with a strong and mighty arm, and who is rich toward all who call upon him. If I am weak, he is strong; if I am despicable, he is glorious. O my God, help thou my unbelief; give me faith, and I shall move mountains, and like my brother Gideon, I shall gain the victory.

Is not all that passes around us calculated to kindle the courage of Christ's servants? If the adversary who is termed the God of this world, redoubles his efforts, and affects a triumph already, has not the lion of the tribe of Judah conquered for himself and for his own? When has he shewn the strength of his arm more conspicuously than in our days? Has the Sun of Righteousness ever risen more bright and more glorious? If blind men reject and deny his light, can they hinder his quickening rays from renewing the face of the earth, and pouring clearness, heat, and life upon the whole world; when we see them spreading at once over the ices of the north, and the burning coasts of Africa; when the uttermost parts of the globe are visited by the day-star from on high, and the distant isles, once covered with thickest darkness, are rejoicing in the light of the gospel, and shining with the glory of Jesus Christ ? *

Do we not see the wonders of the first ages of Christianity renewed? Do we not see a whole army of new apostles quitting their country, kindred, friends, and the sweets of life, to go and carry the everlasting gospel to the poor heathen who receive it with love and rapture? If the world knows not, or despises their devotion and their achievements, yet angels applaud them, and the Lord is with them.

Do we not see the divine word translated into all the languages of

* We may here apply the words of Ezekiel xliii. 2. The glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east and his voice was like a noise of many waters, and the earth shined with his glory. T.

men, spreading itself every where like an immense stream of life, and causing the desert to blossom as the rose? Even our Europe, which seemed on the point of losing the lamp of the Gospel for her apostacy, is she not awaking from her protracted slumber? And if prejudiced or misinformed men discern symptoms of religious exaggeration in these movements, which they oppose in their blindness, and which perhaps they defame, yet the dispassionate observer, and the disciple of Christ, see the finger of God therein, and the work of the divine spirit, announcing a new and glorious sunrise, and the return of spring after a tedious and severe winter.

Who can doubt that a religious revival is displaying itself every where, or hesitate to rejoice in it? The great cities of civilized Europe are affected by it, as well as the wild forests of Northern America. Yes, human society requires religion, not such as makes the conscience slavish; not superstition or fanaticism, not deism, thinly plastered (or not) with Christianity, but the simple and majestic religion of the Gospel, which alone has light for every darkness, answers for all the needs of the soul and heart, comforts for every grief, and balm for every wound. Let the glory of this be rendered to the God of goodness and mercy, who never leaves himself without witness. Men begin to see, and they will see clearer, that mankind must come to the religion of the Gospel, if they wish to find rest, or happiness, or hopes which are not vain.

I vow to devote myself to, and to live and die in, the service of that holy and pure religion of Jesus Christ, such as it is proclaimed in the canonical books of the Old and New Testament, as it was preached by St. Paul, by St. John, by St. Peter, and by the confessors of Jesus Christ in all

ages. As such has it been an

nounced with so much force and success by the courageous and faithful men, who in the sixteenth and the preceding centuries, restored Christianity to its primitive purity, and replaced the candle in its candlestick. These were John Huss, Jerome of Prague, Wickliffe, Wessel, Luther, Melancthon, Calvin, Beza, Dubosc, Mestrezat, Franke, and so many other true servants of Christ, both ancient and modern, who, though differing perhaps on on secondary points, are all agreed on the fundamental doctrines which are necessary to salvation, and all recognize Jesus Christ as their Lord and their God.

I vow to devote myself to, and to live and die in, the service of this church, which is built on the foundation of the prophets and apostles, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone; against which the gates of hell shall not prevail; which has for its banner the cross once set up at Golgotha, for the salvation of mankind; which is one and universal; which has Jesus Christ for its invisible and only head, as well as for its only priest; and for its only sacrifice, his own sacrifice of himself once offered.

Yes; I promise to announce with fidelity the doctrines contained in the Holy Scriptures, of which the six following are the most essential truths:

1. That there is but one God, Creator and Preserver, Eternal and Almighty, the most adorable Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

2. That the Son of God, for love toward men, emptied himself, put on their flesh, and has effected the salvation of believers, by all that he has done and suffered.

3. That man has fallen into a state of degradation, corruption, and condemnation.

4. That he cannot be justified before God, but by believing in the expiatory sacrifice of Jesus Christ,

our indispensable and perfect Saviour.

5. That there is no true, no saving faith, but such as works by love, manifests itself by works, inspires a horror of sin, and makes of the man a new creature.

6. That the Holy Spirit undertakes and performs the sanctification of the believer, and that no one can see the face of God, and enter into the kingdom of heaven, if he be not regenerated and sanctified by the Spirit of God.

I vow before the God who hears me, and who searches the heart and the reins, in the presence of angels and men, to fulfil all the duties enjoined to a faithful minister of Christ, according to the strength which God shall give me, and as the Holy Bible wills and prescribes, in which I declare my belief, as being throughout the word of all truth, inspired by the Holy Ghost to the holy men who wrote it. May God be my helper !

Such are the solemn engagements which I take on myself this day. I humble myself now under the formidable and sacred charge of a minister of Jesus Christ, which has been entrusted to me by the imposition of hands, after apostolical usage and commandment, which is followed and to be followed in the Christian church.

You have heard, my brethren, the promises which I have made; you are witnesses of the engagements I have taken. May you not rise up together, at the day of judgment, in condemnation against me. May God be my helper!·

O my God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, I then have given myself solemnly to thee. Behold me, Lord; dispose of thy faithful servant. I acknowledge that I am nothing, that I can do nothing, that thy grace alone is anything, that thy love alone is powerful, that all glory is due to thee, and that all crowns are to be cast at thy feet. Glory then to thee, how

and for ever. Lord, I await all from thee, in giving up myself wholly to thee; I offer thee my life, my heart, and my whole being. Give me the anointing of thy Spirit, fill me with thy strength and thy charity; affect my soul with the sufferings and the dangers of my brethren; give me a holy courage and joy to confess the adorable name of Jesus, the only name given among men, whereby we must be saved. Grant that I may keep the faith, may be faithful unto the end, and may receive the incorruptible crown, which thou reservest for those who shall have fought the good fight. Consecrate me thyself to the ministry of thy word; baptise me with the Holy Spirit and with fire; let this day be to me a Pentecost, and let thy heavenly flame, penetrating to the bottom of my heart, consume all that is displeasing to thee, and

sanctify me to thine honour and glory.

Regard also, in thine eternal mercies, O my God, the church in whose bosom I was born, and to which I am attached by ties so dear. Bless the shepherds and the flock; shed over us all a rich measure of thy Holy Spirit; breathe upon us a breath of life, that the dry bones may revive, and that we may arise as one man to serve thee. If thou hast hidden thy face from us, on account of our sins, yet in thy wrath remember mercy, and be mindful of our fathers, who have served thee more faithfully than we have, and do good to us for their sake, or rather for the sake of Jesus Christ, who has bought us by his own blood, which speaketh better things than that of Abel, and which is heard throughout the heavens, exclaiming Mercy! Mercy! Amen. M. N.

Few days pass wherein we are not forcibly reminded of the Apostolical declaration, "The fashion of this world passeth away," and “Here we have no continuing city." The uncertain tenure by which we hold even our dearest enjoyments, is perpetually demonstrated; and if we were not exceedingly dull scholars, we should readily receive and act upon the precept, your affections on things above." The propriety of not permitting them to centre in earthly objects, would be obvious; and while we justly estimate those blessings which the Giver of all good has bestowed upon us, we should

"Set

remember that the hand which first conferred, can only have a merciful purpose of withholding or recalling; that He whose neverfailing providence ordereth all things both in Heaven and in Earth,' doth not unnecessarily

afflict his creatures; and consequently it is our province to submit with resignation to the chastisement; for a day is coming, when it will be made perfectly evident, that all things have essentially worked together for good. True it is, however, that the grace which enables us under afflictive dispensations to realize the feeling expressed in the beautiful imagery of the Prophet, is of no ordinary kind. He has recorded, "Although the figtree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vine, the labour of the olive shall fail, the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stall; yet will I rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation."

The Christian life is frequently compared to a warfare, we should therefore aim to attain the victory in this contest, ever bearing in mind the assurance, that

"these light afflictions which are but for a moment, work out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." We are not required entirely to repress our tears, the eternal and co-equal Son of God himself wept at the grave of Lazarus; but while they flow, think on his words-"I am the resurrection and the life," and whoso believeth in me shall not perish everlastingly. Though called upon to submit to a heavy trial, yet even in this dark cloud, the hand of mercy is apparent. Your departed daughter had been early led to seek for salvation through the righteousness of Christ. She felt her need of instruction, and implored wisdom of that God who giveth to all men liberally. This wisdom enabled her to take her Heavenly Father as the guide of her youth. Under his guidance her brief life was passed, his presence supported her in her dying hour, and under the convoy of his angels, she has been admitted into his kingdom above. If she had been spared she would doubtless have encountered many evils which the tenderest care could not have averted. The mutability of friendship might have blanched her cheek, or the visits of sorrow and sickness dimmed her eye. But now she has

entered into the rest which remaineth for the people of God. Did you love her, and can you grieve that she has so soon entered into her rest? Did you love her, and will you regret that she has exchanged her garments of earth for robes of immortality?

Did you

love her, and can you repine that her voice, though no longer music in your ears, is engaged in chaunting the song of Moses and the Lamb? Did you love her, and will you weep that she is without fault before the throne of God? Did you love her, and can you sorrow that she has passed from the church militant on earth, to the church

triumphant in heaven? No! Your every endeavour while she was with you was directed to secure and promote her happiness; and now that it is secured beyond the possibility of interruption, and in a degree far surpassing any thing you could have bestowed, you will not suffer her absence quite to unnerve you. Reflect again that short will be your separation, eternal your reunion; your affections are placed on the God of your daughter, and a few more rising and setting suns, and you shall be safely anchored by her side on the coast of Canaan. Then shall she hail your introduc tion to glory; she will rejoice to find the dark valley at length passed, the deep river safely crossed, and receive an increase of happiness in the renewal of an intercourse which shall not be interrupted by sickness or death, for the inhabitants of that blissful region shall

no more say I am sick," and the last great enemy will be for ever destroyed. In the mean time, let her not have died in vain. From her early tomb she may be considered as saying-" Be ye also ready, for at such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh." May we imitate her in making preparation for eternity, and emulate her bright example as we would be sharers at last of the rest into which she has entered.-I commend you to the care and blessing of him, who died to take away the sting of death, and who is able to save to the uttermost. Do Thou, Almighty Father! who hast promised to stay thy rough wind in the day of the east wind," behold these thy servants in their affliction; impart unto them the consolations of God; let thy strength be made apparent in their weakness; hide them under the shadow of thy wings till these calamities be overpast!'

"

JUVENIS.

THE character of Volney's writings is too well known to require many words on our part. He devoted his talents to the cause of irreligion, and endeavoured to discredit Revelation in every possible way. His Travels in Egypt and Syria, and Ruins of Empires, are the two works on which his reputation as a man of research and genius chiefly rests. His own party esteem him learned, but his rash conjectures, his false chronology, and the errors into which his irreligious bias constantly seduces him, leave him no claim to such a title. Among those who have exposed his mistakes and misrepresentations, it is pleasing to remark his own countryman, Larcher, the translator of Herodotus,* But the most complete refutation of his objections is to be found in his own pages, from which the Religious Tract Society of Paris has selected a series of irresistible testimonies to the Divine truth of Scripture, in which the language of prophecy is contrasted with Volney's own words, and thus he is made an unwilling witness to the cause he sought to destroy. The accuracy of his descriptions is acknowledged by all; so that even as a commentary on the prophecies, we are glad to transfer these passages to our Miscellany. Nor can we invite our reader's attention to this subject, without observing that infidelity may in this instance be compared to the poet's eagle, who was pierced with an arrow feathered from his own wing.t

This erudite scholar admitted a number of irreligious notes into the first edition of his work, all of which he rejected in the

second. Such sound instances of conviction, in the midst of atheistical society, are very remarkable.

The Texts of Scripture are here printed in Italics, and the Extracts from Volney in the usual character.

Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot. Jer. xii, 10.

The Turcomans, the Kurds, and the Bedouins have no fixed habitations, but they wander continually with their tents and their flocks in the limits where they consider themselves the proprietors: the Turcoman hordes encamp by preference in the plain of Antioch; the Kurds, on the mountains between Alexandretta (Scanderoon) and the Euphrates; and the Arabs along the frontier of Syria which borders on their deserts, and even in the plains of the interior, such as those of Palestine, Bequââ, * and Galilee.— Travels in Syria, c. 22. Volney.

But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten : as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them when they cast their leaves. Isa. vi. 13.

The soil of the plains is fat, light, and bespeaks the greatest fruitfulness.... Physical State of Syria, i. 6.

I will give it into the hands of the strangers for a prey, and to the wicked of the earth for a spoil; and they shall pollute it. Ezek. vii. 21.

The multitude of inhabitants is subjected to the will of an armed faction, who dispose of every thing according to their interest and their pleasure..... When the Ottomans, under the command of Sultan Selim, deprived the Mamelukes of Syria, they regarded it only as the spoil of a vanquished enemy, or a possession acquired by the right of arms and warfare. Travels, c. xxxiii. 1.

How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein ? Jer. xii. 4.

Syria deserves to be reproached

*Bequâa is the ancient Cælo-Syria.