but in the seventh, is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord; whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Exod. 21:15. But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the Sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched. Jer. 17: 27. I will also cause all her Sabbaths to cease. Hos. 2: 11.

The following short but affecting story, shows what God has inflicted upon the violator of the Sabbath; and that he intends by no means to spare the guilty of this sin.

And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the Sabbath day. And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation. And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him. And the Lord said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died,- -as the Lord commanded Moses. Numbers 15: 32-36.

But God does not delight in punishment: his promises are moret han his threatenings. The Bible contains many promised blessings concerning the Sabbath, such as these:

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Blessed is the man that keepeth the Sabbath. Isaiah 56: 2. And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the Lord, to bring in no burden through the gates of the city on the Sabbath day, but hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work therein; then shall there enter into the gates of the city, kings sitting upon the throne of Donid siding in uru princes David, lung m Ciläin and on horses, they and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city shall remain forever. Jeremiah 17: 24, 25. Every one that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant, even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all people. Isaiah 56: 67. Blessed is the man that doeth this; and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it. Is. 56 2. If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words,-then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord, and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it. Isaiah 58: 13, 14.

But let us bring the Sabbath a little nearer to ourselves, by noticing how it was regarded by the immediate followers of the Saviour. "And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread," &c. Acts 20: 19. To celebrate the Lord's Supper, then, appears to have been the first object, to which was afterwards added, prayer and preaching; thus constituting the assembly "a holy convocation." The Saviour himself seems to have given to the apostles his sanction of the day, and of their assembly, by appearing to them at

that time. "Then the same day, at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut, where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, came Jesus, and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you." John 20: 19. This blessed benediction of the Saviour is virtually repeated and fulfilled to every one of his disciples, just in proportion as they "call his Sabbath a delight." The Lord made his day honorable in another particular instance. "I was in the spirit on the Lord's day," Rev. 1:9, says the holy John, when he was about to have revealed to him the intention of God, in regard both to the Church and the world, to those who reverenced the Sabbath and the sanctuary, and those who esteemed them not. A striking instance of regard for the day by the immediate friends of Jesus is contained in the following incident. When the first disciples had seen the object of their hopes expire upon the cross, it was so near to the Sabbath, that they hasted to entomb his body before the sacred day should come. And the holy women, who loved him more than life, had not time to complete their work of affection. "They returned and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day." Luke 23:56. Notwithstanding the fervor of their affection, and the piety of their object, they would not break "the commandment." They might fear that "decay's effacing fingers" would pass over the body of their buried friend, but they did not anoint or perfume it upon the holy day. How was their piety rewarded, when they came, the first morning after the Sabbath, to perform their affectionate act, and found that their Lord had risen in glory from the grave.

Such were the occupations and the pleasures of God's day in ancient times among his faithful children; such are its comforts and enjoyments now to the followers of the Saviour. As it was looked forward to with pleasure then, so is it now anticipated with delight. As then, so now, the child of God exclaims, "This is the day which the Lord hath made, let us be glad and rejoicet herein." "My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God." The lives of those who are true disciples tell of the pleasures which the Sabbath afford: they hallow it; and how it is sanctified to them. And in the memoirs of those eminent for piety, we find the hallowed traces of the Sabbath in the formation of their character, and in their spiritual enjoyment. From the manuscript memoir of a private Christian, who, in a short period of time, made high attainments in holiness, and who, although she has passed to that rest, toward which she looked with hope and confidence, yet speaks in her

bright example to those who knew her, the following extract may be made. "Her regard for the Sabbath, if it was not in itself a means of fostering pious affections in her heart, was at least an evidence of their existence there. The Sabbath was her delight-she anticipated its return with peculiar pleasure, and she greeted it with earnest joy. She regarded it as a holy day-to be kept holy. It was to her a day of devotion-she thought that, as much as possible, it should be spent in private or public communion with God-that the soul should be kept on this day, very near to the Saviour; that, by imbibing his spirit, it might engage on other days with renewed zeal in his service. Her reading on Sunday was strictly of a devotional character. This feeling was extended even into the sacred volume. Instruction, she thought it a duty to impart on this day; but she confined it to divine truth. Her preparation for teaching even her Sunday class, was made some time previous." How different is this from the disposition and the conduct of all those who say that Sunday is a tedious day! Does it not appear plainly, even from the feeble application of Scripture which has been made, that the Bible condemns the feeling of all such as say, "When will the Sabbath be gone, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great?" Amos 8:5. May not the feelings with which the Sabbath is met, afford one of the tests by which we may ascertain our preparation for the eternal Sabbath? And may not Christians measure the amount of their affection for their Master, by the degree of delight with which they enter on the pleasing occupations of the Sabbath day?

FIRST RELIGIOUS LESSONS.

For the Religious Magazine.

It was our object, in former numbers, to show, that the mother must exercise as much ingenuity and skill, in adapting her methods of religious instruction and influence to the intellectual habits and characteristics of childhood, as would be necessary for the accomplishment of any other purpose, involving the adaptation of means to an end. In fact, more skill is necessary. It requires greater caution, and a more delicate adjustment of means, than is necessary, in other cases, where so del

icate a structure as the human mind, especially as considered in relation to its moral feelings, is concerned.

But it is almost impossible for us to learn this, without going into another error, worse, if possible, than the one we avoid. I mean, imagining that, by management and dexterity on our part, and touching skilfully the ordinary springs of moral action, we may change the hearts of our children,—that we may bring out, by cultivation merely, the fruits of divine grace. But we cannot do this. If we had no experience on the subject, the Scriptures would tell us that these measures would, alone, be insufficient, and if we had no revelation, our own experience would soon teach us so.

A mother, who has been accustomed to act blindly and roughly in her religious influence over her children, when she first comes to see a description of methods of instruction, which seem really adapted to the nature of the youthful mind, is very likely to be much pleased with the promise of success that is held out; and she says to herself, "This will certainly succeed, I will try this method, immediately, upon my boy." She accordingly tries it, delighted with an infallible mode of leading her children to God. She sees that her child is interested in the new and touching mode of exhibiting divine truth, which she has adopted. But, after a short time, she is disappointed and grieved, to find that the heart remains unchanged. In fact, the feeling of her moral dependence on God, for the success of all her efforts, is the only feeling, which will enable her to operate in a proper manner, herself, upon the heart of her child. If she does not possess it, she gives her instructions, and conducts all her religious intercourse with her children, in a sort of cold, experimenting spirit, which will, inevitably, neutralize their effect.

It is the opinion of many persons, that, though the mother cannot, by her own power only, change the heart of her child,yet, that God will so certainly bless the efforts, which are made in the right spirit, and in the right manner, that it is, in fact, the same thing; and that, consequently, there is as much encouragement to effort, and to the exercise of skill, as if the power was entirely in the mother's hands. There is difference of opinion on this subject; and we would not be confident, where, perhaps, the evidence is a little doubtful. But it does not seem to us, that God will, undoubtedly, and certainly, bless the mother's efforts, even if they are of the right kind. That he probably will, we grant,-in fact, that, in almost every case, success will follow. But still, we do not see the evidence, that God does not, in this, as in every thing else, re

serve, after all, the power to himself. The manner in which he exercises this power, is most mysterious; but, that he does possess it, and that he exercises it; that he does, after all, hold the reins in his own hand, and decide with reference to other circumstances than the fidelity of the mother, we have no doubt. But remember, we do not suppose he retains this power in his own hands, for the purpose of deciding arbitrarily. There are always good reasons. He acts on principle. All we mean, is, that there are other circumstances beside he fidelity of the mother taken into consideration, which affect the result.

It is painful for the mother to reflect, that, after all she can do, the future welfare of her child is a matter even of the least uncertainty. But it is a useful feeling, though it is a painful one. Were it not a useful one, we should not have brought up the subject here. In fact, the more helpless and dependent on God, we feel in every thing, the more likely we shall be, to be successful; and the mother, above all, should feel humble, and submissive, and dependent. She should do all that she does for a child, with her heart upon God. She should be as dexterous and skilful, as if every thing depended upon her skill. But, she should remember, that, after all, she is striving for an effect upon the mind of her child, which mere ingenuity and skill can never accomplish, though they may prepare the way for its accomplishment.

There is, however, we admit, an overwhelming probability, that proper efforts for the conversion of the human soul, in all cases, will be crowned with success;-and this probability is far greater in the case of the mother, than in any other. For she has the child far more under her influence, than, in any other circumstances, one heart can be under another; and then, probably, the most favorable time, in the whole course of life, for the conversion of the human soul, is in early childhood. There is a peculiar juncture, which, when the circumstances preceding it are well arranged, seems to us, the most promising period, the golden hour, which, if it goes by, never will return. We wish to dwell on this particular a few moments.

We must premise, then, that piety consists in affection to God, and humble submission to his will. This, every one will admit, as the essence of piety. In order to enter the path of piety, that is, in order that they may enter, who have been away from it, some other things are necessary, such as penitence for past sin, trust in the Saviour, &c. But, the essence of piety itself, considered in reference both to holy and sinful beings, consists in personal affection for God, and humble sub