Newfoundland to-morrow: may thy gracious presence be with him, O thou God of love, and may he experience thy kind providential care, as on former occasions, protecting him from every danger, and returning him to me in safety. While he beholds thy great wonders in the deep, may he be more and more convinced of his utter dependence on thee for all things, both for time and eternity. Take the direction of all his thoughts, and by thy Holy Spirit convince him that man, by nature, is in a gulf of misery and wretchedness, altogether lost and undone in himself; and, O most gracious God, enable him and me, and all with whom we are connected, to lay hold of those cords of love and mercy offered to us by the blessed Jesus, the breadth, and length, and height, and depth of whose love, neither angels nor men shall ever be able to comprehend. If so, O how blessed shall we be !-eternity itself will be too short to utter all the praises of our glorious Redeemer. Most gracious God, thou art the giver of every good and perfect gift. I thank thee for the strong affection thou hast implanted in our hearts towards each other. May we ever be kept from making idols of one another; but may the blessed Jesus reign supreme in our hearts, and we be enabled to live together, 'in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost,' that we may be partakers of thy glory hereafter. Prepare us for all the afflictions of life; under them may we manifest that we are indeed the true children of God, by being in entire subjection to the

Father of our Spirits. Listen, O thou hearer of prayer, to the united supplications of the people of God, in behalf of my dear husband, and the present feeble desires of my soul, for the sake of the blessed Intercessor whom thou hearest always. Amen.”

Again she writes

"End of the year 1815, and commencement of 1816. "O Lord, behold me, a poor wretched creature, utterly lost and undone in myself, having neither righteousness nor strength: look on me in mercy for the sake of Jesus, the Son of thy love, who ever lives, and ever pleads in our behalf at the mercyseat; for his sake, graciously pardon all the sins of my past life, and grant me grace to spend the rest of my days in thy fear, and to thy honour and glory. Prepare me for all thy holy will. I desire unreservedly to commit my all into thy faithful hands, both for time and eternity. Extend thy protecting care to my dear husband, now at sea. Be his God and guide for ever and ever, enabling him to make choice of thee as his all-sufficient portion; and when his father and mother leave him, do thou, Lord, give him the sweet assurance, that thou art his Father and his God. Return him in safety, if it be thy holy will, and enable us to live together as thy redeemed people; but if thou call him away from me, O grant that we may meet in thy blessed abode, where we shall sin no more, nor sorrow any more; but shall see the blessed Jesus, and be made like

him, and shall no more have to complain of want of love, or of likeness to him, as I do this night; and under such a bereavement, grant, gracious God, I may be enabled to glorify thee, as one who knows that the righteous Judge of all the earth can only do that which is right. Trusting to thy almighty, promised, supporting grace, I desire to resign myself wholly to thy infinitely wise disposal; graciously hear, forgive, and accept, through the blessed Saviour. Amen."

Prayer was the element in which Mrs Johnstone lived and moved. She used to say, the way "to rejoice evermore," is to "pray without ceasing;" for the Divine injunction is, "Be careful for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgivings, let your requests be made known to God." We must not only keep up stated times of prayer, but seek to be ever in the spirit of prayer; and we must set apart special seasons of prayer, when anything burdens our spirits, as this is the true way to obtain relief when our affairs are perplexed. And, even under the most trying circumstances, we must join thanksgivings with our prayers, grateful acknowledgments for mercies that have been received, and that are mingled with the trial, the very least of which is more than we deserve. Surely we should endeavour to express our sense of the value of mercies that are new every moment, and fresh every morning, keeping up and encouraging a

continual sense of our dependence upon God for everything that renders the present life comfortable, or that opens to the eye of faith the prospect of all that blessedness which is connected with knowing the true God and Jesus Christ, whom to know is eternal life.

The following extracts afford a pleasing specimen of the manner in which Mrs Johnstone improved this distinguished privilege :

"July 21.-Sabbath Evening.

"Blessed be thy great name, most gracious and adored Holy Lord God, for the liberty given this day to thy servant to proclaim the word of life to us, in the absence of our faithful pastor. Sweet is the answer of prayer; while thou art allowing me to take the comfort, I desire to give to thee all the glory; and O grant that I may be enabled to adopt the language of the text, "Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee.' Lord, save me from a name to live, while yet being dead; thinking myself something, while I am nothing, thus deceiving myself; but may I be enabled to evidence to myself, and all around me, by abounding in the fruits of righteousness, that I am indeed born from above. Search and try me, O thou heart-searching Jehovah, that I may be made to know the worst of myself now, in the day of health and strength, while the door of mercy stands open, and thou art waiting to be gracious, entreating guilty sinners to come unto

thee and be saved. O give unto me a God-gloryfying view of the fulness and freeness of the blessed remedy provided for me, in and through the mediation and spotless righteousness of our blessed Redeemer. In attempting to review the operations of my heart in thy sight, alas, O Lord, I find I have been guilty of much self-love, when I ought to have been condemning myself in thy holy presence; but all these self-complacent thoughts I desire, with all my past sins, to confess, and bring them this night to the precious blood of Christ, to be pardoned, and blotted out for ever. Thou hast promised this: grant that I, a worthless sinner, may be made to experience the full accomplishment of the gracious promise, and have renewed strength to depart from all iniquity. Lord, thine I would be, save thou me with an everlasting salvation. I desire this night to return hearty thanks for the good accounts received from my dear, affectionate husband. O Lord, bless him with all spiritual and heavenly blessings in Christ Jesus; preserve him from every evil, especially from the evil of sin. Restore us to each other, if it be thy holy will; and, as thou hast united us by the strongest earthly affection, which must sooner or later be dissolved, O grant that, by a rapid progress in grace, we may have the sweet assured evidence that we are bound by cords of love which cannot be broken, but shall last through an endless state of unmingled blessedness!"