Page images
PDF
EPUB

3. The book of Solomon-3000 proverbs, and 1005 songs, and his treatise of trees and shrubs, beasts, birds, insects, and fishes.

And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five.

And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon, even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes.-1 Kings iv. 32, 33.

4. "The book of the acts of Solomon."

And the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in "the book of the acts of Solomon?"-1 Kings xi. 41. 5. "The book of Nathan the prophet," and "the book of Gad the seer."

Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Samuel the seer, and in "the book of Nathan the prophet,” and in "the book of Gad the seer."-1 Chron. xxix. 29.

6. "The book of Nathan the prophet," "the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite," and "the visions of Iddo the seer."

Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in "the book of Nathan the prophet," and in "the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite," and in "the visions of Iddo the seer" against Jeroboam the son of Nebat? -2 Chron. ix. 29.

7. "The book of Shemaiah the prophet," and of "Iddo the seer, concerning genealogies."

Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in "the book of Shemaiah the prophet," and of " Iddo the seer concerning genealogies?"— 2 Chron. xii. 15.

8. "The story of the prophet Iddo."

And the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways, and his sayings, are written in "the story of the prophet Iddo."—2 Chron. xiii. 22.

9. "The book of Jehu."

Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in "the book of Jehu," the son of Hanani, who is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel.-2 Chron. xx. 34.

10. "The life of Uzziah," by Isaiah.

Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, did Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, write.-2 Chron. xxvi. 22.

11. "The sayings of the seers."

His prayer also, and how God was intreated of him, and all his sins, and his trespass, and the places wherein he built high places, and set up groves and graven images, before he was humbled: behold, they are written among sayings of the seers."-2 Chron. xxxiii. 19.

12. An epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians.

I wrote unto you in "an epistle" not to company with fornicators.

"the

Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolators; for then must ye needs go out of the world.— 1 Cor. v. 9, 10.

13. An epistle of St. Paul to the Ephesians.

How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; as I wrote afore in few words.-Ephes. iii. 3.

14. An epistle of St. Paul to the Laodiceans.

And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read, also, in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye, likewise, read the epistle from Laodicea. -Coloss. iv. 16.

15. "The prophecy of Enoch."

And Enoch, also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints,

To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds, which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches, which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.Jude 14, 15.

To these may possibly be added, the epistle attributed to Barnabas; the Revelation of St. Peter; and the Doctrine called the Apostles', mentioned in Eusebius, Lib. iii. cap. 22. As, also, "the book of Henosh," spoken of by Thadrus, Origen, and Tertullian.

An epistle to the Laodiceans, attributed to St. Paul, was found in the oldest Bible that was printed at Wormes, and the subjoined translation is preserved amongst the Harleian MSS. in the British Museum.

THE EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL TO THE LAODICEANS.

1. Paul an apostle, not of man, nor by man, but by Jesus Christ;

2. To the brethren which are at Laodicea, grace and peace be with you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus.

3. I thank my God in all my prayers that you remain stedfast in him, and in all his works, waiting upon his promises to the day of judgment.

4. And be not seduced by some unprofitable talkers, who go about to cause you to fall from the gospel, which was preached unto you by me.

5. Oh that they that were instructed by me might serve to the profit of the gospel of truth, and become diligent in good works of eternal life.

6. And henceforth are my bonds manifest which I suffer for Christ's sake.

7. Whereof I rejoice in heart, and account it eternal salvation.

8. That such is done through your prayers, by the working of the Holy Spirit, whether by life or death.

9. For I have a will and a joy to die in Christ, who will, through the same mercy, give you to have the same love, and to be of one mind.

10. Therefore, beloved brethren, as you have heard in my presence, that keep and finish in the fear of God; so shall you have eternal life, for God will work it, and profit it in you without delay.

11. My brethren, rejoice in the Lord, and take heed of them that are desirous after filthy lucre.

12. Let your prayers be manifest unto God, and remain firm in the knowledge

of Christ.

have

13. And do that which is meet, convenient, just, reasonable, and what ye heard and received, that keep in your hearts; so shall ye have praise. 14. The grace of God and our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirits. Amen. Cause this Epistle to be read to the Colossians, and read you that which is written unto the Colossians.

THE BISHOP OF LONDON'S MANUAL OF FAMILY PRAYERS. A CORRESPONDENT informs us that the Bishop of London's Manual of Family Prayers has been stereotyped at the New York Episcopal press; and that six thousand copies have been circulated in the United States of North America.

VOL. XIV. NO. II.

EPITAPH, ON A CHILD NINE MONTHS OLD, IN MILTON
CHURCHYARD, NEAR GRAVESEND.

A CREATURE of light just escap'd from the skies

To try the coarse robes which to mortals are given;
But the delicate spirit endur'd not disguise,

Recoil'd as clay touch'd it, and flew back to heaven.

ANSWER TO THE ABOVE.

BUT why should a creature so swiftly be gone?
Why spurn the clay road which by mortals is trod?
One higher than angels far better has done,-
The greatest, the best, the belov'd Son of God.

-

Had scruples like these prevented his dwelling
Midst us sons of clay, and our sorrows partaking,
We had lost that grand blessing, all blessings excelling,
The assurance, through Him, of to glory awaking.

W. H.

COLLECTANEA.

STRENGTH OF A GOOD CAUSE.-In one single year three sentences of condemnation were launched against Henry Bullinger, the reformer of the Church of Zurich; one by the papal legate at Venice; another by the divines of Louvain, with Charles the Fifth's sanction; and a third in Paris, where the Sorbonne prohibited the circulation or reading of his publications, under heavy penalties. Bullinger noted down this tripartite anathema in his Diary, by simply alluding to it a rare phenomenon." He seems to have considered it unworthy of any further comment; much less of an angry word: but, seeing his friends cast down at the tidings, he thus bespoke them,-" Dismiss your fears; persevere in believing! Let these simpletons keep their pen in hand: the word of God will yet endure to the end. My rock is the assurance that the Shepherd knoweth his own!'"-Hess's Biography of celebrated Swiss Reformers, Vol. II.

as

66

[ocr errors]

BURMESE OATH." If I speak not the truth, may tigers, elephants, buffaloes, poisonous serpents, scorpions, &c. seize, crush, and bite me and my relations. May we be subject to all the calamities that are within the body and without the body: and may we be seized with madness, dumbness, blindness, deafness, leprosy, and hydrophobia. May I be struck with thunderbolts, and lightning, by day and by night, and come to sudden death. In the midst of not speaking truth, may I be taken in vomiting clotted black blood. When I am going by water, may the genii who guard the water assault me, the boat be upset, and the property be lost; and may alligators, porpoises,

sharks, and all other sea monsters, seize and crush me to death. And when I change worlds, may I suffer unmixed regret, in the utmost wretchedness, in four states of punishment."

Notwithstanding the apparent particularity of this oath, Mr. Judson, a former resident in India, informs us, that the Burmese have no idea of the excellence of good faith; and that they consider it a folly to keep a treaty, if they can gain any thing by breaking it.

"To

God Defined.-Collins the Freethinker met a plain countryman going to church. He asked him where he was going. church, Sir." "What to do there?" "To worship God." "Pray, whether is your God a great God, or a little God?" "He is both, Sir." "How can he be both?" "He is so great, Sir, that the heaven of heavens cannot contain him, and so little that he can dwell in my heart." Collins declared that this simple answer of the countryman had more effect upon his mind than all the volumes the learned doctors had written against him.—Selector.

ON TITHES.-(From a letter to Lord Howick, by W. N. Senior, Esq., late Professor of Political Economy at Oxford.)-"It is true that tithes are not a burden on the wages of the labourer, or the profits of the farmer, but are a deduction, or rather an exception, from the landlord's rent; and that, except so far as inconvenience arises from the mode in which they are collected, or from their interference with the employment of capital, (the latter of which inconveniences affects consumers in general, the citizen as well as the rustic,) neither the labourer, the farmer, nor even the landlord, can justly complain of them: neither the labourer nor the farmer, because he does not really pay them; nor the landlord, because they are an interest in the soil which never was his-which he may wish for, as he may wish for his neighbour's field, but with no more right to appropriate."

RELIGIOUS STATE OF THE ISLANDS IN THE SOUTH SEA.-Christianity has been a long time established in the Sandwich Islands, and has been mainly conducive to the rapid strides of civilization made by the inhabitants of that group. In the island of Hevaee, also, one of the most important of the Friendly Islands, it was adopted, in 1830, by the king, under whose protection a body of missionaries established themselves on the island. Thus it is probable, that ere long the propagation of a purer religion will wholly extirpate the frivolous and cruel superstitions, which contribute not a little to impede the progress of civilization among the South Sea islanders, and will serve as a new tie to connect them to the most active and enlightened portion of mankind.-Dr. Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopædia, Vol. XVI.

CHURCH OF ROME.-Dr. Ernest Münch, late Professor of Ecclesiastical History and Jurisprudence at the University of Liege, and at present Chief Librarian to the King of Holland, has recently published the first part of "A complete Collection of all ancient and

modern Concordats, together with a History of their Origin and Fate." Besides these singular documents, it contains authentic details and official correspondence on the disputes which have occurred between the Holy Fathers and their refractory subjects on the thrones of Germany, France, Spain, Italy, &c.-This work is commended, by the German reviewers, as an invaluable addition to Church History.

LAW REPORT.

ON THE RIGHT OF INCUMBENTS TO FIXTURES.

SIR H. Spelman, in his Glossary, defines a fixture, quod ab ædibus non facile revellitur; but it may with more precision be said to be, a moveable chattel, either fixed in, or mediately or immediately annexed to the freehold.

The case of an incumbent with respect to fixtures seems to me to be peculiar, and to have but little resemblance to that of any lay tenant or owner. An incumbent is undoubtedly seized in fee of his parsonage house and glebe, subject to a condition of maintaining and transmitting to his successor a suitable residence, and of not deteriorating his land. The question here arises, are any, and what fixtures, included in the requisition of a suitable residence? No one can doubt but that doors, window-sashes, and floors, are included, and should be provided and maintained; and few will deny that, according to modern habits, chimneypieces, stoves, grates, bells, &c., are almost equally necessary; hence, I am of opinion, that the ordinary household fixtures are included in the term suitable residence; at least, if an incumbent find such on his induction or provide them, he is bound to maintain them, and leave them for his successor; reasonable wear and tear excepted. If, indeed, a successor on his induction finds grates, or any other such fixtures, oldfashioned and inconvenient, or much worn, I do not think he could claim the cost of new ones in the amount of dilapidations; but if, on the other hand, an incumbent provide, or repair, household fixtures, I think he must leave them without compensation. After a provision for the incum

bent, the maintaining of a suitable residence is the first charge on the revenues of every benefice. I may observe, that in the statutes of the Cathedral Church of O. the rule, as to fixtures, is thus expressed, "Scamna, bancos, mensas, tripodes, cælaturas, vasa, etiam plumbea et alia utensilia fixa suo successori integra et litera relinquat." The cælatura are certainly mere matters of ornament, but then they could not be removed without injuring the walls.

But fixtures provided by an incumbent, which have no relation to a suitable residence, seem to me to require a different consideration. For instance, if an incumbent furnish a brewhouse, I think he might remove the articles; for it could scarcely be contended, in any instance, that a brewhouse was a necessary part of the incumbent's residence; and if not necessary, the benefice should not be burdened with the maintenance of it, which would be the consequence, if, when once established, it is to be transmitted to the successor à fortiori, an incumbent may remove hothouses, pineries, and any such erections and fixtures, provided by him for the gardens and grounds of the benefice: these can never be deemed incidental to a suitable residence; it could not be said in any case that an incumbent was bound to supply or maintain them, or that they were a necessary charge upon his income. They are subjects which one incumbent may delight in, and which another may think an incumbrance. They fall within the same rule as pier glasses, tapestry,

« PreviousContinue »