"The opening of the new year," said I, "calls for much serious reflection on these all important truths; and how wisely has the Church appointed this day to be one of public prayer, for grace and strength to mortify all our worldly and carnal desires and wishes; that we may in all things obey the will of Him who as on this day became obedient unto the law of man."

"If,"observed Charles, "He who knew no sin, who was holy, harmless, undefiled, consented to be made sin for us; and submitted to both those outward signs which were ordained by his Father as means of grace and cleansing for sinners; how much more should we in whom dwelleth no good thing, who are all as an unclean thing, gladly avail ourselves of all those appointed ordinances which, if rightly understood, may be the instruments of healing and purifying our souls. If the Son of God was baptized, because it became Him to fulfil all righteousness; how anxious should we be to seek for our children an admission into the blessings of the salvation which He has wrought for us. How careful should we be to teach them the spiritual meaning of the service wherein we dedicated them to God, while they were yet unable to understand the precious privileges there bestowed upon them! For my own part, it shall be my earnest prayer for my godchild, that he may receive in baptism the true circumcision of the spirit, the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, that he 'may be virtuously brought up to lead a godly and a Christian life; remembering always that baptism doth represent unto us our profession; which is, to follow the example of our Saviour Christ; that as He died and rose again for us, so should all who are baptized, die from sin and rise again unto righteousness; continually mortifying all evil and corrupt affections, and daily proceeding in all virtue and godliness of living '.'" L. S. R.

MISSIONS AT HOME AND ABROAD.

IF all men were taught the knowledge of God, and through God's grace, were to act according to that know

1 Office of Public Baptism of Infants.

ledge; then, the greater part of the distresses which now torment the world, would be at an end. If we consider, then, only the happiness of this life, it is the best of all charities to endeavour to teach the knowledge of God to those who are ignorant of it in this country, and to the heathen in distant lands. But this duty becomes of commanding importance, when we consider that the way to everlasting happiness is through the knowledge of Christ and obedience to his will. We have, indeed, need of missionaries to visit the wretched abodes of ignorance and crime with which this our own land abounds. This need has called forth the labours of many devoted servants of God, and their labours will be honoured by the praise of the noble-minded and the good, and, we may humbly hope, will be blessed with the favour of God, and be the means of winning souls to Christ, and to salvation.

But if so much misery arises from spiritual ignorance and natural depravity, even in a land where the regulations of civilized society, and the restraint of wholesome laws, and the light of Christian examples must have some effect in checking the outbreakings of profligacy and violence; what must be the state of morals in those heathen lands where corrupt nature is left to itself, without any check from laws, or from example; and where such religion as is known excuses, and even encourages, the most deadly crimes?

When such is the miserable state of those who know not the gospel of Christ; it must be the bounden duty, and it will be the anxious desire of every one, who himself knows the blessings of the Gospel, to use all the means within his reach of communicating these blessings to those who are in need of them. The means by which the ignorant at home are to be instructed, and the heathen world converted, must, as far as we can see, be the labours and exertions of those who themselves possess the knowledge, and partake of the blessings of the Gospel of Christ. We have great reason to be thankful that these opportunities are now within the reach of every one in this land. The power of helping in this cause is not confined to the rich and great and learned. Those who cannot be instructors, may contribute their money to

supply instruction at home and abroad; and the poorest may have an opportunity of contributing some small help towards this work of the Lord. The numerous societies which are the glory of our land, are now brought to the observation of all classes; and we may look forward with cheering hope, to see the best reward of their labours in the spreading of the knowledge of Christ, and in bringing many to the love of Him, and to the consequent practice of what is holy and just and good. No one need now want an opportunity of giving some help in this cause. The

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Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge," and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts," are making exertions throughout this land in furtherance of the good cause in which they have been so long engaged; and we may look for vast benefit from their future labours. The Church Missionary Society has large means of good; and there are so many other excellent societies for these objects, and for other purposes of good, that the opportunity of helping in works of Christian charity is now within the reach of all; and though there must be differences of opinion as to which is the best means of doing good, and this will be settled according to men's different feelings and judgment; yet if there be any thing of Christian feeling or Christian judgment, surely every one may find some opportunity of exercising them for the good of those, either at home or abroad, who may be snatched from misery and brought to everlasting happiness by the knowledge of Christ and of his salvation.

V.

HOW TO CHECK THE GROWTH OF EVIL HABITS.

Mr. Editor, I was struck by a remark in an article of your correspondent L. S. R.'s this month, in which the salutary method of suppressing and mortifying evil habits and feelings, by the implanting of good ones, was illustrated by the observation of a gardener, "We must sow that plot thick, to kill the weeds." It reminded me of a saying I have seen quoted of the pious Newton, that "if the sack be filled at once with wheat, there will be no room for chaff," which also struck me once-both which

sayings, I think, contain a useful lesson; namely, that if we would avoid sin, and the acquiring of sinful habits, the best and surest way is to seek, by the grace of God, to acquire holy habits; for if our hearts be filled with grace, we give no place to the devil', he has no room to sow his tares in. This remark may well be borne in mind by parents. We all know that it is easier to keep from committing any particular sin at first, than to break off from it when it has become a regular habit. Seek, then, while your children are young, to find useful employments for them, that they may not have time or opportunity to learn sinful practices;-to leave them in idleness is the greatest harm you can do them, (next to setting them a bad example yourselves) for, as Dr. Watts says in one of his well-known hymns,

"Satan finds some mischief still,

For idle hands to do."

Above all, store their minds with Scripture, as soon as they can learn any thing; the benefit of this is incalculable, and has often proved the greatest blessing in after life. We may all learn from this also, to "watch and pray" that we 66 enter not into temptation "," that we may not go into it at all; to strive at once to dedicate all we are, and all we have, to God, from whom all proceeds, and to whom all belongs; to implore Him to make us his own, and to fill us with his grace, that we may not become Satan's prey; and to beseech Him to hold up our goings in his paths, that we fall not into the snares of the devil. It is true that even those who have accepted the salvation offered by Christ, and who are made "the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus," born again of his Holy Spirit, are liable to fall into sin; this is indeed the case, for, as St. Paul tells us, "the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh and these are contrary the one to the other; so that ye cannot do the things that ye would";" but he likewise tells us, that if we yield ourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and our members as instruments of

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1 Eph. iv. 27.

2 Matt. xxvi. 41.

3 Gal. v. 17.

1

righteousness unto God,"-" Sin shall not have dominion over us1;" Christ has overcome sin, and if He dwells in our hearts by faith, we shall be able to overcome it too, through Him. And He will dwell in our hearts, if we listen to his gracious calls, for He himself has said, "If any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me 299 Let us also daily seek early at the throne of grace for his aid, "from whom all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works do proceed," praying Him to put into our hearts good desires, and enable us to bring the same to good effect. Then shall we go forth in the strength of the Lord God, to the business of the day, and be in a state to resist the temptations of our great enemy. Let us likewise make it a practice to read a portion of God's holy word daily; and as early as possible in the day, imploring the teaching of God's Holy Spirit, and his blessing upon what we read, and that He would himself sow the good seed of the word in our hearts;-thus will our minds be stored with divine truth: we shall have something to think upon during the day, and Satan will not have so much opportunity for sowing bad seed, putting foolish and sinful thoughts into our hearts. We shall be armed with the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God-this was the weapon with which our divine Master repelled Satan's attacks, when He was forty days and forty nights in the wilderness, tempted of the devil; and thus He set us an example, how we may and ought to resist his assaults. Clothed thus in divine armour, we shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one, and be made more than conquerors, through Him that hath loved us, and given Himself for us. And to urge us on to these duties, let us remember these awful words: "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting."

J.

1 Rom. vi. 13, 14.

2 Rev. iii. 20.