she repeated it to the tempter, though, with a strange and ominous inconsistency, she added some words of her own, while she omitted some, and softened down the expression of others, which we find in the sentence, as it came from the mouth of God. (Compare Gen. ii. 16, 17, with iii. 2, 3.) Certain, indeed, it is, that the sin of Eve was most wilful and heinous; she sinned without compulsion, she sinned without example, she did that which she was deeply conscious and mindful that God had said, "Thou shalt not do; or doing, thou shalt surely die." The influence that prevailed to involve Adam in the transgression was of another kind, but not less guilty, not less fatally yielded to: that influence seems to have been chiefly an idolatrous attachment to the creature; for unto Adam God said, "Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake." Behold now the guilty pair, who should have handed down to all generations the fulness of the original blessings, confounded under the righteous sentence of their iniquity. This doom, thus incurred, now demands, in the second place, our serious contemplation. And first we know that death, immediate death, was the threatened judgment; and God is not a man, that He should lie. What, therefore, was the instant death which our first parents underwent at the moment of their fall? O, it was plainly the extinction of all holy and happy life! Sin struck them to the heart; they died to God; the tie of blessed relationship was at once snapped asunder; and in the day, yea, at the very instant in which they dared to commit the fatal deed, while the forbidden fruit was yet in their mouths, thus and then they surely died. Of this part of their sentence there could be no commutation or respite; for in this sense they died in sinning, and not for sinning: for thus God had warned the man whom He made perfect, saying, "In the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die," or, as it is in the Hebrew tongue, "dying, thou shalt die." It is, indeed, true, the only notion of death we commonly realize is the loss of animal life, which, however, is but a shadow and emblem of that spiritual death which goes before, as it is also the type of that eternal death which naturally follows the dissolution of the sinful body. Considering, however, the life of God in the soul of man as the noblest and truest sense of life existing on earth, we do rightly esteem the quenching of that life, which really took place together with the first transgression, to have been a far greater evil to man, than, when regarded alone, the instant death of the body could have been. O, most awful and sudden change in the sin-struck soul! it is now prostrate in guilt, and dead to the scenes and occupations which had employed and gladdened the time of its perfection. Instead of life in that tranquil flow, which had blessed the unfallen creature, we now observe the entrance of shame, -the perturbations of fear,—the convulsions of conscience, and, above all, the worst proof of total depravity,-the evasions of self-excuse, accompanied by the most ungracious insinuations against the Creator Himself. Spiritual death was the immediate effect of sin gaining entrance into the world; not so, however, death in its second stage, in its mastery over the body. In this respect the Sovereign Creator was pleased, out of the depths of His infinite compassion, to exhibit His sparing mercy; and to give respite, as an intimation of that future redemption. Such mercy was then exerted and exhibited. Accordingly, though nature shall decay, and at length shall surely die, yet in the mean while space shall be given for repentance; the order of God must still go on in the procreation of mankind; the promised seed, the Saviour of the world, is to be born of a woman in the likeness of sinful flesh: according to the covenant of grace there is to be displayed a second trial of strength between temptation and human constancy, between the beguiling serpent and the Man Christ Jesus. (To be concluded.) S. B. MORNING. "Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice."-PSALM lv. 17. THAT faint red streak athwart the sky The dew-drop and the whispering air, Shall the mute scenes of nature raise And man, averse, withhold his praise No! every morning shall proclaim, Who soothes my griefs, and blots my sins. PUNCTUALITY. I. I. I. S. METHOD is the very hinge of business, and there is no method without punctuality. Punctuality is very important, because it promotes the peace and good temper of a family; the want of it not only interferes with necessary duty, but sometimes altogether prevents the performance of this duty. Punctuality is important, as it gains time. It is like packing things in a box; a good packer will get in twice as much as a bad one. The calmness of mind which it produces is another advantage of punctuality. A disorderly man is always in a hurry; he has no time to speak with you, because he is going elsewhere; and when he gets there, he is too late for his business, or he must hurry away to another before he can finish it. Punctuality gives weight to character: "Such a man has made an appointment, then I know he will keep it." And this excites punctuality in you; for, like other virtues, it propagates itself. Servants and children must be punctual when they know that the head of the family is so. Appointments, indeed, become debts. "I owe you punctuality. If I have made an appointment with you, I have no right to throw away your time, if I do my The celebrated reformer, Melancthon, when he made an appointment, expected that the minute as well as the hour should be fixed, that the day might not be run out in idle suspense. An idling, dawdling sort of habit, which some people have, and which makes them a little too late for every appointment, however trifling it may appear, is often the cause of their ruin; for the habit goes along with them into every thing they do. And, moreover, the loss of time, and the plague it causes to others, makes the habit injurious to our friends, neighbours, and dependants, as well as to ourselves. When a man is in a hurry, at the last moment every thing is confused and wrong. He tears his stockings, breaks his shoe-strings, or he gets some string or other in a knot, and all from being in a hurry; and these trifles take up time, just as much as weighty matters. Then his letter is too late for the post, and his absent friend is kept in anxiety and suspense; or the coach has gone without him; or a dinner to which he was invited is spoiled with waiting, or the company is disturbed by his entrance after the rest are seated. A punctual man generally has a quiet, leisurely way of going about things; there is no hurry and bustle, but the work is done in time; so making good the old saying, "Make haste slowly," or "Take time to be quick." It is a good maxim, "That you may always be in time, take care to be always ready a little before the time." A committee of eight ladies was appointed to meet at twelve o'clock. Seven of them were punctual, but the eighth came bustling in with many apologies for being a quarter of an hour behind time. "The time had passed away without her being aware of it; she had no idea of its being so late," &c. A Quaker lady present said, Friend, I am not so clear that we should admit thine apology. It were matter of regret that thou shouldest have wasted thine own quarter of an hour; but here are seven ladies besides thyself whose time thou hast also consumed, amounting in the whole to two hours; and seven-eighths of it was not thine own property." 66 The following judicious remarks I have copied from the Rev. W. Jay : "Hear the Apostle: 'Let every thing be done decently and in order.' The welfare of your household requires that you should observe seasons. Every thing should have its season,-your businesses, your meals, your devotional exercises, your rising, and your rest. The periods for these will vary with the condition of families; but labour to be as punctual as circumstances will allow. It is of importance to peace, and temper, and diligence, and economy. Confusion is friendly to every evil work. Disorder also multiplies disorder; for no one thinks of being exact with those who set at nought all punctuality.” Want of punctuality has a great and grievous influence in religious matters. By indulging a few minutes too late in bed, secret devotion is hurried, and family prayer is interrupted; or perhaps some member of the family is obliged to leave before it can be attended to. The first supplications of the sanctuary are lost; the congregation and minister are disturbed; often the mind is agitated and kept in an uncomfortable and unprofitable frame during the whole service, and all for want of being in time. Who, then, will venture to say that it is but a trifle, that there is no sin in being a little too late?— From "The Family Book." LETTER FROM WESTERN AUSTRALIA. F. A. MY DEAR MOTHER AND SISTER,-I take the opportunity of writing these few lines to you, hoping to find you in good health, as it leaves me and my dear children at present, thanks be to God. My dear mother, it grieves me very much to think that I have not received a letter from you these fourteen years. I have sent six. I sent three when my husband was drowned, three years ago, and did not receive an answer to any of them. I heard by Mrs. S.'s letter last year that you and my dear sister were alive and well, which was much comfort to me. It was a great trouble to me to lose my dear and affectionate husband; but, thanks be to God, I am blessed with a good family of children, who provide a good home for me, and never |