with the realities of the religion of the Gospel, let us be also espe cially guarded against allowing the Bible to be applied by us, in its varied lessons, to the teaching of others without first learning its lessons ourselves; that so we may secure our own salvation through a living union with the Saviour, as well as gain from among our Sunday scholars jewels to adorn His crown in the day of His appearing.

W. S.

DEVOTEDNESS TO GOD.

THE Scriptures contain many exhortations to the children of God to unreserved devotedness, so that this subject is one which Christians should take into deep consideration, and which should be made the subject of much earnest prayer. We are too apt to rest satisfied with doing a little for God, devoting ourselves a little to His service, and wishing for more time, better opportunities, or a wider and higher sphere of labour, forgetting that as servants in the household of our heavenly Master, He himself gives to each of us our appointed sphere and work, and that we are therefore bound to labour in that sphere and do that work fully, faithfully, and devotedly.

But in order to do this, we must bear in mind that God is not satisfied with outward services; He commands us to begin by giving our hearts to Him, and then to testify our love for the Father, our interest in the Saviour, our communion with the Spirit by our devotedness to the service of the living God. "Faith if it have not works is dead, being alone," James v. 17, proving that where there is a true and scriptural faith, the gift of the Holy Ghost, it cannot be alone, but must produce good works, as its undeniable evidence; thus, we are to "shew our faith by our works." Several reasons may be adduced as motives for the dedication of ourselves to God's service; St. Paul speaks of a most influential one when he says "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the MERCIES of the living God, that ye present your bodies, a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service;" again, " The love of Christ" constrains believers to live to the praise and glory of Him who died for them and rose again; and St. Paul further tells us, “For ye are bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's ;" and St. Peter urges us to "shew forth the

praises of Him who hath called us out of darkness into His marvellous light." Thus we have strong scriptural commands to live for God and to dedicate ourselves to His service.

The question then arises, How is it that as Christians professing to have a real interest in the Saviour, owning Him to be our Master, calling His service a delight, enrolling ourselves under His banner as soldiers of the Cross, and declaring ourselves willing and ready to fight the good fight of faith, we so often stop short of this entire devotedness to God, and are satisfied with weak and fitful endeavours, or with trivial and half-hearted services? May not one reason be, that we do not sufficiently honour the Holy Spirit,by a constant dependence on His precious influence? Would we be active loving Christians we must go to Him who is indeed "the Lord and giver of life," for constant supplies of grace; without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit all is night and death in the soul of man; where He dwells there is life and light; He is the Author of all holiness; He it is who sanctifies us wholly, causing us to grow in grace, and enabling us to walk closely with the Father and His son Jesus Christ;— and we ever find that the nearer we live to God, the more we increase in the knowledge of, and in love to Him, the greater is our delight in His service, and the more constant and unwearied our daily efforts for usefulness to our fellow creatures.

Another reason why we fail in unreserved devotion to God may be, that we do not practically carry out the Lord's command given through his Apostle Paul, "Mortify the deeds of the body," and therefore do not receive the annexed promise "and ye shall live ;" it is evident that there is to be a constant exercise of self-denial, and a warfare ever carried on against the world, the flesh, and the devil; and this God's grace can and will enable us to do. His strength will surely be made perfect in our weakness, for "stronger is He that is with us than He that is against us." The 3rd chapter of the Epistle to the Colossians gives us a lovely picture of what the character of the faithful soldier and servant of Jesus Christ should be, and it ought to be our endeavour to delineate in our lives every feature therein presented to us. The chapter is one which may be of great assistance to many who are seeking to run the Christian race, to walk in the narrow way, and to carry on the Christian warfare; but to none can it be more useful than to those amongst us whom God has been pleased to call to be workers in Sabbath schools, where it is of such vital importance that the teachers should devote themselves unreservedly to God's service; living holy, consistent, active lives, that God may be glorified, and precious souls may be won, that many little children may be brought unto Jesus, who careth for the little ones as stray lambs gathered into the fold of the Good Shepherd.

While some may be won by precept, many more will be attracted by the example of a holy life to listen to the Word of God and to receive its precious truths. Would we set forth "Christ and Him crucified" to those who gather round us on the Sabbath-day in our Sunday schools, we must ourselves seek through the week to be close and decided imitators of Christ; He is the model set forth in Scripture for us to study, He Himself invites all, saying, “Come and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart." The Apostle Paul exhorts us to "let this mind be in us which was in Christ Jesus," and St. Peter tells us to imitate His patience, “for even hereunto were ye called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye should follow his steps." The more we seek conformity to Christ's image and holy walk, the more we are weaned from sin and separated to the service of our Heavenly Father. The disciple must be like the gracious Master, separated from the pollution of the world, full of zeal and patience and love, following Him daily in the midst of active duties as well as in the enjoyment of religious privileges; and we ought to bring duty, amusement, pleasure, in short, everything to this test, has it the approbation of God, and how would the Saviour have acted in like circumstances? In order to be prepared, at all times and in all places, for continued unreserved devotion to God's service, we should make a diligent use of all the means of grace which He vouchsafes to us, the Bible should be our daily companion, and we should be much in prayer, having close and constant communion with God, that daily growing in grace we may honour Him by bringing forth the fruits of the Spirit, and evidencing in our lives our devotedness to His service; thus His blessing will surely rest upon us, and He will enable us to glorify Him in body and in soul.

Mag

THE CRACKED BELL.

WHAT a harsh sound doth this bell make in every ear! The metal is good enough; it is the rift that makes it so unpleasingly jarring.

How too like is this bell to a scandalous and ill-lived teacher! His calling is honourable, his noise is heard far enough, but the flaw which is noted in his life mars his doctrine, and offends those ears which else would take pleasure in his teaching. It is possible that such a one, even by that discordious noise, may ring in others into the triumphant Church in heaven; but there is no remedy for himself but the fire, whether for his reforming or judgment.

Bishop Hall.

The Teacher in his Study.

SACRED SITES DESCRIBED BY MODERN TRAVELLERS.

I.-MOUNT SINAI.

We put off our shoes from off our feet before approaching the most revered spot on Mount Sinai, or rather Horeb (as they call this part of the mountain), where our Lord is said to have appeared to Moses in the burning bush.

The ascent of Mount Sinai is as fatiguing almost as that of St. Catherine. Starting from the convent, the walk commences by the ascent of what is now called Mount Horeb, the general name in Scripture for the district in which Sinai stood, but here considered as the breast from which the peak of Sinai rises. Rude steps have been made by the monks, very wearisome to climb: the only relief is where they have been broken, or where a sheet of granite occurs. Two arched gateways, with a steep ascent between them, lead to a small plain surrounded by rocks; the scene, according to Mahomedan tradition, of Moses' interview with the Almighty. A noble cypress tree towers in the centre, with a well of excellent water at its foot.

On the summit stands a chapel and a mosque. I climbed to the top of the former, the more elevated of the two, and from thence enjoyed a superb prospect-similar to that from Mount Catherine. The echo of a pistol there is most extraordinary-mountain after mountain takes up the tale, answering each other across the deep valleys.

There is nothing in the Bible to lead us to suppose Mount Sinai a very lofty mountain; yet that it was some distance from the camp, though visible from it, we may gather from the account of Moses' return with the two tables :-" Moses turned and went down from the mount, and as soon as he drew nigh unto the camp he saw the calf and the dancing."

Yet, after all, what avails the inquiry concerning the exact spot if we think merely of the stage and not of the actions performed on it? This is the wilderness of Sinai-there can be no doubt of that, and whichever the individual mount may have been, every hill around heard the thunder, and quaked at the sound of the trumpet waxing louder and louder, as God descended in the cloud, and trembled at the "still small voice" that deeper than the thunder, and high above the trumpet, spoke to every man's ear and heart that fiery lawholy, just, and good, existing from all eternity, which requires of man that spotless obedience, which he cannot yield, and at the first

transgression, even in thought, of its purity, lays him under the curse of eternal death,-"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and thy neighbour as thyself."

One only of Adam's seed, the man Christ Jesus, had fulfilled that law we must travel to Jerusalem, we must look to the cross on Calvary, to obtain pardon for having broken it.

Lord Lindsay, 1838.

It was on this day that we came to the real desert, where man never dwelt, nor the son of man abode; a land that you can neither plough nor sow; no city, village, or hamlet; not a house, not a cottage visible as you proceed; no fields, no vineyards, no trees of any description; but a land scorched, burnt up by the heat of the sun, utterly sterile and unfruitful, abundant only in torrents, hills, and mountains which bear the stamp of horror and the image of death. We often saw vast clouds rising over the desert like smoke, but we soon found them to consist merely of dust and the finest sand, caught up by the wind. These sands are always shifting: where to-day the path is clear, to-morrow you will find a little mountain in its place.

Breydenbach, 1483.

Scarcely had we entered upon the plain, when in front of us stood the venerable object of our desire-Horeb-Sinai, the mountain of the Lord. I cannot well define, so as to make intelligible to others, the state of my mind at this time. I was not excited; there was no rush of enthusiasm in my heart; no religious fervour. I felt it difficult to realise the fact that my eyes were fixed upon the hoar mount with which was connected so wondrous and so sacred a story -second in importance only to that of the incarnation of the Godhead. I feel far more while writing this page than I did while gazing upon the scene then before me. One of our Arabs called my attention to the mountain-pointing to it, and repeatedly saying, "Gebel Mousa," which is the Arabic name of Horeb and Sinai, and seemingly looking up in my face to see what effect it had upon

me.

The attentive reader of Scripture will have observed that Horeb is no where spoken of as a distinct mountain, but rather as a mountainous district, in which Sinai, the mountain of God is situate, and of which it is really a part.

The 23rd May, 1842, was a memorable day. I made the ascent of Mount Sinai. Not a particle of this wilderness of granite about me was there, which had not quaked at the mysterious and awful