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With regard to the order to be purgued in reading the Scriptures, it may be sufficient to remark, that it will be desirable to peruse those books first which are written in the plainest style, and consequently best adapted to the capacity of the mind; and afterwards to proceed gradually from the easier books to such as are more difficult, and especially to read those in succession which are of a parallel argument; from the New Testament to the Old, and from the simpler books to such as are more abstruse. "I can speak it from experience," says the celebrated Erasmus, "that there is little benefit to be derived from the Scriptures, if they be read cursorily or carelessly but if a man exercise himself therein constantly and conscientiously, he shall find such an efficacy in them as is not to be found in any other book whatso"The genuine philosophy of Christ," says the same eminent scholar and critic, "cannot be derived from any source so successfully, as from the Books of the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles; in which if a man philosophise with a pious spirit, praying rather than arguing, he will find that there is nothing conducive to the happiness of man, and the performance of any duty of human life, which is not, in some of these writings, laid down, discussed, and determined, in a complete and satisfactory manner."

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I MIGHT here be very large in representing the necessity of holiness in a minister, but I shall only observe, that the wicked teacher sins with the highest aggravation of his guilt, and the least hope of his repentance; he is the greatest and most desperate sinner.

The greatest sinner; for either he is a person of more than ordinary knowledge, or he is not: If not, he sinned greatly in undertaking that office, to which so great a know

Præf. in Paraphras. in Luc.

ledge is requisite: If he be, his knowledge doubtless increaseth his guilt. "For he that knows his master's will, and doth it not, shall be beaten with many stripes.' "" Besides, he must needs sin with a very strange assurance, by living in that wickedness which he daily reproves and preaches against, and so becoming avtoxa TáxgiTor a condemned man from his own mouth.

But that which I chiefly urge is this: The wicked teacher is, of all men living, in the most hopeless and desperate condition. It is usually observed of seamen, that dwell in the great deep, that if they are not very pious, for the most part they are desperately wicked; because they daily behold the wonders of the Lord, and besides live in a continual and very near danger, bordering upon the very confines of death, and being,

Quatuor aut septem digitis, a morte remoti, but a few fingers breadth divided from their fluid graves. And if these considerations do not persuade them to fear the Lord exceedingly, as it is said of the mariners in Jonah i. ver. 16. it argues that they are exceedingly hardened. The observation is truer of the minister; if he be not a good man, he must needs be extremely bad; for he daily converseth in the great deep of the holy scriptures, and there sees and reads such things, that if they do not effectually persuade him to piety, it is certain he is a man of an obdu rate heart.

What remedy is likely to work this man's cure and repentance? Will the dreadful menaces and threats of God's word affright him? No; these are daily thundered out of his own mouth, and yet to him they are but bruta fulmina. Will the gracious promises of God allure him? No; he daily charms his hearers with these, but remains himself as the deaf adder. Will those ex

cellent books of learned and pious men, that he reads in his study, work any good on him? No; he that slights God's word, will little regard the words of men. Will the public prayers make him serious? No; he daily reads them, and his daily practice is contrary to his daily prayers. Will a medicine comWill a medicine compounded of the flesh and blood of the Son of God (I mean the holy Eucharist) do the miserable man any good? No; he hath frequently received those dear pledges of his Saviour's love, and yet is still as bad as ever, and so hath trodden under foot the blood of the everlasting covenant, wherewith he should have been sanctified. The Lord look upon this man, for there is no hope of him without a miracle of divine mercy. Nay, indeed, all these excellent means, by being made familiar to him, have lost their efficacy upon him. Our Saviour, methinks, doth excellently represent the hopeless condition of a vicious minister, by a parable, Matt. v. ver. 13. where speaking to the Apostles (consider ed, I suppose, as ministers of the word) he tells them, "Ye are the salt of the earth, but if the salt have lost its savour, wherewithal shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men." Salt, if it be good, is of excellent use to season many things, but if it become itself unsavoury, it is not only the most useless thing, "good for nothing but to be cast out," &c. but irrecoverably lost; there is nothing will fetch putrid salt again, "for if the salt hath lost its savour, wherewithal shall it be salted?" Thus necessary is holiness in a minister, both for himself and others.

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ligion in the world. They are attended with this singular advantage and this unspeakable comfort, that in them God speaks to us and we speak to him. This delightful interlocution between the King of saints and the penitent sinner; this interchange of character, this mixture of prayer and promise, of help implored and grace bestowed, of weakness pleaded and strength imparted, of favour shown and gratitude returned, of prostration on one part and encouragement on the other, of abounding sorrow, and overflowing mercy, this beautiful variety of affecting intercourse between sinful dust and infinite goodness lifts the abased penitent communion with his Saviour and his into the closest and most elevating God.

THE PSALMS.

Extracts from the New Family Bible now publishing by T. & J. Swords, under the direction of the Right Rev. Bishop Hobart. (The passages within brackets are added to this edition by the American editor.)

PSALM I. This Psalm was placed first, as a preface to all the rest, being a pow erful persuasive to the diligent reading, and serious study of the whole book, and

of the rest of the Holy Scriptures, taken from that blessedness which attends upon this study and practice. Poole.

1 BLESSED is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

Ver. I. Blessed is the man, &c.] In other words, Great is the happiness of that man who hath not trod in the steps of the ungodly, or, if he hath at any time been seduced by them, did not presist, like those hardened wretches, in evil courses; much less proceed so far in his impiety, as to be one of that company who deride and scoff at religion. Bp. Patrick.

[To sit, signifies a fixed, determinate, secure, resolute establishment in a habit of wickedness; whereas walking, or standing, in the way of sinners, represents only particular wicked actions. And the seat of the scornful signifies the highest power and dominion of impiety. Dr. S. Clarke.]

[Men are usually first corrupted by bad counsel and company, which is called "walking in the counsel of the ungodly;" next they habituate themselves to their vicious practices, which is "standing in the way of sinners," and then, at last, they take up and settle in a contempt of all re

gion, which is called "sitting in the seat of the scornful." Abp Tillotson].

[A life of wickedness is gradual and progressive. One criminal indulgence lays the foundation for another, till, by degrees the whole superstructure of iniquity is complete. When the sinner has once put forth his hand to the forbidden fruit, and thinks that he can taste and live, he returns with greater and greater avidity to repeat his crimes, till the poison spreads through all his veins, and all the balm of Gilead be ineffectual for his cure. One sin indulged, gathers strength and abounds; it increases, it multiplies, it familiarizes itself with our frame, and introduces its whole brood of infernal inmates, worse than_pestilence, famine, or sword. Logan.]

5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

[The miseries which the wicked endure here, are but the beginning of their sorrows. That God, whose grace they abused, whose mercy they undervalued, and whose power they despised, is now their awful and inexorable Judge. The wicked have no cause to complain of the sentence that is passed upon them. They have brought it upon their own heads. They

have been the instruments of their own ruin. They have brought themselves into a situation in which it is impossible for them to be happy. Their own hearts will condemn them. The final sentence is pronounced, they are driven from the presence of the Lord, they are cast into outer dark. ness, where the worm dieth not, where the fire is never quenched. Logan.]

This Psalm, like the Sermon on the Mount, opens with a "beatitude" for our comfort and encouragement, directing us immediately to that happiness, which all mankind in different ways are seeking after. He who hath once brought himself to "delight" in the Scriptures, will find no temptation to exchange that pleasure for any which the world or the flesh can of fer him. Such an one will make the oracles of God his companions by day and by night. He will have recourse to them for direc

tion, in the bright and cheerful hours of prosperity; to them he will apply for comfort, in the dark and dreary seasons of adversity. And, by continual meditation in

the Sacred Writings, he will as naturally

improve and advance in holiness, as a tree thrives and flourishes in a kindly and wellwatered soil. Bp. Horne.

PSALM II. [Prophetic of Messiah's exaltation Bp. Horsley J

This Psalın may be supposed to relate, in the first place, to David, whom God estabIshed upon the throne of Israel, notwith

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[4. He that sitteth in the heavens skall laugh:] This is spoken of God, after the manner of men, to denote his utter contempt of the opposition of his enemies, the perfect ease with which he was able to disappoint all their measures, and crush them for their impiety and folly; together with his absolute security that his counsel should stand, and his measures be finally accomplished; as men laugh at, and hold in utter contempt, those whose malice and power they know to be utterly vain and impotent. The introducing God as thus laughing at, and deriding his enemies, is in the true spirit of poetry, and with the greatest propriety and dignity. See also Ps. xxxvii. 12, 13 "The wicked plotteth against the just-The Lord shall laugh at him, for he sees that his day is coming." In the place before us the whole description is grand. Jehovah is he, who is seated in the heavens, far beyond the effects of their rage and malice; from thence he sees their secret counsels, confederate armies, and united obstinate endeavours to oppose what he had solemnly decreed. There he securely laughs at them, derides their projects, and will soon make them feel the effects of his vengeance.-- The representation of the Psalmist, as it is figurative and allusive, is with the utmost propriety and decency, and highly expressive of that sovereign contempt, with which Jehovah views the princes and rulers of the earth, in their united opposition to the schemes of his providence, and the determinations of his wisdom and goodness. Dr. Chandler.]

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5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.

6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.

[Let us reflect, for our comfort, that he who raised up his Son Jesus, has promised to raise up us also who believe in him; and that the world can no more prevent the ex. altation of the members, than it could prevent that of the Head. Bp. Horne.]

11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.

[11.-rejoice with trembling.] Literally "with trembling;" but the thing meant is that sort of fear which arises from a man's diffidence of his own strength and power-a notion which the word "trembling" not at all conveys in our language. Serve the Lord, says the Psalmist, with fear, and rejoice; take satisfaction, joy, and glory to yourselves in becoming his servants. But let it be a holy, temperate joy, fearful of offence, not heedless and presumptuous, verging on the licentious kind. Bp. Horsley.]

FOR THE CHRISTIAN JOURNAL.

Remarks on Experiences, as a Subject of ordinary Conversation and of Ecclesiastical Inquiry. -THERE may be actions formally good, while they are no evidence of a religious character, because not issuing from a correspondent state of the affections. If a man be honest from regard to reputation, or temperate with a view to health, or even beneficent for the maintaining of his standing in society; in each of the cases there may be commendable discretion, but it is destitute of the essential principle of religious observance.

That principle must be a subject of experience. Accordingly, whatever may have passed in the mind of consolation or of sorrow, of hope or of fear, or of any other affection produced by the pressure of religious obligation on the conscience, or by the prospects which it presents; matters of this sort, seen in retrospect, come under the head of experiences. In short, it is experience only which can produce the fruit of a holy life.

Not only so, the experiences of the inward man may be sometimes profitably disclosed, with a view to counsel or to comfort; but it should be under the veil of secrecy. A minister of the Gospel ought to be so qualified, as that the mind may be unburdened to him. If the person concerned know a religious friend of the laity, to whom he can disclose his retired exercises with the most confidence, it is not here intended to deny that the preference may be allowable. The point to be insisted on is, that he is not to make it a theme of indiscriminate conversation, or to subject it to ecclesiastical inquiry. VOL. III.

From the moment in which he allows himself in the former, he has entered on the ground of danger-that of expending what may be estimable in his sensibilities, that of dressing them up in ostentatious appearances to the world, that of establishing a re putation for sanctity in points which have no relation to it, and that of making these a substitute for the demands of evangelical righteousness, and a cover for the most shameful acts of departure from it.

From what place in Scripture is there supposed to be a sanction, even by implication? The word experience is found in one place only-" Patience worketh experience, and experience hope." Even here the word "proof" (doxin) would have been nearer to the original. The patient endurance of tribulation in the cause of Christ, was a "proof" of the sincerity of a profession of his name. And yet, if the Apostle had contemplated what we understand by "experience," there would have been confessed a relation between the cause and the effect. But. this is not the kind of experience included in the present subject.

It is further unfortunate for the advocates of the contradicted theory, that whenever the Scriptures mention any religious affection, it is in alliance with influence over the conduct. We read-"this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments”—“ that we should serve him with reverence and godly fear""every man that hath this hope in him, purifieth himself even as he is pure"" the abundance of their joy, abounded unto the riches of their liberality." Many such texts might be produced, from both the Testaments. It is a remarkable circumstance, that although religious affection, as existing in the mind, and as evidenced in the conduct, presents two different points of view, in which the subject is often and may properly be considered in human writings and discourses; yet in Scripture, they are scarcely ever if at all seen, except in combination. This is said, not to prohibit the discrimination, but to shỏw how little ground there can be in it for the superstructure of religious expe

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riences, in the frequent use of the expression.

For, under this name, some make the movements of their minds the subject of ordinary conversation. They are bandied about for edification, in promiscuous companies: and they are extolled as evidence of progress in holiness. If any thing of the like na ture had been practised under the immediate authority of the apostles, there are many places of Scripture, in which it would hardly have been absent. To the interview of St. Paul with Ananias, to that of St. Peter with Cornelius and his friends, to that of St. Philip with the Ethiopian, and to that of St. Paul and Silas with the jailor and his household, such exercises would have been peculiarly pertinent. But nothing of the kind appears. Of the three thousand who were converted in one day, as record ed in the second chapter of the Acts, we have not the experience of an individual: and it is remarkable, that of the twelve apostles, and those of the same grade of ecclesiastical character, although they spent their lives in spreading the Gospel, not one of them has left us an account of what are known in modern times under the name of experiences. These are here supposed to be principally the emotions of the mind, whether of joy or of sorrow as to spiritual state; or of inward temptation, or the resistance of it; which, unless announced, would not have been visible in the conduct.

The other branch of the subject that of ecclesiastical inquiry, has been. introduced merely with the view of cautioning against the assumed authority of any minister of the Episcopal Church, should such a one be found, so alien from her provisions in this matter. He would not only exceed his powers, but, by his example, in proportion as it might be followed, hazard consequences similar to those which, in some times and places, result from the Roman Catholic doctrine of auricular confession: and more dangerous; since the knowledge of the movements of another's mind, opens a wider door than that of his actions, to any artful use which may be made of either,

On the present subject, the silence of the Episcopal Church speaks more plainly than any words; which would have been liable to misconstruction. There are several of her institutions, which, according to the opposite theory, must be perceived to be essentially defective: as her services for “bap tism of adults," for "confirmation," and, above all, for "visitation of the sick." Is it that she esteems the unbosoming of the mind disallowable? Not so. The propriety of it, where occasion may require, is involved in the nature of the gospel ministry and is recognized in one of the exhor tations to the Communion, towards the end. It is also implied in the examination prescribed to the minister in the visitation of the sick.

W. W.

FOR THE CHRISTIAN JOURNAL.

On the adorning of Churches and Houses with Evergreens during the Season of Christmas.

THE inquiry has often been made, Why do Episcopalians adorn their churches and houses with evergreens during the season of Christmas?

As the limits of the Christian Jour nal, it is presumed, will not admit a lengthy treatise on this subject, it is hoped the following observations may afford some satisfaction to those who are wholly ignorant of the reason of this significant custom

Among the Jews it is well known that there were three great feasts. The first was the Passover, appointed to be observed in commemoration of their deliverance from Egyptian bondage. To this our Easter answers; as at that time, once a year, we.com memorate our deliverance from the bondage of sin and Satan by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The second was the Pentecost, or Feast of Weeks, being seven weeks, or the fiftieth day from the Passover, and in commemoration of the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai, seven weeks after their deliverance from Egypt. To this our Whitsuntide answers; as at this time we commemorate the effusion of the Spirit on the Apostles, which took place at Jerusalem during

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