down into the midft where Jefus was, and experienced his falvation. By faith, Jofeph of Arimathea, went to Pilate and begged the body of Jefus, and laid it in his own fepulchre, not doubting but that it would be raised again according to the fcriptures. By faith, Paul, when brought before kings and princes of the earth, declared boldly the gospel of Christ, and his hope in the refurrection of the dead. By faith, the difciples, who were in Jerufalem when it was encompaffed by the Roman armies, left the city and fled to the mountains, and thus efcaped punishment in the overthrow thereof. By faith, John Hufs, and Jerome, of Prague, delivered their bodies to be burned, not accepting deliverance. By faith, Luther burnt the Bull of excommunication, and repaired to the city of Worms, not fearing the wrath of Pope, Emperor, or Devil. By faith, the Pilgrim Fathers braved the fury of the ocean and the violence of the favage, and planted a habitation for God in the wilderness, yea, a refuge for the children of men.

The time would fail to speak of Elliot and of Brainerd, of Martyn and of Carey, of Wilfon and of Schwartz, of Wesley and of Whitefield, and of others whofe names are recorded in heaven, who, through faith, unlocked the fountains of truth, broke down the barriers of oppofition, fubdued nations to the faith of Chrift, wrought righteousness, and preached to the poor the acceptable year of the Lord.

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."Ps. cxix. 105. "Ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place."- -2 PET. i. 19.

THE SURE GUIDE.

Alone, bewildered, and in penfive mood,
A traveller wanders through a pathlefs wood;
Forward he goes, then back, then round and round;
And lifts in vain to catch a friendly found.

Soon night o'ertakes him on her ebon car,
Robed in thick darkness, without moon or ftar
No lonely light gleams through the mifty air,
And tremblingly he wanders in despair;
At length he finks, and now for once he prays,
And lo! a compafs clofe befide him lays;
A light he gets and holds it at its fide,
That he may well confult the faithful guide;
Within his breast hope now exulting springs,
And painful doubt and fear away he flings;
But now falfe guides advance across his track
One ftrives with speeches fair to turn him back;
Another bawls with bold and bluft'ring fhout :
"Here! through this pleasant opening lies your route."
"I tell you," fays a third, "it is not fo;

This, and this only, is the way to go;"

He fhuns them all, and trims his light anew,
And heeds his compass, and it guides him through.

AN honeft traveller having, on his way home, to pass through a lonely foreft, lofes his way. Bewildered, he knows not which way to turn. Now he goes forward; now backward. Then, after wandering about for fome time, finds himfelf where he firft ftarts from. He is difcouraged; he liftens, hoping to catch from the whispering winds, fome tidings of companionship or fafety. 'Tis all in vain. Thick mifts now gather beneath the leafy canopy. The fhadows of evening prevail, and night wraps the earth in her mantle of pitchy darkness. He gropes his way with fear and trembling; he becomes exhausted; hopeless and overcome, at last he finks on the wet ground. For awhile he mufes. A thought ftrikes himhe will pray. He lifts up his hands in prayer,

and as they fall again at his fide, he feels a fomething. Behold! it is a compafs. Now he strikes. a light, and looks with intense interest on his new-found guide. Hope now fwells his bofom; he will again see his beloved home. Doubt and fear are thrown to the winds, and he fprings up to pursue his journey.

As he moves forward, with a light in one hand and compass in the other; several perfons, attracted by the light, rush towards him and proffer their affistance; one pointing out an opening to the left, roomy and level withal, with many fair speeches and much earnestness, presses him to take it. Another pointing to the right, in a very confident manner, urges him to take that. It is fmoother and less obftructed than the way ahead. The traveller, honest in his purpose of finding home, and relying upon his compafs, rejects all their offers of advice. He trims his lamp afresh; looks again at his guide, and following implicitly the way it directs, he gets out of the wood, and arrives at home in peace.

The lonely foreft denotes this present world. The traveller, man; home, happinefs; the compass, the Holy Bible; the light, the Holy Spirit; the false guides, thofe deceitful directors and false doctrines that abound in the world. The world, apart from the facred light and holy influences of heaven, is dark, cheerless, and impenetrable. Through fin, the darkness of ignorance and the fhadows of death prevail. "Darkness has covered the earth, and grofs darknefs the minds of the people."

Everywhere, fnares and pitfalls abound; dangers, pain, and death. With the defire of happinefs ftrongly implanted in his bofom, man wanders in the midst of misery and uncertainty. What he is; what he must do; whither he is going; he cannot tell. What is life? what is death? He knows not. He taftes of life with bitterness; he approaches death with horror. If there is a God,-what is His character? how fhall he worship him? If there be a state after death, what is its nature? where is the place of its abode ?

In this state of diftreffing anxiety, he wanders on, pathlefs, guidelefs, lightless, hopeless-he is loft! In the anguifh of his foul, he exclaims, "Who will fhow me any good?" "God, for ever bleffed," hears his prayer. He has been tenderly watching him while in trackless mazes loft, and in His providence presents him with a BIBLE. He opens it-he reads. Wonderful Book! It tells him all about the darkness; of what it is made, and how it came to overspread the earth. It tells too, of a Sun, a glorious Sun, that can disperse the gloom: who he is, and how he becomes the light of the world. It points out to him more diftinctly than he ever faw, the fnares and pitfalls, and the way to efcape them. Wherefore pain, and how to endure it. Why the defire of happiness is implanted in the human breaft, and how it may be gratified. It makes known to him, what he is; what he ought to do; where he is going, and what he may be