their sins. I pity those who are still living without hope, and without God in the world. May you all be led to think on death and judgment, before it is too late. And may I

meet all those who read or hear these lectures, at the right hand of Him who will come to judge the living and dead. This is my earnest prayer, and may God bless you all with his grace for Christ's sake. Amen.

A HYMN.

Time flying: Death and Judgment fast approaching.

Children, awake, nor slumb'ring lie,
Amidst the gloomy haunts of death;
Perhaps the awful hour is nigh,
Commission'd for your parting breath.
That awful hour will soon appear,
Swift on the wings of time it flies;
When all that pains or pleases here,
Will vanish from your closing eyes.
Death calls your friends, your parents hence,
And none resist the fatal dart;

Continual warnings strike your sense;
And shall they fail to reach your heart?
Shall gay amusements rise between,
When scenes of horror spread around!

Death's pointed arrows fly unseen,

But ah! how sure, how deep the wound!

Think, dear young friends, how much depends,

On the short period of a day;

Shall time, which heav'n in mercy lends,

Be negligently thrown away?

Insure your nobler life on high-
Life from a dying Saviour's blood!

Then, though your minutes swiftly fly,
They bear you nearer to your God.

Altered from Mrs Steele.

THE

CHILD'S BIRTH DAY.

A LETTER.

My dear Child,

You are to understand that this is your birth-day, there. fore I will make you a present of this little book; and I hope you will read it with the greatest attention. I will tell you a story about a little girl in the north of Scotland. One day, perhaps it might be on her birth-day, she went into a cornfield: standing by the side of the ears of corn, she looked first at them, and then at herself: they were growing, and she was growing too: she saw that they were much taller than she was at last she burst into tears and said, "That the ears of corn, which had been only six months in the ground, were higher and much nearer to heaven than she was, who had been eight years in the world."

Since your last birth-day, like this little girl, you are grown much larger and taller: but do you think that you are nearer to heaven? Perhaps you are not walking in the way to heaven. Come now, my dear child, sit down and read this little book; it will not take up much of your time; and if you mind what you read, it may do you a great deal of good. I will tell you what is written in the Bible concerning Jesus Christ, when he was a little child, as young as you. it is said, "that he increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favour with God and man,” Jesus "increased in wisdom." Are you any wiser now than you were before? Do you know more of the evil of sin? Do you know

What

more of the wickedness of your heart, or the vanity of your thoughts? Do you know more of the Bible than you did? Can you say your catechism better, or have you learned any more of your hymns? Do you pray oftener now than you did? If you do not know more of these things than you did last birth-day, then I think you are not increased in wisdom ; I mean true wisdom, heavenly wisdom. Remember "that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." If you do not fear the Lord, you cannot be called a wise child. Jesus "increased in stature," that is, he grew taller. You may be grown much taller, but do you grow in grace? Jesus also increased "in favour with God and man." do you think of Jesus Christ? Do you know who he is? You may know that he is the Saviour of sinners; but is he your Saviour? Have your sins been pardoned through his precious blood? Do you love play less and your Bible more? Perhaps your parents love you more than they did; but do you love them more, or obey them more now than you did last birth-day? If your parents and friends could love you a thousand times more than they did, yet it would do you but little good, unless you were beloved by your heavenly Father. What signifies the love of all your friends, if Jesus, the friend and Saviour of good little boys and girls, does not love you?

My dear child, there are many children who, instead of increasing in wisdom, increase in sin. Remember, "the thought of foolishness is sin." This is what Solomon says;

and he was the wisest man that ever lived on earth. He tells

you also, that "fools make a mock of sin." If you commit sin, and then laugh at it when you have done, that is what is called making a mock of it. Oh! my dear child, what a sad thing it will be, if, instead of increasing in favour with God and man, I mean good men, you are only growing more like Satan, and none but wicked men are pleased with you. is not to be like Jesus Christ.

"His soul was gentle as a lamb,
And as his stature grew.

He grew in favour both with man
And God his Father too."-Watts.

This

My dear child, how many mercies have you received from God during the past year! Perhaps you have been very ill since your last birth-day. How good God was to spare your life; how you ought to love that God who has been so kind to you! Your life has been spared, that you might live to

his glory. How many dangers have you been preserved from since your last birth-day? Do you remember what a sad fall you had the other day? how good God was to you then! You might have hurt yourself much more than you did. How awful will it be to fall into the pit of destruction, into everlasting misery! None but Christ can prevent you from falling into that pit: none but Jesus can save you from that misery. How near you were being rode over by a horse, a little while ago! Be thankful to God for your safety, and be more careful for the future. When you were playing by the water side, how near you were being drowned; then God preserved your life. These are only a few of God's mercies to you; there may be many others which you will be able to recollect. How many little school-fellows have you parted from since last birth-day? Some have left the school, some are gone to live in another place, and some are dead. If you had died, where would you now have been? You are not

prepared to die; and if you are not prepared to die, you are not fit to go to heaven. If you die and are not fit to go to heaven, then there is only one place where you can go, that is hell; and there you will be miserable for ever.

Will you be so kind as to tell me how I should spend my birth-day? Yes, that I will, with a great deal of pleasure. There is a short prayer which you will find in the Psalms of David, which I hope you will in future never forget to offer up to God through Christ. It is this, "So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." Try if you can learn it by heart. Have patience: do not grow weary; read a little farther; the end of the book is very near; you will soon have done. In order to improve the time God has given you, I hope you will not let a day pass without prayer: begin every day with serious and humble prayer to God. Remember that time is short, and on account of its being so short, it is very precious. Therefore you ought to spend it well, to watch against every sin; for if you commit only one sin in a day, that will amount to three hundred and sixty-five sins in a year. If you have committed so many sins since your last birth-day, what a great number God has written down in his book! Are you sorry that you have committed so many sins against God? Pray that God would pardon them all for Christ's sake. Pray that the blood of Christ may cleanse your soul from all these sins. God will forgive you if you trust in his mercy, and pray to be forgiven for the sake of what Christ has done and suffered. Pray for a new heart, for unless you have a new heart, you can never go to heaven.

Oh! my dear child, think on those days that are already past and gone; and spend those that remain in a proper manner; embrace every opportunity of getting good or doing good. Receive every day as a gift from God, of which you are by no means deserving. Resolve, by the grace of God, to devote your future days to his glory: make choice of Christ as your Saviour. This is the "one thing needful." Seek to be made a partaker of his salvation. Pray that God would renew your heart, and give you his grace; for this is that "good part which shall never be taken away from you.' Live every day as if it were the last you had to live. The reason why you are to number your days is, that " you may apply your hearts unto wisdom." Read your Bible, because in it are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Pray that God would teach you by his Spirit the meaning of what you read, that you may be made wise unto salvation. Your whole heart must be engaged in this work, therefore it must be renewed by the Spirit of God. You cannot do any thing without the assistance of the Spirit of God. This prayer must be offered up through Christ. It will be suitable every day, but especially on your birth-day. Remem.. ber that you must give an account to God of the manner in which you spend your time. Pray that your past sins may be forgiven. May the Lord bless you, and make you one of his children, that you may grow wiser and better every

year.

TO A LITTLE SISTER ON HER BIRTH DAY.

From the "Hymns for Infunt Minds."

My love, I meet this happy day,
With pleasure and with pain:
I wish to learn your future way,
But know the wish is vain.

A journey which can never end,
You have but just begun ;

And hand in hand, with many a friend,

This little way have run:

But friends, my love, how vain are they!
for one infected breath,

May take the tenderest away,

And lay them low in death.

Then whither should my darling fly?

In whom may she confide?

There is a friend above the sky,
Who waits to be her guide.