that as a nation "her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness unto the Lord." (Isai. xxiii. 18.) The surprisingly rapid encroachment made within these few years upon our national Establishment, by those who bear the mark of having made "an image to the beast," (Rev. xiii. 14,) is appalling; and we are grieved by the continual discovery of an Achan in the camp, and of a Judas, who, still wearing the Protestant livery, and feeding upon her revenues, imitates the voice of Jacob, though his hands are Esau's, and at heart he is unfaithful to Christ's cause. These painful events loudly appeal to every soldier of the cross to come forward to "fight the good fight of faith," and to plead both with God and with our Government in behalf of this nation. In vain shall we pray, "Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children,” (Psalm xc. 16,) unless we come boldly forth in the name of the Lord to deprecate the appliance of our revenues to the upholding the Papal power. Our gracious God has mercifully promised, that "when the enemy shall come in like a flood," as at present, "the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him." (Isai. lix. 19.) He shall call together his armies to oppose the progress of the enemy. Let us now hear the voice of God himself calling to us from heaven, (Psalm xciv. 16,) "Who will rise up for me against the evil doers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?" What appeal can be more solemn, and what service can be so honourable? May the Lord command this call to go forth with the divine blessing, and cause his Spirit to arouse many and to make them "willing in" this, as "the day of his power!" Rulers ought to glory in being nursing fathers and nursing mothers to the true church of Christ; but when they fail in this supremely-important duty to him, themselves, and their people, even they must be respectfully instructed in this matter, and, though with all loyalty as to their persons, opposed in the meekness of truth and love, hoping they may yet be reclaimed to the right way. But whether rulers repent or not, the cause of God must be supported by those who love him, and hope for future happiness in glory. This is the trial of faith to which we are now exposed; and those who love Christ will also suffer with him. Love is the powerful principle which moves and unites the followers of Jesus. May love to him, and love to one another, now be manifested more than ever! May petty differences be forgotten, lest it should injure ourselves and the cause of God now, as "the divisions of Reuben did of old!" Let us all "come to the help of the Lord against the mighty;" let none remain neuter, as did the inhabitants of Meroz to their own destruction; for though God needs not the help of man, still it is his will to try the faith and love of every individual he has made, to prove what spirit they are of. He therefore requires the services of all to be rendered according to their ability; (Luke xix. 12—27;) and this portion in Judges v. 23 reminds us that God discerns between friends and neutral professors, as well as his foes; so that if we do not actively endeavour to promote his glory, especially at such a time as the present, we shall fall under the curse of Meroz, there recorded for a solemn warning to animate those who are tardy, or doubtful how to act. Our characters as individuals are now at stake: if we shrink from duty when God calls us forward, our names shall descend with shame, and be 2 z 2 held in everlasting contempt, as those who either feared the mighty more than God, or were blinded, by "the god of this world,” (2 Cor. iv. 4,) to the signs of the times, or were the enemies of God. (James iv. 4.) But he humbled "When Jehoshaphat had riches and honour in abundance, he joined affinity with Ahab.” (2 Chron. xviii. 1.) But there was one holy man of God, whose name was precious in the Lord's sight, who warned the King of this sin; and then he pointed out, that a lying spirit was to entice him and to prevail. (Verses 20, 21.) And what was the end thereof? "Therefore is wrath upon thee from before the Lord." (xix. 2.) himself, and sought the Lord, and found mercy. (xx. 3.) And if we love our nation, let us act towards our rulers as Micaiah did towards Jehoshaphat. Our beloved Queen has been unhappily persuaded, by a deceitful spirit of expediency, to join affinity with Antichrist and the Pope. Let us plead with our God in Her Majesty's behalf, that her eyes may be enlightened to see this error. Jehoshaphat soon found out his mistake in going against the word of God, which had been spoken to him by the Prophet: (verse 31) in his extremity he cried for help, and was delivered from that death. But unless our rulers do the same, they cannot prosper: the Lord will contend with them in some way, and this reproof will be incurred. O Protestant nation, "shouldest thou help the ungodly," and love and join affinity with them that dishonour the Lord? (2 Chron xix. 2.) "Take heed, regard not iniquity; for this hast thou chosen rather than affliction," to (Job xxxvi. 21,) in consenting to this sinful expediency. In our present exigency, prayer is our only refuge; and it is a comfort to remember how good King Hezekiah humbled himself, spread the sad news of an invading enemy's triumphant approach before the Lord, and prayed, confessed his sin, forsook it, and received such a deliverance as we ought to press after in the same holy way. "Open It is mournful to think that we too may supplicate as he did. thine eyes, O Lord, and see" how thine enemies invade thy holy hill, "and hear all the words" (Isai. xxxvii. 14, 17) in which the Pope is triumphing and returning thanks for the rapid increase of Popery in this once Protestant nation. "Now therefore, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord, even thou only." (Verse 20.) Unless God's people arise quickly, and plead more powerfully with God for this land, than even Abraham did for Sodom, we shall be as Gomorrah; for the glory of the Reformation is departing step by step; and if we let this as our visible Shekinah vanish, we had better not have been born. To arouse us still more to call on our God for mercy, we have another blessed instance of the power of prayer, recorded in Exod. xxxii. 9; where Jehovah, in righteous indignation against his people, threatens to give them up because of their idolatry, saying, "Let me alone, that I may consume them." But in this expression Moses, like the woman of Canaan, saw a ray of hope, by which he besought mercy in their behalf for the Lord's own glory, and obtained it. So now we can sing, "O wondrous power of faithful prayer! What tongue can tell the' almighty grace? As Moses or Elijah prays. Let Moses in the Spirit groan, And God cries out, 'Let me alone.' 66 Idolatry in the Romish Church is a crying sin; "and covetousness," or mammon-worship," which is idolatry" in another form, (Col. iii. 5, 6,) of which our nation is now becoming so guilty, is equally offensive in the sight of God; whatever carries away the affections, or is set up as a rival with the Deity, is an idol, and must be cast down, because " God will not give his praise," or his glory in being loved supremely, "to another." "The Lord God is a jealous God;" neither will he share the honour of redeeming man with the Virgin, or any human being; for this is the glory due to him alone. (Hosea xiii. 4.) Let us contend earnestly for this truth, that his name may be magnified,— that Christ hath all power on earth and in heaven, that none can enter but by him, that none can exclude whom he justifies. This is the divine passport into Paradise ; and, mercifully," his righteousness is unto all and upon all them that believe." (Rom. iii. 22.) Possessing this, which is obtained by faith in his atoning blood, we need not apply to the Virgin, or the Pope, or the Priest, or to any other name given under heaven; for salvation comes by none but Jesus Christ. (Acts iv. 12.) The word of God clearly shows that every believer is cleansed by his blood from the guilt of sin, (1 John i. 7,) “ 'justified by faith," (Rom. v. 1, 5; Acts xiii. 39,) and sanctified by the Holy Spirit. (Rom. xv. 16; Titus iii. 5; 2 Thess. ii. 13.) "We are complete in Christ," (Col. ii. 10,) freed from all condemnation by being in him; (Rom. viii. 1 ;) but neither Romanist, nor Socinian, nor any who seek salvation through justification by their own works, (they having once sinned,) can ever have the comfort of feeling sure that they are saved because they are like a mariner who keeps his anchor on board, instead of casting it upon the Rock of Ages. Besides, they have no revelation from their God to inform them how many works or sufferings it requires to purchase salvation. The Scriptures affirm, in Gal. iii. 10, 11, that " as many as are of the works of the law, are under the curse:" the hope of being saved by human works, is therefore a cursed hope. The glory of the religion of Jesus is, that as he finished the work of redemption on the cross, man is justified by faith in him, without the deeds of the law. (Rom. iii. 28.) The Christian's works are labours of gratitude to God for this salvation; they are evidences of love to glorify God, (John xv. 8,) who "hath made us accepted in the Beloved.” (Eph. i. 6.) "If Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory. To him that worketh" for salvation, "the reward is not of grace, but of debt." (Rom. iv. 2, 4.) But what saith the Scripture? "Abraham believed God, and it was counted," or imputed, "unto him for righteousness." (Verses 3-6.) He was then justified by faith and saved, and the good works he did afterwards were the fruits of his being holy; by which he had this blessed witness from the Lord: "Now I know that thou fearest God." "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." (Eph. ii. 10.) Luther designated this faith "the test of a standing or a falling church." By his unflinching adherence to the cardinal doctrine, that faith without any work justifies before God, he, like righteous Abel, “being dead, yet speaketh." When this noble spirit is revived, it will again repeat these sacred truths, and show that holiness and happiness go together; because holiness, or fitness for heaven, is the possession and enjoyment of Christ's presence and peace, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of adoption, (Rom. viii. 15,) which no doctrines, but those of the Reformed Protestant churches, properly recognise. “Let us, therefore, hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering," that "in keeping" (though not for keeping) God's commandments "there is great reward." (Psalm xix. 11.) And let us do all we can to prevent idolatry, in every form of its veneration; for it is written, "Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord ;" (Jer. xvii. 5 ;) secretly delighting in his beads, or in his riches, or in the mediation of "the Queen of heaven," or in the tradition of men, or in any created thing, more than in God. (To be concluded in our next.) THE LATE REV. CHRISTOPHER HOPPER'S FIRST VISIT TO LEEDS. (To the Editor of the Wesleyan-Methodist Magazine.) "I remember the days of old." In the year 1793, it was my honour to be associated with thirteen other young men in being received into full connexion with the Wesleyan Conference. It was held that year in Leeds; and the late Rev. Christopher Hopper was one of the fathers in the ministry who addressed us. He commenced as follows: "Young men, you are greatly favoured by the Lord. Other men have laboured, and you have entered into their labours. The first time I came to Leeds, after riding a short distance into the town, I asked a sober, sedatelooking man, if he knew any person in the town called a Methodist. He replied, 'No, Sir.' Two or three other persons were asked the same question, who replied in like manner. At length a person answered me by saying, 'There is a barber in the town, who prays and preaches, who is called a Methodist: he resides in Briggate.' I found the street, and my eye looked very anxiously on the right side and on the left side of the street for the barber's pole. After some time, my eye got sight of the object: I rode to the door, and asked, 'Does William Shent live here?’ 'Yes, my name is Shent.' 'My name is Christopher Hopper.' 'Come in, thou blessed of the Lord; come in,' was the hearty salutation I received. "At William Shent's door, in the same evening, I preached my first sermon in Leeds, and was as one wondered at. Now, young men, what do you see? A large chapel crowded with hearers almost to suffocation, multitudes having believed in Jesus, and being saved! Be faithful, or the Head of the church will punish you.” "Our conquering Lord Hath prosper'd his word, And mightily shaken the kingdom of hell." May 25th, 1846. JOHN KERSHAW. 663 SKETCHES BY A RESIDENT IN CAIRO. No. VI.-PROCESSIONS-FESTIVALS-FAST OF RAMADAN. (To the Editor of the Wesleyan-Methodist Magazine.) We were attracted by the sound of loud voices in the street, accompanied by the roll of music: these were the harbingers of one act in the drama of a marriage procession. Three brides elect were being conducted in great state to the bath, a ceremony always observed on the eve of a wedding. The ladies seemed very young, especially the one who walked first she could not have been more than nine or ten years old. Nothing can be more whimsical than the too, too, too, cry of the women, in conjunction with the monotonous sound of the derabooka, (darebukkah,) all meant to be expres sive of joy. In some instances, the bride on her return from the bath is profusely sprinkled with rose-water; and incense, and various perfumes, burning in silver censers, are carried before her. About nine P.M. we again heard the music, and saw the youngest of the little brides conducted to the bridegroom's house, where she was to pass through the marriage ceremonial. Soon afterwards the other two passed, making altogether a very splendid pageant. All the brides were Christians, which was indicated by the absence of the gay party-coloured canopy that is invariably carried over the heads of the Mahometans. It is the custom of the Orientals here, whether Christian or Mussulman, to parade the principal street with a slow pace, in leading “the destined one," amidst great rejoicing, to the house of her future husband. The face of the bride is closely veiled; a rich scarlet shawl is thrown over her head, reaching to her feet, and quite concealing her figure. To make her look tall, something high is usually affixed to the head, which deformity the Indian shawl covers; and then, surmounting the whole, is a head-dress decorated with gold and jewels, a sort of tiara, or crown: this is often but a loan. In addition to these externals, she is generally very richly attired. A crowd of female relatives and friends usually accompany the bride: one attendant fans her, lest she should faint in her smothered condition; another carries a chair, that she may rest when fatigued; and others sprinkle her with costly perfumes, or strew the choicest flowers in her path. We met a bridal-procession to-day, accompanied by the train of a boy for circumcision: both are frequently united, in order to enhance the pomp and effect of the display. Judging from her stature, the bride must have been a child; but she was quite concealed by the amplitude of her rich and grotesque costume. The boy's division was by far the most splendid spectacle. He rode a stately horse, well caparisoned; followed by a fine camel decorated with velvet trappings, feathers, and bells. A gothic-looking chair was borne in front, elaborately wrought with pearl; and a motley crowd, always picturesque here, swelled his train into importance. A marriage-procession has just passed our house; the object, as usual, seemingly a child. She was richly aparelled, with a tiara on her head, and her whole person enveloped in a superb scarlet shawl: the figure looked more like a moving mummy than a youthful being. Her friends conducted her to the bridegroom under a canopy of red and yellow silk, with the sound of music, and the scattering of fragrance; everything to render the ceremonial imposing, according to the taste of the Orient. Another bridal party, preceded by an infant prepared for the rite of circumcision; he wore |