you will be able to sing by and by. Instead, therefore, of learning verses of Scripture, you are to learn this Hymn against I come next week."

"And now let us pray."

Did

There, reader, is just a sketch of this poor Irish-cabin school. you notice the children? Dirty, ragged, neglected. At this season of the year, I am afraid of the consequences-their taking cold, &c., or I should certainly propose having one iustrucied in hair-cutting and after the operation was performed, would have them soushed—their flesh scrubbed-in a good tub of water. Talk of wash-houses in England! forsooth they are wanted bad enough in Ireland, for old as well as young. And could you ever have conceived such an entire ignorance of sound? How difficult to keep in time with a company of poor things that never heard what harmony was. Quite as bad as in

a heathen land! And yet some intelligent faces too-beautiful open foreheads, only covered with that nasty clotted hair! My heart yearns over these poor neglected children!

Oh, England, England, would that thou knewest thy privileges.

I have gone thus into detail, and subjected myself to the charge of egotism, merely that you may compare notes; that you may see what Ireland is as contrasted with England. These were not little children merely; but great boys, and great girls, sixteen or seventeen years of age, down to three or four, and so ignorant, I am informed, a few months ago, as not to know a letter of the alphabet! Indeed, to use the emphatic words of one who happened to come in whilst I was present," Until Mr. O., Sir, came," said he, "and took them in hand, they were just like a set of savages;" yet withal there is evidently no lack of intellect, but a total want of cultivation.

And now, as we walk back, see how beautifully the country opens. What a vast expanse! Some fifty or sixty miles at least. Look back to your right. Upon that dark lofty mountain, rocky as it is, they tell me there is a bog upwards of twenty feet deep. On the summit of that, upon such parts as are passable, you have a most extensive view westward.

From the lawn in front of yonder mansion, the prospect is superb. With the exception of the beautifully serpentine Thames, the view is certainly superior to that of Richmond Hill, because of its being more extensive.

Look again to your right; about half-way up that dark mountain, are sundry cottages, two of which are occupied by Protestants. In the middle of a field is one where I am to hold a week-day lecture. ! commenced last Tuesday, and I will tell you a circumstance which I

thought remarkable.

Reflecting upon the distressed state of the country, I was impressed with the promise contained in 1 Kings xviii. 14, ("The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth,") and I thought of taking it for a text; but, whilst waiting upon the Lord for counsel, John x. 16, (" And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold and one Shepherd ") was powerfully brought to the mind. Well, I thought this was from the Lord, and resolved to address the poor people from the latter text. When I reached the place, to my surprise I found them all in great trouble. Two nights before, their little farming-stock of six sheep had been stolen. Time after time had the poor man left his bed at midnight, to go down the meadow and see that his sheep were safe, but now they were gone and in vain for two days had both themselves and the police sought them. The circumstance bore forcibly upon my subject, and whilst led to dwell upon the sovereignty of the good Shepherd's choice, and the effectiveness of His call, I found it delightful to comment (a happy contrast with the loss this poor man had just sustained) upon the security of His hold of the sheep, their safety within the fold of the good Shepherd, as set forth in the 28th and 29th verses. It seemed to tell; they saw the distinction; that his leaving his bed night after night could not effectually secure his sheep, yet the Good Shepherd never let one escape, or be stolen, from His fold, but in every age had He, to the very letter, fulfilled his promise, "Lest any hurt it I will keep it night and day." The begging the Lord to sanctify the trial; and, if it were his will, either to restore the sheep, or make up the loss, I left them; but imagine my delight when I was told that a day or two after the sheep were recovered. The thief had been overtaken by daylight whilst driving them away; and, though he had reached some distance, so fearful was he of being discovered, that he actually himself drove the sheep into " a pound," and left them! Thus did our kind God himself deliver, without any human interference. Oh, for more faith to rest upon so good a Master-for more childlike confidence to depend upon so kind a Father!

Now, as you get lower down, see how the whole country is studded with the cabins, or hovels, as I call them. So detached-at such remote distances. It is remarkable. The solitude must be extreme. Doubtless it is from these the cottagers come pouring in to mass on the Sunday; and yet on that day, you will see many working in the fields.

I have not called your attention specially to it, but have you observed the wood, and so many avenues? These remind one of the Continent. But I am sure the attraction afforded by these trees to the birds which we now see so tame and plentiful-must make the walks in summer resound with melody.

How pretty the spire of the Church looks, rising as it does from that large clump of trees. It is one of the neatest country churches I have ever seen, and I am so pleased to see it so well filled. I think this must be a novelty for Ireland. They have an early morning service expressly for the soldiers; it is deeply interesting to see the whole of the pews occupied by the protectors of our country. One of their number—a middle-aged man-was suddenly cut off last week by apoplexy. His burial was very affecting. The slow march up through the village-the muffled drums and martial music; then the solemn burial-service, succeeded (which is quite a feature in Ireland) by an affectionate address from the clergyman; his auditory almost exclusively Roman Catholics: the whole was exceedingly impressive. At first the priest denounced it from the altar in no very pacific terms; but, finding that the clergyman persevered in his addresses, and that his people persevered in attending to hearken, he no longer takes any notice. here is the village, and I must say adieu.

Well, now,

THE NATIONAL FLAG.

A.

To the Editor of the Gospel Magazine.

on the

In writing to you on the opening of the New Year, I cannot forbear calling upon you and your readers to join with me in giving that tribute of praise to our covenant God which is due to him, who hath kept through so many continuous years this little bark of gospel truth safely piloted, so that it has not, on the one hand, been swamped fluctuating and dangerous sands of unsound doctrine, nor on the other hand overflowed and sunk by the wave of misrepresentation and persecution for the truth's sake. Its existence has, indeed, been at times threatened on both these accounts, but it has securely weathered the storm; and still, by God's grace and blessing, it safely steers its course, having the National Flag boldly unfurled at its mast head, which was, from the beginning, hauled up by those commissioned to launch this little vessel on the ocean of time.

Should not praise wait for our covenant God in Zion for this? Let us, then, take the cup of salvation, call upon the name of the Lord,

and ascribe wisdom, strength, and glory, unto the Triune God of Israel. Truly, our God hath done great things for us, whereof our hearts are glad, and we will sing and give praise and testify: "Marvellous are thy works, and that my soul knoweth right well" (Ps. cxxxix. 14). But what is this national banner or flag that hath thus ever been displayed? Before we answer this question, we must describe the nation for whom this Magazine, as the vessel, bearing this National Flag, is intended.

It is not, then, intended for the world at large-not that we desire to exclude the world from reading it-by no means; but, be it remembered, that it is to be manned only by those who belong to its own nation, and it sails exclusively for the benefit of that nation, and for the fetching home of the outcasts and prodigals who are expatriated, banished, and scattered abroad. We are glad, indeed, to set before the world our national peculiarities, and get them to examine them, if, peradventure, thereby they should be brought, by the Lord's blessing, to have the desire to be naturalized-i.e., from being strangers and foreigners, to become fellow-citizens of the saints, and of the household of God.

This peculiar nation is described by the apostle Peter, in the second chapter of his first Epistle, where, having first shown how multitudes. of the world stumble over Christ, he addresses the new-born babes thus:-"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light which in times past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy." These persons were called, in the beginning, "strangers scattered abroad ". strangers, not from God, but strangers in the world. They are also said to be, "elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ."

Again, they are the sheep of Christ, who have heard his voice, and known it, and have, therefore, followed the Shepherd and Bishop of their souls (chap. ii. 25). From these, and similar tokens scattered through this epistle, we conclude that this holy nation consists of those of God's elect remnant, who have been distinguished as such, by being born again, and consequently are alive to God, and live by those constant supplies of faith which they receive from Christ, the living Stone, on whom they rest, and in whom they are built up.

Further, this nation speaketh a language, which none can learn but those who belong to it. "For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent " (Zeph. iii. 9). From thence it clearly appears why they are taught this language, even that they should serve the Lord, and that not in the oldness of the letter, but in the newness of

D

the Spirit; and be it remembered, that God cannot truly be served in any other language, for "God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth; for he seeketh such to worship him." Moreover, it is with one consent they do this; for however they differ as to their manner of doing it, still as to the fact, they are resolved to serve the Lord, and to say, "Though other lords have had dominion over us, yet by thee only will we make mention of thy name." Again, they are a nation of kings, for this is their song:"Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." They are also lords, seeing that it is declared, "All things are yours, and ye are Christ's.' Being, then, a kingdom of kings and lords, they have One over them who is called, "King of kings, and Lord of lords (Rev. xix.)—i. e., he is King of Saints who constitute the royal priesthood and holy nation. The King of this nation requires his subjects to come out and be separate from the world; and he also turns the hearts of the world to hate his people so that they are men wondered at, not understood, scoffed at, and often even slain for the testimony of Jesus. But Jesus their King reveals himself as their anointed King, Priest, and Physician. He sets the prisoner free, takes away his filthy prison garments, and pours the oil of joy and comfort into his wounds. He sends his ambassadors as messengers of peace, and bids them cry, 66 Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people; speak ye to the heart of Jerusalem, and cry unto her that her iniquity is pardoned." Such preachers are also directed to lay man, with all his glory, low in the dust, that the Lord alone may be exalted in that day; and therefore, on the one hand, they are bid to cry, that "all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass." Still they are bid to assure this royal nation, that "the word of the Lord endureth for ever.' by this word being brought into their hearts, they have been born of God, and so made manifest as "the righteous nation which keepeth the truth," unto whom the everlasting gates of the heavenly Jerusalem are ever opened (compare Is. xl. 1-10, with 1 Peter i. 21-23).

And

and

Such, then, being the nation for whom this Magazine has ever been intended, we cannot easily be at a loss to find out what their National Flag must be-viz., the banner of covenant and unchanging love; that this banner has been kept constantly flying, and is still not half lowered, but flying at the very top of the mast, proclaiming to the whole world, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth and good-will towards men."

peace

We have undoubted Scriptures to warrant us in taking this to be the national flag of the Lord's people. For instance, the Church, in the Song of Songs, whilst solacing herself in contemplating on the beauty and glory of Him, who is at the same time her King and Husband, thus speaks, " He brought me into the banqueting-house, and his