commence, as both first in point of time in our Ecclesiastical year, as well as chief in point of dignity and importance, with the first and glorious Advent of the Son of God.

When we refer to the Old Testament Scripture, more particularly to the Prophets and the Psalms, we find every where a dim perspective afforded of the glories of the latter days. Nor is it needful to do more than to allude to the glorious Evangelical Prophet of the Jewish Church, who has described, in terms suitable to the grandeur of the subject, and clear as the narrative of a fulfilled prediction, the Advent, the humiliation, the sufferings, the death, the exaltation and return of Messiah the Prince. To the Prophecies of Daniel, and several of the minor Prophets, of which we cannot now speak more particularly, and throughout the whole of the Book of Psalms, is the same glorious event either darkly adverted to, or more distinctly predicted. For holy men of God spoke aforetime as they were moved by the Holy Ghost; and all the Scriptures testify of Jesus" the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of Pro-phesy." For here, and here alone, was to centre all the designs of Omnipotence, all the plans which had been formed by Divine mercy and love. The darkness was to wear away, the Sun of Righteousness was to arise, the outpouring of the Spirit of Holiness was to follow, and in him, the long-expected and desired, "all nations of the earth were to be blessed." Accordingly, we find that the nearer the canon of the Old Testament Scriptures approached to its close, and the "volume of the Book," under the first dispensation, was to be sealed up for a time, the more frequent, the more plain, the more glowing, and the more triumphant are the predictions of the first and second Advent of the Messiah the preliminary sufferings and abasement, and the subsequent and complete exaltation of the Son of God. With this view the Prophet Zechariah ushers in his annunciation of the Redeemer's first Advent to his Church, with a note of triumph and admiration: Rejoice greatly," says he, "O daughter of Zion: shout O daughter of Jerusalem: behold thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass." (Zech. ix. 9.) And we perceive in this prediction, especially referred to afterwards in St. Matthew, in the portion of Scripture which the Church has appointed for the Gospel at the commencement of this holy season, that the most prominent or distinguishing feature which characterised the commencement of the Redeemer's suffering on his last journey to Jerusalem, has been seized upon by the Prophet, under the influence of God's Spirit, to stamp, as it were, the first Advent of the Son of God with its distinct and peculiar features of abasement or humiliation, as contra-distinguished from his second glorious Advent, when he shall appear the second time, without sin, unto salvation." Here then we see what was the nature and design of Christ's first appearance upon earth-to be an object of reproach and persecution-"to be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief" to become a sin-offering or atonement for the sins of the world. Therefore it was that the Lord of Glory, the "Messenger of the Covenant," became an "Infant of Days"-the "despised and rejected of men," that He might "be wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities" and "the Lord might lay on Him the iniquity of us all." Therefore it was, that he came meck and lowly, when ascend

ing to Jerusalem, sitting on an ass and upon a colt, the foal of an ass. All this was emblematical of the design of his first Advent or appearance. For he came to be a Saviour not a Sovereign or a Judge he came to preach good-tidings unto the meek-to bind up the broken-hearted— to proclaim liberty to the captive to comfort all that mourn. He came in the spirit of gentleness and meekness, inviting all to assume his easy yoke, that they might attain rest to their souls. He came to be the instructor of the ignorant and the reclaimer of the wicked-to proclaim a free and a full remission of sins, however great or grievous, by his blood; a full and free redemption to "all, without money and without price," that "whoever will, might drink of the water of life freely."** Thus he came, the anointed of the Father and the Friend of man, veiling his celestial glory under the lowly guise of humanity-arrayed in the robes of righteousness and meekness, in the spirit of mercy and of love. And therefore it was that God's holy Prophet summoned Zion to rejoice, and the daughter of Jerusalem to shout, because their King came unto them just (or the just, the perfect, and the holy) and having salvation. And with equal propriety does the Church of God now celebrate this glorious Advent of the Redeemer, and, in the language of the Spirit of God, unite with the Church, in old time, in calling upon her members to rejoice, and to shout aloud, at the appearance of Him who is just, and bringeth salvation. For just as the Church of God then beheld in prospect, and looked forward to the appearance of the great and sole Author of human deliverance, is the Church now instructed to look back to the time when the Messiah "came unto his own, but his own received him not.'

But before we conclude these remarks we would shortly advert to the second Advent of the Son of God. The first Advent, we have seen was long predicted, and in the fulness of time was accurately fulfilled; and so also will the second appearance of the Son of Man upon the earth be, ere long, accomplished. It is not our province, nor is it of importance to enquire, as some have done, with respect to the nature and primary design of the second Advent of our Lord. Such speculations must be, in a great measure, uncertain; and while they tend to divert our attention from truths of more vital importance, and which are not based upon any uncertain and unauthorised opinions, do not minister to our spiritual advantage. It is enough for us to know, that the day of the Lord will come, and that the grand design of his second appearing will be not to call sinners to repentance, but to summon all nations before him to judgment. At his first coming the Redeemer appeared" in the likeness of sinful flesh" (Rom. viii. 3.); at his second Advent he will appear in the clouds of heaven in great glory, attended by the holy angels. For "God," saith the Apostle, "hath appointed a day wherein he will judge the world in righteousness, and reward every man according to his works" by that man whom he hath ordained, he himself hath informed us, that when "He shall sit upon the throne of his glory, before him shall be gathered all nations to judgment." For "as it is appointed unto man once to die, but after that the judgment; so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin (and not as a sin-offering) unto salvation." Thus it would appear, that the second Advent of our Lord

is absolutely necessary to the complete salvation of his people, or those who look for him, and are expecting his appearance. While it is equally certain, that his very coming is needful, that he may condemn the wicked, by taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not his Gospel." At his first appearing, as we learn from the Evangelist, the Jewish multitudes that accompanied the Redeemer on his journey to Jerusalem, greeted him with acclamations, of "Hosannah to the Son of David, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord-Hosannah in the highest." And we afterwards find our Redeemer declaring, when he formally closed his public ministry on earth, and lamented over the impenitence and rejection of his chosen people and Jerusalem-"I say unto you, ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." Thus we see that the second Advent of the Redeemer will be welcomed and greeted by "all those that love his appearing," with the same spirit of congratulation and joy as his first coming was ushered in. And assuming that glorious appearing will be welcomed by his people, not with equal, but with far higher manifestations of gratitude and triumph-for he cometh, not to be "a Saviour of sinners, but to judge the earth." He cometh to punish them that do wickedly, and to reward his faithful and obedient people, by receiving them for ever to be with himself to participate in his exaltation and glory, in the upper sanctuary above.

O holy and blessed Advent of the Son of God! Let not that Church which was purchased by his blood, be behind her sister of old, in raising the joyful note of welcome and triumph to the King that cometh in power and great glory to reign over and to judge the earth. "Lift up your heads, O ye gates, that the King of glory may come in-even the Lord, strong and mighty-the Lord, mighty in battle-the Lord of Hosts -he is the King of glory." (Pslam lxxiv. 7, 8, 10.)

Alton, Hants.

J. L. R.

DISSENT.-No. I.

In the present position of the Church, when she is attacked on all sides by different denominations of dissenters, who, though they are removed from each other, in point of doctrine and of discipline, as far as the poles asunder, yet cordially unite in making one common cause against our venerable Establishment, it behoves those who are desirous of buckling on their armour in her defence, fearlessly to expose the inconsistencies, the shallow arguments, and, it grieves me to add, the ungodly designs of her adversaries. Liberty of conscience is a cry which has always been their watch-word from the very commencement of their schism; and if they dissented from us merely for conscience sake, the plea might be allowed without a rejoinder: but it may amuse, perhaps I should rather say surprise, us, to examine how different is the interpretation which is now given to that Shibboleth of party, from what it received in days of yore. Then the surplice, the wedding-ring, and various other trifles, were the bugbears which affrighted many from our communion; so anxious were they, in their desire to remove every vestige, whether innocent or otherwise, which savoured of the "Harlot" of the Apocalypse.

For the original dissenters, no man who is conversant with the history of the times of change which followed the Reformation, can feel any sentiments but those of respect, mingled at the same time, perhaps, with compassion for their weakness. They were pious, though mistaken: single-minded, though carried away by the vehemence of religious feeling: in one word, men who were willing to allow to others the enjoyment of their opinions, provided their own were not interfered with. But in the days of their degenerate and mushroom progeny, licentiousness has been substituted for liberty; a passive tolerance of established forms has swelled into a dangerous spirit, which is not only impatient of control over itself, but engaged in active and furious aggression against the Reformed Church; and the "voluntary principle," which we shall hereafter demonstrate has worked so ill among their own varied sects, is attempted to be thrust upon the outraged feelings of those who are so convinced of its utter inefficacy as to reject it with loathing. And, if we may judge by the signs of the times, the sword of persecution, which has hitherto been considered the favourite weapon of the Romish Church, though, praised be God, it has long rusted in her armoury, would be again drawn from the scabbard and wielded by them with ten-fold fury : and the dissenting teacher, in addition to his being what he even now is among his flock, more infallible than the Pope, would become as bigoted and intolerant as that far-famed successor of St. Peter in the apostolic chair. And let not this picture be deemed overcharged; those who have seen the public union of Papist and Humanitarian, of Presbyterian and Arian, of Baptist and Independent, and id genus omne, and the manner in which they co-operate in pursuit of their sole object, the destruction of the Church, as well as those who have been initiated into the arcana, or private mysteries of dissent, will at once recognise the fidelity of the portrait. If then we inquire what dissent is, we must recur to the definition of it which the early days of the Reformation afford us, and not seek for it among the confused and heterogeneous mass of those who call themselves dissenters in the present day. From this class I would not exclude even the Wesleyans, though it is very much the fashion to challenge them as friends of our Zion in her coming perils. That they are friends they do themselves often state, and that some of them are not enemies is perfectly true; but it requires far more logic and greater powers of induction than any one of their ablest advocates possesses, to prove that they are not dissenters: their system of lay preachers, which certainly was not patronized to the extent to which they carry it, by their founder, John Wesley himself, will at once decide the point. Indeed, they themselves confess, in their Magazine for March, 1835, p. 209, that they are dissenters. These are their own words: Methodists never maintain that, as a body, they are part of the Established Church, whatever may be the views of individuals. The authorities of the Established Church have no more control over the Methodists' ministry, or over the societies, than they have over Mr. Binney, or the people who are under his pastoral care. They admit that they are really separatists; while they maintain that they have not taken so wide a departure from the Church as the strict dissenters." According to their admission, then, they are dissenters from the Church; but among the numerous off-sets from this great schism, there are seceders in various parts of the country : “the Arminian Bible Christians," for instance, of the

"the

North of Devon, who are the most furious opponents of the Church, which Wesley himself, notwithstanding all the inconsistencies with which he is chargeable on this head, revered. Dissent, then, I take to mean the liberty of thinking differently upon religious subjects from that standard of doctrine which the Established Church affirms to be true and such opinions, if conscientiously entertained, involve also the power of separating from her. Thus far only am I willing to extend the meaning of the word "dissent ;" and, God forbid! that any man should deny to his brethren the exercise of a power which was the very point upon which bur glorious Reformation turned. But if any persons who thus dissent and separate from us assume to themselves the right of coercing the sentiments of others, they at once annul that liberty of private judgment which all possess equally with themselves, and are no longer dissenters, but persecutors, and, consequently, cease to be Christians in reality, whatever their professions may be. And this observation will apply with redoubled force to the united combinations of various classes of dissenters to pull down the religious institutions of our forefathers. With the uncharitable feelings of James and John they would call down fire from heaven to consume, what they are pleased to designate, “ a limb of AntiChrist;" forgetting that they also are deserving of the same rebuke which was administered to the misguided sons of Zebedee" Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of!" And this illustration is the more especially applicable to our present purpose, because both the Jews and Samaritans mutually considered each other as dissenters from the true Church of God; but the merciful Jesus, by his reply, at once shewed to both parties, that the indulgence of persecution, or even religious rancour, is utterly inconsistent with the mild and meek spirit of the religion of peace and goodwill. In passing, we may remark upon a favourite epithet of the dissenters, which they frequently apply to the Church, namely, that of the Established Sect. This language is about as correct as that of those who would confound the root with the branch, making them convertible terms; for it is in reality nothing less than asserting that the appellation sect, or thing cut off, is equally applicable to the root from which it has been severed. As long then as dissenters confine themselves to the pursuit of what I confess to be a legitimate object, the promotion, by all fair means, of what they conceive to be a system of religious opinions superior to our own, no consistent Christian can quarrel with them. But it is the duty of Churchmen to shew, as I shall endeavour to do, that those opinions are erroneous, and that the continual agitation of them lies open to more serious objections than even Nonconformity itself in other words, that the remedy proposed by them is worse than the disease itself, if disease they are pleased to call what we conscientiously believe to be a sound and vigorous state of spiritual health. And if the contest should hereafter assume a more serious aspect; if the war of words should lead to a struggle of a less doubtful and more awful description, I trust that as the fabled Phoenix was said to spring from the embers of the funeral pyre of its sire, so from the ashes of her martyred Ridley, her Latimer, and her Cranmer, will arise strenuous and devoted champions of the Church, ready to follow those glorious fathers of their faith even to the stake itself in defence of her time-honoured institutions; to advocate her cause with zeal and yet with charity; and to pray for her enemies, even whilst occupied in laying bare their errors with unflinching hand.

F.