ANSWER TO ENIGMA (Page 229.)
"THE WHALE.”.

THE life of Jonah clearly shows
The Lord's preserving care ;
He was not hurt when storms arose,
Because his God was there.

But Jonah made himself a rod
By going on the deep;

And soon the mighty hand of God
Awoke him from his sleep.

And when they cast the trouble out,
The vessel lost her load;

The depth enclosed him round about,-
The sea was his abode.

But God had caused a fish to swim,
His servant's life to save;

Three days and nights it shelter'd him,
Who sank beneath the wave.

In Jonah's life we plainly see,

Sin brings its own reward;
But they are safe, on land or sea,
Who truly fear the Lord.

W. W.

THE EDITOR TO HIS DEAR YOUNG FRIENDS SENDS HIS HARVEST GREETING.

THE month whose bright, sunny, busy harvest days have passed away, has been a month of singular mercy. Nothing, surely, in all the ways of God, as a God of providence, should more draw forth the thanks of His dependent creatures than harvest mercies. It is many a year since God has smitten this country with a truly scarce harvest of bread

corn, or sent such a wet season as to hinder its being gathered together in a state that fits it for wholesome, nutritious human food. It is only your grandmothers and grandfathers that can remember shocks of corn grown green in the field, and bread so soft that it could scarcely be retained in an oven. And, indeed, thousands who have grandchildren can remember no such season. We are living in a singularly favoured country; a country from whose hills and valleys ascends from the altar of thousands of living souls the incense of prayer and praise; and it is no doubt in answer to the intercession of these Moseses and Samuels that God graciously spares our land, notwithstanding its many national sins cry loudly to heaven for vengeance. But often do I fear that the day may not be far distant when God will say about the people of England, what He said about the children of Judah in the days of Jeremiah; "Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people" (Jer. xv. 1). And woe to England when the God of Sabaoth shuts His ears to the intercessions of His people.

Semi-infidels are sowing doubts into the minds of the people about the veracity of the Book of God, and are taking away, by their profane daring reasonings, from the words of the prophecy of this Book, and more than semi-papists are, while living upon the fruits of the Protestant Church, adding the commandments and doctrines of men to the declarations of God's holy Book. One's heart grows hot with indignation, and then trembles with horror at this iniquity. Would that all in this land felt and acted upon the truth so clearly laid down in the Sixth Article of the Church of England: "Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation, so that whatever is not read therein, nor may

be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man that it should be believed as an article of the faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation." May the Lord hear the desires of His godly pleaders with Him, that this nation may be made wise, and not drag upon its head the crushing judgments of God, for taking from or adding to the complete Book of God.

These things have arisen before my mind in contemplating the fields of corn, the filling stack-yards, the loaded gleaners, and other joyous proofs of the bounty and long-suffering of God to our guilty land. Mercy unearned does, indeed, rejoice against judgment merited, and well may we exclaim

If Mercy insulted had quitted her seat,

And Justice provoked had arose

To crush British sinners beneath His dread feet,
And punish His truth-hating foes;-

If God had refused to open His ear
To saints' intercessory cries,

A merited storm, we have reason to fear,
Would cover with blackness our skies.

If God heard in judgment our sin's horrid cry,
And shut up His bountiful hand,

Instead of a smiling and sun-lighted sky,
Saluting a plenty-clad land,

The heavens all brazen would quickly appear,

The earth, too, as iron become,

The dread groan of famine would fill us with fear,
All over our sea-girdled home.

Had we our desert as a nation, we own

The sword would be stain'd with our gore,
Or pestilence cause the whole country to groan,
Or pillage make empty our store.

O Lord, make us all to feel and to know
We're accountable each to the Lord,

And show those they're leading the nation to woe
Who strengthen the foes of Thy Word.

Oh, show to the people 'tis wrong to uphold
Or count'nance the Bible's sad foes,
By either our presence, our silver or gold,
But rather such teaching oppose.

All teaching is sad that adds to the scroll-
The scroll that expresses God's will—
Or takes from its rich and its all-needed whole,
One word which its pages doth fill.

Such forms and traditions are join'd to the Book
As seek its great truths to destroy,

Proud reason its soul-humbling truths cannot brook,
But casts them aside as alloy.

The Bible's our heir-loom-'tis given of God—
Oh, prize it, young friends, while you may!

The Book that the martyrs have sealed with their blood,
May it never be taken away!

Dear youth, may the truth, and nought but the truth, Shine bright on your banner in gold;

'Tis a motto for manhoood, as well as for youth, A motto that never grows old.

The Bible alone is the foothold of faith,

Faith's object alone there is seen,

'Tis Jesus, His life, and His blood, and His death,
The sav'd ones' immutable screen.

The Spirit by means of the Bible doth teach
God's way the lost sinner to save,

And makes it a light on his path till he reach
The Jordan's deep on-flowing wave.

It gives us the song of the blood-wash'd on high,
""Tis WORTHY THE LAMB THAT WAS SLAIN
May you the rich anthem pour forth in the sky-
I wish it in Jesu's dear name.