or Testaments under their arms, sitting upon benches, instead of the ground as formerly, and singing the praises of God, with solemnity and harmony, from their Psalm books; turning in their Bibles to the text that was given out, and listening to the sermon with serious attention. I also found a Church of Christ, consisting of about five-and-forty believing Hottentots, with whom I had several times an opportunity of commemorating the death of our Lord. "On the week days, I found a school, consisting of seventy children, regularly taught in the place of worship. The teacher was a Hottentot lad, who was actually a young savage when I first visited the kraal, and who, perhaps, had never seen a printed word in his life. When I first looked in at the door of the school, this lad was mending a pen, which a girl had brought him for that purpose. This action was such a proof of civilization, that, reflecting at the moment on his former savage condition, I was almost overwhelmed. 666 'On entering the school, I first visited a row of classes composed of little Hottentot girls, arranged along the right hand wall, each class having a printed sheet of paper hanging on the wall before them, and each class furnished with a monitor to instruct them. The little monitors seemed to feel a degree of confidence by finding that they knew more than any in the classes they taught. It was delightful to me to see them pointing to letters with their rod, and requiring of each scholar their several names. 66 6 Along the opposite wall were arranged classes of little Hottentot boys, drawn up and employed in a similar manner. The master was hearing the elder boys and girls read the New Testament in the Dutch language. These read very well. Some were writing in paper books, while others, less advanced, were writing on sand or slates. "Such employments must tend greatly to promote civilized habits among the children, to improve their mental powers, and to render them more industrious; for in their former state they had nothing to do but to play and to sleep, the latter of which must have occupied the greater portion of their existence. "I found a considerable extent of cultivated land outside the wall, which the Hottentots plough and sow with wheat every year, though a portion of it is destroyed annually by their cattle getting into it while the herd boys are fast asleep, and from which no punishment could altogether deter them. An officer of the Hottentot regiment told me that, had they shot all the Hottentot soldiers who were found asleep upon guard, they must have shot the whole regiment, and what would have been the use of officers then? said he. "The Hottentots were, at the recommendation of the missionary, about to surround the fields with a wall, like that which inclosed their houses and gardens; but whether this has been effected I have not yet learned. 666 'Indolence, and procrastination of labour from indolence, is almost universal among Hottentots. At all our stations they endeavour to put off digging their gardens, and ploughing their fields, as long as possible, with this apology It is time enough yet!' "Mr Pacalt had much of this temper to contend with; but his fervent zeal, his persevering application, his affectionate counsels, and his personal example, so powerfully counteracted this prevailing disposition, that they actually performed wonders. 666 All the Hottentots are still on a level with each other. There are yet no distinctions of rank amongst them. Some dress better than others; some have a waggon and more oxen than others, and, it may be, a better house; but these things produce no elevation of rank. They will as readily comply with the advice or | | injunction of the poorest as the richest. The operation of this state of things was severely experienced during the period that elapsed between the death of Mr Pacalt and the arrival of his successor, which I think was about four months. The Hottentots were like an army without a commander: every improvement ceased, Some of the Hottentots were for going on with the improvements which were included in the plan of their deceased teacher and friend; but the rest of the people would not attend to their advice, but desired that every thing should remain in the same state until the arrival of another missionary. They then began to labour with the same activity as before. "Thus, Sir, have I given you, as well as I could, chiefly from memory, a circumstantial account of that Hottentot town, in both its states of barbarism and civilization, the latter effected by the introduction of Christian doctrines and duties, of both which they were as ignorant as brutes, only six years before. The facts I have stated were seen and heard by myself when present with them while in both conditions. I remember my worthy colleague, Dr Philip, who was with me on this visit to the kraal, while we were viewing the im provements, more than once whispered into my ear, What exquisite pleasure this sight must give you, having seen them in their barbarous state!' "A commission of two members of the Court of Justice was appointed, a year or two ago, by the colonial government, to visit the missionary stations with in the colony; and although I have not a copy of their official report, I am authorised by Mr Neethling, one of the commissioners, to state, that they were not merely pleased, but astonished and delighted in the very highest degree, with what had been effected at Pacaltsdorp. "The late colonial secretary, Lieut.-Colonel Bird, who visited this station in 1819, expressed his opinion of it to myself, in the following terms :-' I never saw, in any place,' he observed, more industry than at Pacaltsdorp: the men were all at work-I saw no appearance of idleness; the women were busy; the gardens were laid out in the most regular order, and full of vegetables and other produce; the houses were regular, clean, and neat; and, in short, in my whole journey into the interior, neither at Genadendal, nor anywhere else, did I see anything that delighted me so much as the missionary station at Pacaltsdorp.' "To the testimony of the colonial secretary we may here add that of the venerable Van Kerval, the chief magistrate of the district of George, as related to the author by Sir Jahleel Brenton, his Majesty's naval commissioner at the Cape of Good Hope:When we approached this station,' said Sir Jahleel, Mr Van Kerval addressed me in the following words: You see these houses, Sir Jahleel, these beautiful gardens and corn fields? when Mr Pacal: came to this place, the whole grounds on which you see those marks of rising industry and civilization were as bare as the palm of my hand.” AN EASTERN STORY. It happened upon a time, says an Eastern story, that as a dervise, renowned for wisdom, was travelling through the desert, he alighted upon a valley, whose sides were enlivened with the richest verdure, and covered with flocks and herds. Down this valley dowed a small rivulet, which, reflecting the sun beams, looked clear and beautiful at a distance, but which, upon nearer inspection, proved to be foul and muddy. Whilst the dervise stood still admiring the beauty of the scene, thus unexpectedly presented to view, he perceived a The moral contained in this narrative has been confirmed by a higher than human authority. It has received the sanction of Him who "knew what was in man," and to whose intuitive glance the most intricate young man in the guise of a shepherd, who was busily employed on the banks of the rivulet. He approached the spot, and for some time watched attentively the motions of the youthful stranger. Sometimes he approached the rivulet with a large pitcher, which he fill-labyrinths of the human heart were naked and open as ed from the running stream. The water thus extract- the light of day. "Ye make clean the outside of the ed was allowed to stand by him till the muddy parti- cup and of the platter, but within they are full of excles had subsided, and was then emptied into a large tortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first cistern, prepared for its reception. Sometimes he di- that which is within the cup and the platter, that the verted a small current of the rivulet into a new chan-outside of them may be clean also." And again, nel imbedded with gravel, and the water which was thus filtered from its impurity, was also received into the cistern, which he used as a general reservoir. When the cistern was full, he then sat down, evidently exhausted with the labour of his exertions. 'Son," said the dervise, "tell me the purpose which you mean to be served by an employment which costs you so much toil." The young man looked up, and wiping the perspiration from his forehead, replied with great respect: "Father, you perceive that I am a shepherd. This stream is naturally so foul and polluted, that our flocks and cattle would sooner perish than taste of it. You have seen the means which I employ for its purification; and now the water is both exhilirating and wholesome." "The employment," said the dervise," is a laudable one, but it is laborious. Might it not be better to examine into the cause of the evil which you are at so much pains to rectify? I am persuaded that the evil lies at the source. Follow me, and we shall endeavour to ascertain." The young man rose up and followed his guide. They proceeded upwards, following the course of the stream; and after much fatigue and long travel, arrived at its fountainhead or source. It was an open and deep well, which the waters that oozed from a high and overhang ing rock kept always full. Their approach gave instant alarm to a great variety of water-fowl, which, unused to the presence of man in a region so remote, rose rapidly out of the water, and wheeling round the travellers with wild and piercing cries, seemed at last to lose themselves in the blue sky. At the same time, they perceived great numbers of wild beasts, which had come hither to drink, hastening away from the spot, and hiding themselves among the thickets, with which that part of the valley abounded. The well being thus suddenly agitated, sent forth a miry and polluted stream. "You see," said the old man to his youthful companion, at once the cause and the cure of the evil of which you complain. You have only to protect the spring from the visits of these intruders, to clear away the mire with which it is defiled, and it will at all times yield you a fresh and abundant supply." 66 The young man, laying aside the loose garments in which the shepherds of that country are habited, was proceeding to act upon the advice given by his venerable instructor, when the latter thus addressed him :— "My son, I am led, both by the nature of my profession, and by inclination, to impart instruction to the young and inexperienced; and I would willingly improve the incident of this day into a lesson of wisdom, which may, perhaps, be of advantage to you in your future life. You saw, that at the place where I first found you, your utmost exertions could procure you only a small and precarious provision for your flocks; and you now see that a very little labour, at the place where you now stand, will ensure to you at all times a constant and abundant supply. Learn, from this, that the source of human conduct is the heart: and if you are conscious of having failed in your duty during the past, and are truly desirous of beginning a new course of life, instead of wasting your energies in vain attempts at partial reformation, go at once to the root, to the source of the evil to the heart. Make the heart right, and the conduct cannot be wrong; make the heart clean, and the life cannot be impure.' "Every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good, and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." CHRISTIAN TREASURY. Irre On Regularity in Prayer.-Stated and regular seasons are indispensable to the effectual performance of of business," cannot exist without such seasons. all business. Method, proverbially styled "the soul gularity, which is the prevention, or the ruin of all valuable efforts, grows, of course, out of irregular distributions of time. That which is done at accidental seasons only, is ultimately not done at all. No business demands regularity and method more than prayer. There is in all men naturally a strong indisposition to periods, are peculiarly necessary to preserve this duty pray. Stated seasons, therefore, returning at regular in its full vigour. He who prays at such seasons, will always remember the duty; will form his schemes of will be reproached by his conscience for neglecting it; life, so as to provide the proper place for performing it; will keep alive the spirit of prayer from one season to another, so as to render the practice delightful; and will be preserved uninterruptedly in the practice by the strong influence of habit. He who prays at accidental desist from this duty.-DWIGHT. seasons only, will first neglect, then hate, and finally Some value Differences among Christians.-Suppose professors of religion to be ranged in different concentric circles around Christ as their common centre. the presence of their Saviour so highly, that they cannot bear to be at any remove from him. Even their work they will bring up, and do it in the light of his countenance; and, while engaged in it, will be seen constantly raising their eyes to him, as if fearful of losing one beam of his light. Others, who, to be sure, would not be content to live out of his presence, are yet less wholly absorbed by it than these; and may be seen a little farther off, engaged in their various callings, their eyes generally upon their work, but often looking up for the light which they love. A third class beyond these, but yet within the life-giving rays, includes a doubtful multitude, many of whom are so much engaged in their worldly schemes, that they may be seen standing sideways to Christ, looking mostly the other way, and only now and then turning their faces towards the light. And yet farther out, among the last scattered rays, so distant, that it is often doubtful whether they come at all within their influence, is a mixed assemblage of busy ones, some with their backs wholly turned upon the sun, and most of them so careful and troubled about their many things, as to spare but little time for their Saviour.-PAYSON. Scripture a never-ending Treasure. The mine of Scripture is inexhaustible; and from the time at which it was first opened, till the time when faith shall be exchanged for sight, not one labourer who works therein, even from the most robust to the most feeble, will remain unrewarded by a participation in its wealth.SCHIMMELPENNINCK. SACRED POETRY. THE COVENANTERS. BY JOHN GALT, ESQUIRE. TOMBS of her kings, may storied Egypt show Stern on the heights our sires unconquer'd stood, Who toil'd for rights, and sow'd their fields with death. Oft on the martyr's mossy mountain tomb, And upland waters fall with holy chime, I see the vision of some legend morn. Still twice in the week I am careful to fast, Have mercy, O God! for polluted and vile, But deign on thy creature one instant to smile, And what was the judgment the Saviour pronoune'd, And thus to his list'ning disciples announc'd Half worshipp'd the one, midst his followers, stalk'd The other alone in his penitence walk'd, An Indian. MISCELLANEOUS. Some years ago, one of the preachers of the Mohegan Indians, situated on the Thames, between Norwich and New London, America, was preaching on the language of Solomon: "Cast thy bread upon the waters; for thou shalt find it after many days." Eccles. xi. 1. To illustrate his subject, and enforce the duty of benevolence, he related a circumstance connected with his early days, as follows:-A certain man was Sad, slow, and thoughtful, with the book and brand, going from Norwich to New London with a loaded The grey-hair'd Elder, to the meal of prayer, Anon afar, sweet'ning the hallow'd air, Then in my trance I draw the boughs aside, That screen the tabernacle of the glen, And lo! before me secret worshippers Rapt, list'ning sit, or lowly bending take The broken bread, and for the blessed wine, Weeping, they fetch the water from the spring; But ere they taste, the warder on the hill Gives the shrill signal, and dispersing fly The trembling women, while for battle form Determin'd men, their Bibles in their breasts: With swords unsheath'd, and by Jehovah cheer'd, They wait, serene, the coming of the storm. THE PHARISEE AND THE PUBLICAN. "STAND by," cried the Pharisee, "dare not to mar From the scowl of the hypocrite's brow. The one through the temple with majesty swept, The other retir'd to a corner and wept, As he bent his meek eyes on the ground. "I thank thee, O God!" said the former, "that I 66 team: on attempting to ascend the hill where Indian lives, he found his team could not draw his load; be came to Indian and got him to help him up with his oxen. After he had got up, he asked Indian what there was to pay. Indian told him to do as much for somebody else. Some time afterward, Indian wanted a canoe: he went up Shetucket river, found a tree, and made him one. When he got it done, he could not get it to the river. Accordingly he went to a man and offered him all the money he had if he would go and draw it to the river for him. The man said he would go. After getting it to the river, Indian offered to pay him. No," said the man, "don't you recollect so long ago helping a man up the hill by your house?" "Yes.' 'Well, I am the man: there, take your canoe, and go home." So I find it after many days. Submission to the Divine Will.-Mr Newton relates an anecdote of a very poor and aged woman, who ma nifested great submission to the will of God. She was one day attempting to cross the road in White-chapei, when a cart that was passing threw her down, and broke one of her thigh bones. She was carried into a house, and several persons expressed their kind concern on account of the accident; but she replied, "I thank you for your pity, but all is very well, and I hope I have not one bone in my body but is willing to be broken, if such be the Lord's will." Published by JOHN JOHNSTONE, at the Offices of the Scorr CHRISTIAN HERALD, 104, High Street, Edinburgh, and 19, Glassford Street, Glasgow; JAMES NISBET & Co., HAMILTON, ADire & Co., and R. GROOMBRIDGE, London; D. R. BLEAKLEY, Duben and W. M'COMB, Belfast; and sold by the Booksellers and Loc Agents in all the Towns and Parishes of Scotland; and in the principal Towns in England and Ireland. Subscribers in Edinburgh and Leith will have their copier delivered at their own residences regularly, by leaving their addresses with the Publisher, or with John Lindsay & Co., 7, South St. A drew Street. Subscribers in Glasgow will, in like manner. have their copies delivered, by leaving their addresses at the Publishing Office there, 19, Glassford Street. Subscription (payable in advance) per quarter, of twelve weeks 1s. 6d.-per half-year, of twenty-four weeks, 3s.-per year, of fortyeight weeks, 6s.-Monthly Parts, containing four Numbers each, stitched in a printed wrapper, Price Sixpence Printed at the Steam-Press of Ballantyne & Co., from the Stereotype Plates of Thomas Allan & Co. THE SCOTTISH CHRISTIAN HERALD, CONDUCTED UNDER THE SUPERINTENDENCE OF MINISTERS AND MEMBERS OF THE ESTABLISHED CHURCH. "THE FEAR OF THE LORD, THAT IS WISDOM." VOL. I. No. 31. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1836. HINTS ON SPIRITUAL DEPRESSION. No. IV. BY THE REV. WILLIAM MUIR, D. D., Minister of St. Stephen's Parish, Edinburgh. REVEALED religion, in determining the value of objects, gives an estimate of them which multitudes deem extravagant and even groundless. The favour of God, for instance, is estimated by revealed religion as "better than life." Nothing is to be preferred to its possession. Whatever can be named of good is freely to be surrendered in exchange for it. And having it, the soul, though destitute of all besides, has still a portion -an enduring portion. The anger of God is consequently more to be feared than death. It is the greatest evil. No suffering inflicted by any creature is once to be compared with it. And for escaping its eternal miseries, the choice of wisdom would lead us rather to meet all temporal ills. PRICE 14d. Lord." The prayer of the suppliant is urgent, as the feeling of his necessity is extreme. Human aid does not, cannot reach these " depths." The divine hand alone can save the soul that welters in them. "Lord, hear my voice." The prayer is redoubled: "And let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.' This earnestness marks "the depths" of the spiritual depression. Vehement repetition is the character of earnestness in prayer. The earnest suppliant, instead of merely stating his wants and desisting from his suit, offers entreaty on entreaty. Even the statement of his wants may not be required for unfolding his destitution: neither may his obtaining of relief depend on the urgency of his applications. Both observance of his wants and pity for them may be in exercise previous to his uttering a word of lamentation or request. Yet still feeling so poignantly the circumstances of his destitution, he cannot forbear the recital of This estimate is recognised, with particular im- them, nor, till his petition be answered, desist from pressiveness, in the confessions and prayers of the offering it. Earnestness gives utterance. "Lord, penitential mourners, whose sentiments are re- hear my voice," this is a sudden and vehement corded in the Scriptures. They manifest intense burst of prayer from the depressed mind,-an grief at the thought of living and dying unfor- ejaculation darted "out of the depths," towards given. They express a dreadful sense of the divine the power and mercy. which alone can redeem. anger, as due to sin. And occasional apprehensions" Let thine ear be attentive to the voice of my of it sink them into what they describe as "the depths," in which they are overwhelmed, whence they send up the cry of vehement petitioning, and where they cease not to raise the voice of importunate supplication, till "the good hope through grace" brings them deliverance. But all this appears to multitudes the mere exaggeration of a morbid sensibility. The language is to them enthusiastic. The mental emotion is the cause or effect, in their opinion, of a disordered understanding. In delineating the states of mind under religious experience there is the description both of sorrow and joy given. But multitudes, looking at the picture, declare at once that equally the dark and the bright in it are unnatural or false. If the mind, however, be duly affected by the view of sin and its consequences, the language and working of sensibility, though marked with the deepest anxiety and distress, are natural and just. "Ont of the depths have I cried unto thee, O supplications," the doubling of the entreaty ascer- ness. Penalties are inseparably annexed to the transgression of these. A judicial procedure is advancing continually towards the grand consummation which shall manifest the rectitude of deity. No transgression escapes the eye of the supreme power. For He whose laws are violated by sin, is every where present, and conversant minutely | with every thing. No offender can elude the arm of infinite justice. For who may flee from the spirit, or resist the power of God? The remembrance, then, of transgressions of the divine laws, transgressions of their letter and their spirit, the thought of the corrupted source in the heart from which these transgressions have originated,—the thought that all were done against the clearest light, and in resistance to the most powerful motives of duty,-that all arose in the presence of the divine purity, and are fresh in the book of the divine knowledge, that all are objects of infinite aversion to the God of holiness and love, the thought of having so ill requited the most bountiful of benefactors, rebelled against the highest of sovereigns, disobeyed the most gracious of parents, these thoughts become the means of overwhelming the soul and casting it into "the depths," the depths of shame, and remorse, and grief, and fear. And ever as personal history is reviewed, this exclamation is drawn from the conviction of the utter hopelessness of every personal claim for salvation; "If thou shouldst mark iniquity, who, O Lord, should stand?" Whither am I to turn for help? Whence am I to receive deliverance? Shall I try to encourage hope by lessening my apprehension of the divine holiness, and the sanctity of the divine law; by magnifying the strength of temptations, or diminishing the pollution and guilt of sin? How vain an expedient for gaining safety! It is that scheme of truth only which exhibits the law of God in its whole force, and sin in every degree of its native heinousness, and yet provides for the salvation of the chief of sinners, which brings peace to the troubled heart." There is forgiveness with thee." This reaches to the penitent in "the depths." "There is forgiveness with thee." But never is this to occasion presumption, or betray into sinful carelessness. Having been raised out of the distress and anxiety into which conscious guilt had cast me, shall I again willingly subject myself to the same condemnation? Having been made the object of redeeming mercy, shall I hasten to exemplify the disingenuousness and madness of abusing the riches of such mercy? Religious gratitude and trust are inseparable from reverence of God and holy dread of offending him,—are inseparable from serious consideration and humble watchfulness in all the duties of piety and grace. "There is forgiveness with thee that thou mayst be feared." Whence comes so blessed a persuasion, the persuasion of forgiveness? "In his Word do I hope." He has revealed the plan of salvation. His mercy is sanctioned by his righteousness, and both are glorified in the deliverance of perishing sinners. He tells me to "return and live." He proclaims the blessings of redemption, and bids me come and take them," without money and without price." He condescends in his Word even to "beseech me to be reconciled to himself." "I wait, then, for the Lord. My soul doth wait. And in his word do I hope." And however deep were still the spiritual depression which thoughts of unworthiness and of the holy displeasure that is due to sin might occasion, yet, resting in his word of forgiveness, who should not be comforted and gladdened? "Let Israel hope in the Lord. For with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all iniquities." In all this, the greatest source of consolation i laid open. And, observing those views of sin and its fatal consequences by which the soul of the penitent is affected, no less a source of consolation can give forth the needed relief. If there were superficial views of the evil of sin, the degree of sorrow would be small, while the very quality of the sorrow would be defective; and hence, the means of relief be slight and temporary. But the source of consolation, though great, is not more so than is measured by the sorrow. For this has increased with the increased apprehension of sin and its effects. Here we learn, therefore, the true cause why, in the history of spiritual depression and the rescue from it, the whole narrative is deemed by multitudes a tissue of extravagancies. The cause why they regard the dark equally with the bright side of their presentation as the result of false conception is simply this: that in observing the joys and sorrows of the religious man, they do not consider how the ruling principles of his character lead him to determine the value of every thing by the estimate which revealed religion gives him; and that, consequently, he esteems the divine favour as "better than life." It is the idea of God, his Creator and Saviour, that holds the attractive place in his soul. Around this, his thoughts, and desires, and affections move. And whatever be his earthly possessions, none of them are grateful, unless they are connected with the divine favour as the richest of his treasures. All, accordingly, who do not perceive the nature of his spiritual delights, must be ignorant of what occasions the bitterness of his spiritual afflictions. which interrupts or destroys his persuasion of the divine favour, is the consciousness of sin; and the estimate he is led to form of the divine favour, is what measures the sorrow experienced under this consciousness. Is it not naturally be cause he desires and aims after friendship with God as the source of his purest joys, that he is overwhelmed by the consciousness of sin as re moving the assurance of divine favour, and thus opening a passage for those floods of grief and anxiety that sink him in the depths? But ignorance of the principles on which his mind is formed will attach the charge of extravagance to his character, and turn his language both of depression and hope into the mere diction of enthusiasm. It is that dangerous ignorance which causes multitudes to wonder at his supposed folly, though he is "wise unto salvation;" and to con gratulate themselves on their supposed wisdom that has kept them from superstitious lears, That |