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James, “I will shew thee my faith by my works."

For these works

he claimed no merit, while none who knew him well could doubt that he did all under the influence of the highest motive, "To the glory of God;" and most unfeignedly would he have complied with the scriptural injunction, "having done all, say, we are unprofitable servants."

He had often, during his illness, been heard to declare that his reliance was on the Lord Jesus Christ alone for salvation, and in nearly his last conscious hour, he again repeated, as his dying testimony, "I have a humble hope through the merits of my Saviour."

No more striking witness could be given to the worth of any private individual than was borne by the inhabitants of this borough on Thursday last, when he was carried to his long home. The general suspension of business, the all but universal closing of the windows both of shops and private houses, and the spontaneous junction of so large a proportion of the people in the funeral procession, plainly told the estimation in which he was held to the last. It was evidently felt by all that the town had lost a friend.

It may be interesting to you to know what I am authorized to announce, that his will contains the following bequests to public institutions, of which he was the constant benefactor during his life.

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In the year 1844, on the occurrence of an unexpected contingency, he decided upon becoming his own executor as respects two important institutions originally embraced by his will, viz.

The British and Foreign Bible Society
Lady Huntingdon's College, Cheshunt

£.2000
1500

He at the same time gave £.500 to this congregation, which has been before alluded to; and about the same amount to other objects, in addition to his usual annual contributions.

Enquiries and Correspondence.

Preaching of the Gospel.

DEAR SIR,-Will you favor me with your opinion on the following question.

Am I right to attend a church where, according to my views, the sermons preached are not scriptural, or is it better to stay away, there being no other place of public worship? Should I not, by going, countenance what I disapprove; also, set an example to others to attend likewise, and thus, it may be, doing damage to their souls as well as my own, by listening to false doctrine.

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Much depends on what the views of A. G. herself are. A vast deal of prejudice is often mixed up with those opinions which we consider to be scriptural; and we are almost always more tender with regard to these prejudices than to the essential truths of religion.

The preaching of the Gospel is the great instrumentality appointed by God for the salvation of the world: if, therefore, the Gospel be not preached, the obligation to attend public worship is void. But the consequences of neglecting God's house are so awful, that we cannot advise A. G. to absent herself on account of a mere difference of opinion. Let her use the good old rules laid down by St. John, and "try the spirits whether they be of God."

Creation of the Sun and Moon.

From a desire at all times to give a fair hearing to our correspondents, we insert the following communication; though, we must confess, that it appears to us somewhat irrelevant.

The question asked in our last number (p. 92) was simply this,-how there could be light without the sun, moon, or stars; and our answer was, that these luminaries did not constitute the light itself, but were the mere receptacles, dispensers, or reflectors of it.

Our present correspondent thinks, however, that we should have made of this question, a peg on which to hang a long essay on the squabbles of geologists, and forwards us the three extracts which we have appended to his communication.

High as is our respect for both the authors cited, we think they have rather evaded, than removed the difficulty of "A Doubter." The first assumes that the sun was created on the first day,—which is just what the Scriptures seem to deny; and the second fortifies this assumption by bringing forward a variety of ingenious proofs. We do not say that either of them is mistaken; but we venture to affirm, most decidedly, that neither of them clears up the difficulty started by our correspondent, by satisfactorily answering the question,-How there could be light without the sun, moon, or stars.-(ED.)

To the Editor of "The Youths' Magazine."

SIR,-Observing in the "Youths' Magazine," for the present month, the query relating to the Creation of the Sun and Moon, signed "A Doubter," I beg leave, very respectfully, to offer a few remarks upon your reply to the enquiry of your correspondent.

The question is so closely connected with a most interesting and important subject,-viz. the relation between the popular interpretation of the Mosaic cosmogony and the views entertained by the ablest geological writers, that it might have been expected, your answer, if it did not refer to the discoveries of geology, would, at least, have been in consistency with its established truths. It is to me a matter of regret, that this is not the case. The mind of your enquirer may be satisfied with your reply to this one question; but there are several apparent inconsistencies between the incontrovertible facts of geological science and the Mosaic account of the creation, that require an explanation that will not accord with the one you have here given. Would it not have been advisable to have replied to this question in such a way, as to have removed other difficulties suggested by the Mosaic narrative; and if space did not allow a full explanation, to

have referred your readers to those works where ample satisfaction may be obtained?

The difficulty which your correspondent experiences in reconciling the command, "Be light, and light was," with the subsequent account of the sun's creation, has been satisfactorily removed by many writers upon this subject.

I have made extracts from two works which I happen to have at hand, Dr. Buckland's Bridgewater Treatise, and Dr. Pye Smith's work on "Scripture and Geology," whose eminent scientific attainments, united with equally eminent piety, demand for his opinions the utmost regard.

I must apologize for intruding these observations upon your notice. They are written by one who has often experienced both pleasure and profit from the perusal of your Magazine. I am, Sir,

Yours, very respectfully,

From Dr. Buckland's Bridgewater Treatise on Geology.

J. S.

"If we suppose all the heavenly bodies, and the earth, to have been created at the indefinitely distant time, designated by the word 'beginning;' and that the darkness described on the evening of the first day, was a temporary darkness, produced by an accumulation of dense vapours 'upon the face of the deep :' an incipient dispersion of these vapours may have re-admitted light to the earth, upon the first day, whilst the exciting cause of light was still obscured: and the further purification of the atmosphere upon the fourth day, may have caused the sun, and moon, and stars, to re-appear in the firmament of heaven, to assume their new relations to the newly modified earth and to the human race."-(2nd Edition, pp. 29-30.)

From Dr. Pye Smith on Scripture and Geology.

"A prevalent, though not universal interpretation of the archaic narrative, is that the sun, and all the other heavenly bodies, were created on the fourth day after the creation of the earth. An obvious objection to this opinion is, that light is mentioned in the account of the first day: "God said, Be light and light was." But to this, the common answer is, that light was created in a diffused state; and that, on the fourth day, it was condensed and collected into a centre, for the solar system of planets; that this centre is the sun, or within the sun; and that

in some similar way the luminous property of the fixed stars was produced.

"Those who adopt this hypothesis, either with or without the modification annexed to it, are, perhaps, not aware that the spheroidal figure of the earth, its position in the planetary system, its rotation, producing the nights and days, which the Mosaic narrative expressly lays down in numerical succession, the existence of water, and that of an atmosphere, both definitely mentioned, and the creation of vegetables on the third day, necessarily imply the presence and the operations of the sun: unless we resort to some gratuitous supposition of miracles of the most astounding magnitude."-(pp. 84-5, 3rd Ed.)

Anther passage is as follows :

"The Hebrew word docs not necessarily mean the absolute privation of light," (i. e. the Hebrew word for darkness), "it is used in relation to various circumstances of partial darkness; and we know that conditions of the atmosphere have locally happened, in ancient and modern times, in which the noon-day has become dark as an ordinary night. The Divine power acted through the laws of gravity and molecular attraction, and where requisite, in an immediate, extraordinary, or miraculous manner. The atmosphere over the region became so far cleared as to be pervious to light; though not yet perfectly transparent. By the fourth day, the atmosphere over this district had become pellucid; and had there been a human eye to have beheld, the brightness of the sun would have been seen. and the other heavenly bodies after the sun was set." (pp. 278-80.)

THE POWER OF THE KEYS.

·

"Many of us care little for the Pope himself, who are yet terribly frightened at his shadow. The Power of the Keys,' even though that power is often employed only to hamper the lock, is recognised by many who call themselves Protestants. We don't mean that attenuated and filmy doctrine developed by Dr. Pusey, but that dark and ghostly apprehension of holy things which would convert a system of light and liberty into a scheme of abject vassallage-which would build up again the party-wall between priest and people, and call out in a voice of thunder to the quailing layman,- Come not near me; for I am holier than thou.'"

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