Will you, O, will you refuse to believe that there is a hell, till you find yourselves in the midst of it? O, be convinced, I conjure you, be convinced by some less fatal proof than this. Yet how can I convince you? How can I stop you? My arm is powerless; yet I cannot let you go. I could shed tears of blood over you, would it avail. Gladly, most gladly would I die here on the spot, without leaving this sacred desk, could my death be the means of turning you from this fatal course. But what folly is this, to talk of laying down my worthless life to save you! Why, my friends, the Son of God died to save you, died in agonies,—died on the cross; and surely, that doom cannot but be terrible, to open a way of escape from which he did all this. And it is dreadful. The abyss into which you are falling, is as deep as the heaven from which he descended is high. And will you then rush into it, while he stands ready to save you? Shall he, as it respects you, die in vain? Will you receive the grace of God in vain? Shall those eyes which now see the light of the Sabbath, glare and wither in eternal burning? Shall those souls, which might be filled with the happiness of heaven, writhe and agonize forever, under the gnawings of the immortal worm? Shall I, must I, hereafter see some who are dear to me, for whom I have labored and prayed and wept, weltering in the billows of despair, and learning, by experience, how far the description comes short of the terrible reality! But I cannot proceed. The thought unmans me. I can only point to the cross of Christ, and say, There is salvation, there is blood, which, if applied, will quench the fires that are already kindling in your breasts. There is deliverance from the wrath which is to come." pp. 498-501.

The Sermon on The promised Fruit of Christ's Sufferings, preached at a meeting of a Foreign Missionary Society, is con cluded in the following animated manner :

'Not very far distant, probably, is the period when our Redeemer shall see the promise before us, [He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied,] fulfilled in its utmost extent. Already do we witness no equivocal indications, that its complete fulfilment is approaching. Already has the day of millennial glory begun to dawn. Already has the day star been seen from the mountains of the East. Already are "blest voices" heard exclaiming from heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ. And we have no small reason for hoping, that, before the conclusion of the present century, the same blest voices will be heard to cry, Alleluia, the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever! My hearers, when this period shall arrive, will it not be in the highest degree painful and mortifying to be constrained to say, the long predicted, long expected hour is at length come, but I have done nothing to hasten its arrival. My Saviour has gathered in his promised harvest, but none of the seed which produced it, was sown by my hand, or watered by my tears! If you would not be the subjects of reflections so mortifying, seize the precious opportunity which is afforded you, of committing your seed to the earth, so that hereafter, when he who soweth and he who reapeth shall rejoice together, you may participate in the joy of your Lord.

'Let no one attempt to excuse himself by saying, My services are not wanted. Let no one say, Since God has promised, that his Son shall see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied, we may safely sit still, and leave him to fulfil this promise. He will indeed fulfil it, but he will JULY, 1829.

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fulfil it by human agency. And before it can be fulfilled, before every enemy can be put under our Saviour's feet, many exertions must be made, much treasure expended, and many battles fought. Satan, the prince and god of this world, will not resign his usurped dominion without a struggle. The more clearly he perceives that his time is short, the greater will be his wrath, and the more violent his efforts. During that portion of time which yet remains, the war which he has long waged with the Captain of our salvation, will be carried on with unexampled fury. If you would survey the progress and result of this war, cast your eyes over the world, which is to be at once the field of battle, and the prize of victory. See the earth filled with strong holds and high places, in which the prince of darkness has fortified and made himself strong against the Almighty. See all the hosts of hell, and a large proportion of the inhabitants, the power, the wealth, the talents, and influence of the world ranged under his infernal standard. See his whole artillery of falsehoods, sophistries, objections, temptations, and persecution, brought into the field, to be employed against the cause of truth. See ten thousand pens, and ten thousand times ten thousand tongues, hurling his poisoned darts among its friends. On the other hand, see the comparatively small band of our Saviour's faithful soldiers drawn up in opposing ranks, and advancing to the assault, clothed in panoply divine, the banner waving over their heads, while in their hands they wield unsheathed, the sword of the Spirit, the word of God, the only weapon which they are allowed, or wish to employ. The charge is sounded, the assault is made, the battle is joined-far and wide its fury rages; over mountains and plains, over islands and continents, extends the long line of conflict; for a time, alternate victory and defeat wait on either side. Now, exulting acclamations from the Christian army proclaim the fall of some strong hold of Satan. Anon, infuriated shouts from the opposing ranks announce to the world, that the cause of Christ is losing ground, or that some Christian standard bearer is fallen. Meanwhile, far above the noise and tumult of the battle, the Captain of our salvation sits serene, issuing his commands, directing the motions of his followers, sending seasonable aid to such as are ready to faint, and occasionally causing to be seen the lighting down of his own glorious arm, before which whole squadrons fall, or fly, or yield themselves willing captives. Feeble, and yet more feeble still, gradually becomes the opposition of his foes. Loud, and yet louder still, rise the triumphant acclamations of his friends, till, at length, the cry of Victory! Victory!-resounds from earth to heaven; and Victory! Victory!-is echoed back from heaven to earth. The warfare ceases, -the prize is won,-all enemies are put under the conquering Saviour's feet; the whole earth, with joy, receives her king; and his kingdom, which consists in righteousness, peace, and holy joy, becomes co-extensive with the world. Such, my hearers, is the nature, and such will be the termination and result of the contest, which is now carrying on in the world. In this contest we are all now engaged on the one part or the other; for in this warfare there are no neutrals, he that is not with Christ is against him. Let us all, then, if we have not already done it, enlist under his banner, and make a common cause with him, against a rebellious world; and when he shall appear to judge the universe, he will say to us, Come, and sit down with me on my throne, even as I overcame and am seated with my Father on his throne.' pp. 240-244.

Christian Fellowship, or The Church Member's Guide. By J. A. JAMES, A. M. Birmingham, England. Edited by J. O. CHOULES, A. M. Pastor of the Second Baptist Church, Newport, R. I. Boston: Lincoln & Edmands, 1828.

pp. 204.

We are pleased with this work, and heartily recommend it to the churches. It contains the results of much observation and experience. Every one who reads it will wish others to read it. Let the spirit and the maxims of this book be prevalent, and the churches would indeed be happy communities. Ministers, especially recently settled pastors, and candidates for the ministry, will here. find many valuable hints. Deacons and private members, persons who have influence either on account of property, or information, or rank, all in short who profess to be disciples of Christ, will find suggestions, compliance with which will increase their usefulness and their comfort. Advice is given appropriate to the various circumstances of prosperity and adversity in which churches may be placed; and cautions are furnished which would infallibly prevent those (to use the very softest term) unlovely divisions which sometimes tear asunder the churches of our Redeemer.

We deem it unnecessary to enter upon a detailed account of the topics discussed in this book. They are here treated with sufficient minuteness and accompanied with sufficient illustration. The very just remarks of Mr James, however, on a subject intimately connected with the prosperity of the churches, but, we lament to say, quite undervalued by some churches and candidates for the ministry, we cannot but transfer to our pages and recommend to the very serious consideration of our brethren.

'A defective education not unfrequently prepares a minister to be the cause of much uneasiness in a Christian church.

Deprived, by the circumstances of his birth, of the advantages of education and cultivated society, he enters upon his academic pursuits with little knowledge both of books and of the world. When he has been a student but two or three years, some injudicious congregation, captivated by a few sermons, solicits him to become their pastor. He accepts their invitation, and with little information, still less acquaintance with the habits of society, he enters upon the duties of his office. He soon betrays his ignorance, incompetence, and want of all those qualifications which fit a person for government in the church and prepare him for esteem in the world. At length, by the meagreness of his preaching, and the want of prudence and respectability in his conduct, he disgusts his flock, and a conflict ensues. Both parties are to blame; they, in tempting him so soon to leave his preparatory studies, and he, in acceding to their wishes. They, however, are mostly to be censured; and so far as their own comfort is concerned, are rightly punished for plucking that fruit which, had it been permitted to hang till it was ripe, would have done them much service. A longer term of education would not only have given him more information, but more knowledge of men and things, and more capacity to conduct himself with propriety. Knowledge is power, by increasing a man's weight of character and degree of influence.

'The churches ought to be very cautious of tempting students to leave the schools of the prophets, before the term of education has been completed. This is an age of activity, more than of study, and therefore a young man should be well instructed, for he is sure to meet with many interruptions to self-improvement, when he becomes a pastor. An inefficient minister is the cause of many disturbances; and that inefficiency, where it does exist, is to be often traced up to a contracted term of education.' pp. 189, 190.

We were pleased to observe in this book what we have often noticed in the productions of other Pedobaptist writers, when the subject of baptism was not in their minds; namely, a very distinct recognition of principles which if thoroughly applied to religious sentiments and practices would inevitably put an end to the sprinkling of infants and others as a religious ordinance.

'It is not enough to plead the authority of example, or of mere feeling, as a reason for any religious service. These are insufficient pilots on the troubled ocean of theological opinion, where opposing currents, stormy winds, and concealed rocks, endanger the safety of the voyager to eternity. Our compass is the word of God, reason must be the steersman at the helm to guide the vessel by the direction of the needle; and that mariner is accountable for the consequences who is too ignorant or too indolent to examine his course.' p. 22.

In dissuading from the practice of occasionally administering the Lord's supper in private houses for the sake of sick persons,' Mr James remarks, There is not a single instance of any company of Christians, whose meetings were merely occasional, and who were not united for the purpose of stated fellowship as a church in a particular place, observing the ordinance of the Lord's supper. And as we have no scriptural example, so we have no precept for such things, not so much as a hint that they may be done. Should ministers, therefore, without the shadow of scriptural authority, consent to them?'

'As a precedent, the practice is dangerous: for if the Scripture mode of observing the Lord's supper be departed from in one way, it may in another. If ministers depart from the regulations of the New Testament for the advantage of the sick, may they not be led on to do it in other cases, till even the purposes of faction shall be promoted by the practice?' p. 187.

As an illustration of this last remark, one can scarcely help remembering, that the baptism (so called) of sick persons who could not be removed from their beds, held an important place in the gradual corruption of this institution.

Would that the principles enforced in the preceding extracts could have full operation! But so long as leaders in the church are disposed to search for the will of God respecting baptism "in some other way" than in "the law and the testimony" respecting baptism, and so long as they persuade themselves and others that it is quite immaterial what a Christian believes and practises respecting it, so long we fear that baptism, unembarrassed though it be as presented in the Bible, will continue "a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence."

We are glad that this book which bids fair to obtain an extensive circulation does not consider any thing as immaterial, which is exhibited in the Bible for the belief or the observance of Christians. 'It is admitted,' says Mr James, that, as in the human frame, so in the system of divine truth, there are parts of greater and parts of less importance; and the man who would put the principles of church government upon a level with the doctrine of the atonement, and represent a belief in the former as no less essential to salvation than a reliance upon the latter, betrays a lamentable ignorance of both. Still, however, although the hand is of less consequence to vitality than the head or the heart, is it of no value? Will any one be reckless of his members, because he can lose them and yet live? So because church government is of less moment to spiritual and eternal life than faith in Christ, will any one abandon it as a vain and profitless subject? Whatever God has made the subject of revealed truth, should be guarded on that, account from being considered as too frivolous to deserve our attention.' pp. 13, 14.

Away with that morbid insensibility which exclaims, "It is of no consequence to what church or denomination a man belongs, provided he be a Christian." Such a spirit is a conspiracy against the throne of truth, and is the first step towards a complete abandonment of the importance of right sentiments. Admitting that error is to be measured by a graduated scale, who will undertake to fix upon the point where harmless mistakes end and mischievous ones begin? Every thing relating to religion is of consequence. In the temple of truth not only the foundation is to be valued and defended, but every point and every pinnacle.' p. 22.

To Mr James' statement respecting the officers in the Christian church, we cannot wholly assent. On page 18th he says, as indeed is commonly said, that bishop, elder, and pastor, are only different terms for the same office.' That the bishops, or pastors, were also called elders, we doubt not; but that the term elder necessarily indicated a bishop or pastor, we question. The term elder was, probably, a general term equivalent to our word officer; and thus it could be applied to a pastor, or to a deacon; and the elders of a church included the pastor or pastors and the deacons. That the term is applied to pastors is evident; that the deacons are also included in this appellation, appears from 1 Timothy v. 17. "Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word and doctrine." Here a manifest distinction is made between the elders; they all rule, or govern, but some of them labor in the word and doctrine,' or teaching. These latter are the preachers; the other elders are the deacons. The preceding context favors this view of the passage; for the support of indigent widows is treated of, an object which came under the management of the deacons.

We know that a different exposition is sometimes given of this passage; and that the distinction between the elders is made to rest upon the word 'labor;' thus distinguishing the more diligent,