THEOLOGICAL PARY

CAMBRIDGE, MASS.

Peurd. 1191

7.15

PREFACE. 1819

We are again reminded of the silent and rapid lapse of time by the close of another volume: happy should we be, if the parting admonition, at the end of this year's labors, might make a salutary impression on the minds of our readers.

There are two considerations of particular importance, which will interest the heart of the contemplative Christian, as he turns over the pages of a religious magazine. One is, that this world, in its ever varying circumstances, its endless fluctuations, affords no stable foundation for human happiness. As men advance in age, the proof of the uncertainty of worldly prospects, and the unsatisfying nature of human acquisitions, is so continually repeated, that it cannot be resisted. How vain are most of the projects, which we see entertained with ardor, pursued with zeal, and at last abandoned in disgust. How needless are most of the anxieties of men, in reference to the perishable objects before their eyes. Could we look back ten years, and recal every subject, which

gave us either uneasiness or pleasure, what a striking lesson would be furnished to us, of the futility of human pursuits, labors, and

cares.

The other consideration seems peculiarly applicable to ourselves and our readers, in reference to the various things recorded in this volume. Every month brings to our view fields white for the harvest, into which whoever pleases may