was justified by the unexpected sanction which his own opinion in favour of it received from Hugo Grotius*, or Tilenus? Or, whether the justification would have been more complete, had his lordship, in the spirit of some modern enthusiasts, made his Bible a book of divination, and opened it at the following passage, Publish, and conceal not?" Why then should he countenance, by his own conduct, a standard of judgment so unauthorized, and so liable to abuse, which may be employed to accredit equally the grossest absurdities, the most mischievous errors, or the most orthodox views of divine truth; to stamp with the fiat of Heaven the wildest designs of fanaticism, or the most judicious schemes of Christian piety and be nevolence?

But, to come to the more ordinary scenes of domestic life: a religions young woman (or widow, if you please) is addressed by a man, who, though his past life has been marked by a disregard of religion, has yet the art of making himself very agreeable. He contrives to persuade the infatuated woman, or rather she contrives to persuade herself, that her influence will be effectual to his conversion. She even doubts whether she may not be accessary to his ruin, by refusing the fair opportunity which their union would afford her of doing him good. A pious and discreet parent or guardian, how ever, forbids the match; and she has too much principle remaining not to submit to such a decision. But she submits with reluctance, deeming the opposition of her wishes to be a species of persecution; and hopes and prays for some opening in Providence, which may put it in her power to follow the bent of her inclinations. The parent or the guardian dies. The will of Providence is

I cannot help remarking, that the fact related by Lord Herbert respecting Grotius, has a melancholy tendency to add credit to the representations of M. Arnaud, as to the Socinianism, if not Deism, of the latter years at least of this eminent civilian.

sufficiently indicated by the opportune removal of the only obstacle to her happiness. In an evil hour she weds the man of her choice, and finds, when too late, that she has exchanged the mild and salutary restraint of parental authority, for real and unceasing persecution for life.

But the application of Lord Herbert's method of arriving at the will of God, is not confined to such particulars of conduct as I have mentioned. No one can be well read in the periodical works, biographical journals, accounts of experiences, &c. &c. proceeding from certain classes of religionists, without having met with many instances where a sign from Heaven has been sought, as the grand mark of conversion,and of acceptance with God through Christ; and having been sought under circumstances peculiarly favourable to the production of strong impressions on the fancy, it has, in the opinion of the applicants, been obtained; and has ever after been referred to by them as a decisive proof of their having "passed from death unto life." I could produce innumerable instances to this effect, if I did not fear to extend my paper, already too long, beyond the bounds of toleration: instances, I mean, of persons, who, instead of being content to proceed in the appointed way of repentance, faith. and holiness, to the attainment of heavenly comfort and a good hope through grace, have set themselves, with all their faculties intent on this one object, and all their affections roused to the highest pitch of emotion, to watch for a sign from Heaven," which should assure them of the pardon of their sins, and their justification in Christ. And in such cases it seldom happens that the sign is not obtained. Some voice is heard, or some sight is seen, or some dream is dreamed, or some new and strange sensation is felt, which is accepted forms the ground of future peace. as the testimony of Heaven, and· Now I must here again not be misunderstood as meaning to intimate that many of the individuals who

are tainted with this error, may not be very excellent and holy persons, influenced in the main of their conduct by the love of God and of their neighbour. Still I must object to their deducing the proof of their conversion, not from the abiding principle of Christian love shed abroad in their hearts, but from so unauthorized a criterion as that to which they choose to refer it. And even if this be only produced as a supplemental test, my objection to it is but little diminished. It is still a false and unsafe test, having no warrant in Scripture, and big with consequences of the most injurious kind. On this subject I most entirely agree with a luminous divine of the present day, the Rev. Thomas Scott, with an extract from whose Essay on Regeneration (the whole of which I recommend to the diligent perusal of my readers) I shall close this paper. Regeneration," says this sensible writer, "does not mean any kind of impressions or new revelations, any succession of terrors and consolations, or any whispers, as it were, from God to the heart, concerning his secret love, choice, or purpose to save a man. Many such experiences have been declared by those who continued slaves to their sins; and Satan, transformed into an angel of light, hath done immense mischief in this way. Some of these things, indeed (such as terror, and consolation succeeding to it), commonly accompany a saving change; others, which are evidently enthusiastic, may, nevertheless, be found in the case of some who are really born of God; yet they are neither regeneration itself, nor any effect or evidence of it, but rather a disgraceful and injurious appendage to it, arising from human infirmity and the devices of Satan." I am, &c.

S.

To the Editor of the Christian Observer. I PERCEIVE with pleasure, that the practice of denying one's-self to a visitor, by the false declaration of

not being at home," is now under consideration, in your truly valuable pages; for I can have no doubt but it will terminate in the explosion of a measure so very palpably deceit. ful and unlawful.

The letters of Sophronia and V., in your last number, appear to me to contain every argument which can bear in its favour; and they are evidently inadequate to its defence; as they refer, almost entirely, but to the first part of a question which has two branches, differing only in the magnitude of their evil; for, in the first place, the master who com mands his servant to deny him, is not merely the primary cause of the deceit, but adds to his fault, by enticing or compelling another to be. come his agent, and consequently his accessary; which agent, in the second place, becomes, in an inferior degree, implicated in the falsehood; and language must have lost its meaning, if any other title can be affixed to it; for to affirm one thing, when it is known that the contrary is the truth, can certainly be nothing less; nor can any motive authorize man" to do evil, that good may come."

I should be very sorry to advance a harsh proposition unnecessarily; but certainly, if we refer to the source of this practice, there is a strong suspicion that it may originate in a desire which but too much, and, alas! too speciously, invades the human heart, that of serving "God and Mammon." We cannot but be sensible of the neces sity of redeeming the time," and therefore of guarding against frivolous interruptions; but we have not the frankness, the courage, to avow our persuasion, and thus seek a middle path, through which we hope not only to escape our unpleasant visitors, but also the opprobrium, which must ever attach to those who

world's reproach for their Redeemer's go without the camp," bearing the sake.

Your correspondent V. has very plausibly introduced an agreement,

which he supposes to be tacitly entered into, by the two contracting parties, at the formation of a new acquaintance, and the interchange of a general invitation. But I can admit no contract to be valid, which is not fairly expressed in plain and honest language. No mental reservation, no hidden, implied meaning, can, in my opinion, sanction a perversion of language. Truth, not only in the word but in the inward parts, is essential to the conduct of a Christian; and the character of no one can be justly dignified with the title of consistent, who shelters himself from any inconvenience by the aid of equivocation.

The same arguments which are adduced in favour of this practice will equally adapt themselves to the defence of the iniquitous method of neutralising belligerent vessels. A gentleman, for the sake of retirement-a good motive-commands his servant to deny his being at home-a bad means: a merchant, the owner of a ship, in order to preserve his property-also a good motive-induces a neutral to swear that it is his own possession-also a bad and disgraceful means to obtain a desirable end. And there is no es sential difference in the two cases; for the word of a Christian should be equivalent to the oath of an unbeliever; and the agent is, in both cases, the self-lent or voluntary machine of the principal.

I cannot see that any fair objection can stand, against a servant's saying, "My master is engaged." The engagement may be trifling, perhaps very trifling, but if it be an engage ment at all, it is a lawful apology. The gentleman may, very likely, prefer picking his teeth," in indolent vacuity of thought," to suffering the society of "the wild, the pert, or the gay;" and, consequently, wasting time in idle, or perhaps worse than unprofitable, conversation. And unless there is a probability of his being useful to them, I would not say that he is to blame; at all events, that is a matter of

doubt and choice; and we are not at liberty to erect ourselves as judges in so obscure a cause.

That it is the positive duty of servants to refuse such a compliance with the wishes of their superiors, is to me clear and indisputable; but, I fear, notwithstanding the case quoted by Sophronia, that six or seven at least, out of ten, would pay for their adherence to truth by the sacrifice of their situations. But let those who assume so great a power over the consciences of their do-mestics, think seriously of the high responsibility which attaches to them in consequence of it. Servants, and particularly religious servants, I am persuaded, often suffer severely in their minds, from the effects of the fear of man; and masters are justly chargeable with a large proportion of the guilt they incur by their means. But it is not the lot of servants only, neither is the evil confined to morning-visits: it extends to professions and trades of all degrees; and pupils, clerks, and apprentices, share in the danger, and but too frequently in the commission.

I am myself, Mr. Editor, deeply interested in this controversy; and that from having been a sufferer by the very evil I am now endeavouring to expose. When I was young, I was articled to a gentleman engaged in one of the learned professions; and being of a timid character, and in some measure dependent upon my principal, I for a long time underwent the severest trials, through indecision as to which method to pursue: the state of my mind, at that period, I look back upon with horror; till at length I was enabled to resist, and resolutely to refuse the disgraceful office; but the recollection of my mental conflict is yet vivid in my memory; and the heart-felt grief which I have known it to occasion in several of my juvenile companions, young gentlemen in similar situations with myself, urges me to bear my testimony against it, and to press into

the middle of the debate, in order that nothing may be wanting on my side to preserve others from suffering like sorrows with ourselves.

Upon the whole, Mr. Editor, I am persuaded that those who value truth, and pay any regard to the Apostle's exhortation, to avoid, not

merely evil, but the very appear ance of it, will, on reflection, join me in opinion, that this practice is deceitful and cowardly, dishonourable to the principal, injurious to the agent, and criminal in both. I am, &c. X.

A Discourse occasioned by the Death of Mrs. Elizabeth Prowse, late of Wicken Park, Northamptonshire; delivered in Substance at Fulham Church, on Sunday, March 4, 1810. By the Rev. JOHN OWEN, M. A. Rector of Paglesham, Essex, and Curate and Lecturer of Fulham. London: Hatchard. 1810. pp. 22. We are sorry that this sermon should have been so long unobserved by us; for it is precisely that species of publication which best suits the purposes of a reviewer, enabling him to supply an attractive article at a small expense of time and thought. It is also well adapted to the peculiar purposes of the Christian Observer: it is plain and practical, as well as interesting; serving to draw men off from worldly vanities and controversial asperities, to "consider their latter end;" and placing before them a bright example of the power of divine faith in ennobling the human character, and refining and exalting the pleasures of life. We will not say that none can read this discourse without being better; but we will venture to say that none can read it without feeling a wish to resemble the beautiful, and we believe faithful, portrait which is here given of Mrs. Elizabeth Prowse.

This lady was the sister of the well-known and justly venerated Mr. Granville Sharp; and she appears to have partaken largely of all

those estimable qualities by which her brother is so eminently distinguished." She had the happiness," observes Mr. Owen, "to be born of parents who considered a religious education the highest species of accomplishment with which their children could be furnished, and the most valuable patrimony with which they could be endowed. Her father united, in an eminent degree, the best qualifications both of a parent and a pastor. Her mother was distinguished by a correspondent excellence, both of mind and heart; and discharged her portion of the parental duties with a more than or dinary exercise of piety and judg ment. Thus mutually agreed, they imbued their offspring, from the very earliest years, with wholesome instruction; and trained them up, with exemplary diligence, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. With what success this holy discipline was crowned, in the case of the deceased, will be seen in that character which we are hereafter to unfold. What effects it produced ou the other members of this family, may be sufficiently inferred from that conduct which has rendered them, in different degrees, the ob jects of public estimation as well as private regard, and given to their very name a proverbial connection with piety and beneficence. I lay the more stress on this part of my subject, because I trust that the facts to which I advert, will be considered

as lending additional confirmation to all that has been advanced on behalf of religious instruction in early life; and that parents and guardians, and all who are concerned in the superintendence of children, will see in them a distinct verification of that Scripture oracle-Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.' "It was not till nearly the middle period of life, that the amiable person whom we are now commemorating, entered into the matrimonial estate; and the shortness of its duration, viewed in connection with the influence which it had on her future circumstances and character, lead us to resolve into special purposes of Divine Providence, both the formation of that union and its speedy dissolution. For scarcely had she been made a wife, before she became a widow; and derived by inheritance a property, which rendered her the independent mistress of a considerable domain, comprehending (with very little exception) the tenantry and population of an entire parish. It is in this situation that we are to observe her, unfolding those various virtues, which rendered her, for more than forty years, an ornament to religion, a source of inexpressible comfort to her connections, and an instrument of incalculable usefulness to that district over which she presided.

"She considered the property with which God had entrusted her, as a loan which would hereafter be required at her hands with interest. Under this impression-an impression, with which property, in all its degrees, should ever be accompanied --she studied the duties attached to her condition with the most conscientious exactness; and I very much doubt whether, in the great Day of Account, a more diligent and faithful steward will be found among those servants, who shall enter into the joy of their Lord."

"If we examine her conduct, we shall find, that it was her principle and her practice, and that in the

largest and most scriptural sense, to do justly. Her conceptions of justice, as a religious obligation, were founded, not on the narrow and formal estimate of crooked policy, but on the broad and spiritual dictates of the Word of God. The truth and uprightness which she cultivated and exercised, were such as reside in the inward parts, and such as approve themselves to Him that searcheth the heart. In this, as in other branches of duty, she appeared to set the Lord always before her; and never to forget that she was performing in fact her duty to God, while she seemed to be doing it only towards her neighbour. And hence it was obvious, that, in conducting those affairs which involve the observance of justice and good faith between man and man, she made it her object to do justly, and that in the most minute particulars, whatever temptation from opportunity or precedent existed to the contrary. There are many transactions be tween superiors and inferiors, which bring this virtue completely to the test. Many circumstances arise in the formation and renewal of covenants and engagements between landlord and tenant, employer and labourer, master and servant, of which the former in each case may take an advantage, and, in the estimation of the world, a fair advantage too; and this is perhaps the field of trial, in which justice is put to the severest exercise. It was in this field of trial, that the principles which actuated our venerable friend enabled her to appear with peculiar advantage. For, in the various dealings which she had to maintain with her dependents of every description, she entered most minutely and tenderly into their several circumstances; considered most scrupulously, what was due to their feelings, as well as their finances; and seemed chiefly, if not only, apprehensive, lest, in balancing her own claims against those of her fellow-creatures, self-love should turn the scale in her favour. Nor was this important