in proportion as they can produce neglect of the Sabbath-day, so far will they induce indifference to the ordinances of religion, and consequently an apostasy and departure from God and goodness: this is their aim and object. Ignorance is one of the greatest enemies of God and man, against which the trumpet of knowledge ought to be continually sounded. Believers, let not the children of this world any longer be wiser than the children of light; you possess the opportunity, the power is promised you. Infidelity seeks to dissever those cords of love and moral obligation that bind man to his Maker, and they well know how disposed human nature is to adopt those principles that impose the least amount of moral obligation, and give the greatest scope to the exercise of our carnal propensities. I am inclined to place all objectors to the Sabbath as a divinely appointed institution amongst one or other of the various classes of infidels that now abound in our own and other lands. Could Voltaire and Paine, and the whole host of infidel intellectual giants who have ever lived, be permitted to return to a fresh state of probation, I doubt not they would to a man be the humble followers of Jesus Christ, and strict observers of God's holy day; but this cannot be there is the great, the impassable gulf.

The consideration of the Sabbath divides itself into three periods, viz., the Patriarchal, Mosaic, and Christian: under the two first dispensations the Sabbath was observed upon the same, that is the seventh, day of the week. Some have been and still are inclined to question the existence of a Sabbath under the patriarchal dispensation, from the silence, they say, of Scripture upon the subject, but more, I think, from other motives. No believer of the Bible can for a moment doubt the institution of the Sabbath at the end of the six days of creation, as recorded Gen. i. Whatever was God's reason for not permitting the writer of the Book of Genesis to mention its observance during the period between its institution and the giving of the law from Mount Sinai, the fact must not on this account be denied; it is far more probable the day was observed than that it was not. How does it happen that the nations of the earth, in the days of Moses, kept a Sabbath-day; where did they learn this practice? Shall we suppose that the sons of men observed, and that the sons of God did not observe the day during this period; were not the sacrifices of the Israelites, and the keeping the Sabbath-day, to be done and observed as unto the Lord, in contradistinction from the offerings to the heathen or pagan deities, which presupposes their existence at the time? Does not the very wording of the commandment carry a reference to a previously established custom? Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy, is the command, and not a Sabbath, as if originating then. There was the law of gathering and preparing the manna in reference to the Sabbath before the giving the written law: this is positive evidence of its existence before the law. The observance of a weekly Sabbath from the days of Moses to the time of our Saviour, as a divinely appointed institution, is a fact too notorious to be denied. Do we not possess in the Jews in our own day a standing memorial of the truth? The Jew is an unquestioned witness to the Christian Sabbath. Our Saviour arose from the grave upon the first day of the week, upon the completion of the Jewish Sabbath, or seventh day. The celebration of the first day of the week, as the Christian Sabbath, from the resurrection of our Saviour till now, under the titles Lord's-day, Sunday,

Day of Bread, &c., is evidenced by the concurrent testimony of writers of all ages since that period, as well by profane as sacred historians.

This leads us now to consider the change of day, and the reasons of the change from the last to the first day of the week. The three dispensations, viz.; the Patriarchal, Mosaic, and Christian, are to be regarded as several successive manifestations or developments of God's character and will in connection with the great work of human redemption, each being only preparatory to the other, and all preparing the world for a further and fuller manifestation of his Divine character in the establishment of his kingdom of grace in the earth, and for his second advent. The Scriptures themselves inform us that the ceremonial dispensation of Moses was of a limited, and not perpetual existence; a shadow of good things to come, ordained till the time of reformation, when in the fulness of time the Messiah, the Prince of Peace, promised to our first parents, typified in almost everything connected with the Jewish rites and worship, should appear, and offer himself an atonement for sin; to establish his kingdom in the earth according to the visions of Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar, and give to the world a full and complete revelation of God's will to man, as we possess it in the New Testament. In Christ's appearance, life, and death were fulfilled, the prophecy of Jacob, Gen. xlix., "That the sceptre should not depart from Judah, nor the lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come." Also was accomplished the celebrated seventy weeks of Daniel, ch. ix. ver. 24; these seventy prophetic weeks, or 490 literal years, received an exact fulfilment in the history of our Saviour, for we find that Artaxerxes Longimanus issued a commandment 457 years before the Christian era; other commandments, I am aware, were given, but this is the only one that comprehends or exactly corresponds to the, events connected with the beginning and ending of this prophecy; for adding thirty three, the year in which our Saviour died, to the above 457, gives exactly 490. I mention these because the change of dispensation, and the change of the Sabbath, stand connected with the work and mission of our Saviour.

THE CLASS OF A THOUSAND-AND-ONE; A SUNDAYSCHOOL MEMORIAL.

No. II. THE FEARFUL END.

In my former paper I gave a brief history of my numerous little class. As, however, I do not intend to confine myself to the children merely, the present article will be devoted to the sketch of a poor afflicted couplethe parents of one of my boys.

At a corner house in a miserable court, where I frequently visited, lived a middle-aged man and his wife-the couple above alluded to-the youngest child of whom, a boy about ten years old, was in my class. The poor are far more considerate for each other than is generally supposed, and my attention was first directed to the family by a woman in the same house on whom I happened to call. I immediately went, and found them living in

one room, with a dark closet behind which served as a bed-room. They had children grown up, but none able to afford them any help. The mother was an active middle-aged woman, and earned a trifle by mangling; but the father, a journeyman butcher, had a short time previously been seized with a rheumatic affection, which, completely depriving him of the use of his hands, had rendered him powerless, and at once deprived him of any means of procuring a living. The rent consequently was soon in arrear, and had it not been for the forbearance of the landlady, who was by no means a rich woman, the family must have gone to the Union. Such was their situation when I first visited them, and I was thankful that I had at my disposal, as it was at that time the midst of a severe winter, a coal-ticket and a trifle to offer them.

I again visited my poor friends, and left them some tracts and books which I had selected as adapted to their condition. The father was a tall athletic man, little advanced beyond the prime of life, and it was pitiable to see him rendered suddenly helpless as a child. He always appeared glad to see me, but did not seem to manifest much feeling when I exhorted him to patience and faith in God. He evinced no disposition to argue or refute, but his acquiescence seemed rather that of indifference than of feeling and conviction. Though I persevered in my visits, therefore, I met with little encouragement, for, with the continuance of his malady and consequent helplessness, he evidently became more moody than ever.

At length I discovered the nature of the incubus that weighed down his spirit. He had imbibed ultra Calvinistic sentiments, and I found he sometimes attended the ministry of a popular promulgator of such opinions. His mind was ever busy about election and predestination, and fear and despair were evidently taking possession of him. There was no hope for him; he was a wretch, God hated him, God was punishing him; he must go to hell, he had committed the unpardonable sin; there was hope for every one in the world but him, he was one of the reprobate; he could not read, pray, or repent-there was no hope.

I was much grieved to see the mind of my poor friend thus gradually settling down into despondency, and knowing the close connection that exists between dejection of mind and inactivity of body, I strove to persuade him to walk out when the weather was fine. Seldom, however, was my advice taken, and I generally found him unwashed and unshaved, and rarely occupied except in turning the mangle for his wife, which he was compelled to accomplish by means of his wrists.

The poor man became worse. He scarcely cared to move, told me devils were dogging his steps, and his countenance at times betrayed fearful excitement. Pointing to his boy, he would whisper to me with the most earnest seriousness, That is Jesus Christ." Nothing that I could urge or suggest seemed to have any effect in dissipating his moody insanity, and the conversation of a minister whom I requested to call on him was equally fruitless.

My visits at this time, owing to other absorbing duties, became less frequent, and soon altogether ceased; when about eighteen months afterwards, passing through the court, I tapped at the door to inquire after my poor friend. A stranger opened the door, and a glance round the room was sufficient to convince me that another family inhabited it. I learned,

THE DOMESTIC BIBLE.

BY THE REV. INGRAM COBBIN, M.A.

IN MONTHLY PARTS, PRICE SIXPENCE, AND OCCASIONAL SECTIONS.

To be Completed (to Subscribers) for Twenty Shillings.

This beautiful Family Bible is now progressing rapidly, and will speedily be finished. Subscribers are requested to order their copies as published, as the Price will be raised on its completion.

VOL. 1. Genesis to Song of Solomon, (300 Cuts,) Cloth, 128. SECT. V. completing the Old Testament, 5s. ; and Part. 34, price 6d., to Luke, now ready.

BEAUTIFUL POCKET BIBLES.

THE PORTABLE COMMENTARY,

BY THE REV. INGRAM COBBIN, A.M.

Being the Authorised Version of the Holy Bible, with Fifteen Thousand Critical and Illustrative Notes, selected from the most eminent Biblical Writers, and Fifty Thousand Marginal References; together with the History connecting the Old and New Testaments. Illustrated with nine Coloured Maps.

For ministers, missionaries, and Bible-students generally, the Portable Commentary and Scripture Text-book, bound together, will be found to form a complete Biblical treasure.

THE ANALYTICAL BIBLE.

Being the authorized version of the Holy Bible, with Fifty Thousand Marginal References, and an Historical Analysis appended to each Book; together with the History connecting the Old and New Testaments. Illustrated with nine Coloured Maps.

Illustrated with Twenty-three Biblical and other Wood Engravings, containing a brief History of the English Bible, Opinions of distinguished men respecting the Bible, &c., &c. Price 2d.

EVANGELICAL TEXT-BOOK AND SANCTUARY

REMEMBRANCER, FOR 1849.

Intended to assist in the retention of Texts and Sermons preached throughout the year, and to keep up an interest during the delivery of the Sermon. Cloth, 1s.

one room, with a dark closet behind which served as a bed-room. They had children grown up, but none able to afford them any help. The mother was an active middle-aged woman, and earned a trifle by mangling; but the father, a journeyman butcher, had a short time previously been seized with a rheumatic affection, which, completely depriving him of the use of his hands, had rendered him powerless, and at once deprived him of any means of procuring a living. The rent consequently was soon in arrear, and had it not been for the forbearance of the landlady, who was by no means a rich woman, the family must have gone to the Union. Such was their situation when I first visited them, and I was thankful that I had at my disposal, as it was at that time the midst of a severe winter, a coal-ticket and a trifle to offer them.

I again visited my poor friends, and left them some tracts and books which I had selected as adapted to their condition. The father was a tall athletic man, little advanced beyond the prime of life, and it was pitiable to see him rendered suddenly helpless as a child. He always appeared glad to see me, but did not seem to manifest much feeling when I exhorted him to patience and faith in God. He evinced no disposition to argue or refute, but his acquiescence seemed rather that of indifference than of feeling and conviction. Though I persevered in my visits, therefore, I met with little encouragement, for, with the continuance of his malady and consequent helplessness, he evidently became more moody than ever.

At length I discovered the nature of the incubus that weighed down his spirit. He had imbibed ultra Calvinistic sentiments, and I found he sometimes attended the ministry of a popular promulgator of such opinions. His mind was ever busy about election and predestination, and fear and despair were evidently taking possession of him. There was no hope for him; he was a wretch, God hated him, God was punishing him; he must go to hell, he had committed the unpardonable sin; there was hope for every one in the world but him, he was one of the reprobate; he could not read, pray, or repent-there was no hope.

I was much grieved to see the mind of my poor friend thus gradually settling down into despondency, and knowing the close connection that exists between dejection of mind and inactivity of body, I strove to persuade him to walk out when the weather was fine. Seldom, however, was my advice taken, and I generally found him unwashed and unshaved, and rarely occupied except in turning the mangle for his wife, which he was compelled to accomplish by means of his wrists.

The poor man became worse. He scarcely cared to move, told me devils were dogging his steps, and his countenance at times betrayed fearful excitement. Pointing to his boy, he would whisper to me with the most earnest seriousness, That is Jesus Christ." Nothing that I could urge or suggest seemed to have any effect in dissipating his moody insanity, and the conversation of a minister whom I requested to call on him was equally fruitless.

My visits at this time, owing to other absorbing duties, became less frequent, and soon altogether ceased; when about eighteen months afterwards, passing through the court, I tapped at the door to inquire after my poor friend. A stranger opened the door, and a glance round the room was sufficient to convince me that another family inhabited it. I learned,