Not fo the fimpleton who built on fand,
And wrought his labour with penurious hand;
'Midft howling tempefts and loud thunder's roar,
His houfe-it vanish'd, and was feen no more.

A WISE man, defiring to build a house for himself and family, fees many very pleasant and romantic lots: he is tempted to choose a delightful fituation, but he remembers that the country is often vifited with violent storms, that hurricanes are frequent, and that the rivers frequently overflow their banks, and sweep away bridges, houses, cattle, and inhabitants, altogether. This makes him cautious. He facrifices what is merely ornamental for what is useful and effential. He fixes upon a rock for the fite of his manfion. He builds in fuch a manner that his house looks like a part of the rock itself, it is fo imbedded within its shelvings. When all is fnug and complete, he enters his new dwelling, thankful that he has been enabled to finish it. In a little while, one of those storms come on fo common to the country; the rains descend, the winds blow, the floods beat against the house, but it ftands unmoved. All night the tempeft lafts; at length morning comes; the son of wisdom opens the door and goes forth, like Noah when he left the ark after the waters of the deluge had abated. He looks around: all is defolation except his own house. At a little distance from him he discovers fome of the fragments of hid neighbour's house. The foolish man had studies only ease and prefent convenience; he chofe a

showy place, but the foundation was fandy. The hurricane fwept them all away together.

The house on the rock, and its builder, is an emblem of the man who hears the word of God and keeps it. He makes the word of God a ladder by which he climbs to heaven. Beginning at repentance, he goes on to faith in our Lord Jefus Christ, then to holiness; thus he mounts from faith to faith, till finally he reaches glory.

Obferve, it is not the perfon who hears, or understands, or remembers, or believes, merely, the word of God; but the DOER, that is, the prudent or wife man. He faftens on the Rock of Ages: Christ is his foundation, where, in obedience to the word, he has fled for refuge; hence, he is protected against all the ftorms of earth and hell.

"To obey is better than facrifice, to hearken than the fat of rams.' The word of God is compared to feed, which, if received in good ground, beareth much fruit. As the feed requires that the ground fhould be prepared, watered, weeded, &c. ; so the word requires that it should be received with attention and nourished by meditation, much prayer, and faith. No one can enter the kingdom of heaven unless he is a difciple of Chrift; but he is not a difciple unless he bringeth forth much fruit. He, and he alone, that doeth the will of God shall abide for ever.

A perfon having juft returned from church, was met with the following exclamation: "What,

is it all done?"

prompt reply.

"No, by no means," was the "It is all faid, but not all done."

"For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified."-ROM. ii. 13. "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only.

a doer of the work, this man fhall be bleffed in his deed.”—JAMES i. 22, 25.

"If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them." -JOHN xiii. 17.

"Seeft thou a man wife in his own conceit? There is more hope of a fool than of him."-PROV. xxvi. 12.

SELF-CONFIDENCE.

See how Self-confidence his friend doth treat,
Nor heeds the danger from beneath his feet:
With head erect, he proudly stalks along,
The warning voice is but an idle fong;
As to the precipice he draws more nigh,
His friend yet louder lifts his voice on high,
But deaf and blind, he neither fees nor hears,
From friends or foes he nothing wants nor fears;
He "knows, and that's enough-all right," when lo!
At once he falls into the gulf below:

Adown the rocks he tumbles o'er and o'er,
And finks in darkness to arife no more.

THE engraving fhows a traveller in the greatest peril. He is on the brink of an awful precipice: he knows it not. But this is not the worft of his cafe: he is confident in his knowledge, and that he is fully prepared for every

emergency, although he has not examined any book of roads, or any charts, or maps, nor has he made inquiries of others who have travelled these parts before him. A friend is feen who endeavours to apprize him of his danger; he calls to him, but he turns a deaf ear to his remonftrances, and ftill proceeds. As he draws near the fatal brink, his friend, knowing his danger, exerts himself to the utmost to have him ftopto liften-but for one moment; but no, he has no need of advice-on he goes. The ground, which is hollow, gives way beneath his feet, he falls, and is inftantly dashed to pieces. The name of the man is "Self-confidence.'

The moral of this is, that dangers stand thick all through the path of human life; dangers fuch as the luft of the flesh, the luft of the eye, and the pride of life, with their numerous attendants. Falfe doctrines also, the tendency of which is to destroy the happiness of mankind, prevail. They are covered with a flimfy garb, which deceives fuperficial obfervers.

Moreover, youth is prefumptuous, felf-willed, and self-confident. They are too much inclined to follow the light which their own vanity has kindled. But their felf-confidence does not remove the dangers from their path, nor render them invulnerable. But man is ignorant-how fhall he know? Helpless-what shall he do? If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God. "Do" ponder well the paths of thy feet. not to thine own understanding. He that trufts to his own heart is a fool. In all thy ways

Lean