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lic worship, throwing his efforts into a Sabbath-school at five P.M.; devoting Sabbath evenings to meetings and family visitation; conversing with the sick, the careless, the anxious; distributing tracts; endeavouring to awaken an interest in the religious operations of the day; keeping a brief diary; abounding in prayer; and adopting, with others, an incipient measure for the formation of a church and the settlement of a pastor."

At length, Harlan Page was appointed agent of the General Depository of the American Tract Society, which opened to him a new sphere of activity and usefulness, and which he filled with his accustomed energy. He assembled, from time to time, all the tract distributors, companies of Sabbath-school Teachers, and others, to instruct them as a kind of drill-sergeant in the army of the Captain of Salvation, in their several duties. The great temperance movement received his hearty cooperation. During all these labours for others, he was no less assiduous for his own family, and had the joy of seeing his children walking in the truth. It may be truly said he was animated by as much as is ever found in imperfect humanity, of the passion for saving souls; and for this he would have been willing to become a martyr.

Yea, in some sense he was a martyr, for his constant labours wore out a frame never robust; and after having saved, by his varied instrumentality, more souls than most of those who bear the ministerial office, he died, at the comparatively early age of forty-two; and has left an example of earnestness in doing good, which, were the church of Christ disposed to imitate, our world would soon be rescued from the dominion of sin and Satan, and be recovered to its rightful owner, the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us hear this dying saint say, "I know it is all of God's grace, and nothing that I have done; but I think that I have had evidence that more than one hundred souls have been converted to God through my own direct and personal instrumentality:" and, having heard it, let us consider what one man in humble life, with by no means a strong bodily frame, but with a heart burning with an ardent desire to be

useful to men's souls, can do, when he is given up to this blessed and sublime occupation. Suppose every Christian congregation were blessed with ten such individuals, yea, five, yea, one, what a shower of blessings might be expected to fall upon the neighbourhood in which they live!—Christian Treasury.

SELF-DENIAL IN SABBATH-SCHOOL
TEACHING.

(From the Scottish Sabbath-school Teacher's Magazine.) "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."-Matt. xvi. 24.

SELF-DENIAL, in connection with Sabbath-school teaching, reminds us that we have, in our work, a peculiar cross to bear. May the consideration of this subject for a few moments help us to rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep; to bear one) another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

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Man, in his natural state, lives to himself. He knows no better end. But when brought to know the truth, he finds in Christ a second self, for whose sake he counts it all joy that the first should be denied. So it was with Paul. 'I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." (Gal. ii. 20.) God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” (Gal. vi. 14.) "For! the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: and that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again." (2 Cor. v. 14, 15.) "What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready, not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." (Acts xxi. 13.)

Sabbath-school teaching has its peculiar joys as well as its peculiar sorrows, in which a stranger cannot inters meddle. But all things are full of labour, and no less truly the work of a Sabbath-school Teacher. From first to last, self-denial is needed at every turning.

There are two aspects of the work in which particu larly the exercise of self-denial is called for.

I. In reference to the time, and trouble, and toil, necessarily required in the work.

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Let us trace an example. A person in early life—an apprentice, say, in a laborious business, is brought to know the truth as it is in Jesus. Hard-worked all the week, he knows now the value of the blessed Sabbath, and diligently spends its precious hours in searching for more of the hid treasure-in exploring the golden regions in which, perhaps, after being tost with tempest, he has landed at last. Alone in his room, on a Sabbath evening, he is pondering and praying over the sermons he has heard trying to redeem the time he lost in hiss unconverted days. A cry from the Westport-ther Grassmarket-the Canongate the Cowgate, reaches his ear-" Come over and help us!" and the ear of thes saved is quick to the cry of the lost. Self says, "I need all my time for my own soul." But Faith, and Hope, and Charity, these three, all agree in the answer, “Thoun must deny thyself." "There is that scattereth and yet increaseth." 66 Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters." He hears in the last a promise, that come of the reaping? what may, there is for the sower a present blessing to his own soul. He puts his hand to the work; and he finds, though now, out of his narrow store, he has a class to feed as well as himself, that the barrel of meal does not waste, and the cruise of oil does not fail.

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And then again he further finds, that whatever it is his duty to do, it is his duty to do with all his might. He needs not only time to teach on the Sabbath, but time for preparation during the week. He cannot serve Godd with what costs him nothing. And how is the time to be found? And here again he must deny himself. Pern haps he has sometimes to stint himself of his own necessary sleep, after a long day's work in his worldly

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calling, that he may gather for his little ones food con venient for them.

And then not only when together, but one by one, he must plead with his scholars to be reconciled to God. He must visit them during the week... How is this to be done? Again he must deny himself. Ten minutes saved from a dinner-hour may be the means, by the power of God, of changing a soul's eternal prospects. We do not know the untried resources of the maxim, "Where there is a will there is a way." We know that there are Sabbath-school Teachers in Edinburgh, wha have been found wading through the snow by seven o'clock in a winter morning, to knock at the door of a hard-hearted boy, who, if not visited in this way, could not be visited by his teacher at all. We purposely quote a strong example. Let us, according to our various circumstances, judge ourselves, and learn to endure hardness, as good soldiers of Jesus Christ.

The other great call for the continual exercise of self. denial by the Sabbath-school teacher is,

II. In reference to the positive discouragement he meets with in his work. This consists most commonly of the mere want of spiritual fruit; but it is too often also the open opposition and unkindness of those for the love of whom the Teacher labours. This is the fire that tries our work, of what sort it is. How often, when with a drooping heart we return from our work once more, murmuring self complains, "Lord, I have toiled all night, and taken nothing!" Then is the time to "deny our selves," and make the rejoinder of faith, Nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net."

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And in the midst of such trial, there are many gracious helps to our infirmity, over and above the sure word of promise. There is the sympathy and kindness of our fellow-labourers; and human sympathy in spiritual trial is a kind of help consecrated by our Master himselfwho took not on him the nature of angels, but took on him the seed of Abraham. Was it not, as one would say; just human nature, when, on that night in which he was betrayed, he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and "began to be sorrowful and very heavy?

Sabbath-school teaching has its peculiar joys as well as its peculiar sorrows, in which a stranger cannot intere meddle. But all things are full of labour, and no less truly the work of a Sabbath-school Teacher. From first to last, self-denial is needed at every turning.

There are two aspects of the work in which particu larly the exercise of self-denial is called for.

I. In reference to the time, and trouble, and toil, necessarily required in the work.

Let us trace an example. A person in early life—an apprentice, say, in a laborious business, is brought to know the truth as it is in Jesus. Hard-worked all the

week, he knows now the value of the blessed Sabbath, and diligently spends its precious hours in searching for more of the hid treasure-in exploring the golden regions in which, perhaps, after being tost with tempest, he has landed at last. Alone in his room, on a Sabbath even ing, he is pondering and praying over the sermons hec has heard trying to redeem the time he lost in his unconverted days. A cry from the Westport-the Grassmarket-the Canongate the Cowgate, reaches his ear-"Come cover and help. us!"-and the ear of the saved is quick to the cry of the lost. Self says, "I need all my time for my own soul." But Faith, and Hope, and Charity, these three, all agree in the answer, “Thoun must deny thyself." "There is that scattereth and yet increaseth." Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters." He hears in the last a promise, that come of the reaping what may, there is for the sower a present blessing to his own soul He puts his hand to the work; and he finds, though now, out of his narrow store, he has a class to feed as well as himself, that the barrel of meal does not waste, and the cruise of oil does not fail.

And then again he further finds, that whatever it is his duty to do, it is his duty to do with all his might. He needs not only time to teach on the Sabbath, but time for preparation during the week. He cannot serve Godd with what costs him nothing. And how is the time to be found? And here again he must deny himself. Per haps hee has sometimes to stint himself of his own necessary sleep, after a long day's work in his worldly

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