vation of their souls! O, ye disciples of Christ, awake! awake from your lethargy. Put on the spirit of your Master, and live not unto yourselves, but to him. He marks the cold-hearted indifference with which many treat his blessed service; and he sees with smiles of approbation the feeblest effort which is made to glorify his

name.

Family Prayer by Men of Business.

THE following deeply interesting illustration of the blessedness of family prayer, before entering upon business, will be read with profit.

Said a pious tradesman (in England) to a clergyman -"When I first began business for myself, I was determined, through grace, to be particularly conscientious with respect to family prayer.

"Accordingly, I persevered for many years in the delightful practice of domestic worship. Morning and evening every member of my family was ordered always to be present; nor would I allow my apprentices to be absent on any account. In a few years the advantages of these engagements appeared manifestly conspicuous; the blessings of the upper and nether springs followed me; health and happiness attended my family, and prosperity my business. At length, such was my rapid increase in trade, and the necessity of devoting every possible moment to my customers, that I began to think whether family prayer did not occupy too much of our time in the morning.

"Pious scruples arose respecting my intentions of re linquishing this part of my duty; but, at length, worldly interests prevailed so far, as to induce me to excuse the attendance of my apprentices, and not long after, it was deemed advisable, for the more eager prosecution of our business, to make the prayer with my wife, when we arose in the morning, suffice for the day. Notwithstanding the repeated checks of conscience that followed this base omission, the calls of a flourishing concern, and the prospect of an increasing family, appeared so imperious and commanding, that I found an easy excuse for this

fatal evil, especially as I did not omit prayer altogether. My conscience was now almost seared with a hot iron; when it pleased the Lord to awaken me by a singular providence.

"One day I received a letter from a young man who had formerly been my apprentice, previously to my omit ting family prayer. Not doubting but I continued domestic worship, his letter was chiefly on this subject; it was couched in the most affectionate and respectful terms; but judge of my surprise and confusion, when I read these words; "O my dear master, never, never shall I be able sufficiently to thank you for the precious privilege with which you indulged me in your family devotions. O, sir, eternity will be too short to praise my God for what I learnt there. It was there I first beheld my lost and wretched state as a sinner, it was there that I first knew the way of salvation, and there that I first experienced the preciousness of "Christ in me the hope of glory." O, sir! permit me to say, never, never, never neglect those precious engagements; you have yet a family and more apprentices; may your house be the birth-place of their souls!" I could read no further; every line flashed condemnation in my face, I trembledI shuddered - I was alarmed at the blood of my children and apprentices, that I apprehended was soon to be demanded at my hands!

"Filled with confusion, and bathed in tears, I fled for refuge in secret. I spread the letter before God. I agonized, and--but you can better conceive, than I describe my feelings; suffice it to say, that light broke in upon my disconsolate soul, a sense of blood bought pardon was obtained, &c. I immediately flew to my family, presented them before the Lord, and from that day to the present, I have been faithful, and am determined, through grace, that whenever business becomes too large to interfere with family prayer, I will give up the superfluous part of my business and retain my devotion; better to lose a few shillings, than become the deliberate murderer of my family, and the instrument of ruin to my soul.

The Suicide and the Universalist.

THE pastor who would be faithful to his vows and still preserve the friendship of men, is often tried severely. Duty and interest, conscience and inclination frequently come in conflict, and he does well who finds grace to stand by his Master, come what may.

: One of the sorest of these trials in my experience was a call to preach the funeral sermon over a man who had committed suicide. The miserable wretch who had thus introduced himself prematurely into the presence of his Judge, had been a man of respectability, and except for his own recklessness and madness might have been a comfort to his family and friends. But he went the way of thousands-the broad road of intemperance was more inviting than the narrow path of virtue, and he rushed into it dragging along with him the prospects of his family, and making wreck of his little property, his character and health; and plunging from one depth of misery to another still deeper, he took at last the fatal leap into the bottomless pit. It was the natural and expected end of his profligate career. He was found hanging in his barn, and his family, though shocked at the discovery, were doubtless relieved of a burden and curse when a husband and father was brought in dead.

A neighbor of his, a noted Universalist and reviler of all gospel ministers, came to me with the request that I would preach a sermon at the funeral of this wretched suicide. It was a novel request-it was usual to bury such persons without public notice-certainly very unusual to have a sermon at the funeral, and it was stranger still that this leading Universalist, whose principles were well known, should come to one whose views were like mine, to find a preacher for the occasion. But his object appeared evident. He knew that ministers are usually tender of the feelings of surviving friends; that they are disinclined to speak of the future state of those who die impenitent, and it was then clear, and I never had reason to question the conclusion, that he wished to put me under the necessity of covering over the doom of the suicide, that he might boast that a preacher of eternal misery would not dare to bring his creed to the test of actua.

experiment. The Universalist knew that if any man went to hell, that poor wretch who lived a drunkard and died by his own hand had gone there; and he knew that if it was right to speak of impenitent sinners perishing, it was right to speak of this suicide as lost. If, therefore, the preacher should only in general terms present his views of truth, and in tenderness to the feelings of others and impelled by a desire, more or less common to all, not to give offence, should prophecy smooth things to the assembly, the Universalist leader would have whereof to glory, and would be cunning enough to make the most of the opportunity. I readily consented to perform the desired service, and as there was but little time left for preparation, I set about the work without delay. The difficulty of the position embarrassed me, and I began to regret that the task had not been assigned in Providence to some one else. But the path of duty was plain, and seeking grace for the day, I determined to walk in it and leave the consequences to him who knows the end from the beginning.

The passage that first suggested itself was seized upon as the most appropriate theme of remark, and having, by study and prayer, made ready for the work, I went to the house of death, not mourning, to deliver the message. The few seats that could be furnished were soon filled, and the Universalist chose a position a few feet in front, and fixing his attention, stood up straight before the speaker. After prayer I announced the text, "Rev. xxi. 8: But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and MURDERERS, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." I may not speak of the sermon, but the text was a thunderbolt. It needed no sermon. The unbeliever was there and his doom was pronounced with that of the murderer. He seemed confounded at the very annunciation of the subject, and the triumph of the truth over his intended boasting was complete. It was natural from such a text to define the characters mentioned, and to follow them to their own place; to show that even for such sinners, salvation had been provided, but as its offers were always conditional, those only could

Jesaved who complied with the condition; that life was the period of probation, and as death leaves us, judgment and eternity will find us; that he who lived a life of besotted sin, and died in the act of murder, left the strongest of all possible evidence that he had never accepted the terms on which salvation was offered, and therefore it was impossible to believe that he had by the means of a halter, hastened his admission to the kingdom of God in heaven. The very thought was revolting, and common sense as well as religion rejected the belief that such a sinner, unrepenting and unbelieving, with the blood of his own soul on his hands, was now rejoicing with the spirits of the just before the Lamb. To this truth, the assembly assented almost audibly, and following up the impression evidently made, I came to the conclusion that if one sinner is lost, Universalism is a fable; but they had just consciously admitted that the self-murderer could not be received into heaven, and therefore the inference was inevitable that there is a hell for the ungodly. This being settled, it was only necessary to consult the Bible to find who are in danger of this lake of fire which the text declares is the second death. And the word of God includes all thus exposed under one condemination: "He that believeth not shall be damned." There were many unbelievers before me, "condemned already," and with the evidence almost palpable to the senses, pressing their consciences, I besought them to flee from the wrath to come.

I have always had abundant reason for gratitude that I was thus enabled to declare the whole counsel of God, in an hour when the tempter urged me to conceal the truth from fear of man, and have put these facts on record for the encouragement of others in a similar strait.

The Intemperate.

How often are we called upon to follow to the silent tomb, the remains of a friend or relative, whose thread of life has been cut short by the fatal indulgence in strong drinks? As his remains are there deposited, how the thought thrills through the heart and chills the red cur