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like a patient refusing to take the only medicine that can cure him, because it agrees not with his palate.

"Do not be angry, because you find yourselves reproved for your faults. Your minister is by office a reprover. It is an indispensable part of his duty to administer reproof to those who need it. And shall I hesitate to say that you need reproof? You will always need it, as long as you remain in the flesh. Instead, therefore, of being offended at your minister for his rebukes, and seeking revenge upon him for his faithfulness, take them patiently, and make them instrumental of your reform. Let him, and the world know that you have sense enough to perceive, and candor enough to acknowledge, and principle enough to forsake your faults, when plainly and affectionately pointed out to you. For a man to be angry with a servant of God, because he has faithfully reproved him for his faults, is not to make the best, but the worst of his condition. It would be not only more pleasing to God, but honorable in the eyes of men, if he would thank his reprover for his fidelity, and give him evidence of his willingness to do right, by an immediate and thorough reformation. However trying your minister's fidelity may be to your feellings, my friends, we entreat you to be always willing that he should do his duty."

Again on the subject of peace he observes:

"This is essential to your own comfort, and the comfort of your minister. It is also essential to your own improvement and the usefulness of your minister. Contention in a religious society is a source of peculiar unhappiness; because it is seen and felt to be peculiarly inconsistent with the nature and design of such an association. A minister cannot be happy with his people, while they are in a state of contention: He knows that they are not happy in each other. He knows that they are not in a state favorable to the reception of divine truth. He knows that God generally withholds the influence of his Spirit from a people, in a state of contention. He knows also that it is next to impossible to keep out of the fire himself, when his people are contending. However impartial he may be in his feelings, and however prudent in his intercourse with the contending parties, it is little less than miraculous, if one or both of them, do not consider him, as favoring their opponents. In this state of things, they look upon him with a jealous eye, and give but a divided attention, and half their hearts, to his most important instructions. Be peculiarly cautious, then, my friends, against the rise of a contentious spirit. "If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men," especially with each other. But if you must contend about your personal, or municipal, or political transactions, be sure and not carry your contentions into your religious concerns. And above all things, take care that you do not involve your minister in any of these contests. Let there be, at least, one man among you, who may be considered as a friend to you all, and in whom all may confide. And let there be, at least, one place, at which all contentions shall cease, and all assemble, to listen to the gospel of peace."

5. Obituary Address at the funeral of the Rev. Royal Washburn, pastor of the First Church and Parish, Amherst, Mass. By N. W. FISKE. Amherst: J. S. & C. Adams. 1833. pp. 44.

The merit of an address, especially on a funeral occasion, is ever to be looked for in the simplicity and pertinence of the thoughts themselves which compose it, and in the delicacy, tenderness and skill with which they are presented; and in both these respects, the Christian reader will be more than satisfied with this address of Professor Fiske. To one acquainted, though but slightly, with the author or the lamented Washburn, the interest might be expected to be heightened; but unless large deductions are to be made on

this account, we envy not the man his taste, or state of moral and religious feeling, who can read this address and not have his heart repeatedly melted. It presents a combination of select pious thought and interesting biographical sketches of religious character, not often—perhaps we may say rarely—to be met-such a combination, at least, as stamps it with more than common value.

The Scripture on which the address is founded, is Ps. cxvi. 15-"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints:" and from this, glancing at the fact, that all, even saints, must die, and calling attention to the circumstance; that the death of saints, however obscure, is not only noticed by the Lord, but is peculiarly interesting to Him, Mr. Fiske proceeds to present some reasons, why their death is thus precious; as, that "they are the objects of everlasting love, chosen in the counsels of eternity, and given to Christ, never to be plucked from his hands"-that "their death is the moment of their transition from a state of suffering and temptation to a state of confirmed holiness and peace"-that "it introduces them to higher duty in the service of God"—and that it "generally illustrates the riches of his grace and the value of the gospel."

On these several topics Professor Fiske remarks briefly, but with much beauty and true Christian pathos, while he passes to the "life, ministry, and character" of Mr. Washburn; which make up the main body of the address. Appended are some "Fragments" from the Letters and Journal of Mr. Washburn, illustrating his state of mind in his sickness and his views of things in the near prospect of eternity. "Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace."

Mr. Washburn was born at Royalton, Vt., Dec. 6th, 1797, and was the son of the Rev. Azel Washburn and Sarah Skinner Washburn. He became hopefully pious, and made a profession of religion, when about 13 years of age. After a little time, he lived without much evidence to himself that he possessed religion, till he was about 17 years of age; when he became the subject of an experience still more distinct and satisfactory. From this time he was perseveringly engaged to obtain an education, with a view to the Christian ministry. His classical education he received at the Vermont University in Burlington, and his theological, at the Theological Institution in Andover. He was ordained at Amherst, Jan. 4th, 1826, and died Jan. 1st, 1833, having just entered the 36th year of his age. "Blessed are the dead thrat die in the Lord from henceforth."

6. Rightly dividing the Word of Truth. A Sermon preached Dec. 27, 1832, at the Ordination of the Rev. Cornelius C. Vanarsdalen, as Pastor of the South Church and Society in Hartford, Conn. By JOEL HAWES, D. D. Hartford: D. F. Robinson. 1833. pp. 23.

This sermon is a fair specimen of the author's usual style and manner, and will compare advantageously with almost any occasional discourse he has published. Particularly have we been gratified with the deep, unaffected seriousness which pervades it. The text is 2 Tim. ii. 15. "Rightly dividing the word of truth." And while describing what it is rightly to divide the word of truth, and why it should be thus divided by the Christian preacher,

which are the two principal points in the discourse, the author appears to have been much impressed with a sense of the solemnity and responsibility of the sacred office, and must have been listened to by the audience in general, and especially by the pastor elect with no little interest and sensibility. We were reminded, in reading the discourse, of the sermon delivered at the preacher's own ordination, which is one of the most serious and solemn ordination sermons we remember ever to have read. From some passages in the sermon, it would seem as though the author had pretty fully in view the particular state of theological sentiment in the country; though in reference to parties, he casts no reflections and professes no partialities, but treats his subject as one of those great and radical subjects whose prominent relations must ever be the same, whatever may be the theories and speculations of different men on minor points. Rightly to divide the word of truth, according to Dr. Hawes, is, to exhibit it in due order and proportion-in a wise adaptation to the various characters and circumstances of hearers-and in accordance with the spirit of the times in which we live; and it should be so divided, he says, because to divide it in this manner, is the only way in which the Christian preacher can instruct himself-or his people-expect permanently to interest his hearers-accomplish among them the great design of his mission--or be prepared to die in peace and give up his account with joy. We could wish every ordination sermon might be as well adapted to do good as this of Dr. Hawes.

As specimens of the discourse, we select the following. Speaking of the necessity of the preacher's rightly dividing the word of truth in order to instruct himself, and of his failure to do this as the cause of his becoming feeble and inactive, he observes :

"This is the reason, why many a young man, who enters the ministry with high promise of usefulness, sadly disappoints the hopes that were entertained of him, and becomes an inefficient, powerless dispenser of God's truth. It is only when the preacher instructs himself that he can instruct the people; and he can instruct himself only by repairing to the pure fountains of truth and drawing from them, by patient thought and study, those supplies of divine knowledge which he needs for the proper discharge of his duties. If he so divides the word of truth as to discover its foundations and its mutual relations and connections; if he dwells amidst the glorious realities of God's revalation, sets forth the great doctrines of his word, explains, illustrates and confirms them by sound argument, tracing out their consistency with one another and with all other truth; showing their harmony with the principles of the human mind and their adaptation to the character and wants of man, bringing them home to the heart and conscience, and following them out in all their interesting consequences and bearings on the soul's eternal destiny-the minister who studies and uses the word of truth in this manner will never want for a word in season; he will be daily growing strong in the Lord and in the power of his might; his mental resources will know no exhaustion or decay; if interesting in the commencement of his ministry, he will become more and more so, every year, and his people will never be tired of hearing him, because they will be always hearing from him something new, instructive, and useful

Again. Speaking of the necessity of a preacher's rightly dividing the word of truth in order to instruct his people, he says:

"A sermon made up of orthodox words, however musically combined, or

elegantly delivered, has no power to enlighten the mind or impress the heart. It is a mere crackling of thorns on a cold hearth, affording neither light nor warmth. But when a minister of the Gospel shows himself an able and skilful expounder of God's word; when he unfolds the counsels of the Most High, shows the reasons of his requirements, and in the light and power of truth addresses himself plainly and directly to the understanding and conscience of his hearers, his discourse cannot fail to be fraught with warm and weighty instruction, fitted to move the affections and mould the soul for heaven; and that, because it is conversant with the deep springs of action in the soul, with the infinite realities of God's kingdom, with the sanctions of eternity and the powers of the world to come. Such a preacher, in comparison with the mere declaimer, resembles the angel of the Apocalypse who was seen standing in the sun! He speaks only to diffuse light and heat around him; and his addresses, derived from the eternal source of truth and aimed at the great point of imparting instruction, respecting God and duty, and heaven and hell, fall with weight and solemnity on the conscience, and are fitted to build up the people in knowledge and holiness."

7. An Address to the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Brown University, delirered 5th September, 1832. By THELON METCALF. Boston: Lilly, Wait, Colman & Holden. 1833. pp. 28.

As announced in the first paragraph, the purpose of Mr. Metcalf in this address, was, to present to the Society before which he had the honor to appear, "a few suggestions," as he terms them, "respecting the influence of popular opinion, taste, and feeling, on the character and pursuits of men of talents and learning." And, as the subject opens in discussion, he proceeds in a strain of just, and what may be considered on the whole rather lofty and learned satire, on the fawning, time-serving spirit of too many, especially in the walks of authorship, political elevation and professional duty-not excepting some even of sacred calling.

At first, the object of the orator, although announced, is not so perfectly apparent as could be wished. Or rather, it is not so perfectly apparent as could be wished, how what is presented bears on what was proposed. At least, such, we should think, must have been the fact as to a great part of his under-graduate hearers. But, as he advances, he becomes luminous, and at times even powerful: illustrations are seen to have pertinence and point, and the conclusion brings out the duty, and not only the duty, but the wisdom of a manly, independent course of integrity and uprightness.

Whether all would sympathize with Mr. Metcalf, as to the extent and degree to which the weakness he censures prevails, we cannot say; but that there is something of it, and that he has presented his thoughts on the subject in a style and manner worthy of himself and of the occasion on which they were delivered, none, we think, will doubt.

Mr. Metcalf's "suggestions" are worthy of consideration, and will not, we hope, be lost upon those for whom they were designed.

Mr. Metcalf says he believes "it may be truly asserted, that no literary work ever obtained enduring fame, which was prepared solely, or even chiefly, with a view to immediate applause, and without reference to the universality of the principles of criticism." And he substantiates the remark by reference to some prominent examples in English literature and in the histo ry of our own politics,

The following paragraph we can hardly withhold from our readers, presuming that many of them will readily understand who the venerable individual is, to whom it refers.

"It might occur, one would think, to the discretion of all men, and especially clerical men, that the only way, in which lasting respect can ever be acquired, is in the pursuit of worthy ends by worthy means. Indeed, as a matter of immediate popularity, a clergyman would find his account in the bold and faithful discharge of his sacerdotal functions, without anxious regard to applause or censure, I need not refer to Massillon and Oberlin, and other honored dead, in proof of this suggestion. But I cannot resist the impulse which inclines me to allude to an eminent living divine, personally known to many of you, whose plain and unshrinking enforcement of his own views of truth; whose fearless reprehension of wickedness, in high places and in low; and whose entire devotion, for more than fifty years, to the duties of his profession, have secured for him a most extensive and reverent respect, no less sincere and profound in the many who reject his peculiar opinions, than in the few who adopt them.-I desire to be grateful that in the place of my nativity, such an example of clerical dignity, fidelity, and contempt of the popularity which is run after,' was constantly before my youthful eyes; and that such an example of the popularity which follows' is still before the eyes of the public."

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We also present one of the closing paragraphs.

"The present aspect and tendency of the civilized world would justify— on a proper occasion-a protracted discussion of the topic which I have thus briefly and disjointedly brought to your attention. A new era is said to have commenced. The watchmen announce the dawn of a political millennium; and glorious things are spoken of the approaching reign of popular opinion, and the triumph of popular rights. To every philanthropist, skepticism on this subject must be exceedingly painful. But I have yet to learn that the voice of the people, however loud and unanimous, can make and alter truth, or change the nature of nian or of the obligations and responsibilities which his Maker has imposed on him. Notwithstanding the popular suffrage and the decrees of the church, in the seventeenth century, and their controlling effect on the professions and conduct of Galileo-the sun did not then revolve round the earth: But at an earlier date, his light was withdrawn from the acting of a tragedy, which was clamorously demanded by all the people.'

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8. The Mother's Magazine. Edited by Mrs. A. G. WHITTLESEY. Published monthly. Utica: William Williams. 1833. pp. 18. Price-$1 a year, in advance.

We have long felt a lively interest in the object of this publication, and we cannot but rejoice that the proposition has at length been made, to publish a Mother's Magazine. None, we think, who understand the philosophy of human nature as to early impressions, or are acquainted with the biography of not a few who have been most eminent for personal excellence and public usefulness, will doubt the propriety, or wisdom, or importance of such a periodical. We sincerely hope and ardently desire, that the many gifted, virtuous, and pious ladies of our country, will turn their attention to the objects contemplated in the Magazine, and by their contributions to its pages, make it as rich and valuable as possible; nor, if they do, can we doubt the success of the work. From the assurances given, and from some aoquaintance with the Editor, we cannot doubt that, so far as she is concerned, it will be well sustained and ably conducted. It opens with a Prospectus over a signature well known to the reading part of the community, especially

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