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animals that seek their food, anong the snow, grow white in winter, and sends frost and snow to fatten and fertilize the arth; if he makes the birds to sing, the inferior animals, by their sudden and irregular motions to give symptoms of joy, and all nature to rejoice, can we suppose that he will suffer ay thing to happen to his people that is not for their good?Behold the fowis of the air; for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father teedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?'

J. H.

THE ALTAR AT ATHENS

INSCRIBED TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.

WHEN St. Paul, in the course of his evangelical journies, isited the famous city of Athens, he beheld, among a great umber of other altars, one which bore this singular inscripLou, To the unknown God. This the holy and wise man took, as it were, for his text; and assured the people that the Deity whom they ignorantly worshipped, he could clearly reveal

anto them.

The Apostle very justly observed that they were much adcted to dæmon worship.' History evinces fully the truth of s remark. Dr. Ellis, in his learned treatise, entitled 'The howledge of Divine Things from Revelation, not from Reaor Nature,' has given us a considerable collection of facts h illustrate this subject, but which prove, at the same me, that altars to unknown gods were not uncommon ong the Pagans. A few passages shall be transcribed. Page 289, et seq.

The first altar at Athens was built by Cecrops, the Egyp; where they so prodigiously multiplied, that Pausanias, Tho took an accurate survey of the country, says, there were ore images and altars there than in all Greece beside. They were fond of strange gods; yet worshipped no one without an age to represent him. It was the custom of the Grecks, nys Maximus Tyrius, to worship the gods in the purest mat, of human-shape, and with the most exquisite art. These creased to so excessive a number, that Athens was called the Country and Shop of the Gods: and Xenophon complained that they had made the city but one altar. Cicero calls it Urbs fanorum repleta, a city crammed with temples: and, one in Petronius observed, Our country is so filled with deities, at you may easier find a god than a man.' It was truly the Pantheon of the world, having one temple in common to all the gods.

St. Paul was deemed a setter-forth of strange gods,'

literally,' of foreign dæmons,' to which their itching ears gave immediate attention. Strabo notes, that their hospitality to strangers extended to the gods. The Romans, on the con trary, were uncivil to strange gods, and received them with difficulty; yet, by the law of Athens, no foreign god was to be admitted till licensed by the Areopagus, which had the sole power in religious matters; and, according to Demosthenes, no one had ever complained of any unjust sentence given by that court; yet the severest laws were enacted at Athens, and every citizen commanded, on pain of death, to worship the gods and heroes as the laws of the city required; and they who observed not the appointed ceremonies, were immediately dragged to the court of Areopagus. The cutting a twig out of a sacred grove was a capital offence; even a fool had been condemned for killing one of Esculapius's sparrows; and a child, accidentally taking up a plate of gold fallen from Diana's crown, was put to death for sacrilege. This court assembled on the Hill of Mars, because that god was indicted and tried for murder by a jury of twelve gods; but acqnitted: and here were Socrates and others tried for invading religion, and undervaluing the gods.

Hither was St. Paul brought, as a publisher of foreign gods and doctrines,' Jesus and (Anastasia) the Resurrection t,' to be examined concerning them; tho', perhaps (as the proceedings. of the court had been much altered since the days of Socrates) not as a criminal, but as a benefactor, in having a new worship to propose to a people zealous above all others, in what they called religion; but the contrary opinion seems preferable, that he was carried thither as a 'babbler, a retailer of scraps.

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'An altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.' 'It was a custom among the antients to engrave on the altar the name of the god to whom it was dedicated; which, at Athens in particular, was necessary to distinguish them amidst a conflux of the most remote and strange ones from all parts of the world. Amidst this variety, there was one, probably many, to the unknown God. Philostratus says, that at Athens 'there were altars of unknown gods or dæmons;' and Pausanias also mentions them in the plural number; by which Grotius thinks might be denoted many altars to the one unknown God. Critias, in Lucian, swears by the God unknown to the Athe

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+ Dr. Bentley, sermon 2, page 9 (and with him agrees Dr. Whitby) says They too well understood the notion of a resurrection to worship it as a goddess; but those learned persons should first have shewn how they came not to understand the nature of a Fever or a Jakes too well to worship them for goddesses.

A contemptible, prattling, sacrilegious fellow. So Wilsius, Meletem. Page 81.

nians. According to Oecumenius, the whole inscription was thus:

To the gods of Asia, Europe, and Africa,

To the Unknown and Strange GOD.

The crowding him among all the dæmons in the world, proves them to be ignorant of his nature; as the placing him among the strange gods does that they had received him from others, and were not the authors of the discovery.

'There are several reasons given for the erecting such altars; but the most probable is, their superstitious fear of omitting any god, which, amidst the uncertainty of so many religions, might easily have been done; or it might proceed from their not knowing what god to ascribe some remarkable benefit or deliverance to, and therefore, in gratitude, erected an altar to the unknown one. Diogenes Laertius gives this account of their rise: That Epimenedes staid a plague among the Athenians in this manner. He took a black and white sheep to Areopagus, whence he let them go which way they would; commanding those that followed them, that wheresoever they lay down, they should sacrifice to some fit and proper god. The calamity ceased; and to this very day, says Laertius, there are altars to be found without name, which were then made in memory of this expiation.'

Nor was this custom peculiar to Greece; the Romans also erected altars on the reception of any sudden benefit; as that to Adoption, mentioned by Tacitus, l. 1; and another to Revenge. So the ancient Romans, when they felt an earthquake, betook themselves, by public command, to religious observances; but did not, as on other occasions, name the god to whom they dedicated such solemnities, lest, by mistaking one for another, they might oblige the people to a false worship; and, as it was uncertain by what power or god earthquakes happened, they offered sacrifice to an uncertain deity in the ancient form,si Deo, si Dee. The Latins also had many altars, Diis deabusque; and Dibus deabusque omnibus. The ignorance of the Divine nature made this uncertainty run thro' the whole of their religion: many were Dei involuti, therefore to their prayers they added, Sive tu Deus es, sive Dea; and we meet with this inscription, Sive Deo, sive Dea. C. Ter. Dexter. Ex voto. A.Gellius says, that they whose names were uncertain, or whose sex was doubtful, or whom it was not lawful to declare, were called unknown gods. Indeed, there were so many, that Varro wrote a book of the unknown gods, and another of the uncertain ones. The Celtiberians, the Persians, and Arabians, had their unknown god; so had the people of Marseilles in Gaul,' &c. Thus far Dr. Ellis.

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The Christian reader will doubtless reflect with gratitude on

the inexpressible privilege of knowing, from Divine Revelation, the only living and true God. He who was in the bosom of the Father hath declared him and this is life eternal, to know him the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent.'! To whom be glory, world without end! Amen.

SIR,

FREE GRACE PREACHERS

ZEALOUS RECOMMENDERS OF HOLINESS.

To the Editor.

Ir is known that some enemies to the excellent Mr. Hervey's doctrine, profess to have taken strong exceptions to his writings, from an apprehension that his principles-lead to antinomian licentiousness. This consideration has probably kept Many from reading the works of this excellent author. His leading theme, Grace reigning through righteousness to eternal life' to the worst of men, is the vital spring of true holiness. His enemies being judges that his own life was eminently holy, I have carefully examined his works; wherein he always appears a strong advocate for gospel holiness. After he knew the truth, he could never view good works as necessary to qualify us for receiving the Saviour, to found our title to Christ's righteousness, or what is thereby purchased, whether grace or glory; yet he apprehended these absolutely necessary in the saved. Practical godliness stood high in his esteem, and was in public and private often and earnestly inculcated by him. We have many instances of this. A Christian must exercise himself in all good works. We must as carefully maintain good works as if our salvation was the purchase of them.I would incessantly inculcate both the indispensable necessity and manifold utility of holy obe dience. Holiness is one of the most distinguished blessings in our system: nay, it is the very central blessing to which they all verge,-in which they all terminate. Far, very tar from discarding sincere obedience, we would introduce it, under its true character as the fruit, not the cause, of our interest in Christ's righteousness, and in its due order as follow ing, not preceding, the gift of righteousness:- besides, I' understood by his letters, he much wished to publish a Treatise on Gospel Holiness, in its Nature and Extent;' and had sketched out a plan for this; but his death prevented its execution. I trust the above will convince all, that this celebrated preacher and writer on the riches of grace, was one of the truest friends to the doctrine of holiness.

Your eonstant reader,

A. B.

AN ORIGINAL LETTER,

FROM THE LATE REV. D. JONES, OF LLANGAN,

A FEW MONTHS BEFORE HIS DECEASE.

Very dear Sir,

February 6, 1810.

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IF you knew how much I have been hurried from place to place, since the receipt of yours, I am certain you would most readily pardon me for my long silence. In the latter end of last year, the Lord enabled me to travel many hundred miles, in endeavouring to exhibit my blessed Master's treasures of love to the best advantage I could; and although I told poor mortals that these vast treasures are all freely bestowed, yet, after all my toil and labour, there were but few indeed who would stoop to receive them. Many would come and offer some dunghill rags, for pearls of more value than all the mines of India but some poor ruined guilty creatures here and there, in my round, would draw near, and cry out, Oh, the depth of infinite love! that I, who deserved nothing but hell, should be so freely and fully enriched with such treasures as you venture to speak of, in a poor and almost worn-out broken vessel! Had there been a penny to pay,' such poor creatures added, we could have no hope; for we are nothing but Poverty itself; but we find these treasures are free to every beggar that ever walked the earth.' And indeed to tell you the truth, my dear Sir, none love to draw near my standing, but such as have nothing to pay; and I have nothing to dispense but to the empty and miserable; and what is very singular, on they come; and, upon a sense of their sins, they challenge some right to the most precious jewels I carry in my box; and nothing will do for them short of that invaluable pearl, MERCY +. Thus the poor glory in the gospel; and here let us be glad also, my dear friend, and let us never fear that its comforts will be exhaused while there is a thirsty soul left on earth!

Thumbly hope this will find you well in health. As for myself, my health of late has been indifferent. The gout hangs about ine; and I am tried with severe fits in the night, which 1 suppose to be some attacks of the gout in my stomach. When those fits come on, I am obliged to get out of bed with all speed, and pant for breath, perhaps for a whole hour, before the fit is over. I am in good hands. We have committed our cause to a faithful Advocate; let him take care of us, and we shall do well. In Ilim, yours,

D. JONES.

Allading, Mr. Editor, I suppose, to his exhibitions of gospel truths, in his public preaching from place to place. + Psalm xli. 4.

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