angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire."—"The ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. "Then shall ye return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not.”

V. 25-29. The purpose of God is plainly to be seen in the means by which he subdued Pharaoh. He might have stirred up some powerful nation to take the part of his people, but he chose rather to employ an army of lice and of flies, to humble the pride of this proud king.

The proposal that Israel should sacrifice in the land, was the same thing as a refusal: for the command had been all along, "Let my people go," not "Let my people sacrifice." In 2 Kings xi. 5-7, Milcom, the god of the Ammonites, is called "the abomination of the Ammonites;" Chemosh, the god of Moab, "the abomination of Moab," &c. so here the gods of Egypt are called "the abomination of Egypt;" (from their hatefulness in the sight of God:) and as the Egyptians worshipped cattle, they would have been greatly provoked by seeing Israel sacrifice oxen and calves to the Lord their God. Upon this remonstrance Pharaoh consented; and when Moses entreated, the Lord removed the swarms of flies, "there remained not one."

T. B. P.

To the Editor of the Cottager's Monthly Visitor.

SIR,

I HAVE often thought that a few simple explanatory remarks on the Epistle of every Sunday, might prove not unacceptable nor wholly uninstructive to some of your readers; and, with this hope, I take

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the liberty of offering you the enclosed. Should the plan meet with your approbation, I shall consider my time well employed in continuing it monthly.

May 11, 1828.

I am, Sir,

Your obedient servant,

L. S. R.

ON THE EPISTLE FOR THE FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT.

Romans xiii. 8.

"Owe no man any thing, but to love one another." THE apostle in these words exhorts to the regular and exact fulfilment of all the duties which our sta tion in life may require of us, and more especially to strict honesty and integrity in the discharge of any office of trust we may be called on to execute. But he further adds, that there is one duty of perpetual and universal obligation, which we are never to cease from-that of cherishing a truly Christian spirit of love and charity towards one another. Our station in life may change, our duties consequently may change with it; but love to one another is equally our duty, whatever be our rank or situation.

"For he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."

All the commandments which the apostle here enumerates, will be observed by that man who truly

loves his neighbour. Let us only bear in mind the golden rule first laid down by our blessed Saviour, and again enforced by his great apostle, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself," and we shall need no other precept.

"Love worketh no ill to his neighbour."

He who loves his neighbour as himself, will never do him harm, nor seek to injure him either in his person or his property; therefore, as the apostle

argues,

"Love is the fulfilling of the law."

In the conclusion of the chapter from which this epistle is taken, and which has been wisely chosen by our Church as proper to engage our meditation at the solemn season of Advent, when we are about to celebrate the great festival of our Lord's nativity, the apostle exhorts his hearers to increased vigilance in their Christian warfare. As if he had said, Your time of probation will shortly be past. Your life is short; your end is drawing near.

"The night is far spent, the day is at hand."

That awful day, when the secrets of all hearts shall be revealed, is fast approaching-when your Master will come to judgment, and will require of you a strict account of your conduct in this world, and fix your final doom in another and an eternal

state.

"Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness."

Few men are so hardened as to commit sin in the open face of day. They perform their sinful actions under cover of the darkness. But

"Let us walk honestly as in the day."

Let all our thoughts, words, and actions, be such as will bear examination; let us do nothing which

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we should be ashamed to own-nothing which we would not have our neighbours witnesses of.

"But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ."

Let us follow the bright example set before us by our heavenly Master, "who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth." Let us tread in his footsteps, and imitate, as far as our fallen nature will allow, the perfect pattern which he has left us.

"And make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof."

Let us not indulge our sinful appetites and passions to the ruin of our immortal souls. "Let us mortify the deeds of the body," not suffering our evil dispositions to gain the dominion over us; but checking and controlling them, "putting on the whole armour of God, having our loins girt about with truth, and having on the breast-plate of righteousness." Above all, "praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit" to that great High Priest, who was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin, and who has promised, that "he will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that we may be able to bear it." L. S. R.

ON THE WORD ETERNITY.

To the Editor of the Cottager's Monthly Visitor. SIR,

If the vast comprehensiveness, and the importance of the word "Eternity" were taken into consideration: and more frequently contrasted with the things of time, both in the enjoyment of prosperity, and the endurance of adversity, how differently should we

learn to estimate their respective value-How would things temporal sink into insignificance by the comparison; and importance only be attached to those pursuits and those possessions which stand connected with an eternal state? Then should we in some measure appreciate the meaning of the Apostle's forcible appeal, 2 Cor. iv. 17. "That our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." Affliction light, when balanced in the scale with an exceeding and eternal weight of glory, and because it endureth but for a moment-Glory an eternal weight because it endureth for ever. These are the balances of the sanctuary, which it is the privilege of the Christian to have recourse to, in order to estimate by heavenly weight and measure, things temporal, and things eternal, and rightly to discern the evil and the good, whilst he looks not at the things which are seen, but at those which are not seen, and which are eternal. The words eternal and eternity, thus considered, would greatly tend to lighten the burdens of sorrow, which await us in this our state of pilgrimage, and inculcate in our daily walk a lesson of practical usefulness, strengthening at the same time the eye of faith, and enabling us to look unto Him, who bids us remember, "Sorrow may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.' The mists of darkness, shall be dispelled by a morning of everlasting joy, and hereafter shall we have cause to rejoice over the night of sorrow, which unbelief may have tempted us to call evil, and trace therein sovereign mercy, which caused all to work together for good. At the best, earthly possessions are uncertain, riches make to themselves wings and flee away,

riches are accountable talents. Prosperity tempts us to ask with Agur, "Who is the Lord?" Prov. xxx. 9. The desire of our eyes may be removed at a stroke. Let us then ask of the Lord durable riches, and the gift of his grace, that our sinful ad