_to obtain salvation, but through the all-atoning sacrifice of our blessed Redeemer, we shall be particularly backward in allowing any presumptuous feelings to fill our minds. It is well for those who make a decided profession of religion, to be careful in passing judgment on others; but rather to judge themselves. If the beautiful virtue of humility were more engrafted in us, we should be more prompt in discovering the beam in our own eye; which, if clearly discerned, must so fill us with self abasement, that the mote in our neighbour's eye would sink into insignificance in comparison with our own infirmity. Let our prayer continually be, "God be merciful to me a sinner" I feel myself such; I am incapable of thinking even a right thought without the aid of the Holy Spirit; and, if my life is moral and unstained by any gross 1838.] EXAMINE THYSELF. 225 sin, it is through thy love and power, O Lord; "for in me, that is in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing." O may we remember that true religion does not consist in merely abstaining from this or that crime, or in performing some, or even many, charitable or kind acts. No; let us not so deceive ourselves; for in so doing, we are in fact, though perhaps unknown to ourselves, trying to make our outward doings the means of our salvation: but thanks be to God, unless we wilfully close our eyes, we are not left in this deplorable darkness. In the scriptures it is clearly revealed to us that the religion of Jesus consists in an entire surrender of the heart to Him, who We must become made us, and redeemed us. 66 new creatures." Our inclinations, affections, and thoughts, which, in the unrenewed mind, naturally centre in earthly objects, must be changed, the mind renewed and the desires and best affections placed on heavenly things; sin must be so far subdued in us that it shall have no more dominion over us. Not that, in this imperfect state, we can arrive at perfection; but that, if we are in a way of salvation, sin in every form will become hateful to us, and we shall fly from it as from our deadliest enemy. our hearts and minds are thus changed we shall show forth religion, not in declaiming against others or merely in talking on religious subjects; but by our lives and conversation endeavouring to adorn the doctrine of our God and Saviour in all things. And how merciful is the dispensation of our Heavenly Father, that no sex, age, or rank, in society is excluded from the greatest of all merciful privileges, that of being a sincere and devoted follower of the Lamb of God. He who is placed in the most humble situation in life, is equally called upon with the monarch upon his throne, to bring forth the "fruits of the Spirit," "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.' The poor and the rich are equally vessels of wrath or heirs of salvation. For though God, in his infinite wisdom, has appointed that in this world the poor shall not cease out of the land, yet the same blessed privilege of being united by faith to their Redeemer is equally offered to them, as to the most powerful or wealthy in this world's If goods; and all the faithful without distinction of persons, shall "through their Saviour's merits be taken to dwell for ever with Him who sitteth on the throne; and the wicked shall be "cast together into hell," where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. May 26th, 1838. W. E. EARNESTNESS ABOUT EARTHLY THINGS AND CARELESSNESS ABOUT HEAVENLY THINGS. In the concerns of this world, we generally see energy, activity, and exertion,-in those of futurity, we see carelessness, listlessness, and indifference. The truth of this we all are ready to confess, and to lament. But how are we to account for it. Suppose the subjects to be of equal importance; it is strange that one should occupy so much of our thoughts, the other so little. But when one relates to the affairs of a very short existence, the other to our everlasting state,-that the concerns of a short and passing life should claim an attention which those of an everlasting life appear unable to claim, is a circumstance which we cannot reflect on without astonishment; we cannot but be surprised when we see this strange perverseness in others, we cannot but deeply lament it when we feel it in ourselves. This is the strongest of all proofs of that corruption of our nature, which the fall of man has entailed upon us, and against which we are so constantly exhorted in Scripture to arm ourselves, and, by divine grace, to overcome. Our Christian calling is to war against those sinful lusts, which so strongly oppose our best interest and happiness: and which, if unconquered, will lead us captive and destroy us. When we read in Scripture of the danger of following our own sinful inclinations, of the safety of following the directions of our Heavenly Father, of the wisdom of reflecting on the shortness and uncertainty of this life, and of seeking for, and cultivating, that state of mind which is a fit preparation for eternal happiness hereafter, we at once see and confess that all this must be right. Our understandings at once assent to the truth of it. But how is it that our wills lead us away captive? and that whilst |