bail him as their brother, and associate in all the occupations and joys of the regions of light, and life, and glory. Again: it is said of the triumphant Christian, "I will write on him the name of the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of herve from my God." As it was usual to write on these pillars of triumph the name of the city of the conqueror; so, on the pillars erected in heaven, shall be engraved the name of that celestial city, which afterwards descended in vision before St. John, or which is here called" the New Jerusalem, which came down out of heaven from God." Even here, in this state of being, my brethren, it is "the city not made with bands" the Christian seeks: "we have here no connuing city; but we seek one to come,"-" the city that hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." And to that city he shall be exalted in heaven. Lit up your eyes, ye dejected children of God, and behold for a moment your future habitation, as it is displayed in the glowing picture of one who was permitted to gaze upon it. Behold "its walls of jasper," and its "foundations of precious stones;" "the glory of the Lord to lighten it, and the Lamb to be the light thereof;" its "river of life;" its "tree whose leaves are for the healing of the nations." Behold it without any" curse," or "night," or "sorrow," or "crying," "death." The life of this world, says the Apostle to true servants of the Redeemer, "is not your life for your life is hid with Christ in God." In like manrer, it may be said to the true Christian, The heritage of this world is not your heritage: you are born to a loftier destiny, you are citizens of a heavenly country: you are sent among us for a time, to take a transient view of our prison-house, to benefit us, and to learn more effectually yourselves, by contrast, the superiority of the world to come. The language of your Lord is, In my Father's house are many mansions: I go prepare a place for you." And O what motives for patience, and gratitude, and love, does such a promise apply! What is it, my Christian brethren, to be straitened for a time by the narrowness of our mansion an earth, if such is the habitation prepared for us in heaven? Wait but a little moment, and, though it shall not be granted to you, as to St. John, to see, in the flesh, the descending vision of the "heavenly city," shall be granted to you to behold it in still more favourable circumstances. He saw it indeed; but it was in a trance, and but for a moment; and he awoke to find himself a prisoner in the flesh, and an exile in Patmos. But in your case, sight will be possession. You shall behold the city of God, to lose sight of it no more; you shall see it, to be welcomed as its citizen and its inhabitant for ever. You shall no sooner plant your foot in its golden streets, than your exile shall either be remembered no longer, or remembered merely to enhance the joys of deliverance. Your chains shall drop from you; and you shall walk abroad in all the "glorious liberty of the children of God." But it is added, finally, "I will write upon him my new name." In other words, the same Divine hand will stamp upon the triumphant servant of the cross the "new name" by which God hath last revealed himself to his creatures; that is, the name of Jesus-the Messiah-the Anointed One-" the Lord our Right eousness;" or, as he is called in that magnificent description of the Son of God, in the nineteenth chapter of this book, the "King of kings, and Lord of lords." Yes, my Christian brethren, as it was customary to engrave on the pillar of worldly triumph the name of the leader under whom the soldier fought and conquered; so the Captain of your salvation, your Guide through all the intricacies of this valley of tears, your Leader in the great conflict against the corruptions of the heart, the vanity of the world, and the assaults of the powers of darkness, shall stamp his own name on your forehead, and designate you as his children for ever. Reviews and Notices. The Deserter. By Charlotte Elizabeth. Dublin, Religious Tract and Book Society for Ireland, 1836. WE are pleased with this book, and shall be glad if it obtains a wide circulation. It is the history of a soldier, who, after a long series of insubordination, crime, and punishment, suffered at length in India the last penalty of death. We extract the following account of him from the letters of the chaplain who attended him in prison; and we are given to understand that we may place implicit confidence in the fidelity of the statement. Though the quotation be somewhat lengthened, we think our readers will be interested with it. "An unhappy soldier was tried here last week for desertion for the seventh time, mutiny, and striking an officer upon a court-martial. Any one of these offences was death, and, when coming in this sad combination, made his fate almost sure. He had been a notorious character, having for various offences received five thousand three hundred lashes: and, having been reported to me as a most bigoted Roman Catholic, as well as a hardened culprit, I delayed visiting him until there should be a hope of his heart being softened by the dreadful sentence which awaited him: but learning that he intended to be very abusive when called upon for his defence, I went to persuade him, if possible, to a more becoming and less fatal conduct. After many visits, and many hours' expostulation, he consented to take my advice, and to accept my assistance in preparing a better defence. I staid with him nearly the whole of Friday night, and, when I left him, sat up the remainder, preparing his defence against the next day; but, finding that I could not succeed so well as I wished in so short a time, I went to the court on Saturday, and begged for him a longer time, till Monday, to prepare his defence. This, through my entreaty, was granted. I spent the whole day and nearly the whole night in collecting witnesses and arguments for him. On Sunday I had to go through my usual fatigue of three whole services, yet I sat up the whole of that night and wrote a very long defence, which had so much in it that was plausible, that I even hoped it would save the poor wretch's life. I spared no effort either, to turn the current of opinion in his favour. . . ... On Monday morning I went to the prisoner at five o'clock, and read over his defence, which he seemed cordially to adopt: but, to my great grief, and to the astonishment of a crowded court, when brought up for his defence, he cast mine aside, and put in the one he had originally intended to adopt. From that moment his fate became inevitable; but I prevailed with the judge-advocate to allow mine to be read over, which was done; and, from the attention which was paid to it, I really believe that, had the prisoner been willing to adopt it, it might have saved him; but his conduct was most perverse, and the consequences to him must be fatal. . . . . I am now performing the most painful of all duties which can fall to a clergyman, of preparing him for the event that awaits him, and writing his condemned sermon. I thought last night when I visited him, I saw some symptoms of contrition, some glimmering hope that, though an outcast from the world, God will make him accepted in the Beloved. It pierced me to the heart to witness the deep distress of his mind. . . . bow to the colours of every regiment, as he passed along, and to the officers, who, together with the men, were overcome by his manner and appearance. The sensation was universal; many officers retired into the rear, the soldiers all wept, and even the natives, crowd. ing in every direction, honoured him with their tears.... Every one seemed affected but he who was principally concerned in the scene. He told me, poor fellow, it was pleasure to him. It is not death (said he, with peculiar energy): he that believeth in Jesus shall never die.' I began myself to participate so much in his joy, that I forgot the formidable parade amidst which I was placed. As we came to the open side of the square, I thought that the near approach of death might alarm him, and I spoke to him suitably. His answer was, 'Sir, I feel myself wonderfully increasing.' He spoke much of the faithfulness of God to his promises, of his nearness to him in all that he called upon him for, and of his assurance of pardon, and of an immediate translation to unchangeable bliss. Arriving at the centre of the open side, his coffin was set down, and the party that was to fire upon him was drawn up before him. We knelt together by the side of his coffin and prayed; and, as I commended him to his faithful God and Redeemer, he turned his eyes upon me with such tenderness and affection as I cannot describe. I then gave him my hand, which he kissed, and upon which I think he dropped his last tear, for I left him in perfect peace. The shots of seven muskets, which he received without flinching, soon closed his eyes to the scenes through which he had passed; and I have the best hope that they were immediately opened to behold an innumerable train of heaven's tenants, welcoming him to the rest prepared for him, and to see the glory of God and the Lamb." (From another letter.) "In a few weeks he attained to a considerable knowledge of all that was essential to his salvation. The eagerness with which he read his Bible, and listened to my explanations of it, was most interesting. Sometimes when I entered his cell I found him cast down beyond the power of conversing with me; then he would put the Bible into my hands, as the only source of his consolation, and he seemed immediately to forget his sorrows, in the glad tidings of the Gospel. Often when distress and anguish came upon him, he would begin to pray with me; and, certainly, I never saw a more convincing proof that God hears and answers prayer, than in the remarkable relief which he invariably found, in making his requests known unto him. My attentions had done away some of the prejudices against him. His colonel went to visit him, and a truly touching interview it was. The colonel was so affected, I thought that he would have fainted; and the prisoner seemed as if his heart were bursting. . . . . The night preceding the fatal day I scarcely left him; and as each hour passed by, he seemed to ripen for eternity, and to hail the approaching dawn of the glory he so earnestly longed for. Leav--Pp. 170-222. ing him for half an hour, whilst I went to dress myself, I returned at six o'clock, when I received a shock I never shall forget. I found him dressed in a shroud, ready for his burial. Indeed, he was in the best sense ready for that, and I began to rejoice in his tribulation. I administered the sacrament to him. At seven o'clock we left the cell, where he had lingered out three long months, and proceeded, under an escort, to the spot from which his spirit was to wing its flight to heaven. A sight truly appalling now opened to our view the wholearmy was drawn up two deep, : in three sides of a square, leaving the fourth side open. There must have been four thousand soldiers, and an immense crowd of natives. We first proceeded to the centre of this square, where the sentence and warrant were read over, which he heard with very becoming firmness, and then looked stedfastly at me, as though he wished me to resume my exhortations and counsel. From thence we were marched to the open side of the square, where his coffin and the band of his executioners were waiting. With these passing before him, and the band playing, we had to walk round the whole square. This parade must have occupied twenty minutes. I read some passages out of the Bible; and, as I was enabled, spoke to his comfort. He attended to little that was going on, and was better engaged in suitable thoughts of the transition he was about to make, from whatever man could render awful and terrific, to the joys of his Lord. He made a respectful We will make only one remark. A considerable space of time elapsed between the condemnation and execution of this poor man, so as to admit really satisfactory evidence of the sincerity of his repentance: we cannot, therefore, here-though we have occasionally to distrust the accounts blazoned forth of prison-conversions we cannot but fully agree in the chaplain's opinion, and believe that this was a brand plucked from the burning." The volume, though a military history, will be found interesting and useful to all classes of readers. The Cabinet. 66 GOD'S GOODNESS.-God would not permit evil to exist, if he had not some greater good to bring out of it.-Augustine. SPIRITUAL PRIDE.-It is easier to take away carpets and curtains from our drawing-rooms, or ornaments from our dress, than to take away uncharitableness from our spirits, bitterness from our tempers, censoriousness from our tongues, and, worst of all, pride, even that most hateful species of it, spiritual pride, out of our hearts.—Rev. Hugh White. AFFLICTION.-Affliction, when it is well sustained, affords the means of improving every part of the Christian character. It is a discipline, which, by pruning redundancies, discovering and healing diseases, and exciting and encouraging languid actions and dormant principles, diffuses its influence over the heart, and consequently shews itself in the life, in more correct and energetic practice, more diligence, more of the Christian spirit, and of resemblance to the Christian's great and perfect Exemplar, more entire devotedness to the service of the Most High.-W. Newnham. THE SABBATH.-It is no rash assertion, that from that holy institution, the Sabbath, have accrued to man more knowledge of his God, more instruction in riz teousness, more guidance of his affections, and more consolation of his spirit, than from all other mens which have been devised in the world to make hin wise and virtuous. We cannot fully estimate the effects of the Sabbath, unless we were once deprived of it. Imagination cannot picture the depravity which would gradually ensue, if time were thrown into one promiscuous field, without those heaven-directed beacons to rest and direct the passing pilgrim. would then plod through a wilderness of being; and one of the avenues, which now admits the light that will illuminate his path, would be perpetually closed. -Bishop Dehon. Man MINISTERIAL FAITHFULNESS AND UNITY.-TO promote the growth of the Redeemer's kingdom upon earth, and to fashion it to the likeness of his kingdom in heaven, are the great ends for which we have been called and set apart from our brethren: these are the ends which we must propose to ourselves, if we desire to do the work of Him that sent us, in such a manner is to save both ourselves and them that hear us; and the greater the advantages we possess for doing that work effectually, the greater will be our sinfulness, if we neglect the gift that is in us, and are no better than indolent, indifferent, unprofitable servants. This consideration, at all times a solemn and awakening consideration, must surely be felt to press upon us at the present moment with peculiar force. In addition to the awful thought, that the eternal welfare of thousands of our brethren may be dependent upon car ministerial faithfulness, let us remember that the Established Church itself is now more than ever contingent upon our personal qualities and exertions. Our first and highest trust, in this season of peril, must be in Him, who alone is able to deliver us, and who, if it should please him to purify our Church by tribulation, will, we are persuaded, acknowledge it, when purified, for his own. Let us look to Him for protection and guidance; let there be, at the present crisis, a more than ordinary degree of fervour and importunity in prayer to him, for a more abundant efusion of his Holy Spirit upon all the members of his household. But, humanly speaking, the safety of the Church, as a recognised and honoured instrument of good in this country, depends upon its clergy; upon the faithfulness of their preaching, upon the assiduity of their ministrations, upon their exemplary lives and conversations, and lastly upon their brotherly union and concord.-Bp. Blomfield's Charge to the Clergy of the Diocese of London, 1834. Poetry. WINGS. "And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest."-Psalm iv. 6. OH! for the wings we used to wear It may not-oh, it may not be! I cannot soar on fancy's wing; And hope has been,-like thee, like thee!- A lost and perished thing! Are there no pinions left to bear Me where the good and gentle are? Yes! rise upon the morning's wing, And, far beyond the farthest sea, Where autumn is the mate of spring, And winter comes not withering, There is a home for thee;Away-away!-and lay thy head In the low valley of the dead! T. K. HERVEY. THE UNSEEN WORLD. "For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven."-2 Cor. v. 2. "TIS but a film of flesh divides Us from the heav'nly place; Our God is every where around; But could we lay the body by, And wash our eye-sight clean, Our brethren once, our brethren now, We praise and serve him here below; REV. C. NEALE. CHILDREN OF LIGHT. "Walk as children of light."-Ephesians, v. 8. WALK in the light! so shalt thou know That fellowship of love Who reigns in light above. The blood of Jesus Christ the Lord Walk in the light!—and thou shalt find Who dwells in cloudless light enshrined, Walk in the light!-and thou shalt own Walk in the light-and e'en the tomb For Christ hath conquered there! ALEXANDER, EMPEROR OF RUSSIA.-About the middle of the year 1812, the emperor, about to quit St. Petersburg, had retired into his cabinet, and, quite alone, was arranging some affairs before his departure. All at once a female entered, whom at first he did not recognise, there being little light in the room. Astonished at this apparition-for never was a woman permitted to enter his cabinet without leave, not even of his own family, and above all, at this unseasonable hour-he, however, arose, went to meet her, and perceived it to be the Countess of Tolstoi, who, excusing herself, desired to wish him a happy journey, and, at the same time, presented a paper. He thanked her, and bade her adieu. Conceiving it to be a petition, he put it in his pocket; and, when she was gone, resumed his former employment. At the first night's quarters he took out the paper, and, to his surprise, found it to be the ninety-first Psalm. He read it with pleasure, and its contents calmed his troubled spirits; and he exclaimed, “O that these words were for me!" A considerable time after this, he found himself at Moscow, in one of the most critical periods of his life(who can be ignorant of the terrible events of the memorable year 1812?). Alone in his cabinet he was arranging some books on a table, one of which caused a volume of the Bible to fall down; in falling, it opened; and the emperor on taking it up, happened to cast his eye upon the page, and beheld again the Psalm that had once comforted him! At this time he recognised the voice which called him; and he replied and said. "Here I am, Lord, speak to thy servant." He read, he applied what he read, and he found every word suitable to himself; and ever after, until his last breath, he carried this Psalm about his person, learned it by heart, and evening and morning recited it at his devotions. After his death his valetde-chambre stated that the emperor always had a certain paper in his pocket, which he prohibited them from touching, otherwise than to remove it from one coat to another. No person had any knowledge of its contents, or believed that it could be any other than a paper of importance received in some mysterious way. It was put into his coffin along with him.-Pinkerton's Russia. DR. HALLEY.-Dr. Halley, to whom the science of astronomy is under considerable obligations, once, in conversation with Sir Isaac Newton, threw out some insinuation against Christianity; when it is related that Sir Isaac stopped him short, and spoke to him in these, or the like words: "Dr. Halley, I am very glad to hear you when you talk about astronomy, or other branches of science, because these are subjects which you have studied and well understand; but you should not talk about Christianity, for you have not studied it; I have, and I know that you know nothing about the matter." There is great reason to believe that, like Dr. Halley, a very large number of scientific men have not studied Christianity, and yet profess to hold an opinion respecting its claims to human acceptance -in this, proceeding most unphilosophically, as they would themselves instantly perceive, if their judgment were exercised on almost any other subject than religion. NEWFOUNDLAND.-I was fortunate enough to come out upon the shore in Fortunate Bay, exactly where there were no houses; and a very decent young man, C. L. and his wife, having only left their winter tilts that morning, had cleaned up their neat summer-house and lighted a good fire, as though for my reception. I sent round to his neighbours to give notice of my intention to hold divine service at his house the next morning; and was delighted to see the serious and intelligent manner in which the children were taught to say their grace before and after meat, and their morning and evening prayers. My eyes, which have been much tried by the glare of the sun upon the snow, and the cutting winds abroad, further are tried within the houses by the quantity of smoke, or "cruel steam," as the people emphatically and correctly designate it, with which every tilt is filled. The structure of the winter-tilt, the chimney of which is upright studs, stuffed or 66 stogged" between with moss, is so rude, that in most of them in which I officiated, the chimney has caught fire once, if not oftener, during the service. When a fire is kept up, which is not unusual, all night long, it is necessary that somebody should sit up, with a bucket of water at hand, to stay the progress of these frequent fires. An old gun-barrel is often placed in the chimney-corner, which is used as a syringe, or diminutive fire-engine, to arrest the progress of these flames; or masses of snow are placed on the top of the burning studs, which, as they melt down, extinguish the dangerous element. The chimney-houses in Fortunate Bay are better fortified against the danger, being lined within all the way up with a coating of tin, which is found to last for several years. Archdeacon Wix's Journal. THE SAILOR'S BIBLE.-While making a short voyage, I happened to listen to the conversation of one of the ship's crew with several passengers. After talking a good deal on politics, they came to the subject of religion. The sailor spoke in terms so unworthy of the Lord, that I could not contain myself, and yet I felt too weak to reply to him. Having, however, asked courage of my God to confess him before men, I approached the group of talkers, with some religious tracts in my hand. Addressing the sailor, I inquired if he could read. He said he could. Then, handing him the tract entitled "The Sailor's Bible," "Will you," I said, "be so good as to read us this little book?" He agreed, and sat down, all the company surrounding him. When he had got through about three-fourths of the tract, he burst into tears; and not being able to go on, he hid himself in the hold, and continued there nearly an hour. I took advantage of this interval to distribute tracts to all the passengers. For half an hour there was a deep silence, each one being employed in perusing the tract 1 had given him. At last, one of them came to me, and gave me two sous (a penny) for his tract. I said that I had given it to him. "That is true," replied he, " and I accepted your gift: take, however, my offering, that you may be able to continue these good distributions." Following his example, each of the other passengers brought me Some time afterwards I had an opportunity of seeing the sailor again. His way of speaking was totally changed. I gave him a New Testament, which he received with the liveliest joy, and said, "I am teaching a young orphan cabin-boy to read: I promise you that I will never let him read in any other book."-Extract from the Correspondence of the Evangelical Society of France. two sous. LONDON-Published by JAMES BURNS, 17 Portman Street, Portman Square; W. EDWARDS, 12 Ave-Maria Lane, St. Paul's; and to be procured, by order, of all Booksellers in Town and Country. Part I., containing Nos. 1 to 5, with Supplement and Wrapper, is now ready, price Eightpence. Part II. will be published on the 30th July. PRINTED BY ROBSON, LEVEY, AND FRANKLYN, 46 ST. MARTIN'S LANE. THE TWO APPOINTED CHANNELS OF THERE is, however, another important lesson VOL, I.-NO, X. PRICE 1d. "the separated," for this was the name which they loved. They separated themselves from the heathen conquerors and from the multitude, whom either inclination or the daily business of life led to have intercourse with them. These men established certain laws and customs to serve as a hedge about the law, and thus to preserve it from transgression. These customs gradually multiplied, and are now known as the oral law, or the traditions of the Pharisees. The motive was no doubt good at first; but they gradually advanced in substituting these their own opinions for the religion of Moses; and at last succeeded in persuading themselves and a large body of the people, that they and their party were the only true Jews. They did not at first enter into collision with the priesthood: they had not the power, and perhaps did not then entertain the wish. But as their reputation increased, and they came to be considered as the sole proprietors of true religion, they despised the priests not of their party, as men devoid of religion; and at last had sufficient influence to establish the maxim, that "a man of illegitimate birth, if a wise man (as they called their own teachers), was to take precedency of a high priest not skilled in their doctrines." The distinction as well as the office of the Levitic tribe was then gone, and the land was deluged with Pharisaic lay-teachers, who held no divine commission, who verily thought that they were spreading the knowledge of divine truth, whilst they were only gaining partisans for their own sect. Thus the Jewish candlestick was deprived of its two olive-branches. The supply of heavenly oil was stopped, the light extinguished, and the eyes of the people be L |