He well knew that a people who are insensible to the wants and miseries of the heathen, would be insensible to the necessities of their own minister; and that a people who had infused into their minds à spirit of liberality toward the general diffusion of Christianity, would, from various motives, be constrained to support their own minister. He had seen facts sufficient to con vince him, not only that the same measure a minister metes shall be measured to him again; and that he who, by his influence as well as his purse, sows bountifully, shall reap bounti fully but also that the minister who restrains his own liberality, restrains that of his people, and thus suffers as the result of his own spirit. He also knew that, generally speaking, those congregations who are most liberal toward the general cause, are the most solicitous for the credit and comfort of their own pastor. But from still higher and more noble motives than this reasoning imports, he promoted a liberal spirit among his people. [To be concluded in our next.] THE FULFILMENT OF THE SCRIPTURES WHAT has lately taken place at Rome, appears but another and more decisive stroke on the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth. What passed there in Feb. 7th, 1798, may, I think, be considered as the commencement of the vial of the fifth angel on the seat of the beast; when, though darkness did not then first begin to spread itself over his kingdom, yet from that first direct stroke at the sovereignty of the Roman Pontiff, and at the very existence of priestly power, unusual darkness began to fill his kingdom; and, no wonder that his votaries, when all hope of deriving security from the sanctity which superstition had long attached to their pretensions, was, as in a moment, blasted by the breath of infidelity, and that which was their chief support was suddenly swept away by the violence of French ambition, should now feel all that keen resentment and despair so strongly expressed by inspiration. They gnawed their tongues for pain, and blasphemed the God-of Heaven, because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.' It was not long after this, I think, that the sixth vial of wrath' commenced its current, and involved the Turkish empire in the vortex of general commotion, and from which it is not likely to free itself till those other strokes of vengeance are inflicted, which are to put an end to both these monsters of superstition and tyranny. But a greater change than the ambitious Emperor of the French is likely to effect, must take place both in the general opinion, and in the good sense and piety of those who give motion to public measures, before all the spiritual authority, of the Pope and priesthood, and before all the shackles which Pride and Superstition have forged, will be swept away, and mankind restored to the unbiassed and unfettere exorcise of their reason, and to the true liberty wherewith Christ has made us free. Mere philosophy and policy may do much in preparing the way for the promised good but a very different sort of men from any that have yet been seen on the public theatre of Christendom, will, it is likely, be brought forward by Provi dence to finish the work which the motley multitude of infi tels, philosophers, politicians, and warriors, a few good and many bat, have been appointed to prepare. Then, we may hope, the long storm of nations will be calmed, and order, and justice, and goodness, succeed the confusion, ambition, and violence, which have so long prevailed and raged; and that the word of the Lord will have free course and be glorified by the extensive conversion of mankind to truth and righteousness, and by effecting that peace and happiness which the wisdom of the world has never been able to attain. But if this part of the prophecy in Rev. xvi, be thus accom plished, or be now accomplishing, as we suppose, it then follows that many others are equally fulfilled, or in a train of being so. To confine ourselves to the New Testament. It hence follows that the latter part of that remarkable prophecy of our Lord in Matt. xxiv. as far as from verse 28, is now fulfilling ; for to the latter times of the world does all this part refer, and to nothing else, I believe, as I have endeavoured to shew in my Word in Season.' Now will be fulfilled the apostle's pre-fiction in 1 Thess. ii. 8, relative to the man of sin,' that opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God; he will be consumed by the breath of his mouth, whose prerogatives he has as umed. In the book of Revelation there are also several representations of the destruction of the enemies of Christ, which may be considered as parallel to the seven last plagues. I might mention the harvest and the vintage, in chap. xiv. and the vengeance which the ten horns of the beast are to take on the great whore, when they shall be brought to hate her, chap xvii. 16, 17. In the eighteenth chapter also, we have another picture, presenting to our view the same general scenery; only in a different light and varied direction. I have no room to detail the opinions of others on this chapter; but, I decidedly believe, that, as the Babylon here is not London in particular, as some image, so neither is it the city of Rome exclusively; nor merely the Ronan Church; but Rome, in conjunction with its empire, embracing all the politico-ccclesiastical kingdoms which have acknowledged the papal authority, and given their power to the beast; and which, notwithstanding any schism between them and that monster, may still retain the same spirit, feel the same interests, and though not directly, yet efficiently yield themselves to support his cause. Babylon the great, and the great city, always signify in this book the whole Antichristian Empire; and hence it is that the language of the Old Testament-prophets, whether they speak of ancient Babylon, of Nineveh, of Egypt, of Edom, or of Tyre; whether of inland or maritime people, com, merce, or otherwise, becomes appropriate when applied to this Babylon the great, without being obliged to resort to strained and wimsical interpretations. For instance: The commerce in this chapter is the real and literal commerce of the several maritime and trading countries of Europe, which make part of the beast's empire, and not merely the tray of priests in relics, Beads, and crucifixe,-in holy water, unctions, and pictures,in dispensations, indulgences, and pardons, and such like trum pery of superstition; by which the cunning impose upon the weak. It is that real comerce by which the pride and luxury, and other vices of Europe are fed, and which leads to many frauds, and crimes, and destructive wars, which is here represented as failing; and to the commercial and maritime countries we must look for the accomplishment of this part of the prophccy; for if we fix our eyes on Rome exclusively, the destruc tion may come before we at all suspect its direction. The 19th chapter appears to contain a picture of the closing scene of the war of Armageddon. You are not unacquainted with my ideas relative to the former part of the 20th chapter, where the judges appear who are to give the body of the beast to the burning flame;' when, and not till then, the papacy will be utterly destroyed. The symbols employed in both these chapters, have been, I think, but ill understood by most of our interpreters, being meant to represent persons and matters extremely different from what is generally supposed. At least this is the idea I have formed; but the providence of God appears to be fast interpreting these obscure predictions; and if we do not suffer our minds to be perverted by old opinions and prejudices, but candidly and carefully attend and examine, as new occurrences reflect additional light, we may hope soon, not only to know by tradition whose pictures of futurity these are, but be certain of the hand that drew them, and of what they were meant to be delineations. That, whatever may come upon the earth,' we and ours may be prepared to act worthy of our Christian calling, and so watch, that we may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and stand before the Son of Man,' is the fervent prayer of, Dear Sir, your Friend and Brother, J. BICHENO. ON THE FABULOUS CHRONOLOGY OF THE CHINESE. Mr. EDITOR,Some of your numerous readers may be gratified with the information, that a work has lately been published at Paris, which totally overthrows the ridiculous pretensions of the Chinese to an antiquity* incompatible with the chronology of scripture. The title of the work is, Voyages à Peking, &c. by M. de Guignes, French Resident in China. 8vo, 3 vols. 1808, In the first volume there is a summary view of the ancient history of China, not ascending to an earlier period than the reign of Yao, 2357 years before Christ; nor continuing to a later than the 48th year of Pingvang, the year 722 before Christ. I stop,' says the author, at the epoch at which the history assumes something more of an appearance of authenticity and truth.' The previous part of the history has probably been fabricated at a period long posterior to the reign of Pingvang. It is entirely destitute of facts, extremely uncertain, and, properly speaking, would be nothing at all without the moral discourses' (pretended dialogues on some common-place topic of morality, between the prince whose reign is related, and some manda riu or doctor) with which it is filled up. It evidently demonstrates, that, while several great powers were in existence, and indeed several kingdoms had already passed away in other parts of the globe, the empire of China, according to the statement of its own historians, was very inconsiderable; that it was only composed of certain hordes, not very numerous, living in the midst of barbarians, and often migrating from one region to another, according to their convenience. In short, that this empire, far from existing (as Voltaire and others have boldly pretended) 3000 years before Christ, was not united into any thing like a permanent form till the year 529 before Christ. In attacking this antiquity, acceded by certain writers to the Chinese, I do not attempt,' adds M. de Guignes, to establish a new hypothesis; it is not I who speak; I only relate the discourses inserted in the Chou-king †, from which I derive consequences that support my own opinion.' To this may be added the observations of the learned President Goguet. (Origin of Laws, vol. 3.) What dependence can be placed upon the certainty of Chinese chronology for the early times, when we see these people unanimously avow, that one of their greatest monarchs, interested in the destruction of the ancient traditions, and of those who preserved them, caused all the books which did not treat of agricul * Some of them claim 96 or 97 millions of years! A Chinese history, translated and published in 1770, by the father of M. de Guigues. ture, or of medicine, or of divination, to be burnt; and applied himself for many years to destroy whatever could recal the knowledge of the times anterior to his reign! About 10 years after his death, they wanted to re-establish the historical documents; for that purpose they gathered together, say they, the hearsays of old men. They discovered, it is added, some tragments of books which had escaped the general conflagration. They joined these various scraps together as they could, and vainly endeavoured to compose of them a regular history. It was not, however, till more than 150 years after the destruction of all the monuments, that is to say, the year 37 before Christ, that a complete body of the ancient history appeared. The author. himself, who composed it (S c-M-tsiene) has the candour to own, that he had not found it possible to ascend with certainty 800 years beyond the time in wh. h he wrote.--Such is the unani~ mous.confess on of the Chines: *. I leave to be judged, after such a fact, the certainty of their ancient history. Accordingly, we find, in treating of, insurin ustable difficulties and comradio, tions. It is destitute of facts, circu nstances, and details.' I will only add, Mr. Editor, that these cons derations com pletely rid the Mosaic History of any suspicion, which the Chinese pretensions might cast upon it; that they concur with every other evi lence from history:-a probability to shew that the duration of the moral system of our globe, cannot have been Longer than it is represented by the oldest of all authentic docu ments, those contained in the sacred volume; and, that per sons like Voltaire, whom we are accustomed to blame for their unreasonable scepticism, have an equal claim to be despised for their absurd credulity. QUIDEM. *4 This story,' says an able writer, is probably nothing but a fable, invented when they began to plame themselves with a hign antiquity, as an apology for their total want of annals to support such a pretension.' ORIGINAL LETTER, FROM THE LATE REV. DR. CONYERS, TO THE LATE REV. MR. ROMAINE. WELL, my dear Sir, "strait is the gate, and narrow is the way that leads to life," saith the Lord; and I am enabled to set my seal that this is true. How far I may be mistaken in the way, and make difficulties to myself where God makes none, Į know not; but this I know, that I am at times so hard put to it, that I make a full stop; and, for a moment feel a wish in my heart to be either safely through, cr safely back again. No outward difficulties cause these, unbelieving fears; they arise not from opposition, nor from the fierceness and wrath of an angry |