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rit and in truth; for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit; and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." If all we had known what that meaneth, its genuine spirit, its pointed significancy, and its perpetual use, we should have turned the whole force of a power, now vainly expended upon either absolute or comparative shadows, upon the nobler ambition of producing in this church and nation a form of religion, which, resembling the nature of its Author in being life and not matter, spirit and not flesh, should be like that Author, too, in the duration of its consequences, should live and abide for ever.

spects their own conviction, and that of all worshippers shall worship the Father in spiunbiassed men. Meanwhile, they are restrained by many causes from directing the charge of this portentous authorship to the individuals at whose doors it manifestly lies, and, far more, from fixing upon them the guilt, and venturing to pronounce the consequences, of their course. But both the one and the other are exactly measured by him with whose truth they have tampered; and, in so doing, have been "troublers of" the "Israel" of God, and have shaken, if not caused shipwreck to, the faith of many "for whom Christ died." Enviable are they all, who, from a mind that has not been tutored in the unhappy faculty of self-deceiving, can profess: "But we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ."

It suggests itself as another reflection from this subject, how painful the sensation and the effects of a period of religious dissension! The occasion which calls for firmness is not one of serenity. The truth, which is saving; the gospel, as it is in itself, single, and alone, as its peaceful Author taught it-this gospel is in abeyance: it is wholly suspended until the air has ceased to thunder, and the sky is again serene, and the waters have retired from off the earth. But, in the midst of all this struggling for and against certain sets of tenets, the giant-power is turned off the machine it should propel. The effect of religion as a party-badge, as rousing proselyting zeal, as inciting to exertions, and even to sacrifices, may be very great; but the heart is either untouched, or depraved. Spiritual pride is feasted, while the body is macerated: men give their goods to feed the poor, but have not charity they shun all vice, except those which Satan will not allow us to call vices, because they are his own-malice, and calumny, and falsehood, and hypocrisy, in every form, which are found in holy, pure, and pious men-perfect saints as regards the grosser forms of sin. The duties to which we are called are those of prayer and effort, that the heavenly Dove may return to the ark of Christ's church, with the olive-branch of peace; that her children, whose ears have been so long detained beneath an irksome necessity of "hearkening unto men" in their disputations concerning things circumstantial and ceremonial and minute and transient, may see the triumph of those principles which at once make for peace, and "whereby we may edify one another:" "The hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father; but the hour cometh, and now is, when the true

:

I am not ignorant that the minds which would reject these views may represent them as the offspring of that very temper of selfpleasing and prejudiced belief which they are intended to discourage. But it may be reserved to a day of surprising revelations to make it known that, instead of being the fruits of an unyielding spirit, such principles have been the late-gained victory of those who have set before them as their highest and most necessary attainment, to "bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.'

THOUGHTS ON SELECT PASSAGES OF
SCRIPTURE.
(EPISTLE FOR THE EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER
TRINITY).

BY THE REV. JOHN AYRE M.A.,
Minister of St. John's Chapel, Hampstead.

ROM. VIII. 12-17.

"Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For, if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die; but,

if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye

shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adopwitness with our spirit, that we are the children of God; and, if tion, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ together."

if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified

THE influence of the Spirit of God as converting and purifying the soul is most necessary and powerful. The nature of man is, since the fall, corrupt; and his affections are earthly. If these be indulged, if the evil bias of the carnal mind be let to run its course, the result must be that spiritual and eternal death which from the beginning was justly apportioned as the reward of disobedience to God. "If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die." Neither can God admit a poliuted creature into his glory; nor could that creature, if admitted, enjoy the pure pleasures that are at his right hand.

There must be a habitude and meetness for the

heavenly felicity.

Accordingly we find that the apostle Paul carefully insists upon this; and, after exhibiting the remarkable contrast betwixt those who live to the flesh and those who live to the Spirit, he de

scribes some of the privileges and excellencies of this latter life-a life to which, by the salvation of Christ, we are introduced. It is by him that the sanctifying Spirit is bestowed. It is from grateful love to him that we are bound to live no more to the flesh, but to the Spirit. We are not debtors to the flesh, to live after the flesh; but we are debtors to God, to render a spiritual service to him. We are brought into his family, we must act as his obedient children. Let us examine some of the particulars of this spiritual life.

1. Instead of carnal bondage, there is childlike liberty. "Ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." In their unconverted state men are in every respect slaves. Not only are they under the thrall of Satan, that fierce lord who opens not the doors of his prison-house; not only as committing sin are they the servants of sin, swayed by passion, tyrannized over by lust; but the very law of God is a heavy yoke upon them. If they render it an outward obedience-and that is all-they render it grudgingly. Fear is the motive which impels them. They have no affectionate reverence for God's will, no love or gratitude to his person, no sense of favours received which would incline them cheerfully to spend and be spent for him. His judgment is all they apprehend of him. But let a man be brought into God's family as reconciled through Jesus Christ, and he will have a new principle implanted in his heart. He is no more a servant, but a child. He has received the most wonderful favour, even the free forgiveness of his sins; and his soul burns with desire to glorify the free grace which justified him when ungodly. He now sees a fitness and excellency in God's commands which he never perceived before. The character of the Lord in all its most delightful features expands itself before him; and, instead of standing afar off, excluded by the veil which betokened the alienation of man from God, and the aversion of God from man, he now draws near, he has access with confidence by the blood of Jesus, and as a child he pours his desires freely and gladly into his Father's ears.

The

witness. Satan cannot counterfeit them.
evil heart cannot produce them. They are
plants of supernatural growth. And thus it is
when these appear and abound, that the Spirit
witnesseth with our spirit that we are the chil-
dren of God.

3. Great and most blessed are the privileges that the children of God, so approved and recognized, enjoy. They have not merely the name, but the reality of relationship. When an earthly parent disposes of his inheritance to his children, he apportions to them that which he thinks fitting for each, that they may be enabled properly to sustain the rank and estimation in which they are born. God, too, causes his children to participate according to his wise love in his inheritance. He has one Son, peculiarly his own-the Lord Jesus Christ, who, as to his divine nature, is one with the Father, as his only-begotten Son by an unspeakable kind of union, and who, as man, is also the first and chiefest in his Father's house. Him God hath appointed heir of all things; but by virtue of the union with him, of which I have already spoken, into which believers are brought, they inherit, as his brethren, that to which he has an inherent right. Is he regarded with love? So are they. Does he sit in heavenly places? So do they. Does he overcome his foes? So do they. Is he placed upon his Father's throne? They sit with him in his. Has he eternal life? He gives it to them. In short, they have, fully and literally, the rich portion implied in the remarkable words, "heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ." It is frequently found that a servant of the Lord is poor and despised in this world; nevertheless, with a hope of riches and glory so abundant and excellent hereafter, he cannot be deemed destitute. All that he here endures is to prepare him for the noble inheritance he is afterwards to obtain.

4. This painful preparation is indeed hinted at by the apostle: "If so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." And he puts it on precisely that ground on which a believer would best desire it. He exhibits the grief of Christ. He must, though a Son, learn obedience by the things he suffered. Before he could ascend on high, and lead captivity captive, he must descend even to the lower parts of the earth. He must be humbled and persecuted, and must bear the cross. This was a part of his in

2. And of this introduction into God's family there is a seal, inasmuch as "the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God." There is in the believer's heart a sweet consciousness of the Lord's love to him. "My beloved is mine, and I am his :" such is the testimony of his spirit. And this is, doubt-heritance. This, therefore, he apportions to his less, prompted by the Spirit of God, who takes of the things of Jesus, and reveals them to us, and enables us to find a suitableness in the Redeemer, and a power in the gospel, and a satisfaction and joy beyond what the world can offer. But we are not to build our confidence upon the impressions of our own minds. For the heart is a deceitful witness-insomuch that there are many who persuade themselves, like the ancient Jews, that they are God's children, when, in truth, they are the children of the devil; as it is proved by the works that they do. And, therefore, we must look for a further testimony of the Spirit. Now he is the source of heavenly graces which are intended to adorn the Christian character, and which are enumerated by St. Paul as the fruits of the Spirit. These are his best and most decisive

brethren. They must tread the lowly path which he trod. He had to bear the assaults of temptation. So must they. He had to endure the enmity of the world. So must they. He had to submit to death. So must they. And, as Christ suffered affliction for love of them, so must they for love of him. It is this that gives its sweetness to the cross of affliction; so that believers are commanded to count it all joy when they fall into divers temptations. They are but tasting of the cup, of which he, their beloved Lord, drank up the nauseous dregs. They have his love to animate them, his example to encourage them, his power to sustain them, his glory to inspire them, with the expectation of sharing it together. And, therefore, the same apostle describes it as a higher privilege than ordinary faith in Christ. "To

you it is given," he writes to the Philippians,
"in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on
him, but also to suffer for his sake."
Such is the brotherly communion which we
have with our divine Redeemer.

a God-dishonouring thing. We cannot purpose to amend our lives to-morrow, without also purposing to insult God to-day. To tell God that we mean to repent next year, is to tell him that we do not mean to repent before. We may keep our resolution, or we may not keep it; but the mere forming of it implies that, until the time specified arrives, we intend to go on sinning still, to make more work for his pardoning mercy in the interim; cutting out, as it were, a space from the term of our moral probation, and bargaining with high heaven for an indulgence for prospective sin. Moore's Cambridge University Sermons. THE ENGLISH BIBLE.-The English translation is the best in the world, and renders the sense of the

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The consideration of this subject is a check to unauthorized self-confidence. If we profess to be members of the family of God, we must carefully examine the grounds on which we rest that profession. Some have boasted that they were Abraham's seed, when the lips of unerring truth convicted them of being children of Satan. It cannot be that they, who seem to consider themselves debtors, to live after the flesh, are really the sons of God. They manifest no brotherly resemblance to Christ; there is, therefore, no real relationship betwixt him and them. They may have the wit-original best. The translators in king James's time ness of their own spirit; but it is not confirmed took an excellent way. The part of the bible was by the witness of God's Spirit that they are of his given to him who was most excellent in such a tongue family. (as the apocrypha to Andrew Downs); and then they It is also a check to a murmuring against the met together, and one read the translation, the rest will of God. If brought into God's family, we holding in their hand some bible, either of the learned must submit to discipline, and may well remem-tongues, or German, French, Spanish, Italian, &c. ber that Christ, though peculiarly a Son, yet If they found any fault, they spoke; if not, he read learned obedience by the things he suffered. It is a blessing to be led in the way in which he trod, to have a portion of his inheritance here, that by his merits we may one day be glorified together.

The Cabinet.

CHANGE OF DRESS OF THE POLISH JEWS.-We are informed that an order respecting a change in the dress of the Polish Jews is in course of promulgation. It is to be optional for every one, until the year 1850, whether he will dress after the Russian fashion, and wear a beard, or after the German fashion, and without a beard. Females are to follow the course, with regard to dress, their husbands adopt. The new law is to come into operation with the commencement of the year 1850. Those, however, who will not at once conform to the alterations, but continue to wear the old Jewish dress, will have to pay a tax (from the commencement of the present year) for each member of their family under sixty years of age, of fifty, thirty, twenty, ten, five, or three silver roubles per annum, according as he is a merchant, publican, shopkeeper, mechanic, hawker, or without any calling whatever. The dress of the Jews is, in future, to consist only of cloth. Those, however, who have supplies of silk,

worsted, or cotton clothing already on hand, will be permitted to wear such dresses for a limited time, if they adopt the German costume. These regulations are said to be viewed with much favour by the younger part of the community of Polish Jews, many of whom, it is asserted, have been anxiously looking for the period when the new law is to take effect, and supplied themselves with German clothing for that purpose. The old and orthodox Jews, on the contrary, look upon the order with feelings of dismay and aversion. Jewish Intelligencer.

on.-Selden.

Poetry.

LAYS OF A PILGRIM.
No. XI.

BY MRS. H. W. RICHTer.

(For the Church of England Magazine.)
THE WORKS OF CREATION.

"I muse on all the works of thy hands."
HAIL, silent orbs, that through the realms of space,
Planets and suns in ceaseless order dwelling;
Do still obey his word who gave you place—
Bright worlds! all earthly things how far excelling!
And thou, pale moon, for ever near us beaming—
Our earth's sweet neighbour through the realms of

air

How all-unknown, and yet how fair thy seeming!
As if the happy dead were dwellers there.
And thou, lone Hesperus, grey evening's star,
When all creation tunes a vesper-Lymni
Thou comest peering through the skies afar,
What time the landscape waxes faint and dim.
While musing by thy ray, what shadows float,
Call'd up by fancy from her airy cell,
of long-past joys, in distance far remote—
The dead, the lost, that but in memory dwell!
And ye, far-rolling spheres, a myriad host,
Ye countless systems o'er the boundless plain,
How sinks each mortal thought in mazes lost!
For "how should finite Infinite contain?"
Born of the dust, could we before the throne
Of unapproached light in praises bend
But through the Mediator, and alone
In him our prayers and glad thanksgivings blend?

London: Published for the Proprietors by EDWARDS and
HUGHES, 12, Ave-Maria Lane, St. Paul's; and to be pro-
cured, by order, of all Booksellers in Town and Country.
PRINTED BY

REPENTANCE DELAYED AN INSULT TO GOD.How great is the affront to God of this intention to yield to religious convictions hereafter! To delay our preparation for heaven, is not a foolish thing only, not a dangerous thing only; it is a profane, a wicked, JOSEPH ROGERSON, 24, NORFOLK-STREET, STRAND, LONDON.

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THE MOUNTAINS OF THE BIBLE.

No. VII.

BY DR. WILKINSON.

THE MOUNT OF OLIVES, AND OTHER MOUNTAINS
AROUND JERUSALEM.

with three distinct summits, the central one of which is the highest, being about 2,260 Paris feet above the level of the sea, although not above 400 or 500 from the valley of Jehoshaphat. The northern extremity sweeps round towards the west, and spreads into the high level ground on the north side of the city. Towards the south it sinks down into a lower ridge, denominated the

worship established by Solomon in the hill before or eastward of Jerusalem. The highest point, which is about two miles distant from Jerusalem, commands, as may well be imagined, a splendid and interesting prospect. On the west is the city of Jerusalem, with all its affecting associations: to the north-west the eye falls upon NabySamuel; believed by some to be Ramah, by others Mispeh, the gathering-place of Israel. This is one of the highest points of the landscape, and always catches the eye in that view; whilst to the east, over a rocky and mountainous country, the plain of Jericho watered by the Jordan, and the deep blue waters of the Dead Sea, are distinctly visible; and, in the distance beyond, the range of Abarim, the brown and barren mountains of Moab, including Bethpeor and Pisgah and Nebo, rise steep and high, and bound the prospect. The olive grows at present in distinct patches on different parts of the mountain; and, as a spontaneous produce uninterruptedly resulting from the original growth of the mountain, it is impossible, as Dr. Clarke well observes, to view even these trees with indifference. Titus directed all the wood in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem to be cut down, and devastated its environs as truly as the city itself; yet have there constantly been springing up successive growths here and there of these hardy trees. During the last two thousand years, Hebrews, Assyrians, Romans, Christians, and Mohammedans have been successively in possession of the rocky mountains of Palestine; yet the olive," adds Dr. C., "still vindicates its paternal soil, and is found at this day upon the same spot, which was called by the Hebrew writers Mount Olivet and the mount of Olives, eleven centuries before the Christian era."

"As the mountains stand round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from hence-"hill of offence," in allusion to the idolatrous forth, even for ever" (Ps. cxxv. 2). As truly as when David contemplated them from his palace at Jerusalem, do these everlasting symbols and pledges continue from generation to generation, to attest a loving-kindness which is unchangeable, and a faithfulness that cannot fail. Until these mountains depart, and these hills be removed, neither the church collectively nor individual Christians need hesitate to affirm, and to act on the consolatory assurance: "The Lord is my helper: I will not fear " Such is the immutable promise of Jehovah. But it is not merely a promise even that these mountains are calculated to remind us of. With them are associated those astonishing transactions which constituted the appointed medium through which all promised blessings flow to the guilty and undeserving, and the absolutely certain guarantee of their fulfilment. On the summit of one of them was poured out the very "blood of the everlasting covenant." On the declivity of another was death finally vanquished. From a third did the great High Priest" and "Forerunner" of his people ascend into his glory. No indication is left, it is true, to mark out the exact locality of Calvary or of Joseph's tomb, or even of the ascension. We find no especial mention made of them by the apostles or early Christians; and, when we contemplate the superstition, idolatry, and lying wonders which have been lavished upon the supposed, but absolutely impossible sites of the two former (for they are considerably within the present city), we can scarce feel regret that they have remained unknown, and thus, at least, have escaped such desecration as this. But the anticipation is at least a pleasing one, and harmless to indulge, that, when the Lord buildeth up Zion," a period may yet arrive in this world's history in which they shall be again recognized; and, should it occur, when the man of sin" is destroyed, and " great Babylon, with all her abominations, is had in remembrance before God," it may be to the satisfaction of the best feelings of which our nature is susceptible-adoring gratitude, and affectionate love without the danger which attention to material objects is now ever accompanied. However this may be, that heart must be cold, indeed, and little worthy of a follower of Jesus, who can compare what we are at present told of the situation and appearance of these mountains with what we are accustomed to read of them in sacred history, without deep emotion.

First, on the east side of Jerusalem-the "valley of Jehoshaphat," with its brook Kedron alone intervening-stands the celebrated Olivet, or mount of Olives, still retaining the name by which it was known in the days of David, and still exhibiting, amid all its desolation, some specimens of that beautiful evergreen with which once it was so richly adorned. It forms part of a ridge of limestone hills, extending from north to south,

....

It was across the brook Kedron and over this mountainous elevation that David made his precipitate escape from Jerusalem, when informed of the but too rapid success of Absalom's conspiracy "The king passed over the brook Kedron ...and David went up by the ascent of Mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and went barefoot; and all the people that was with him covered every man his head, and they went up weeping as they went up" (2 Sam. xv. 23, 30). And David could then vent his grief in such language as the following: "Deep calleth unto deep: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me" (Ps. xlii. 7). But all this was a faint type of the floods of bitter and overwhelming anguish which at an after period were on this very spot poured out upon the righte ous Son and Lord of David, when he too "offered up prayers and supplications, but with strong crying and tears," till his "sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”

This mountain appears to have been the accustomed resort of our blessed Lord during the successive periods of the exercise of his ministry at

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