His affections become young again-wondrously more active and enlarged than when he was in the land of deprivation and want. And O what must be our view of heaven if we do not feel that the influences there will give new strength and activity to every pure affection! There the departed learn more of the worth of the human heart, and the power of mind. They read clearer the divine mysteries of our being; and must desire more earnestly than they could on earth, the redemption of souls. A new fervor is given to all their aspirations after universal good, and every tender sensibility is quickened. They cannot forget us. They cannot blot out the loves of mortality, and write new names in their place. If they could, our love and reverence for them would be lessened-O how much!

What loftier idea can we have of the Divine benevolence than that in the future world is given to the immortal this expansion of love this intercessory affection-this ardent waiting for the release from earthliness of the loved and dear! Would there not come a shadow-deep and dark

-over the brightness of our thoughts of the God of Love, were we to believe that at death he blotted out the memories of long and dearly cherished loves-separated hearts forever, and permitted not a thought to rise up to the throne for their happiness? Is this a purification of memory-a refining of the inward being? or is it not denying to the blest immortals what is the beauty and glory of the risen Christ-the sensibility that can be touched with a sense of the infirmities of mortal man? If he could speak to the outward ear as when he taught on earth, he would tell us

love is immortal, and comfort the trembling heart. Then, O mourner, dost thou

"Ask for thy home? In solemn peace 't is lying,
Far o'er the deserts and the tombs away;
'Tis where I, too, am loved with love undying,
And fond hearts wait my step-But where are they?

Ask where the earth's departed have their dwelling;
Ask of the clouds, the stars, the trackless air.
I know it not, yet trust the whisper telling

Thy heart and mine, that love unchanged is there."

"He

We must wait God's time for the opening of the book that shall interpret to us the mysteries of this life and of death. We know in partwith that part we must be satisfied now; for "the secret things are with God, but those which are revealed are for us and our children." hath made all things beautiful in his time;" his time is the best of times, and when the time shall come for the unfolding of the leaves of the now budding flower, we shall perceive, acknowledge, and joy in, the beauty of divine power and wisdom, the harmony of grace, and the perfection of redeeming love. "It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord."

THE JOY OF TRUST.

"Blessed is he that maketh the Lord his trust." Psalm xl. 4.

WHILE I was one evening conversing with a young friend, who possesses one of the richest and purest minds, we chanced to dwell on the mysteries of our present being, and the limited knowledge of even the most comprehending mind, and one remark was made by her that has furnished to me a theme for thought many times since. 'I would not know every thing," said she, "for then I could not exercise trust." It is a remark that told me much of her idea of the Divinity, her reasons for confidence, and the blessedness of a filial trust.

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Yes, there is joy in trust reposed in earthly love-in the feeling that forbids us to entertain the least thought of wrong, or injustice, being done to us by those we confide in. Love, free from jealousy, suspicion, or doubt. Full and free in its confidence as angels' can be. Unfaltering reliance on the pure goodness of every feeling and intention-every look, word, and action. How much it takes to make such a heart tremble in the least with doubt, or to raise in the mind a single questioning that implies it! Many may be the acts not understood, and the words uttered mysterious and strange, but the heart is

the same towards the doer and speaker. What a blessedness does the confiding one derive therefrom, carrying in the secrecy of the heart the sweetest thoughts and emotions, and trusting not even to her own lips to give utterance to the sanctities of her unshadowed trust. She feels

rejoiced that there are trials of the purity and depth thereof, and that she can thereby prove how completely she has put her own heart into the breast of the other.

It is so with the Christian and his trust in God. There is such a blessedness in the exercise of his trust, that he is thankful, aye, thankful, for the mysteries of life. He knows in part-that part is enough to fix the deep affections of his nature on God, and he reposes trust in the good of the rest. He is thankful for the trial of his love thus given; and whatever comes-however mysteries gather and thicken, his heart is the same, beating healthily and strongly, sending the spiritual current of life and strength throughout the whole man. It is a blessed state of being indeed! A renewal of Eden in the soul-a continual upspringing in the heart of the delicious waters of everlasting life!

And why should we not trust-trust unwaveringly-trust in the deep darkness of the starless night, as when the sun floods down the noonday light? God is, as God was; and as God was, he will be. Look out on the stars, as now they shine out in their solemn magnificence. Think what power binds, upholds, and moves those worlds in brightness, harmony, and grace! That power is mindful of thee-the sacred word hath declared it, and on the holy page it is writ

ten. For what is He mindful of thee? For thine own good. O do not dream that He will bend from the loftiness of love to ever make thine existence a curse. "One glance at the stars," said Walter Scott, "is enough to banish from the mind all low conceptions of the Deity." He said right-he uttered the truth; and see to it, O man, that thou readest amid “the poetry of heaven "the hymn of trust.

GOD IS UNCHANGEABLE.

THE whitest and tiniest lily leaf will cast a shadow, Yea, more than this; there is not an infinitesimal of matter that will not cast a shadow, yet God is without variableness, or even shadow of turning. He is declared to be good unto all, and as extending his tender mercies over all his works, and therefore what reason have we to doubt his ever-continuing love?