me." "The wicked are estranged from the womb they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies." Scripture arguments, as well as Scripture statements, prove the same sad truth. "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?" Are not actual transgressions justly compared to a tree, and is not youthful depravity the root? And who ever saw a tree growing without a root? Scripture facts also establish original depravity. Infants have no actual sin, yet infants suffer, and sicken, and die. Infants never sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgressions, yet they sinned in him, and so death reigns over them. O my soul, hast thou felt and overcome early depravity? One addicted to many sins could not resist them, till he read and was impressed with this saying, "Praying will make a man leave off sinning, or sinning will make him leave off praying." Let me resolve to pray against sin as long as I live. Since God hath promised, "A new heart will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh;" let me turn the promise into a prayer, and plead, and wrestle, and I must succeed.

Fourth Sabbath-Morning.

BIBLE GEOLOGY.

"Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear."-Heb. xi. 3.

THINK of the creation of the world." We understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God." The term "worlds" literally signifies ages, and instead of referring to a plurality of worlds, it may refer to our world, in its different formations, or geological periods, from the beginning till the present time. The word "framed" means made anew, or perfected, and intimates that our world may have existed in previous states; and that from the wreck of these, it has been reformed, and constituted a fit abode for men; and when this, our world, shall be destroyed, we expect that God shall re-form, out of its materials, a new earth," which shall be inhabited only by holy beings. This world, then, was not a first creation, but a re-creation from materials, that had constituted other worlds. It was formed by "the word of God," which may mean that God made it again by speaking. "He spake and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast;" or it may mean that He re-created it, by Jesus Christ, who is the Word of God, by whom all things were made. Yes, dear reader, that

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Saviour whom we love, re-made our world in all its present grandeur and extent, and when it is burnt up, He shall make it a new earth, in which all His followers shall dwell for ever and ever.

Think of the materials out of which the world was framed "Things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." The things seen are land and water, rocks and mountains, seas and rivers, in every variety of form, and teeming with animated existence, subservient to man, and designed for his use and enjoyment. These things seen, were formed out of chaos, a mixed and irregular mass, the wreck of other periods of our world's existence, and peopled by other creatures, of which we have many remains. So changed, however, is the appearance of our earth, that the materials out of which it was made, do not now appear, so that we can form little idea of a chaotic world. How long our world existed in a state of chaos, we know not. One thing we know, that matter is not eternal, and that in the beginning God created the world out of nothing, and that after its creation, in the revolution of ages, it was reduced to chaos. How wonderful are the works and ways of God! Let us behold, admire, and believe!

Think of the faith by which we know all this. Reason never could, and reason never has discovered, that there is one God, who framed the world by His word. Reason leads its votaries to

BIBLE GEOLOGY.

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believe that there is no God at all, or that there are gods many, and lords many; but God has been pleased to make known, in the Bible, His existence and creative power. The first truth is, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." And that the apostle refers to the Mosaic account of the creation, which we must believe, is evident from what he says about Abel, and Enoch, and Noah. We must believe this account, because God has revealed it, and because the belief of it, as a first truth, is both reasonable and necessary. But we must not merely believe that God framed the world; our faith must take a larger grasp, and believe all that God has revealed. As Jesus Christ is the sum and substance of the Bible, we must especially fix our faith upon Him, and draw from Him all our happiness. This world shall soon pass away, and we shall pass away with it, but in laying hold of Jesus, as the only object of faith, we lay hold of One who is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever.

"We seek a rest beyond the skies,

In everlasting day;

Through floods and flames the passage lies,

But Jesus guards the way."

Fourth Sabbath—Evening.

JACOB'S VOW.

"And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread. to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then shall the Lord be my God; and this stone which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house; and of all that thou shalt give me, I will surely give the tenth unto thee."--Gen. xxviii. 20 22.

IF we were to judge of Jacob's character from what we know of him previous to this vow, our opinion would be very unfavourable. His cruelty to his brother, and his deep cunning and deceit, merit our condemnation.

Think of the circumstances that led to the formation of this vow. Esau, provoked by his deceit, had threatened to kill him, and his father and mother, to keep him out of harm's way, sent him off to begin the world for himself. At the end of his first day's journey, he lay down in a lonely place; and surely a sense of his helplessness, and a sense of his danger from Esau and wild beasts, would make him, perhaps for the first time, seek the help and protection of God. Have we ever had a sense of sin and danger, and where can we go for relief but to God? While he slept, Jacob had a most encouraging vision. He saw a ladder, probably a double ladder, as the angels of God were ascending and descending at the same time on it, and this ladder united heaven and earth,