word of God, which is able to make them wise unto salvation, while they are required to place implicit confidence in those who withhold from them the word of life. If infidels reject the Scriptures, they were such before they read them; or they would not have remained so afterwards. It has not been shown that ever one was made an infidel by reading the word of God; but it has been no uncommon thing for many such to become converts after having read the sacred volume. May every one who loves the Scripture pray more fervently for its success; and they will have the all its predictions are fulfilled, and Anti-Christ falls like Dagon before the Ark. Pardon me, Sir, that I, as an unlettered man, should have presumed to address you on so important a subject. Should the whole or any part of what I have written meet your approbation, you will make what use of it you please for the furtherance of the cause in which you are so ably and so arduously engaged. I am, Sir, with much deference and respect, happiness of this assurance, that Hackney, 17th Nov. 1824. HOPE. Whene'er the wounded spirit dies, Hope cheers us in that solemn hour, Re-animates the soul, And bids us shun the tempter's power, Hope leads us to the fount of love, And whispers, "Look to Christ above See the poor wretch with pallid brow, He wails the past, the awful now, With agonizing breast. Hope soothes him in his poignant woes, -With peace his throbbing bosom glows, So view the Christian-mark and trace Hope's smiling rays illume his face, With wings of Hope he longs to soar And fly to that celestial shore, And waft his thoughts to heaven. Ευελπις. THE COTTAGE VISITOR.-No. I. "In faith and hope the world will disagree, But all mankind's concern is charity; All must be false that thwart this one great end, And all of God that bless mankind, or mend." POPE. IF we follow the footsteps of the incarnate Immanuel through the thorny path of life, we shall find that pity and compassion were blended with every word that he uttered, every action that he achieved, and every pang that he endured. He could weep for the miseries of his persecutors; could drop the sacred tear upon the ashes of his friend, and employ the moments of a suffering existence in hushing the rising sigh, calming the troubled breast, wiping the falling tear, and restoring the afflicted and the distressed to health, to happiness, and peace and if "that mind be in us which was also in Christ Jesus, we too shall" weep with those that weep, sorrow for the sorrows, and sympathize in the afflictions of the wretched and forlorn among the children of men. Some there are, indeed, who can hear, unmoved, the voice of indigence and the tale of woe. The finer feelings of humanity have been frittered from their bosoms by the pleasures of the world, and the pursuits of fashionable life. A scene of misery would fill them with disgust, not with compassion; and to disseminate comfort and peace, an employment that affords to a mind susceptible of feeling, and sanctified by religion, the most exalted pleasure, and the most refined delight, appears to them destitute of interest and unworthy their attention. To such characters is applicable the language of the poet, And soft-eyed Pity and forgiveness bland, To wipe the tear from pale Affliction's cheek These ye have never known. Infatuated creatures! I envy them not their highest enjoyments: enjoyments did I say? Alas! they deserve not the appellation when placed in competition with those which the philanthropic and benevolent mind experiences in the exercise of charity, and in obeying the dictates of humanity; and if experience may be admitted as a proof, I can set to my seal," that to pass but one day in ameliorating the condition of our fellow-creatures, "exceeds ten thousand days of mirth," or spent in the empty frivolities of fashion. Possessed of a small but independent fortune, I have long retired from the noise and bustle of the world, to spend the remnant of my days in solitude and retirement. My residence is situated on a gentle eminence in the beautiful vale of E-, in the county of G, through which the ri ver S. majestically rolls its silver current; it commands in front an almost immeasurable prospect, terminated by the Mhills, which, coloured by the dis-. tance, mingle their lofty summits with the skies. At the foot of the eminence stand the straggling cottages that compose the village of D -; a little to the right is situated the village church, embosomed in a cluster of chesnut trees, above which arises the lofty spire, whose glittering vane first receives and last retains the golden beams of the ascending or departing sun. On the other hand is seen the noble park connected with the mansion of the village squire, which, enlivened by the multitudes of grazing deer, the spacious shrubberies, the glassy ponds, the oblique and extended walks, all converging into one point, which is crowned by the elegant mansion itself, renders the prospect beautiful, and almost unique. Indeed words are too feeble to convey any adequate conception of the scene'; and as the delighted eye rolls from side to side of the almost illimitable view, it alights on many a clustered hamlet, many a cottager's home, and many a consecrated fane, where the name of the Most High is heard, and the Gospel of his Son is proclaimed. Behind the house is a small thicket, through which a little path winds in romantic simplicity, where, "hid from the vulgar gaze," I oft retire to indulge in meditation; - before it a closely shaven lawn sweeps in a gentle declivity, till it is terminated by a little brook, whose murmuring voice is heard as it quarrels with the pebbly foes that obstruct its progress. The house itself is small, but extremely rural; a Chinese rose creeps each side the door, and runs along the veranda in the front, and at the back a branching vine fastens its twisting tendrils on the wall, and wraps it in its spreading leaves; while the gardens, which surround the whole, are clothed in beauty and enveloped in fragrance. Such, then, is the habitation where I hope to linger out the remaining portion of my life, till summoned, I trust, to the possession of a mansion, incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, eternal in the heavens. a ap He who caused the wound plied the balm. The healing influence of time blunted the edge of my affliction; and though the recollection of these enjoyments of my younger days, which are now fled for ever, will often flash across my mind, yet taught in the school of Christ the important lesson of submission, even the recollection affords me pleasure, and the consolations of the Gospel, like the tree cast into the waters of Marah, changes even the bitter into sweet. Need I then repine? O no! for if the relentless hand of death tore from my aching heart its dearest earthly comforts, it carried with them my attachment to this polluted world, and taught me to "set my affections on things above;" so that' my heaviest trials have "worked together for my good." No sooner, however, had I committed to the dust the mouldering remnants of these blasted joys, than the world lost all its charms for me. The din of business and the bustle of life now became intolerably irksome, and having purchased this cottage, I retired hither about twelve years ago. But even in this peaceful vale the miseries of human life are experienced, and the sympathies of the human bosom are excited; and, conscious that in every situation of life it is both our obligation and our privilege to labour in the cause of Him" whose we are and, whom we ought to serve,” I have here endeavoured to " confirm the feeble knees, to lift up the hands which hang down," to pour the balm of consolation into the afflicted bosom, and alleviate the distresses of those "From wave to wave on sorrow's ocean tossed." And I humbly trust there are some now in this land of sorrow and of death, and some uniting in the triumphant chorus of the redeemed, who afford sufficient demonstra tion, that I have not "laboured in vain." "Not unto me, not unto me, O Lord; but to thy name be all the glory." I have met in these "labours of love" some occurrences which I think will prove interesting to the readers of "The Christian Guardian," and in some future numbers shall intrude them on their atten tion; for the present I shall take my leave, hoping that both reader and writer may ever bear in recollection the apostolic injunction, "There-. fore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. ON DESPONDENCY. DESPONDENCY is, I conceive, of two kinds, and arises from two different causes; the one from a deep impression of guilt and aggravated offences, and the other from the power and prevalence of inbred depravity, from its raging and bearing down all the remembrances of conscience, and all checks which an enlightened mind opposes to it. This last is a severe struggle from which few are exempted; especially when first they begin to seek God, and to relinquish former indulgences. The opposition then made to natural corruption has a tendency to irritate and inflame the sensual affections. "Sin," says the Apostle," taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. (Rom. vii. 7.) The enemy, no doubt, by these means also endeavours to harass and alarm the soul, and thus regain it to his thraldom. دو ye Θ. Π. query But if under these storms the heart continues to struggle and to pant after deliverance, if these workings of depravity are inwardly abhorred, and excite self-loathing and shame before God, it is a happy evidence that the Divine Spirit continues his operations; and that ultimately, though perhaps graduperhaps_gradually, victory is insured. It may, perhaps, be inquired, what are the designs of Infinite Wisdom in permitting this awful prevalence of moral evil, and how can it be reconciled with the purity and holiness of soul, which relinquishes all ness of the Divine Nature! This hope of relief, greatly dishonours the faithfulness and compassion of a covenant God, the merit and allsufficiency of the sacrifice of Jesus, and the grace and consolations of the Divine Spirit. "The joy of the Lord is our strength;"" hope maketh not ashamed," but proves "an anchor of the soul both sure and steadfast. Look then to this "strong hold as a prisoner of hope. If you are weary and heavy laden," you are the very character to whom the Saviour promises to "give rest." Your guilt, unworthiness, and helplessness, are your best recommendations. Such he seeks, and on such he delights to magnify the power and riches of his salvation. Examine the experiences of ancient saints, consult the conflict and pleadings of holy Job, the penítential breathings of the Psalmist, and the affecting moans of Jeremiah in his Lamentations, and you will observe each of these take hold of God as infinite in compassion and mercy. David begins his fifty-first Psalm with pleading God's "great goodness," and the "multitude of his tender mercies." These views melt the heart into holy contrition. If you are ashamed to bow before the throne of Grace, let your heart be frequently darting up earnest breathings and pleadings; such as, Gracious Lord! subdue these vile corruptions of my heartdisplay the power of thy gracerebuke the enemy of soul-give me to see the all-sufficiency of thy sacrifice to remove my guilt-bring me with self-loathing to thy feetsubdue the enmity, pride, and unbelief of my heart! Lord Jesus, thou art my only hope and refuge. If I perish, I will perish at thy feet. Preserve me from dishonouring thee by doubting thy power or willingness to save me. Such aspirations as these will encourage your heart, and no time or place is unseasonable for them. 1 have uttered these in the crowded street, and sometimes the tears have gushed from my eyes. They are very suitable when composing yourself to sleep, and when first you awake in the morning. A. J. S. ON AN ASSERTION OF THE CHRISTIAN REMEMBRANCER CONCERNING IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS. SIR, WHEN certain individuals take upon themselves to assert, that such and such doctrines are not the doctrines of the Church of England, it surely may reasonably be concluded, that those individuals. have taken no inconsiderable pains to make themselves thoroughly and intimately acquainted with the STANDARD AUTHORITIES of orthodoxy. I say, this might reasonably be concluded; but, how ever reasonable so to conclude, the conclusion is not, generally speaking, warranted by facts. Several instances of this kind have occurred within the observation of the writer. But without adverting to any of these, allow me, Mr. Editor, to refer you to one which, I think, may be considered in point, in a late number of the Christian Remembrancer. In the number to which I allude, the writer, "at a venture” I presume, asserts, in his remarks on the expression "merits of Christ imputed to us," made use of by the author of " Body and Soul," that the doctrine of imputed righteousness is not authorized by any of the formularies of our Church. If this writer be correct in the assertion he has ventured to make, I should be glad if he would refer us to some better explanation of the XIth Article than that contained in the Homily on Salvation, and to which the Article itself refers us |