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MAN'S KNOWLEDGE OF GOD BEFORE CHRIST.

Even before the coming of Christ, man had not been left without an external declaration of his duties. The ten commandments, and all the other moral portions of the Mosaic laws, were not wrought out by the reason of Moses, but written by the finger of God. Before Moses, revelations had been made to Abraham and the patriarchs; before them to Noah; before Noah to Adam. Never, I entreat you, listen to silly talkers, who will tell you that men sprang out of the ground in a rude and helpless state; and that God left them to shift for themselves,-to form their own language, their own society, their own morals, their own religion. God never left them to themselves, till they had first abandoned God. When they did not choose to retain God in their thoughts, God then gave them over to a reprobate mind, but not before, (Rom. i. 28. )—And, till then, he was constantly warning them with his own voice, by parents, and by kings, and priests, and prophets. And thus in the East, where these kings, and priests, and prophets were formed into vast empires and hierarchies, standing like a gigantic temple on the solid foundations of antiquity, the light of God's primitive foundation was kept alive; lingering on like the long twilight in northen skies, while on the rest of the earth, and especially on Greece, a thick darkness fell down, and men were compelled to walk by a light which they kindled for themselves. And yet how little this light could serve them, may be learnt from the fact, that Plato, who, of all the Greeks, approached nearest to the truth, traces the chief part of his knowledge from the East and oriental traditions-thatAristotle wandered wrong as soon as he deserts the instructions of his master Plato-that almost all that is good either in Grecian poetry or Grecian science may be traced to the East, as to a root. As if no knowledge could spring up in a man, except it flowed originally from the first and only fountain of truth-the voice of God. Both Christian, then, and Heathen Ethics are based on a revelation from God.-Rev. R. Sewell.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HUMAN AND DIVINE LOVE.

The Divine love is never attended with those turbulent passions, perturbations, or wrestlings within itself, of fear, grief, desire, anger, or any such like, whereby our love is want to explicate and unfold its affections towards its object. But as the Divine love is perpetually most intently ardent and potent, so it is always calm and serene, unchangeable, having no such ebbings and flowings, no such diversity of station and retrogradations as that love hath in us, which arises from the weakness of our understandings, that do not present things to us always in the same Oriental lustre and beauty; neither we, nor any other mundane beings (all which are in a perpetual flux) are always the same. Besides, though our love may sometimes transport us and violently rend us from ourselves and from all self-enjoyment, yet the more forcible it is, by so much the more it will be apt to torment us, while it cannot centre itself in that which so strongly endeavours to attract it; and when it possesseth most, yet it is always hungry and craving; it may always be filling itself, but, like a leaking vessel, it will be always emptying itself again. Whereas the infinite ardour of the Divine love, arising from the unbounded perfection of the Divine Being, always rests satisfied within itself, and is wrapt up and rests in the same central unity in which it first begins.-Rev. John Smith.

BISHOP HEBER'S DOG CHERRY.

Cherry was a beautiful terrier, and a first-rate favourite with his master. He accompanied the Rector in all his walks, rides, and visits; and certainly the instinet which the little animal displayed was closely akin to reason. He divined on a Sunday, by some intuitive process, without any apparent reference to personal appearance or change of dress, whether his master was or was not the officiating minister of the day; and regulated his course accordingly. If the Rector took the duty, Cherry would at once precede him to the vestry. But if a different arrangement had been entered upon, Cherry would stop short in the aisle, and station himself on a mat before the Rector's pew door. Mr. Richard Heber repeatedly said, “he was sure the dog understood what passed in conversation ;" and the Rector would often with a laugh express his fears that Cherry was ower canny," and "had by some unlawful means obtained a clue to the 'universal language!" Of the chariable disposition of his master, Cherry seemed perfectly cognizant. If in their walks they met with a beggar, Cherry would never allow the poor wretch to pass till he had directed Mr. Heber's attention to him. He would draw up by the side of the

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wayfarer and there remain without any attempt to bark, growl, or bite, 'till the Rector came up. If the poor object appeared more than usually ill-clad, wretched, and helpless, Cherry would utter a low whine, but never quit his new acquaintance till Mr. Heber had spoken to him. And rare indeed was the instance when words were all that the supplicant received. Another trait, and Cherry shall pass from the page. He invariably accompanied, or rather preceded, Mr. Heber on his morning visit to the Sunday school. When we heard his stealthy pit-pat upon the stairs, we were pretty sure of whom he was the herald. He used to pause upon the highest step, and, I have often thought, enjoyed the panic-the transition from considerable hubbub to perfect stillness--which his appearance invariably produced. There was an expression of glee, a look of wicked intelligence, of doggish triumph, which only Dickens can describe, and Landseer's pencil portray. It said, as clearly as doggish eyes and nose could say, "So, oh! my masters, I've the upper hand at present."-The Bishop's Daughter.

POSITION OF THE CHURCH.

There is no country in the world where, with a free toleration of all religious diversities, with a free action of all religious sects, I wish I were not forced to say even with a direct encouragement of religious aggression, the bulk of the people is still so steadfast to the national Church as in England. In countries where toleration is granted, the Church has ceased to be the Church of the nation: in countries where the Church of the nation still contains the whole people, there is no toleration given. It seems, then, that the position of the English Church, and the hold it has over the mass of the people, despite of commerce and controversies, of free and even licentious discussion, error and all the vices of a luxurious and self-guiding age, is a great and undeniable proof of its reality and energy. It is a remarkable fact that, in other countries of Europe, education has estranged the confidence and and attachment of men for the teaching and practice of the Church. It there has hold upon the poor; but the upper classes bear to it an empty, nominal allegiance. For the most part literature also is severed from faith. In England, on the other hand, where education is fullest, the Church is strongest; as education has advanced the Church has rooted herself to a greater depth; every advance of education will directly confirm the hold of the Church upon the reason and will of the English people.-Archdeacon Manning.

THE WEALTH OF THE ENGLISH CLERGY.

How can we forbear to warn mankind against the voice of Judas, which, even now, is evermore crying out, Why all this waste? Why should large revenues be placed at the command of men, whom it would better become to emulate the poverty of the Apostles, than to be revelling in affluence which might almost befit a prince? Is it nothing, then, that wealth should, here and there, be placed in the hands of those, whose very education and profession are constantly reminding them, that it is a part of their office to show the world how wealth may be best spent; and who, if ever they should forget that they are the stewards of the Lord, are sure to be pursued by the scorn and execration of the world? Let any man search into the result of this distribution. Let him look back through a long range of centuries; and see whether the cause of civilization, of letters, of morals, of charity, of religion, has, on the whole, been best promoted by the wealth of laymen, or by the wealth of ecclesiastics. If churchmen had always been indigent stipendiaries, where would have been numberless monuments of benevolence and piety, to which all, save the children of disobedience, look up, to this day, with affection, and gratitude, and reverence ?-Le Bas' Life of Laud.

COME, LORD JESUS.

Come, Lord Jesus, as a counsellor to guide us, as a rock to support us, as a friend to comfort us, as a fountain to supply us; come, Lord Jesus, in the day of fulness, and make us thankful; in the day of want, and make us contented; in the day of our sin, and make us penitent; in the day of affliction, and make us patient; in the day of temptation, and make us confident; in the day of sorrow, and make us joyful; in the day of health, and make us mindful of the day of sickness ; in the day of life, and make us watchful against the day of death; in the day of sickness, and assure us of the blessed issue of our pilgrimage; in the day of death, and translate our souls into a glorious life. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

STEAM.

I wish you to reflect on the state of society where such a power is in active operation. How much of force and energy; how much of thought and science; how much of research into the mysteries of nature; what rapid communications of knowledge; what a busy, restless, feverish desire of novelty ;what impatience of restraint; what a thirst for wealth; what luxury and indulgence, and contempt of old institutions, and pride of power, ard sins of human beings gathered together in dense populations, and hidden from the eye of shame and the hand of law; what poverty accumulating in one class, as inordinate wealth accumulates in another; what neglect of the ties of home, and of the duties of humble life; what a spirit, in one word, let loose to unsettle, and change, and corrupt, and tear to pieces the whole fabric of society ! I ask you, is it not a wondrous thing, in the midst of this shock of elements, this tempest of human passion let loose upon the world, this crushing and falling of the old institutions of the earth, to see bodies of men standing firm with one book in their hands, and one belief; raising their heads to the higher as all other mortal powers are sinking beneath the storm; planting themselves firmer than ever on the rock of ages; yielding no single concession to the clamours of the people; warning and threatening and defying them in all that relates to God; and yet prepared to sink peacefully and calmly, almost without a struggle, under the hand that only robs them of their property in this life? Yet such is becoming more and more the character of the Church in England. And I know not how to account for it, except by that stern, uncompromising resolution which those feel and act on, who know that they are possessed of truth, and bear within them the presence of a higher power than man's, even that power which they possess and labour to communicate, the Spirit of God.-Rev. W. Sewell, B.A.

THE CHRISTIAN UNDER AFFLICTON.

The Gospel never attempts to persuade man that pain is no evil, but it teaches him to look beyond the present hour, and gives him that which the wounded spirit craves beyond all other balm,—the balm of hope. With death, indeed, it deals after another manner. Whatever of evil death has in a Christian's view, that evil arises from sin alone : "The sting of death is sin ;" and the Gospel disarms death of its power to wound man, by breaking the power of sin, and by bringing the spirit to look on death, for the sincere believer and faithful Christian, only as a passage from a life of trial and of difficulty and darkness, to a state where the pure in heart shall see God, and be satisfied with his goodness. It therefore requires him to prepare himself for death, by daily renouncing all the sinfulness that still clings to his nature. and daily asking of the Holy Spirit, more of the power to change his heart into the likeness of the model which his Saviour left for man; and thus to take away the sting from death, because he professes no power to chase away the shadows of darkness from the dying bed of the sinner, and because only in proportion to the faith and the holiness of the Christian are its promises of power or its hopes available. But in regard to the dispensations of Providence during life-the pain and sickness or the thousand trials that await man in his passage through this world,-the Gospel professes not to cheat men into the belief that they are no evil, or that it is pleasant to suffer; but it takes the only practical view of all. It connects whatever happens to us as individuals with the will of God, and constantly impressing upon us the truth, that the good of the immortal soul is the real end and aim of our existence, it puts all besides in subordination to that one view. It is true that no inward feelings can destroy pain in the human body, but it is no less true that they may give him strength and fortitude to disregard it; and of all feelings that of hope is the most sustaining which the human heart can receive as an inmate. In all that befalls the Christian he is taught to look upon the bearing it may have upon the interests, not of the poor and perishable body, but of the immortal spirit ; and when he knows that through suffering and patience many of the children of men are purified for their abode in heaven, and that all may be, he learns to turn the afflictions of time to the uses of eternity; and as to him it were nothing to gain the whole world, and lose his own soul, so the loss of this world, its pain or its sorrow, is to him a light thing, compared to that which is to come. It is thus that in the affliction of the body the Christian often sees the chastening of a tender Father, and loves the very hand that smites him--Rev. Henry John Ross.

THE CHURCH

ADVOCATE & MAGAZINE.

No. 1, New Series.]

JANUARY, 1845.

(For the Church Magazine.)

[Vol. VII. No. 73.

be led, not only to a saving apprehension of divine truth for himself, but also to a 66 consecration of all his talents and acquirements, to the glory NO. I.—THE REASONABLENESS OF ITS of the Giver, and the happiness of his

ON THE PURSUIT OF THEOLOGICAL SCIENCE.

REQUIREMENTS.

By the Rev. Charles Augustus Hulbert, M.A., Incumbent of Slaithwaite, Yorkshire.

"Within this awful volume lies
The mystery of mysteries;
Oh! happiest they of human race,
To whom our God has given the grace
To hear, to read, to fear, to pray,
To lift the latch and force the way;
But better they had not been born,
Who read to doubt, or read to scorn."
Inscribed in a Bible by Sir Walter Scott.

THE direct consequence of " the Idolatry of Human Science" is, (as we lately endeavoured to prove) the neglect of Theological Science; and the indirect consequence is, the rejection of Religious Truth. So, conversely, under the blessed influence of the Holy Spirit of Truth, man may be reclaimed from a gloomy scepticism, to a firm and cheering confidence in God's revealed will, by patient search and prayerful meditation,—and thus

creatures."

We know, at least, one case, in which a conscientious inquirer has thus been led from the verge of Atheism, step by step, to the full reception of the truths of Christianity, as they are set forth by our Holy Church. And surely that can be no unworthy subject of a philosopher's inquiry, which invites the most thorough scrutiny by the fair exercise of all the intellectual powers, and all the varied appliances of science and learning! Nor can that be an unscientific scheme, which, while requiring, as a moral subject, to be tried by its own proper evidence, even submits to the favorite process of EXPERIMENT; which challenges all its opponents to make the full and fair trial of its claims to a candid and honest reception, by a faithful and sincere obedience to its precepts,-consenting to risk its truth on the issue of a test to which falsehood never voluntarily submits, and

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which error can never ultimately endure. Superstition, on the other hand, shrouds itself in mystery,-imposture and fanaticism lay claim to exemption from the common rules of argument and evidence,-priestcraft appeals to violence rather than to persuasion, and human tradition, rather than to "commending itself to every man's conscience in the sight of God." Truth only, with unequivocal boldness, invites, demands, enjoins, a diligent investigation of her title to credit, upon the joint testimony of nature and revelation; assured that she has nothing to lose, but everything to gain, by the process of a true and philosophical inquiry; and a sound and practical system alone challenges the evidence of experiment to confirm the correctness and generality of its fundamental laws.

That the Christian Religion and its true ministry make this twofold appeal, is manifest, first, from the commendation ever bestowed on diligent and honest inquirers in the New Testament. As, for instance, in the Acts of the Apostles, xvii. 1 & 12, the Berean Jews are described as more noble, (eugenesteroi) than those in Thessalonica, in "that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether these things were so," (the Old Testament Scriptures being the test of truth with the Jews) "and THEREFORE" (in consequence of such investigation) many of them believed." Our Lord had indeed taught his disciples this rule, when he said, "Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think that ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of me."

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To the Gentiles, who needed as much to be convinced of the truth of Judaism as of Christianity, appeal is made, as in the case of St. Paul's sermons at Athens and Lycaonia, to the

works of creation, as demonstrative of the attributes of God, previously to entering on the truths of Revelation. These, with reference to the heathen, rested for reception upon the joint force of reason, miracles, and conscience-Reason, which pointed to an "unknown God;" miracles, which proved that he had spoken to man; and conscience, which shewed, by the law written in their hearts, that they had fallen short of "righteousness and temperance," and were therefore obnoxious to "judgment to come."

To all, whether Jews or Gentiles, there was one test proposed, which applied to the unlearned in the Scriptures, and the unskilled in reasoning, as much as to the philosopher and scribe: " If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God." And this was the same which the Psalmist had proposed a thousand years before: " Taste, and see how gracious the Lord is; blessed are all they that put their trust in him."

This argument of the practical blessedness of all true Christians, is, of all others, the most generally prevalent, because it appeals to commen capacities and common feelings; it is exemplified in palaces, in cottages, at the table of the benevolent, and by the bedside of the dying. The remedy that cures generally, is deservedly esteemed and recommended as the effectual specific, even by those who cannot analyse its components, trace the history of its invention, or describe the method of its preparation. But in these modern times, we have all the different and accumulative proofs derived from prophecy, testimony, reason, conscience, and experience; they have all stood the touchstone of trial and the crucible of analysis. Every successive age adds to their force; and the very sciences which fifty years ago

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