of Thessalonica, in that they searched the Scriptures daily," Acts xvii. 11. "From a child thou hast known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation," 2 Tim. iii. 15. In John's first epistle (ii. 13), he writes, "To fathers, to young men, and to children," and who dare hinder those from reading what is addressed to them by Jehovah? cup POPE FORBIDS: To give the to the people. "The sacrament is to be administered in one kind only, and that the people are not to have the cup."-Council of Trent, Session 21. GOD COMMANDS: "Jesus took bread and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat, this is my body. And he took the cup and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it," Matt. xxvi. 26, 27. "And they all drank of it," Mark xiv. 23. "Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup," 1 Cor. xi. 28. POPE FORBIDS: To allow the clergy to marry. "That the clergy may not marry; and that marriage to them is pollution."-Council of Trent, Session 24. GOD COMMANDS: "The high priest shall take a wife in her virginity," Lev. xxi. 13. "A bishop" (the same in Scripture as a presbyter or elder)" must be the husband of one wife," 1 Tim. iii. 2. "Let deacons be the husbands of one wife," 1 Tim. iii. 12. "Marriage is honourable in all," Heb. xiii. 4. The evangelists, Peter and Philip, were married (Mark i. 30; Acts xxi. 9). POPE FORBIDS: To eat certain meats. To abstain from flesh, butter, etc., on Friday, Saturday, Ember weeks, Vigils, and the whole of Lent, on pain of mortal sin! GOD COMMANDS: "Let no man therefore judge you in meat or in drink, or in respect of an holiday," Col. ii. 16. "Meat commendeth us not to God, for neither if we eat are we the better, neither if we eat not are we the worse," 1 Cor. viii. 8. "Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth the man, but that which cometh out of the mouth, proceeding from the heart, as evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornication, thefts, false witness, blasphemies, these are the things which defile the man,” Matt. xv. Î1—20. Nor does the Pope, that "man of sin," think it enough to forbid the people to read the Bible, but, with most unhallowed daring, mangles it to suit his own superstitious and souldestroying system. The following is his edition of the ten commandments, published at Rome in 1829: 1. I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt not have another God before me. 2. Not to take the name of God in vain. 3. Remember to sanctify the feast days. 4. Honour thy father and mother. 6. Not to commit fornication. 8. Not to give false testimony. 9. Not to desire thy neighbour's wife. 10. Not to desire the property of another. Thus he throws out the second commandment entirely, as it condemns his whole system of idolatry. Instead of the fourth, he inserts one of his own; and to keep up the number, he divides the tenth into two. In Britain, and other Protestant countries, these mutilations are cunningly dispensed with, lest they should shock and prejudice the minds of Protestants. There, too, for the same reason, the reading of the Bible is commonly winked at. Now, is it possible that any man | laws of God's appointment? Why can reflect on the above contrast, and compare it with the words of the prophet, "He shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws," Dan. vii. 25; and the words of the inspired apostles, "That man of sin shall be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple" (church) "of God, showing himself that he is God," 2 Thess. ii. 3, 4. "In the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits" (teachers), "and doctrines of devils" (demons, i.e., spirits of dead persons), "speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot iron. Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God created to be received with thanksgiving," 1 Tim. iv. 1-3. Who, I say, cannot see clearly that the Pope is that "man of sin" who exalteth himself so high as to change the times and does he do so? Just for "filthy lucre's sake." See Titus i. 11. By "speaking lies in hypocrisy to the carnal mind "-the corruption of our fallen nature, his cunning invention of the mass and purgatory, have opened to him and his priests a rich mine, and procured for them despotic power over their slave-degraded dupes. May the Divine Spirit open the eyes of all to see the unholy nature of that system which so dishonours God, opposes his word, deprives men of civil and religious liberty, and makes merchandize of their precious souls. And, oh! may the same blessed Spirit savingly convince us all of that truth-to fallen man the most important of all truths-that by the deeds of the moral law no flesh can be justified, much less by the deeds of Popish law, which not only connives at sin, but even recommends idolatry. No! a man is justified by faith in Christ without the deeds of the law, even by that faith which worketh by love (Rom. iii. 28; Gal. v. 6).—A Stirling Tract. The Letter Box. WHITEFIELD AND HOOKER. THE ministers of Northampton, | favourable state of mind for such New England, from the days of measures. A statement has been Edwards-that is, for a hundred and twenty years have been devoted friends of revivals, and accustomed to put forth special efforts to promote the revival of religion whenever there appeared indications of a put forth lately, implying that under the successor of President Edwards, the labours of Mr. Whitefield were rejected from Northampton. In full proof of the incorrectness of this representation, and of the cordiality 298 of Mr. Hooker towards that great itinerant, I am happy to be able to give a copy of a letter written by Mr. Whitefield only a few weeks before his decease, announcing that his growing weakness compelled him to decline an invitation to visit Northampton in his course. The tone of the reply proves that the invitation must have been a cordial one, and that the kindest feelings existed between the pastor and the evangelist. The letter has never been published, and, I think, has never been copied before. It was kept by Mrs. Hooker as a precious relic during her long and exemplary widowhood, and was given by her to her oldest grandchild, by whose permission it is now transcribed for the press. It is valuable also as an exhibition of the simplicity and childlikeness of Whitefield's piety. I have followed the copy exactly, including the abbreviations and the apparent slip of the pen in the repetition of the word "begin." *** [COPY.] "Revd. and Dear Sr. "To my no small mortification I am constrained to acquaint you that I fear my way will not be clear to come to Northampton-my wings are clipp'd-I can now scarce creep-I groan in this Tabernacle being burden'dbut I do not repent of Itinerating Oh how gladly would I begin to begin to range again!-But I can do little besides wishing well to you and all that preach Xt Jesus, whether stated or Itinerant-You have a good name-may you in every respect outshine all the preceding Hookers! | -Like them you will then after death be translated to shine like the stars in the firmament for ever and ever in the Kingdom of HeavenThrough, rich, free, and sovereign grace, One who is less than the least of all, hopes ere long to join the blissful throng-You will not cease to pray for Him-His preheminer.ce demands this, for he is the chief of sinners; but through Him who came to seek and to save such, Revd. and very Dr. Sr. "Your affec: Brother and "Fellow Laborer, "GEORGE WHITEFIELD." "To The Revrd. Mr. Hooker, "at Northampton." ANECDOTES OF DR. PAYSON. SOME preachers have a delightful faculty of illustrating truth, whether in the pulpit or in pastoral labours, by means of happy or appropriate suppositions, employed by way of simile or comparison. The late eloquent and heavenly-minded Dr. Payson possessed this faculty in an eminent degree, and often used it with the most delightful results in his faithful and affectionate ministrations. Those who are familiar with the history and writings of this holy man, will immediately call to mind a variety of instances. One or two specimens will suffice for our present purpose : 66 Suppose," says Dr. Payson, "you wished to separate a quantity of brass and steel filings, mixed together in one vessel, how would you effect the separation? Apply a loadstone, and immediately every its mother's face, so as to be recalled to the recollection that it is in its mother's arms; and suppose that always, at such a time, it should smile faintly with evident pleasure to find where it was. Should you doubt whether that child loved its mother or not?" The application of the comparison, though not expressed, was easily made by the afflicted sufferer, and we are not surprised to hear that her doubts and despondency were gone in a moment. particle of iron will attach itself to it, while the brass filings remain behind. Thus, if we see a company of true and false professors of religion, we may not be able to distinguish between them; but let Christ come among them, and all his sincere followers will be attracted towards him, as the steel is drawn to the magnet, while those who have none of his spirit will remain at a distance." Is it possible, I ask, to conceive of any other form or figure of speech by which the exact idea in the mind of the speaker could have been more accurately or more forcibly conveyed to the mind of the hearer? If the object of true eloquence be, as has sometimes been said, "the imparting to others the emotions with which we ourselves are agitated," then, certainly, comparisons like the above must be a powerful aid to the orator, in the performance of his task. Nor was Dr. Payson less happy in the chamber of sickness, or the dwellings of sorrow, in the employment of these illustrations for the solace of the disconsolate or the bereaved. 66 Suppose," said he, on one occasion, to a Christian sufferer, who was almost in despair, because the influence of her bodily agonies so distracted her mind as to prevent her concentrating her thoughts on the Saviour as she wished; "suppose you were to see a sick child lying in its mother's lap, with its faculties impaired by its sufferings, so that it was generally in a troubled sleep; but now and then it just opens its eyes a little, and gets a glimpse of Equally happy was he on another occasion, so painfully familiar to every sympathising pastor- a visit to a weeping Rachel, refusing to be comforted for the loss of a beloved child. "Suppose now," said he, "some one was making a beautiful crown for you to wear, and that you knew it was for you, and that you were to receive it and wear it as soon as it should be done. Now if the maker of it were to come, and, in order to make the crown more beautiful and splendid, were to take some of your jewels to put into it, should you be sorrowful and unhappy, because they were taken away for a little while, when you knew they were gone to make up your crown?" The mother smiled through her tears at the thought that her jewel was taken from her but for a season, and said, in meek submission, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away, and blessed be the name of the Lord." Happy, thrice happy, will it be for that preacher who shall be able to combine, as well in the pulpit as in the parlour and the chamber of There is no book like the Bible for excellent wisdom, learning, and use.-Sir Matthew Hale. It is a matchless volume; it is impossible we can study it too much, or esteem it too highly.Hon. Robert Boyle. OPINIONS OF EMINENT MEN RESPECTING THE BIBLE. There is no book upon which we can rest in a dying moment but the Bible.-John Selden. There are no songs comparable to the songs of Zion; no orations equal to those of the prophets; and no To a person who asked that profound thinker, John Locke, which was the shortest and surest way for a young gentleman to attain to the true knowledge of the Christian religion, in the full and just extent of it, he replied, "Let him study the Holy Scriptures, especially the New Testament; therein are contained the words of eternal life. It hath God for its author; salvation for its end; and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter." I have carefully and regularly perused the Holy Scriptures, and am of opinion that the volume contains more sublimity, purer morality, more important history, and finer 2 |