How many plain and important declarations of Scripture are dispensed with now, by the adoption of this interpretative system.' 'The Word was God;' but God here means nothing more than a Divinely commissioned messenger. Ye must be born again;' but born again' signifies only a gradual amendment. Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish;' but repent here does not mean repent, nor does perish mean perish.

Another method, by which the Jesuits escaped the force of Divine declarations, was to deny their application to the then existing age. They were intended only for the primitive times, and the early Christians." "The Fathers were good authority for the morals of their age, but they lived at too remote a period for us." p. 79. Commenting upon 1 Tim. ii. 9, where the apostle gives directions respecting the dress of Christian females, the Jesuit Lessius remarks, "Those precepts of Scripture regarded only the ladies of that age, who were required to furnish an edifying example of modesty to the heathen." p. 138.-Instances of similar management are so common in our own times, that we hardly need refer to them. "Jesus assured his apostles that the world would hate them;' that they should have tribulation in the world.' And he declares to them, Ye are not of the world.' We very well know," says the Christian Register, "that this language grew out of the circumstances in which Christianity necessarily placed its adherents at that time, when the preaching of it had extended to but few places, and the great mass of society, Jewish and Pagan, was wholly unaffected by its influence." "But this state of things, and the causes which produced it, have utterly disappeared. It is not now true to the letter concerning Christians, that the world hateth them." Sept. 16, 1826. By parity of reasoning, it must be said 'respecting passages such as the following, 'The whole world lieth in wickedness: Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind: Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world: The friendship of the world is enmity with God; whosoever, therefore, will be a friend of the world, is the enemy of God,'-that these are applicable only to the primitive age, and in the present improved state of society, are not true.

6

Another remark has suggested itself, in connexion with the work before us, and with this we close: In religious controversy, when persons find themselves unable to meet the statements and arguments of an opponent, they will be sure to complain most grievously of his spirit. Oh! what bitterness! What malignity! What an unchristian spirit! Surely, it cannot be tolerated in a Christian land.' This representation was fully exemplified in the case of Pascal and the Jesuits. They could not deny his state

ments; they could not refute his reasonings; nor could they endure the keenness of his invective, or the force of his appeals, or the weight of that public odium which he was drawing down upon them; and they had no resource left, but to cry out upon his spirit. Such levity-such profaneness-such ridicule of sacred things!' The holy fathers were petrified, horror-struck with it! It was too insufferable for pious ears! And in the gentleness of their own spirit, they lavished upon poor 'Pascal "the epithets of impious, buffoon, ignoramus, merry andrew, impostor, calumniator, knave, heretic, disguised Calvinist, disciple of du Moulin, possessed with a legion of devils," &c. &c., till he felt himself honored overmuch' by the number and measure of their reproaches.

Now these Jesuits acted, in this instance, as all professed religionists of a proud and selfish spirit will be likely to act, in similar circunstances. If such men can deny the statements of an opponent, or refute his reasonings, they have no occasion to be vexed. They will refute and silence him, and let him go. But when they find themselves unable to do this, and still are too proud to retreat from a bad cause, they can only do as the Jesuits did-complain most grievously of his spirit-while they exhibit, with seeming unconsciousness, a tenfold more exasperated spirit themselves.

SELECTIONS.

THE CLOSING YEAR.

It has been often remarked, and I fear with great reason, that mankind in general live under the influence of two grand delusions. They conduct themselves, for the most part, as if this life were never to have an end; and regard the next, as if it were never to have a beginning. Yet, surely, " of man's miraculous mistakes, this bears the palm." For it seems to be impossible for a reflecting person to look around him, without being continually reminded of his own mortality, and the short-lived duration of all terrestrial things. The trees of the forest rise up in majestic grandeur, only to wither, and scatter their leafy honors around them. The flower that opens to the light of the morning, is chilled by the blast of evening. The river rolls onward until it is lost in the ocean. The child grows up to florid youth, exults awhile in the vigor of manhood, and soon sinks into the decrepitude and imbecility of old age. Nations and kingdoms flourish and decay, in perpetual succession. "Babylon is become a possession for the bittern, and pools of water; and her towers and palaces are laid low, and swept with the besom of destruction." Everything within us and about us is mutable. Our friends forsake us or die; our hopes sicken, our opinions change. We feel, that we have no abiding city here; we see that the fashion of this world passeth away. The seasons, with restless activity, are continually

altering the face of nature. Day succeeds to day, and year to year; and on every object of creation, the characters of brevity and instability are engraved by the finger of God.

Reflections of this nature are, at all times, salutary, and can hardly fail to convey an important lesson of wisdom to every serious mind: But they come with greater force, at those stated periods, which mark distinctly the unceasing progress of time. On these points of our existence, we naturally rest awhile, like travellers at some stage of their journey, to recall the scenes we have already witnessed; to survey the place to which we have arrived; and to gain some information of the countries through which we have yet to pass. Such pauses as these are eminently calculated to banish that levity, which is the bane of true wisdom; and to promote that thoughtfulness and serious consideration, which are so highly favorable to growth in grace.

The present year has nearly performed its destined course, it is about to be "numbered with the years beyond the flood;" its glimmering light trembles in the socket, and will soon be extinguished forever. Such, my friends, is our fate. The termination of our time is, also, near at hand; and, at no distant period, we too, like the year which we contemplate, must resign our stations, and give place to a new generation. Let us, then, dedicate its last hours to a serious retrospect of the past, to a careful examination of our present state, and to unfeigned vows of amendment for the future. Thus shall the new year look back with pleasure on the old; and the new generation honor our memories, when our bodies sleep in the grave.

And who is there, that can, without strong and various emotions, review the events of but one year? Has the messenger of death entered your dwelling; has your loved partner been torn from your arms; some valued friend taken from your bosom; some dear child severed from your fond embrace? I do not wish you abruptly to check your tears. Jesus wept at the grave of the friend whom he loved. Time, with lenient hand, will close your wounds, and religion will consecrate your moderated sorrow. But listen to the admonitions of the great teacher, Death. You have leaned on the world, and the broken reed has pierced you to the heart. You have chased a shadow, and your hands have grasped the air. Turn, then, your thoughts to those mansions, where friends shall never die, where children will never leave you, and where those, whom God has joined, shall never more be put asunder.

But some of you have passed the year in health, and peace and comfort your friends and families smiling around you; your characters and fortunes rising in the world; and your prospects brightening on every side. And does not this enviable, unmerited exemption from the common lot, teach you a lesson of gratitude to that Being, who has thus anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows? Ah, thoughtless, unthankful man! Well might Isaiah say, "The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib; but Israel doth not know; my people do not consider."

But, independently of all temporal concerns, who is there, that

can lay his hand on his heart, and say, that during the present year, he has committed no actions which his conscience reproves, and omitted no duty, which reason and religion required him to perform? Who has so bridled his tongue, as to let no expression of anger exasperate his enemy, or too severe a reproach agonize an offending friend? And, more than all, who has so kept his thoughts and heart as not to offend that Being, who cannot look, without displeasure, on impurity? Alas! my friends, here the best of us must plead guilty. Here are motives of contrition, of humility, and of amendment, for us all.

But, while we thus bring our thoughts to a serious review of the past, and examination of the present state of our hearts, how naturally and anxiously do they press forward to the unknown scenes of futurity! Imagination takes wing, and hope paints the days to come in all the gay colors of delight. But let us not trust to this smiling delusion. Here, let us once more recur to experience; and as age delivers his counsels to youth, let the old year teach a lesson of prudence and moderation to the new.

Life, my friends, let hope flatter as she may, will still be a checkered scene of good and evil. In vain you anticipate that unmixed portion of happiness, which Heaven has denied to the lot of man. You cannot have the rose without its thorn. Winter will continue to deform the beauties of the year, and flowers will not spring up, spontaneously, to decorate your path. Be sober then and modest in your expectations. Such as past times have been, such in general, as to the distribution of joys and sorrows, of hopes and disappointments, will the future be: And all that you have to wish and strive for is this, that affliction may be endured, in future, with more patience, and prosperity enjoyed with more thankfulness and greater moderation.

And tell me, my readers, of the scenes in which the present year has seen you engaged, of the actions which it has enabled you to perform, what scene does memory most delight to recall, what actions confer most honor upon your characters, and leave the best impression on your minds? Are they not those, in which you consulted the dictates of conscience, the purity of your own hearts, and the welfare of your fellow men? And, as only your past deeds of virtue now make you happy, be assured that virtue alone will constitute your happiness to the end of life. Secure, then, while it is in your power, a retrospect so delightful; and let your conduct be so regulated, throughout the approaching year, that when it, also, shall have come to its last hour, its memory may leave no sting behind.

With such reflections as these, let us bid adieu to all the hopes and fears, the cares and anxieties, the restless activity, and busy enterprise of the year, that is now hastening to its close: And with renewed strength, and holy resolution, let us enter on the year to come. And may God enable us so to fill it up with duty and usefulness, that should death meet us in its course, he may find us waiting; and should eternity unfold its great realities, we may find them to us forever glorious.

EXPOSITION.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not." John i. 1—5.

The following exposition of these words is from the Rev. Dr. J. P. Smith's "Scripture Testimony to the Messiah," a work which we take the liberty to recommend as, on the whole, the most learned, candid and satisfactory discussion concerning the person of Christ, and concerning the connected topics generally, which we remember to have seen in the English language.

The Gospel of John is distinguished, by very observable characters, from the compositions of the other evangelists. It has much less of narrative, and is more largely occupied with the doctrines and discourses of the Lord Jesus. The topics also of the discourses possess a marked character, indicating that they have been selected with an especial view to the presenting of what, during his earthly ministry, Jesus himself had taught, concerning his own person, and the spiritual and never dying blessings which he confers upon those who believe on his name.

The Introduction which the apostle prefixes to his work has always been an object of peculiar attention, on the part both of friends and of enemies, for its beauty and sublimity, and for its evidently presenting a crowning epitome of the principal doctrines delivered in the whole. To arrive at a satisfactory interpretation of this important passage, I shall attempt a careful investigation of the terms which it employs, and of the force and intention of each phrase and proposition that has a relation to the subject of our inquiry.

I. "The Logos," or Word. That this term cannot with propriety be expressed by Wisdom, Reason, Speech, or any other abstract word; but that it must refer to a personal subsistance; is manifest from the attributives of intelligence and active power connected with it, in the sequel of the passage. This is, also, admitted by Mr. Cappe and Mr. Belsham.

The ready manner, without any notice or explanation, in which the evangelist introduces the term, is a strong ground of presumption that it was familiar to the persons for whom his work was primarily intended. They were, most probably, the Christians of Ephesus and the coasts and islands of Asiatic and European Greece.

II. "The beginning." The word used by the evangelist very often denotes principality in order or dignity: and when it is applied to time, we can ascertain from nothing but the connexion and sense of the passage, whether it refers to the beginning of the created universe, or to the commencement of any other period or series of things. It occurs in the New Testament with a considerable diversity of reference: as, to the outset of a man's life, to the first in a series of events, and to the beginning of a narrative. Frequently it denotes the commencement of the Gospel annunciation, whether by 83

VOL. I.