design to satisfy their curiosity concerning Christianity itself; others wishing to involve the Christian in a cloud of verbal subtilties, and to enjoy the mutual contradictions of the members of the council. One of them distinguished himself above the rest, by the pomp and arrogancy of his pretensions, and 'derided the clergy as ignorant and illiterate men. As few of them were acquainted with the subtilties of the philosophy of that age, or had that self-command which was necessary to manage an extemporary debate before such an august assembly, with the Roman Emperor sitting among them, there were none that seemed inclined to accept of the challenge, till an old country Presbyter who had suffered with great magnanimity under the late persecutions, but who was little acquainted with philosophy or logical forms, undertook to contend with the philosopher. The council were greatly distressed to see a contest so apparently unequal. They trembled when they saw the cause of Christianity was to be defended by one whom they apprehended to be so ill qualified for the important task he had undertaken. The confusion of the council, and the appearance of their champion, excited a good deal of mirth among the philosophers. But this Christian hero was not in the least intimidated, either by the downcast looks of his friends, or the sarcastic smiles of his enemies. He insisted that he should be permitted to plead in the best manner he could for Christ. His piety and firmness had been well tried in the persecutions he had undergone, and were well known to the court; and their respect for him induced them to permit him to engage. He immediately addressed the philosopher in the following terms: Hear, philosopher,' says he, in the name of Jesus Christ. There is one God, the Maker of Heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible, who made all these things by the power of his Word, and confirmed them by the holiness of his Spirit. This Word, whom we call the Son of God, compassionating the sons of men involved in error and wretchedness, chose to be born of a woman, to converse with men, and to die for them; and he will come again, the Judge of all things which men have done in the body. That these things are so, we believe in simplicity. Do not then labour in vain, seeking to confute things which ought to be received by faith, and investigating the manner in which these things may or may not be; but, if thou believest, answer me, now that I ask thee.'--The philosopher was struck with this plain autho ritative address, and exclaimed, "I do believe." With pleasure he owned himself to be vanquished, confessed that he embraced the sentiments which had just been uttered, and advised the other philosophers to do the same, solemnly declaring that he was changed by an influence that was supernatural, and moved by an energy which he could not resist nor explain. Milner's Church History, vol. 2. Dear Sir, LETTER FROM MRS. COOPER. To the Editor. As the Evangelical Magazine for November 1808, contains the Obituary of that late truly excellent woman Mrs. Cooper, of Ebley-House, I am induced to offer you, for insertion, the following copy of a Letter she wrote me, in consequence of the Drowning of her eldest Son (already so affectingly described) who had been under my care, and would have returned to school again, had not Death prevented. Gloucester. My Dear Sir, W. B. Nov. 6th, 1806. I' TRUST you have not deemed me ungrateful in not thanking you long ere this, for your very kind consolatory letter; and also for all the sympathy you and dear Mrs. B. have manifested towards me in my deep affliction. I have often felt my obligation to do so; but my peculiar feelings have prevented me. Indeed, I have thought it no small privilege to have shared so largely in the prayers and condolence of so many good ministers and pious friends. There has been much mercy mingled in the bitter cup; and I trust I can, at seasons, say with cheerfulness, My Jesus has done all things well.' I could readily acknow ledge, from the first moment of the distressing dispensation, that there was not one drop of injustice in it, and that, heavy as it was, it was mild, when compared with my innumerable proVocations against so good a God. Indeed, I bave felt assured (and every day 1, live strengthens the thought) that there was a need-be' for this affliction; and from some oppressive views of my guilt and depravity, I have loved God for this chastisement; but, verily, I must have perished in my distress had not his word been my hope; and if I am one of the Lord's people, I can bear the same testimony as all have done, and still must, that He is faithful that has promised;' for, though I have felt the rod, I trust I have also found his staff supporting me, and heard his sweet whisper saying • Yet a season, and, you know Happy entrance shall be given: And Earth exchang'd for Heaven.' · Ah! my dear Sir, it is all mercy' (though by reason of our ignorance, Providence apparently wears a frowning face) that quickens our pace Heaven-ward, embitters sin to us, and brings us low at the Cross of Christ; and I do, at seasons, iudulge the hope, that effects like these have been produced upon my heart by the sanctifying Spirit of God, more deeply since my affliction; but, nevertheless, I have felt a great deal that ought to humble me, and that for which I have great cause to be dis XVII, 4 G satisfied with myself,-the excessive rebellion of dissevered nature. Indeed, the anguish of my spirit has been unutterable. You have, my dear Sir, felt bereavements of this kind; and will readily admit, that it was a just remark that a good man made, That we do not know how closely our dear children have entwined themselves around our hearts, till we behold the fixed eye, the pale lip, and till, with throbbing bosoms, we deposit their remains in the silent grave.' I have also felt very anxiously, and very acutely, respecting the state of my dear departed boy; but, through the goodness of God, this thought has been in a great measure removed, and I cherish (the hope that, through the amazing love and merits of Jesus Christ,' he is now in glory, joiuing the grand chorus of Worthy is the Lamb,' &c. And now, my dear Sir, will you allow me (in which Mr. Cooper would wish to unite) to offer you our grateful acknowledgements for all the care and kindness you and dear Mrs. B. have manifested to our beloved son: we shall always think of you with peculiar esteem and respect, and shall at all times feel ourselves happy in seeing you here; and may the Lord grant, that when you shall have finished the delightful work which ha has given you to do, that you may meet in glory our dear son and your once acknowledged pupil! That yours and ours may all meet at the right hand of God, to celebrate the riches of redeeming grace and dying love, is the prayer of your much obliged friend and servant, ELIZABETH COOPER. ANECDOTE. Wae that reads the following annecdote of the late celebrated King of Prussia, can envy his greatness ?-nay, who does not abhor the hardness and barbarity of his heart? who does not see the malignant moral effects which result from infidel philosophy? latending to make, in the night, an important movement in his army, which was in sight of the enemy, he gave orders, that by eight o'clock all the fights in the camp should be put out, on pain of death. The moment that the time was past, he walked out to see whether all was dark. He found a light in the tent of Capt. Zietern, which he entered just as the officer was folding up a letter. Zietern knew him, and instantly fell on his knees, to entreat his mercy. The king asked to whom he had been writing. He said, it was a letter to his wife, which he had retained the candle these few minutes beyond the time, in order to finish. The king coolly ordered him to rise, and write one line more, which he should dictate. This line was, to inform his wife, without any explanation, that by such an hour the next day he should be a dead man. The letter was then sealed, and dispatched as it had been intended; and the next day the Captain was executed. Nothing is said as to the justice of the punishment itself. But this cool barbarity to the affection both of the officer and his wife, was enough to brand his character indelibly. It proved how little the philosopher and the hero was susceptible of such an affection, or capable of sympathizing with its pains.'-Foster's Essays. GOODNESS THE BEST LOYALTY. The Rev. Roger Turner, vicar of South Stoneham, Hants, at the restoration of Charles II. published a Sermon, preached on that occasion. The following are some of his concluding advices, which may not be out of season on other public occasions of national joy : Do not,' says he to his hearers, drown your reason to prove your loyalty; pray for the King's health, but drink only for your own. Go now, and ring your bells, but beware in the mean time that you hold not fast Solomon's cords of sin, or the prophet's cart-ropes of iniquity, and thereby pull down judgments upon your heads. You may kindle bonfires in your streets, but beware that you kindle not the flame of God's dis pleasure against you by your sins. In a word, for God's sake, for your king's sake, for your own soul's sake, be good that ye may be loyal.' Buller's Tour round Southampton. ON ECCLESIASTES vii. 16. From Dr. Paley's Sermons, lately published, It A phrase much used, and frequent in the mouth of those who speak of such as in religious matters are more serious than themselves, is, ' that they are righteous overmuch.' These, it is true, are Scripture words; and it is that circumstance which has given currency to the expression: but in the way and sense in which they are used, I am convinced that they are exceedingly misapplied. The text occurs once in the Bible, and only once. It is in the book of Ecclesiastes, 7th chap. and 16th verse. is not very easy to determine what is meant by it in the place in which it is found it is a very obscure passage. It seems to me most probable, that it relates to an external affectation of righteousness, not prompted by internal principle: or rather to the assuming the character of righteous, ness, merely to vaunt or shew our superiority over others; to conceitedness in religion, in like manner as the caution delivered in the same verse, Be not overwise,' respects the ostentation of wisdom, and not the attainment itself. So long as we mean by righteousness, a sincere and anxious desire to seek out the will of God, and to perform it, it is impossible to be righteous overmuch. There is no such thing in nature; nor was it, nor could it be, the intention of any passage in the Bible to say, that there is; or to authorize us in casting over-righteousness as a reproach or a censure upon any one.' Sermon entitled Seriousness in Religion indispensable above all other Dispositions. A BRIEF MEMOIR OF JOHN STALLYBRASS, THE writer of the following ac count is happy in being able to add to the testimonies already borne to the reality and efficacy of the religion of Jesus, that which was lately borne to it by a youth in humble life, whom he knew from a child, and whose happy end hè lately witnessed. O, that his dying prayer may be answered far beyond his own expectation! viz. that what he was enabled to say, even while his sufferings were complicated and severe, may be of saving use to others, especially to his more immediate connection and relatives! From his early years, his health was delicate., He was often afflicted with head-aches, whicb, even while he was at school, frequently unfitted him for exertion. Obedient to his parents, and remarkably mild, gentle, and affec tionate in bis disposition, he was greatly beloved, and was particuLarly noticed by an eminent Christian, now in glory, whom he loved as a father, and whom he greatly resembled in his spirit and manners*. Our young friend, at about the age of fourteen, was introduced into a respectable and pious family in * The late William Butler, whose life was eminently exemplary, and his end peace. London, of whom he always spoke with great affection; and requested the writer of this, on his dying bed, to convey to that family, in the strongest possible terms, his sense of obligation, and gratitude for their kindness. About seven years ago, the first symptoms of a decline made their appearance; but by returning to his native air, and frequent exercise on horseback, he so far recovered as to be able to return to London. In a few months after, however, the former symptoms returned in a greater degree, but, by the divine blessing on the same means, were again removed, and he was bound as an apprentice. About three years ago, he was seized in an alarming manner, and probably, from the rupture of some blood-vessel in the stomach or lungs, was so weakened, that bis physician thought it imposs ble that he could live; but, after some time, he was, to the astonishment of his friends, able once more to return to his wonted services in business, til about 16 months ago, when the attack was renewed; and at length terminated in a dropsy; by which his earthly tabernacle, weakened by repeated shocks, gradually fell. His sufferings were complicated, and admit not of description; but under them, the spirit he was enabled to manifest, was such as will long be remembered; and such as the gospel, applied to the heart, can alone inspire. - When he left London, under the first violent attack of disorder, some of the members of the family in which he resided, expressed a lively hope that the great essential change necessary to our salvation had passed on his mind; and the succeeding perion of his life has confirmed that hope. perhaps, that change had real, taken place long before. He told the writer of this, that it had been a source of doubt to him, 1especting his experience of personal renovation, that he could not trace his first acquaintance with God to any particular time or means. This, perhaps, is often a cause of dis couragement to young persons who have been religiously educated, the early instructions received, and the truths of the gospel early known,, have become principles in their minds, and by these they have been 'made partakets of a divine na ture; but they have 'dropped like the gentle rain, and distilled like th dew,' in a way less perceptible; an such persons are often distressed because their convictions have no been accompanied with the terror, nor their hope with the sensible joy which some have known, who, too often, seem to make their own experience a standard for others; whereas, when such young persons have been kept from grosser vices, and they have, from children, known the Scriptures, and been, compara tively, sanctified from the womb, — such terrors and such sensible joy are less to be expected; and the want of them ought not to discour. age them, especially when the reality of the change, as in our young friend, is proved by their habitual temper and conduct. About the latter end of July, he took to his room, and almost to his bed; and from that period begins the most interesting part of his history. It was then his mind was set at liberty, and his tongue loosed to speak forth the praises of his God! The first thing I remarked, was the painful regret which he expressed for his former reserve on divine subjects. This he many times, and to different persons, lamented, saying, O that I had spoken for God while I was more able!? His reserve had perhaps arisen, partly from a native modesty of temper, always amiable in youth, and partly from a fear of expressing any thing which he did not feel: be this as it may, he deeply regretted it; and his regret should stimulate other serious young people to overcome such reserve, and to declare what they have felt of the word of life. He now took every opportunity to testify of the grace which had given him hope of salvation, and to recommend his Lord to the young persons who visited him. ladeed, he manifested that kind of concern for their eternal interests which best proved that he had himself tasted that the Lord is graci ous.' He expressed a particular concern for the spiritual welfare of his three feilow-apprentices; and ear nestly wished that he could write a 6 |