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of her favourite hymns. She then asked me if I thought the bell would toll for her that night. And on inquiring what was the hour, and being answered, Near six, "It will not toll out this evening for me." She now intimated her particular desire to see her papa and myself walk together from the bedside and sit at the lower end of the room, where she could have us both in full view, to witness us once more before she departed; saying, as we walked along, "Bless both; you understand me." When seated, she poured forth an ardent prayer; and after an interval of some minutes, requested us to come back again. "Dear mamma, take your place again by me, and papa will fetch pen and paper." When her papa returned, she exclaimed quickly, "Write! write! Tell them all, every body that I know, that this life is only vanity-nothing else but vanity." Here her articulation be

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came rather indistinct. And when her papa asked her, "What did you say, my dear?" she answered, "I can say no more." She now lay with her hands uplifted, in deep supplication and prayer, for some time, concluding with our blessed Lord's prayer, repeating afterwards the benediction, and most distinctly said, "Amen." In a very short time afterwards, she uttered an involuntary moan; saying, "O dear! O dear! I am so hot-like hot water. What can I do? What must I do?" and then immediately exclaimed, "I am ready to die! Do not wipe my mouth any more." She coughed a little, took her handkerchief to wipe the perspiration from her dear face, and with a most affectionate look at us, laid her hands down, and in a moment, without a sigh or a groan, serenely fell asleep in Jesus, September 26, 1822, in the sixteenth year of her age. R. D.

THE BIBLE.

THE following is an attempt to render into more modern verse a little poem, named "The Bible:" it is to be found in a collection, entitled The Synagogue," in imitation of the Temple of the pious Herbert, and of about the same date. I believe it to be the production of Charles. Cotton, the friend of Isaac Walton: it is certainly by one of his contemporaries.

THE BIBLE!-yes, THE BOOK-these words define
That sacred page, whose Author is divine;
The Book of books, and if perus'd aright,
The fount of wisdom, and the source of light-
Of light immortal:-he who takes his way

By this, in midnight gloom shall never stray.

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Ho, ye who thirst," here living waters flow;
And he who drinks, no thirst again shall know.
Here, for the hungry is a table spread,
And for his people that immortal bread,
The manna from the skies he shall supply,
Of which who eateth right, shall never die.
And here the healing waters may be found

For every sickness and for every wound.
Come poor and rich, come each afflicted soul,
The "good Physician" here shall make ye whole.
By this all ghostly terrors ye shall quell,
The powers of darkness, and the gates of hell.

And here the eye of faith may realize
The unseen promise and the hidden prize;
While saints on earth may antedate the bliss
Of other worlds, and make a heaven of this;
And in this faithful mirror man may see
The thing he is, and what he ought to be;
If as by nature and by sin subdu'd,
The child of Satan, or by grace renew'd.
The Christian warrior arming for the fight,
May here put on the panoply of light;
Here is the whole artillery of heaven,
From hence each spiritual arm is given;
And thus your feet with holy sandals shod,

Your shield of faith, your sword, the Word of God,
Go forth and in this heavenly armour, "stand,"
And the great fight shall prosper in your hand.
God hath reveal'd in this most holy page,
His sov'reign law to every distant age.
To all who meekly ask he will bestow
The light to choose the good, to shun the woe.
And blind, O madly blind, are they who stray
With guide so willing, and so plain the way.

The Christian mariner on life's rough sea,
Bound on his voyage to eternity,

This chart possess'd, through storms may safely sail;
This is the pilot that shall never fail.

Thy Cynosure is here-O steer by this,

And gain the haven of eternal bliss.

It is the Book of God! the best of books!

Pedants, be mute-restrain those haughty looks.

It is the transcript of th' eternal mind :

When 'midst your learned, ponderous tomes ye find
One, that with this bright volume can compare,
Then may ye hope this Bible to forswear;

And only then, this character disprove,

"Truth is its matter," and its "Spirit, love."

J. S.

In connexion with the foregoing lines, I beg leave to transcribe the following Prayer, which I met with in a very old Concordance: perhaps it may be new to some of your readers.

A Prayer to be used before we read, meditate, or study the Holy

Scriptures.

"Most merciful God and heavenly Father, who of thy great mercy hast caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning, grant unto me that am naturally blind thy good Spirit, by whose light my understanding being illuminated to conceive them, and my memory confirmed and strengthened to retain them, they may (by the blessing of the same thy Spirit) be so deeply rooted in my heart, that in my whole conversation I may bring forth the blessed fruits thereof, to the honour and glory of thy holy name, the edification of those amongst whom I live, and to mine own everlasting peace and comfort, through Jesus Christ my only Redeemer and Advocate. So be it."

If my memory serve, this collect was cited by the late Rev. J. Milner, in his refutation of Mr. Edwards's opinions on the doctrine of spi ritual influence.

MARCH 1823.

SEVENTH ANNUAL ADDRESS TO THE PARISHIONERS OF ST. MARY'S, KILKENNY.

"to

with the help of divine grace, do our duty in that state of life unto which it shall please God to call us."

Beware of saying, Lord, Lord," when you have never examined into the grounds of the faith you profess-into the object you had in view, when engaged in religious duties, or into the spirit by which you have been influenced in the discharge of them. It is both a melancholy and an awful thing to have only a name to live, and under the garb of religion to carry a proud, self-willed, passionate, or covetous heart-a heart that has never fully and unreservedly renounced "the devil and all his works, the pomps and vanities of this wicked world, and all the sinful lusts of the flesh." God sees not as man sees: he looks to the heart. He is a spirit, and delighteth in spiritual worshippers. Beware, then, of the leaven of hypocrisy ; "examine yourselves whether you be in the faith".

MY DEAR FRIENDS, Ar no period since the commencement of my ministry among you, have existing circumstances called more loudly for the faithful discharge of ministerial duty than at the present moment. Our "most holy faith" has been systematically and powerfully attacked by infidels, who, uninstructed and uninfluenced by the defeats of their predecessors, and by the repeated triumphs of Christianity, entertain the desperate and delusive hope of overthrowing that beautiful and comforting system of divine truth which the Bible contains: a system originating with the ever-living and almighty God, whose name is Love; a system which opens to the view of man his deep depravity and guilt and helplessness, and at the same time presents a Saviour "full of grace and truth," through whom " all that believe are justified from all things from which they could not be justified by the law of Moses," or in any other way; through whom they have access by one Spirit unto the Father;" through whom they become participators of the "joys which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man to conceive;" through whom they obtain a sure and glorious triumph over death and hell. Great should be our thankfulness to God for his "unspeakable gift," sincere should be our desire to secure an interest in all the blessings which are connected with and flow from it-and firm should be our determination to" contend earnestly for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints," and to evince our reception of it, not merely by the language of our lips, but by the spirituality of our minds, by our crucifixion to the world, by running with patience the race set before us, and by sincerely endeavouring,

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prove your own selves;" make that use of the sacred Scriptures which God intended you should do; hear them reverently-read them diligently-believe them implicitly. They contain the " perfect law" or doctrine of the Lord, which "converts the soul," "makes wise the simple," joices the heart," and "enlightens the eyes." But as every blessing must be possessed before its value can be duly appreciated, so must the word of God be received into the heart by faith; then it becomes an incorruptible seed, bringing forth the fruit of holiness; 66 a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart;" a light shining in a dark place. "Let then the word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding." Bow to its authority, and let your desires, purposes, opinions,

and lives, be directed and regulated by it. You are to obey God rather than men; and therefore, when assailed by sinful temptations of any kind, you are called upon fearlessly and decidedly to hold the truth, and walk in the path of duty to which it leads, recollecting that your Master is in heaven, and that hereafter you will stand before him as your Judge. There is but one atonement by which your guilt can be removed but one fountain in which you can be washed from your pollutions-but one righteousness in which you can appear acceptable before the holy Lord God -but one 66 good hope through grace"-but one way to holiness and happiness: all these blessings are to be found in the adorable Redeemer, "who, though he was rich, yet for your sakes became poor, that ye, through his poverty, might be rich;" "who, though he knew no sin, was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." We are highly privileged in belonging to a church which instructs all her members in these important truths, and I would strongly and affectionately press upon you the necessity of an increased attention to that "form of sound words" which our Liturgy presents. Let not the frequency with which it is used lessen its value in your eyes. The light of the sun is as valuable and desirable now as it ever was, although it has shined upon the world since its creation; so the Liturgy affords, to this hour, the very best formulary of confession, prayer, and thanksgiving, in existence, although succeeding generations have, by its means, worshipped the God of their fathers. Let us, then, hold it fast, for a blessing is in it; and let us pray for the spirit which breathed in the souls of Cranmer, Latimer, Ridley, and Jewell, that, like those holy men, we may constantly speak the truth, boldly

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rebuke vice, and patiently suffer for the truth's sake."

Our church, so long under repair, has been again opened, with increased accommodation and. comfort. Let me indulge the hope of seeing you there more frequently than ever. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God;" and I sincerely pray, that you all may be made living wit-. nesses of the truth of that apostolic declaration. Let me seriously and strongly press upon you the necessity of a regular attendance. It is very unseemly, if not irreverent, to enter a place of worship after the commencement of divine service. It produces noise and distraction, and the evils of it are deplored by the officiating minister, in common. with every serious worshipper. Besides, you should consider, that every part of our Liturgy has its distinct and appropriate use; and that by a late attendance you deprive yourselves of the instruction, or comfort, which the neglected exhortation, or confession, or prayer might be the means of conveying. The act is bad, the example is bad; and I sincerely hope you may not require another hint upon the subject. Punctuality in the discharge of duty, is a duty in itself; and since we are to account for our time, as well as for every other talent, we should carefully attend to its appropriation; especially on the Lord's day, when the ordinary business of life, which is so apt to produce hurry and distraction, is, by the express command of God, forbidden. Many of you have lately ratified, in the solemn rite of confirmation, the promises made for you in your baptism, and you are loudly called upon, by that very act, to walk consistently with the profession you have made.. Your hearts are deceitful; the world abounds with temptations; and Satan is both crafty and powerful. These are your enemies;

and it is only by being clothed
with the whole armour of salva-
tion, that you can escape unhurt
and unpolluted.
May "the grace of the Lord
Jesus Christ, and the love of God, Kilkenny, Jan. 1, 1823.

and the communion of the Holy
Ghost, be with you all." Amen.
Your very affectionate Pastor,
And faithful Friend,

PETER ROE.

ESSAYS ON THE FIFTY-THIRD CHAPTER OF ISAIAH. ESSAY VII.-OUR LORD'S PATIENCE UNDER HIS SUFFERINGS.

Isaiah, liii. 7.-He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter; and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

THE Lord Jesus, the holy and innocent Lamb of God, was an example of suffering affliction and of patience. He willingly undertook to suffer for sin; and God the Father, for the glory of his eternal justice and holiness, was pleased to exact of him that debt which we as sinners could never pay. This, however, was no excuse for the wickedness of those who put the Lord Jesus to death; and though he had no ground of complaint, with regard to what he suffered from his heavenly Father, because it was just and right that he should suffer; yet if ever any persecuted innocent had reason to complain of cruelty and injustice from the hands of men, Jesus had. But he made no complaint even of this: "He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter; and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth."

"He was oppressed, and he was afflicted."-He was oppressed as one of whom the payment of a debt is rigorously exacted; for this seems to be the meaning of the Prophet in this place; or as one of whom the punishment due to sin is exacted without the least mitigation. Sin is justly compared in sacred Scripture to a debt, and

particularly by our Lord in that prayer which he condescended to teach us, "and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." Matt. vi. 12. Every sin that we commit brings us into debt with God. Our duty to God is to love him with all the heart, and mind, and soul, and strength, and to love our neighbour as ourselves. In short, as the creatures of God, we are bound to keep the whole law; and if we fail in any one point, we become debtors. Our debt is great. There is not an hour, nay a moment of our life, wherein we have not come short of the just demands of God's holy law; and, therefore, every moment brings us in debtors, and the longer we live the more the debt is increased. Moreover, God has an undoubted right to demand payment, or to inflict the penalty of his broken law, otherwise his justice would not be satisfied. But, alas! we are utterly unable to pay the debt, or any part of it; and if the Lord Jesus had not taken our vast debt upon himself, and become answerable for the payment of it, the debt would have stood against us to all eternity, and have confined us in that doleful prison from whence there is no escape. When, therefore, Jesus our great Surety became answerable for our debt, it was exacted of him in its full extent. He was required to pay an unsinning obedience to the divine law, and to suffer the penalty which the law denounced against transgressors. Jesus was oppressed with his people's debt, and bound to make it good, as one who is bound

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