For God is a spirit, and they who aright
Would perform the pure worship he loveth;
In the heart's holy temple, will seek with delight,
That spirit the Father approveth.

The temple which Solyman built in his name,
Now lives but in history's story,

Extinguish'd long since, is its altar's bright flame,
And vanished, each glimpse of its glory.

But the Christian, made wise by wisdom divine,
Though all human fabrics may falter,

Still finds in his heart a far holier shrine,
Where the fire burns unquenched on the altar.

B. Barton.

PSALMS CXXV. AND CXXVI.

THEY that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.

As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people, from henceforth, even for ever.

For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous; lest the righteous put forth their hands unto iniquity.

When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream.

Then was our mouths filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the hea then, the Lord hath done great things for them.

The Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad,

Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the south.

They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.

He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

ON HAPPINESS.

TRUE happiness is not the growth of earth; The search is useless if you seek it there : "Tis an exotic of celestial birth,

And only blossoms in celestial air.-
Sweet plant of Paradise! its seed is sown,

In here and there a plant of heavenly mould;
It rises slow and buds, but ne'er was meant
To blossom here, the climate is too cold.

PSALM CXXXI.

LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me. Surely I have behaved and quieted myself as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child. Let Israel hope in the Lord from henceforth and for ever.

THERE is a harmony in the sound of that voice, to which divine love gives utterance, and some appearance of right order, in their temper and conduct, whose

passions are regulated; yet, all these, do not fully show forth that inward life, to such as have not felt it; but this white stone, and new name, is known rightly to such only as have it. J. Woolman

I said a few words in a meeting, in which I found peace; this I believe was about six weeks from the first time and as I was thus humbled, and disciplined under the cross, my understanding became more strengthened to distinguish the pure spirit which inwardly moves upon the heart, and taught me to wait in silence, sometimes many weeks together, until I felt that rise, which prepares the creature.

From an inward purifying, and stedfast abiding under it, springs a lively operative desire for the good of others; all the faithful are not called to the public ministry; but whoever are, are called to minister of that which they have tasted, and handled spiritually.

The outward modes of worship are various, but wherever any are true ministers of Jesus Christ, it is from the operation of his spirit upon their hearts, first purifying them, and thus giving them a just sense of the conditions of others.

Two things have I required of thee, deny me them not before I die: remove far from me vanity and lies; give me neither poverty nor riches, feed me with food convenient for me, lest I be full and deny thee, and

say, who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.

COMMUNION WITH HEAVEN.

WHEN one who holds communion with the skies,

His filled his urn where the pure waters rise,
And once more mingles with us meaner things,
Tis even as an angel shook his wings;
Immortal fragrance fills the circuit wide,
And tells us where his treasure is supplied.

CONSCIENCE THE SAFEST GUIDE.

Cowper.

To glory in tribulation is not difficult to him that loveth; for, thus to glory is to glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. That glory is short and painful which is given and received among men; it comes with fear and envy, and vanishes in disappointment and regret. The glory of the just is proclaimed by the voice of conscience, and not by the mouth of men; their joy is from God, and in God; and their rejoicing is founded in truth. He that aspires after true and eternal glory, values not that which is temporal; and he that seeketh after the temporal glory of the earth, or that does not despise it from his heart, proves that he neither loves nor considers the eternal glory of heaven. He only can have great tranquillity whose happiness depends not on the praise or dispraise of men. If thy conscience were pure, thou wouldst be contented in every condition, and undisturbed by the opinions and reports of men concerning thee; for their commenda

tions can add nothing to thy holiness, nor their censure take anything from it: what thou art, thou art; nor can the praise of the whole world make thee greater in the sight of God. The more, therefore, thy attention is fixed upon the true state of thy spirit, the less wilt thou regard what is said of thee in the world.

Men look only on the face, but God looketh on and searcheth the heart; men consider only the outward act, but God, the inward principle from which it springs. Thomas a'Kempis.

CHANGE OF HEART.

BLEST change of heart! and dost thou weep
No more for griefs that need control,
But weep to think that bars still keep
From Zion's King thy struggling soul.

Mourn'st thou no more, when slander's tongue
Its poison sheds to kill thy fame;

Yet deeply mourn'st, to think what wrong
Thy sins have done the Christian's name.

Blest change of heart! dost thou no more
Desire the festal glittering dome,

But prize alone, at evening's hour,
The tender tasks that glad thy home.

Dost thou prefer to art's best strains,

The sounds we hear when evening's nigh,

And joyous birds on vernal plains

Weave the wild web of melody?