stedfast confidence, which lit up his noble countenance as he pronounced this passage of our magnificent ritual-" O Father, raise us from the death of sin unto the life of righteousness; that when we shall depart this life, we may rest in thee, as our hope is this our brother doth."

The Cabinet.

LOOK TO JESUS.-Do I address any one who is conscious he has hitherto despised, rejected, betrayed, denied the Son of God? To him would I say- Look to the Jews, and tremble! look to Judas, and shudder! look to Peter, and hope! look to Jesus, and be saved! Yes, from the cross where once he died to make atonement for thy sin, he cries to thee, "Look unto me, and be saved!" from the throne, where he now ever liveth to make intercession for sinners, his cry still is, "Look unto me, and be saved."-Rev. Hugh White.

CHRISTIAN JOY.-Unlike the empty gaiety of the world, which betrays its shallowness by the froth and noise that it makes, true Christian joy, like a mighty and majestic river, too deep to be noisy, and too full to be frothy, flows on in silent strength, reflecting the heavens in its clear and calm surface, to mingle its pure and peaceful waves with the water of life that flows beside the throne of God.-Ibid.

THE DEVOTIONAL SERVICES OF THE CHURCH.-The height of beatific purity and holiness to which, as Christians, we are called to rise, and the influences from above by which alone we can thus by anticipation dwell in God's tabernacle, and rest upon his holy hill, are the two grand points to which the devotional forms of our Church are directed. Concluding the matter of our true happiness to consist in a virtual, but vital commencement of our future heaven, and the indispensable means of that happiness not less to consist in a really divine communication, our Church aims at forming us to such habits and feelings of devotion, as must imply a constant commerce of the heart with heaven, and a gradual approximation to its purity, its serenity, and its happiness, through fresh and fuller infusion of that eternal life which God has given us in his Son. Such is the uniform import and design of all our established services. Their object is to raise us to every thing for which we were created, which can make us well-pleasing to God, acceptable to men, and happy in ourselves; substantially happy even while in the body; with the assurance of unalloyed and consummate happiness hereafter. And for this exalted purpose, while every possible degree of fidelity and vigilance is to be exercised on our part, we are continually taught to look upward, and expect all increase of wisdom, fortitude, or virtue, from the boundless provision made for us in the mystery of redemption. We are taught that, from the first to the last step of our Christian course, we can accomplish nothing effectually by our own power, but must obtain both the implantation and the increase of every pure principle, of every right temper, and of every spiritual affection, from the grace of God, infused into us by the operation of the Holy Ghost.-Remains of A. Knox, Esq.

THE CHRISTIAN WARFARE. Enlightened by the Spirit of God, let us rise and look around us. Let us behold, for ignorance and blindness cannot increase our security, a host of enemies arrayed against our spiritual life. Enemies within, and enemies without. Our own hearts, our own minds, our own imaginations. A world in arms to subdue us, to enslave us, to destroy us. Injurious men, that may provoke us to anger; seductive men, that may entice us to sensuality; ambitious men, that may stimulate our pride; and indolent men, that may at once encourage and excuse our spirit

ual sloth. Let us behold, in its three fertile sources, all the moral evil of this present world; the desire of the eye, the desire of the flesh, and the pride of life. Let us confront our own propensities and dispositions, natural and acquired, with those occasions and excitements, which may kindle, from the slightest spark, the most baleful and destructive fire. And if it were possible to exhaust the whole company of earthly dangers, let us direct our thought to the hosts of our invisible foe; to those principalities, those powers, those rulers of the darkness of this world, who have closely studied our state of warlike preparation; who well know our most defenceless part; who are alike indefatigable and skilful in pointing the most deadly, because the most appropriate, engines of destruction against all our powers of resistance. Let us weigh in the balance of the sanctuary the risks and issues of this mighty contest. And then, let us ask our own hearts, Is this a time to slumber and to sleep? Is this a world in which we may supinely and securely repose? Is this a conflict in which we may remit and pause but for a single moment? Or rather, will not all our vigilance, all our strength, and all our alacrity, be too little to withstand, much more to overcome, this twofold armament of earth and hell? My brethren, to such an achievement we must feel that the vigilance, the strength, and the alacrity of unassisted man are altogether insufficient. But if we truly thirst after victory; if, according to the compact of our baptism, it be our great desire to prove ourselves "good soldiers of Jesus Christ, and manfully to fight under his banner against sin, the world, and the devil," then will Christ himself go forth with us to battle; then shall our prayers for succour be answered from on high; then shall we feel ourselves strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might; then shall we be enabled to put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for an helmet the hope of salvation;" a panoply of heavenly temper, which no fiery dart of the wicked one can pierce, which may bid defiance to the weapons both of death and hell. "Wherefore," my beloved brethren, "take unto you the whole armour of God."--Bp. Jebb.

PERSONAL APPLICATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.-The great question between a soul and God, is not whether we admit the truths of the Scriptures into our understandings, but whether they are so applied to our hearts as to have wrought a change, and become principles of faith and patience. Nothing short of this can afford evidence of a saved and safe condition.--Rev. Legh Richmond.

Poetry.

ON A FROSTY EVENING.*

WHEN the dark mantle of o'ershadowing night
Wraps in concealment all the world below,
With countless orbs yon azure vault doth glow,
In silence shining, beautiful and bright.
The midnight wanderer gazes with delight,
And feels his heart within him overflow.
"O! what," he asks, "can day's broad sunshine
shew,

To be compar'd with this all-glorious sight?"
'Tis sometimes thus, when sorrow's mournful shade
Darkens our path, and veils our prospects here:
Fair worlds, unseen before, are then display'd,
And in surpassing majesty appear;
For then to faith's uplifted eye 'tis given
To view the glories of a brighter heaven.

• From Hours of Sorrow.

CHRIST THE PURIFIER.*

The following story (I know not on what authority) is abroad in

voluntary will, and no man (as far as I can call to remembrance) demanding of him, he shewed his opinion

from time to time at each other's houses, to read the Scriptures, and to make them the subjects of profitable conversation, when they came to the third chapter of Malachi, had some discussion over the second and third verses, respecting the method of purifying the precious metals. As none of the company knew any thing about the process, one undertook to inquire of a silversmith, with whom she was acquainted, how it was effected; and, particularly, what was the business of the refiner himself during the operation. Without explaining her motive, she accordingly went to her friend, and asked him how the silver was cleared from any dross with which it might have been mixed. He promptly explained to her the manner of doing this. "But," said the inquirer, "do you sit, sir, at the work?" "Oh, yes," he replied; "for I must keep my eye steadily fixed on the furnace, since, if the silver remain too long under the intense heat, it is sure to be damaged." She at once saw the beauty and propriety of the image employed, "He shall sit as a refiner of silver;" and the moral of the illustration was equally obvious. As the lady was returning with the information to her expecting companions, the silversmith called her back, and said, that he had forgotten to mention one thing of importance, which was, that he only knew the exact instant when the purifying process was complete, by then seeing his own countenance in it. Again the spiritual meaning shone forth through the beautiful veil of the letter. When God sees his own image in his people, the work of sanctification is complete. It may be added, that the metal continues in a state of agitation till all the impurities are thrown off, and then it becomes quite still; a circumstance which heightens the exquisite analogy in this case; for O how

"Sweet to lie passive in his hand,

And know no will but his !"

The subject was embodied in the following stanzas, at the urgent request of a friend, who, with her young family, was about to leave her native country, and settle in a distant part of the globe; but the writer's mind had received the ineffaceable impression of the similitude and the inference, in the year 1832, from the lips of another dear friend, when she was nearly in her last agony, who applied it to herself and her afflictions, which had been long and excruciating, yet borne by her as such pains can alone be borne, in God's furnace and under his eye-"He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver" (Mal. iii. 3).

HE that from dross would win the precious ore
Bends o'er the crucible an earnest eye,
The subtle searching process to explore,

Lest the one brilliant moment should pass by,
When in the molten silver's virgin mass
He meets his pictured face, as in a glass.

Thus in God's furnace are his people tried;
Thrice happy they who to the end endure:
But who the fiery trial may abide ?

Who from the crucible come forth so pure,
That He, whose eyes of flame look through the whole,
May see his image perfect in the soul?

Nor with an evanescent glimpse alone,

As in that mirror the refiner's face;

But stampt with heaven's broad signet, there be shewn Immanuel's features, full of truth and grace:

And round that seal of love this motto be, "Not for a moment, but-eternity!"

JAMES MONTGOMERY.

Miscellaneous.

DR. REDMAN'S TESTIMONY ON HIS DEATH-BED TO JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH, A.D. 1551.- Of his own

From the Christian Keepsake, for 1837.

and repent, beseeching God forgiveness of the same, that too seriously and earnestly I have withstood this proposition, that only faith doth justify; but I always feared that it should be taken to the liberty of the flesh, and so should defile the innocency of life which is in Christ. But that proposition, that only faith doth justify, is true (quoth he), sweet, and full of spiritual comfort, if it be truly taken, and rightly understood. And when he was demanded what he thought to be the true and very sense thereof, I understand (quoth he) that to be the lively faith which resteth in our only Saviour Jesus Christ, and embraceth him; so that in our only Saviour Jesus Christ all the hope and trust of our salvation be surely fixed. And as concerning good works (saith he), they have their crown and merit, and are not destitute of their rewards; yet nevertheless they do not merit the kingdom of heaven. For no works (said he) could purchase and obtain that blessed, happy, and everlasting immortality; no, nor yet those things which we do under grace by the motion of the Holy Ghost. For that blessed and immortal glory is given and bestowed upon us mortal men of the heavenly Father for his Son our Saviour Christ's sake, as St. Paul testifieth, the gift of God is eternal life. - Letter of Dr. Young to Sir John Cheke.

REDEMPTION OF TIME.-A Sibyl came to Tarquinius Superbus, king of Rome, and offered to sell unto him three tomes of her oracles: but he, counting the price too high, refused to buy them away she went and burnt one tome of them. Returning, she asked him whether he would buy the two remaining at the same rate; he refused again, counting her little better than frantic: thereupon she burns the second tome, and peremptorily asked him whether he would give the sum demanded for all the three for the one tome remaining; otherwise she would burn that also, and he would dearly repent it. Tarquin, admiring at her constant resolution, and conceiving some extraordinary worth contained therein, gave her demand. There are three volumes of man's time; youth, man's estate, and old age; and ministers advise them to redeem this time. But men conceive the rate they must give to be unreasonable, because it will cost them the renouncing of their carnal delights. Hereupon one-third part of their life (youth) is consumed in the, fire of wantonness. Again, ministers counsel men to redeem the remaining volumes of their life. They are but derided at for their pains; and man's estate is also cast away in the smoke of vanity. But preachers ought to press peremptorily on old people to redeem, now or never, the last volume of their life. Here is the difference; the Sibyl still demanded but the same rate for the remaining book; but aged folk (because of their custom in sinning) will find it harder and dearer to redeem this, the last volume, than if they had been chapmen for all three at the first.

NOTICE.

Vol. I. is now completed, and may be had, handsomely bound in ornamented cloth, price 5s. 6d. Those Subscribers who wish to have their copies bound in the same manner may have them done up by the Publishers, price 1s. 10d.; or the embossed covers may be purchased separately, price 18. 6d.

Portfolios, of a neat construction, for preserving the separate Numbers until the Volumes are complete, may be had of the Publishers, price 2s. 6d. each.

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.

THE SIN OF RELIGIOUS INDOLENCE. THE Christian system, or the work of God in the salvation of the human soul, from its commencement in grace to its completion in glory, may be viewed in three parts: 1st, the work that has been wrought for us by the Redeemer; 2dly, the work that must be wrought in us by the Holy Ghost in applying that redemption; and 3dly, the work that must be acted out by us (the fruit of the internal work), in doing "all such good works as God has prepared for us to walk in." This is acknowledged by every professing Christian; acknowledged, i. e. in theory, but little attended to, I fear, by very many in practice. While the duty of hearing the word is attended to by most, the charge, "Be ye doers of the word," is borne in mind by few; and thus the third-mentioned portion of the Christian's work, above described, is lamentably overlooked or disregarded.

It is the design of this essay, in humble dependence on the blessing of the Lord the Spirit, to remark on the awful peril of being "hearers only" of the word, and not "doers" of it. Christianity is allowed, on all hands, to be a personal affair-a real business between a man's spirit and the great Father of spirits. It will be conceded that, without an application of its principles to individual conduct, religion is but a name that passages of Scripture, and expositions, and sermons, however listened to and admired, will be to us as nothing, without a personal and a felt interest in the instructions they convey, and a practical application of that instruction to our habits of life. This, I repeat, will be conceded by all the readers of these pages;

VOL. II.-NO. XXXVIII.

PRICE 1d.

and to them I would appeal, as to the imminent danger of those to whom the Gospel has come in word, but not in power-who " are not far from the kingdom of God," and yet "have none of it." I would speak of the awful peril of neutrality in religious matters-of the hazard of possessing what may be called a negative religion; for inasmuch as, in the sight of God, there are only two classes of men in the world (the performers and the non-performers-those who do the requirements of the Gospel, and those who do them not), it is clear that all neutrals, even though they are willing and constant "hearers of the word," and moral members of society, must be included in the latter class, and be subjected to their doom. This is indeed a soul-shrinking position; but it is Scripture truth, and the truth must be stated. Society may, and does, recognise three classes of individuals-the vicious, the moral, and the consistent Christian; but though the world may thus interpolate a neutral class between the grossly criminal and the decidedly pious, yet God never will acknowledge such a party; for his word never does. This class, which, I am bound to say, is fearfully large in our land, see themselves and feel themselves very different and separate from the vicious while here below; and hence they think, that hereafter also they shall be considered as equally separate. In the eyes of the world, they know that there is an immense difference between the vicious and the neutral; and hence they fancy, that in the sight of God there is the same difference: but if Scripture is to be trusted, such is not the case. God, I repeat, acknowledges only two classesthose who do, and those who do not his will:

G

the mere hearing" of his word he accounts as nothing.

The members of this party are satisfied, and fancy themselves safe, if they hear the word in public and in private, and are free from all heinous crimes and gross offences against public morals; while they think not of the necessity of doing the things of the word. If they have but few startling sins of commission staring them in the face, they make no account of the huge mass of the sins of omission, for which God will certainly bring them into judgment. They ascribe no such guiltiness as should disturb the conscience, and no such danger as should excite alarm, to any thing short of flagrant violations of God's law; so that if they be attentive to ordinances, and be respected in society, they enjoy a peace and a complacency, which, after all, it is to be feared, will prove fallacious. For Scripture tells us of a being "not far from the kingdom of God," and yet of "having none of it;" and so a man may observe all the external ordinances of religion, without being inwardly and vitally religious. With regard to earthly morality, there may be little or nothing about him to blame; while, with respect to heavenly affections, there may be also little or nothing about him to praise; nay, there may be the utter destitution of all that is good. Thus, although such men do not, in a sense, oppose God, yet they do not his will; and what says the Scripture? "Be ye doers of the word." They do not openly rebel against his word, yet they neglect it; and, again, what says the Scrip"How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?" Here, mark, is no hostility to the Saviour charged against men, but only a heedlessness of the Saviour; and yet from this, and many other texts of the Bible, the consequences of this neutral, this purely negative state-a state so often exemplified by men observant of all the moralities of ordinary life-would appear to be most tremendous. They come not out "to the help of the Lord against the mighty" influence of earthly affections, and so they are involved in the curse.

ture?

Some of these passages of Scripture it will be instructive to look at a little in detail. The first I will mention is that of Judges, v. 23, noticing the punishment of Meroz, which, in a time of danger to the cause of religion, remained neutral. "Curse ye Meroz," said the Angel of the Lord, "curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof:" and for what? "because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty." Now, let us dwell a moment on this. Here was a curse pronounced against a party of men, not for opposing the Lord,

but for not coming out under his banner. They were not charged with rebellion, with taking part with the enemies of religion; but simply with not doing what they ought to have done. They had all the excuses to make which men now are so ready to offer for remaining neutral; they were doubtless employed about their lawful business, and their domestic pursuits, and might plead want. of time to devote themselves entirely to their Lord's service: but, we read, no such excuses were taken. The curse was pronounced.

Again, to turn to the New Testament, why was the servant, who had hid his lord's talent in a napkin, doomed to be cast into outer darkness? No positive crime of commission had been alleged against him-no act of rebellion was charged upon him. Why, then, was he thus severely punished? Because he had omitted his duty, and had neglected to improve the talent committed to his care.

Also, let us bear in mind the awful description of the last judgment given by our Saviour in the parable of the sheep and the goats. In this passage we have a plain statement of the principles upon which men will hereafter be judged. Who were the goats? who were they that are to be set on the left hand of God at the last day, when the Son of man shall come in his glory? Not thieves, and blasphemers, and infidels, (although they surely are among the number,) not the perpetrators of gross worldly crimestheir doom indeed, if impenitent, cannot be doubted, and needs not to be described;but those are set aside who have failed to shew kindness, and to exercise charity; who have neglected opportunities of glorifying God's name; who have omitted to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to protect the stranger, to visit the sick, and relieve the distressed. Hence, when the Judge set the goats on the left hand for condemnation, he did not charge them with gross wickedness and vice, but simply with not doing the Gospel requirements he did not charge them with impiety or unbelief, but only with not doing what they ought to have done, i. e. with not putting in practice the precepts of his religion.

Once more; let us turn to the book of Revelation, and in reading over the charges and denunciations against the Seven Churches of Asia, what do we find? The crime of deepest dye, if we may judge by the punishment denounced, is that brought against the Church of Laodicea. Various things of deep concern are alleged against the other Churches, for which chastisement is threatened; but the crime laid at the door of the Laodicean Church is that of neutrality, luke

warmness.

"I know thy works, that thou art neither hot nor cold;" and what threat followswhat is the punishment denounced? Most tremendous. "So then because thou art neither hot nor cold, I will spue thee out of my mouth;" I will overwhelm thee with the torrent of my indignation. Now, this is a judgment passed upon a community, a whole tribe, and must, of course, be executed in this world, since the final judgment is intended for individuals. Let us, then, look for its fulfilment. On this point we can speak decisively. The observations of travellers give us no room for doubt upon the subject; the prophecy has been literally fulfilled. An English clergyman, in connexion with the Church Missionary Society, the Rev. J. Hartley, remarks: - "I have stood on the hill of Laodicea, and found it without a single resident inhabitant; I saw neither church nor temple, mosque nor minaret, nor a single permanent abode; it was empty, and void, and waste.' Wild beasts of the desert lie there;' and 'owls dwell there.'" Thus has "the candlestick been removed out of his place;" thus has her name been blotted out from the list of the Churches. For her neutrality, her lukewarmness, has she endured "the blasting of the breath of the displeasure" of God.

--

Oh! let us prayerfully reflect upon this momentous subject; let us dwell again and again, in our private moments, upon Scripture statements such as these. Let us investigate the particulars of the charges brought against Scripture delinquents; and we shall find that they are often such as are made in the description of the last judgment. It is not said by the great Author of revelation, Ye opposed me; it is not said, Ye hated me; it is not said, Ye took part with my enemies; but it is simply said, "Ye did it not;" ye were not "doers" of my word. T. E.

SIDON.*

NEAR to Sidon begin the precincts of the Holy Land and of that part in particular which was allotted unto Asher, the borders of which tribe extended to Carmel. In ancient times this city often awakened the jealousy of Tyre by her wealth and commerce, which she owed to the great convenience of her harbour, rendered capable, by art and skill, of containing a great number of vessels. The Christians lost this city in the year 1111; they afterwards retook it from the Saracens, and St. Louis repaired it in 1250; but the Saracens rendered themselves masters of it a second time in 1289, and the celebrated Emir Facardine destroyed the harbour, to keep his enemies the Turks at a distance. This prince, who had passed some time in Italy, had imbibed a taste for the sciences and fine arts, and returned to his native land with a highly cultivated mind, and a passionate desire to improve his countrymen. Brave and enterprising, he conquered the

By John Carne, Esq.

greater part of Syria, and built several palaces after the models he had seen in Italy: the ruins of one still exist in the neighbourhood of Beirout. He was assassinated, while yet in the prime of life, by one of the Druses of Lebanon; and all his plans for improvement perished with him.

The appearance of Sidon, as you approach it from Tyre, is beautiful; with its gardens of orange and apricot trees, its grey walls, and an air of tranquillity and fruitfulness, which is the more striking after the decayed, dejected, and melancholy appearance of Tyre. Its plain is about two miles wide; a high hill rises about a mile from the town, in whose rocks several sepulchral grots are hewn. At about two-thirds of the way from Tyre to Sidon, we were invited to stop at a little hamlet, consisting of a few poor cottages, at one of which coffee was sold: the heat of the day was great; it was noon; and there was no shadow of trees, not even "of a great rock in a weary land." It is necessary to be a traveller in the East to estimate the deliciousness of a cup of coffee put to the lips at such an hour; for it is meat and drink, and bread and wine, The sea fell with a low murmur on the waste and desolate beach, and not a form of a single cloud rested on the bosom of the plain.

:

But this spot had higher claims to interest, being the site of the ancient Sarepta, where Elijah, in the time of famine, was fed by the widow's cruse of oil. The ruins of dwellings, very ancient, are scattered around the scene is in a little valley opening on the sea; but the brook that fed the prophet is now dry, and, like that of the valley of Elah, from whence David took the pebbles to smite the Philistine, there is no moisture in its sandy and stony bed. Yet the scene is one to which the great messenger of his God might have loved to retire. High hills rise on each side, from whose wild summits and verdant sides rise masses of grey rock; and the shepherd is seen watching his flock, and the wild tunes of the Syrian pipe are heard from afar. The bold promontory of Tyre is seen in the distance on the left; and far on the right are the snowy summits of Lebanon towering to the sky, and beneath them the rich and ancient groves of cedar, and cypress, and sycamore. This little vale of Sarepta is a wild and impressive solitude.-How beautiful and interesting a book might be written of the wanderings of the great and hallowed characters of Scripture in the desert and the plain, in the mountain and valley; of their exile and their many mercies; of their indelible hopes and remembrances! Solitude was their bosom friend and companion; they held communion with nature in her gloomiest as well as most glorious retreats, and in all her aspects they saw the finger of her God. The poor Arab who sold this coffee could depend only on the custom of the chance passenger or the wanderer; it was seldom the enthusiast passed his door; it was seldom that the memories of ancient and holier times found a responsive chord in the bosom of the native. Who is there in the land that cares for the grey rocks and ruinous places of Sarepta? Who is there that weeps beside the hushed stream or the silent homes? The queen of the wilderness sits on the ground; "there is none to comfort her, or to listen to the voice of her mourning." How different from the times of old, when Jacob said,-"His border shall be unto Sidon, out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties; the blessings of heaven above, and the deep that lieth under, even to the utmost bounds of the everlasting hills!"

It was evening when we entered the gates of Sidon, wearied with a long ride of twenty-five miles; the weather was beautiful, but there was not a breeze even from the sea. After the flat and sandy beach over which we had lately rode, it was grateful to pass through the rich gardens that extend half a mile beyond the walls of Sidon. There was no caravansera in the town, no roof of a friend to welcome us; we