herrings. The herring gulls (Larus argentatus) | were reconnoitring on the wing, or diving in the deep. The gannets, or solan geese (Sula Bassana), in their exploring excursions from Ailsa Craig, had become aware of the arrival of the wished-for shoals in the bay. They might be seen poised in the air intently on the watch with their wild, keen-piercing eyes, and then dashing perpendicularly downwards, like an arrow from a bow, disappearing for a little among the waves, but soon emerging with their silver-scaled prey in their formidable bills.* The fishermen were making diligent preparation for having a share of the rich spoil. Of late years they have made great improvement on the structure of their vessels. Instead of being of the clumsiest form, both science and taste are now displayed in their formation, so that they are handsome yacht-rigged quick-sailing vessels. Though the vessels are greatly improved, we fear that in some most important respects the fishermen themselves have been retrograding. During the revival, and for some time afterwards, the blessed effects of increased spirituality was felt by sea as well as by land. True religion renews the man, and where the man goes he carries his religion along with him. The Arran fishermen, at that time, might have been an example to all fishermen in the kingdom. When the take of herrings is good, it is a delightful thing, in a fine summer evening, to see the vessels issuing from the various stations to which, in the morning, they had retired, and like eagles hastening to their prey, converging towards the place where the booty is to be sought for. Ere the sun goes down a fleet of a hundred sail may, at times, be seen resting on the bosom of some tranquil bay. Then, however, it was not the eye only, but also the ear and the heart that were delighted. When the vessels had taken their station, when they had shot their nets for the night, and the hum and bustle of business had ceased-the silence that ensued was soon broken by the sweetest sounds. The voice of psalms was heard from every vessel in the fleet. The worship of God had begun. The waters wafted the joyful sound to the land; the hills re-echoed it to the sea; from the sea it ascended to the heavens; and while it added to the joy of happy cherubim, it entered, we doubt not, into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. We wish we could truly state that this pious and praiseworthy practice prevails still. We fear it does not. If it be the duty of Christian men to worship God in their families; and if, at the time of morning or evening sacrifice, in their lawful pursuits, they are separated from their households, if they cannot pray with them, surely they ought to pray for them. And if a sudden squall during the night should plunge them in the deep, the prospect of death would not be more awful because they had lately, in social worship, committed them

The poor solan geese, from their well-known love of herrings, are at times deceived to their ruin. A herring is nailed to a fir-board, and floated in the sea. Seeing the tempting bait, the gannet descends with great velocity; but instead of carrying off his prey, his stout bill pierces so deeply into the board that he cannot disentangle himself, and thus becomes the property of the artful gannet-catcher.

selves to Him who neither slumbers nor sleeps, pleading the fulfilment of the promise, that wherever two or three are met together in the name of Jesus, there he will be with them to bless them, and to do them good. And if Jesus, though unseen, be with them to preserve them, surely, when the morning watch arrives, they are not less likely to find that they have cast their net on the right side of the ship, and that it comes up laden with a great multitude of fishes.

At the hour appointed we were aboard the steamer, and soon the paddles began to revolve. We were "homeward bound," and to rightly-constituted minds the sound is pleasant. Unhappy the man who is not happiest at home! and unhappy the minister whose greatest enjoyment is not found in the discharge of his pastoral duties among his own people! And yet the happiness of domestic life and the usefulness of a pastor are not lessened by the occasional inbreak of a short excursion on the unvaried routine of life. When we were fairly out of Brodick Bay, the loveliness of the evening and the scenery recalled the remembrance of another little excursion on a memorable day. When the meeting of the British Associa tion took place in Glasgow, I had the pleasure of being a member, and of receiving a ticket as one of the party to explore part of Arran, and to partake of“ | the magnificent repast given by the Marquis of Douglas to the members, in a pavilion erected for the purpose at Brodick Castle. In coasting the island in the forenoon, Sir Roderick Murchison lectured, as we proceeded, on the geology of Arran. At the repast we had the pleasure of seeing and hearing some of the most distinguished savans of Europe. Whilst we were returning by the steamer in the evening, Professor Johnston lectured on chemistry, in connection with geology. When we were a few miles from Brodick, Sir Roderick Murchison said: "I am very unwilling to interrupt Professor Johnston | in his most interesting lecture, but I am tempted to request that you will all look back for a moment on the scenery we are leaving behind." The evening sun was gilding the peaked mountains. Goatfell rose in the centre as monarch of the scene, flanked on the one side by the towering pinnacles around Glen Sannox, and on the other by Ben Noosh, and the Holy Isle, and conical Ailsa. The sea itself, under the beams of the setting sun, was like melted gold, while here and there a vessel might be seen with every sail set, as if courting a breeze, and yet lingering as if unwilling to quit the splendid scene. "Gentlemen," said Sir Roderick, "did you ever see anything so rich and lovely? M. Agassiz, have you anything more magnificent even in your Alpine Switzerland ?" It would have been too much to expect that Agassiz would allow Scotland to carry off the palm from his beloved fatherland, but he came very near it. He said, "It is beautiful!-most beautiful! And you have one thing that in Switzerland we have not-you have the sea!"

IMPRECATIONS OF SCRIPTURE.

IT must be confessed that, at first sight, they appear cruel and vindictive, irreconcilable with the gentle spirit of piety and religion; and some, unhesitatingly

acknowledging them to be indefensible on Christian principles, rest the defence solely on their accordance with the character of the Jewish dispensation; which, say they, did not inculcate that cordial forgiveness of injuries, and even love of our enemies, which form an essential and peculiar doctrine of the Gospel. In this representation the inquirer will not be disposed to acquiesce, when he reflects that the Hebrew Scriptures do forcibly enjoin the duties of forgiving injuries, Exod. xii. 49; xxiii. 4, 5; Lev. xix. 17, 18; Deut. xxxii. 35; Prov. xi. 17; xix. 11; xx. 22; xxiv. 29; Zech. vii. 10; of doing good to enemies, Exod. xxiii. 4, 5; Prov. xxv. 21; Jer. xxix. 7; and of cultivating mutual kindness and good-will, Exod. xxii. 21-24; Lev. xix. 17, 18, 34; xxv. 35; Deut. x. 19; Prov. xv. 17; xvii. 17; xviii. 24; xxvii. 10. David, the sweet Psalmist of Israel, extols and recommends benevolence and mercy, forgiveness and kindness, to enemies, Ps. xv. 5; xxvii. 2, et seq.; xxiv. 14; xxxvii. 1, 8, 21, 26; xxxviii. 12-14; xxxix. 1; xl. 1, 3; xciv. 1; ci. 5; cix. 4, 5; cxii. 5, 9; cxx. 6, 7; cxxxiii. 1-3; and his own conduct afforded a noble exemplification of these virtues, as will be apparent by consulting the following passages: Ps. xxv. 12-15; 1 Sam. xxiv. 1, et seq.; xxvi. 1, et seq.; 2 Sam. i. 4, et seq.; iv. 8-12; xvi. 7-11; xix. 21-23. It cannot, then, be credited that one so distinguished for tenderness and benevolence of heart, as well as for pre-eminent piety, could utter anything in direct opposition to those feelings of mercy and forgiveness, which he both highly recommended, and exhibited in his own practice. Independently of this, we may rest assured that no unmerciful and revengeful sentiment was ever suggested by the Holy Spirit, or ever found entrance into a work of inspiration.

From these observations, we may with certainty infer that the passages in question, however they may appear, were undoubtedly not intended to convey any bitter and unrelenting malediction. Nor will they be deemed to do so, provided due allowance be made for the bold phraseology of Oriental poetry, which must generally be received with considerable abatement; and provided also they be understood with the reservation, which ought to accompany all our wishes and addresses to the Deity, namely, that he would grant them only so far as may be consistent with his will and providence. If the imprecative parts of the Book of Psalms be taken with these limitations, as in reason they ought, they will be found in substance merely to express a wish that the wicked men spoken of might receive the just recompense of their deeds, and that the punishment they deserved might speedily overtake them, if such were the will of God. The impious and transgressors are those alone upon whom the Psalmist imprecates the Divine vengeance; and there is nothing of vindictive feeling in praying for that which he believed the Divine justice as well as the Divine promise were engaged to inflict; while, at the same time, his entire confidence in the absolute perfections of the Supreme Being affords ample evidence that he calls for this vengeance only so far as might be accordant with the Divine attributes of wisdom, goodness, and equity. A strong confirmation of this reasoning is supplied by Ps. xxviii. 4, 5, where he prays the Almighty to "give them according to their deeds, according to the wickedness of their endeavours; to give them after the work of their hands; to render them their desert;" and he immediately subjoins, as a reason for the petition, and a vindication of it, "Because they regard not the works of the Lord, nor the operation of his hands, he shall (will) destroy them, and not build them up." Such imprecative addresses are in reality the expression of an earnest desire that the will of God may be done in earth as it is in heaven, and that, if it seemed good

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nnto him, he would assert his own honour as well by the punishment of the iniquitous as by the preservation of the righteous.

The persons to whom the imprecations refer were inveterate adversaries, plotting against the life of the Psalmist, and maliciously intent upon effecting his ruin. To pray to be rescued from their wicked devices was clearly lawful; and, considering their numbers and persevering malignity, his escape might seem utterly impracticable without their entire overthrow or extirpation: a prayer for their destruction, therefore, was equivalent to a prayer for his preservation and deliverance. Besides, they were for the most part not only personal enemies, but hostile to the people of Israel, rebels to their heavenly King, and violators of his commands. To desire the punishment of such characters arose, it may fairly be presumed, not from personal vindictive feelings, but from a regard to religion and hatred of iniquity; and was in fact tantamount to desiring the Almighty to vindicate his glory by inflicting the chastisements which they deserved, and which he has denounced against the proud contemners of his laws.

By many writers the passages objected to are explained as predictions; and this is not at variance with the Hebrew idiom, which admits, under some circumstances, the use of the imperative for the future; as Ps. xxxvii. 27; Gen. xx. 7; xlii. 18; xlv. 8; Prov. iii. 4; iv. 4; and the employment of the imperative mood, when declaring future events, is not unusual with the sacred writers, as in Isa. v. 10; viii. 9, 10; ix. 3; xvii. 1; xxix. 9; Jer. i. 10; Ezek. xliii. 3. In some instances, a prayer or wish for the punishment of sinners may be nearly equivalent to a prediction, inasmuch as it is founded on the belief, and meant to imply, that, according to God's moral government of the world, punishment most certainly awaits them. Some of the imprecations in the Psalms may, then, be understood as declarative of the just judgments of God, which would inevitably fall upon the impious; but in others, and perhaps most of them, both the natural construction of the sentences, and the full force and propriety of the expressions, require them to be taken in an imprecative sense. To explain them in any other sense is doing violence to the laws of grammatical interpretation; yet even in this light, considered as imprecations, they amount to no more than a wish that the impious may be dealt with according to the eternal and unalterable laws of Divine justice that they may openly and before the world receive the penalties of crime, provided it be the will of God; which surely is neither an unnatural nor unreasonable wish in those who anxiously seek the punishment of vice, and the maintenance of true religion aud virtue. In the Psalmist, moreover, it is a wish not proceeding from a desire to gratify a personal vindictive feeling, but partly from a desire of self-preservation, and partly from anxiety to see the worship and glory of God triumphant over all enemies. Imprecations, therefore, made with the limitations, and originating in the motives just mentioned, so far from being liable to the charge of maliciousness and revenge, are in accordance with the purest spirit of religion, and with the exercise of the most extensive charity.Holden's Expositor.

Of all those tremendous imprecations which appear in our common English version of Deut. xxvii. 15-26, there is not one authorized by the original. The Hebrew texts express no kind of wish, but are only so many denunciations of the displeasure of God against those who either were or should be guilty of the sins therein mentioned, and of the judgments which they must expect to be inflicted upon them, unless prevented by a timely and sincere repentance.

a tone and manner which he evidently thought would silence me. I at once remarked, that certainly it must be of far greater importance to himself than it could possibly be to me; but that if I, a perfect stranger, felt any interest in the question, how much more ought he to feel, since it mainly concerned himself! "Upon my word," said the man, "there is something like good sense in that." He then listened attentively to all I had to say. In the course of my address, I saw him try to conceal an unbidden tear; and when he left the coach, which he did at the next market town, he said, "Good morning to you, sir, and many thanks for your faithfulness!" Now to the point. I wish to have a little friendly talk with you; and, as I cannot call, I send. One favour alone I have to ask-Read this paper attentively. By refusing to look at it, or hastily throwing it aside, you cannot injure ME; but you may deeply

wrong YOURSELF.

Your shop stands open on a day when most other shops are closed-a day which Christian people call the Sabbath-a day which they think is God's own day, and which he has kindly given to man, that he may rest from his labour, and find time to attend to things which relate to happiness and heaven.

Perhaps you plead necessity, and say, that unless you labour seven days a-week, you cannot obtain a living. Then, you wish it to be understood that your business is so poor, or that you manage it so badly, that while other people do their work in six days, you require seven. Surely, then, it must be time to try your hand at something else. But as moneygetting is the thing which makes you a Sabbath breaker, let me ask you for once, to reckon up your Sabbath gains, not in the form of pounds, shillings, and pence, but after the method of calculation set forth by our Lord Jesus Christ-Matt. xvi. 26. You of course have a Bible; if you have not, borrow one of a neighbour, and turn to the place and see.

But, perhaps, you answer, "I never trouble myself about religion." I thought as much, although I did not say so.

But little is this to your credit, since the best and wisest men that the world has ever seen HAVE troubled themselves about religion, until they found it such a true, and holy, and blessed thing, that it took away their trouble of every kind, and filled their hearts with peace and joy. You WOULD trouble yourself about religion, if you believed it true; and not to believe it true, is only to confess that you know nothing about it.

Pray remember one thing-your not believing religion to be true, cannot make it false. For reasons which to them were as plain as the sun in the heavens, multitudes have not only believed it true, but they have been so sure of its truth that they have gladly laid down their lives for it. If you would only search for yourself, read the Bible, ask God to help you to understand it, and beseech him to give you a new heart and right spirit, you would soon find that not only is religion true, but that it is the most blessed thing in the universe. Should you ever come to that conclusion, nothing in the world would induce you to trifle with the Sabbath, or to pursue your business on that holy day. You would then see, that if six days in the week are given for the sake of your body, which must soon go down to the grave, one day in the week is not too much to spend about your soul, which must live for ever. Come, make up your mind at once! Perhaps this is the last Sabbath you will ever have. Then close your shutters, lock your door, and hasten away to public worship.

Think not, however, that this will make you a Christian. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; therefore you must be born again, or perish. Ask God to teach you that which you need to know,

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and to make you that which you ought to be. Beseech him to give you true repentance and his Holy Spirit.

Do you say you never will! One word, then, and I have done, Be sure your sin will find you out. You will remember this friendly warning when you have lost your soul.

WELCOME DEATH.

O DEATH, how sweet is that rest wherewith thou refreshest the weary pilgrims of this vale of mortality! How pleasant is thy face to those eyes that have acquainted themselves with the sight of it, which to strangers is grim and ghastly! How worthy art thou to be welcome unto those that know whence thou art, and whither thou tendest! Who that knows thee can fear thee! Who that is not all nature, would rather hide himself among the baggage of this vile life, than follow thee to a crown! What impartial judge, that should see life painted over with vain semblances of pleasures, attended with troops of sorrows on the one side, and on the other with uncertainty of continuance, and certainty of dissolution; and then should turn his eyes unto Death, and see her black, but comely, attended on the one hand with a momentary pain, and with eternity of glory on the other, would not say out of choice, that which the prophet said out of passion, " It is better for me to die than to live!"

But, O my soul, what ails thee to be thus suddenly backward and fearful? No heart hath more freely discoursed of death in speculation-no tongue hath more extolled it in absence; and now that it is come to thy bed-side, and hath drawn thy curtains, and takes thee by the hand, and offers thee service, thou shrinkest inward, and, by the paleness of thy face and wildness of thine eye, bewrayest an amazement at the presence of such a guest. That face which was so familiar to thy thoughts is now unwelcome to thine eyes. I am ashamed of this weak irresolution. Whither have all thy serious meditations tended? what hath Christianity done to thee, if thy fears be still Heathenish? Is this thine imitation of so many. worthy saints of God, whom thou hast seen entertain the most violent deaths with smiles and songs? is this the fruit of thy long and frequent instruction? Didst thou think Death would have been content with words? didst thou hope it would suffice thee to talk, while all others suffer? Where is thy faith? yea, where art thou thyself, O my soul? Is heaven worthy of no more thanks, no more joy? Shall heretics, shall Pagans, give Death a better welcome than thou? Hath thy Maker, thy Redeemer, sent for thee, and art thou loath to go? hath he sent for thee, to put thee in possession of that glorious inheritance, which thy wardship hath cheerfully expected, and art thou loath to go? Hath God, with this serjeant of his, sent his angels to fetch thee, and art thou loath to go? Rouse up thyself-for shame, O my soul; and if ever thou hast truly believed, shake off this unchristian diffidence, and address thyself joyfully for thy glory.

Yea, O my Lord, it is thou that must raise up this faint and drooping heart of mine; thou only canst rid me of this weak and cowardly distrust; thou that sendest for my soul, canst prepare it for thyself; thou only canst make thy messenger welcome to me. O that I could but see thy face through death! O that I could see death, not as it was, but as thou hast made it! O that I could heartily pledge thee, O my Saviour, in this cup, that so I might drink new wine with thee in thy Father's kingdom!

But, alas! O my God, nature is strong and weak in me at once; I cannot wish to welcome death as it is

worthy: when I look for most courage, I find strongest temptations; I see and confess, that when I am myself, thou hast no such coward as I; let me alone, and I shall shame that name of thine, which I have professed; every secure worldling shall laugh at my feebleness. O God, were thy martyrs thus haled to their stakes? might they not have been loosed from their racks, and yet choose to die in those torments? Let it be no shame for thy servant to take up that complaint which thou madest of thy better attendants: "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." O thou God of spirits, who hast coupled these two together, unite them in a desire of their dissolution; weaken this flesh to receive, and encourage this spirit either to desire or to contemn death; and now, as I grow nearer to my home, let me increase in the sense of my joys. I am thine, save me, O Lord, it was thou who didst put such courage into thine ancient and late witnesses, that they either invited or challenged Death, and held their persecutors their best friends for letting them loose from these sorrows of flesh. I know thine hand is not shortened; neither any of them hath received more proofs of thy former mercies. O let thy goodness enable me to reach them, in the comfortable steadiness of my passage. Do but draw this veil a little, that I may see my glory, and I cannot but be inflamed with the desire of it. It was not I that either made this body for the earth, or this soul for my body, or this heaven for my soul, or this glory of heaven, or this entrance into glory-all is thine own work. O perfect what thou hast begun, that thy praise and my happiness may be consummate at once! Yea, O my soul, what needest thou wish the God of mercies to be tender of his own honour? Art thou not a member of that body whereof thy Saviour is the Head? Canst thou drown when thy Head is above? Was it not for thee that he triumphed over Death? Is there any fear in a foiled adversary? O my Redeemer, I have already overcome in thee; how can I miscarry in myself? Omy soul, thou hast marched valiantly! Behold the damsels of that heavenly Jerusalem come forth with timbrels and harps to meet thee, and to applaud thy success; and now there remains nothing for thee but a crown of righteousness, which that righteous Judge shall give thee at that day. "O Death, where is thy sting? O Grave, where thy victory ?"

Return now unto thy rest, O my soul; for the Lord hath been beneficial unto thee. O Lord God, the strength of my salvation, thou hast covered my head in the day of battle. O my God and King, I will extol thee, and will bless thy name for ever and ever. I will bless thee daily, and praise thy name for ever and ever. Great is the Lord, and most worthy to be praised, and his greatness is incomprehensible. I will meditate of the beauty of thy glorious majesty, and thy wonderful works. Hosanna, thou that dwellest in the highest heavens. Amen.-Hall.

THE DEATH OF LITTLE THOMAS. WHEN I arrived at the house, the physician had just pronounced his disease to be beyond the reach of inedicine. I went immediately to his chamber. He welcomed me with a sweet smile, and thanked me for coming to see him. That night I watched with him, and once or twice the dear child urged me to lie down and try to sleep. He appeared to suffer a great deal of pain, but he did not once murmur. Towards morning he grew very restless, and as I bent over him, and expressed a wish to relieve him, he said: "Will you pray for me that I may be patient ?" I offered up a short prayer, and when I had closed, he

said: "What a comfort it is to pray! It seems to When his mother bring the Saviour close to me." came into the room soon after, he bade her good morning with a cheerful smile. Seeing tears in her eyes, he said: "Do not weep, dear mother; I am going to heaven, where I shall see my father again; and I am going to my dear Saviour too. I wish you could go with me; but itwill only be a little while, and you will come too." After this he failed very fast, and when the physician came in, he said he could not live many hours. Thomas overheard him, and said: "I shall soon be with Jesus, then." These were the last words he spoke. He motioned afterwards to kiss his mother, and when she asked him to raise his hand a little if he felt the Saviour was with him, he lifted it up, and smiled so sweetly; and he seemed to die with that very smile upon his lips. When he drew his last! breath, I did not so much mourn his loss as thank God for his safe and pleasant passage to glory.

"THE CONFUSIONS" OF APOSTOLICAL SUCCESSION.

THE late Dr Arnold said, in a letter to Dr Hawkins, a High Churchman: "If you will refer me to any book which contains what you think the truth, put sensibly on the subject of the apostolical succession, I shall really be greatly obliged to you to mention it. I went over the matter again in the holidays with Warburton and Hooker, and the result was a complete confirmation of the views which I have entertained for years, and a more complete appreciation' of the confusions on which the High Church doctrine rests, and of the causes which have led to its growth at different times."

THE HOUR OF TRIAL

EVERY man shows fair in prosperity; but the main trial of the Christian is in suffering. Any man may steer in a good gale and clear sea; but the mariner's skill will be seen in a tempest. Herein the Christian goes beyond the Pagan's, not practice only, but admiration." We rejoice in tribulation," saith the chosen vessels. Lo! here a point transcending all the affectation of Heathenism. Perhaps, some resolute spirit, whether out of a natural fortitude, or out of an ambition of fame or earthly glory, may set a face upon a patient enduring of loss or pain; but never any of those heroic Gentiles durst pretend to a joy in suffering. Hither can Christian courage reach; knowing, that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed." Is he bereaved of his goods and worldly estate ?-he comforts himself in the consciousness of a better treasure, that can never be lost. Is he afflicted with sickness?—his comfort is, that the inward man is so much more renewed daily, as the outward perisheth. Is he slandered and unjustly disgraced?-his comfort is, that there is a blessing which will more than make him amends. Is he banished?-he knows he is on his way homeward. Is he imprisoned?-his spirit cannot be locked inGod and his angels cannot be locked out. Is he dying?-to him "to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Is he dead?-he "rests from his labours," and is. crowned with glory. Shortly, he is perfect gold, that comes more pure out of the fire than it went in; neither had he ever been so great a saint in heaven, if he had not passed through the flames of his trial here upon earth.—Bishop Hall.