as those whose lot is narrow and confined, are called not to distrust God's wise and well-ordered appointments.

"Take no thought for the morrow." What is the advice conveyed to us in this? To live, in spirit, above the worldly conveniences by which we are surrounded. If poverty is oftentimes a weight upon the heart, which fastens it down to earth, saddened and soiled, no less so are a well-stored house and abundant comforts. In this case, if we would be wholly the Lord's, we must take up our cross, for our circumstances seldom thrust it upon us. Our light must then come from above, where so many mists rise from the surface around us: and that light must be sought for, and a habit of watchfulness, which makes us long for and enjoy the Sun of Righteousness, maintained.

The circle of acquaintanceship becomes widely extended among persons of this description; their houses are centres of Christian hospitality; their table is more bountifully spread than among those who are either lower in station, or whose purse is more contracted. Their situation demands a greater prominence; as, if rightly used, it leads to wider usefulness. "Take no thought," seems, here, to be invested with a deep and striking meaning. "Let not my heart be fascinated and spell-bound by my position on earth; let me not be anxious for to-morrow's reputation, or solicitous for my worldly position to be appreciated and set store by; but let all see, that I use this world—in its many-colored phases as it is presented to me as not abusing it; that the Great King reigns in this comfortable home, and that every high thought which exalts itself against Him is cast down and buried."

How beautifully Rutherford, in his quaint rich letters to the higher circles of Scotch society, sets forth this spirit! "My Lady Kenmare is advised that she may, having trampled under her feet all the rotten pleasures that are under sun and moon, and having rejoiced as though she rejoiced not, and having bought as though she possessed not, like an 'old crazy ship arrive at her Lord's harbour, and be made welcome, as one of those that have ever had one foot loose upon earth."" And to the Laird of Cally, writing in 1637, he breaks out into this passionate strain of expressive desire:-"O, blessed are they who can deny themselves, and put Christ in the room of themselves! O would to the Lord I had not a 'myself,' but Christ; not a 'my lust,' but Christ; not a 'my ease,' but Christ; not a 'my honour,' but Christ! O sweet word! 'Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.' O if every one would put away himself, his own ease, his own credit, and his own twenty things, his own hundred things, that he setteth up as idols above Christ!""

Underneath this prohibition of the Great Captain of our Salvation, then, lies the spirit to be prayed for and cultivated, of setting up Christ before us in house and home, above the comforts of the present, and the uncertainties of the future, as our all in all.

Certain particulars, however, are alluded to in the chapter, with reference to which a few additional remarks may be useful. "Take no thought, saying, What shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or wherewithal shall we be clothed."

Simplicity in dress, and, in the midst of abundance, a studied carelessness about the provision of the table, seem to fall strictly within the exhortation. Persons who are always accustomed to dress well, it may be argued, think very little about it; much less than those to whom a bright-colored ribbon is a variety. But there is too much time spent on the toilet, and too much thought on the arrangement of the materials, and far too little in the chamber of prayer with God. Much forgotten are those striking words of the Apostle, that the adorning of Christian women ought to be, "not the plaiting the hair, and wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel, but in the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price." (1 Pet. iii. 3, 4.)

And if we feel that we are called to live above this temptation, the influence of our example on our dependants, our servants, and the poor around, ought to be ever kept in view. Simplicity is soon seen, and its influence keenly felt, by those who are brought into contact with us; and for this influence we are deeply responsible before God. And ought it not especially to be so in the pleasures of the table, as they have been unhappily called? If required to show abundant hospitality, let others see that we dress not out our entertainment to pamper the appetite, to draw forth an encomium upon the antiquity of the port or the lusciousness of the fruit, but that we are denying ourselves in the midst of plenty, and abstemious amongst the richest fare. The celebrated philanthropist, Howard, in the midst of entertainments given in his honour on the Continent by emperors and princes, managed to retain the simplicity of his "twopenny roll daily; a little milk and cheese, dried fruits, and a little tea." Luxuries soon become part of our being, and require many a hard wrench before we can give them up; and this conviction ought to lead us with tenfold earnestness to seek fresh grace from the Spirit, and to trim our lamp anew, as pilgrims upon the road to Zion.

Shall we not add to this, the duty of keeping the heart free from any absorbing care as to our property or success in life?

If our property is already acquired, and the duties of its superintendence in estate and tenantry devolve upon us, lawful and right as the employment is, let it have only its proper place, that of subordination to our spiritual interests. Be not unduly solicitous about to-morrow's success, and to-day's well-concerted plans. Many men are saying, 'Come, Lord Jesus, but not quickly; not till this project is completed and bears its fruit, or till I have finished the employment which lies before me.' Both the good of to-morrow as well as its evil, must be kept from eating out the

life of our religion, by being always present with our thoughts. And he is the most ready to welcome Christ who, while he has not been slothful in his business, has maintained his fervency of spirit, and his lively service. How much do men in business need our prayers, those whose money is being earned, and their life necessarily spent, in hard ad continuous labour! Perhaps, there, the chief snare to be watched against is a spirit of speculation, and a love of money-getting. The former seems to absorb everything within its reach which is excellent, lovely, or of good report, and, like a tropical storm, to hurry along with it every energy of the man, until he looks back and sees a desolate wilderness, where seemed to be, just before, the Garden of Eden.—The latter is more slow, but more subtle. Like that terrible disease of the heart, which turns the pliant membrane into rigid and lifeless bone, and at last closes the orifice of life, the spirit of money-getting, the deep and constant thought of the morrow's fees and expectancies and gains, settles down upon the elasticity of the believer's life, and at last destroys its sensibility and stops its motion. Constant ought to be the professional man's supplication,

"Oh may no earth-born cloud arise

To hide Thee from thy servant's eyes!"

Persons may ask, What remedy do you propose for the classes now referred to?--a perplexing question, and one to which men will give different replies.

I should be inclined to say, in addition to what has been said with regard to cultivating the spirit of an unworldly temperance, -make it your habit, even if occasionally interrupted, to retire in the day for a few moments of private prayer. Always have in the inner circle of your friendship one spiritually-minded man at least, with whom you are intimate enough to tell him your difficulties, whom you love enough to receive from him a caution or rebuke without offence. And lastly, never be without some directly spiritual book, into which you dip for half-an-hour day by day; either a Christian biography, or a manual of contemplation, or a journal of the heart,-the essence of which is rather devotion than controversy. Oh! to be kept thus waiting upon the Lord,—to have the eagle's wing, strong to rise and powerful to continue in our flight! Oh! to have our feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace for earth's every-day duties, that we may run and not be weary, and walk and not faint!

O. C. O.

PREVAILING HINDERANCES TO SPIRITUALITY
OF MIND.

ST. PAUL places two states of mind in diametrical opposition, when he says, "To be carnally-minded is death, but to be spiriCHRIST. OBSERV. No. 223.

C

tually-minded is life and peace." The true Christian knows well-too well-what it is to be carnally minded; he knows something-though far less than he desires to know-of what it is to be spiritually minded. The one is natural to him, the other is the gift of grace; and these two conflicting principles within him are, like the house of Saul and David, engaged in a long and implacable contest for the possession of the throne. As grace advances, nature declines; the house of David waxes "stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul becomes weaker and weaker."

So long as the real tendency of the mind is in this direction, there is everything to encourage the soul to diligent exertion and to lively hope, though the progress may be much slower, and the difficulties of the course much greater, than had been anticipated during the earlier period of the Christian life. Character becomes developed, good principles are strengthened, experience is gained, and all the blessed fruits of this experience are produced and ripened under the sanctified operation of trials from which our fallen nature shrinks. These are the means which the providence of God employs, under the mighty influence of His Holy Spirit, to withdraw the affections from earthly things, and to fix them on objects which alone can give real and everlasting satisfaction. To be spiritually minded, is to have our tastes refined and purified from the debasing affections which cling to the world and its pursuits, so that they may find pleasure in the sacred duties of religion. It is to live in the Spirit and walk in the Spirit, to have holy communion with the Father and the Son, through the power of the Holy Ghost. It is to be frequent and earnest in prayer, constant in attendance to those means of religious improvement which the providence of God has placed within our reach, "fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." It is to live in the habit of humble dependance upon Christ for the perpetual application of the blood of sprinkling to our conscience, not only for the forgiveness of our sins, but for the strengthening of our souls to resist temptation, to overcome the world, and to proceed with patient perseverance in the path of life.

In a course like this, we must expect to meet with great and manifold hinderances from the world, the flesh, and the devil. Of these every sincere Christian is painfully conscious-the more painfully conscious, when he is more than usually earnest in contending with them. It would be beside my present purpose to enter on the wide field which this subject opens out to view. I only desire to point out some of those impediments to spirituality of mind, which especially characterize the PRESENT TIMES.

1. One of the most obvious features of the age, is eagerness in the pursuit of earthly advantages. To whatever phase of human life we turn our attention, all seems astir. There is no repose, no calmness, no cool deliberation. The commercial world, the literary world, the fashionable world, the religious world, are all in a fever of excitement. It is probable there were, in other days, men

as avaricious, as earnest in pursuit of fame, as ambitious of distinction, as entirely absorbed in the vanities or vices of the world, as there are now. But there was less apparent vehemence, less steam power called into action; and the evil was not so widely and so generally diffused. Now, the whole mass of society is in motion, some in one direction, some in another, but all going at the top of their speed. Hence the madness of speculation, which is the disgrace of the age, and which has led to those wholesale frauds and complicated villanies which are almost daily chronicled in our public journals. The reader has scarcely ceased to be startled by the details of one series of frauds, before he is stunned by another still more fearful; and all involving an amount of chicanery, dishonesty, and recklessness, of which we seek almost in vain for precedent in the annals of our country. Much of this is, undoubtedly, due to the over-excitement of commercial speculation and adventure. And it would be well if we were able to say, that the religious portion of the community had escaped the contamination of this speculating mania. Into how many hearts has it eaten as a canker! A piously disposed youth, brought up amidst all the advantages of a religious education, and of religious family connexions, is established in business under favourable auspices. At first, his conscience tells him to beware of the evil influence of example; he fears lest he should go too fast and too far; he thinks he will be content with moderate profits; but he sees one and another apparently becoming very rich; they had ventured more than he, and had succeeded; he must do as they do, or retire from active life: he falls by degrees into the very habits his conscience had condemned; he gets, at length, into the vortex which had swallowed up many before him; and finds himself not only bankrupt in fortune, but also in character, and has unhappily shaken off every sentiment of a religious kind, except that very questionable one-remorse.

But even in minds on which religion has taken a much deeper hold, and whose Christian experience is of a much more decided complexion, it is certain that the whirl and turmoil of commercial occupations—as at present conducted-have a very injurious effect. Not only do they engage too much time, so as to leave scarcely any opportunity for due attention to spiritual religion, but they carry away the thoughts and alienate them from spiritual objects. The principle of speculation is one of anxious care, and, when speculation runs high, the solicitude becomes excessive and bewildering; the mind is no longer master of itself; and whether at church, or in the closet, or over the Bible, the heart is gone, the care of the soul is lost sight of; no sense of the Divine presence gilds the cloud of care which overhangs the spirit. All is cold and dark, and cheerless as the grave!

Oh! how great is the necessity of guarding against this hinderance to spiritual religion! Preachers should lift up their voice