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violent east wind, which had a wonder ful effect on the fire of the enemy. The bombs were exhausted in the air, before they could reach our homes, without injury to any life of the inhabitants. While the fire of the fortress was, in this remarkable manner, quenched by the wind of God, a holy flame of missionary zeal was kindled in the hearts of some Christian friends. They resolved to establish a missionary seminary, as a monument of this most remarkable salvation of our town; and to train up a number of pious teachers for the instruction of the heathen and Mahomedan tribes, who were sent from the interior of Asia to be our deliverers.

The first beginnings of this institution resembled the grain of mustard seed; but the Lord gave his blessing to the work.

In the first year, 1816, we had only a few rooms, inhabited by a small number of missionary scholars in the sixth year, the blessing of God enabled our committee to build a missionary college. In the first year, we had an income of little more than £50-in the sixth year, the blessing of our Lord increased it to about £5,000. In the first year, our society consisted only of a small number of Christian friends at Basle-by the sixth year, more than forty auxiliary societies had been established in Switzerland, in Germany, and among the Protestants of France, to support this work of our God. In the first year, a very small number of Christian friends met together in our monthly prayer meetings and, now, the grace of the Lord has opened, in many parts of the continent, cathedrals, and churches, and halls, to the heavenly influence of the missionary spirit. This is the work of our gracious God, and unto him alone be all the praise, and the glory, for ever and ever!

You will permit me to observe, that some of our most distinguished Universities in Germany have proved to be the principal means in the hand of God, of spreading the graces of the missionary spirit over the Church of Christ in Germany, and of raising up the vigorous life of the Gospel in the hearts of thousands of my countrymen.

It was the noble example of our Bri

fish brethren, which gave the first holy stimulus to our minds in forwarding this philanthropic work of God; and it was the constant assistance and encou ragement of the Church Missionary Society, which led us to mature and enlarge our plans: and now the eyes of the Christian continent are fixed on the wonderful triumphs of your Christian liberality. Go, then, forward with the banner of Christian love-we shall follow you. May the Lord himself establish the work of your hands; and make his people in England the praise of the Churches of Christ throughout this world!

Death of Ann Boleyn and Catharine Howard. From Bayley's Antiquities of the Tower.

Since my writing to you, on Sunday last, says an eye-witness of this catastrophe, I see the quene and the lady Rotchford suffer within the Tower the day following, whos sowles, I doubt not, be with God, for thay made the moost godly and Christian's end that ever was hard tell of, I thinke, sins the world's creation, uttering thayer lively faith in the blode of Christe onely, with wonderful pacience and constancye to the death, and with goodly works and stedfast countenances they desyred all Christen people to take regard unto thayer worthy and just punishment with death for thayer offences, and agenst God hainously, from thayer youth upward, in breaking all his commandments; and agenst the king's royall majesty very daungeriously: wherfor, thay being justly condempned, as thay sayed, by the lawes of the realme and parlement, to dye, required the people, 1 say, to take example at them, for amendement of thayer ungodly lyves, and gladly to obey the king in all things; for whose preservation thay did hartely pray, and willed all people so to do, comending thayer sowles to God, and earnestly calling for mercy upon him; whom, continues the writer, I besiech to geve us grace with suche faith, hope, and charite, at our departing owt of this miserable world, to come to the fruytion of his godhead in joy everlasting.

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Paraphrase of Isaiah Ixiii 1—5. Who is this mighty Hero, who?

With glories round his head, and terror in his brow?

From Bozrah, lo! he comes; a scarlet dye
O'erspreads his cloaths, and does outvie
The blushes of the morning sky.
Triumphant and victorious he appears,
And honour in his looks and habit wears:
How strong he treads, how stately does he go!
Pompous and solemn is his pace,
And full of majesty, as is his face.

Who is this mighty Hero, who?
"Tis I, who to my promise faithful stand;
I who the powers of death, hell, and the grave
Have foil'd with this all-conquering hand-
I who most ready am, and mighty too to save.
Why wear'st thou then, this scarlet dye?
Say mighty Hero, why?

Why do thy garments look all red
Like them, that in the wine-fat tread?
The wine-press I alone have trod-
A mighty task it was, worthy the Son of God!
I look'd and to assist was none-
My angelic guards stood trembling by,
But durst not venture nigh;

In vain too from my Father did I look
For help-my Father me forsook.
Amazed I was to see

How all deserted me:

I took my fury for my sole support,
And with my single arm the conquest won.
Loud acclamations filled all heaven's court;
The hymning guards above
Strain'd to a higher pitch of joy and love,
The great Jehovah praised, and his victorious

Son.

Paraphrase of Psalm xli.

NORRIS.

Blest is the man whose heart can share The woes which others' breasts assail; Who makes his brother's wants his care, Nor heedless hears the poor man's tale; When by affliction's load oppress'd,

When by delusion's snares betray'd, The Lord shall grant him heavenly rest, Borne by his all sustaining aid.

Safe from the reach of every ill,

From every earthly foe secure; His God shall guard his pillow still, And free his soul from thoughts impure: If sickness sore or fell disease

Should heave the sigh or draw the tear, His God shall every storm appease,

And smooth his couch with tender care. Heal, heal my Soul, my bounteous God! Thy endless mercies, Lord! impart, To one who sinks beneath the load

Of sins that wound his conscious heart:

"When shall he die?" my foes exclaim, As swell their hearts with vain delight, "Perish!" they cry, his boasted name, "Doomed be the wretch to endless night." Lo! now with impious malice fraught, The artful tale they gladly frame; Destruction rules their every thought, Nor will distress their pity claim: No more, my Soul! on man depend, No more believe the Flatterer's face; E'en he, mine own familiar friend,

Disdains affection's warm embrace!
E'en he who shared my lowly roof,
Smiled as my friend, and brake'my bread,
With impious scorn now stands aloof,
Or proudly rears his taunting head!
But thou, O God, assistance lend!
Restore me to Thyself again,
By this I know that thou'rt my friend,
Because my foes' attempts are vain!
In triumph shall the righteous live,

Sustained by thy Almighty hand,
And, round thy heavenly Throne, survive
The servants of thy high command:
Then choirs of Angels shall delight,

When Time be past, these strains to sing,
Blest be the Lord of power and might!
Oh! blest be Israel's Lord and King!

Episcopal Acts.

ON Sunday, the 11th day of August, 1822, the Right Rev. Bishop Hobart held an ordination in St. John's Chapel, New-York, and admitted Messrs. William S. Irving, Levi S. Ives, and Thomas K. Peck, to the holy order of Deacons. Morning prayer was conducted by the Rev. Dr. Harris, and an appropriate sermon preached by the Bishop.

On Sunday, the 9th day of June, 1822, at Worthington, Ohio, the Right Rev. Bishop Chase admitted Mr. John Hall, of Astabula county, and Mr. Rufus Murray, of Norwalk, Huron county, to the holy order of Deacons, and confirmed several persons. On the following Wednesday, the Rev. Ezra B. Kellog was admitted to the holy order of Priests, in St. Paul's Church, Chilicothe.

Lemuel B. Hull, and William Jarvis, late of the General Theological Semi

nary, were admitted to the holy order of Deacons, the one on the 4th, and the other on the 7th of August, by the Right Rev. Bishop Brownell. On the 11th of the same month, John M. Garfield, A. B. was also ordained Deacon, by the same Bishop.

On Tuesday, the 17th day of September, 1822, the new church, erected in the village of Rockville, Montgomery county, Maryland, was consecrated, agreeably to the forms of the Episcopal Church, to the service of Almighty God, by the name of Christ Church, (of which the Rev. Thomas G. Allen, of Rockville, is rector,) by the Right Rev. Bishop Kemp. Morning prayer was conducted by the Rev. William Hawley, of Washington city, the declaration of consecration was read by the Rev. Mr. Weller, and an appropriate sermon delivered by the Bishop. In addition to the gentlemen above named, the following clergymen were present on the occasion:-The Rev. Mr. Reid, of Montgomery; the Rev. Mr. Johns, of Fredericktown; the Rev. Mr. McIlvaine, of Georgetown; the Rev. Mr. Tyng, of Georgetown; and the Rev. Mr. Armstrong, rector of Zion Church, Montgomery. After the sermon, the Bishop administered the rite of confirmation to about 20 persons. The congregation was large, respectable, and very attentive during the whole of the exercises. From the zeal and activity manifested by the Rev. Mr. Allen, and the members of his congregation, we cherish the pleasing hope that much good will be done in that place for the great cause of our Redeemer, and the salvation of many who have been engaged in this good work. The building is a neat brick edifice, and well adapted to the purposes for which it is designed; and the members of the Church in that place deserve much commendation for the exertions which they have made to promote the prosperity of the Episcopal Church, and advance the great interests of the Redeemer's Kingdom. The presence

of the Rev. Mr. Reid on this occasion, who is now in his 75th year, and who is the oldest clergyman in the diocess, his venerable appearance, and pious life, induced the brethren present to pay him that respect which was due to his age and character. After dinner, at Judge Kilgour's, they resolved, in testimony of their respect, to request the Bishop to present to him their great gratification in meeting him on this solemn occasion, and their sincere regret that the infirmities of his age prevented him from taking the part in the exercises of the day to which his long standing in the ministry entitled him. Wishing him all the consolation which, as a faithful labourer in the vineyard of our Lord, he could desire, and all the blessedness of a devout servant of the Lord Jesus, and that, when his earthly pilgrimage should be terminated, he might be received into mansions of everlasting rest, they bid him an affectionate farewell.

To our Subscribers.

THE printing of the present number of the Christian Journal had been commenced, when the alarm of malignant fever made it necessary for the Publishers to abandon their store and printing-office, and to suspend the business of their establishment. The friends and patrons of the Journal will unquestionably receive this as an ample apology for the interruption of its regular course: and that the course may be resumed in its regular order, the Publishers intend to issue one number for the three succeeding months of the present year, containing an equal quantity of matter with three separate numbers, and to appear some time in December. The number for January, 1823, will be published as near the first of that month as may be found practicable; and the following numbers may be expected on or about the first of each month. Nov. 1822.

Errata. In the July number of the Christian Journal, page 196, first column, line 6, for "distribution," read destitution.

In the present number, page 258, 2d column, first line, for "pretention for reprobate," read preterition for reprobation.

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THE Episcopal clergy of our country are beginning to assume a higher station both in literature and theology than they have been accustomed to hold since the days of our colonial existence. During the period of our dependence upon England, the Episcopal Church, in some places, was supplied by clergy, whose theoretical attainments in religion far exceeded their advances in practical piety, and who, indeed, (with some very honourable exceptions,) may be regarded as a set of ecclesiastical adventurers, whose minds and hearts were more strongly fixed upon the emoluinents, than upon the duties and obligations of their sacred profession. Such men could not but bring the Church into disrepute, and their evil influence was feebly counteracted by the zeal and piety of their less learned, but more correct and consistent brethren. When the struggle for independence had terminated successfully, the resources of the Church were in many places cut off, and, in her impoverished state, she was deserted of course by those who had entered her holy temples with no other view than to feed in idleness upon her bounty, and was left to the fostering care of a few faithful, but not very VOL: VI.

[VOL. VI.

erudite shepherds. Another circumstance which had a very powerful effect to depress the Church, was the erroneous, but at that time very prevalent idea, that Episcopalians, or, as they were in those days called, Church of England men, were necessarily fayourers of the English dynasty, and reluctant to throw off the colonial yoke. To the influence of this sentiment, which our good friends the Presbyterians took special care to cherish and proclaim, we are to attribute several very disgraceful acts of violence committed upon the persons and property of Episcopalians, as well the demolition of not a few of their churches, and the sacrilegious dispersion of their funds. The peculiar circumstances of the times, and the force of human preju dice, may be considered as some apology for these violent acts. They present us, however, with a cause of the depression of the Church, and what is a necessary consequence of that depression, the inferiority of her clergy for several years subsequent to the re volution. The prejudices against the Church, both political and civil, which existed and operated in those days, were not removed in a moment: they subsided gradually but slowly; and in many portions of the eastern states are not even yet entirely without their influence.

We have made the preceding observations purposely to explain the causes of the well known fact of the interiority of the Episcopal clergy in literary and theological acquirements for a long time after the war. The interests of the Church were committed for many years to men, more remarkable for their zeal and piety, than for their talents and learning. To men of this character we stand indebted, under Providence, for the preservation of our Church. They submitted, in the service of their Divine

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Master, to privations, toil, poverty, and, in many places, to a species of persecution which, to our view, should invest them with a similar sacredness to that with which we are accustomed to regard the primitive promulgers of the Christian faith.

We rejoice, however, that such times are passed, and such prejudices are wearing off, and that our clergy have assumed, as the discourse now before us fully proves, a more elevated rank in theology and learning than they have heretofore held.

In giving our readers an account (which, perhaps, they have been rather impatiently expecting,) of the sermon which stands at the head of this article, we shall state its several divisions of the subject brought under view, and extract just so much into our paper as will be sufficient to illustrate our opinion of its merits, and, we hope, lead to an extensive circulation of it among the members of our Church. In conclusion, we shall offer some general remarks upon its style and sentiments.

The text is the 9th verse of the 122d Psalm-"Because of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek thy good."

After a brief, but beautifully simple exposition of the whole Psalm, in which he traces the gradual progress of its pious sentiments, as they may be supposed to have arisen in the mind of the Psalmist, the author remarks-"Considering the whole Psalm, therefore, as accommodated to the Christian Church, the last two verses inculcate the duty of promoting its peace and prosperity from two motives, viz. love to the brethren, and love to the Church; and, to the consideration of the latter, our attention is now to be confined."

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He then proceeds to state the grounds of the Christian's love to the Church, reducing them to three, viz. " because it is founded by the Redeemer, who is its Head, and who presides over it because it is a mean and pledge of a vital union with the Saviour, and of all the covenanted mercies of God to all its members who, to an outward union with it, add the indispensible requisitions of faith, repentance, and obedience and because it prepares for the glory and bliss of the Church triumph

ant in heaven." These several grounds the author illustrates briefly, but with clearness, force, and feeling. We extract the following remarks, in reference to the last mentioned ground of the Christian's love to the Church, viz. be cause it prepares for the glory and bliss of the Church triumphant in heaven"To be participants of glory in eternity, we must in time become the children of grace. To be qualified for the enjoyment of the beatitude of heaven, and for the blissful society of saints and angels, we must on earth cultivate those habits of piety and virtue, which constitute the only preparation of the heart; passing the time of our probationary struggle in intimate communion with heaven; and endure 'as seeing him who is invisible.'

"To this preparatory discipline the Church most efficiently ministers.Trained up in her most holy ways; sanctified by that Spirit, of which her ordinances are the means and pledges; enlightened by that word, of which she is the depository and dispenser; and animated with the view of that crown of glory to which she points their hopes; her children proceed from strength to strength, from virtue to virtue, till at length, ripened for immortality, they enter into the joy of their Lord.

"How inconceivably happy then are those who, nurtured in her bosom, are prepared for the hour of death-that awful hour in which

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Our hopes and fears 'Start up amaz'd, and o'er life's narrow verge Look down On what! A fathomless abyss, a dread eternity! How surely our's!' That hour, to the wicked, O how aw ful! is, to the soul of the expiring Christian, fraught with heavenly consolation for-his momentary pang of terror over-he resumes his confidence; he fears no evil; a smile of joy plays upon his lips; a beam of hope lights up his eye; he feels the ineffable attractions of celestial love; he utters an ejaculation of triumphant faith; he dies. His spirit returns to God who gave it, and, at the consummation of bliss both of body and soul, it will ascend to Zion, where the redeemed shall walk, and the ransomed of the Lord shall return

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