and is to be found not on the earth, but in the heavens. What interesting moral reflections might be deduced from this, regarding the grovelling tendency of our thoughts, had we time and space! but as both are wanting, we shall leave the idea to furnish others with a prolific germ of thought. We hear some express their regret that Neptune has not visited the ship, according to his custom; but if they were acquainted with his manners, they would no doubt entertain a different opinion. He is rude and boisterous as the waves he rules, and his short reign on board a ship is a scene of oppression and cruelty, not of harmless fun and frolic, as it ought to be. We therefore rejoice that he has not been permitted to perform his marine orgies here. We beg to express our sympathy for those who suffer from a heat they have not been accustomed to. The nights during the calms were almost unendurable, in spite of open scuttles and collapsed wind-sails, that in vain were trimmed to court every cat's-paw. The berths on the lower deck seemed to scorch their unhappy occupants, who sought but could find no place of refuge, as the Surgeon Superintendent, with the design of quieting this moving scene, and preventing disorder, directed that no one should sleep in the gangways. D. R. No. V.—MAY 26, 1852. Trust no future, howe'er pleasant! Let us, then, be up and doing, ON GRATITUDE TO OUR CREATOR. "Oh! come, let us sing unto the Lord." WHO are to "sing unto the Lord ?" My brethren, they are to sing with heartfelt gratitude to God who present themselves before him, to return thanks, and praise his holy name for the mercies he is bestowing on them, and for the gift of his eternal Son, who came to save us from endless destruction. This is our daily and hourly duty, but it is of our public devotions on the Lord's day that I now speak: upon His day we have to beg a blessing, to hear his holy Gospel preached, to pray for his tender mercies towards us, and glorify him for all the benefits bestowed on us. Upon this day, then, we shall say, “Come, let us sing unto the Lord," not with our lips only, but with our hearts, that our voices may ascend before him as a lark mounts the air. To enjoy the privilege of thus addressing your Creator, come forth after the labours of the week-from the paths of vice and ruin-from the smoke of the furnace-and from the filth of the world, to enter his house, and sing unto him with all our hearts. Alas! we have not done this; we have profaned his Sabbath and his sanctuary, by going, I am afraid, for the sole purpose of seeing and being seen. The prospect of the approaching Sabbath is a joyful one to the pious man who has finished his weekly work. Saturday night is the beginning of the labourer's weekly period of joy; on the Sunday morning his heart bursts forth with gratitude, "Let us sing unto the Lord." How delightful it is on this morning to walk alone into the fields and woods!-to see the beasts quietly cropping the grass which God has caused to grow for them; to hear the birds chanting their morning song, and the soft winds rustling among the budding leaves, all these seem to praise their Creator. When God had completed the work of creation, he rested, and he has commanded his people also to rest from their labours on that day, and consecrate it to his service. If we consider the sin we commit in profaning it, by spending it in doing our own pleasure, and walking in the way of the enemy of souls, we should surely pause, and ask God's forgiveness for the crime we have been guilty of, and implore his aid in resisting temptation for the future. Has not desecration of the Sabbath brought many of us here? We confess it has; but surely now we see the evil of neglecting his commandments who is our best friend. This has separated us from all earthly friends, and from many gracious privileges possessed by us. How many of us have left fathers or mothers, or perhaps both-brothers and sisters-wives and families-to weep in sore anguish! To those who, alas! have none of these relations, God will be a father and friend, if they seek him. As we are about to tread on a new soil, let us cast off our old practices and passions, and begin with a determination to do better: let us seek and serve God both publicly and privately, every day, and more particularly on His day: let us ask him to forgive us all that is past, and give us strength to walk in his way for the time to come: let Sunday be the best day of the seven for us: let us not care for the taunts and reproaches of those around us: let us fear him who is able to save us; and let us deeply consider whether it is not better to serve God for a few short years, and then be happy for ever, than to serve Satan, and endure the torments of hell for eternity. "Be wise while it is called to-day, for the night cometh, when no work may be done." In the strength of our salvation let us repose all our hopes of happiness: in pursuing the right path we shall fear no evil, for God will support us. If there is one who will scoff at what I have said, may God forgive him, as I trust he will in his mercy through Christ forgive me! Once more let me remind you it is to-day that he calleth; harden not your hearts, but take warning from one who is as great a sinner as yourselves our duty is to help each other as we travel onwards, and I therefore appeal to you in the hope of relieving some of a heavy burden. I hope we shall all meet, when we reach the land, to sing unto the Lord with our hearts and souls; to thank Him for his kindness in preserving us on our long voyage, and in not cutting us off in the midst of our sins. If he had done so, what would our condition have been! Solemn thought! It ought to make us prepare for death. In passing through the dark valley, how sweet it will be to have Jesus for a light without this, all will be dark and dreary. H. G.* * Vide Note, p. 56. DIVINE SERVICE AT SEA. A LOUD shrill whistle was the signal for us to attend divine service on the quarter-deck, it being the Sabbath day. I was much gratified with the scene which presented itself: the juvenile members of the congregation-the soldiers' children-were seated in front of the poop; behind them were the soldiers under arms, and their wives occupied any little vacant spaces; on the right stood the Surgeon Superintendent, and on the left, with the officers of the ship, was the captain; the sailors seated themselves under the break of the poop, in the rear of the pulpit, while the prisoners formed a semicircle in front. A solemn silence prevailed; not a sound was to be heard but what was occasioned by the slight flapping of the sails; all nature appeared calm and tranquil. Above our heads had been spread an awning, to protect us from the scorching rays of that glorious sun, which seemed to smile upon the convict ship as she lay becalmed on the so often turbulent but now peaceful ocean. The service commenced with that affecting and heavenly chant, "I will arise and go to my father." I could not help reflecting on the change in our circumstances: many a time have we heard the church bells summoning the parishioners to worship. I could picture in my mind the different groups of the old and young reverently wending their way to the house of God, there to confess their many sins and backslidings, and to implore grace and strength for the future. Truly if any one has cause to use these words, "We have erred and strayed from Thy ways like lost sheep," we have. How suitable, how admirably adapted they G |