And there must be a new scale for your gifts to this sacred cause. They must be made from principle, and not from mere feeling. You must give with Calvary in sight, remembering the mighty sum that has been paid for your ransom from death; that "you have been redeemed, not with corruptible things, such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot;" that " you are not your own, for you are bought with a price;" that nothing that you have is your own, but that it is God's, for whose glory you are to use it. You must travel back into the solitudes of eternity, and meditate upon the depth of that love which led the Eternal Father to give up his only Son to die for you, which consented to the mysterious separation (we want words to express it) of the Father and the Son for you. You must dwell in imagination amidst the everlasting burnings which sin had lighted up for you, but which the love of Christ has quenched. You must rise up to the new Jerusalem which is above, and walk through its golden streets, and listen to the sounds of the golden harps that there wait for you. You must anticipate the records of China's future history, and think of woman elevated and dignified, of infants saved from death, of the horrors of opium eating ended, of a false philosophy abandoned, of idol temples overthrown, of temples to the living God covering the land, of families training for heaven, of the young, the old, the rich, the poor, listening to the gospel's message of mercy, of multitudes of hearts rejoicing in the love of God, of the angels of God passing and repassing from her happy shores, the bearers of tidings of repenting sinners, or the glad attendants to the heavenly throne of spirits freed from this earthly tabernacle. Brethren, think of these things-think of them in your closet-think of them with prayer-think that twenty souls pass from China into eternity every minute, and that, of these twenty, perhaps ten sink into the blackness of

darkness for ever. Think, O think of this, till your heart bleeds for their miseries, and then resolve what your gifts shall be.

Methinks I hear the challenge"Who is on the Lord's side, who?" Who is prepared to deny himself for Christ? to lay everything that he can lay, that he ought to lay upon the altar of devotedness? to consecrate himself, body, soul, and spirit; time, property, talent, energy, a living sacrifice to God? to endure afflictions, privations, hardness, for Christ's sake? Who is prepared to show that his religion is not in word, but in power? that there lives and breathes within him a love to God and man stronger than his love to the world, to himself, to his country, his family, his friends, his home,—stronger than death itself? Who is prepared to listen to the voice of his Master, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head;" and to follow him upon such terms, and, if need be, to go forth, for his sake, a houseless and a homeless wanderer in the earth? Who is prepared cheerfully to meet every lesser form of suffering, treading in the steps of the blessed founders of our faith, who "were made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men; who became fools for Christ's sake; who were weak and despised; who suffered hunger and thirst, who were naked and buffeted, and had no certain dwellingplace who laboured, working with their own hands; who were reviled, persecuted, and defamed; who were made as the filth of the earth, and the offscouring of all things ?" This was the type of the Christianity of those who planted the standard of the cross in Corinth and in Rome, in Judea and in Asia. Where are the men who have been cast into the same mould? These are the men the time demands. O thou Spirit of power, for whom the Apostles of the Lord waited at Jerusalem until thy baptism had fitted them for the service of their God, come again upon the churches of the Lord;

:

there are those who wait for thee now, scattered hither and thither in the earth; they groan under a sense of their own weakness, and long for thy coming. O endue them with thy power, that there may be men fitted to go forth a second time to conquer the

world for Christ. I have done. I only add, that I remain,

Your servant, for Christ's sake,
W. H. DREW,
Missionary from Madras.

Dartmouth, 27th Jan. 1843.

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PRAYER should have a reference to

the attributes of God; and the incidents of Christian experience, which furnish the matter of supplication, should suggest those perfections of Jehovah which most readily meet them.

The observance of this would greatly spiritualize the mind, and prayer so conducted in the presence of others would prove a means of instruction and worship to them.

In this latter respect the advantage is obvious, and the practice can scarcely be too strictly adhered to, especially as the want of something is felt to impart a general interest to social meetings for prayer.

Assembled with brethren to ask for mercies which are needed by all, and which our own particular situation com. mends, we may not succeed in awakening present feeling in those who join us in the engagement; nor may we always avoid a manner of entreaty which has more of personal bearing than of common concern: but if there is much adoration, and a sense of our wants is a background for thoughts of God, the most frequently urged petition will engage the affection of all, by bringing Deity before the mind, and ennobling the spirit by the re-acting power of divine contemplation.

Let the many wants we are conscious of teach us what Scripture reveals of God's mercy to careworn souls, and let our desire be true to praise the Lord in what we request, and thoughts will be afforded us which, while they answer an end in our own consolation,

will enrich our fellow-worshippers' souls.

Such prayer can be offered only by those to whom the Bible is familiar, and the beneficial result of so ordering social devotions, will abundantly recommend and enforce habitual scripture study.

With something of this attainment, our petitions will resemble the Psalmist's intercessions. They will be personal, but not selfish; close, but not exclusive; and ardent, but not indevout. They will relate much to the man, but they will most adore God; and while they bring down what is desired from above, they will also bring support to the heart as the blessing speeds its way from the throne of grace; and,--what is chiefly desired by a faithful and holy soul, they will praise the Redeemer, by filling it with His unbounded glories. Thanksgiving and prayer so maintained, and continued in, cannot fail of affording permanent social delight. The wants of many are one with those of him who engages verbally in prayer; and should there be no similarity of circumstance between him who speaks in prayer, and those who join with him in the silence of their souls, an adoring mention of that perfection which is suited to him will awaken adoration in them, and may lead them, by some contemplation of God, to perceive an unsuspected state or condition of themselves.

With such advantages to be gained, and such a duty before them, it will appear to those who are honoured in leading the devotions of the church, that it is incumbent upon them to cul

tivate and improve the "gift that is in" them, by a deep acquaintance with the oracles of God, by much meditation, and by the habit of turning every personal occurrence into reflection on those things which relate to the one Creator, Saviour, and Lord.

These are of universal application; when expressed, they appeal to the heart, and one feeling reigns in all who spiritually receive them. Then the "righteous rejoice in the Lord,"

then their hearts are knit together in brotherly love, and happy saints go onward with new trust and confidence in God.

Happy and honoured they who to such purpose exercise the gift of prayer, and great the encouragement supplied them to habituate their spirit to such impressive considerations as will aid them in conducting services which have sometimes proved, and should ever be found, the happiest to us all.

THE STORMY NIGHT.

Now the wild winds are abroad,
Ocean, earth, alike are awed;
Gathering clouds portentous frown,
Rain and hail are rushing down,
Darkness adding to the night,
Quenching what remain'd of light—
As the tempest's furious sweep
Agitates the boiling deep,
Anxious vigils seamen keep-
Care may well their hearts assail,
Little can their skill avail;
Death is riding on the blast,
And this hour may be their last.

True-and in the calmest night,
Or the broadest blaze of light
Kindling up the brightest day,
In the house, or by the way,
At some unexpected hour,
We may fall beneath his power-
Ever spread the fowler's snare,
His fell arm knows not to spare,
And his toils are everywhere—
Sometimes, in the night and storm,
We conceive his dreadful form,
But forget he may as soon
Strike the fatal blow at noon.

Gracious God, whose power presides
O'er the winds and o'er the tides,
Thine is both the sea and land,
In the hollow of thy hand
Ocean lies, with all its waves,

'Tis thine arm that kills or saves-
Death to thee is subject made,
Not a sparrow low is laid,
Not a fragile flower shall fade,
Nor a blade of grass be broken,
Till thy will the word hath spoken-
Let thy fear our footsteps guide,
Nothing need we fear beside.

THE UNION OF SAINTS.
John xvii. 21.

Before their gracious Lord withdrew
To heaven, in his disciples' view,
His pleading was on earth begun—
He pray'd that they might all be ONE.

'Twas thus he bless'd them ere he rose,
Removed alike from friends and foes;
And yet 'twas not for them alone-
He pray'd that we might all be ONE.
See earth and hell with rage combine,
To fight against his cause divine;