It furnishes invaluable counsel in all the practical emergencies of life, its influence will strengthen and purify the character, and exalt the motives of life and conduct. It has been the source of strength and hope to millions of despairing souls, who have triumphed over troubles and temptations which else would have overwhelmed them. It has been a shelter from the storms of life, a consolation in times of affliction, and a light in the darkness of the Valley of the Shadow of Death.

Among the dead on one of the battle-fields before Richmond, was found a soldier beneath whose pulseless hand was an open Bible, and his fingers were pressed upon these precious words of the 23d Psalm: "Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."

Such has been and is its power and influence in life and in death.

"Thou truest friend man ever knew,

Thy constancy I've tried;

When all were false, I found thee true,

My counsellor and guide.

The mines of earth no treasures give

That could this volume buy;

In teaching me the way to live,
It taught me how to die."

THE CHRISTIan Life.

HERE are few who do not believe in a life

beyond the grave, and that our happiness or misery there, will depend on our character and conduct here. There are few who do not also believe in the existence of a God, and that He has placed within us something, which we call conscience, by which we approve what is right, and condemn what is wrong. If we believe in the existence of right and wrong, our natural instinct teaches us that there exists a principle of justice, by which, somehow, wrong-doing will be punished, and well-doing rewarded. These are obvious truths which suggest themselves to our natural understanding, and even heathen races have an intuitive belief in the same doctrines. If, then, we believe in a future life, in the existence of God, and in a principle of justice, and all beyond that seems dark, what attitude should reason and common sense constrain us to take in reference to Christianity, and what judgment shall we pass upon the Bible? Here is a book which purports to come from God through divinely inspired men. It reveals to us our origin, our destiny, and the existence and character of God, and of his moral government. Without it, we should grope

in darkness, and have no light except the dim and uncertain glimmer which proceeds from the natural world and our dim and unaided intuitions.

The wonderful revelations of modern science are found to coincide with its account of the creation of the world, and in all other particulars; the recent discoveries of records which have been hidden for thousands of years, as well as profane history, all attest its historic accuracy; the oldest book in the world, it has strangely survived empires and dynasties, and has come down to us through seas of blood, and devastating famines and plagues which time and again have threatened to depopulate the earth. Its prophecies have been fulfilled to the very letter, although they were uttered by men of diverse temperament and surroundings, through a period extending over thousands of years. Its most malignant enemies have confessed that the system of morals which it teaches is without parallel elsewhere. The doctrines and precepts which it inculcates have swept over continents and the isl ands of the sea, and wherever they go they establish peace, happiness, refinement and intelligence. The Bible is the massive pillar on which rests happy homes, orderly communities, institutions of learning, noble charities and free governments. Millions have died with its words on their lips,-torn by wild beasts in Roman amphitheatres, in the thick darkness of the catacombs, at the stake and gibbet, and under every conceivable condition of bodily anguish,-and yet they

have triumphed even in their tortures, and often their grand lives went out with a song and a shout of victory. Thousands of the brightest intellects and most comprehensive minds of all ages have left testimony of their unalterable faith in its truth and inspiration, as well as their personal acceptance of its teachings. Millions of living voices, of every nation and tongue would joyfully add their testimony to the same ef fect, and now, in the face of all this, what course can a rational, sensible, fair-minded person take, except to receive the Bible for what it assumes to be, the revealed will of God. If the Bible be thus accepted, then the personal obligation is admitted to diligently study it and conform to its requirements.

Christianity is adapted to the highest development of character and life. A writer has strikingly said: "It is too little considered what a breadth there is to Christianity in its relations to human wants. It is adapted to man's entire constitution. It addresses his reason. It enlarges his understanding and gives activity to thought. It stimulates the instinctive aspirations of the soul, awakens high desires, enkindles and purifies the imagination, and directs to the best ends. It refines the sensibilities, and imparts warmth and tenderness to the affections, and tends to produce the enthusiasm which is essential to all great action."

Religion thus tends to the harmonious growth of all the faculties; it is so suited to human needs that it elevates man to the highest degree of perfection, whether

considered as to his physical, mental, or spiritual nature. Sir Matthew Hale, one of the purest and greatest jurists of any age, who was a devout Christian, said: "A man, industrious in his calling, if without the fear of God, becomes a drudge to worldly ends; vexed when disappointed, overjoyed in success. Mingle but the fear of God with business,-it will not abate a man's industry, but sweeten it; if he prosper, he is thankful to God who gives him power to get wealth; if he miscarry, he is patient under the will and dispensation of the God he fears. It turns the very employ. ment of his calling into a kind of religious duty and exercise of his religion, without damage or detriment to it."

What a fine example was that of applying religion to the affairs of life, when the young Victoria, then a maiden of eighteen, on being aroused at midnight and informed that she was Queen of England, requested the venerable councilor who conveyed the message, to pray with her; and they both knelt in prayer together, asking God to endow her with strength to perform her responsible duties, and to bless her reign.

There is no other refuge like this, for those burdened with great trials and anxieties which well-nigh overpower them. them. Charles Lamb wrote of the woes of life, which few had felt more keenly than himself: "For ills like these, Christ is the only cure. Say less than this, and say it to the winds."

The famous Patrick Henry wrote in his will: "I have now disposed of all my property to my family;