Cultivate, my dear child, a spirit of kindness and affection to all your companions. Bear patiently any little injuries or offences you may receive, and endeavour to prevent their repetition, not by resentment, but by rendering any little service in your power. Those who have not learned better will say, that this forbearance is weak and cowardly, and that you will soon be trampled under foot; but the Bible says, The meek shall inherit the earth; and the more you cultivate a meek, a patient, a quiet spirit, the more effectually will you remove every hostile feeling, and will find that, as your ways please the Lord, he will make even your enemies to be at peace with you. Beware of every sinful compliance; for companions in wickedness even

ON WORLDLY

more

THERE is nothing which has so great a tendency to check spirituality of mind as worldly conformity. It has a deadening influence on the soul; and it saps the foundation of vital godliness. Perhaps there never was a period in the Christian church when this evil was visibly prevalent; and it behoves the Christian to be much in prayer, and increasingly vigilant, lest he slide insensibly into that state of lukewarmness and condemnation, so awfully depicted in the case of the Laodicean church, Rev. iii. 16.

One great cause of this growing evil, no doubt, is unnecessary intercourse with worldly characters. We cannot touch pitch without being defiled thereby, nor can we play with fire without being burnt: a promiscuous association with the world is the bane of a Christian's happiness; it causes him to restrain prayer before God, it beclouds his evidences, nay more, it plants many a thorn in a dying pillow; and,

tually become traitors and mutual tormentors. Set God before you, my dear child; remember that he sees you; that the darkness is no darkness with him, but the night is as clear as the day; that to him the darkness and the light are both alike; and O beware of doing anything which his pure and holy eyes would not approve.

To his mercy I commend you.May you be his child and his servant and then, whether spared to close your father's eyes, and follow him to the grave, or whether he shall be called to weep over your tomb, we shall have the consolation of meeting together, and rejoicing for ever in the presence of our God and Saviour in the eternal world. I am your most affectionate

CONFORMITY.

FATHER.

without presuming to interfere with the prophetic office, we may surely expect that the Lord will visit his people, both as a church and as individuals, for these things. They

that know his will, and do it not, shall be beaten with many stripes," Luke xii. 47.

The world and its influence is far more to be dreaded than any outward trial: many of the Lord's people are preserved from this evil by contracted means and afflictive dispensations; sickness is often sent in mercy to our souls, as well as poverty; we are thereby hedged in from the world, and led to seek that true comfort which is alone found in retirement, meditation, and prayer. Under such circumstances, while many around are inquiring, Who will show us any good? the Christian can adopt the words of the Psalmist, and say, Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon me, and this shall put gladness in my heart, more than in the time when corn and wine increase."

On the other hand, prosperity and worldly influence are often snares to the people of God; unless, indeed, these blessings are duly sanctified, they lead to expensive habits and worldly-mindedness; this has even crept into the sanctuary, and defiled our holy things; priest and people have alike imbibed too much of this spirit, for, alas! it is an age of luxury and refinement. Far more pleasing would it be to see them tread back their steps to the good old paths of their forefathers: and while it behoves Christians to use "hospitality without grudging," instead of trying to outvie each other in external appearance and excess, let them return to plain fare and simplicity of manners, and thus from house to house break their bread together, with singleness of heart. It is expressly declared, that if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him; and when we see how all classes of Christians are acting under this influence, not only treading on the borders of the world, but many actually associated with its maxims and customs; notwithstanding crowded places of worship, and large communions, we have too much reason to fear that Christianity is indeed at a very low ebb.

Let heads of families and parents especially, take this subject into serious consideration; in vain may they complain of the high notions and extravagance of their children, unless they curb a worldly inclina-. tion in themselves; there is in the present day an awful degeneracy of principle, and much of the evil is to be attributed to the false indulgence of parents; they do not with sufficient firmness counteract worldly principles in their children; instead of bringing them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, they are fearful of standing in the way of their worldly interests, and rather suffer their children to lead them,

FEB. 1927.

and thus their own spiritual comfort is often wofully hindered.

It is a solemn consideration that at the hour of death, things appear to the mind as they really are, and not what in a time of health they may have seemed to be; the veil that has obscured the sight is withdrawn, and what we may have attached great importance to, as far as it regards this life, vanishes into nothing: when the soul is about to stand in the presence of a holy God, what will the world with all its interests and pleasures avail us then? Surely the backslider in heart will tremble at the fearful thought of being exposed to the wrath of that God whom he has slighted, and whose warnings time after time he has disregarded, "No man having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

Let the Christian take warning, let the ministers of God sound the alarm in Zion, and lift up their voice as a trumpet against a temporizing Spirit, the period is fast approaching when decision of character will be put to an awful test; many of the Lord's hidden children will then come forth to shine as the stars for ever and ever; and many, it is to be feared, who have made a glaring profession, but who have not walked consistently with that profession, will be openly confounded. O let us closely examine ourselves by the unerring standard of Scripture; let us pray earnestly for that measure of grace which will enable us in the strength of the Lord to come out from an ungodly world and to be separate, to forego every enjoyment which is incompatible with our high vocation as candidates for Heaven, that so when the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, He may say, Come ye blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

K

ANNA,

Discourses on Prophecy, in which are considered its structure, use, and inspiration, &c. By John Davi

son, B. D. Second Edition. 8vo. Pp. viii. and 554. Murray. 1825. An Enquiry into the Grounds on which the Prophetic Period of Daniel and St. John has been supposed to consist of 1260 years. By S. R. Maitland, Perpetual Curate of Christ Church, Gloucester. 8vo. Pp. 86. Hatchards. 1826.

A Combined View of the Prophecies of Daniel, Ezra, and St. John, &c. By James Hatley Frere, Esq. 8vo. Pp. xxxviii. and 508. Hatchards. 1826. Babylon and Infidelity Foredoomed

of God, A Discourse on the Prophecies of Daniel and the Apocalypse. By the Rev. Edward Irving. Two Vols. 12mo. Pp. xxiv. 314 and 444. Whittaker. 1826.

THE prophetic writings carefully examined and judiciously interpreted are admirably calculated to confirm our faith, and animate our hope. They demonstrate the divine authority and inspiration of the sacred volume; they illustrate the moral government of God; and they lead us to contemplate and anticipate the final and universal subjugation of the kingdoms of this world to the authority of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. They therefore who wait for his appearing will delight to dwell upon those gracious declarations which speak of his near approach; and will on some occasions feel the force of that disposition which leads us all to believe what we earnestly desire, to magnify the favorable symptoms, and circumstances, and to overlook or explain away the obstacles and the objections which may tend to check or retard our anticipations. This we think,

has been the case in various instances. The expounders of prophecy have sometimes caught at the earliest possible date; and have not only indulged themselves, but have also endeavoured to produce in others, expectations, the failure of which has had an unfavourable and discouraging effect on the minds of many true Christians, and has excited the vain triumphs and the contemptuous scoffs of the infidel and the profane. Those who are conversant with the interpretations of prophecy, which have been published since the reformation, will, we apprehend, in general concede that in various parts of that period, some writers have appeared to whom these remarks are not altogether inapplicable.

On few subjects indeed, is the tendency to extremes more visible than on that before us. The study of prophecy is in some quarters almost entirely neglected, in others it is the grand and undivided object of pursuit. Some persons when they arrive in their closets, or in their families, at the first chapter of the Revelation, systematically turn back and begin the Sacred Volume again; while others seem to slight the historians and the evangelists, and to value even the Psalms and the Epistles principally on account of the prophetic passages with which they are interspersed. We object to both parties. We are advocates for the whole word of God. We would have it read from Genesis to Revelation; and though we would not insist on every verse or every chapter being brought forwards in its regular course, yet we would enter our protest against those sweeping expurgations which fastidious refinement from time to time would suggest.

We must not however indulge in general observations, but proceed at once to notice the volumes before us.

Mr. Davison's Work comprises the substance of Twelve Sermons, preached in the chapel of Lincoln's Inn, in the Lecture founded by Bishop Warburton. The plan of these Discourses is thus stated by the Rev. Author.

The First of these Discourses is employed in treating of the Christian Evidences in general, and the Connexion of Prophecy with the rest.

The Second, in considering the Moral Contents of the Prophetic Volume, as distinguished from its Predictions.

In the Four next I have entered into the Structure of Prophecy, and the Course of its Dispensation.

In the Six last, its Inspiration and divine Prescience are examined.P. 11.

This plan is most admirably developed in the discourses themselves, so far as relates to Old Testament prophecy-the Author remarks,

One important division of the Inquiry is still wholly wanting; that is, a View of the Prophecies of the New Testament. My appointed Course of Lectures was completed before I could embrace this branch of my subject, and the defect remains unredeemed in the present publication.-P. 13.

Every careful reader must regret that Mr. D's valuable powers and resources have not been extended to this most interesting field of inquiry. While, however, we express our regret for what is still wanting, and our hope that it may yet be supplied, we must not overlook the value of the boon already conferred. We have been most deeply interested in the perusal of this work. It comprises much powerful argument, and much original illustration; and we hesitate not to pronounce these Discourses every way worthy of the character of the Founder of the Lecture, of the Lecturer himself, and of the audience to which they were addressed. As such we recommend them strongly to the perusal of our readers in general, but more particularly to the clergy and other well educated persons who honor our

remarks with their attention. We especially recommend them to those students in divinity who have not as yet entered into the field of prophetical inquiry, and to those in whose minds the conflicting and contradictory opinions of other writers have produced sceptical doubts or erroneous ideas as to the difficulty or impossibility of understanding or deriving benefit from the prophetic writings in general.

The following extract on the contents of the prophetic volume as distinguished from its predictions, appear to us highly interesting.

I. Prophecy, then, is not a series of mere predictions. Far from it. It abounds in matter of another kind: I mean the continued strain of moral doctrine which runs through it; including under that name the only efficacious and sufficient moral doctrine, that which is founded upon a knowledge of God, his attributes and his will, with a sense of the direct, personal, and responsible relation of man to him. Accordingly the most frequent subjects of the prophet are the laws of God; his supreme dominion, and his universal providence, the majesty of his nature, his spiritual being, and his holiness; together with the obligations of obedience to Him, in the particular duties of an inward faith and worship; and of justice and mercy to man; the whole of these duties enforced by explicit sanctions of reward and punishment. These original principles of piety and morals overspread the pages of the book of prophecy. They are brought forward, they are inculcated from first to last. They are often the subject where nothing future is in question they are constantly interwoven with the predictions; they are either the very thing propounded, or connected with it; and all the way they are impressed with a distinctness and energy of instruction which shew it was none of the secondary ends of the prophet's mission to be this teacher of righteousness; insomuch that, if we except the Gospel itself, there can no where be shewn, certainly not in the works or systems of pagan wisdom, so much of decisive and luminous information, concerning the unity, providence, mercy, and moral government of God, and man's duty founded upon his will, as is to be gathered from the prophetic volume.