pression to their being educated and trained with pious affection as "sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty." "Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee," ver. 5. Enlargement of heart and overflowing of the soul are the natural fruits of cordial joy; but pious parents, apostolic pastors, and believers matured in grace, have experienced all the delightful sensations intended by this language of the inspired Isaiah. And in the latter days, in the morning of the millennial glory of the church, these dictates of the Holy Spirit will be far more fully realized, multitudes arising in all nations to crowd the sanctuaries of God. "The abundance of the sea" being "converted" unto the church denotes, not literally, as the marginal reading is, "the noise of the sea" being "turned toward" the church it must signify that which is intelligent, and capable of contributing towards the greatness, honour, and holiness of the church of Christ. Probably the clearest and most correct idea of its import will be found in the ninth verse of this chapter; and by the aid of that passage we apprehend it denotes the multitudinous inhabitants of the numerous islands of the sea- the vast body of mariners, whose peculiar element and appropriate sphere of labour is the sea-and the prodigious amount of property invested in the "shipping interest," and embarked in foreign commerce, by means of the sea. These unnumbered islanders and mariners, brought or converted unto the church of Christ, by the ministry of the gospel made effectual by the grace of the Holy Spirit, and the incalculable amount of property employed, not in luxury and temporal delights, but chiefly to promote the enlargement, purity, and happiness of mankind, preparing them for the kingdom of God, is a subject unspeakably sublime in itself, and altogether worthy of Divine inspiration. Dr. Gill, in his learned commentary on this clause, written about eighty years ago, remarks, "By the abundance of the sea, some understand the riches of the sea, that which is got out of it, or got upon it, in trading by it, this shall be converted to the use of the church and people of God. But rather an abundance of seafaring men is here meant, who shall be converted at this time, in which the grace of God will more appear, as they are generally a very wicked and profligate set of men. Or the inhabitants of the islands of the sea, such as Great Britain and others; or the sea may intend the several nations of the world, as waters do many people, nations, and kindreds, Rev. xvii, 15; and so it may denote a large abundance of converted persons everywhere, and more especially in the western parts of the world, in the European parts; since it is very common in Scripture to describe the western parts of the world by the sea, the Mediterranean sea lying west of Judea." Probably the inspired prophet himself understood the mind of the Spirit thus far; as in his time, or perhaps earlier, the Phenicians of Tyre, then the greatest mart of commerce in the world, had commenced a lucrative trade in metals, particularly tin, with the miners and founders of Britain, as seems more than intimated by the prophet Ezekiel, in his description of Tyrian commerce, about a century after Isaiah, Ezek. xxvii, 1, 7, 8, 9, 12, 25, 26, 27. The substance of this is confirmed by Herodotus, "the father of Grecian history," who states that the Phenicians traded for tin with the Cassiterides, which are believed to have been the Scilly isles and Cornwall. "The forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee." This, as Dr. Gill remarks, may be understood of "their armies, every army of them: the soldiery will be converted, as well as seafaring men, who are for the most part also exceedingly wicked: not only kings will become real Christians, but their armies will be so too, their generals, officers, and common soldiers." "The multitudes of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall show forth the praises of the LORD. All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister unto thee: they shall come up with acceptance on mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory." Ver. 6, 7. Multitudes of converts to the church of Christ, bringing their peculiar wealth with them, are denoted by all these expressions: "Midian" was a son of Abraham by Keturah, and " Ephah" was a son of Midian, Gen. xxv, 1-4. These and their posterity have inhabited Arabia down to our times, the votaries of idolatry or Mohammedism; and this prediction foretels the conversion of Arabs to the church of Christ. "Dromedaries" are a species of smaller camel; and both these beasts are used by travellers, especially in Arabia, by travellers not only with mercantile caravans but with government expresses: the prophet, therefore, appropriately describes the Arabian converts as using them, in seeking to enjoy the ordinances of the "Sheba" gospel, and in extending the kingdom of God. was another of the posterity of Abraham by Keturah, Gen. xxv, 3, living near to his brethren on the south western coast of Arabia, or across the Red Sea in Abyssinia: the famous "queen of Sheba," bringing many talents of gold as presents, came to Jerusalem "to hear the wisdom of Solomon," 1 Kings x, 1-10: but Isaiah predicted the conversion of the people of this country, whose “ gold and incense, or choicest treasures, should be dedicated to the honour and service of God, as the wise men of the East, probably from the same country, brought their "gifts, gold, and frankincense, and myrrh," Matt. ii, 11; and all these consecrating their persons and property to advance the interests of religion, would thus "show forth the praises of the LORD." "Nebaioth and Kedar" were sons of Ishmael, grandsons of Abraham, Gen. xxv, 13. Ishmael's twelve sons, of whom Nebaioth was the eldest, inhabited all the country from the river Euphrates to the Red Sea, calling it the "Nabatene country," according to Josephus. Their property, consisting in vast flocks of sheep, as we see possessed by Job (chap. i, 3), when they shall be converted to Christ, shall contribute greatly to the wealth of the nations, and be employed for the honour of God. Thus their persons, their services, and sacrifices will be accepted on the altar of God through Christ; the wealth, commerce, shipping, merchandize, and arts of all nations shall be employed for the Divine glory, and, in answer to the prayers of a devoted, holy, and united people, God "will glorify the house of his glory," by showering down richly upon all his worshipping people, the gifts and grace of his Holy Spirit. BRITISH INTREPID FIDELITY AT ALGIERS, On the 12th of February, 1835, it blew a most tremendous storm, in which thirty-five vessels were wrecked, and more were damaged and in peril. The captain of a small English vessel (about 50 tons) had a crew of five men, four of whom he sent ashore, and retained only one sailor, besides his own son, of ten years of age. A boat ventured out to bring them ashore, but having strong confidence in his own seamanship to weather the whole storm, calmly declined the offered assistance, replying, "That it was his duty to save the ship and cargo if he could, and he would do his duty." But the reader will say, "Why retain the poor child?" He was no poor child, but a noble fellow; for he refused, and persisted in refusing, to leave his father. Nor was this a freak of rashness on the part of the captain (I have seen him and his son, but I have unhappily forgot his name), but it was an act of cool and calculating bravery. He knew the strength of his little brig, and felt that he could trust to the tenacity of both his anchors. He even reckoned that he should be safe with one of them should it be necessary to cut the cable of the other. This eventually became necessary. During the awful days of the 11th and 12th, the main cause of destruction to the ships was their getting foul of each other. Accordingly, when one or two of the miserable drifting wrecks were coming down and ready to bump his vessel to destruction, he cut his cable and swung out of bumping reach. The French have not published this noble instance of intrepidity, but they speak of it with high and due admi ration. WATCHFULNESS OF VICE ADMIRAL BOYS. AT the close of the last war, being then captain of a line of battle ship, he was ordered to join the Channel fleet for the purpose of exercise. It is well known that on such occasions, if a ship lose her place in the line, by making too much, or having too little sail, &c. &c. it is usual for the admiral, when the error is noticed, to make her signal; and, of course, it becomes a matter of competition amongst the different ships to avoid this distinction, each wishing to have her own signal made as seldom as possible. Admiral Boys. related with great satisfaction that his ship on that occasion had not her signal made once. In one instance, he went for a few moments into his cabin, but keeping a good look out even there, he observed that something was getting wrong in his ship's distance, and instantly went upon deck and gave the necessary orders to make or shorten sail, as the case required. The error had, however, been noticed by the admiral; glasses were at work, and the ship's signal was seen ascending; but ere it was up, the correction of the error was also noticed, and the signal was hauled down again without having been quite hoisted. Pious ingenuity will see what an admirable lesson is here furnished to every one of us in our voyage of life. Our Great Commander, our Divine Captain of salvation, is ever looking upon us, observing whether we keep our proper station and due distance. Admirals, however skilful and observant, are unable to give infallible directions, and to exert their care so as effectually to preserve all, or indeed any, under their command; but the Commander of the Church is not only an observer of our progress; he is able to calm the raging billows of life, and to keep us by his mighty power in every difficult duty, as well as rescue us from danger. While, therefore, each of us is under his gracious eye, and constant notice, let us improve the beautiful sentiment of the poet, depending on the grace of his Holy Spirit. "Watch! 'tis your Lord's command; And while we speak he's near: THE PREACHER AT LEITH ONCE A SAILOR. On the first sabbath after the Floating chapel at Leith being ready for divine worship, it was well attended by seamen, rejoicing in the provision thus made for their spiritual instruction. This " Bethel" would seat 350 persons. By direction of the magistrates of Edinburgh, the chapel was assigned a convenient situation in the dock; and at the request of the managers of the Edinburgh and Leith Seaman's Friend Society, the Rev. Andrew Lothian conducted the service, during which he thus addressed the numerous seamen present :— "I will not, brethren, conceal from you a circumstance |