do good. In defiance of the irreligion which prevails around him, he publicly professes his reverence and love to God, and constantly bears his decided protest against all the unrighteousness and ungodliness of men. This was the case with Abraham, Isane, and Israel; and the “Israelite indeed” treads in the steps of his illustrious ancestors, and boldly stands forth at all times, as a witness for God. --- 5701 "An Israelite indeed" has exalted views of the origin, design, and destiny of his own nature, and acts as a rational and immortal being ought to act; he despises the low sentiments and selfish conduct of those who would reduce man to a level with brutes, and make him the creature of fate, the sport of chance, without a God to serve without a divine Providence to trust in-without any duty to perform but providing for the wants of his animal nature, and without any prospect of conscious existence beyond the present life. These false and degrading sentiments his soul abhors; "an Israelite indeed" regards himself as a being created by an infinitely wise and blessed God, in order that he might enjoy God and glorify his Maker for ever. He considers his present life as the mere prelude to an unending existence; he regards himself as a proba tioner on earth, and firmly believes that his eternal all depends upon the manner in which he conducts himself while on earth; he feels that an eternity of happiness or woe awaits him beyond the grave, and that the one or the other will be his portion hereafter, which depends on himself. The sentiments of Cowper in the following lines are his sentiments: "Placed for his trial on this bustling stage, tok vedhow e From thoughtless youth to ruminating age; box) to it, wait 2. Free in his will to choose or to refuse, I, to oldat oli ta comie Man may improve the crisis or abuse; uyoden af bag,piezand O "Else, on the fatalist's unrighteous plan, Say to what bar amenable were man?1⁄4 to tablodqar sult,bastit If love reward him, or if vengeance strike, A fatalist "an Israelite indeed" cannot be; and therefore he believes that his future weal or woe t will be the just result of his conduct here, even as the Apostle states, "They that sow to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption, and they that sow to the Spirit shall of the Spirit heap life everlasting." t Such being the sentiments of his heart, he uses this world as not abusing it. He loves not the world, neither the things as that are in the world, but he loves God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength; the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, have no charms for "an Israelite indeed;" therefore, instead of minding earthly things, he minds heavenly things-instead of laying up treasure on earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal, he lays up for himself treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and steal. Like his pious ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, he confesses that he is "a stranger and a pilgrim on the earth;" and like them he earnestly desires, and resolutely seeks a better country' that is, a heavenly, As a prince of God, an against the world, the flesh, and the devil; he is determined, through the grace of God, to do the will of his heavenly Father, and save his own soul, in defiance of the world's derision, of Satan's temptations, and of all the enticements of the flesh. He endures hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ, and after the hottest engagements with his spiritual enemies, and after wading through the deepest waters of trouble, he triumphantly exclaims, with Paul," Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors, through Him that loved us.. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, things present, nor things, to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus," my agitog attes 1 nor "An Israelite indeed" has exalted sentiments of his fellow-men, and lives for their good. He regards every human being, however low, degraded, outcast and lost, as a being originally created in the image of God, as a son of Adam, consequently his brother. He rejects with horror those sentiments which prevail in certain quarters, that one portion of the human race was created by the Eternal One to be the slaves of the other, and he shudders at the unblushing crimes of those who steal men and sell them into slavery, or what is, if possible, worse breed, rear, and send human beings to market, and dispose of them as they would cattle. The slave procurer, the slave-dealer, and the slave-holder, he can have no fellowship with. Truly said Paul, "They are not all Israel, who are of Israel;" for men who get their daily bread by the thraldom of their fellows, are actually on this continent found ministering at the altar of God, whose tender mercies are over all his works, and sitting at the table of Jesus who gave his life a ransom for all. "Wonder O heavens, and be astonished O earth," at the sight-the advocate, the friend, the upholder of the infamous system of slavery, professing to be a follower of the meek, the lowly, the benevolent, the compassionate Jesus; and yet it is "no marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light; therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works."-2 Cor. xi. 14, 15, "An Israelite indeed" regards every human creature, be his skin what colour it may, as possessing a soul rational and immortal, though depraved and ruined by sin, yet redeemed by the blood of Christ, and capable of being restored by the agency of the Holy Spirit to the image, friendship, and full enjoyment of God, both in this world and that which is to come; hence he "honours all men," and seeks, according to his opportunities and ability, the good of all; he believes no Christian ever lives to himself and for himself; that no "Israelite indeed" looks to his own, regardless of the the welfare of others; but he is firmly persuaded that Christians are " the light of the world, and the salt of the earth," therefore, he "lets his light so shine before men, that they may see his good works, and glorify his Father which is in heaven." He devotes his energies "to turn men from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and an inheritance among them which are sanctified through faith in Christ." In some department of Christian labour, it may be an humble one, the "Israelite indeed" will be found striving mightily to bring sinners to Christ, to save souls from death, and to hide multitudes of sins. Such, then, are the sentiments, and such the actions of " an Israelite indeed." Who so worthy of the title of a prince as the man who holds such sentiments, and performs such deeds? Surely none. "An Israelite indeed," is a man of ardent devotional feeling. The prominent feature in Israel's character was a strong sense of his dependance upon God. This was clearly manifested on the occasion when he received the name Israel. Beset with difficulties, surrounded with cares, greatly afraid and distressed in his own mind, Jacob called no council of war, but he went and poured out his soul in ardent prayer to the God of his fathers, Abraham and Isaac; by this act he showed that he felt his absolute need of Divine aid, and that he desired above all things the help of Jehovah. The manner too in which he sought Divine succour proves to a certainty that he despaired of help from any other source if God denied him the required and earnestly-sought aid. And not only did the ardour of his devotional feelings appear at the brook Jabbok, but Bethel, Salem, Hebron, and even Egypt witnessed the devotions of this eminent saint. Wherever he sojourned, no matter how idolatrous the people among whom he dwelt, this great good man erected an altar for the worship of the living and true God. The ardour of his devotional feeling remained even to the last, for "by faith Jacob when he was dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph, and worshipped, leaning on the top of his staff."-Heb. xi. 21. Nathanael, too, was a man of ardent, devotional feeling, or Christ could not with justice have given him the title "An Israelite indeed." Our Lord undoubtedly alludes to the devotions of Nathanael, when he said to him, "Before that Phillip called thee, when thou wast under the fig-tree, I saw thee." What was Nathanael doing under the fig-tree, to cause Christ to tell him that he saw him there instead of reminding him of any other place where he had been ? In our mind there is not a shadow of a doubt but that Nathanael was engaged under the fig-tree in pouring forth the ardent feelings of his soul in solemn prayer to the God of Israel. "There are many proofs," says It Dr. A. Clarke, "that the Jewish Rabbins chose the shade of trees, and particularly the fig-tree, to sit and study under. The shade of this figtree was perhaps the ordinary place of retreat for this upright man. is not a fig-tree, but the fig-tree-one particularly distinguished from the others." Christ saw him in his retreat, and had often witnessed there his devotions; and now Nathanael's prayers are answered in beholding the salvation of God in the person of Christ, for whose appearing he had long looked and fervently prayed, and at once the "Israelite indeed” discovered from the saying of Christ that he was the Messiah, and with rapture exclaimed, "Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel." Christ himself, also, who was Israel's son, Israel's Lord, and the consolation of Israel, manifested the utmost ardour of devotional feeling when he dwelt on earth. "Cold mountains and the midnight air, But the manifestation of the overwhelming intensity of his devotion was reserved for Gethsemane. Jacob wrestled hard at the brook Jabbok, but Christ wrestled much more earnestly in the garden of Gethsemane, for "being in an agony he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground."-Luke xxii. 44. From the conduct, therefore, of Israel, Nathanael, and Christ, it is abundantly evident that an "Israelite indeed " is a man of deep devo tional feeling, and is in the habit of holding much solemn intercourse with God, and offering up many fervent prayers to him. Some wellmeaning, but short-sighted, injudicious persons, decry anything like fervour in devotion, and hence, unless prayer is offered with certain intonations of voice, and a peculiar stillness of manner, they think and declare that it lacks the most essential element of prayer-reverence for the Deity. The utmost reverence for God is, however, perfectly compatible with strong devotional feeling; and "an Israelite indeed " who feels his wants, who depends entirely upon God for their supply, will be too much absorbed in the great work of prayer to pay any attention whatever to the intonations of his voice, or the peculiarity of his manner when engaged in devotion. There can be no irreverence in that holy importunity which the Holy Spirit inspires and sustains. Should the man, under the influence of the Divine Spirit, even utter groans in prayer, there is nothing like irreverence, but there is that holy ardour which God approves, and which he has ever owned. Strong emotions will produce strong crying and tears. You might as well try to stem the mighty roaring waters of Niagara, as to try to repress the manifestation of ardent devotion where it really exists. To do so would be little else than wickedness-it would be quenching the flame of devotion which the Holy Spirit has enkindled. Those who object to ardent devotional feeling in a worshipper of God, would do well to study again the story of wrestling Jacob-the narrative of our Lord's passion in the gardenand the following passages from Paul's Epistles to the Romans and the Hebrews: "Likewise the Spirit helpeth our infirmities; for we know not what to pray for as we ought; but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered."-Romans viii. 26. This passage includes the manner as well as the matter of prayer, and plainly indicates that high devotional feeling is produced by the Holy Ghost. Paul speaking of Christ to the Hebrews, says, "Who, in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared."-Heb. v. 7. Was Christ irreverent? No. Yet he prayed till he sweat, as it were, great drops of blood, and his mental agony was accompanied with strong crying and tears. This fact ought for ever to put to silence the ignorance of those foolish men who either directly or indirectly strive to put down ardent devotional feeling in the worship of God. (To be concluded in our next.) EVIL SPEAKING. THE late Rev. S. Pearce, of Birmingham, was a man of an excellent spirit. It was a rule with him to discourage all evil speaking; nor would he approve of just censure, unless some good and necessary end was to be answered by it. Two of his distant friends being at his house together, one of them, during the temporary absence of the other, suggested something to his disadvantage. He put a stop to the conversation by answering, "He is here: take him aside, and tell him of it himself: you may do him good." OUR SABBATH SCHOOLS. THE QUERY OF "ALIQUIS." DEAR SIR, The question proposed by "Aliquis" in your January Magazine"Ought an unconverted person to be allowed to labour as a Teacher in a Sabbath-school?" is a very important question, and ought to secure the serious and prayerful attention of our churches. Rightly to answer it, we should ask ourselves, "for what purpose have Sabbath-schools been organized? What object do we intend to accomplish by them?" If our minds are truly alive to the best interests of the rising generation, and to the obligations of the Christian Sabbath, we shall at once admit that these institutions are intended to convert and save the souls of the children. That this object might not be very clearly apprehended by their founder, the immortalized Raikes, I willingly admit. He sought to gather the ragged and destitute out of the lanes and streets-to congregate them in the school-house-to keep them from acts of violence-to give them a slight intellectual and moral training, and incidentally to enforce the religion of the cross. All honour be to his name! Beholding in such institutions a powerful instrumentality for good or evil, the religious public ultimately patronized them; and now, after the lapse of sixty years, they are spread through the length and breadth of our land. But who does not know that since the days of Raikes, an amazing change has come across the commercial, and intellectual, and spiritual habits of the people? Education is not now, what it was then. Facilities for obtaining it, are multiplied on every hand-at least in our large manufacturing localities. The kind of education to be obtained, is yet far below our standard; nevertheless, our day-schools, congregational as well as private, our British and National schools, place within the reach of almost every Sunday-scholar, a mental improvement of no slight value. Our Sabbath-schools ought, therefore, to be organized as nurseries for the church-as establishments for saving youthful souls. Why then, in the name of religion, should they remain nearly what they were twenty or forty years ago-secular establishments for elementary instruction? That some few schools may make elementary instruction subserve the interests of genuine piety, is possiblethough I confess I know them not-but that the great majority of Sunday-schools make piety bend to intellect, and Christ to the world, must be painfully evident to every candid observer. In the Stockport, great, and I fear criminally mismanaged school-a school which, if rightly organized, would exert an invaluable amount of moral influence, arithmetic is taught. In very many of the schools of our Community, writing is taught. The arguments that will defend writing and arithmetic, will also defend book-keeping, grammar, and needlework. Why not, then, teach these desirable arts and sciences? Let a stranger enter unexpectedly the majority of our schools, and "worldliness" is the motto he may see inscribed over many of our classes. Where is piety? Where, very often, is the appearance of piety, except in the sanctity of the day? What portion of time is devoted to direct personal examination of our scholars, as to their daily habits, their pious resolves, their present and eternal salvation? That there are some hundreds of noble minded, |