No. VI. In the year of our Lord, 1788, or one hundred years after the revolution, a great meeting was convened to commemorate that event. Your friend was present, but feels himself unable to give an adequate description of the scene. The place of resort was Whittington, a village on the then main road between Chesterfield and Sheffield; the house to be visited was a small inn, called the Revolution House, and some thirteen or fourteen miles from the writer's birth-place. The house retained the form, height, and general appearance which it did a hundred years before, when it was said, three noblemen met in disguise, according to a pre-concerted plan, to contrive the most safe and advisable way of introducing the house of Hanover to the throne of these United Kingdoms. Providence smiled on their measures, and shortly after William the Third landed in the highly honoured port of Hull. This centenary meeting appeared to your correspondent a wonderful concern. It was numerously attended. Crowds were seen coming in all directions, and every description of vehicle at that time in use was in requisition. It had the approval of noblemen, right honourable baronets, esquires, country gentlemen, horsemen, and a very numerous train of pedestrians from all quarters. The passing stranger might ask why this vast assembly? The grand and first moving cause, what was it? It was the love of freedom; freedom not from imaginary ills, but really from the iron hand of persecution, of misrule, and intolerance, when tens of thousands were lodged in loathsome dungeons, for serving God according to the dictates of their consciences. One author, worthy of credit, has left it on record, that sixty thousand died in prison in the reign then drawing to a close! "What mists of providence are these?" The sensible, right-minded portion of this meeting were doing a kind of homage to the spot, where they stood, not for its own sake, but for the sake of deeds done on it a hundred years before. Few present at the Whittington meeting in 1788 are now alive. How many cannot be told; but it is certain the number is extremely limited, and could you take a near survey of them, they would exhibit a pitiable figure. The individual who writes would stand almost alone; and the little circle of his compeers, who have hitherto escaped the terror by night, and the arrow that flieth by day, ah! how changed in aspect; how unlike their former selves. What a disparity in figure, in energy, in strength, in comeliness, in speech, in vision, in hearing, in memory, and in the exercise of the powers and faculties in general. It has been remarked, that as every particular member of the body is nourished by a several qualified juice, so children and striplings, old men and young men, must have divers diets. There is one kind of diet, and one only which is suited to that part of man which is immortal. He who lacks it is a fool, though the world may esteem him wise. There are "cracks and wrinkles" of the mind; these must be cured and made whole. This work must be accomplished by the balmy influence of the blood of Christ. "This remedy did wisdom find, and it is received by faith. Lord Jesus Christ, and thou "The hoary head is a crown "Believe in the shalt be saved." Believe, and enter into rest. of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness." THE FUTURE. "BOAST not thyself of to-morrow"-is a precept disregarded by him who prepares only to live, and not to die, on to-morrow. To take it for granted that you will die to-morrow, and to act as if it were certain, is equally presumptuous as to assume that you will live to-morrow, and to act accordingly. You may live through to-morrow. Then be prepared for it-prosecute your plans-pursue your business-be industrious and enterprising; but be not unmindful that there is another branch of the alternative. You may not live through to-morrow. Be prepared equally for that. I would have you equally prepared for to-morrow, whether it be a prolongation of time, or the beginning of eternity. It may be either. Are you prepared for it, whichever it be? To-morrow may introduce you into the presence of God, may close the account of life, may withdraw the offer of mercy, may cut short the opportunity of salvation. What if it should? Are you ready for that interview and that reckoning? Have you accepted the offer, and improved the opportunity? This day, whose hours are so rapidly passing away may be to you the last day of grace. The invitation which the Saviour now addresses to you, may be the last he will ever make. Shall this day, then, be wasted? Shall his invitation be refused? To-night the door may shut. Reader, would it shut you in or out for ever. AN ADVICE TO A YOUNG MINISTER. BY THE LATE REV. CHRISTMAS EVANS. I am an old man, my dear boy, and you are just entering the ministry. Let me now and here tell you one thing, and I commend it to your attention and memory. All the ministers that I have ever known, who have fallen into disgrace or into uselessness, have been idle men. I never am much afraid of a young minister, when I ascertain that he can, and does, fairly sit down to his book. There is Mr., of whom we were talking just now, a man of such unhappy temper, and who has loved for many years to meddle in all sorts of religious disputes and divisions; he would have long ago been utterly wrecked, had not his habits of industry saved him. He has stuck to his book, and that has kept him from many dishonours, which, had he been an idle man, must have by this time overwhelmed him. An idle man is in the way of every temptation; temptation has no need to seek him; he is at the corner of the street, ready and waiting for it. In the case of a minister of the Gospel, this peril is multiplied by his position, his neglected duties, the temptations peculiar to his condition, and his own superior susceptibility. Remember this-stick to your book. THE "LITTLE FOXES." "Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines for our vines have tender grapes.”—Cant. ii. 15. THE first risings of sinful thoughts and desires, and the beginning of trifling pursuits are like the little foxes, which if not taken, will spoil the vines. Trifling visits, which waste much time incur great expense, put the mind out of frame for devotion, and intrude on the hours that should be employed in meditation, self-examination, searching the Scripture, and secret prayer, are peculiarly injurious in this respect; and no good can arise from such unnecessary intercourse with worldly people, or with superficial professors, whose company is still more prejudicial. Specious deviations from the truth, which make a little allowance for the pride, avarice, vanity, or indolence of our hearts, and admit of some measure of conformity to the world, and to the discourse of those who are ever asking, What harm is there in this or that? or, What need of this or that measure of diligence? are little foxes, which spoil the vines, and which must be taken and removed out of the way, by private Christians and public teachers, who desire to be, or to see their people, fruitful branches of the living Vine. Even lawful and needful pursuits and recreations, when attended with excess or inexpediency, "choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful;" "for our vines have tender grapes."-Scott. REVIVALS. THE importance of powerful and immediate efforts to awaken the careless and hardened sinner to a sense of his tremendous danger, cannot be described. The final damnation of an immortal mind is an appalling event. The chains of depravity upon the impenitent minds around us are strong. Men will not be awakened without the Church of God puts on all her strength. There is danger, while we are discussing the agitating subjects of the present day, and are laying the foundations of institutions that are to stand and operate gloriously for ages, that we shall forget the immediate pressing necessities of the present generation of perishing sinners. The Christian knows by experience how mighty were the cords which once bound him in sin, and how ineffectual were his many resolutions of repentance. Can you not then, dear brother, feel for the poor, blinded, hardened, and perishing sinner with whom you daily associate. Be not deterred from doing your whole duty to your impenitent friends by any cry of those who are slumbering against your zeal and diligence. Do not stop to denounce your fellow Christians, for you have not time. You have a duty to perform, personal, immediate, all-important; and whatever others do, you cannot afford to delay. The obligation is upon you. You only can discharge it. Oh, what a multitude of converts would soon be gathered in if all the ministers and genuine Christians in our churches should set themselves to this noble work, by endeavouring to get souls away from the soul-destroying fascinations of the world, and lead them to Jesus Christ. We may be assured that God will bless such faithful exertions. Our duty is plainly before us; shall we not perform it? How horrible beyond all human description is the actual prospect of the great mass around us! When will the people of God act under a zealous sense of eternal realities? THE SABBATH. North Shields. Hail blessed Sabbath! holy rest, To ease the care-worn weary breast, Thy look is peace; thy breath is balm; Thy coming brings a heavenly calm, Amid thy stillness, humble prayer Shall undistracted rise; And grateful praise our voices bear, Oh Thou, who hast for man ordained May we, may all, aright observe T. SMITH. REVIEW. CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY EXPLAINED AND DEFENDED. BY WILLIAM Partridge and Oakey, and We do not know that there is a more useful or important service which men of competent abilities can render to the cause of evangelical truth, at the present moment, than to condense, popularize, and cheapen "Christian Theology." Time was when theology, properly so called, was read chiefly by divines and students; and the methods of teaching this subject were adapted only to the taste and comprehension of this limited class of men. To have divested theology, in these times of its technicalities, syllogisms, and fine-spun distinctions; to have written a chapter, or even a small number of sentences, without quotations which indicated a profound acquaintance with " the Fathers," would have been to jeoparidize an author's reputation for learning, and orthodoxy, and dialectical skill; and to consign his labours to the neglect or contempt of the learned. But things are very different now. Cheap publications, incessant public discussions, and the insidious and sleepless efforts of infidelity, have awakened a spirit of earnest and deep enquiry on theological questions, among large numbers of the people. Subjects which were formerly pondered over only in the closet, with devout and reverent attention, are now freely canvassed in the workshop. Themes which were once judged proper for the pulpit only, are now discussed in the debating room; and, even, by groups of people in the street. Young men have assumed the gravity and authority of reverend divines. The intelligent artizan mingles religious controversy with his toil, and metaphysics with his recreations. Every where there is a spirit of inquiry;-grave, pious, and sincere, in many instances; in many also, audacious and impious; but all around us it is earnest and determined. In such a state of things, there is much that calls for a tear, something that invites a smile, but more that inspires admiration and hope. The spirit cannot be repressed; how can we wish it to be? It must be met and satisfied. To accomplish this we must discard, not old truths, but old methods of teaching them We must consider the character and attainments of the greatest number of those we have to teach. They are not scholars so much as thinkers. And they are thinkers whose limited time, and wasted bodily energies, will not permit them to wade through endless chapters of common-place. They want as little learning as the subject will permit; and as much freshness, vigour, and originality, as the mind can throw into it. The doubts and objections, on religious subjects, which are associated with mere questions of history and criticism, are, we are convinced, few and feeble, compared with those which arise from the false deductions of reason. It is men's religious philosophy which is wrong. The medium which this philosophy furnishes, through which to view the great truths of Christianity, and the passions generated by it, are, in our judgment, the chief difficulties with which theologians have to grapple in the present day. It is not denied, for instance, by some infidels, that the sacred writers were inspired; but it is contended that every man is inspired who teaches a new truth, and that the successive developments of truth by this means N are equally worthy of our confidence, and must explain or modify discoveries which have been made to us through the medium of revelation. In this case, to prove the plenary inspiration of the scriptures is not sufficient; we must prove their exclusive claims to inspiration, a task which would involve many abstruse points of mental philosophy. And it would be easy to notice other facts, connected with the infidelity of our age, which would require analogous treatment. Hence, we again remark, that we do not know that men of competent abilities could render a greater service to the cause of truth than to furnish Christian Theology in such a form, as would have special reference to the fore-named classes of readers; to the sophisms and doubts to which they are peculiarly exposed; and which, while in style it should rival the luminous pages of Dwight, and in closeness of reasoning the masterly disquisitions of Watson, should be much more accessible and adapted to the generality of readers in its compass and price. To some considerable degree the work of Mr. Cooke before us, realizes our wishes in the points desiderated. We have previously expressed our approbation of its general character, as it was published in separate parts. And we intended, in the first instance, simply to notice this second edition in some such way as heretofore; but, we understand a more extended examination, and careful estimate of it are looked for, by several parties; and, lest it should seem disrespectful to the author, or any others, we proceed, in the spirit of candour, to attempt such an examination. The work was written, as is generally known, and as the author intimates in the preface, to counteract the baneful consequences of a semi-infidel agitation of the churches in the neighbourhood where the author resided. He states, that :: "On beholding the baneful consequences,-in the defection of multitudes of professing Christians, the havoc of churches, and the prevalence of sceptical principles, he felt himself, in duty bound, as one set for the defence of the Gospel, to issue a series of treatises on the fundamental doctrines of Christianity, adapted to counteract pernicious errors, and establish believers in the faith. Thus the work was originated, and was issued periodically, in small parts, to secure its more extended circulation. It will be seen, that the special object of the work determined, at first, the selection of topics, and greatly circumscribed the pen of the writer, especially on some subjects, which, under other circumstances, would have been treated with greater amplitude of argument and illustration." The entire work consists of eighteen tracts or treatises on the following subjects-The Province of Reason on subjects of Divine Revelation. The Inspiration and Divine Authority of the Holy Scriptures. The Holy Trinity. The Deity of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Personality and Godhead of the Holy Spirit. Reply to a Critique. The Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Original State of Man, and Human Depravity. The Atonement, part first. The Atonement, part second. Reprobation and Election. Justification by Faith. The Witness of the Holy Spirit. Regeneration. Entire Sanctification. Perfect Love. The Christian Ministry, and the Scriptural Obligations of Christians to its support. The Christian Sabbath. The considerations stated in our extract from the preface, must be kept in view by every reader of this work, otherwise a just opinion cannot be formed of its scope and value. It is not a complete system of theology, nor does it pretend to discuss all the subjects which it embraces as fully as they are usually treated in regular bodies of |