sible, till gently nurtured in the love of Christ -reared in the admonition of a kind and merciful Father, they may learn to love, before they are conscious that they hate; grace may conquer all that is opposed to the gentle dominion of Christ, before they have thought of rebellion. Led thus early into the path of virtue and piety, we may cheerfully hope that when they are old, they will not depart from it. How simple was the faith of those Jewish mothers who brought their young children to Jesus. They felt it would be honour enough; a distinction their children might boast of through their lives, if He would but touch them. And how did he reward their humble faith? He folded them in His arms in a tender and affectionate embrace, and putting His hands upon their heads in token of His heart-felt blessing, uttered those words so dear to the heart of the parent and the child, then, and now, "Suffer the little children and forbid them not, to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of God." These mothers believed in His power and love, and so must we. If we would have our children blessed, we must bring them to Jesus; -not merely stand and pray, "O, let Ishmael live before thee." The God of Abraham has now been made manifest in the flesh, and we may bring them to Him that He may touch them. We cannot do this unless our minds are sible, till gently nurtured in the love of Christ -reared in the admonition of a kind and merciful Father, they may learn to love, before they are conscious that they hate; grace may conquer all that is opposed to the gentle dominion of Christ, before they have thought of rebellion. Led thus early into the path of virtue and piety, we may cheerfully hope that when they are old, they will not depart from it. How simple was the faith of those Jewish mothers who brought their young children to Jesus. They felt it would be honour enough; a distinction their children might boast of through their lives, if He would but touch them. And how did he reward their humble faith? He folded them in His arms in a tender and affectionate embrace, and putting His hands upon their heads in token of His heart-felt blessing, uttered those words so dear to the heart of the parent and the child, then, and now, "Suffer the little children and forbid them not, to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of God." These mothers believed in His power and love, and so must we. If we would have our children blessed, we must bring them to Jesus; -not merely stand and pray, “O, let Ishmael live before thee." The God of Abraham has now been made manifest in the flesh, and we may bring them to Him that He may touch them. We cannot do this unless our minds are enlarged with the excellent knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord; unless our hearts are filled with His love. We must so love Him, that we long to lay our children at His feet, an offering acceptable to Him; so desire that He shall be glorified in their bodies and their spirits, that the wish for their eternal safety shall almost fade in the comparison, from our view. We come short in this matter; we fall far below our privilege as Christian parents. We must learn to magnify Christ more in our affections, our understandings and our lives, if we would have Him take our children in His arms and bless them; if we would have Him invite them in the voice of His constraining love to come unto Him, making them the heirs of His kingdom. LETTER III. "Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right." Thy care for others' weal or woe, MY DEAR MRS. L., MCDONALD. Perhaps no better description can be given of the state of our dear child's mind at the time of the decision mentioned in my last letter, than an extract from one of her own letters to a young friend, who was expecting to enjoy the privilege she had so much coveted for herself, but had so meekly resigned for the time. I would here say, that all the extracts from her letters which I may give you, shall be strictly her own; you shall have her own thoughts, clothed in her own expressions, without either addition or correction. "My dear Jane,-I wish that I could unite with you to-morrow in the love of our dying Lord and Saviour, but I hope that it will not be long before I shall join with you. I have done all that I can for myself, I have humbly given |