THE SON OF THE BLESSED. "The High Priest asked him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I am" This answer decided the trial. He was condemned to death for blasphemy. In what the blasphemy consisted we learn from another passage of the Gospel. "For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God." He had called himself the Son of God. But lest this expression,Son of God," should be liable to any ambiguity, as if it had no other meaning than as applied to a Prophet or agistrate, or the like, we have fortunately another passage, in which the Jews express their meaning more distinctly. "But Jesus ans wered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore they sought the more to kill him, because he said, that God was his own Father, (v) making himself equal with God." We know that on another occasion. Christ said: "All things that the Father hath, are mine;" and "all men should honour the Son even as they honour the Father." The great truth, therefore, for which Christ died, was not, that there will be another life after this, (which the Unitarians seem to suppose was the principle object of his mission for the high Priests and Pharisees, and the general body of the Jewish nation, were already believers in that doctrine; but that he was the Son of God, the Son of the Blessed, and that in a sense, which his accusers called Blasphemy, by " making himself God," and "equal with God." Christ, therefore, died a martyr to the truth, the great truth, which the Unitarians reject,-the truth of his Divinity.

I

The immediate causes of Christ s death were his calling himself the Son of God, and the unbelief of the Jews, who crucified him for it. But the end, for which he died, was that he might be "a propitiation for the sins of the whole world,' being "the Lamb of God" the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world,” —that is, by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God." will not enter further into the proofs of a doctrine, which has been largely, learnedly, and triumphantly established by Dr. Magee, in a work to which Mr. Belsham's attention ought to have been long ago directed; and which it was incumbent on him to have answered, before he published his Calm Inquiry, in which he ventures to obtrude upon the public a repetition of errors and impieties, which had been unanswerably refuted by Dr. Magee's great work on the ATONEMENT, which cannot be attentively and impartially read without a full conviction, that Unitarianism is not Christianity.' pp. 76–80.

Art. IV. The Influence of Bible Societies on the Temporal Necessities of the Poor. By the Rev. Thomas Chalmers, Kilmany. 8vo. pp 24 price 18. Cupar, Tullis; and Longman & Co. London,

1814.

THE HE specific object of this able pamphlet, as intimated in the title, is to vindicate Bible Associations, in respect to their practical bearing on the wants and habits of the lower orders; to refute and expose the speculations of those cold and super

ficial objectors, who would bring the necessities of the poor into competition with such institutions, and who represent every shilling given to the Bible Society as an encroachment upon that fund which was before appropriated to the relief of poverty.

Admitting the fact stated in the objection,' says Mr. Chalmers, to be true, we have an answer in readiness for it. If the Bible Society accomplish its professed object, which is to make those who were before ignorant of the Bible better acquainted with it, then the advantage gained more than atones for the loss sustained. We stand upon the high ground, that eternity is longer than time; and the unfading enjoyments of the one a boon more valuable than the perishable enjoyments of the other. At the hazard of being execrated by many, we do not hesitate to affirm that it would be (in the supposed case of such a necessity) better for the poor to be worse fed and worse clothed, than that they should be left ignorant of those scriptures which are able to make them wise unto salvation through the faith that is in Christ Jesus.'

It has been the effect of all the objections raised against the Bible Society in every stage of its progress, to illustrate, in a more striking manner than any thing else could have done, not only the singular innocency of its operations as a means adapted to a particular end, with regard to other objects not included in the compass of its design, but also the very extensive and important advantages to which it is indirectly conducive;-so extensive that there is scarcely an object connected with the temporal interests, or moral welfare of mankind, the promotion of which the spread of such institutions has not, in some way or other, an active tendency to facilitate. We are indebted to our opponents for placing these indirect advantages more prominently in view. The direct contrast of their theories and predictions with the simple result, in fact, has only served to shew, with what fearlessness of consequences we may allow ourselves to engage in any work, when not only the designed end is confessedly good, for that can never sanctify or protect the means employed, but when the means themselves come under the description of positive duty, and possess an intrinsic excellence. Whatever accidental evil might have been apprehended from the operation of so mighty a machine as the Bible Society, it must have been of a nature incomparably subordinate to the manifest good which would be immediately effected, and could not therefore have reasonably deterred us from assisting in its promotion. No such evil, however, has arisen. On the contrary, its warmest friends have been astonished at the vast and complicated benefits, far beyond all their calculations, which have resulted from the practical application of those simple principles on which the Bible Society is founded. In regard to the particular point to which the pamphlet before us directs our attention, the influ

ence of Bible Societies on the temporal necessities of the poor, Mr. Chalmers first proves that the statement contained in the objection is not true; that the fund for relieving their temporal wants, is as little encroached upon by any new object of benevolence, as the fund for the maintenance of Government, or as that out of which the people of the land are provided with the necessaries of life. He proceeds,

But let us drop our abstract reasoning upon the respective funds, and come to an actual specification of their quantities. The truth is, that the fund for the Bible Society is so very small, that it is not entitled to make its appearance in any abstract argument whatever; and were it not to do away even the shadow of a general objection, we should have been ashamed to have thrown the argument into the language of general discussion. What shall we think of the objec tion when told, that the whole yearly revenue of the Bible Society, as derived from the contributions of those who support it, does not amount to a halfpenny per month from each householder in Britain and Ireland? Can this be considered as a serious invasion upon any fund allotted to other destinations, and shall the most splendid and promising enterprise that ever benevolence was engaged in, be arrested upon an objection so fanciful? We do not want to oppress any individual by the extravagance of our demand. It is not in great sums, but in the combination of littles that our strength lies. It is the power of combination which resolves the mystery. Great have been the progress and activity of the Bible Society since its first institution. All we want is, that this rate of activity be kept up and extended. The above statement will convince the reader, that there is ample room for the extension. The whole fund for the secular wants of the poor may be left untouched, and, as to the fund for luxuries, the revenue of the Bible Society may be augmented a hundred fold, before this fund is sensibly encroached upon. The veriest crumbs and sweepings of extravagance would suffice us; and it will be long, and very long, before any invasion of ours upon this fund, shall give rise to any perceivable abridgement of luxury, or have the weight of a straw upon the general stile and establishment of families.' pp. 4-6.

The influence contributed by the Bible Society to the cause of general education, and its operation on the secular interests of the poor as indirectly preventive of indigence, are next eloquently insisted upon.

A zeal for the circulation of the Bible, is inseparable,' (it is observed) from a zeal for extending among the people the capacity of reading it; and it is not to be conceived that the very same individual can be eager for the introduction of this volume into our cottages, and sit inactive under the galling reflection, that it is still a sealed book to many thousands of the occupiers. Accordingly we find that the two concerns are keeping pace with one another. The two Societies move in concert. Each contributes an essential element in the business of enlightening the people. The one furnishes the book of knowledge, and the other furnishes the key to it.'

The progress of the argument then conducts us to the immediate consideration of the Penny Societies, now so generally adopted throughout the kingdom, under the designation of Bible Associations. Their effect upon the economical habits of the poor, is shewn to be equally beneficial with a tax, in bringing up their economy to a higher pitch, while they stand complete y free from all the objections to which a tax is liable. A Bible Association is affirmed to give dignity to the poor, to impart additional vigour and buoyancy to the elevated principle of honest independence.

The trifle which it exacts from its contributor is in truth never missed by him, but it puts him in the high attitude of a giver; and every feeling which it inspires, is on the side of independence and delicacy. There is a consciousness of importance which unavoidably attaches to the share he has taken in the support and direction of a public charity. There is the expanding effect of the information which comes to him through the medium of the circulated reports, which lays before him the mighty progress of an institution reaching to all countries, and embracing in its ample grasp, the men of all latitudes and languages, which deeply interests him in the object, and perpetuates his desire of promoting it.'-' A man with his heart so occupied, and his attention so directed, has, in fact, become a more cultivated and intellectual being than formerly. In such associations, the rich and the poor meet together. They share in one object, and are united by the sympathy of one feeling and of one interest. We have not to look far into human nature to be convinced of the happy and the harmonizing influence which this must have upon Society, and how in the glow of one common cordiality, all asperity and discontent must give way to the kindlier principles of our nature.

The direct influence of Bible principles, (it is subsequently remarked) is inseparable from a zeal for a circulation of the Bible. It is not to be conceived that anxiety for sending it to others can exist where there is no reverence for it among ourselves.'

These are, indeed, no doubtful positions which require to be made the matter of calculation as probabilities: they are the actual results which are now taking place in broad day in all parts of the empire. Short as the time has been since the adoption of Bible Associations, as a general measure, to allow of the development of their beneficial tendency, it has been sufficient for the accumulation of a mass of facts, to which the experience of every day is contributing further materials, all proving the paramount advantages of such institutions, both for, carrying into effect the designs of the Bible Society, so far as they respect the home distribution of the sacred Scriptures, and for accomplishing a moral purpose in regard to the character of the lower orders This is not exactly the place, nor have we room, for the introduction of anecdote, though it is

the only mode of proof, personal observation excepted, of which the case allows. We must content ourselves with referring our readers to the Report which forms the subject of our next article for some very interesting details of the nature alluded to. The readiness, in many cases the intelligent eagerness, which the poorest among the poor have manifested, even in seasons of scarcity and distress, not only to appropriate part of their earnings to the purchase of a Bible for themselves or their children, but wherever the objects of the Bible Society have been made known to them, to assist, by their contributions and their agency in the distribution of the Holy Scriptures; and the perseverance and punctuality which, in general, have characterized their exertions, are such as, we think, no person could with confidence have ventured to anticipate. Indeed, the harmonious concurrence of so vast a number of agents of different classes, for an object remotely connected with their worldly interests, without any ostensible inducement but that of moral feeling and virtuous sympathy, an inducement so powerfully felt as to overcome the suspicious jealousy with which the poor have been wont to regard the interference of the classes above themselves, presents a spectacle so novel, as well as so honourable in a national point of view, that the contemplation of it may justly excite mingled sensations of wonder and delight. We know of no circumstance or event upon record, which affords an exact parallel.

There have been combinations, perhaps, which have a more brilliant appearance in history; combinations for the purpose of effecting the ambitious designs of the few, or the real interests of the many-the explosions of compressed feeling, or the ebullitions of a wild and turbulent energy: short-lived coalitions for the most part, of conflicting parties, or of natural rivals for the obtaining of one common political object but it is obvious that this moral union of the different classes of society, rests altogether on a different basis. So far is it from partaking of a political character, that were the attempt made to associate any political object with the simple and sacred design of the Bible Society, or to employ, for any political purpose, the principal of combination which has been found so effectual when applied to the distribution of the Scriptures, not only would such an attempt be indignantly repelled, but its utter absurdity and hopelessness would be made manifest in the divisions which would immediately ensue. The agitation of such a question would give the alarm to those prejudices and passions, which are at once the cause and the effect of a difference of judgement, and rouse all the pride of opinion, and the jealous sense of right. That power which binds together the discordant materials of society, is wholly of a moral nature: not that we