of God, so as to be moulded into a conformity with his In the EPISTLE (which, as well as the Gospel, was changed by Edward VI.) St. Paul aims at lowering the pride of the Jews, who gloried in their circumcision, and who fancied that in possessing that rite they monopolised all excellence, by shewing that Abraham was justified, both before he was circumcised, and before the giving of the law. It was after Abraham's justification by faith had rested upon him for several years, that God, to confirm his faith, was pleased to appoint a sealing ordinance; "he received the sign of circumcision:" a sign of that original corruption which we are all born with, and which is cut off by that spiritual circumcision of which the fleshly was an emblem. Now, the spiritual circumcision Abraham had long ago received; for he had long "received this testimony, that he pleased God." It is impossible to conceive any argument stronger than this to prove that the sign and the thing signified are separable things; for Abraham had the thing signified long before he had the sign. But Abraham was justified also before the giving of the law. "The promise that he should be the heir of the world was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law; but through the righteousness of faith." The law was not yet given; and yet Abraham was justified when he believed God; and in the fulness of his faith went forth, "not knowing whither he went." How plainly does this again teach us, that "uncircumcision is nothing, and circumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God!" The GOSPEL relates the history of Christ's circumcision. It is impossible to read of our blessed Saviour's submitting to this ordinance, without wondering at his condescension at thus becoming "obedient to the law for man." He needed not this rite for himself; it could convey to him no privilege, nor be the symbol of any spiritual grace that was to be wrought in him. "For us men and our salvation" did he submit to this ordinance. In this act of submission, Christ owned himself of the seed of Abraham, and of that nation, of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came, who was to take on him the seed of Abraham. He also, by being circumcised, set his hand to the whole law; for that law, to which we were debtors, having nothing to pay, Christ hereby made himself answerable, and undertook its payment as our surety. But, by this act, submitted to in his infancy, Christ put his sanction and honour upon the practice of dedicating the infant seed of the Church of God by that ordinance which is the instituted seal of the covenant. Such was circumcision; such is baptism. Christ's being circumcised when he was eight days old, is a * Cooper's Practical Sermons, vol. vii. Serm. 4. much stronger argument for dedicating the children of believers to God by baptism in their infancy, than his being baptised at thirty years old is an argument for baptism being deferred until the children of Christian parents are grown up. THE EPIPHANY, 6th January. "The Church celebrates this feast to shew our gratitude to God in manifesting (the word Epiphany, in Greek, signifying 'manifestation,') the gospel to the Gentile world, and vouchsafing to them equal privileges with the Jews, who had been all along his peculiar people. The first instance of this divine favour was in declaring the birth of Christ to the wise men of the East. The ancient Church called this feast' Epiphaneia; and it was the common name for this and for Christmas-day. And, as that was the greater, this was the lesser Epiphany. This festival was observed in the time of Nazianzen, whose sermon upon the holy lights' is upon this day. Epiphanius and Chrysostom have likewise sermons upon it. St. Austin, in his time, speaks of it as universally celebrated by the Catholic Church, and neglected by none but the schismatical Donatists."* "This feast is called in Latin Epiphaniæ, epiphanies, in the plural; because, upon this day, we celebrate three glorious apparitions or manifestations, all which are said to have happened upon the same day, though not of the same year. The first manifestation was of the star, mentioned in the gospel, the Gentiles' guide to Christ. The second Epiphany was of the glorious Trinity at the baptism of Christ, mentioned in the second lesson at morning prayer, Luke, iii. 22. The third was of Christ's glory or divinity, by the miracle of turning water into wine, mentioned in the second lesson at evening prayer, John, ii." + The COLLECT is taken from Gregory's Sacramentary, and is therefore as old as A.D. 590. It will be seen that our own is very nearly an exact translation of the original Latin form. "O God, who, by the leading of a star, didst, on this day, manifest thy onlybegotten to the Gentiles; mercifully grant, that we, which know thee now by faith, may hereafter arrive at the contemplation of the glory of thy majesty: through the same." "The EPISTLE for the day (which was changed by Edward VI. instead of a passage out of Isaiah) declares to us the great mystery of godliness,' how 'God manifest in the flesh,' who was first preached to the Jews only, was afterwards manifested to the Gentiles also, and thereby preached and believed on in the world. God now makes no distinction between Jew and Gentile, for they are all one in Christ Jesus. He came first, indeed, to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,' whom he gathered into his fold, and made them his own peculiar; but he had other sheep (he tells us) that belonged not to this fold, meaning the Gentiles; them, also, he brought in, that there might be one fold, and one flock, under the great Shepherd and Bishop of our souls. Hence he is said to be a light to lighten the Gentiles, as well as the glory of his people Israel.'"‡ How much are we interested in the revelation of * Dr. Nicholls. + Bishop Sparrow. Dr. Hole. Christ to the Gentiles! We are a part of the nations, which, in times past, were foreigners and strangers, and lived in gross idolatry; but we are now, at all events nationally, called out of darkness into the marvellous light of the Gospel. Let us see to it, that we are so personally; let us "take heed that the light that is in" the midst of "us be not darkness;" for if so, encircled with so much light, "how great must be that darkness!" The GOSPEL gives the history of the visit paid by the wise men from the East to the infant Saviour. In their country, which was to the east of Judea, an extraordinary star had been seen. This star they took to be an indication of an extraordinary person born in the land of Judea, over which this star was seen to hover, in the nature of a comet, or rather, a meteor, in the lower regions of the air. The phenomenon was so uncommon, that they concluded it to signify something equally uncommon. Probably "they were made to understand, by some convincing intimation, that this was the fulfilment of an ancient prophecy, which had declared that a star should come out of Jacob, and a sceptre rise out of Israel.' So they journeyed from their own country to Jerusalem; and, on coming thither, inquired, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the East, and are come to worship him.' They left their homes, their country; they were not deterred by a wearisome journey; they made diligent inquiry from those who were most able to furnish them with information; in short, they did not desist from their search till they had reached the place where the young child was.' This strongly represents unto us the manner in which the light of divine truth often breaks upon the mind, and leads onward to the way of salvation. Men in this Christian country are bred up in the knowledge that an offer of eternal happiness has been proclaimed, in which they have a near interest. Their early education; the creeds and catechisms which they learn in their infancy; the truths explained in the services of the Church; the word of God, which is within their reach; all these are as a star before them to lead them in the way in which they should go. Some, I grieve to say, take little heed of the light which shines for their use. It may be, they think, very necessary for others; it might be, perhaps, very beneficial to themselves: but they have other more pressing concerns, which engross their thoughts, and occupy their time. The family, the farm, the merchandise, the profession, cares of the world, and pleasures of the world; they cannot turn aside from these to follow a star which is to lead them they know not whither. They must keep in the common track. They must be content with what they know already, or can pick up, as it were, by accident, as they go along. Examine your own hearts, and see how this is with yourselves. Perhaps there may be some among you who feel that you have not listened to the summons which God has sent with the attention it demands; that there is more in religion than you have yet found, more in the requirements of the Gospel than you have answered, more in its promises than you have realised and made your own. Perhaps conscience tells you that earthly things have occupied you too much, and kept out of sight the acknowledged truth, which nevertheless from time to time emerges into view, that a choice must be made between God and this world, for they cannot be served together. These suggestions of conscience, these glimpses of Scripture truth, are as the rising of the star to the wise men. They saw, and obeyed. And do not you exclude the heavenly light. Do not quench the flame of the Holy Spirit kindled within you. Be thankful that you need not go, as the wise men were forced to go, from place to place, seeking information. Christ has by his Scriptures, and by the appointed ministry of his Church, brought salvation to your very doors. These men also opened their treasures and presented gifts,' the best they had. Shew a like proof of the sincerity of your faith. If you are rich in this world's good,' use your wealth in your Lord's service. But whether your circumstances enable you or not to give this testimony of devotion to your Saviour, there is one offering which all can make, and all are required to make: Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.'"* The Cabinet. THE DESTROYER OF DEATH.-By the coming of the Redeemer, that dominion of death is destroyed which kept the living in terror, and seemed to threaten to hold the dead in eternal bondage. Anxiously had nature looked into the tomb. With a heart overcharged with emotions, she endeavoured to look beyond it. But all she could with certainty discover was mouldering relics of what man had been. Amidst these she stood, listening in anxious awe, if from unseen forms any sound might be heard of departed beings still in existence. But there seemed none to answer, neither any that regarded. Hope whispered to her, Listen more intensely, for that the spirits which had animated these relics yet did live. Again she paused; again she called; again she hearkened: but all was solemn stillness. She turned from the tomb, clinging to the consideration, that no voice had been heard unfavourable to her wishes. She looked back upon it, yet longing after immortality; but it was "a land of darkness as darkness itself, and where the light was as darkness." But before the power of Immanuel this kingdom fell. He "overcame the sharpness of death, and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers." Through his most blessed Gospel, we have the comfortable assurance from him who holds the keys of life and death, that when the waves of this troublesome world have subsided, we shall find a haven where there shall be no more storms, nor fears, nor death, and the tears shall be wiped from all faces. "Forasmuch as the children were partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their life-time subject to bondage." -Bishop Dehon. TEST OF A MINISTRY.-He is a poor minister, he is good for nothing, who never makes you feel that you nced Christ; and think what you will of him, he is a good minister, and a faithful one, who disturbs your consciences, and forces you to feel that you must find Christ, or perish.-Rev. Charles Bradley. HUMILITY. Unless we come to the Gospel with that meekness, gentleness, docility, and guileless simplicity, which constitute the character of a child, and render him so lovely and captivating, we cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven; we cannot either assent to the evidence, believe the doctrines, or obey the precepts of the Christian religion.-Bp. Porteus. Bishop Sumner's Sermons on the Festivals. Poetry. ADDRESS TO THE NEW YEAR.* AND art thou come, fair spirit, from above, To work, before the last long night sets in, Oh, be thy latest minute with the task! Fair spirit, thou wilt see strange things, that pass The humblest guest, with wedding garments on ; MARTYRDOM. THE Son of God is gone to war, His blood-red banner streams afar : Triumphant over pain; Who boldest bears his cross below, He follows in his train. The martyr first, whose eagle-eye And called on him to save. Like Him, with pardon on his tongue, He pray'd for them that did the wrong: A glorious band, the chosen few, On whom the Spirit came, Twelve valiant saints, the truth they knew, The lion's gory mane; They bow'd their necks the death to feel: Who follows in their train? From Sacred Poetry, by a Layman. cure. TEMPER. Good temper is like a sunny day; it sheds a brightness over every thing. It is the sweetener of toil, and the soother of disquietude. Every day brings its burden. The husband goes forth in the morning to his professional duties; he cannot foresee what trial he may encounter, what failure of hopes, of friendships, or of prospects, may meet him before he returns to his home; but if he can anticipate there the beaming and hopeful smile, and the soothing attention, he feels that his cross, whatever it might be, will be lightened, and that his domestic happiness is still seIt is the interest, therefore, as well as the duty of a woman, to cultivate good temper, and to have ever ready some word or look of cheerfulness, of encouragement, or, at least, of sympathy. A really feeling heart will dictate the conduct which will be most acceptable, will teach the delicacy which times a kindness, as well as renders it, and forbears all officious attentions, whilst it ever evinces a readiness to oblige. It need scarcely be said, that this temper is of more value than many more brilliant endowments; that it is amongst the first recommendations to a woman in every domestic relation; and that especially in that tie which, though the nearest on earth, is not one of kindred, it is assuredly the most effectual cement of affection. It is not, indeed, so much a means of attracting or exciting love, as it is of securing it. In fact, it is scarcely known, until familiarity draws aside the veil of social restraint; and the character, with its real faults and virtues, is unfolded in the privacy of home.- Female Improvement, by Mrs. Sandford. SUPERSTITION.-On the road to Magagong (Bombay) there is a place where the natives who have lost caste may be observed undergoing various degrees of penance. Among the most remarkable is that of a man who had eaten pork, which is strictly prohibited among the Gentoos. This man, when I saw him, had held a flower-pot filled with earth, and had then a flower in it, for fifteen years; and I was informed on the spot, he had to hold it for six years more. This poor creature was dreadfully emaciated, and, as may naturally be supposed, the arm and hand which contained the pot were withered, and the nails, which were seven or eight inches long, curled in every direction. Another man, who had just completed twenty years' penance of subsisting on a pint of rice-water a-day, I have since heard, died in consequence of the change of diet after his liberation.-Narrative of a Traveller. We beg to inform our correspondents generally, that our Numbers are usually in type a month before they are published it is, therefore, impossible to insert articles written with special reference to particular seasons, unless they are forwarded to us at least five or six weeks before the arrival of the time to which they are adapted. Some of our clerical friends will hence see the reason why their pieces on Advent and Christmas could not appear. A Clergyman, in the neighbourhood of London, has forwarded to us the packet from Herefordshire, which had been unaccountably directed to him, as connected with this work. LONDON:-Published by JAMES BURNS, 17 Portman Street, Portman Square; W. EDWARDS, 12 Ave-Maria Lane, St. Paul's; and to be procured, by order, of all Booksellers in Town and Country. PRINTED BY ROBSON, LEVEY, AND FRANKLYN, 46 ST. MARTIN'S LANE. WINTER THOUGHTS. JANUARY 14, 1837. We have just entered upon a new year-are on all sides surrounded with the desolation of winter-and "murky night soon follows hazy noon." "Out of the south cometh the whirlwind, and cold out of the north: by the breath of God frost is given." Many who, at the commencement of the year that is gone, were in circumstances of affluence, are now in poverty and distress; many who were in the full enjoyment of health and strength, are stretched on beds of languishing, or wasting with slow but incurable disease; many who were active and energetic, the very life of the circle in which they moved, no longer bear a part on life's busy scene. Their day of grace has closed! Their spirits have returned to Him who gave them. Whether they had found peace with God through the blood of the Cross, or died impenitent and unpardoned, their bodies are now tenants "of the house appointed for all living." The wintry wind howls mournfully over their graves, from which the voice of affection or of spring shall in vain call them to come forth; "for there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant. But man dieth, and wasteth away; yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?" They have left behind them many desolate and dreary hearts, which find a sympathy in the wintry aspect of nature, and which are led to meditate on the evanescence of all earthly joys. VOL. II.-NO. XXXIV. PRICE 1d. The rapid progress of time fails to affect many, who remain insensible to repeated warnings, and who will not be convinced that "the things which are seen are temporal." Years, as they swiftly glide on, make no impression upon their minds. Grey hairs are here and there upon them, and they perceive it not. Disease is perceptibly making inroads in their bodily frame, yet it is unheeded. Friend after friend departs-familiar voices are heard no longer-they dwell as it were in a land of strangers-and yet, strange infatuation! they look upon this world as their home. Awake to the eager pursuits of every passing vanity, they are asleep to the momentous concern of the soul's everlasting salvation; and if, for a moment, they are aroused from their trance to serious reflection by some afflictive dispensation, and apparently impressed, it is that they may relapse more profoundly into the deep sleep of spiritual death. The worldling is not easily brought to a sense of his situation as a poor perishing mortal, whose soul none can deliver from the hand of the grave. He is not easily brought practically to realise the fact, that "the world passeth away, and the lust thereof." He clings to it with the most infatuated ardour, and shrinks from the subjects of death and judgment. Assuredly there is no desolation more melancholy than that of the natural heart, which has not been enlightened by the beams of that Sun of righteousness, who arose upon the world with healing in his wings, and which has not been invigorated by that Spirit of grace who alone can impart life to the dead soul,-but which presents the chilliness and fruitlessness which mark the wintry scene in the material world C around it—the heart which has never glowed with love towards God, and benevolence towards man. Desolate as winter is, however, it is not without its use, as far as concerns the fertility of the earth, and the fruitfulness of the year. It is His work, who doeth nothing in vain; for it is God who saith to the snow, "Be thou on the earth." Cheerless as it is, it is not destitute of comforts-nay, it has many peculiarly its own. The affluent have the means of providing many sources of innocent and profitable occupation, without joining in those scenes of dissipation, in which the worldling seeks to beguile the hours which hang heavy on his hands. But to the poor the winter is often a season of no ordinary trial. The severity of the weather, the lack of employment, the calls of a numerous family, frequently press severely on the working classes. The prudent man, The prudent man, indeed, will endeavour to provide against the exigencies of this season. He will not spend with lavish hand the gifts of God, when labour is more plentiful; he will be careful to lay by a store against the winter: but even after all his activity and frugality, he will not unfrequently find it impossible to supply the numerous calls made upon him, and will become dependent on the bounty of others. And here arises one great duty of the rich, and even of those who enjoy but a moderate portion of this world's goods, to give cheerfully to the relief of their poorer brethren, and to act as faithful stewards of that which is committed to their charge. They are to remember, that they are, in fact, but stewards, and, as such, are responsible to their Almighty Lord, who causes men's outward circumstances to differ, and who might have cast their lot among those whom they are bound to relieve. The requirement shall one day be made, "Give an account of thy stewardship;" and to every hard-hearted, unfeeling, selfish man, who hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, shall it be said, Inasmuch as thou didst it not to one of the least of these, thou didst it not to me. "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment." He that knows not the luxury of benefiting a fellow-creature, who cannot enter fully into the declaration of the Lord Jesus, "it is more blessed to give than to receive;" he who, wrapt up in his wretched selfishness, seeks not, according to his ability, to spread comfort and happiness around him, cannot have imbibed His spirit, who, "though he was rich, yet for our sakes became poor; that we, through his poverty, might be rich." "My little children," says the apostle, "let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth." "If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body, what doth it profit?" The Christian philanthropist, indeed, will be chiefly anxious to supply the spiritual wants of his fellow-creatures, and, in this respect, to do them good. It will be his great desire that their souls may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Still, he will not withhold his hand from the alleviation of bodily infirmity, or the supply of temporal necessity. He will remember, that the spirit which he is to imbibe, the example which he is to follow, the model which he is to imitate, are those of the adorable Saviour, himself while on earth" a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief," who "went about doing good," whose eye was never turned from the object of pity, whose ear was never closed to the prayer of the suppliant, who was touched with a fellow-feeling for human want and infirmity. Let The believer not unfrequently beholds in the desolation of winter a sad emblem of the cheerlessness of his own heart. It is not now with him as in months past. He mourns over its icy selfishness, its unprofitable fruitlessness, its darkness as to religious subjects, the decay of that spirituality which he once enjoyed, its deadness towards God. him recollect, however, that this despondency may be, and in all probability is, the result of his own negligence in prayer, his remissness in employing the various means of grace, his allowing himself to be allured from his stedfastness by some emissaries of the evil one. When the heart is in heaviness, it should think upon God. Let him be more earnest in his calls for heavenly succour, for the gift of the Holy Spirit; that He who sendeth his snow from heaven, and watereth the earth, that it may bring forth and bud, may pour upon him the abundance of his heavenly grace, and cause him to bring forth fruit, even an hundredfold. He will thus soon realise the comfortable assurance of the psalmist, when he exclaimed, even in a season of mental depression, "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God." "fair 66 The winter will soon pass away; weather" will come 'out of the north." He who now giveth snow like wool, and scattereth his hoar-frost like ashes, will send out his word, and melt them; he will cause his winds to blow, and the waters to flow. Spring will return with its breathing softness. The teem |