New Testament which marks God's abhorrence of deceit and lying?

A. The death of Ananias and Sapphira, which we find an account of in the 5th chapter of Acts. Q. Can you point out an instance of the same nature in the Old Testament?

A. Yes; in the history of the prophet Elisha's servant, Gehazi, which we find in the 5th chapter of the second Book of Kings.

V.

Q. In whom does the Lord delight?

A.

"In them that speak

The words of truth."

Q. Prove this from Scripture.

A. Prov. xii. 22. Lying lips are abomination to the Lord; but they that deal truly are his delight." Q. What does the word of God tell us of the dreadful end of liars?

A. Rev. xxi. part of verse 8. "All liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone."

Q. Who is the first liar that we read of in the Bible?

A. The Devil.

Q. What was the lie with which he deceived Eve? A. He told her that she should not die, although she disobeyed God.

Q. Where does our Lord call the Devil the father of lies?

A. John viii. part of verse 44. "When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar, and the father of it."

VI.

Q. What should you then resolve always to do? A. To "watch my lips."

Q. What is the prayer which the Psalms of David furnish us with 'on this subject?

Gardening.

!

A. Psalm exli. 3.

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"Set a watch, O Lord, before

my mouth; keep the door of my lips."

From "Dr. Watts's Hymns for Children, with Questions and Answers." (By a Lady.) Rivingtons.

CAUTION TO RIDERS.

A VERY serious accident happened, a short time ago, to a young gentleman who was riding in Windsor Park. His pony took fright, and, by starting suddenly, the foot of the young gentleman was entangled in the stirrup-leather. The poney was, at length, stopped, but the youth was very dreadfully hurt. We know not the particulars of this accident, but it is very common for boys to put their feet in the stirrup leathers, if they cannot reach the stirrups; this is a very dangerous practice. For young riders a sort of stirrup should be used which will allow only part of the foot to be admitted, so that they cannot get entangled in case of a fall. Spring bars to stirrups are highly desirable. It is thought by some to be advisable to teach boys, at first, to ride without any stirrups at all.

V.

GARDENING.

PREPARE your ground for winter spinach, if not done. Sow cabbage seeds, to produce plants for next summer. Prepare some good ground in an open place for planting out brocoli, if wanted; draw some earth round those that were planted last month. Plant out savoys till the middle of the month, that they may be handsomely cabbaged by November or December. Dress asparagus beds. Transplant the celery in trenches. Divide the roots NO. 8-VOL. VII. R

P

of sage, and other aromatic herbs, and plant them out. Gather seeds of flowers, vegetables, &c. and cut off the dry stalks. A garden will look dull and wild at this time of year, if not well managed: but, with a good supply of the usual annual flowers, taking care to remove all dead stems, &c., it may be made very gay. The China Rose, and the Corcorus, and the Choriopsis, and the Daliahs, in addition to the usual annuals, the African and French Marigolds, and China-aster, and the beautiful Indian Pinks, as well as the stately Hollyhock, will make a very full and showy garden. If a man is fond of his garden, he will take care, even at this time of year, not to allow it to be dull or dirty. V.

SCRIPTURAL EXPLANATIONS, &c.

WE have, in conversations with our Cottage friends, sometimes found, that certain passages, both in the Scriptures and in the Prayer-book, had been misunderstood by them, and that a word or two of explanation would remove the difficulty. The following examples may serve as proofs of what we

mean:

No. I. We read, both in the Bible and the Prayerbook, of the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. The word passion conveys to some minds a different notion from that which it is here intended to express. The passion of our Lord means the sufferings of our Lord, the word passion being (at the time when the Bible was translated) generally used to signify suffering. We are apt, now, to use this word in the sense of anger, but this is not at all the sense in which Scripture uses it. Our Saviour was a pattern of meekness: the violence of angry passion was

Scriptural Explanations, &c.

363

not seen in him. Let his followers imitate his example.

No. II. "If thy right hand offend thee, cut it off." "If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out." We cannot suppose that this is to be understood in its plain, literal sense. To "offend" means to "stand in the way of," "to be a hinderance," "a stumbling block." The meaning then is, that, as religion is "the one thing needful," whatever is a hinderance to thee in thy religious course,-whatever stands in thy way, whatever prevents thee from going on in the right path,-must be parted with,-must be given up, even though it should be as dear to thee as a right-hand, or a right-eye. What a lesson is this to teach us to examine ourselves, and to see whether there is any thing within us which checks. us in our heavenly course, any daily sinful inclination which hinders us from devoutly serving God? Or is there any beloved companion whose mind is against godliness, and who would turn us from the right path? We must be ready to part with all these, if we would be the followers of Christ.

No. III. "Except ye be born again ye cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven." Now it is plain that this is a figurative expression; a man cannot, in a literal sense, be born again; "he cannot, that is, enter a second time into his mother's womb, and be born." Our Lord explains his meaning to Nicodemus, and teaches him that a man must be born "of water and of the spirit." The body of a man is rendered fit for its purposes by a natural birth; the soul of a man must be rendered fit for its purposes by a spiritual birth. Being born of water represents baptism, which our Lord thus requires of all those who would wish to become partakers of the benefits of his religion. We use water to cleanse and to purify; it therefore aptly represents that purity of heart and mind which is to belong to a true Christian. Being born of the spirit, is re

ceiving the influence of divine grace into the heart, without which we shall neither have the desire nor the power to serve God; without it we cannot live a life of holiness and obedience, we cannot therefore be the true members of Christ here, and cannot inherit his kingdom hereafter.

No. IV. "No man putteth new wine into okł bottles," &c.-This may not appear plain to those who suppose that the bottles here alluded to were such as ours. We must, however, recollect, that formerly the bottles were made of skins, or leather, as indeed they are still, in some parts of the world. New wine ferments, but new bottles will stretch, and so no harm is done. If new wine be put into bottles which are old and have already been stretched to the uttermost, then, in the fermentation, it will burst the bottles. Our Lord merely uses this as a comparison, to shew that the full power of his doctrine might be too strong for some of his hearers, and that he therefore should proceed to instruct them in the way which he judged to be best for them, and to lay down the truths of his religion, not all at once, but by degrees as they were able to bear them. The putting "new cloth on an old gar ment," is intended to convey the same meaning. Imagine an old garment woven somewhat like our stockings; a new piece added would make the rent worse. The best doctrines will produce no good effect on a mind worn down with old prejudices. God grant that we may have a heart to receive his doctrines "in simplicity and godly sincerity;" that we may receive "with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save our souls." The Litany in our church service contains a beautiful prayer to this effect. "That it may please thee to give to all thy people increase of grace to hear meekly thy word, and to receive it with pure affection, and to bring forth the fruits of the spirit, we beseech thee to hear us good Lord."

V.