which are translated "a white stone," may be considered as describing one of these tokens; and the meaning of the passage then appears to be, that the faithful should have a mark or token given them, by which they should hereafter be acknowledged by Christ as his friends, and received into his favor. The "new name which no man knoweth, save he that receiveth it," refers to that new spirit which is put into the heart of those who are united to the Saviour by a new and living faith, and which the world knoweth not.

The possessors of these tokens kept them with much care, as likely to be of great service in any future time of need. Surely the inestimable gift, which our Lord offered himself up as a sacrifice to obtain for us, even our salvation, is of infinitely greater value, since it is not only a token whereby his followers are known at the present day; but they shall be known by it at the great day of his appearing.

O, my dear readers, whether young or old, seek to have His name written upon your hearts, that you may love him, and ever seek to do his will, and at last hear the joyful sound of "Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world," Matt. xxv. 34.

THE Jews were mostly employed in agriculture or cultivating the ground, and in tending cattle. Their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, lived in this manner, chiefly however attending to their flocks and herds, as many of the tribes among the Arabs do at the present day, only sowing the ground occasionally. The laws given to Moses encouraged agriculture; but we do not find any thing about trade and commerce with foreign nations, for many hundred years after the children of Israel were settled in the promised land. Their riches consisted chiefly in cattle and slaves, or servants, who were employed in tending the flocks and herds, and in cultivating the ground, to raise a sufficient supply of the fruits of the earth, Gen. xxvi. 12. Abraham and Lot had such large herds of cattle, that they were obliged to separate, to find pasture for them, Gen. xiii. 6. In Gen. xiv. 14. we read, that Abraham armed three hundred and eighteen of his servants, or slaves, when he went to rescue Lot from those who had led him away captive. These slaves, or servants, however were treated

very differently from the poor slaves in the West Indies, of whom we hear so much. They were treated kindly, as servants of the family, and even better in many respects than hired servants, as we shall find when we come to speak more particularly of slaves.

Jacob had a vast quantity of cattle, as appears from many passages in the Bible, and it was these large flocks and herds that caused wells and springs of water to be so valuable; see Gen. xxi. 25. xxvi. 15. Judg. i. 15, &c.;

for rivers and brooks are not plentiful in the east. It seldom rains there, except during one part of the year. In the greater part of Egypt rain never falls.

Adam

But we may go back earlier than those times. brought up Cain to cultivate or till the ground, and Abel to feed sheep, Gen. iv. 2. and in the same chapter, ver. 20, we read that Jabal was the father of such as have cattle, and of those who dwelt in tents. In those countries they dwell in tents at the present day, and easily remove when their cattle have eaten up all the pasture in one place.

The manner in which the Arabs travel on these occa. sions, reminds us of the way in which Jacob journeyed

Gen. xxxii. Mr. Parsons, who travelled in those countries a few years ago, thus describes it :-"First went the shepherds and goatherds, with the sheep and goats in regular flocks. Then followed the camels and asses, with the tents and furniture. Next came the old men. and the women, with the boys and girls, on foot. The little children were carried by the women, and the elder children carried the lambs and kids. Last of all came the masters of the families. Between each family there was a space of a hundred yards or more, so that they did not mix or get confused with each other."

Even after the times of the patriarchs the greatest men among the Jews continued to be shepherds or husbandmen. Moses left the court of Pharaoh, and became a shepherd. He was keeping the flock of his father-in-law when God first appeared to him in the bush, Exod. iii. 1. 2. Several of the judges and kings had followed these employments. Shamgar appears to have been a herdsman, Judg. iii. 31. and Gideon was threshing wheat when the angel appeared to him, Judg. vi. 11. Saul continued to attend a herd of cattle, after he was appointed king, 1 Sam. xi. 5. David was a shepherd, as all my readers know, and a good shepherd