Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

appeal to his remark on the longsuffering of our Lord to be accounted our salvation; and to his utterance, "Free grace! Free grace!" and to his resolution and exhortation to his lady not to stop short of earnest effort for the salvation of their unconverted friends and acquaintances. No; the fruits of the Spirit, he well knew, are of heavenly, not earthly growth. The pure and true love of man springs from only one source; the love of God in Christ, as St. John teaches. Every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God." "And this commandment have we from Him, that he who loveth God love his brother also."

Blessed are they who so live in the Lord, and so die in the Lord.

"IT MAY BE SOON."

(Compiled by the Earl of Aberdeen, and looked over in proof by him on the day he died.)

READER, whoever thou art, it may be soon, very, very soon-the clods of the valley shall cover thee, and the worms shall feed on thee. "Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down; he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not."-(Job xiv. 1, 2.) On the day when thy poor body shall be cold and motionless, the sun will shine as brightly, the birds will sing as gaily, men will pursue their different objects with as much earnestness as when thou wast full of health, and youth, and spirits. Few, very few will ever think of thee; and even from the minds of those few, soon wilt thou pass away and be forgotten.

Reader, after death is "the judgment." Thou must appear before the judgmentseat of Christ; and yet, perhaps, thou hast to this moment lived as careless about thy soul, as if thou hadst none. It may be thou hast gone on, day after day, week after week, month after month, yea, perhaps year after year, as unconcerned about its eternal state, as if hell was a tale, and eternity a trifle. Death may be near at hand; how near thou knowest not. It might be this hour, this moment; but, should it be this moment, where would thy soul be?

[The conclusion is by the Earl himself.]

Reader are you prepared to die ?

Are you reconciled to God? Can you approach Him as a friend? Do you love Him as a father? Do you obey Him as a master? Do you love His word-His people and His day? In vain do you profess to love Him, if you do nothing for Him.

Are you, like Jesus, going about doing good? Do you visit the sick, pity the poor, and seek the salvation of all around you?

Are you growing in grace ? Is the heart hard or soft? Is Christ precious? Are you willing to do all He bids you, imitating His example as well as trusting in His blood?

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS.

The Anti-State Church Association and the Anti-Church-Rate League Unmasked. An Exposure of the Fallacies and Misrepresen tations of Mr. E. Miall's Title Deeds of the Church of England to her Parochial Endowments. By John Pulman, of the Middle Temple, Barrister. Mackintosh & Hatchard.-We heartily recommend this book to all who feel an interest in the Church of England, or wish

to see a great subject protected from unfair and unfounded objections; and especially to any who may have been affected by Mr. Miall's arguments, or may be in a position which makes it necessary for them to be able to meet his attacks. The work is written with much power, and certainly without any effort to spare Mr. Miall; but it is done in the way which overwhelms an adversary most; without abuse, but by fair exposure. It is done with a fairness which it will be well for Mr. Miall to imitate, and in striking contrast to the temper with which the Church is assailed in these days. Its logic is equal to its vigour. The author's plan is to take each section of the book he has to expose, and dissect it; and certainly an anatomist might be glad to emulate the skill and success with which the nosology of Mr. Miall's system is exhibited. And as Mr. Miall's attacks on the Church were to be the stalking-horse of a powerful party at the coming election, this reply has appeared at a time when it will be very useful. We hear already that our friends the Dissenters are saying that Mr. Miall must answer it, that is, if he can. We will give one example to justify this qualification of what Mr. Miall is to perform. Mr. Miall says, "" It seems to have been somewhere about six hundred years after the death of Christ that an offering of some amount or other was made compulsory on Christian disciples by excommunication, but the proportion was not even yet defined. The true Christian was defined, in an exhortation written about the eighth century, as one who attends church frequently, tastes not of his own fruits until he has offered some portion of them to the Lord,-pays tithes every year for the use of the poor, (Selden, ch. 5, sec. 6, p. 66.)" On which Mr. Pulman remarks,-"This quotation, as from Selden, is (also) unfair, although cited with ch. v. sec. 6, and p. 66, for a portion of the sentence only is translated; there were but three words more, for these are placed, &c. This gives it quite a different meaning; the whole sentence is thus. And in an exhortation written near DCCCC. years since, Ille bonus Christianus est, qui ad ecclesiam frequentius venit, et de fructibus suis non gustat, nisi prius ex ipsis domino aliquid offerat; qui decimas annis singulis pauperibus reddit qui sacerdotibus honorem, &c. Selden also explains the meaning of the word pauperes, and says arbitrary consecrations of tithes to the poor (pauperibus) means to the monks, for the monks were usually called pauperes, and were so by their vow." As the actual payment of tithes was always made into the hands of the clergy, the restoration of the words, qui sacerdotibus honorem, clearly shows that the "decima," if paid to priests at all, must, have been paid to the poor orders. So that the passage itself and Selden's explanation, for both of which we have to thank Mr. Pulman, clearly show that Mr. Miall is altogether wrong; but why did he omit what was so important? We have occasionally heard that the tithes were paid in part for the poor, but this has never been urged home, as it would have been if the observation were well-founded: but have we not here the origin of this loose observation? We cannot however expect Mr. Miall to have been alive to what was so unfavourable to him. At any rate, is not decima pars, a tenth part, a defined proportion?

The Book of Sacred Song. With a Preface by the Rev. Charles Kemble, M.A., Rector of Bath. London: Seeley, Jackson, and Halliday. 1864.-The name of the compiler of this book of sacred poems does not appear; but the judgment and taste which are evinced fully justify Mr. Kemble in expressing, in the preface, his cordial approval of the selection, and his belief that few persons will peruse it without profit and satisfaction. It is almost needless to observe that the pieces contained in this volume are rarely found in books designed for use in public worship; they are culled from the compositions of about a hundred English authors, from so far back as the reign of Queen Elizabeth to the present time, and are arranged chronologically. Faith, hope, and love have for centuries been the theme of sacred song; and this selection well illustrates the doctrine of the communion of saints and the truth of the inspired word, that no temptation has come upon us but such as is common to man. Many a Christian will here find his own experience expressed in hymns written many generations ago; for, to use the words of Mr. Kemble,

"The continuous stream of hallowed poesy flows on; age after age lifts up its voice; voice after voice takes up the subject with varied rhythm and in perhaps a slightly varied key. We listen entranced by the music of the successive bards, as one by one they pass before us. And when the last cadence of the rearmost has died away, with bated breath we listen as if to catch from the spirit-world the echoes of their now united strains, as in that land of unsullied purity and joy they sing their song of grateful praise to Him who loved them and washed them from their sins in His own blood."

Here we have the varied strains of the quaint and good George Herbert, the sublime and soaring Milton, the impressive Wesleys, and many other well known poets, including a few pieces by Cowper, remarkable for their child-like simplicity and penetration; some by Kirke White, easily distinguishable by their softened tinge of melancholy; one or two exquisite descriptive pieces by Lord Byron; some of Bishop Heber's Hymns, which are well adapted for public worship; and one or two specimens of Mrs. Hemans' beautiful compositions. But after all, the chief feature in this selection is the number of sacred songs by living authors; some, written by those whose names are comparatively little known, others, by anonymous writers. As a specimen of these, we select the following:

"WHO CAN FORGIVE SINS, BUT GOD ONLY?

ONE Priest alone can pardon me,
Or bid me 'Go in peace;'
Can breathe that word, 'Absolvo te,'
And make these heart-throbs cease:
My soul hath heard this priestly voice;
It said, I bore thy sins,-rejoice!'

He show'd the spear-mark in His side,
The nail-print on His palm;
Said, 'Look on me, the crucified;
Why tremble thus? Be calm!
All power is mine-I set thee free,
Be not afraid—Absolvo te.'

In chains of sin once tied and bound,
I walk in life and light;
Each spot I tread is hallow'd ground
Whilst Him I keep in sight,
Who died a victim on the tree,
That he might say, 'Absolvo te.'

By Him my soul is purified,

Ouce leprous and defiled,
Cleansed in the fountain from His side,
God sees me as a child :
No priest can heal or cleanse but He;
No other say, 'Absolvo te.'

He robed me in a priestly dress
That I might incense bring,
Of prayer, and praise, and righteousness,
To heaven's Eternal King :
And when He gave this robe to me,
He smiled and said, 'Absolvo te.'

In heaven he stands before the throne,
The great High Priest above,
'Melchisedec'-that name alone
Can sin's dark stain remove:
To Him I look, on bended knee,
And hear that sweet-Absolvo te.'

A girded Levite here below,
I willing service bring,
And fain would tell to all I know
Of Christ the priestly King:
Would win all hearts from sin to flee,
And hear Him say, 'Absolvo te.'

A little while and He shall come
Forth from the inner shrine,
To call His pardon'd brethren home;
O, bliss supreme, divine!

When every blood-bought child shall see
The Priest who said, 'Absolvo te.""

PUBLIC AFFAIRS.

We are

THE most interesting affair of the month, if not the most important, has been the welcome given to the Italian patriot, Garibaldi. not disposed to be cynical. On the contrary, we regard it with perhaps unmingled satisfaction. Garibaldi has been the instrument, in the hands of Providence, of overturning the meanest, the most cruel, and therefore the most hateful tyranny which has existed, even in Italy, since the worst days of the twelve Cæsars; and he has done his work with a simplicity and disinterestedness beyond all praise. He has not been swift to shed blood, nor have the traces of what might, had it taken place, have been a righteous vengeance upon the evil-doers, followed his paths. He was received with an enthusiasm astonishing even to ourselves. We regard it as nothing less than a a national protest against tyranny, wherever it may exist; and in behalf of freedom, whatever outward forms it may assume. It was the more grateful to us, and the more instructive to Garibaldi, because it was, at the same time, an expression of loyalty to our own constitution. Enthusiasm reached its highest point when the hero of the day arrived at the princely mansion of one of the first of our nobility, and was welcomed at the doors by such men as the Duke of Sutherland and the Earl of Shaftesbury. The distressing and unnatural war in America has not been without its use to us; nor have our countrymen been slow to avail themselves of the lessons it has taught. They see that a pure democracy is neither cheap nor safe; the "five points" of the Charter have fallen into oblivion. We are a happy and contented people. Our chief danger is, lest we should be a proud and supercilious one; forgetting the God of our mercies, and burning incense to our own net.

Of the American war we have scarcely the heart to speak. We never thought the success of the Federals probable; it now seems to us that the last prospect of recovering the South to her allegiance has disappeared. Slaughter, useless, horrible, loathsome slaughter, may continue; but for no single purpose for which moralists or colder

and more dispassionate jurists have hitherto contended that war is lawful, can this murderous contest now be justified. If we hesitate to say that the time has come when the great European powers should interfere, it is out of regard to the interests of policy; certainly not any longer because we can doubt whether such a course would not be for the interests of humanity, and therefore agreeable to the will of God.

Of home affairs we have little to say, having already expressed our opinion fully upon the Royal Commission on Clerical Subscription. The affairs of Convocation do not call for much remark. That grave assembly never had our confidence as a representative body, and never less deserved it than at the present moment. The childish absurdity of some of its proceedings is fast bringing it into public contempt. We refer especially to the recommendation of one of its select committees, that no change whatever should be made in the Burial Service; but that excommunication, stripped of its temporal penalties, should be enforced. And again, that Scripture Readers shall become a sort of fourth order in the ministry. The clergy have just now nothing to lose, when the question is of the soundness of their judg ments, and their fitness to be the leaders of public opinion. And we are sorry to see that the Times has begun to write of Convocation with scorn, as "a great clerical debating society with a long name:" for it merely gives utterance to what others think.

The Danish war has become serious and bloody; and if not immediately checked, it threatens disaster to the whole of Europe. A conference of the Great Powers is on the point of meeting in London, and we hope the storming of Düppel, and the defeats and losses which the Danes have experienced, will not provoke them to decline its mediation. Instead of our own comments, we are anxious to convey to our readers the opinions put forth by M. Forçade, in the last number of the Revue des Deux Mondes, respecting the probability that the Conference will meet with the success which it unquestionably deserves; for anything that may tend to replace one of the most unjustifiable wars of modern times by a firm peace, together with the preservation of the Danish monarchy in its integrity, surely deserves, and will, we sincerely hope, command success. This well-known and able writer points out, with his usual good sense, the conditions on which the Conference may not only be successful, but by which alone it can escape the danger of ignominious failure. His opinions deserve our serious attention. He considers that, as the former time-honoured alliances are past and gone, the Conference has no chance of success unless it proceeds to build up a new system of alliances, and to let the world see that the entente cordiale between England and France, which has lately received so rude a shock, be completely restored. After mournfully confessing that the French press does not possess sufficient freedom to enable it to treat this grave and delicate question, viz. the necessary conditions for reviving and securing so desirable an object as an active alliance between France and England, M. Forçade reminds his readers how repeatedly he had before pointed out that the policy of the French Government abroad was connected with and dependent on their policy at home. In order that France

« AnteriorContinuar »