the righteous. He does not esteem their supplications troublesome, but meets them, as it were, in the house of prayer, or in the secret chamber, on purpose to receive their petitions. Perhaps the suppliant may be pouring out his prayer with a broken and a contrite heart, borne down with the weight of his sin, and mourning as though he could never hope for pardon :-upon him God looks with delight, and will grant him his request, as a father grants the requests of his beloved offspring. Hence, Scripture assures us that "the Lord heareth the prayer of the righteous, and the prayer of the upright is his delight."

We may further remark, that the words of the text imply that prayer is the distinguish ing characteristic of the righteous. If we examine into the conduct of those termed in Scripture the righteous, we shall find that they were men of prayer; in them dwelt the spirit of prayer and supplication, and they called upon the name of the Lord continually. Consider the patriarchs and prophets, how they communed with God in their afflictions by praise and prayer. Look to the Psalms of David, the man after God's own heart, and learn how he prayed for forgiveness, for grace, and for final acceptance. Jesus Christ himself, although he had no need of prayer, constantly attended the public wor ship of God in the synagogues and in the temple, besides offering up his private prayers; and he appointed "his house to be a house of prayer to all nations." His disciples also went up unto the temple to pray; and when they were persecuted and imprisoned, prayer was made for them unto God without ceasing by the Church, and they were delivered from death by the wonderful interposition of God. Prayer, then, we repeat, is the true mark of a righteous man. But, alas! brethren, men in general are averse to prayer; they cannot bring their proud and stubborn hearts to acknowledge their dependence upon another; they will endeavour to bear their own burdens, rather than call for assistance; they will rest upon the staff of a bruised reed, rather than" by prayers and supplications make their requests known unto God." They perhaps may repeat the beautiful and pathetic confession of our Church they may acknowledge themselves "miserable offenders," and pray, "from all the deceits of the world, the flesh, and the devil, good Lord, deliver us." But, let me ask, are not these too often repeated without thinking-merely the language of the lips, while the heart is far from them, engaged in other matters? It is not such a prayer that God will listen to and accept. We are by nature lost and perishing creatures, and it is

only by Divine grace that we can be renewed unto holiness; and this grace cannot be obtained without frequent, fervent, sincere prayer. It is certain that God knows our necessities before we ask, and our ignorance in asking, and could, if it seemed good to him, give us all things needful; but in that case he would violate one of his own rules--he "will be inquired of by his people," before he will impart to them his promised blessings. Prayer is the means by which we commune with God; and whoever desires to live in his love and protection will daily have access unto the throne of grace, there humbly confess his own unworthiness, plead the merits of the divine Saviour, and pray, through him, for pardon and acceptance. What great encouragement has every one to prayer!" Ask, and ye shall receive; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you," are our blessed Lord's own words. And again: "If men, who are evil, know how to give good gifts unto their children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts unto them that ask him!"

Those who delight in wickedness can have no pleasure in communion with God; hence they neglect both public worship and private devotion; or, if they do occasionally join in the congregation of Christians, the service is to them long and tedious. They put on the form of godliness, but where is the power of it? They draw nigh to God with their lips, but where is their heart? They neither worship him in spirit nor in truth. Such persons cannot expect the Divine favour; their worship of God is a solemn mockery; they offer him the sacrifice of fools.

Hence, thirdly, it is said in the text, "the face of the Lord is against them that do evil."

But who are those "that do evil," or the wicked? We must not be supposed to mean those only who indulge in gross wickedness. There can be no doubt, in the mind of any thinking person, that God's anger is kindled against the sordid sensualist, the drunkard, the hypocrite, the blasphemer; against those wretched outcasts who profane the Lord's day, and contemn the Lord's house, and despise the Lord's word, and deride the Lord's ministers. These are not alone meant, but also those who are not actually righteous,-the proud formalist; the self-righteous, pharisaical Christian, who has such a high and exalted opinion of himself and his own goodness, as to buoy himself up with the vain belief that he may win heaven by his own works and deservings. Alas, what a delusion! he is even in a worse state than the openly profane: there is some hope that he at some future period may be brought to feel his need of a Saviour, and come to repentance; but there is no hope of him who

God is grieved at the heart; that it is against his wish; that he would rather that all men "would turn from their wickedness which they have committed, and do that which is lawful and right, and save their souls alive." And now, brethren, what inferences can we draw from these considerations?

If it be true that "the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil," can we not see the folly and madness of continuing in our evil courses? If, in the great and terrible day of the Lord, when the secrets of all hearts shall be open, our actions shall be brought into judgment and adduced as evidences of our state before God, ought we not to strive to have our consciences void of offence both towards God and towards man, that we may be found in Christ "without spot, and blameless ?" There is a vague notion in the minds of some, that God will not execute his threatenings upon the wicked; that Christ died for sinners; and therefore, though they continue in sin, all shall be well with them at last. But what saith Goddoth he not say that the wicked shall die; that their sin shall find them out? "Hath he said, and shall he not do it? hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" The evil-doers, the careless sinners, may "think their ways right;" but if God's word be true, "the end of those things is

death."

Let me, then, brethren, ask you, do you attend to these things? Is it your endeavour to follow the example of your blessed Saviour," who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth ?" Do you strive to be righteous" in all holy conversation and godliness?" I do not say that any man can be righteous by his own endeavours; but there is assistance promised him, even the help of the Holy Spirit of God, which was purchased on the cross of Calvary by the blood of the Son of God. There is also a robe of righteousness provided for him-the spotless robe of Christ's righteousness; and if he will take hold of this robe by faith, it will be to him gold tried in the fire," and a "white raiment wherewith to be clothed." It is only by faith that he can lay hold of Christ's righteousness: "He that believeth on the Son of God hath everlasting life; but he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him." Let me then entreat all, brethren, to flee to Christ for salvation, as the only hope set before them. They can have no other foundation for their hope; for "other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ;" "there is no other name given

as "

among men under heaven whereby we can be saved, but the name of Jesus Christ." Oh, I pray to God that all of you will consider this, that you will repent, and turn, and go to Christ, who "is a strong tower, into which the righteous may run and be safe." Why will not men consider? Is it not that it interferes with the pleasures and the vanities of the world? "The lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eye, and the pride of life," these have their attractions; but holiness has charms for few.

Finally, let all impress these important truths on the fleshly tablets of their hearts. Let the proud man, whether proud of his worldly attainments, his riches, or his own fancied righteousness, learn of Jesus, "who was meek and lowly in heart;" and he will find, from his example, that pride cannot exist in the righteous man; that pride is not one of the list of the fruits of the Spirit, but belongs to the opposite list-the works of the flesh; and that these are contrary the one to the other. Let the hypocrite, when he is tempted to make a parade of his outward piety, but is, in truth, like a whited sepulchre-fair without, but within full of corruption-call to mind the words of Job, that "the hope of the hypocrite shall perish.' And whenever any of us are tempted to commit any crime which we may suppose hidden from the eyes of man, let us remember that the " eyes of the Lord are over us, and his face is against them that do evil." And let us all bear in mind that, since there are but two divisions-the righteous, and those that do evil,-we must have one or other of these sentences passed upon us in the day of judgment; either, "Come, ye blessed children of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;" or, fearfully different language, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."

IDOLATRY.*

32

As soon as man became conscious that he had deeply offended his infinitely pure and omnipotent Creator, from that moment he contemplated him, not as a kind and beneficent parent, but as an angry and omnipotent judge and avenger; and Cain is generally considered by those authors who have written on this subject, to

have been the first idolator. Since the fall, the love of God was extinguished in man's evil heart, and was exchanged for slavish fear, and hatred of that incom

prehensible being. We are accordingly informed, that

From "Genuine Christianity contrasted with its Corruptions, with Idolatry, and with the Religion of Mahomet." By Richard Maddock Hawley, M.D. 12mo, pp 102. Edinburgh, Lindsay and Co.; London, Hamilton, Nisbet. 1839. Whilst we acknowledge this to be a well-written volume, containing much interesting matter, there are some of the author's views to which we cannot assent; as, for instance, that Plato, Xenophon, Cicero, and other heathens, were occasionally under the guidance of the same Divine Spirit which inspired patriarchs, prophets,

evangelists, and apostles.

after the fall, Adam, for the first time, endeavoured to conceal himself from his pure and beneficent Creator, saying, "I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." Man, however, has ever been sensible of his physical and intellectual weakness, and of his consequent dependence on higher powers. Unable, therefore, longer to endure the infinite justice and purity of the triune God revealed in the Bible, he endeavoured to discover some other being or beings on whom he might safely depend; i. e. excelling in power and dignity, and therefore able to protect him; yet inferior in moral perfections to that omnipotent Jehovah whom he had so deeply offended by his transgressions.

The term idolatry signifies the act of worship or adoration, which is due to God only, paid to some created being or beings, generally through the medium of statues, images, or paintings. The earliest aberration from the worship of the triune God, was adoration of the most glorious of his works visible to man, i. e. the sun, the moon, the primary planets, and the fixed stars. As this is the most ancient, so also it is the least corrupt of all the varieties of idolatry. Its high antiquity is proved by the very names given by the ancients to their deities of the highest order; Apollo, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, Mercury, Diana, &c.; which are also the names of the sun, planets, and moon. This species of idolatry is also alluded to in some passages of the book of Job; probably the most ancient of all writings. A secondary order of divinities next arose, or demons, supposed to be the departed spirits of great and good men. Afterwards animals, plants, and even things without life, were worshipped as protectors. Tacitus, in his account of the ancient Germans, informs us that they worshipped a deity called Hertha or Herthus, which word, says he, in their language has the same meaning as our Latin word terra; he thus also shews us incidentally the origin of the English word earth. It has been well observed by an eminent writer, that idolatry is in religion what treason and rebellion are in politics. The former affronts the omnipotent Jehovah (who declares that he is a jealous God), by substituting for him an insignificant rival; the latter affronts the earthly representative of God, by disobeying his laws, defying his authority, and often also by preferring a usurper and a rival. As treason committed against an earthly Sovereign is never pardoned, so also in every part of the word of God idolatry is denounced as that abominable thing which is the object of the special hatred of Jehovah.

Having shewn that the origin of idolatry was a wish, on the part of fallen man, to forget the infinitely holy Creator whom he had offended, and, at the same time, to seek another defence against his own moral and physical weakness, I have next to consider the evil effects of idolatry. The moral conduct of man is powerfully influenced by the character and attributes which he ascribes to the being whom he worships; since the act of worship implies the belief, that the being we adore is able either to protect or to destroy. Let us apply this remark to the deities of the highest order.

Both Homer and Hesiod have presented to us a systematic description of the heathen divinities of the highest order. Jupiter is represented to us as being deficient in every attribute we are wont to ascribe to the Supreme Being; especially in justice and omnipotence. Juno is stated to be constantly under the influence of jealousy, occasioned by the impure conduct of her husband. Accordingly, the worshippers of these heathen divinities were necessarily unjust and impure in their moral conduct, from a conviction that injustice and impurity were highly acceptable to the objects of their worship. Mercury is represented to us as endued with the attributes of subtlety, falsehood, and duplicity; which vices his worshippers accordingly

exhibited in their lives, as being highly acceptable to that divinity. I willingly draw a veil over the attributes ascribed to Venus; suffice it to say, that the temples erected to the worship of this divinity were crowded with prostitutes, and consequently disgraced by the grossest impurities which could degrade and debase the nature of man.

We cannot wonder that, under such a system of moral (or rather immoral) discipline, the wickedness of man increased in a tremendous ratio; precisely as when a heavy body is precipitated to the earth from a high elevation, the velocity of its downward motion increases in proportion to the square of its diminished distance. Since, however, man has never been able utterly to extinguish the still small voice of conscience (which is none other than the voice of God addressed in a whisper to the human soul), the more the corruption of his moral character increased, in the same ratio the debased character of his idolatrous worship was augmented. The vilest and most despicable of animate and inanimate beings have been at different times and in different nations the objects of human adoration, as if the grand end to be obtained were the sanction and encouragement of every possible degree of moral turpitude. No animal was too base, no inanimate object too despicable for deification; as the baser the object of worship really is, the more contented is the soul with the pollutions of vice, and the smaller is the force of the admonitions of conscience. The supreme abhorrence in which idolatry is held by the great Creator is sufficiently apparent from the history of his ancient people, and of the Canaanites and other heathen nations, detailed in the Pentateuch. God not only prohibits, in the first commandment, the worship of any being except himself, but also in the second he forbids the use of any material symbol even of himself in worship. Though the golden calf was intended as a representation of the supreme God, yet we find that the worship of this idol was the cause of the death of three thousand persons. In like manner, we are informed that the Israelites were commanded to destroy utterly the idolatrous people of Canaan. They were evidently destroyed chiefly as the punishment due to their wickedness; and this wickedness was a necessary result of their idolatry. We thus find that the abhorrence with which God beholds idolatry was chiefly excited by the wickedness it produces; since he is so pure, that he cannot behold the smallest deviation from his most holy precepts, without supreme abhorrence.

The mercy and clemency of God in these transactions were not less remarkable than his justice. He was long-suffering, and nothing short of the incorrigible wickedness of the Canaanites at length ensured their downfall. This property of long-suffering in the Supreme Being is stated in inany passages of the word of God. We read in the 15th chapter of the book of Genesis, the "iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full." This attribute of long-suffering in the Supreme Being, followed by sure though tardy punishment, is not only often stated in the Bible, but is also alluded to by many heathen writers. Horace says, "Raro antecedentem scelestum deseruit pœna pede claudo." The evils of idolatry are in all ages and countries nearly the same. In modern India its leading features are cruelty and the grossest impurity. The former of these qualities is sufficiently conspicuous in the burning of widows, and the immolation of infants. St. Paul, in the epistle to the Romans (i. 22-32), gives a dreadful picture of the corrupt opinions and impure practices which were universal even amongst the most enlightened and polished nations of antiquity. Though the inspired character of his writings renders any confirmation of his account quite unnecessary, I may yet be permitted to notice a remarkable corroboration of it brought to light about a century ago. I allude to the accidental discovery of those ancient cities, Her

culaneum and Pompeii, destroyed by that eruption of Mount Vesuvius which was fatal to the elder Pliny. It is well known that the Neapolitans are by no means remarkable for moral purity; yet such were the abominations brought to light by each new excavation, that the king of Naples, by a royal edict, prohibited at length the entrance of any female into those dens of impurity, before a thorough expurgation had been accomplished.

Such are the causes and such the effects of idolatry. The first link in the melancholy chain was that mournful and mysterious event, the fall of our first parents, through the temptation of Satan. Hence followed the feelings of slavish fear and hatred towards that omnipotent Being, who, as he has been denominated the Divine Geometer, from the supreme accuracy of his physical government, so also in his moral government surveys the smallest moral obliquity with infinite abhorrence. Unwilling henceforth to retain God in his thoughts, fallen man took refuge in idolatry; like Cain, he wished to retire from the presence of his Maker, and to frame to himself idols, as like as possible to himself in vice and corruption. Thus, by a mutual action and reaction, sin generated idols, which in their turn encouraged sin; till at length the character of idolatrous worship arrived at such a degree of moral turpitude, as to quiet the human conscience under every enormity, and to sanction every possible aberration from the Divine will.

The Cabinet.

CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLE. The Christian, sanctified by the grace of God, has a principle engrafted in him, which is a ready and active principle; being converted himself, he is anxious to be the instrument of converting others. The grace given to him opens his heart, and out of the abundance of his heart his mouth speaketh,-now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation. The present moment of his life is the time to do good; the place where he is, is the locality for his labour of love; the mode of doing good will arise from the circumstances with which he is associated. He waits not for a more convenient season; he delays not for better opportunities: but no moment is to be lost; no moment is considered as only a little while, and unimportant, when it can be used to the glory of God. Objections may rise up in terrific vision before him; obstacles may present themselves, which he may not know how to surmount; the tempter suggests to him to delay his work; his natural slothfulness, indolence, and inactivity, claim their hitherto unmolested sway; he is to be accounted a visionary, an enthusiast, an attempter of impossibilities, a busybody, and a meddler with a world that wishes to be let alone; he is scorned and derided as injudicious, and over-zealous, and righteous overmuch. But the Christian who has received the truth as it is in Jesus, who has received, not only light to instruct him, but "grace and power faithfully to fulfil" what he perceives and knows he ought to do; the true Christian, influenced by the Holy Spirit, will go "about doing good" straightway.-Rev. H. Butterfield.

FALSE PHILOSOPHY.-It is curious to observe how much the various departures from religious truth have been influenced by some intellectual peculiarity of the period in which they have had their origin. Of the countless heresies which sprung up during the first six centuries, few comparatively grew out of different interpretations of a common record; the majority may be ascribed to that intellectual vice of the period, the desire to make all truth dovetail with some favourite philosophy. So, after the revival of learning in the sixteenth century, we are told, such was the passion for heathen mythology, that the abstruse mysteries of the Christian faith were clothed in the fabulous the

ology of Greece and Rome. Jupiter and Apollo were made to represent the sacred persons of the Trinity, and the patriotism of the Decii and Quintus Curtius served as illustrations of the atonement; until at last a decree of the Lateran council was passed, to bring back divines to a more sober theology, unde infectus philosophiæ et poesis radices purgare et sanare valeant. A little later, we meet with a mass of metaphysical divinity, disgusting alike for its puerility and its profaneness; but this also seems no more than a natural sequence of that fashion for public challenges,-the intellectual gladiatorship of the middle ages. For an example of the working of a similar spirit in our own times, we need only look at the awful darkness which overspreads the land of Luther, the rapid strides which Socinianism is making in a distant continent, or its continued existence in our own land. It is in no uncharitable spirit that we ascribe to one and all of these errors a common parentage, the pride of intellect, diminished reverence for Scripture, and the wish to bind up its sacred truths in unrighteous fellowship with the crude inventions of man.-Moore's Norrisian Prize-Essay.

Poetry.
WICLIFFE.

HIS EXHUMATION.

(For the Church of England Magazine.)

His bones are ta'en from their clay-cold bed,
No chant is sung, no prayers are said,

But curses mutter'd deep;

No toll comes forth from the churchyard-bell,
Nor is there dirge funereal,

Bidding the sacred dead farewell,

Lying in peaceful sleep.

Is this the unholy sepulchre
Of some accursed murderer,

Some ruthless parricide?—
That thus they rudely tear away
From its calm grave the senseless clay

Which charity would hide.

Oh no! beneath that soft turf green,
Holy as deep his rest hath been

Full forty years and more;
Full forty years his soul hath lain
With Jesus, once for sinners slain,

On heaven's blissful shore.

But now are his bones torn up from the grave

By Constance's bad decree;

And they, who the holy and learned should save, Scatter his dust to the winds and the wave,

In furious bigotry.

That stream bears his ashes to Avon's tide,t
From thence they float on to the ocean's side;
And like his words whom they've ta'en from his bed,
Which summon'd a world to wake from the dead,
Far away to remotest lands they spread.

And now they have reached the rapid stream.-
River, pour on, like the morning's beam,
Spread out, spread out over land, over sea;
Thou bearest the seeds of liberty.
Deeper, and deeper, and wider still,
Encompass the world, every space fill;

The Council of Constance held in 1415.

The well-known expression of Fuller is here alluded to.