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holy affection. They have a fear of devotion. It finds vent in prayer, and holds communion with heaven. "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him." They have the salutary fear of sinning against God, and are afraid of offending Him, because they know that "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." They remember that God always sees them, and that they cannot deceive Him. They know that He has a strong claim on their love and obedience, and that a day of reckoning is at hand; hence, they fear, and stand in awe, and sin not.

The blessings enjoyed-" They shall go forth." This secures their liberty. They shall go out of prison, and enjoy the privilege of citizenship. They shall go out of darkness, and enjoy the sunshine of Divine favour. They shall go out of bondage, and enjoy the freedom wherewith Christ makes His people free. "They shall grow up." This indicates their progress in the divine life, They shall increase in faith, and love, and holiness, and grow up to the stature of completeness in Christ. How lovely to see the young, especially, grow downward in humility, and upward in heavenly-mindedness! How lovely to see them increasing in knowledge and usefulness, as they increase in days and in years! Their growth in divine things shall be rapid and perceptible, "as calves of the stall."

Fifty-First Sabbath-Evening.

THE YOUNG PURIFIED.

"Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto, according to Thy word."-Ps, cx x. 9.

THERE are just two ways-the way of life and the way of death-and all, without exception, are following one or other of these ways. The way of the young is polluted; the word of God is the only purifier; but that word must be attended to.

The way of the young is polluted-It is polluted by sin. Though often spoken of as innocent and harmless, the young are depraved, and prone to evil, and averse to good. "The heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil." From the dawn of reason, any careful observer may see how strongly the young mind inclines to sin and disobedience. Their passions are strong, their hopes are high, present enjoyments ravish their heart, while consequences are overlooked, and death and judgment put far away. The young are polluted by deficient home-training. Instead of being instructed, and warned, and corrected, many parents leave them to take their own way; the seeds of evil spring, and grow up unchecked, and are soon too strong to be pruned. "A child left to himself, bringeth his mother to shame." Because the sons of Eli were wicked, and he re

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strained them not, they were a grief to their father, and did not live half their days. They are polluted by bad example. The young are keen observers, and if familiarized to Sabbath-breaking, drunkenness, profane swearing, and other vices, they learn easy, and soon give loose rein to all their passions. Like a stone rolled down from the top of a mountain, their descent rapidly increases, and their power to do evil increases with their rapidity. Let my young reader feel his need of cleansing, and remember that youth is the crisis of life, the period when good or evil habits are forined, and the season when a course is begun that proves either a blessing or a curse.

The Word of God is the only purifier—" According to Thy Word." "Ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit." The Word purifies by warning the young against all evil. It informs us that sin is hated by God, that it wrongeth the soul, and that its wages are death. It assures us of a solemn judgment, when sin will find us out, if it has not done so before, and been forgiven. It purifies, by commending all good. It tells us of Jesus, who bore our sins in His own body on the tree, and it leads us to His blood, which cleanses us from all sin. It tells us that through Jesus we may have peace, present and enduring, hope blessed and joyful, and love, the sweet foretaste of heaven. "Every man that hath this hope in Him purifieth himself, even as

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Christ is pure." It fills the soul with the pleasures of religion, comforts the heart in sorrow and affliction, and guides plainly and surely on the way to heaven. It purifies by encouraging examples. We have the history of Joseph, who was grieved with the bad conduct of his brethren, and was anxious to reform them; who resisted strong temptations; who was faithful to God and to men; who nourished his father and numerous family; and who saved the lives of thousands from perishing by famine. We have also the history of Moses, of David, of Josiah, of Samuel, and of Timothy, who purified themselves by the Word, and whose history is full of instruction and warning to the young.

The Word must be attended to "By taking heed thereto." The Scriptures should be carefully read, and daily studied. They are the food of the soul, and as natural life cannot be sustained without food, neither can the soul without the Word. "Man liveth not by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." They should be firmly believed. They are a message from God to our souls, established on the surest evidence, and worthy of all acceptation. They should be constantly obeyed. We may read and know the truth, but if we do not resolve to practice it, what doth it profit? "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.”

Fifty-Second Sabbath-Morning.

BROTHERLY LOVE.

"See that ye fall not out by the way."-Gen. xlv. 24.

THIS was the advice which Joseph gave to his brethren, when he sent them back to their father, loaded with presents, bearing the good news of his welfare and prosperity, and furnished with the means of bringing their father and all the family down to Egypt. It was a good advice-is much needed in every familyand should be often pressed on the attention of the young.

By way of accommodation, this advice is suitable to all Christians, and carries a lesson to them of vast importance and great practical utility. They are all bound for heaven, whose unrivalled grandeur, whose spotless purity, whose delightful employments, and whose endless enjoyments, have ravished their hearts. They are all on the way to the Canaan above, travelling on the same road, exposed to the same difficulties, and meeting with the same foes; hence, they should be a united and holy band, and should on no account fall out by the

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Why should Christians love each other?-Because Christ has commanded them. "He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is