shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord and the excellency of our God.'

Did our limits permit, we might follow the steps of good men in all the liberal professions, as well as in private life; and might draw many striking illustrations of christian benevolence from their devotedness to the health and rights and general happiness of their fellow men. It is delightful, for example, to see a man of like spirit with Luke, the beloved physician,' in the chamber of sickness; and especially by the couch of poverty, patiently watching the symptoms of disease and prescribing with the same care and interest as he would do in the case of a particular friend, or even of one of his own family. It is truly affecting to see how cheerfully he rises in the cold and dark night, and hastens away many a mile, to relieve a fellow creature in distress, who has nothing to pay. And O, it is heavenly to stand by, while he whispers consolation into the ear of the dying believer, and to kneel with him as he commends the departing spirit to God who gave it.

Nor is goodness less attractive, at the bar, on the bench, at the council board, or in the hall of legislation. We admire it, every body admires it, in the disinterestedness of the advocate, tasking his utmost powers to shield innocence and penury from the talons of malignity and oppression, And how do we love and venerate the judge, who, not only holds the balances of justice with an even hand, but evidently delights in all the good which his high office enables him to do. From such an ornament to the bench, to human nature, and to the church, as was Sir Matthew Hale, and as was our own Reevefrom such goodness, ever beaming, ever active, ever fra

grant, who can withhold his admiration! The statesman, too, who has broken away from all the littleness of self, and the shackles of party; who loves his country with all the fervency of christian patriotism, and his God with an incomparably higher and holier devotion; whose supreme object is to do good and not to glorify himself, such a man is truly a public benefactor. He wields an influence which is felt by millions, in all the pulsations of national prosperity. He attracts to himself the eyes and the hearts of the virtuous and intelligent from every corner of the land. His singleness of purpose, his entire consecration to the public weal is recognized in all the forms of political, moral, and religious influence. Even his enemies are constrained to do him homage in their inward convictions, however they may slander him with their tongues. They feel, and cannot but feel, how awful goodness is,' how reluctant soever they may be to confess it. When such a christian, such a legislator, such a ruler dies, a great fountain is closed up; a central spring of benevolent action is broken; a bright and vivifying luminary is stricken from its orbit.

The same remark will apply to such undying names as Howard, and Thornton, and Clarkson, and Wilberforce. Why is it that they. will be had in everlasting remembrance? Chiefly on account of their goodness, their christian philanthropy, the overflowing and inexhaustible benevolence of their great minds. Such men feel that they were not born for themselves, nor for the narrow circle of their kindred and acquaintances, but for the world, and for posterity. They delight in doing good on a great scale. Their talents, their property, their time, their knowledge, and experience, and influence, they hold in constant requisition for the benefit of the poor,

the oppressed, and the perishing. You may trace them along the whole pathway of life, by the blessings which they scatter far and wide. They may be likened to yon noble river, which carries gladness and fertility, from state to state, through all the length of that rejoicing valley, which it was made to bless-or to those summer showers, which pour gladness and plenty over all the regions that they visit, till they melt away into the glorious effulgence of the setting sun.

Such was the man of Uz, in the days of his prosperity. 'When the ear heard me, then it blessed me, and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me; because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him. The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me, and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness and it clothed me; my judgment was as a robe and a diadem. I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame. I was a father to the poor, and the cause which I knew not,' I searched out.' What more than princely affluence, of patriarchal benevolence was here!

Such a man was Howard, the prisoner's friend. Christian philanthropy was the element in which he lived and moved, and out of which, life would have been intolerable. It was to him that kings listened with astonishment, as if doubtful from what world of pure disinterestedness he had come. To him despair opened her dungeons, and plague and pestilence could summon no terrors to arrest his investigations. In his presence, crime, though girt with the iron panoply of desperation, stood amazed and rebuked. With him home was nothing-country was nothing-health was nothing-life was nothing. His first and last question was, 'What is the utmost that I can

do for degraded, depraved, bleeding humanity, in all her prison houses?' And what wonders did he accomplish -what astonishing changes in the whole system of prison discipline may be traced back to his disclosures and suggestions--and how many millions, yet to be born, will rise up and call him blessed! Away all ye Cæsars and Napoleons, to your own dark and frightful domains of slaughter and misery. Ye can no more endure the light of such a godlike presence, than the eye, already inflamed to torture by dissipation, can look the sun in the face at noon-day.

But I must turn from the contemplation of these high and rare exhibitions of christian benevolence, and seek out some of her favorite walks, in those humbler and narrower spheres, which she so much adorns and blesses by her presence. Real goodness abhors ostentation ; and often moves in such silence and secrecy, that no finite eye can follow her steps. The disclosures of the great day, will unquestionably bring to light a thousand deeds of christian charity, which though' precious in the sight of the Lord,' have already been kept hid from ages and generations.' Probably some of the deeds of every good man, which God most highly approves, belong to this class. They will never be known till the and the book of remembrance is opened. eral course of benevolence can no more be concealed, than that of the fertilizing stream, which glides silently through the vale, and modestly seeks to hide itself beneath the grass and willows to which it secretly imparts the brightest verdure.

seal is broken,

But the gen

If the good man is blessed with health and worldly substance, like Job, he ministers to the necessities of the poor, and sends them portions of good things from his own table.

But bearing in mind that memorable saying of the apostle Paul, 'If any any man will not work, neither should he eat,' bis benefactions are chiefly bestowed upon the virtuous and industrious poor: and this is so far from being an impeachment of his benevolence, that it ought to increase our confidence in the purity of his motives and the wisdom which presides over his charities. For what benevolence is there in helping those, who will not help themselves? Is it any thing more, or less, than offering a premium to idleness and vice?

While the good man is thus mindful of the wants of his poor neighbors, his ear is at the same time open to the calls of the destitute abroad, from whatever quarter they may come. What though they are strangers, of whom he never heard before? No sooner do the tidings reach him, that the fire has burnt up their city, or that the floods have swept away the fruits of their industry, than his hand is opened for their relief. What though they dwell beyond the wide ocean, or on some famine-stricken isle and speak another language, and embrace a religion different · from his own? It is sufficient for him to know, that war bas ravaged their fertile plains, or that drought has burnt up their substance, while his own barns are filled with plenty, and it is in his power to relieve them.

Nor does the good man think he has done all his duty by satisfying the cravings of hunger; or ministering to the necessities of sickness, either at home, or abroad. On the contrary, he feels that he has but just entered upon the career of christian benevolence. Full well does

he know, that there are far more urgent wants to be relieved than those of the body. He thinks of other woes, deeper far than the tossings of a fever-of other necessities, infinitely more pressing, than those which food and