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Reading after this manner will, in the course of a few years, put one in possession of a vast fund of information, which may at any time be resorted to.

In order to read with profit, you must adopt some plan which will secure a suitable variety. To assist you in forming your plan, I shall arrange my remarks on the various kinds of reading, under the heads of History, Biography, Doctrine, and Miscellany; and you should so regulate your reading as to keep along a suitable proportion of each Either give to each kind particular days of the week; or, if this does not suit your circumstances, read through one work on one of these branches, and then take a work on another, and so on, till you have read something on each; and then begin again upon the branch where you commenced. But, if you have the books and the time at your command, I should recommend that you keep on hand something on each of these departments of knowledge, devoting stated times to each. Yet do not suffer your inability to carry out any definite plan which may be recommended, or which you may form, to prevent your attempting a systematic course of reading. Your plans must conform to your circumstances; and you will never be able to accomplish all that you purpose. But never permit yourself to yield to discouragement. With these remarks, I proceed to speak of the several kinds of reading which I have mentioned, each by itself.

I. HISTORY. This is usually considered under three divisions, viz., sacred, ecclesiastical, and profane. The

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first of these terms is applied to the Bible histories; the second, to the history of the church since the canon of Scripture was completed; and the third, to the histories of the world, written by uninspired men. But, as I have already treated of the first, I shall now speak only of the others; both of which are highly necessary to every one who desires an enlarged view of the affairs of the world, and the dealings of God with mankind in general, and with his church in particular. In reading profane history, observe,

1. The providence of God in directing the affairs of men. Look for the hand of God in every thing; for he controls the actions even of wicked men, to accomplish his own purposes. The Bible is full of this great truth. Scarcely a page can be found where it is not recognized. "The Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will." He calls the king of Assyria the "rod of his anger,” for chastising the hypocritical Jews; but adds, "Howbeit, he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few." And, in a subsequent verse, he says, when he has performed his whole work by this wicked king, he will punish his stout heart, and the glory of his high looks. But it is not in great matters alone that the hand of the Lord is to be seen. He exercises a particular providence over the least, as well as the greatest, of his works. Even a single sparrow, says our Lord, shall not fall to the ground without our heavenly Father. And this is one of the brightest

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glories of the divine character. He who fills immensity with his presence, condescends to care for the minutest beings in the universe.

2. Observe the connection of the events recorded in history with the fulfilment of prophecy. I do not, however, suppose you will be able to see this very clearly, without reading some authors who have made the prophecies their particular study. And this you will not be prepared to do with much profit, till you have the leading events of history fixed in your mind.

3. Observe the depravity of the human heart, and the evil nature of sin, as manifested in the conduct of wicked men, who have been left without restraint, and in the consequences resulting from such conduct.

4. See the hatred of God towards sin, as displayed in the miseries brought upon the world in consequence of it. In reading history, we find that individuals, whom God could have cut off by a single stroke of his hand, have been permitted to live for years, and spread devastation, misery, and death, every where around them. The infidel would pronounce this inconsistent with the character of a God of infinite benevolence. But the whole mystery is explained in the Bible: all this wretchedness is brought upon men for the punishment of their sins.

5. Observe the bearing of the events recorded on the church of Christ. One great principle in the divine administration appears to be, that the Lord overrules the affairs of men with reference to the kingdom of Christ. Often, events which seem, at first glance, to be foreign to the interests of his kingdom, appear,

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upon a closer examination, to be intimately connected with it. Instance the conquests of Alexander the Great. As the life of this extraordinary man stands out alone, unconnected with the subsequent history of the church, we see nothing but the wild career of mad ambition. But, on a more enlarged view of the subject, we discover that he was the instrument which God employed for spreading over a large portion of the world one common language, and so to prepare the way for the introduction of the gospel. Wherever the arms of Alexander extended, the Greek language and Greek literature were made known; thus preparing the way for the universal reception of the gospel, which was first published in that language. Who knows but every event of history has a bearing, equally direct, on the interests of Christ's kingdom?

But, in order to keep all these things before your mind, you must maintain, in the midst of your reading, a constant spirit of prayer.

In reading church history, you will have occasion to observe the same things, because the history of the church is necessarily connected with the history of the world. But there are some things to be noticed, wherein the history of the church differs from that of the world. The dealings of God with his own people differ from his dealings with his enemies. The afflictions which he brings upon the former are the wholesome corrections of a tender father, and designed for their good; those he brings upon the latter are either designed to lead them to repentance, or they are just judgments, intended for the destruction of those

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who have filled up the measure of their iniquities But be careful, in reading church history, that you do not lose sight of the true church of Christ. Many of the histories which have been written are filled either with accounts of individuals, or of bodies of wicked men who could lay no claim to the character of the church of Christ. A church consists of a society of people professing the fundamental doctrines of the gospel, and practising them in their lives; or, in other words, having both the form and power of godliness. Without these, no body of men have any right to be called the church of Christ. If you observe this, you will relieve yourself from much perplexity of mind, which the careless reader experiences, from supposing that all the evils described in any period of the history of the nominal church do really exist in the true church. For, during many ages, of which church history treats, the true church appears to have been confined chiefly to small bodies of poor and persecuted people, who were regarded as heretics; while the nominal church had departed from both the faith and practice of the true gospel. I do not mean to say that there may not be many evils, and some wicked men, in the true church; but, when the body generally is corrupt, it cannot be acknowledged as the church of Christ. The church is compared to the human body; and, if the whole body is corrupt, all the limbs must be; though there may be some withered or decaying limbs, while the body is sound.

II. RELIGIOUS BIOGRAPHY is, perhaps, the best kind of practical reading. It is, in many respects, very