have not been able to have it in the morning except in our own cabin by ourselves two. I am sorry to find that few of the seamen on board have got Bibles. If I had thought of that I would have got a few Bibles for them from the Bible Society. I have, however, got a good supply of tracts. There are hundreds of ships in the Downs, all waiting for a wind to take them down the Channel. It is a fine sight to see them, and the beautiful white chalk cliffs to the north of them; but it will be a finer sight when the wind changes, and when they are all leaving,-a sight which I hope we shall have soon. But the wind, as well as ourselves, is in the Lord's hand; the time also is His, and it is for us to see that we make the best use of the time which He now gives us. There is plenty of work on board ship for me to do, and I have a better opportunity of doing good just now than I shall have for some time to come; only I would like to be doing good more directly in the service of the Church which is sending me; but it is of the Lord, and we must say, 'Thy will be done.' In another, of date "Jan. 9th, Isle of Wight":- "While I write, 3 P.M., we are in sight of the Isle of Wight, and the pilot is just about to leave us. We are both now quite well, and full recovered-for the present, at least-from sea-sickness; and I trust that the most unpleasant part of our voyage is already past. AGED AND INFIRM MINISTERS' FUND. TO THE EDITOR OF THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN MAGAZINE. MY DEAR SIR,-I have no permission from the writer to send you the enclosed letter for publication; but I hope he will kindly excuse the liberty I take in doing so, in consideration of the benefit which may accrue to our Aged and Infirm Ministers' Fund, from this example of frank and generous aid from a far country.-Yours faithfully, Rev. WILLIAM SYMINGTON, WM. SYMINGTON. DETROIT, MICHIGAN, U.S., Westercraigs, Glasgow, Scotland. MY DEAR SIR,-In December 1866 I find a memorandum made of an Aged and Infirm Ministers' Fund connected with the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland, and upheld by private contributions. In the Magazine for November just received, I find that subscribers are requested to forward the needful as soon as convenient. As I am no subscriber, of course the notice does not refer to me; besides, I have all along had the impression that the fund-was from time to time replenished by the large contributions of the wealthy. If in this I am mistaken, and, like the refreshing shower, your fund is composed of small rain-drops, instead of the copious outpourings of the waterspout, perhaps you will accept at my hand a single drop to add to the same. Enclosed you will find bill of exchange on Edinburgh for five pounds sterling, payable to your order, for the benefit of the above fund. If the same has been supplied abundantly before this reaches you, then you can apply it to some of the other funds of the Church. With kindest regards to Mrs Symington and the family,-I am, dear Sir, yours very truly, MATTHEW MOWAT. [In addition to Mr Mowat's £5, Mr Symington has since received £50 for the Aged and Infirm Ministers' Fund, from a lady belonging to Renton congregation.] Printed by CHARLES GIBSON, at his Printing Office, 18 Thistle Street, and Published by JOHNSTONE, HUNTER, & Co., at their Warehouse, 2 Melbourne Place, Edinburgh. "FOR man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them."-ECCLES. ix. 12. THESE words are given as an illustration of the truth presented in the preceding sentence-that results do not always correspond to the efforts put forth by man. "I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all." In other words, the destinies of men are decided in heaven. It is not might, it is not weakness that decides, but God. "Time and chance happeneth to all." Chance is not a power working with, or in opposition to, God. It is that which happens to man without his co-operation; that which happens to him by the will of the Supreme Governor. The general statement that every one, however high or low, is subject to chance, the sacred writer next affirms, is evident from the fact, that man knoweth not his time-he knows not what may be coming upon him; he is in the hands of a higher power. "For man also knoweth not his time." The term “man," is general. It is not, this man or that man, this nation or that nation, the Jew or the Gentle; but man—that is, man universally, knoweth not his time. The words, therefore, tell of a truth that concerns us all. "Time," here, primarily relates to the time when ill shall come G upon man; yet it may also be taken in the full sense of the words, "Man knoweth not his time.” Thus we may say, Man knoweth not the time of his merciful visitation.—-The dispensation under which we live, is a dispensation of mercy and forbearance. By our sin we have called down upon us the wrath due to transgression. We stand exposed to the punishment merited by those who have broken the Divine law. Yet the punishment, in its full extent, does not immediately descend upon us; and the reason is, that God forbears with us for a season, in order that we may repent, and embrace the mercy He offers us in the Gospel. How long this period of merciful visitation lasts, or may last, we know not, but there is no doubt that there is such a season. The earth which we inhabit, peopled with everything to supply our wants—the heavens above us, casting light on our path—and, more than all, the Saviour offered us in the Gospel,-proclaim, that we now enjoy a season of merciful visitation. In the Gospel, God tells us, in a way whose meaning cannot be mistaken, of our sin, of the punishment awaiting us, of how this punishment may be escaped-by faith in the Lord Jesus;-and assures us that now is the time for exercising this faith. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ"-" Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." And while assuring us, He entreats us to improve the opportunity He so mercifully affords us : "Turn ye, turn ye; why will ye die, O house of Israel?" Yet men too often know not the time of their merciful visitation. They live as if the gratification of bodily appetite were the all in all of our existence, saying, "Let us eat and drink, and be merry." The Gospel sounds in their ear, but they hear it as a tale that does not concern them. The Sabbath comes round, proclaiming to us the riches of the Divine mercy, and telling of a Sabbath of inexpressible happiness and joy, that may be ours in the world to come, by faith in the risen Saviour; and yet multitudes refuse to listen to its blessed teachings, and do their own pleasure on the Lord's day. This refusal is no new feature in the history of man. The Israelites, when delivered from the bondage of Egypt, were led into the desert, and brought under instruction to fit them for entering the promised inheritance, and there living in the enjoyment of God's favour. The Lord Himself spake to them from Sinai. In the pillar of cloud and fire, He proclaimed His gracious presence; and, in the manna that fell from heaven, He gave them an earnest of the goodness in store for them; yet they knew not the time of their visitation. They rejected the Divine teachings. The latter part of the 81st Psalm, in striking terms, sets forth what God was prepared to do for them, as well as their folly and its consequences: "I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me. I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels." So The same folly appears in the conduct of the nations that were cast out from the land of Canaan. Ultimately the Israelites, because of the debasing idolatry, and the abominable pollutions of the Canaanites, received the Divine command to destroy them; but before this injunction was given forth they enjoyed a long season of merciful visitation. Melchizedec, and Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, were all so many preachers of righteousness; for such men could not have lived so long in their midst without again and again preaching to them repentance, and the necessity of holiness. But their teachings were not received, and so their voices ere long ceased to be heard in their land. Jacob and his household went down to Egypt. Still the day of their merciful visitation was not yet brought to a close. The plagues that swept in destruction over Egypt, and the long sojourn of the Israelites in the wilderness, were fresh calls to repentance. But they knew not the day of their merciful visitation; and at last the Divine command was given to destroy them from off the face of the earth. The sin of Canaan was, in later ages, committed by Israel itself. After many prophets had foretold the coming of the Messiah, He at last came. Everything was done by Him to authenticate His mission as the promised Deliverer. Miracles of surpassing grace and power were performed. Instructions and warnings were given in rich abundance, and in a manner that told that He spake as one having authority, and not as the scribes. To instruction and warning He added expostulation, entreaty, and even tears. But they knew not the day of grace. Among the incidents that crowded into the closing week of our Lord's humiliation, the Evangelist records that, when He came near to Jerusalem for the last time, He beheld the city, and wept over it, and said, "If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; knewest not the time of thy visitation." because thou And what has been so often verified in past time, is still true in the case of many hearers of the Gospel. They live in a land of ordinances, and yet the blessings held forth in these they do not value. It may be they have such self-respect as to be regular in their attendance upon a preached Gospel; and, while in the courts of God's house, they may have been brought under strong convictions of sin, and even been distressed at heart through fear of the wrath to come. In this state they bethink themselves of making a religious profession, and, perhaps, even put forth some faint endeavour to turn to the Saviour. But their convictions are evanescent. In no long time they give up their profession, or, at least, if it is maintained, it is merely to secure a good name in the esteem of others. They know not the time of their visitation; and the day of opportunity passes by, it may be, never again to dawn upon them. Perhaps, in early life they may have been brought up without religious instruction or religious advantages. At last, however, they are led to frequent a place of worship. For a time they are regular in their attendance on the house of God, and the Gospel is heard by them with pleasure, and they entertain the thought of complying with its requirements; but, by-and-by, the circumstances that drew them to the sanctuary cease to influence them, the preacher's voice and the preacher's message have no longer the charm of novelty, and so they go back to their former carelessness. They know not the time of their visitation. They remain in unbelief; and, so far as can be affirmed from their lives, when they die, their portion can only be in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone. Man knoweth not the time when affliction shall come upon him.— One of the consequences of sin is, that man is exposed to affliction. He is born into trouble as the sparks fly upward. But when this trouble may come upon him, he knows not; and in what manner it may come, he is equally ignorant. Sometimes he fancies it is far off, or that it will never come to him, when in reality it is close at hand. Sometimes he fancies it may come in one way, when, notwithstanding, it comes in another altogether different. Sometimes he dreads its approach, and looks forwards with fear to long days and still longer nights of weariness and pain, when death may have to take him away in a moment, almost a stranger to suffering. But, however ignorant man may be of the time when affliction may come upon him, it is not so with God. Whatever the afflictions that come upon us, in all their varying circumstances, they are ordained and determined by Him with whom we have to do. They come to us in His wisdom. They are brought about by His providence. "Thou art my God," said the Psalmist. "My times are in thy hand." All events are under His control, although their coming is often hidden from us. It is His glory to conceal much of what He is about to perform from His creatures; but hidden as the |