ON SOLEMNITY IN PUBLIC WORSHIP.

shippers (and Charity leads us to hope they are sincere) are often inattentive during the devotional parts of the service? I have seen it in Churches as well as in Dissenting places of worship. In the act of addressing the Father of Mercies, how much are some people addicted to look about them! — as if to make observations on the dress or looks of their fellow-crea tures constituted a principal part of the worship! But how distracting to the mind! How certainly do our eyes betray us, if we suffer them to rove over a congregation!

Some time ago, the writer was in a place of worship, when a family of some distinction came in. The congregation was singing that truly devotional psalm, the sixty-third in Dr. Watts's collection. While this family was passing along to their seat, half the people were staring at them, as though they were foreigners, or as if they could not get to their pew without the ajd of their eyes! The impropriety struck me the more, when I observed that they were at this intant singing

"With heart and eyes, and lifted hands,

For thee I long, to thee I look," &c.

Now, if the head of the family really had noticed the complaisance of the people, he must have concluded that they were singing to him, and not to the Lord of Heaven and earth!

Suffer me then, Mr. Editor, to recommend to your serious readers, to watch against such improper behaviour: - shall I not call it impiety? While praying, except by a form, is it not best to close the eyes and cover the face? And while singing, the more attention there is paid to the words the better. I will only add, that when I have been most attentive to the devotional parts of a service, I have found my mind best prepared for the sermon; and I have usually returned to my closet, blessing God for the opportunity!

MONITOR

GOOD ADVICE.

The following short but useful Tract has been circulated by a Lady of
Quality. We rejoice in such instances of Christian Zeal.

our readers may perhaps think proper to reprint and disperse it.

Some of

"READER, search the Scriptures: they are given by inspiration of God; and are profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that you may be perfect and thoroughly furnished unto all good works. They describe man as originally formed in the image of his

Creator: his mind endued with knowledge, his will upright, his affections holy, his conscience pure, a stranger to guilt, shame, and fear, conversing with God, as innocent and happy, till the disobedience of our first parents involved themselves and their posterity in sin and misery. After this transgression, the Bible represents man as shapen in iniquity and conceived in sin: his understanding dark, his will depraved, his affections earthly, alienated from God, and labouring under the condemnation of a broken law, which can be satisfied with no obedience but such as is perfect and sinless; but though by the disobedience of one man many were made sinners, yet by the obedience of ONE, it pleased God to make many righteous. In the Bible is recorded that Gospel which discovers how sin may be pardoned consistently with divine justice, God reconciled, and man completely recovered to holiness and happiness through Christ, by the gracious influences of the Holy Spirit upon the soul. It points out the Saviour as wisdom to the ignorant, righteousness to the guilty, sanctification to the polluted, and redemption to the captive! "Him has God exalted, to give repentance and the forgiveness of sins!"

"Reader, if you have been convinced of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and have fled for refuge to this hope which your Bible sets before you, see that you adorn the doctrine of God your Saviour in all things; "for you are not your own, but bought with a price." Let the love of Christ, therefore, constrain you to the faithful discharge of every personal and relative duty. Read your Bible daily: it will teach you to take the love of God as the principle, his word as the rule, -and his glory as the end of all your actions: its truths will be a sovereign remedy for all your evils in life; they will deprive death of its sting, and give you a well-founded hope of happiness beyond the grave.

"As a proof of the sincerity of your religious profession, the Bible commands you to be incessant in prayer, humble in your general behaviour, respectful to your superiors, kind to your equals, condescending to your inferiors: it requires you to overcome evil with good, to be merciful, just, temperate, pure, peaceful, patient, thankful, resigned, to mortify your corrupt affections, and to aim at universal obedience in thought, word, and deed. Yet forget not, reader, that tho' the duties of religion can never have too much of your dili gence, they can never have too little of your dependence; for the Bible affirms the atoning blood of Christ to be the only ground of your reconciliation to God, and his perfect righteousness your only title to Heaven."

E e

QUERIES ANSWERED.

IN OUR MAGAZINE FOR OCTOBER 1804, P. 456. Acts ix. 7, states, That the men who journeyed with Saul to Damascus, "heard a voice, but saw no man ;" and, Acts xxii. 9, Saul himself says, "They that were with me saw indeed the light, but heard not the voice."

COMMENTATORS have differed much in their endeavours to reconcile these two apparently discordant texts; but, after all, the contradiction is nothing more than imaginary, and is occasioned,

1st, By a trifling inaccuracy of the translators, in rendering both the verbs gew and expat into the English verb to see (viz. μηδένα θεωρώντες, seeing no man; and φως έθεάσαντο, saw indeed the light); whereas, the former (bg) properly signifies to view or discern any thing clearly and distinctly; from which our English word Theorem (wgna) or something clearly discerned and indisputably true is derived. The latter (b) may be properly rendered to gaze at with astonishment, admiration, awe, &c. So that there is not the smallest inconsistency in the account, with regard to what they saw; for the sacred penman says, in one place," That they saw no man distinctly;" that is, that they saw not the Lord Jesus: - and in the other, "That they were indeed dazzled with the light."

2dly, By the objector's taking for granted, that because they heard a voice," it was " the voice of him that spake to Saul," which it is affirmed," they heard not*." Here again, therefore, there is no real inconsistency in the narration, the assertion being merely, that "That they heard a voice, or a sound +;" that is, either the voice of Saul, or some other confused sound, proceeding, they knew not from whence: and that they heard not the voice of him that spake to Saul," viz. of the Lord Jesus; of whom, notwithstanding this wonderful event, they probably remained as ignorant as before,the spiritual revelation of him being vouchsafed to Saul only. ACAD.

Acts xxii. 9.

† Acts ix. 7.

Acts xxii. 9.

ANSWER TO QUERY II,

In our Magazine for March, page 124.

"CHARITY," says the proverb, "begins at home;" yet it should not remain there, but expand, like circles on the water, till it reaches the distant shores. It is the duty of a father of a family to instruct his children in the Holy Scriptures; and this he may do (generally speaking) on the week-days, while

the poor children in the villages can only be taught on the Sabbaths. Christians should manage their affairs with discretion, availing themselves of every opportunity to do good which Providence throws in their way. For want of proper management, some professors omit one-half of their duty, that they may have time to perform the other. If, indeed, a man is so completely hurried in business that he cannot instruct his family during the week, or if his children are so unruly that nothing but the severity of his presence can compel them to keep the Sabbath holy, I think he should spend it with them, and not elsewhere. W.W.

Birmingham.

DEPLORABLE IGNORANCE.

I WAS lately called, in providence, to visit a dying man: he was sensible of his approaching end. I asked him where he thought his soul would go after death. He replied," To Hell first!"— Where do you expect it will go afterwards?' "To Heaven."- What reason have you for supposing it will get out of Hell, and go to Heaven? Why, the Belief says, That Jesus Christ descended into Hell; and the Bible says, We must follow Christ!"

Another time I visited a woman, who had reached the close of a very wicked life. She told me she had never committed sin. I explained to her the Commandments. She said, to be

she used to work on Sundays as well as week-days; and swear a little when she was in a passion. I asked her how she expected to have her sins forgiven. She replied, that if she got better, she would keep her church and say her prayers; and as. God Almighty was very merciful, she hoped he would scotch them all off by little and little!

"Darkness has covered the earth, and gross darkness the people." One might travel to the ends of the world, and not meet with stranger notions of sin and salvation. Multitudes in this highly-favoured country are sunk beneath the level of brutes. We must preach to them in the plainest language, if we would do them good. The tinsel of eloquence may please the gay and fashionable, who only wish to be amused; but will neither build up the enquiring Christian, nor save the perishing sinner. The bulk of mankind are incredibly ignorant, and equally stupid. A minister may point to his converts, and exclaim," Are not these brands plucked out of the fire!" The miserable situation of multitudes demands our pity; and claims the indefatigable exertions of ministers, and the fervent and persevering prayers of all who worship God in spirit and in truth.

Birmingham,

W. W.

Dear Sir,

FEMALE ASYLUM.

To the Editor.

I PERUSED, with pleasure, the hints thrown out in your Magazine for December last, on the subject of an Asylum for Unfortunate Females. The number of such persons who stalk the streets at night is very affecting to behold; and the evils resulting to unwary youth, to families, and to the state, are almost incalculable. It is an evil which is beyond the power of the civil magistrate to redress, for want of proper receptacles of reform; and they are obliged to return to the same vicious course of life, after punishment, when they have been taken up by the peace-officers.

I hope, through the medium of your Magazine, a Public Meeting will be appointed, and a judicious plan adopted, by which the united exertions of Christians of different denomi nations, will be called to promote so desireable an object. I am yours, very respectfully,

MEANS OF USEFULNESS.

B. S.

As the Means of Usefulness are now happily become a study, and Christians have learned not to "despise little things," I am encouraged to offer to this Treasury these my two mites. J. B.

Is it not desireable and practicable for every pastor, or leader of a congregation, to form a Public Library for the use of the hearers? A penny a week, from a considerable number of persons, would be sufficient to procure books. By this means, there would always be a choice of the most useful volumes to Jend to persons of different characters and tastes. From fifty to a hundred persons might be constantly reading; and it would cease to be truly said, "That ministers have six to one against them; for while they preach one day, the world and. the Devil have it all to themselves the other six."

MAGAZINE SOCIETIES.

ARE there not many persons, in almost every congrega tion, deprived of the precious advantage of reading this and similar works, because they cannot possibly afford the purchase-money? But if some kind public-spirited friend to the poor among them would put them into the method, and set it on foot, they might form a society of twelve persons, who, for a halfpenny a month, might have the Magazine each, two, three, or four days. At the end of the year they might sell all the Numbers for half-price, which would reduce the expence to a farthing a month, or three-pence a year. There might, probably, be formed three or four such little Reading