with scorn or pity; have looked down upon as mean and contemptible; have regarded as enthusiasts or fools; will appear to have been the excellent of the earth, the honoured servants and children of God while they lived, and those whom he will now delight to acknowledge, and to crown with unfading honours, in the view of the assembled universe-To these, and to all on his right hand, the Judge will say, "Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." To those on the left hand, the terrifick sentence will be-"Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels-And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal."

In closing this lecture I remark1. That the ascension and glorification of Christ, demonstrate that there is a local heaven-a place where his glorified body resides, where he is now the object of admiration and worship by angels and the spirits of just men made perfect, and to which all his saints will be gathered after the resurrection; when their former "vile bodies shall be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself." We know not, and it is not necessary to know, in what region of the immensity of space this local heaven is placed. It is enough to know that it exists, and that we are permitted to aspire to an admission to it; and to become members of the general assembly and church of the first born, which shall there surround the Redeemer's throne, and behold his glory, in a beatific vision, to all eternity.

2. Let us contemplate with holy wonder and delight, the state of our Redeemer's exaltation. God's ways are not our ways, nor his thoughts our thoughts. In all that he does he acts like himself-like a God. But in the work of redemption there appear to be things, more wonderful than in

any of his other works. It is not for us to say, whether we ought to be more astonished that God should condescend to unite his nature to ours, or to raise ours, by that union, to the height in which we contemplate it in the exalted state of our Redeemer-a height, far beyond that of the tallest angel, or the brightest seraph, in the heavenly host. "A thousand seraphs, strong and bright, Stand round the glorious Deity; But who amongst the sons of light Pretends comparison with thee? «Yet there is one of human frame, Jesus, array'd in flesh and blood, Thinks it no robbery to claim A full equality with God. "Their glory shines with equal beams,

Their essence is for ever one : Though they are known by different

names,

The Father God, and God the Son.
"Then let the name of Christ our King
With equal honours be ador'd;
His praise let ev'ry angel sing;

And all the nations own the Lord.".

3. Let us often meditate on the judgment of the great day. Let us keep constantly in mind that for all that we do, or say, or think, God will bring us into judgment: that then all those actions of our lives which we may now most studiously and anxiously endeavour to conceal from the world, and to which we can hardly turn our own thoughts without shame and confusion; yea, that ali the secret motives, and wishes, and desires of our souls, which have never eventuated in action-that all these will be disclosed to the universe, and that we must meet them, under the full blaze of heaven, at the tribunal of Christ. Oh, if the recollection of this truth were kept on our minds as it ought to be, it would have the most salutary influence on our whole conduct. Yes, my dear youth, and it would make you feel how important it is, that you immediately flee to the Lord Jesus Christ-that being pardoned through his blood, and clothed with his righteousness, you may escape the condemnation of his enemies,

and receive the acquittal and reward of his friends, in the day when "he shall come to be glorified in his saints and admired in all them that believe."

AN INTERESTING LETTER.

The following letter, although written more than ten years since, has, we believe, not been made publick till very lately-the copy before us says, "Never before published." It is then added, "The writer of the following letter never intended or expected that its circulation should extend beyond a very small circle: at the desire of a friend, to whom he felt himself deeply indebted, he transcribed it for his use; but, at the same time, accompanied it with a request, that no second copy should be taken; a request with which his friend rigidly complied. Nor was it till he found that the scope of it had been much misunderstood or misrepresented, and that some detached passages had found their way in various directions, that, in justice to himself, and to the truths which he had embraced, he permitted the circulation of it to be at all extended. In the mean time, he has been frequently solicited for copies of it, which his other avocations would, by no means, permit him to furnish; and as some pious and valuable friends, for whose judg ment he feels much deference, have expressed an opinion that it might be of service to others, he has ordered a few to be privately printed, in order to comply with their wishes, and to save himself the trouble of transcribing."

We republish this letter, in hope that it may do good. We verily believe that there is not a Unitarian in the world, who would not renounce his creed, if he would read the sacred scriptures in the same careful, prayerful, and serious manner, as was done by Dr. Stock. The progress of his mind, from full confidence in error-through the succes

sive stages of all but contempt for opposite opinions, of attention at length yielded to those opinions from courtesy, of doubting, perplexity, distress, research, prayer and convictionto an ultimate belief and open avowal of the truth, is so naturally and simply related, as to carry im mediate conviction to an impartial reader, that the writer must have actually felt what he has described. The frankness, kindness, and Christian temper, with which he addresses his former religious teacher, is also admirable-It may not be amiss to state that Clifton, the place from which the letter is dated, is a popu lous village, about a mile distant from the city of Bristol in England.

Clifton, Wednesday, 6th Nov. 1816. My Dear Sir,-I scarcely know in what terms to begin this letter, or how to communicate to you the object of it; yet I am anxious to be the first to convey to you the intelligence, because I am unwilling that it should reach you, unattended by those expressions of personal regard and respect, by which I could wish it should be accompanied. It will surprise you to be told, that it is become with me a matter of absolute duty, to withdraw myself, henceforth, from the Lewin's Mead Society. Yes, my dear sir, such is the fact.

In the month of July last, my professional attendance was required for the Rev. John Vernon, the Baptist minister of Downend, who was then on a visit to a friend in Bristol. I found him very ill; so much so, that his other medical attendant and myself, have since judged it necessary that he should suspend all his publick labours. After attending him here, for two or three days, he removed to Downend, where I have since continued to see him, about once a week. He felt it a duty to endeavour to lead me to reconsider my religious opinions; and at length, with much delicacy and timidity, led to the subject. I felt fully confident of

this truth, and did not, on my part, shun the investigation. For some weeks his efforts did not produce the smallest effect; and it required all the affectionate patience of his character, to induce me to look upon the arguments on his side, as even worth examining. This spirit of levity, however, was at length subdued and restrained, by the affectionate earnestness of his manner. Now and then, he produced a passage of scripture which puzzled me exceedingly; but, as I was always distrustful, I scarcely ever allowed any weight to it, till after I had coolly examined it at home. I began, however, sometimes to consider, whether it was not possible that his observations might contain some truth; and of course was led to examine them with more care and impartiality.

It is necessary here to state, that my letter to Dr. Carpenter, though drawn up some little time before, was despatched about this period. I advert to this circumstance, because. it marks a curious, though, I fear, not an uncommon feature in the human mind. I must however make the avowal, that it was precisely about the interval that occurred between the preparation and the despatch of the letter alluded to, and of that to you, and the second to Dr. Estlin, that the doubts above stated, now and then, at rare intervals, would force themselves upon my mind. Such, however, was my hostility to the sentiments to which these doubts pointed, that I resisted every suspicion of this kind. I treated it as a mere delusion of the imagination; I felt ashamed even to have yielded to such suggestions for a moment; and when Mr. Bright pointed out to me a strong passage in the address to Dr. Carpenter, as if he thought that it might be softened a little, I persisted in retaining it. In fact, I seemed to seek, in the strength of the terms that I made use of, to deepen my own convictions of my previous opinions.*

• To elucidate this paragraph, it may perhaps, be proper to state, that Dr. Est

The letters were sent, and the respective answers received. Still my weekly visits to Mr. Vernon were continued; I still investigated the subject with constantly increasing earnestness, yet I was unaltered; and when Mr. Bright read the history of the proceedings to the congregation, I felt no regret at my share in them, but, on the contrary, rejoiced in anticipating the future triumphs of Unitarianism. Here, however, my triumph ceased. Almost immediately afterwards, my doubts returned with ten fold force. I read, I was perplexed. Often, very often, I wished that I had not begun the inquiry. I prayed for illumination, but I found my mind daily becoming more and more unsettled. I have now lying before me a sheet of paper, on which I wrote down some of the thoughts of this period, while under their more immediate pressure, as if to relieve my mind, by thus divulging them, for they were disclosed to no human ear.

I copy from them this passage"If the attainment of truth be not the result, I am sure that the state of mind, in which I have been for some time past, is not to be envied." I think that it was about this time you returned home. When I advanced to shake hands with you, after the close of the service, you may remember that you observed to me, "Why, Doctor, you look pale!" Pale I was, I have no doubt, for my mind was full of thoughts that chafed each other like a troubled sea; and your

lin, the senior minister of Lewin's Mead. having announced his intention to resign that office, the congregation met, and voted an address of thanks to him for his services. Some time afterwards, they met for the purpose of electing a successor. Their choice fell upon Dr. Carpenter of Exeter, and an invitation was accordingly sent him, which was accepted, and his acceptance was officially announced, in another address to each of their ministers. The writer of the above letter was requested to be the organ of expressing the sentiment of the society upon these several occasions, a request with which he cheerfully complied.

I fully expect. I am sure that I well deserve it; for no person would have burst out more loudly against such an alteration in the views of another, than myself. Nor ought I to omit to add, that my excellent friend, Mr. Vernon, while I was communicating to him the conviction that I had received, and my expectation of being ridiculed for such a change, observed to me, that I certainly must expect it, but hoped that I was prepared to forgive it. I trust I shall be enabled to do so.

Upon reviewing this last sentence, my dear sir, I feel myself bound to say, that in stating this, I hope not to be understood as anticipating any thing of the sort from you, or from your venerable colleague. No! however you may pity my delusion, I feel assured that you will do justice to my motives.

My dear sir, I have extended this letter to a much greater length, than I had any expectation of doing when I began it. I began it with alluding to my regard and my respect for you. Will it be deemed inconsistent with either, if I venture to conclude it with a most affectionate wish and prayer, that you and yours, and all who are near and dear to you, may receive every earthly blessing, and may be brought to the knowledge of the truth! I feel it to be my duty to conclude thus, and I shall stand excused. And, oh! how much is that wish enkindled, when I recollect the seriousness and solemnity of your manner in prayer, and your impressiveness in preaching. How do I wish that endowments of such value were consecrated to those views which I have received. But I feel myself getting upon tender ground. It is difficult to word such a wish without appearing arrogant, or impertinent, or presumptuous; and yet nothing is further from my heart than either of these feelings. Believe me to be with sincere regard,

Yours, my dear Sir,
J. E. Srock.

Rev. JOHN ROWE.
VOL. V. Ch. Adv.

P.S. I know not whether it may not be unnecessarily minute, to add, that during this inquiry, I have looked into Doddridge's Rise and Progress, and have read through Scott's Force of Truth, and the Letters connected with it in Newton's Cardifonia, and Newton's Narrative of his own life; but it is my wish to omit nothing. I ought also to state, that once, and but once, I have entered another place of worship, (Castle Green,) when Mr. Thorpe repeated a Thursday evening lecture on the Trinity, but this produced no conviction at the time, although the recollection of it has, perhaps, been useful to me since.