shall be able to say in that day, "Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation" (Is. xxv. 9). In the last verse of the Psalm, those sufferings are spoken of, through which the blessed Jesus had to pass, in his way to glory: "He shall drink of the brook in the way therefore shall he lift up the head." In that valley of humiliation whereinto the Saviour was well pleased to descend for us, lay the brook of affliction, the bitter waters of Marah; and there was no way of attaining to the end and object of his undertaking, or to the glory that should follow, but by drinking of that brook. This was that "cup" which was set before him in the garden of Gethsemane, and concerning which he thrice supplicated the Father, "with strong crying and tears," that it might pass from him, saying, "Father, if it be possible, Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt." And oh, who can conceive the bitterness of that cup? It was the cup of God's indignation against sin, filled with the wine of wrath-a cup of trembling, whose deadly taste convulsed the soul of Jesus with agony, and forced a sweat of blood from every pore of his sacred body. But he was heard in that he feared;" he was enabled to drink it, even to the dregs. And then behold the blessed consequences that followed-Jesus was enabled to exclaim with his dying breath, "It is finished !"— Redemption is finished! "He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him." And now, since it is written (2 Tim. ii. 12), "If we suffer with Jesus, we shall also reign with him; but if we deny him, he will also deny us," it will be no inappropriate conclusion and application of the matter, to consider that which is here said of the sufferings of Jesus, and the glory that should follow, as the grand principle and condition of his kingdom; as that which must be fulfilled in all those who are Christ's disciples. No way to the kingdom, but by drinking of the brook in the way; no cross, no crown. There were some of his disciples ambitious of high honours in his kingdom, -"to sit on his right hand and on his left;" but all the honour that he promised them was a share in his sufferings and he said, "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. Whosoever doth not take up his cross and follow me, cannot be my disciple. He that findeth his life shall lose it, and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” We exclude, of course, all idea of meritorious sufferings-all idea of purchasing heaven by any sacrifices; but let us remember "whose we are, and whom we serve," if we are Christians indeed,-a Master who was well content to sacrifice every thing for us, to give himself for us: let us only consider his sufferings, and the blessings thence flowing to our souls; and then surely we shall be ashamed of complaining, and ashamed of keeping back any thing from him. There is a horrible monster and demon, called SELF, whom we are all of us too prone to love, and worship, and sacrifice to; and it is long before he is so thoroughly crippled and beaten as to give up the contest with Jesus. Hence our own profit, honour, ease, and gratification, too often are permitted to stand between our souls and Christ. We desire a share in the honours and happiness of his people both here and hereafter; but in order to that, we are perhaps called on to "drink of the brook in the way:" and then is seen whether we are in earnest, sincere and hearty in his cause; then is seen whether we are indeed the disciples of Jesus, whether we are willing to be conformed to Christ in suffering, as well as in glory. Happy those, who, like the great apostle, "count all things but loss if they may but win Christ and be found in him;" happy, even if, like Paul, they have been called to "suffer the loss of all things”— for no one is ever a loser in reality who loses any thing or every thing for Jesus' sake: but immense is the loss of those niggard souls who cut, and carve, and contrive, to withhold from Jesus and to consult self. Oh, how much comfort, how much honour, how much happiness do they fall short of! Well may Jesus say, "he that findeth his life shall lose it ;" that is, he that gains any worldly advantage by a compromise of his allegiance to Christ, is sure not to enjoy it: there is a thorn in the nest-there is shame and remorse 66 66 there is an accusing conscience, and a frowning Lord, and a painful doubt whether he has any part or lot in the matter," and a certain fearful looking-for of judgment." Oh, then, my friends, count the cost, and scruple not to decide for Jesus against all the world. Halt not between two opinions. "If thy right hand offend thee, cut it off': if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out." Count not even thy life dear unto thyself in comparison with Jesus. Venture all for Christ, and you will be an immense gainer both here and hereafter. Bow down cheerfully to "drink of the brook in the way," and soon will Jesus lift up your head, here in peace and joy, hereafter in glory. For he hath said, "There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake and the Gospel's, but he shall receive an hundred fold now in this time, and in the world to come eternal life:" and "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne." BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATIONS. No. II.-Publicans, or Tax-Gatherers.* Ar Baj-gah, in the way to Persepolis, is a station of rahdars, or toll-gatherers, appointed to levy a toll upon kafilehs, or caravans of merchants; and who, in general, exercise their office with so much brutality and extortion, as to be execrated by all travellers. The police of the highways is confided to them; and whenever any goods are stolen, they are meant to be the instruments of restitution, but, when they are put to the test, are found to be inefficient: none but a man in power can hope to recover what he has once lost. They afford but little protection to the road, their stations being placed at too wide intervals to be able to communicate quickly; but they generally are perfectly acquainted with the state of the country, and are probably leagued with the thieves themselves, and can thus, if they choose, discover their haunts. Their insolence to travellers is unparalleled; and no man has ever gone through the country, either alone or with a caravan, who has not vented his indignation upon this vile police. The collections of the toll are farmed, consequently extortion ensues; and as most of the rahdars receive no other emolument than what they can exact over and above the prescribed dues from the traveller, their insolence is accounted for; and a cause sufficiently powerful is given for their insolence on the one hand, andthe detestation in which they are held on the other. Baj-gah means appears to have chosen them as making the strongest contrast between what, in the public estimation, were the extremes of excellence and villany. According to Josephus, the sect of the Pharisees was the most powerful among the Jews; and from what has been said of the rahdars, it may perhaps be explained why the Pharisee, in praying to God, should make extortioners" and "the unjust" almost synonymous terms with publicans; because we have seen, that from the peculiar office of the rahdar he is almost an extortioner by profession. LITURGICAL HINTS.No. XXIV. THE COLLECT is one of that class which were taken Comforter. "the place of tribute:" it may also be rendered, the receipt of custom; and perhaps it was from a place like this that our Saviour called Matthew to him; because Matthew appears, from the 3d verse of the 10th chapter, to have been a publican; and publicans, who, in the 11th verse of the 9th chapter, are classed with sinners, appear to have been held in the same odium as are the rahdars of Persia. It also explains why Matthew, who was seated at the receipt of custom, is afterwards called a publican; and shews that in the choice of his disciples our Saviour systematically chose them not only from among the poorest and humblest class of men, but also from those who, from their particular situation in life, were hated by all ranks. Matthew, as a toll gatherer, must, like the rahdars, have been a man known to all ranks of people, and detested on account of this profession. When he was seen having power against unclean spirits, with power to heal all manner of sickness and disease, and following one like our Saviour, his life, when compared with what he formerly was, must have been a constant miracle. The parable of the Pharisce and the publican, of the xviiith of Luke, 10th to 13th verse, will be more clearly understood by what has been above mentioned. Our Saviour, in bringing these two characters together, From Morier's Second Journey. ་ We pray thee, leave us not thus comfortless. Rather shew forth thy exceeding power and glory in sending to us thine Holy Ghost to comfort us; Him, whom our glorified Master did promise us. So shall thy glory be perfected; so shall it shine with undiminished splendour. Let not the heathen say, Where is now their God? We are thine; thou never bearest rule over them; they were not called by thy name.' For thy name and honour's sake, guard the Church, which thou hast chosen; and, in the exercise of thine infinite majesty and unwearied love, defend and comfort us. Let not our hearts be troubled. Let us take heed that our confessions of penitence be sincere; our supplications for pardon heartfelt; our prayers for grace earnest; our desires spiritual; and our petitions for blessings submissive. Then we may trust that our gracious Redeemer will so successfully intercede, that the Father will hear and answer our supplications and prayers; that he will not leave us comfortless; that he will send his Holy Ghost to comfort us here amid all our sorrows, whether spiritual or temporal; and that hereafter he will exalt us unto the same place whither our Saviour Christ is gone before."* Some old ritualists tell us, that the week commencing this day has been called in the Church Expectation week; "for now the apostles were earnestly expecting the fulfilment of our Lord's promise: If I go away, I will send the Comforter to you.'"+ The EPISTLE (1 Pet. iv. 7-12) exhorts to earnest prayer for the Comforter promised in the Gospel. It also exhorts us all to make such an use of those gifts * James on the Collects. ↑ Bp. Sparrow; Wheatley. which the Holy Spirit shall bestow upon us, as becomes | good stewards of the manifold grace of God. There are several important duties to which we are exhorted in this epistle; they consist of sobriety, prayer, charity, hospitality, and the best improvement of our talents, which the apostle presses upon Christians from the consideration of the time they have lost in their sins, and the approaching end of all things. "As the end of all things is at hand; as all our worldly pursuits, possessions, distinctions, and enjoyments; all our temporal trials, sorrows, and conflicts; our season of probation and preparation, and our term of usefulness, will speedily be over; so it behoves us to be sober, and to watch unto prayer.' The more ungodly men hate and revile believers, the greater care should they use to have fervent love among themselves; that, by mutual candour, long-suffering, and forgiveness, the multitude of offences may be covered, and so nothing may interrupt their peace and harmony. This blessed grace of love dethrones our natural selfishness; and in connexion with faith in God's promises, it will induce us to use hospitality one to another without grudging;' and to consider every gift, possession, or situation, as a talent committed to our stewardship, according to the manifold grace of God, to be used for the benefit of the Church and the community. It will also dictate our words, whether in public or private; that they may be true, pure, kind, and instructive, according to the oracles of God;' and it will dispose every one in his proper calling to minister, or communicate to others, as of the ability which God giveth, that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ."* The GOSPEL (John, xv. 26; and xvi. 1-4) is the promise of the Comforter. It is here promised, first, that the Spirit shall maintain the cause of Christ in the world, notwithstanding the opposition it should meet with. "When the Comforter is come," saith Jesus, "whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me." The Holy Ghost is here spoken of as a distinct Person; not a quality or property, but a person under the peculiar name of a spirit, and the peculiar title of the Spirit of truth. Not only is he described as a Person, but as a divine Person, that "proceedeth from the Father," by outgoings that were of old, from everlasting. The Spirit is also, by Christ's mission, the fruit of his intercession within the veil. It was by this Spirit's assistance that the apostles should be Christ's witnesses. The Holy Ghost first bore his own testimony by working miracles, and inditing the Scriptures, which are Christ's standing testimony; and then he bore witness by the apostles, and still does, by their successors, to the end of time, by "manifestation of the truth to the con science." Jesus dealt faithfully with his disciples; and therefore, having announced the Comforter, he tells them why it was he had been anxious to assure them of his coming; it was because "trouble was hard at hand.” He tells them of coming trials, that they might not be offended, or made to stumble in their profession: they should have to encounter men, who, seemingly conscientious, and thinking they did "God service," would exercise cruel hatred and persecution against his servants by excommunicating them, and treating them as heretics. Christ further gives the reason of the world's enmity, because they knew not God nor Christ. They who are ignorant of the "true God and Jesus Christ, whom he has sent," always think it an acceptable service to persecute his truth and his servants. Christ told them of these trials, not to discourage them, or add to their sorrow, but to confirm their faith. And they, who now patiently suffer for the truth's sake, may derive strength from the remembrance, that • Rev. T. Scott's Commentary. Christ has forewarned them of their trials; and they may derive assurance, that his promise will stand equally sure for their final deliverance and triumph. MEDITATION FOR THE COMMUNION ON ASCENSION DAY.* Thou "I SEE, O merciful Jesus, that thou art content for our sakes to stay here upon earth, when heaven longs for thy return. Thou hast these forty days denied thyself the full fruition of thy glories, to dispel the sorrow, and to confirm the faith of thy disciples; and yet at last their tears and embraces shew how loath they are to part with thee. But, behold, the day of thy triumph is come, and the holy myriads are sent to wait upon thee. The heavenly singers that go before, cry, Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors, that the King of Glory may come in.' The angels who come out to meet thee, answer, in ecstacies of amazement, Who is the King of Glory?' And all the chorus that follow after, reply, Even the Lord of Hosts, He is the King of Glory." And thus, with hymns and joyful acclamations, is Jesus welcomed to his mediatorial throne. And now, O my soul, why standest thou gazing into heaven? He is too high to be discerned, and too bright to be seen with mortal eyes, since cherubims are dazzled at his splendour. He is ascended up into heaven to prepare a place for us; that where he is, thither we may also ascend, and reign with him in glory.' He is gone to his proper place, and is ascended thither, whither thy desires carry thee, and where ere long thou shalt see him face to face. standest, like Elisha, looking after him, and lamenting thy master's departure; but he hath left his mantle behind him, even the mysteries of this holy sacrament, which to thy faith is the flesh which he was clothed withal, and is designed to convey a double portion of his Spirit unto thee. So that he hath left his love with us, when his person was taken from us. Away, then, with these sighs and tears, and lament no longer the absence of thy Lord, for he is in this blessed feast. He is here in his comforts and graces, here in his merits and his love; and his Spirit can hereby minister the very benefits which his personal presence would have given thee. Go then, with all diligence; taste of this heavenly provision; and delight in it above all the sweetnesses in the world, because it contains such pledges and emblems of thy Redeemer's love! When thou beholdest him that is thy head, 'glorified with the glory which he had with his Father before the world was,' make haste to unite thyself nearer to him, by partaking of his body and blood, that thou mayest finally reign with him. In the mean time, raise up thy thoughts above this lower world, and declare thy desire to be with Jesus. Send thy heart before, and protest that if he had not left thee some little tastes of his sweetness, in the repast of this holy table by the way, thou couldst not have endured to be absent from him so long. And yet, by his Holy Spirit, the Comforter, he is with all his faithful people alway, even unto the end of the world. And though he dwelleth in the high and holy place, he dwelleth also in that humble and thankful heart, From Dean Comber. into which we are about to receive him. As the celestial choir welcomed him, therefore, to his throne above, so will we receive him with joy into our poor souls; and to him with the Father and the Holy Ghost, we will give, as we are most bounden, continual thanks:' yea, with angels and archangels,' &c." The Cabinet. THE IMPORTANCE OF CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLE.-" In days when a base and cruel impiety, foregoing its audacious flights, and stooping from higher prey, insinuates itself into the cottages of indigence and the nursery of tender age, it behoves Christian ministers and pastors to protect their charge with no ordinary vigilance, and to fortify young and simple minds against the enterprises of destroyers, by sedulously enforcing the holy doctrines of revelation in their connexion with the duties and advantages of consistent piety. The only barrier that can be hopefully opposed to the inroads of political and moral libertinism is Christianity, not vaguely apprehended as a speculative system, but wrought into the understanding, and interwoven with the affections as a vital and efficient principle."-Rev. J. N. Pearson. JUDGMENTS. - When God threateneth judgments, we should pray against sins. Our eye of sorrow should be more upon that which dishonoureth him than upon that which afflicts ourselves.-Bishop Reynolds. PERSECUTION. There is a certain degree of decency of conduct, which none but the vilest reprobates treat with scorn. To abstain from gross and open wickedness; to be regular at church at least once a day; to be just and true in all dealings,-is so respectable in the eyes of the world, that, instead of subjecting any one to persecution, even the persecution of ridicule, it is generally approved, and all men wish to see it in their friends, in their children, in their servants, in their neighbours. But let a man go much farther than this: let him be very zealous in the love of God, very ardent in his faith; let him attempt to live according to the Gospel, and imitate, as far as circumstances allow, the conduct of the apostles: it is more doubtful how far he will then be approved or praised. Suppose, for instance, he imitates Abraham, who not only served God himself, but made his household do the same; or says, like Joshua, "I and my house will serve the Lord:" suppose that, to promote this, he begins and closes the day in prayer with his family (which seems to be a very natural thing for those who serve the same God, and acknowledge the same Saviour); suppose he keeps away from all meetings and companies of people where he might be likely to fall in with sinners, or to be led into sin; suppose he is always found in his place at church, not only at one of the services, but, if possible, at bothand not only when he has a sermon to interest him, but when he only comes to join in prayer, and hear the Scriptures; suppose he give proof that he is trusting to his Saviour for salvation, by always attending the holy sacrament; suppose he shews such a dread and hatred of sin, as not only to abstain from it himself, but, wherever he can, to rebuke it in others;-will not all this bring him upon tender ground? Will not his neighbours begin to whisper, that he is growing "righteous overmuch?" Will there not be some danger of his being despised by some, and bantered by others? In a clergyman, indeed, all this might be allowed-as if one man's soul did not require the same care as another's, and there were two sets of rules for a Christian's conduct in the Gospel; but I doubt whether men in general could act up to this standard without being prepared to encounter a little opposition, a few friendly hints of the danger they were in. Danger?-of what? of loving God too much? of following his revelation too closely ? of making their salvation too secure? My brethren, in the case I have supposed, I have not gone a whit beyond what the spirit of the Bible requires, or what all pious men practise; or, I will venture to say, what every man, whose conscience is the least awakened, will wish that he had practised, when he comes to die, or stands in judgment.-Bishop J. B. Sumner. LAWFUL ACTIONS.-Wouldst thou know the lawfulness of the action which thou desirest to undertake? let thy devotion recommend it to divine blessing: if it be lawful, thou shalt perceive thy heart encouraged by thy prayer; if unlawful, thou shalt find thy prayers discouraged by thy heart. That action is not warrantable, which either blushes to beg a blessing, or, having succeeded, dares not present thanksgiving. Quarles. THE PATIENT CHRISTIAN. -Under the pressure of any affliction, Thy will be done, as it is the patient Christian's unceasing prayer, so is it the ground of his unvarying practice. In this brief petition he finds his whole duty comprised and expressed. It is the unprompted request of his lips-it is the motto inscribed on his heart-it is the principle which regulates his life-it is the voice which says to the stormy passions, "Peace! be still!" Let others expostulate, he submits. Nay, even submission does not adequately express his feelings. We frequently submit, not so much from duty as from necessity; we submit because we cannot help ourselves. Resignation sometimes may be mere acquiescence in the sovereignty rather than conviction of the wisdom and goodness of God; while the patient Christian not only yields to the dispensation, but adores the Dispenser. He not only submits to the blow, but vindicates the Hand which inflicts it: "The Lord is righteous in all his ways." He refers to the chastisement as a proof of the affection of the Chastiser: "I know that in very faithfulness thou hast caused me to be afflicted." He recurs to the thoughtlessness of his former prosperity: "Before I was afflicted I went astray," and alludes to the trial less as a punishment than a paternal correction. If he prays for a removal of the present suffering, he prays also that it may not be removed from him till it has been sanctified to him. He will not even part from the trial till he has laid hold on the benefit.Hannah More. SIN. The exceeding sinfulness of sin is manifested, not so much by its breaking through the restraint of threatenings and commands, as by its being capable of acting against light and against love.-Rev. J. Newton. Poetry. THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST. (For May 4th.) ANGELS, blow your trumpets high, Ranged in order at his word, To the mansion of his sire. Let him now the seats prepare For the myriads who shall share In his kingdom; captives all, Groaning in perdition's thrall, Rescued from the lake of fire. Angels! ye the Lord have seen, ISAIAH. It is remarkable that the prophet who, of all others, is the most full and explicit in delineating the Messiah's kingdom of redemption, is equally distinguished for the copiousness and variety of his lessons of holiness. Isaiah is not more "the evangelical prophet" for that which he foretold, than for that which he taught. And this might be said, that although a Christian could not consent to a surrender of the New Testament itself, yet if any one book of the Old were to be selected as a substitute for that more perfect gift, whereby to direct equally his faith and his obedience, none could be taken so adequate to both those purposes as the volume of this eminent prophet, to whom it was given to behold the glory of Christ's kingdom with an eagle eye, and to drink of the spirit of holiness beyond his brethren.-Rev. John Davison. THE PHENOMENA OF NATURE EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. No reasonable man can doubt that all the phenomena of the natural world derive their origin from God; and no one who believes the Bible to be the word of God has cause to fear any discrepancy between this, his word, and the results of any discoveries respecting the nature of his works: but the early and deliberative stages of scientific discovery are always those of perplexity and alarm; and during these stages the human mind is naturally circumspect, and slow to admit new conclusions in any department of knowledge. The prejudiced persecutors of Galileo apprehended danger to religion from the discoveries of a science, in which a Kepler and a Newton found demonstration of the most sublime and glorious attributes of the Creator. A Herschel has pronounced that "geology, in the magnitude and sublimity of the objects of which it treats, undoubtedly ranks in the scale of sciences next to astronomy;" and the history of the structure of our planet, when it shall be fully understood, must lead to the same great moral results that have followed the study of the mechanism of the heavens.-Dr. Buckland. POMPONIO ALGIERI. Pomponio Algieri, a native of Nola, in the kingdom of Naples, was seized when attending the University of Padua, and, after being examined in the presence of the podesta, was sent bound to Venice. His answers on the different examinations which he underwent contain a luminous view of the truth, and form one of the most succinct and nervous refutations of the principal articles of popery, from Scripture and the decretals, which is any where to be found. They had the effect of spreading his fame through Italy. The senators of Venice, from regard to his learning and youth, were anxious to set him at liberty; but as he refused to abandon his sentiments, they condemned him to the galleys. Yet, yielding to the importunities of the nuncio, they afterwards sent him to Rome as an acceptable present to the newly elected pope, Paul IV., by whom he was doomed to be burned alive, in the twenty-fourth year of his age. The Christian magnanimity with which the youthful martyr bore that cruel death terrified the cardinals who attended to grace the spectacle. A letter, written by Algieri in his prison at Venice, describes the consolations by which he was refreshed and upheld under his sufferings in language to which I scarcely know a parallel.—M'Crie. GOOD INTENTIONS. -Antonio Guevasa used to say, "that heaven would be filled with such as had done good works, and hell with such as intended to do them." A suitable hint to those who put off their convictions to a more convenient season. HEBREW SERVANTS.-Servants among the Hebrews bore no ignominious mark of servitude as amongst the Greeks and Romans. This was the necessary consequence of their servitude being temporary. It is obvious from many passages in Scripture, that they could in no way be distinguished from the most respected members of the family, and that they were treated with precisely the same consideration. Thus, when Abraham sends his home-born slave, Eliezer, to Nahor, with ten camels and several men-servants, Gen. xxiv. 10-30, Eliezer the slave thus addressed Rebekah, the daughter of this wealthy and powerful emir: "Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water from thy pitcher." She again replies to this home-born slave, "Drink, my lord; and she hasted and let down the pitcher upon her own hand, and gave him to drink; and when she had done giving him to drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking; and she hasted and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well, and drew for all the camels" (Gen. xxiv. 18-21). This passage renders it obvious, that the condition of a honie-born slave was marked by no degrading circumstance in appearance or demeanour. It is indeed perfectly plain from the whole tenour of Scripture, that the condition of a purchased servant or slave was never considered as in any respect a degrading or a dishonourable one. Had it been so, could Joseph, not only a purchased, but a foreign purchased, slave, have been exalted to be viceroy over all Egypt? In like manner, we find Daniel, likewise a slave, exalted to the rank of chief minister of state in the court of Darius. THE JEWS.-Josephus, speaking of the Jewish nation before its destruction, says, "There never was a more atheistical generation; they despised the laws of men, and made a mock of the laws of God, and those that published them,-making no difference between good and evil: a sure presage of future desolation." 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. |