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The altar that St. Paul observed was at Athens; Athens, the eye of Greece; the school of the arts; the seat of the muses; the place from whence the gods themselves were said to come! Much there was in that elegant city to attract the eye and ear of a man of taste, like Paul: but he was not entertained. His soul was vexed within him, and when, at length a favorable opportunity presented itself, he thus addressed the venerable court of the Areopagus. "Ye men of Athens, I observe that in all things ye are too much addicted to the worship of demons.”

Superstitious they certainly were to an unusual degree. An ideot was executed for killing one of the sacred sparrows of Esculapius: and a little child put to death for accidentally picking up a bit of gold that fell from the crown of Diana!

The erection of this peculiar altar is, by some, ascribed to Socrates, who "wished thereby to express his devotion to the one living and true God, of whom the Athenians had no notion; and whose incomprehensible being, he insinuated by this inscription, to be far beyond the reach of their understanding, or his own."

Others account for it in a more extraordinary way. "Diogenes Laertius assures us that in the time of Epimenides, (almost 600 years before Christ) there was a terrible pestilence at Athens; in order to avert which, when none of the deities to whom they sacrificed, appeared willing or able to help them, Epimenides advised them to bring some sheep to the Areopagus, and letting them loose from thence, to follow them till they lay down, and then to sacrifice them to the god near whose temple they rested. Now it seems probable that,

Athens not being then so full of these monuments of superstition as afterwards, these sheep lay down in places remote from any temples, and so occasioned the rearing, what the historian calls anonymous altars, or altars, each of which had the inscription (ayvw5w Oεw)meaning thereby, the deity who had sent the plague, whoever he were. One of these altars might have been repaired, and continued till St. Paul's time. Now, as the God, whom he preached, as Lord of all, was, indeed, the Deity who sent and removed this pestilence; the apostle might, with great propriety, tell the Athenians, he declared to them Him, "whom, (without knowing him) they worshipped."

It is our inexpressible happiness, that this glorious God has revealed himself to us, in his sacred word, without which, we had remained to this day, as ignorant of him, as Greece then was. "This is eternal life to know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent!" Here we not only learn the unity and perfections of the Deity, but we see a God reconciled to rebels by the blood of the Lamb; we learn the way to approach him with acceptance: we obtain the privilege of access to him in daily prayer; and receive from him, every moment, supplies of grace. We learn to serve and honor him with all our powers; and we hope, ere long, to possess that fulness of joy which is at his right hand, and pleasures for ever more.

Among the ways in which we should prove our gratitude for the knowledge of God, this is one. Let us, like St. Paul, pity the millions of our fellow men who know

* Dr. Welwood (Pref. to the Banquet of Xenophon) cited by Dr. Doddridge, in his excellent note on this text, which see.

him not. If there had been neither misery nor danger in the ignorance of the Athenians, Paul might have prudently avoided the disgrace of being accounted "a chattering fellow, and a preacher of foreign deities;” but his spirit within him was greatly moved, beholding the city devoted to idolatry; and neither reputation nor life was counted dear to him, so that he might publish salvation to these perishing, mistaken people. It is to the honor of thousands in our American Israel, that they are like minded with him; and may He who honored Paul's labors at Athens, by the conversion of Dionysius, Damaris, and others, succeed their laudable efforts with an extensive blessing! PHILANTHROPOS.

AN ALTAR FOR A MEMORIAL.

"And he erected there an altar, and called it El-elohe Israel." Gen. xxxiii. 20.

THE practice of erecting altars on various occasions prevailed much in the patriarchal ages, as is abundantly evident from those set up by Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Joshua, and others. The general design of erecting them was to perpetuate the recollection of God's wonderful and gracious dealings with the children of men. Gratitude was the leading motive. They were intended likewise to convey important instruction to the generations to come, to inspire them with a belief in God's providence and a hope in his grace.

"El-elohe Israel," (i. e. God, the God of Israel) is a brief, but very expressive motto. It conveys an idea of the mutual and lasting relation which subsists between Jehovah and his covenant people. Nor does it refer

merely to Israel, "after the flesh," but to Israel in that spirit and faith which seal them the children of Abraham.

The Israel of God are the people of his choice, "Chosen in Christ, before the foundation of the world." In themselves they are equally corrupt with others, and by nature, "the children of wrath." They are separated from the ungodly world by effectual vocation, they carry his conspicuous image in their lives, and demonstrate that they are exclusively devoted to him. They are here exercised with many and peculiar trials. They are sometimes favored with Bethel manifestations, and at other seasons, have their Peniel wrestlings, in which they also prevail.

It is not among their smallest mercies that they arc related to God in a covenant, well ordered in all things and sure. In this covenant it is provided that in Christ one of the covenant contractors, all the seed of Israel shall be justified and shall glory. This covenant supplies a firm staff in the promises, on which they do sweetly lean when they worship God in the spirit. "Tis this that blunts and breaks every weapon formed against them; 'tis this enables them by faith to rejoice in the glorious prospect of inheriting their spiritual Canaan, that better country; and emboldens them at the verge of Jordan to exclaim, We have waited for thy salvation, O Lord.

O my soul, canst thou claim an interest in the covenant of God? What innumerable obligations art thou laid under; to love him in sincerity and truth; to cleave unto him with full purpose of heart; to serve him in the Gospel of his Son; and, finally, to follow him without VOL. III.

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the Camp, bearing shame and reproach for his name's sake. Thus wilt thou prove thyself an Israelite indeed; and God, the God of Israel, shall give thee his blessing. T. H.

REFLECTIONS ON THE PLEASURES AND ADVANTAGES OF VITAL GODLINESS,

In a Dialogue between Philemon and Theophilus.

To the Reader.

THE Common civilities of life require, that when strangers are introduced into our company, we should have some information respecting their names and character; as I am about to introduce two visitors to thee, it is proper that I should comply with this established custom, and I trust, at the close of the visit, thou wilt have no reason to regret the interview. Philemon is an aged, honorable, and deeply experienced Christian, whose happiness it was to be savingly called by the grace of the Holy Spirit in his early youth, and though time has shed his silver frost on his venerable head, his heart still glows with all the holy fervor of his early profession, and, with that generous pleasure which is only known to a gracious heart, rejoices unfeignedly in the salvation of sinners and the prosperity of his fellow saints; hence, it was with a sincere pleasure that he saw the dawnings of Divine grace on the soul of Theophilus, a modest amiable youth, who was much persecuted by his father on account of his religious profession. To the affectionate admonitions of Philemon,

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