The Cabinet. GLORY OF THE GOSPEL.-It is the peculiar glory of the Gospel that it displays to us the whole character of God. It attempts no concealment; it practises no deception. It exhibits the moral perfections of the Most High in their completeness, their harmony, their beauty. It reveals to us infinite goodness and compassion in unison with infinite purity, dignity, and power. It declares that “our God is a consuming fire," while it proclaims his name as the God of peace and consolation, God who is rich in mercy. It throws, if we may so speak, a robe of redeeming love over all the attributes of Deity, without hiding any one of them; like an aurora, which sometimes clothes a whole hemisphere with its mantle of new light, but yet leaves the ancient constellations of heaven to pierce it with their brightness. How glorious this revelation of the perfect, the holy, the compassionate Jehovah!-Riddle's Sermons. CHRIST'S INVITATION.-Christ says, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are laden, and I will refresh you." Let us a little look on this letter, "Come unto me." Who should come? Lords, priests, holy men, monks, friars, yea, cobblers, tinkers, harlots, thieves, murderers also, if they lament their sins. "Come unto me," saith he, "all ye that labour and are laden," that is, which are afraid of your sins. And what wilt thou do, Lord? "And I will refresh you," saith he. O what a thing is this, "And I will refresh you!" Wot you who spake this? He that never told a lie; he is the truth; there was never guile found in his mouth; and now will he be untrue to you, good brother, who are sorry for your grievous sins? No, truly! Heaven and earth shall pass and perish, but his word shall never fail. St. Paul saith, "God would have all men saved." Lo, he exempteth none. And to Titus, "The grace of God bringeth salvation to all men." As from Adam all have received sin to damnation, so by Christ all have grace offered to salvation, if they reject not the same. I speak not now of infants, say, and I need not enter into the matter of predestination. In preaching of repentance I would gather where I could with Christ. "As surely as I live," saith God, "I will not the death of a sinner." thou a sinner? Yea. Lo, God sweareth he desireth not thy death. How canst thou now perish? Consider with yourself what profit you should have to believe this to be true to others, if not to yourself also. Satan does so. Rather consider with Peter, that the promise of salvation pertains not only to them which are nigh, that is, to such as are fallen a little, but also to all whom the Lord hath called, be they ever so far off.-John Bradford. Art THE CHURCH'S CONFIDENCE.-Let as many as are looking after a day of mercy to the Church of God, pray and believe upon this ground, that the time of it is neither in the frail hands of those that favour and seek it, nor in the hands of those that oppose it, how strong and subtle soever they be; but in that Almighty hand, that doth in heaven and earth what pleaseth him.-Abp. Leighton. MERCY AND MERIT.-For God to have mercy, and for thee to have merit, do not accord together; if it is of grace, then it is no more of works, but if of works, then it is of merit, and not grace, for if thou payest what thou owest, no favour is shewn to thee; but if he shew thee mercy, thou dost not pay: therefore we must let him act alone towards us, receive from him, and believe.-Gems of Luther. DIFFICULTIES IN SCRIPTURE.-The hardness which is in the word of God is very profitable; for it causes a man to take that profit by pains, which he could not take with negligence. If the understanding were open and manifest, it would be little set by. - Bishop Reynolds. Poetry. SKETCHES FROM SCRIPTURE.-No. V. BY MRS. RILEY. (For the Church of England Magazine.) NOAH, THE EVENING BEFORE THE FLOOD. Farewell, ye lost ones! often have I warn'd Yet, to efface from earth sin's guilty stain, A link between two worlds-a beacon-light of love. THE WAY-SIDE FOUNTAIN. I PASS'D, as once I journey'd on a long and lonesome way, A fountain, form'd that trav'llers might their fever'd thirst allay; By ancient trees 'twas shadow'd o'er, and pleasantly it stood, And ever from its side did pour a cool and crystal flood. And many wayworn pilgrims, by the noontide heat oppress'd, Had halted near the gushing stream to pass their hour of rest; Unsandal'd were their swollen feet, each scrip was laid aside, And gratefully they kneel'd to drink the renovating tide. And some were there whose feet were soil'd in travel from afar, And some whose hands were mark'd with stains acquir'd in recent war; Bending beside the cleansing stream, they wash'd each stain away, And blessing him who built the fount, proceeded on their way. Beside the grateful shade apart a widow'd mother staid, Beneath the soft and verdant turf her only son was laid: "Fair is thy resting-place," she said, as through her tears she smil'd; "Would I were with thee laid beneath that pleasant sod, my child!" the same liturgy is certain. It is impossible to peruse the notices supplied by the fathers without perceiving that the baptised Christians were supposed to be familiar with every part of the service; and continual allusions are made to various particulars as well known, which it would be impossible to explain, except by referring to the liturgies still extant. The order of the parts was always preserved, the same rites and ceremonies continually repeated, the same ideas A graven tablet o'er the fount in grateful accents told Of some whose friendly hands repair'd it when defac'd of old; Defil'd and chok'd had been the stream-the spoiler and language, without material variation, transmitted they withstood, Miscellaneous. MOHAMMEDAN SUPERSTITION. When a corpse is laid in the grave, the Mohammedans believe that an angel gives notice of it to the two examiners, Mouker and Nakir-terrific angels of livid and gloomy appearance, whose duty it is to inquire into the life and actions of the deceased. They order the dead person to sit upright; and if he obeys not instantly, they drag him up with an iron hook; and as these examiners are not supposed to be very patient, the Mohammedans have their graves made hollow, in order that they may be able to sit up without difficulty. The angels rigidly question the corpse concerning his faith if he answers satisfactorily, they suffer him to be refreshed with the breezes of Paradise; but if not, they beat him on the temples with maces of iron, and pull him about with the iron hook or scythe until he roars so loud as to be heard by all the universe except men and gins (genii). They then thrust him back into the grave, giving him as companions ninetynine dragons with seven heads each, who gnaw his carcass until the day of judgment. This extraordinary article of faith is not directly mentioned in the Koran, and is therefore rejected by the sect of the Motazalites, who adhere strictly to the text. But as a distinct allusion is made to the subject, it is received by the majority of the Mohammedans. In the Magian religion, from which this doctrine appears to be borrowed, the examination takes place at a later period; and the examiners, Mithra and Raschnérâsh, wait until the souls present themselves on the bridge that separates earth from heaven. See the Zend-Avesta. Taylor's History of Mohammedism. ANCIENT LITURGIES.-There can be little, if any, doubt that Christian liturgies were not at first committed to writing, but preserved by memory and practice. However, this did not prevent a substantial uniformity from being continually kept up. Each Church might very easily preserve uniformity in its own liturgy; and if all who had originally received the same followed this plan, a general uniformity would be the result. That each Church preserved continually from generation to generation. The people always knew the precise points at which they were to repeat their responses, chant their sacred hymn, or join in the well-known prayer. If, then, each Church preserved uniformity in its own liturgy, a general substantial uniformity would be found, after the lapse of some centuries, in the liturgies of those Churches which had originally received the same order. Thus, when we compare the liturgies of the patriarchates or exarchates of Antioch, Cæsarea, and Constantinople, as used in the fourth and fifth centuries, we find a substantial uniformity pervading them all. Those parts which are common to all are found arranged in the same order in all. The principal rites are identical; they agree in their principal ideas. Every thing, therefore, concurs to prove the original identity of all three.-Palmer's Antiquities of the English Ritual. SIR T. GRESHAM, who built the Royal Exchange, London, was abandoned by his mother in a field, and left to perish. The chirping of a grasshopper attracted a boy to the spot where the infant lay; whose life was thus graciously preserved. In commemoration of this event, he ordered a weathercock, in the form of a grasshopper, to be fixed on the tower of the Exchange, now taken down, in consequence of the destructive fire by which that noble building was destroyed. How frequently, in the good providence of God, are the slightest circumstances overruled for some great and important end! There are few who cannot recount these in their own history, however humble. It is well where they give rise to feelings of heartfelt gratitude for the past, and humble confidence for the future. CONSISTENCY. I have had frequent occasions to observe in India that the Company's servants who were the most attentive to their religious duties were the most highly respected by the natives around them. I could name an instance on the Tinnevelly station, were not one of the parties now living, of a native who had detected an imposition on the revenue of the company to a very great amount. He went to the junior magistrate at the station, stated that he had information of that nature to give, and that if he would receive it of him, he would give it truly; and he undertook to lead him to the spot where these contraband goods were secreted. The junior declined taking the information without consulting his superior. The native then said, "I must beg to retire; I know you, and I know your superior; I have no doubt he is an honourable man, but I do not see him go to prayers; I do not see him attend the house of God; and therefore I can place no confidence in him. I know that you do; you go every Sunday to the house of God to make poojah and perform prayer; and therefore I will trust to you; and if you will engage not to divulge the information, I will state to you all I know." The junior sent the man away, promising to return an answer the next morning: he stated the circumstances generally to his superior, obtained his sanction to proceed as the man desired, and he detected the fraud to a large amount.-Rev. J. Hough. LONDON:-Published by JAMES BURNS, 17 Portman Street, Portman Square; W. EDWARDS, 12 Ave-Maria Lane, St. Paul's; and to be procured, by order, of all Booksellers in Town and Country. PRINTED BY ROBSON, LEVEY, AND FRANKLYN, 46 ST. MARTIN'S LANE. ON LUKEWARMNESS IN RELIGION. BY THE REV. CHARLTON LANE, M.A. Minister of St. Mark's, Kennington. No. II. Ir is not only the careless, the profligate, or the self-satisfied, who are in danger. Men may be variously affected with religious truths, and yet not be religious. They may be almost persuaded to be Christians, and be conscious that they are not so-be conscious that they have not devoted their will and heart to God-may thus make some progress in a religious course, and yet not attain to a changed heart and renewed will. Such men will be harassed with misgivings of conscience, and religious dread of Almighty justice, and yet not be entirely persuaded. We are too often apt to consider these very awakenings, and tossings of a shaken conscience, as proofs of repentance; but repentance is more than conviction-is more than sorrow: it includes entire reformation. -reformation of the internal and external conduct. Who can read without a shudder the declaration, "From him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he seemeth to have?" Who that knows the rewards annexed solely to perseverance, will rest upon a mere commencement? There are instances of men who have failed under the greatest external advantages. They have attained to a clear knowledge of Gospel truths; they have felt that there is no salvation but by the mercy of God, through the merits of Jesus Christ; they, like Judas, have called Christ Lord, Lord-like Balaam, have prophesied; yet from these has been taken away that measure of Christian grace and of spiritual com VOL. V.-NO. CXXIII. PRICE 1d. munion which they either actually or apparently possessed. And this because the professor's rebellion is enhanced by ingratitude. His obedience, indeed, such as it is, manifests acknowledgment of God; but the languid and careless manner of the obedience equally manifests the reluctance with which the Divine authority is acknowledged. Thus we observe, that the repugnance of Jesus Christ (as mentioned in his admonition to the Laodiceans), and that of these apathists in religion, is mutual between them. And if the grace of the Holy Spirit's influence be withheld, it is not wonderful that no admonitions whatever have due effect upon souls so unstable and double-minded. The self-flattery with which their own good works are regarded, and their horror at those vices of other men which themselves have not yet been tempted to commit, conceal from them their lack of religious principle and of religious strength. Hence the heart, if not already so, becomes hardened under that course of Divine dispensations to which they are individually subjected: judicial blindness, the most tremendous of the Almighty's punishments in this world, involves the soul; nor can any interposition but one immediately proceeding from God himself rescue it from its perilous condition. It is important, therefore, that attention should be directed to this point, viz. that, in order to be brought out from a perilous situation, it is requisite that men should impressively feel their peril, that such feeling cannot consist with lukewarmness, and that the soul which is satisfied with its condition cannot acknowledge danger in that condition. Self-ignorance is incompatible with repentance. N He who continues blind to ruin, how can he | indulge a wish to escape from it? Accustomed to his own faults, nothing in them can strike him by presenting a new deformity. He neither distrusts himself now, nor fears much for the future. Let no one, therefore, be contented with himself on account of having at times found his affections moved by the facts or the doctrines revealed in the Gospel. Many hear with joy, who in time of temptation fall away. Herod heard John gladly, yet, in obedience to a rash and wicked oath, became his murderer; Judas repented himself; Ahab lay in sackcloth; and Saul exclaimed, "I have sinned;" so the mourners at the cross smote their breasts, and returned. These instances prove the fallaciousness of passing emotions; and "make me a clean heart, O God; renew a right spirit within me," must be the constant cry of him who loves God, and seeks salvation for his soul. But the Christian herald would conceal part of his message, if he did not carry his admonitions farther still. Delusion as to our religious state may proceed from other false modes of reasoning than that which we have noticed. A man may presume upon his reformation in external conduct, upon his abstinence from former sins. Now, prudence -a hundred causes-may operate such a change in a man's mode of life; yet, if grace have no operating influence, he will be like those of whom we read, that, after having escaped the pollution of the world, they are again entangled and overcome,―men, who, without returning to their old passions, become enslaved to new ones, and, like the Pharisees, have their outside clean, while the heart is full of rottenness. And let it be remembered, that the danger of self-delusion applies to us all. No man, the holiest saint, however predestined by the omniscience of eternal Providence to a reserved kingdom, can justly build upon his own mere sensations. Let me therefore be understood as speaking not merely to those who know, and are conscious, that the world has divided empire in their hearts with religion, but to those who believe themselves to aspire to far higher attainments in the spiritual life. Let me warn them also of selfdelusion, remind them that religious exercises may never be omitted, that attachment to the external cause and interests of the Gospel may be felt as much as, if not more than, ever, that a certain religious character may perhaps be even more studiously assumed; yet the internal life of the spirit may have meanwhile been long silently failing, so that death alone shall discover to such a professor his real condition. But during this quittance of the soul's first love, during this descent downwards to this low level of spiritual existence, the world without has not been blind; the most ignorant have had knowledge enough to detect this man's inconsist ency and self-deception, which is called, not without some justice, his hypocrisy; while really religious persons not only grieve over such a man as over a living reproach to the religion which he has professed, but shudder at his extinguished faith, his deadness to religious sensibility, his heartless acknowledgment of mercies extended to himself, as at marks of final apostacy and of coming repro bation. We all have reason to dread the probability of such a leprosy of the soul thus stealing over us. It is not a disease peculiar to any one description of persons. Removed as man's nature is from original righteousness, they who exhort others have at least as much reason for self-vigilance as those whom they exhort. We may be zealous for others' perfection, and forget the struggle which ourselves have to maintain. We may remain satisfied with shewing the path to others, and with reproving the backward; and yet remain seated by the wayside, forgetful that our own destination is the same, and that the same route must be trodden steadily and warily by ourselves. Perhaps we may venture to surmise, that, of all the descriptions of men who will hereafter inherit damnation, those who have had religious advantages will be proportionally most numerous nor can any one who is conscious that he is now in some possession of such blessings, read without misgiving that awful passage: "It is impossible for those who are once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew-(that is, impossible through any of the ordinary and tried means of grace)-to renew them again unto repentance, seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame." These words of St. Paul teach-how more and more difficult a really Christian course is every day becoming for those who have been once enlightened, who have received manifold advantages, who have even tasted the sweetness of an internal and spiritual life, and have felt the grandeur and importance of Gospel truths, but who have since relaxed from their first most awful and most heartfelt impressions, and are falling back into a toleration, soon to be succeeded by an indulgence, of modes of life which they had learnt to dread and to detest,-how near such men are to internal apostacy, and to sealing them selves with the invisible brand of destined damnation! Well, therefore, may every one ask himself: "What fruit have I derived from my possession of religious means? have the administrations of religion conferred any spiritual improvement upon my soul? what moral difference separates me from the virtuous heathen? have I advanced in nicety of moral perception? is my humility, charity, love, and devotion to the Best of beings and benefactors, proportioned to my professed faith in the Gospel and its power?" If we find no progress made, no moral achievement attained, no passion subdued, no fresh perception of God's claims and of our own obligations, we have reason to gird up in earnest the loins of our minds for a race which is yet to be run-to trim our failing lamp for a night which is still advancing, lest our oil be entirely expended, and our soul be entirely paralysed. A state may grow upon the soul in which we shall be unable to exert any faculty of our own; the consciousness will be gone, and the only power that can awake us is that miraculous operation which revives the dead. congregation, renew the solemn promise and vow that "Do ye here, in the presence of God, and of this was made in your name at your baptism; ratifying and confirming the same in your own persons, and acknowledging yourselves bound to believe, and to do, all those things which your godfathers and godmothers then undertook for you?" "And every one shall audibly answer, I do." These two short words, " I do," are soon said; but they mean very much. Weigh them well; and ask yourself whether you are prepared to say them with all that they mean; that is, whether you are prepared to say ; 1. I make a promise and vow, as in the sight of God, and calling upon him to witness that I do it from my heart,-to renounce the devil and all his works. I know that the devil is the enemy of my soul, and I heartily resolve to hold no fellowship with him; not to stand and listen to his temptations, but as soon as he offers me any of his pleasures, to stop my ears, turn away, and look to God to save me. And because I know that the devil is such an enemy as I cannot see, and is able to get within my heart, and try to turn it from God, I thank our heavenly Father for giving me warning that I have such an enemy; and seeing that he is so deep and subtle, I do resolve to watch with all my power, night and day, against him and his temptations; because this is the only way in which I can prove to my own conscience and to the Almighty, that I really desire to serve and love Him, and to keep out, like poison, that which he hateth. I do resolve to keep my tongue from evil-speaking, lying, and slandering; and my heart from pride, and envy, and malice. And thus I heartily resolve, promise, and vow, to renounce the devil and all his works. If the reader hath found any thing in the above lines corresponding with his own experience, let me invite him to join in the following prayer by way of conclusion to the present reflections: "Thou alone, O God of our existence and our health-thou alone, who art the resurrection and the life, the way and the truth, canst work in us an efficacious will to obey thee. If thou hast touched this heart with a consciousness of its past indifference and lukewarmness, may that consciousness now bestowed upon it be the harbinger of other graces which shall follow. I have indeed learnt to distrust fervours which have often passed away, and resolutions that have produced no action. My soul has beforetime often struggled to throw off its chain. Thy inspirations have appeared and vanished like lightning; but the momentary flash has sufficed to exhibit my darkness and my danger, and the precipice has been avoided. Still let thy Spirit further direct my steps, support my fainting strength, carry with me into heaven, but which only serves to and throw a sunshine over my future passage! So may my Christian integrity be the proof to others of the causelessness of their mistrusting that God in whom I have learnt to confide; and thus give to the doubting (whether from scepticism or from despondence) the hope which I myself indulge, that, from seeing little, I may grow to see more; that, following on to know,' I may progressively increase in experience of the Lord's goodness, of my own danger, and of the Power which has rescued now, and will sustain and comfort me to the end." Next, I resolve to renounce all the pomps and vanity of this wicked world. I know that the goodness of God has provided for us great and solid joys and comforts even in this world; I know that Christian people have vastly more enjoyment even of this life than the wicked have. But because I know also, that there is a vast deal of the outward show of this world, which is but " pomps and vanity," which I cannot 66 draw off my thoughts from God; because we know that the whole world lieth in wickedness," so far as it is the world, and is not given up and made holy to him; because I know that the other world is the only thing worth living for, and all that I here see about me is of no value at all, but so far as it may be turned to the honour of God, and help me to his favour for ever: for these reasons I solemnly renounce the vanities of the world; and whatever, by God's help, I can at any time discern in it to be displeasing to him, and hurtful to my own soul, I resolve to forsake and shun. If ever I find any fashion of the world which is plainly against the spirit of the Bible; if ever I see |