Poetry. "LET ALL THE ANGELS WORSHIP HIM." Far as the eternal hills, Yon heaven of heavens with living light In countless armies shine, And swell His praise with golden harps, "Hail, Prince!" they cry, "for ever hail! Moved Thee to quit those glorious realms, While He did condescend on earth To suffer grief and pain, They cast their honours at His feet, Through all His travels here below, Oft wondering how and where at last They saw His heart, transfixed with wounds, They saw Him break the bars of death, Which none e'er broke before. They brought His chariot from above, To bear Him to His throne; Clapp'd their triumphant wings, and cried, "The glorious work is done!" These last two lines were added by a poor imbecile, who found the rest of the verses lying unfinished upon his friend's table. BIBLE QUESTIONS. 33. What were the names of the husband and the son of Jochebed? 34. During what king's reign did the division of the twelve tribes occur? 35. Find from the Scriptures some reasons why they were written. 36. To whom was it said, "Thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof?" 37. Where is it written, "These are the true sayings of God?" 38. If God have "begun a good work in us," have we any reason to suppose that He will continue it? 39. How much do we know of Demas? 40. Are the inhabitants of Heaven at all concerned in the conversion of sinners? ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS OF LAST MONTH. (25.) Absalom: 2 Sam. xiv. 25. (26.) Judges x. 16. (27.) Ephraim: Hos. vii. 8. (28.) To Caleb, because he wholly followed the Lord: Josh. xiv. 13, 14. (29.) Joseph went into Galilee, instead of into Judæa, where Archelaus reigned, and where the angel told him to go: he disobeyed through fear. Jesus never disobeyed. (Matt. ii. 19, &c. (30.) When the cities were left defenceless, by reason of the absence of all the men at the feasts at Jerusalem, God took care that at that time no enemy should approach them: "Neither shall any man desire thy land:" Exod. xxxiv. 24. (31.) The angel who appeared to Manoah: Judges xiii. 18. (32.) Moses, at the burning bush: Exod. iii. 5. Joshua, at Jericho: Josh. v. 15. ERRATUM. In the FRIENDLY VISITOR for last month, p. 76, col. 1, line 27, for "charities" read "churches." THE FRIENDLY VISITOR. REJOICING IN THE LORD. BELIEVER, have you ever considered that it is your duty, as well as your privilege, to be "always" rejoicing? Perhaps, you may say that you are sorely tried, that poverty distresses, or sickness weakens, or friends treat you coldly; or that you do not enjoy as much of God's comforting presence as you could wish; and that, all these things combined, tend to depress and grieve you, and to take from you that joy which might be yours. Now, dear reader, remember for one moment how much you have to put against all these things, which should lead you to be "always" rejoicing. of 1. You have a great Saviour.-You have felt the need of a Saviour; it should therefore be a subject of unfeigned joy to you that one has been provided for you. When you think your sins, you may rejoice that there is One who can deliver you from them; when you think of the worth of your soul, you may rejoice that there is One who can save it from death; when you think of your danger, you can rejoice that there is one who can rescue you from all peril, and bring you to a world where you shall be for ever safe. Your Saviour is just such an one as you need to pardon you; to make atonement for your sin; to give you peace from a troubled conscience; to support you in trials and bereavements; to comfort you on a death-bed, and to guide you through the dark valley. When you look at His character, G it is just such as it should be to win your heart, and to make you love Him; and when you look at what He has done, you see that He has accomplished all that you can desire: and is there not here good cause for you to rejoice? The principal joy of the true Christian should be in the Lord; he should find his happiness in communion with Him, and in the hope of eternal life through Him. II. You have a faithful Promiser.-Christ fails not to fulfil that which He promises, and He has the power to fulfil that which He promises. Earthly friends may promise fairly enough, but they may never fulfil their promises, either from change of feeling, or want of power to do so. Now, we may be sure that what Jesus has promised, He is able also to perform. He has promised that if you are His, you shall lack no good thing, either for time or for eternity; and that none that trust in Him shall be desolate. Is there not enough here to make you rejoice? III. You have an Omnipresent God.-You have One always near you, ever ready to supply your need; One who has all the universe at His command, and who can exert all His influence in your behalf; One who watches over you for good; One who keeps you by His everlasting power. Is there nothing here to make you rejoice? Lastly; remember that the rejoicing Christian is the Godhonouring Christian. When His people make "the joy of the Lord their strength," then is God honoured by them and in them. Then do they show to the world that their religion is no gloomy thing, but that it sheds a joy over their hearts and lives which unbelievers know nothing about. The Christian ought to be the happiest man in the world, for he has everything to make him happy-he has Christ for his Saviour, Christ for his Friend, Christ as his faithful Promiser, Christ as his watchful Guardian. We cannot urge this subject upon you, believer, more strongly than St. Paul did upon his Philippian converts; for he says, "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say unto you, Rejoice." Seek for that spirit which the prophet Habakkuk possessed, who, in the midst of sore affliction, could say, "Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation," Hab. iii. 17, 18. M. A. HOURLY WATCHFULNESS. INURE thyself to holy thoughts in thy ordinary course. The best way to keep vessels from leaking is to let them stand full. A heart vain out of prayer, will be little better in prayer. The more familiar thou makest holy thoughts and savoury discourse to thee in thy constant walking, the more seasoned thou wilt find thy heart for this duty. A scholar, by often thinking of his notions when alone, and talking of them with his colleagues, makes them his own; so that when he is put upon any exercise, they are at hand, and come fresh into his head whereas another, for want of this attention, wants matter for his thoughts to feed on, which makes him struggle to hit off that which suits his occasion. The carnal liberty which we give our hearts in our ordinary walking, makes our thoughts more unruly and unsuitable for the duties of worship; for such thoughts and words leave a tincture upon the spirit, and so prevent the soul from making a better appearance when it returns into the presence of God. Walk in the company of sinful thoughts all the day, and thou wilt hardly shut the door upon them when thou goest into thy closet. Thou hast taught them to be bold; they will now plead acquaintance with thee, and crowd in after thee, like little children, who, if you play with them, will cry after you when you would be rid of their company. A WORD IN SEASON. "It was in July, 1783, I was When from the dust of death I rise, 6 veyed in the last two lines, I looked around to see if there were any one to whom God might render it the means of spiritual instruction. At a little distance, I saw a young woman reading an epitaph, and called her to me, and addressed her nearly in these words: You are reading epitaphs; read that; when you can say the same from your heart, you will be happy indeed ; but till then you will enjoy no real happiness in this world, or the next.' She read them without any apparent emotion; and then told me that a churchyard was a very proper place for her, as she was much distressed. On my inquiring into the causes of her distress, she informed me that she had an aged mother and two children; that she had ruined her health in labouring for them, and was now unable to support them. I immediately turned to some passages in my Bible, such as 'Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all (needful) things shall be added unto you,'-and endeavoured to turn her eyes to Him who gives rest to heavy-laden souls. "After having conversed with her about a quarter of an hour, the corpse arrived, and at my request she gave me her address. The next evening, about seven o'clock, I went to see her, and found the aged mother very ill of asthma; the two little babes lying in bed, and the young woman sitting very disconsolate. Though I was no stranger to scenes of distress, at this sight I was overcome in a very unusual manner. Itold them that I was unable to say anything which might administer comfort, and desired that they would join me in applying to the Father of Mercies and God of all consolation. We fell upon our knees, and in a moment were bathed in tears; I could scarce utter my words through heaviness of heart, and the abundance of tears which flowed down my cheeks; and to almost every petition that I offered, Amen, amen, amen,-God grant it may,' was the language both of their hearts and lips. I was too much affected to be able to converse with them; I therefore referred them to two or three passages of Scripture, and left them. "The next evening, about the same time, I visited them again, and, as before, we wrestled in prayer, with strong cries and floods of tears; nor was I any better able to converse with them than before, so deplorable did their situation appear, and to such a degree were all our hearts overwhelmed with sorrow. I left a few Scriptures for their consideration, that they might plead them in prayer with our promisekeeping God; and returned the third evening, about the same hour; then I began with some conversation, and afterwards went to prayer; but though we were earnest, our whole souls were not drawn out as on the two preceding evenings. "When we had risen from prayer, I sat down to talk with them; and after I had spoken a little time, the young woman addressed me to this effect, and as nearly as I recollect in these words: Now, Sir, I will tell you what the Lord has done for me. When you called me in the churchyard (which was nearly two miles from her house), I had been there five hours; I went to my sister, who lives close by, to tell her my distress; but she, instead of assisting me at all, or even pitying my situation, sent me away with reproaches; I thought God had utterly forsaken me, and left me and my children to starve, and that it did not signify what became of me; I found my misery insupportable, and was therefore determined to put an end to it; at the instant you spoke to me, I was going to drown myself: thus I should in one moment have left my aged mother and my two |