Christ, wishing to save his disciples from going to perdition, bids and beseeches them to separate from you, lest, in their communion with you, they should inspire the contagion of your principles and practices. This is a most serious matter. I beseech you, consider that you belong to a devoted community.

What a contradiction is a worldly Christian! He is an earthly-minded minder of heavenly things.

When men, in extenuation of their grasping covetousness, which leads them into posts and places of great trial, plead that they can be as good in one place as another, they forget that such a remark is only true of those who are not good in any place.

MARRIAGE.

The

WHEN a godly and an ungodly person intermarry, I always know what is to be the consequence. pious one expects to convert the other to God. But ten to one the conversion is to the world.

The forming of improper matrimonial alliances swelled the wickedness of man to such a height, that it provoked God to depopulate our earth.

Marriage connections are often formed with the deceitful hope of bringing the worldly-minded party to adopt the views and practices, and embrace the hopes, of the other. But those whose piety is not suf

ficient to restrain them from making such alliances, are by no means likely to exert a salutary influence upon their companions. They may be induced to make an external profession of religion, out of respect to those who persuade them. Entreaty may cause them to adopt the form of religion, but this is not the way to make them feel its power. Real success seldom attends such efforts. Take an example. Lot seems to have married a worldly-minded woman. That fact, combined with his own previous worldliness, kept his own piety low. Now, such piety as Lot's was, possessed in such small measure, and corrupted by such unholy mixtures, does not often communicate itself. It did not in this case. The example of such Christians is by no means impressive, and their prayers, if offered, are not apt to be prevalent. And a profession of religion, in our partner's or in any others, ought to be a subject of mourning rather than of rejoicing, when it is not the expression of real piety.

THE HOUSE OF GOD.

WHEN men attend public worship but once on a Sabbath, and assign, as a reason, that they were reading the Bible, I suspect they could not have been reading the ninety-fifth Psalm, nor the twenty-fifth verse of the eleventh chapter of Hebrews.

POLITICS AND RELIGION.

THERE are scarcely any two things which coalesce with so much difficulty as politics and religion. The man that assiduously applies himself to the one, generally does it at the sacrifice of the other. Meddle as little as possible with politics, if you mean to have any thing to do with religion. Exercise your right of suffrage in behalf of the best men that are presented for office, and if your fellow-citizens select you to serve them, serve them. This is the Christian's duty. But let him stop at this, and not covet office or court popularity. "How can they believe which receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor that cometh from God only." The politician may sometimes ask with Pilate "What is truth ;"-but, like that unhappy victim of the love of place and of popularity, he will rarely wait for an answer or repeat the question, but go out to parley with the people and hear what they have to say.

VOWS.

How many seem to think that there is virtue and advantage in the mere making of resolutions and promises. Acting on this principle, they heap vows upon

vows, and add promise to promise, and really ease their consciences in this way. They seem to think that they pay their vows by repeating them, and perform their promises by renewing them. The vows they made at one sacramental season they break in the interval, and then think to repair the breach by remaking the vow. Was ever such a thing heard of? Was ever a promissory note paid by the renewal of it? And that which is no payment when the matter is between man and man, who will dare to call payment when the matter is between man and God? Nay, the Scriptures teach, that a mere renewal, without a performance of promise to God, only involves the soul in deeper guilt: "Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay."

THE UNPAID VOW.

He was sick-he was near unto death-and the world was receding from him—and hope was like a dying taper-and sore as was the body's agony, it was not like that pang the soul felt when the prospect of parting was before it, and the remembrance of the sunny day and starry night, and spring with all its awakened beauties, and the charm of friendship, and the exultant feeling of health, and the comfort of home, and all that enchains to life, all to be left behind, came

to his heart-Oh! it was a confused mingling of pain, and regret, and dread. All was dark-all was wild. He "mourned sore like the dove-he chattered like the swallow." Then he cried unto God, and petitioned Jesus. And when his strength failed, he moaned a piteous prayer, and "Oh!" he said, "if I might be spared, if God would but raise me up, I would sin no more, and I would never forget the goodness; I would be faithful, and my whole life should be a demonstration of my thankfulness." And God heard and raised him up, and once more he went forth to the world. But, the promise he made to his Maker, he broke; and in the oath wherewith he bound his soul, he perjured himself; and when one reminded him of that which should have been burned upon his memory, he smiled. "My soul, come thou not into his secretmine honor, be thou not joined to his assembly."

HEARING AND HEARERS.

THERE are those, who hear as critics on manner and style, who bring their nicely adjusted balances along with them, to weigh words and sentences, and that they may determine on all the little proprieties of gesture, and attitude, and emphasis, and tone. They came to hear the man, and they esteem it of small consequence what he says, if he does but say it well. If