He had exercised the sacred office of the ministry for many years his lot was neither poverty nor riches-to the doctrines held by the church, in the days of our fathers, he added much of their firmness of character and integrity of life. The family of such a minister enjoy a precious privilege. They have in his life," an epistle for Christ," continually before them. Religion is not considered as merely a matter of the sanctuary and the sabbath, but enters into the relations of life, and sanctifies them all. And how she profited by these opportunities will appear in the sequel. Now that he was removed, I considered it to be my duty to give that intimation, which disease might not yet, perhaps, have given effectually. I conceived the solemn truth might be best made known in prayer, and sought to show my fears by the petitions which I brought to the mercy seat, in the worship of the evening. She understood my design, and told me, when I had ended, that in future I need not, in prayer, mention even the supposition of her recovery. "It was plain that God had determined otherwise, and let his will be done." On my observing that the Christian's hope in death, was a blessed one; she said, with earnestness" Oh! it is a glorious one in death; in life it is blessed, but in death it is full of glory." Death was to her no king of terrors. She said she had read of people removing the sting from the snake, and making a toy of it, when no longer able to do harmsuch was death to the believer. It has lost its sting. She knew that "to depart and be with Christ, was far better." "He who had sustained her hitherto, could still sustain; but it was better to be removed from the trial, than to be supported under it." "You may, perhaps, imagine," said she, afterwards, "that my temptations must have been small, yet they seemed great to one who had never experienced greater."

Having, in conversing with her, observed, that, from her diffident retiring character, she was not prepared for such decision now, and such a declaration of her views and hopes; she replied that she had not talked much of religion, she did not think a young woman privileged to talk much upon that subject; she knew that there was danger of mistaking talking about religion, for being religious; but that the subject had never been mentioned in her hearing, without her being an attentive listener; and that she had often wondered that persons, who acknow

ledged the being of a God, and knew their need of a Saviour, should so seldom seem to feel the presence of the one, or speak of the love of the other. She spoke with admiration of one of Jay's short sermons, from the words, "Thou God seest me," and wished it were printed as a tract and distributed. She hoped we would not think her mind weakened, when she now spoke of religion with warmth and earnestness. She had expected that her mind would be impaired, as the body decayed; that it had, in a degree, been so with her brother; but that her memory was more retentive, and her imagination more lively than they had been in the season of perfect health: that, standing now on the brink of the eternal world, it need not seem strange, that her thoughts should be almost entirely occupied with its concerns, or that her conversation should often turn on the hopes or the fears which rise in the mind of one so situated. At another time she observed, that when from the edge of the grave, she surveyed the path along which she had journeyed, she did not think the whole world could tempt her to run the same hazards once again; "nor would she, for all the world could afford, forego the peace of mind which she enjoyed at the present hour." Speaking of the com fort which she derived from a perfect acquaintance with her Bible, and a habit of thinking on spiritual subjects, she pitied the uninstructed, in their seasons of sickness and sorrow. She did not say, "their want of knowledge

would exclude them from heaven, but it must render their dying hour a dark and joyless one." That she was convinced that some mode of instruction, more plain and simple than the usual preaching on the sabbath, was needful for them. She had often seen young persons of this kind, most regular in attending in the house of God, and very serious while there; and yet, who, from the want of previous instruction, seemed but little profited; and when asked what they remembered of the service, could not recollect one sentence. She thought that very plain discourses, preached in retired country places might do much towards removing this evil; and that if young persons, who have been favoured with instruction themselves, were to employ a leisure hour in teaching a servant or a neighbour, they might do still more; and if they saw the matter as she did, she was sure they would make a B. trial.

[TO BE CONTINUED.]

THE following extracts from the Unitarian Version of the New Testament, as it is commonly, though erroneously called, as if persons denying the essential doctrines of the Gospel, were the only men who form just conceptions of the one only living and true God, will show sufficient reasons why a Remonstrant Minister and Elder should be so ashamed of it, as to deny publicly that they had ever circulated it. Be that as it may, there are about a dozen copies of it in their congregation, and all these have been introduced, long after they had entered into their respective offices. What induced the enemies of these books to procure them, they can perhaps best tell.

The following translation is given of 2 Tim. iii. 16, "All Scripture given by inspiration of God, is also profitable," &c.

Does not this translation imply obviously, that some Scripture is not given by inspiration? Here a door is opened for tradition; yet, according to Protestant views, inspiration is of sole authority, tradition of none. The consequence then is, that every passage which these translators mark to be doubtful, must be a traditionary one. Let us now observe how this reasoning is borne out by facts. Though these men had not the audacity to strike out of the canon of Scripture entirely Matt. i. 17, to ii. 23, inclusive; Luke i. 5, to ii. 52, inclusive; Luke xxiii. 43; John v. 4—vii. 53, to viii. 11, inclusive, and 2 Pet. ii. 1—22 inclusive; yet they have done far worse in printing them in such a manner as to mark them as being of doubtful authority, on no other evidence that we can discover except of those whom themselves acknowledge to have been considered heretics in the times in which they lived. To the great majority of those who are not accustomed to close reasoning, and the investigation of evidence, would not the reading of these passages, and the notes attached to them, imply, that because these were not pronounced in unequivocal terms, spurious, therefore, every man has a liberty of retaining in his system, and of rejecting from it whatever doctrines he pleases, no matter whether they be stated in Scripture or not?

Not content, however, with striving to make it be believed that these passages are spurious, the translators attempt to explain away the meaning of doctrines which are stated

in the most explicit terms in five passages, but which unfortunately for Unitarians, are in direct opposition to their own views. In considering doubtful, (which on their princi ples is virtually striking out,) the first and second of the abovementioned passages, they think to get rid of the miraculous conception of Christ. In one of their notes on the first, after stating their authority for making it doubtful, they go on to say:

"Some of the facts have a fabulous appearance, and the reasonings from the prophesies of the Old Testament are inconclusive.***" The account of the miraculous conception of Jesus, was, PROBABLY, the fiction of some early Gentile converts, who hoped by elevating the dignity of the founder, to abate the popular prejudice against the sect."

The note on Luke xxiii. 43, the third of the abovementioned passages, is very obscure and ambiguous considered by itself. The explanatory part of it is "In the state of the virtuous dead, who, though in their graves, are alive to God." Then follows a number of texts in which onegov to day denotes, indefinite time, for the purpose of proving the certainty of an event; but whether it be the certainty of the thief's being "in the state of the virtuous dead," or what else, it would be very difficult to determine. We are extricated in some measure from this dif ficulty, by turning to the note on 1 Cor. xv. 18. "This reasoning is utterly inconsistent with the supposition, that the virtuous dead are in a state of felicity previous to their resurrection."

That John, v. 4, which is rejected by these translators, militates directly against their views, may appear from their very frequent translation of the word, ayyeλos, by the term "messengers," where it is translated "angels" in the authorised version, and also from the following notes.

Matt. xvii. 3, "Hence it appears probable that the account of the death of Moses, in the last chapter of Deu. teronomy is erroneous. (Another proof that Humanitarians do not think all Scripture to be "given by inspiration," though they have not told us what is and what is not) and that he, like Elijah, was translated. These were probably the persons who appeared to the women at our Lord's sepulchre, (Luke xxiv. 4,) and to the disciples at

the Mount of Olives. Acts i. 12."

Acts x. 4, "If this were not altogether a visionary scene, the angel who appeared to Cornelius, was, probably, one

of those who conversed with our Lord on the Mount of

Transfiguration."

Heb. i. 4, "Having been made so much greater than these messengers." That is, the prophets who are mentioned in the first verse." v. 7, "That is, let all prophets and messengers of God acknowledge him as their superior." In 2 Pet. ii. we have the fall of angels mentioned in the 4th verse. The note on the words, "spared not the angels," is "i. e. the spies who were sent to explore the land of Ca naan." The note on the parallel passage, Jude 6, which they acknowledge to be both authentic and genuine, shows to what recourses they had to resort in desperate cases.

"Or, the messengers who watched not duly over their own principality, but deserted their proper habitation, he kept with perpetual chains under darkness (punished them with judicial blindness of mind) unto the judgment of the great day, i. e. when they were destroyed by the plague." AT ANY RATE A FACT SO IMPORTANT IS NOT TO BE ADMITTED ON SUCH PRECARIOUS EVIDENCE!!

We need not, therefore, be surprised to find, that they deny the personality of Satan,-make Christ's temptation in the wilderness to be a visionary scene, and say that the demoniacal possessions were merely cases of epilepsy, 'unacy, and other diseases of a like kind.

It would be an easy matter to swell this paper to a great extent, with such extracts of reasonings of a similar kind, and it would require much room to make so many quotations from the notes, as would enable the reader to form a correct conception of the system of doctrines, which Hu-' manitarian translators adopt, if they can at all be said to adopt any system.

I shall now conclude with two quotations, which, when compared with each other, and with those already adduced, will show how these men rob Christ of his honour, how they calumniate the Apostles, and how directly they contradict themselves.

2 Cor. xii. 8 "Mr. Lindsey observes, 'that the Apostles were not exact in the use of the words, 'Lord,' 'Saviour,' and the like, which they give indifferently both to God and Christ, never supposing that any would mistake their Lord and Master, so lately born and living amongst them, to be the supreme God and object of worship." Newcome says, "St. Paul repeatedly besought the Lord Jesus when he appeared to him in a vision, and in a vision he received the answer recorded." Dr. Priestly gives the same inter