joying, as we do, the sound of the pure gospel | impending doom, and which shall speedily and the use of a free bible, and full liberty to worship the God of our fathers in accordance with the dictates of our consciences, none daring to make us afraid-we incur in no small measure the danger of living and dying under a strange delusion; of seeking to retain our title to heaven, whilst we relinquish not one of the allurements of earth; and of seeking to insure our mansions in the skies, whilst we resist not one of the attractions of the world. In a word, we are exposed in no light degree to the temptation of thinking and acting as though the offence of the cross had ceased; of seeking to unite what God has determined shall for ever be kept asunder; of living with our hearts and affections engrossed by the world, and yet deluding ourselves into the belief that we can still retain our allegiance to heaven, and forfeit not our title to the bliss of eternity. Alas, alas! how many have there been, in each successive age, who have made shipwreck on this fatal rock, whose lives have been passed in one continuous and uninterrupted delusion, whose names have been enrolled among the members of the church below, but who have themselves for ever been excluded from the church of the redeemed above! But, if thus dangerous the present state, and thus unspeakably awful the eternal doom of those who have lived and died under strong delusion, what shall we say of those who, conscious of their danger-knowing that, living and dying in their present condition, they must for ever be excluded from the realms of bliss, and for ever consigned to the regions of woe-are yet determined to pursue their downward course, alike insensible to the denunciations of impending wrath, alike regardless of the invitations of proffered mercy? And dost thou think, O sinner, who art thus madly filling up the measure of thine iniquity, regardless of that bliss for which thou must for ever be banished, and heedless of those torments into which thou must for ever be plunged-dost thou think that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Alas, how vain thy imagination! alas, how infatuated thy surmise! Couldst thou sink to the lowest depths of the unfathomable abyss, and spread for thyself a bed in the nethermost caverns of the deep, thou couldst not hide thyself from that all-penetrating glance which even now scans thine inmost thoughts, and before which the most secret desires of thy soul are emblazoned as in characters of light; or, couldst thou take the wings of the morning and fly to the utmost corners of the earth, thou couldst not fortify thine ears against the piercing accents of that voice which even now proclaims thine announce to thee the consummation of the days of thy mitigated anguish, and the dawn of the resurrection of eternal damnation. Dost thou delude thyself by some vain and sinful, because unscriptural, expectation that the Most High will repent him of his threatenings, and refrain from the execution of his vengeance? O remember that "he changes not:" "He is not a man, that he should lie; neither the Son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies. He will trample them in the winepress of his outpoured fury: he will dye his garments in the blood of the slain; and throughout the countless ages of eternity the worm that never dies must for ever torment them, the fire that is not quenched must for ever consume them. O resist not, then, his might: despise not his threatenings: set not the thorns and the briars against him in battle; for he will go through them, he will burn them together; but rather take hold of his strength, that you may make peace with him, and you shall make peace with him. Accept, as the propitiation for your sins, that Jesus whom God has set forth. Despise not the offers of reconciliation through faith in his blood. He once died for your sins: he ever lives to intercede in your behalf. If the denunciations of his wrath have no power to alarm you, at least let the invitations of his mercy avail to allure you. O, believe the record which God hath given of his Son; and, believing, you shall have life and peace through his name. Then shall the terrors of the law cease to alarm you, and the awful doom of the impenitent cease to affright you. The storms and the tempests of life may be suffered to assail you: the temptations of the wicked one may be permitted to harass you; but those shall but convince you of the security of your foundation, and these shall but conspire to the confirmation of your faith. Yes, my brethren, the Christian knows in whom he has believed, and is persuaded that his Saviour is able to keep that which he has committed to his charge. He has believed the record which God has given of his Son: he has ventured his eternal all on that Jesus whom God has set forth as a propitiation; and, let the rain descend, the floods beat, and the winds blow, he has built upon a sure foundation; for the eternal God is his refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. His soul is kept in peace, and his mind is stayed upon his God: he finds that there is a fulness in the gift of God which supplies his every want a sufficiency which meets and satisfies his every desire: he experiences a peace which can calm and tranquillize under every affliction, a consolation which can support and animate under every suffering, a joy which abounds even in tribulation, and a hope which can outstep the narrow confines of the tomb, burst the restricting barriers of the grave, and enter into that which is within the veil. departed reign"-shall announce the second advent of him who has robbed death of his sting, and despoiled the grave of his victory; who by his own death destroyed him that had the power of death, and by his resurrection from the dead afforded an infallible pledge and earnest that we too shall wake from the sleep of death, that this corruptible shall put on incorruption, that this mortal shall be clothed with immortality. "So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? 0 grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord; forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." But not only is the soul of the believer safe in the keeping of his Saviour, his body also has been committed to the same almighty guardianship. Be it indeed that his surviving friends have consigned his mortal tabernacle to the cold and silent tomb"earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust:" they "sorrow not as those that have no hope;" for they "know in whom he has believed," and are persuaded that their Saviour is able to keep the deposit thus committed to his trust. What though the earthly tabernacle be left to moulder in the grave, and crumble into its kindred dust; what though the sceptic deride as futile, or reject as incredible, the hope " that God shall raise the dead"—their confidence still remains unwavering, because reposed in Omnipotence; their faith is still preserved unshaken, because OCTOBER centred in him who is the immutable Jehovah "the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever." With calmness, then, and with confidence, they can consign their believing brother to the tomb; and though, while they bend them over the lifeless dust of him who was once dearer to their souls than the life itself, and ponder over the hallowed hours which glided imperceptibly by, as they held high and holy converse with him whose happy spirit has now for awhile deserted its earthly tabernacle; although, at seasons such as these, affection will claim the tribute of a tear (and we envy not their apathy who can view unmoved scenes of grief o'er which the Man of sorrows wept); yet, when those joyous and soultransporting words burst in upon their ears"I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live"-the emotions of grief are controlled, the rising tear is chased from the eye, the joyous prospect of immortality breaks in upon their view, the glorious hope of the resurrection absorbs their contemplation, and they are carried onward, in rapturous anticipation, through the dim vista of intervening days and years, to that long-expected moment when the shrill blast of the archangel's trump -penetrating the utmost boundaries of earth, resounding through the lowest caverns of the deep, and "ringing in the cold dull ear of death and of the grave the kuell of their "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand."-JOEL ¡¡. 1. holy mountain : let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for table; that is, as you die, so shall you rise. If thou Meditation." The judgments of God are immu die in the state of salvation, thou shalt rise so again, and receive thy body, and remain in salvation. Again, if thou die in damnation, thou shalt rise in the same estate, and receive thy body, and return again to the same estate, and be punished without end with unspeakable pains and torments. O, what a pitiful thing is it that man will not consider this, and leave sin and the pleasure of this world, and live godly; but is so blind and so mad that he will rather have a momentary and a very short and small pleasure than to hearken to the will and pleasure of God, that might avoid everlasting pain and woe, and give unto him everlasting felicity! For that a great many of us have all men to be saved;' but the fault is in ourare damned, the fault is not in God; for 'God would selves, and in our own madness, that had rather have damnation than salvation" (Bp. Latimer). Prayer.-O Lord, unto thee will I look up when I hear, as it were, the voice of the trumpet from Zion, and the sound of alarm from thy holy mountain, entering into mine ears, and crying, "Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the Lord cometh, and is nigh at hand; clouds and of thick darkness: there hath not been a day of darkness and of gloominess; a day of ever the like, neither shall be any more after it." Of a truth, Lord, what is the alarm which, by the mouth of thy prophet, thou sentest forth unto thine ancient people; what is it but the foreshow ing to us gentiles of thy day, great and very terrible, when the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the earth also, and the works that are therein shall be burned up? Yea, to each of our souls is it not a day nigh at hand? For in thy sight, O thou high and lofty One that inhabitest eternity, what are the things of time, what a thousand generations, but as a breath of thy mouth, the twinkling of an eye? And what are we, thy creatures, but a vain shadow; and what our days upon earth but even a vapour that appeareth and vanisheth away? Verily, verily, it is a day nigh at hand to every son of man, so soon doth he go to his long home; so soon shall he come that will come, and will not tarry, and gather before him unto judgment all kindred and nations and people. In that dread hour, O gracious Father, when our natural bodies shall be raised a spiritual body, what profit shall there be in all the works that have been done under the sun, except they have been fruit gathered to eternal life, done to thy honour and glory, and acceptable to thee by Jesus Christ the righteous? Prayer.-(Gal. vi. 1-5) Almighty God, whose especial blessing resteth on them that by gentleness and lowliness bear witness that thy Spirit of love abideth in them, grant, we beseech thee, that, by the motion of the same Spirit, we may love the souls of others with the like affection which we bear unto our own; and, in meekness of wisdom and with edifying counsel, may reprove and exhort to repentance and amendment any brother who may be overtaken in presumptuous sin against thee, or offence against his neighbour. And here, O gracious Lord, inasmuch as we know the frailty of our nature and the blindness of our hearts, and what great need we have to watch continually, lest while we are teaching others we ourselves be cast away, we beseech thee to fill us with all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that we may consider and give earnest heed to our own ways in thy sight, so that we fall not into the same temptation wherewith our brother hath been tempted. We pray thee, likewise, O eternal Spirit, to endue us with thy grace, that we may be kindly affectioned one to another; to the end that, fulfilling the law of Christ and obeying his new commandment, that we love one another, we may bear each other's burdens; exercising tenderness and forbearance towards our brethren's infirmities in the flesh, and not shutting up our bowels of compassion when they have need, nor stopping our ears at their cry; but, with a cheerful mind, and for thy sake, O blessed Jesus, supplying their wants and communicating to them of our substance, according to the measure of thy good gifts to us. Let us walk in charity, having fervent love unto the brethren, even as thou, our God and Saviour, lovedst us unto the end, and O Lord, the God of all mercy, enable us, while it is yet time, to lay hold upon him who alone is mighty to redeem and to save, and by the faith of whom we can alone be justified, when thy day cometh, and every work of the law shall be found empty and nothing worth. And, we beseech thee, let thy preventing grace and holy Spirit direct us in all our doings, and turn us unto thee with all our hearts, that we may weep and mourn, and rend our hearts and not our garments. O Father, draw thou us. So shall we betimes turn unto thee with a godly sorrow, which worketh repentance not to be repented of: so shall our sorrow be turned into joy; for thou art gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kind-laidest down thy life for us. ness. Even in the name of thy dear Son do we call upon thee; and for his sake wilt thou say unto our souls, "Fear not: my people shall never be ashamed. Be glad; for I am in the midst of you. Ye have called upon my name and his name, and shall surely be delivered." EVENING. "Let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself, and not in another; for every man shall bear his own burden."-GAL. vi. 4, 5. Meditation.-"God has given to us an unerring standard of right and wrong. In the holy scriptures he has revealed to us his mind and will, and shown us what is that state which becomes us, as creatures and as sinners.... And, to form a right estimate of our character, we must try ourselves by this standard: we must see how far we are observant of his law, and how far we are obedient to his gospel. But, besides this written standard, we have a copy of all perfection set before us in the example of Christ: we have a touchstone whereby to try our own virtues; and whereinsoever we differ from him, or come short of him (unless in those things which arose out of his mediatorial character), we may assuredly conclude that we are wrong.... Here we are called to bear the burdens of others, and frequently to groan under burdens that are unrighteously cast upon us; but, in the day of judgment, both the one and the other of these will be removed from us, and we shall bear that only which is properly our own. We shall reap pre cisely what we have sown: if we have sown to the flesh, we shall of the flesh reap corruption; and if we have sown to the Spirit, we shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting'" (Simeon). Put away from us the high look and the proud spirit, which maketh every way in us to appear right in our own eyes; for what are we, O God, but as sounding brass when thou weigheth our spirits? Thinking ourselves something, we are nothing; yea, then most of all, when we esteem ourselves better than another, and are tempted to deceive ourselves, thanking thee that we are not as other men are. Gracious Father, we confess that we are not worthy so much as to lift up our eyes unto thee. O, be merciful to us sinners. Teach us to humble ourselves before thee, and to prove our own works, and every thought and imagination, by that word of thine whereby we shall be judged; so that, having received thy kingdom as little children, we may, of thy free grace, at the last go down to our grave, justified in all things by the righteousness of Christ, and be exalted of thee to thy kingdom of glory, even though it be to the lowest mansion of thy house, not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." S. K. C. The Cabinet. SELF-CONDEMNATION. How different is the effect upon our minds of the condemnation which we inflict upon our own errors or sins from that which results from the condemnation of the errors or sins of others. With self-condemnation is always mingled the flattering clause, that the act in itself is not so bad as that it is unworthy of us; and thus, by this weak artifice, we disconnect ourselves, in a great measure, from shame or discomfiture. In short, we represent the matter rather as an example of what we are not, than of what we are. But, when others condemn us, there is no "point reserved," and we feel that our entire character is bound up in the one failure; and this, being equally unjust on the other side, irritates or depresses us, according as our dispositions are susceptible of anger or despondency; = Make me, O my God, to examine my own self and actions more according to the rule of thy law, and less by that of self-partiality, that I may see my faults through thy light; and, while I commit my self to the judgment of the "Judge of all the earth," let not a fancied estimate of myself bring me to despise the rebukes of my fellow-men, who may be made thine instruments to correct my follies and amend my ways.-The Thoughtful Year, by the rev. W. S. Knox. DEVOTEDNESS TO GOD'S SERVICE.-Now, in seeking to attain this object, I know of no rule of more vital importance than the following :-To combine the most unqualified dependence on the power of God the Holy Ghost, for every step of progress you hope to make in the divine life, with the most unre. mitting exertion of all your faculties, and the most diligent use of all the divinely appointed means of grace. In fact, you ought to trust in the omnipotent influence of the Holy Spirit as entirely as if you were not called upon to make a single effort of your own; and you ought to exert every faculty and use every means as energetically as if all depended exclusively on your own devotions. It is this union of simple dependence with hearty exertion-this honest putting forth of your own strength (albeit it may, in one sense, be justly designated very helplessness), while you rely undividedly on the imparted strength which the Holy Spirit can alone supply-which will ensure to you abundant success in your struggles against your besetting sin and your pursuit of perfect universal holiness. The one honours God by the confession of your utter impotence, and the other by the display of your cordial sincerity.-Rev H. White's "Profession and Practice," ch. viii. p. 248, 249. The SABBATH EMPLOYMENTS.—I would not encumber you, my dear young friend, with negative precepts, no, nor with positive precepts either. The machinery may all be there, but not a spring to set it in motion, no power to give impetus to its movements. aqueducts may be laid, and the channels dug for irrigating the land, but the water of life may never flow along in its vivifying power. Where there is no thirst for the river of the water of life, there can be no sabbath. Much of Christian life consists in desire: "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God." And observe the expres sion, "after thee." The Christian cannot repose in creature-enjoyments: he desires to draw his happiness from God himself. The sublime prayer of Augustine, "Lord, give me thyself," is the language of the Christian's innermost heart. The promise to the "I am thy shield and thine exceeding great reward.” father of the faithful is a precions stay to his soul: The glowing words of his beloved Lord, "I will come there ye may be also," are engraved as with a sunagain and receive you unto myself, that where I am beam on the innermost recesses of his heart. Now, it is this looking unto the Lord, this earnest seeking after the kingdom of God and his righteousness, this breaking of the soul, for the longing that it has unto his commandments," this hungering and thirsting after righteousness, this grateful receiving of untold blessings, desiring the more, the more we receive (on the same principle as the traveller, on ascending a lofty hill, sees the view opening wider before him every step he advances), it is this which constitutes the peculiar characteristic of the Christian's sabbath. The longing which he has for the highest enjoyment which God can give, and which a created being can receive, union with Deity itself, leads him to economize time, and, in particular, to devote the fresh dewy morning hours to the sweet, invigorating work of prayer and praise. Well does he know that, when the sun is up, the manna cannot be gathered, and his soul may thus be starved for an entire day?-Charge of bp. of Hereford (Dr. Musgrave).1 Poetry. ON SEEING A GLEAM OF SUNSHINE ON ONE OF THE TOMBS IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY. (For the Church of England Magazine.) "A dim and mighty minster of old time-a temple shadowy with remembrances of the majestic past."-MRS. HEMANS. WHAT dost thou here, fair sun? Upon the living smile- Illume their course awhile: Of playful infancy, Or let thy sparkling ray The golden future cheer: Of sad and after years, That speaks of visions blest. No more shall e'er return Within that darksome urn. VISIT TO SAMARIA.-I had no idea before of the beautifully romantic situation of this ancient Sychem, or Sychar. Here the Samaritans still are dwelling; about fifty families. We visited their synagogue, and saw the ancient Samaritan pentateuch, which they hold in great veneration. The rabbi who attended us (a fine and venerable man) took it out of the ark with a great deal of ceremony, seated himself on the ground, and opened it before us; not, however, until after we had particularly entreated him to do so. It bears all the marks of antiquity is written on vellum, rolled up, and dressed just in the same manner in which the Jews do their books of the law. The rabbi said it was 3,500 years old. There were several other manuscripts of the pentateuch, quite modern ones, deposited in an ark covered by a veil, just as in all the Jewish synagogues. The place itself is a very plain large room. We were soon surrounded by nearly the whole community: all seemed to understand and speak Hebrew, more or less; but they do not read it in the square character. With the chacham I conversed freely they all speak Arabic. The first question they asked was whether there are not Samaritans in England? It seems they confound England with India, where there are supposed to be some. When I asked whether they believed in the coming of the Messiah, the old rabbi replied in the affirmative with some enthusiasm, and immediately quoted Deut. xviii. 18. I could perceive at every sentence a great hatred towards the rabinnical Jews. When we left the synagogue the chief took us into his room, which was a respectable, clean apartment. A fine young Samaritan attached himself to us as our guide, and took us to see the town and neighbourhood. When we approached the Jewish burying-ground, he made us go on, but remained himself at a distance, saying they are not allowed to go near it, considering the place unclean. A striking proof of how to this day the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. There are a few Jews residing in the place, but they seem to keep quite aloof from each other.-Bishop Alexander. A BISHOP'S VISITATION ON LAKE HURON.-On the 26th we left Penetanguishine, and reached the Manatoulin Island on Saturday, the 30th. The wea ther, with the exception of one night, was very favourable. About five o'clock in the afternoon of Friday, the 29th, it began to rain heavily and to blow hard, so that the lake soon became too rough for the canoes. We therefore hastened to a group of rocks called Foxes Islands, on which we landed with some difficulty, about six o'clock, the rain now pouring down in torrents. It was found not a little difficult to select places for pitching our tents, the rocks being everywhere so rough, precipitous, and uneven, and no soil into which the pegs could be driven. In this emergency we contrived to hold the tents erect by placing large stones on the ropes or cords, in lieu of pegs driven into the ground; but in this arrangement there was not a little danger, should the wind increase, of both tents and inmates being blown into the lake. The storm becoming more furious, I got my tent removed to a position of greater security in a lower spot, and having the shelter of a few scrubby trees growing out of the fissures of the rock. The party dined in one of the tents, and, notwithstanding the terrible war of the elements without, we were both thankful and cheerful. The rain and wind continued with increased violence during the greater part of the night, and the water found its way into my tent; but fortunately a hollow place in its centre served for a sort of reservoir, from which many buckets of water were emptied in the morning. To sleep was out of the question; for, besides the water running into the tent, the vehemence of the storm drove the rain through the canvass, and I was obliged, even under this shelter, to resort to the protection of an umbrella, to prevent my being thoroughly wet. Several casualties happened during the night. rather of a ludicrous than serious nature: three of the tents were blown down, and the inmates, after extricating themselves from the wreck, had to grope about in their night-clothes (for it was very dark) with great caution, exposed to the wind and rain, till they found some one of the other tents which withstood the storm. Early in the morning the whole party assembled around a large fire to dry themselves, and recount the adventures of the night, which were, on the whole, a source of great amusement. About seven o'clock the wind and rain abated, and the lake became sufficiently calm for the canoes to proceed, and by eight o'clock were all on the way. Our encampments in the evening were not a little picturesque. Nine tents were pitched, and as many fires lighted up. the canoes were all drawn ashore, and commonly turned over: groups were seen around each fire, and, as the darkness increased, shadows were flitting from place to place, while some of the men were seen rolled up in blankets, and sleeping on the bare rock. Our party never dined till we stopped for the night, which was often as late as nine, and once or twice after ten o'clock. The table-cloth was spread on the smoothest part of the rock that we fashion, with candles or lanterns, according as it was could find, and the guests squatted round in eastern calm or windy, to illuminate the feast. During the day we made only one halt of any duration, and that for breakfast: any other stops were but momentary -a few minutes to rest, or to enjoy some beautiful prospect.-Bishop of Toronto's Journal of Visitation. London: Published for the Proprietors by EDWARDS and HUGHES, 12, Ave-Maria Lane, St. Paul's; J BURNS, 17, Portman Street; and to be procured, by order, of all Booksellers in Town and Country. PRINTED BY JOSEPH ROGERSON 24, NORFOLK STREET, STRAND, LONDON. |