let it be the feeling of a penitent sinner, receiving meekly the chastening of thy hand-far more anxious to have the afflic tion sanctified, than to have it removed. But, ah! it is hard work; I feel it in my own case and I see it in others. It is hard work to suffer pain without murmuring : it is difficult to see the agony of others, and not repine. But, oh! to see a child expire-to feel the cold hand of death snatch another darling from my arms-to see the hearse again and again at the door;-this, this is too much for flesh and blood to bear. It requires more than common grace to say, amidst such accumulated trials, "Our light affliction." "Our light affliction!" Oh, no: it is not "light" in itself, it is heavy, it is overwhelming; I should sink under it, but for divine support. We can only call it light by comparison, and when the eye of faith looks beyond it all, and sees it working out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." And I hope this is what my affliction is doing for me; and this comforts me.

In this chastening of the Lord, I see an instrument well adapted to promote the good of the soul. Behold its operations! It brings us to a stand: it compels us, though reluctantly, to stop: it shuts us out from the active scenes of life. If we can think at all, we must commune with our own heart. Sometimes we are left alone- the body weakened-recovery doubtful-eternity at hand-the Judge standing at the door! Oh! it is impossible, under such circumstances, to hide from our eyes the solemn truth, that we must shortly die; and now, even an irreligious man cannot but feel anxious; and if, in early life, he received good instruction, it will, through the tender mercy of our God, prove of unspeakable advantage to him. It was so with Manasseh: prosperity was a curse to him; and, had he continued prosperous, he would have gone down prosperously to destruction: but trials brought him to reflection, and led him to repentance. It was the same with the prodigal son. His wretched, guilty, polluted condition gave him no alarm while the world smiled upon him; but, when he began to be in want, and every earthly comfort failed him, then he came to himself, and returned to his Father. And oh! how many besides can rejoice, and sing-" Before I was afflicted I went astray, but since I have kept thy word."

Multitudes date their first religious impressions to seasons of affliction. Some of

my own acquaintance are of this number, and many others of whom I have read. How wonderful are thy ways, Lord God Almighty! to take this method of dealing with thy creatures! How strange it seems that thy mercy should first be sought when the body was suffering pain; and how depraved must man be, to need thus to be humbled, and shaken, and enfeebled, in order to appreciate the offers of redeeming love!

This appears to be brought to pass by leading the afflicted person to look back on his past life-to look inward to the state of his mind-to look forward to the judgment-day, and to see his unpreparedness for it-to look down to hell, and see the danger of his falling into it. This makes him cry, "What shall I do to be saved?" The soul, in such a state, is prepared to receive the glad tidings of forgiveness, through faith in the Lord Jesus. some pious friend be near to explain to him the terms of salvation-" He that believeth shall be saved;"-or if some godly book be near, to direct him to the Lamb of God, then he will see how a sinner can be justified; and here he will find rest unto his soul.

Oh! if

Yet, notwithstanding the adaptation of affliction to promote the good of the soul, I see, with grief, that many appear to go into the furnace, and come out again, without benefit; yea, rather, have become more hardened by the process. This is truly alarming; yet so it must be, if it do not detach the heart from the things which are seen, and fix it upon things which are not seen. Without this, the design of God, in affliction, seems to be overlooked. How art thou acting, O my soul? What effect have sufferings had on thee? I cannot be blamed for trying to preserve my health, or to regain it when lost it is a duty which I owe to myself, my family, and to society; but I am culpable, and a dreadful account will be given, if, in affliction or health, I neglect the great salvation. Oh, what is the body to the soul? What is earth to heaven? What is time to eternity? Then why do men stifle their convictions? Why grieve the Holy Spirit of God? Why dismiss their fears as soon as they begin to recover? Why rise from the bed of affliction as worldly as ever, and sometimes worse? Have these people been solemnly warned? Has any faithful friend admonished them to flee from the wrath to come? Do they know that God is angry with the wicked every day? Do they believe that an eternity of

woe awaits the impenitent? Alas, alas! I fear some of my own beloved relatives are in this awful state. How can they dwell with devouring flames? How can they escape the everlasting burnings? Let their condition awaken my fears, and rouse me to exertion. Rise, my soul, and stretch thy wings, and fly to them, and make one effort more to save their souls from death.

There are two grand errors respecting affliction, into which many have fallen. Mark them, O my soul, and beware-for thy present afflicted state might naturally lead to them.

First. If a person be deeply afflicted in his body, and is also unsuccessful in his business, the spectators sometimes conclude, "God is following this man with his vengeance." So Job's friends thought respecting him; but if the same man were in good health and rolling in riches, he would be regarded as the favourite of heaven: so, perhaps, the people thought of him who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day.—Luke xvi.

Secondly. There is another mistake, and far more fatal. It is the opinion which men form of their own trials, when they consider them as a kind of atonement for past sins, or a purgatory, through which they are to be admitted into heaven. But, how erroneous is this! A man may be covered over with sores, as Lazarus was, and yet be carried by angels into Abraham's bosom; or he may be devoured by worms, as Herod was, as a preparation for the worm that never dies. Therefore, judge righteous judgment: for, although God often visits sinners in his anger, yet "whom he loveth he chasteneth, and Scourgeth every son whom he receiveth." Consider this, O my soul, and be assured, that affliction always proves a blessing to the people of God.

It has a wonderfully rousing effect— and the best of men need to be roused. A long course of prosperity often brings on coldness, and negligence, and worldlymindedness, and carnal security. Our souls cleave unto the dust. Our affections entwine too much about created objects.

The fondness of a creature's love,
How strong it strikes the sense!
Thither our warm affections move,
Nor can we draw them thence.

But God can, and he will do it, although he cut asunder every tie that binds us to earth. For this purpose, he makes use

of sharp instruments, and they do the work effectually.

It has a wonderful tendency to draw out the heart in prayer. Even our Lord Jesus Christ himself, when he was "in an agony, prayed more fervently." And the patriarch David said, In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord." And I am sure it has been the same with me. God would not have seen my face nor heard my voice so frequently at his footstool, if he had not kept me much in the furnace; and shall I repine at that which brings me near to God? Oh no:

of heart.

Affliction also proves a peculiar blessing to the saints, by producing deep searching Only those who have been afflicted, and much afflicted, know what a searching effect it has. The world dims our spiritual vision: it raises a film over the eye. The things which are seen dazzle us with their glitter, and defile us by their touch; and in the retirement of the sick chamber, and in the near prospect of eternity, the sick man discovers it; and oh! with what abhorrence does he look upon it! With what sincerity does he cry "Create in me a clean heart, O

Lord!"

Sometimes the beams of the Sun of Righteousness shine with such clearness upon the afflicted soul, that it is ravished with the views which it has of the divine favour. Now he can say, Christ is precious to my soul-Now "I know whom I have believed; and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him." Oh, how much mercy there is in the affliction which is the instrument of so much pain! That great raan, Dr. Dwight, of New England, remarks, that in one of his afflictions, during some weeks of which he had no expectation of recovery, he experienced more support and comfort from religion, than he had ever realized at any former period of his life.

And, to crown the whole, it invariably leads to great consecration of heart to the divine glory. I never knew a Christian rise from the bed of affliction, whose mind had been suitably exercised, without feeling a strong desire to live unto God. The language of his soul was—

My life, which thou hast made thy care,
Lord, I devote to thee.

I bless thee, O God, that several whom I know have been thus blessed. Never did they shine so brightly as since they came out of the furnace. Never were they so fruitful as since thy chastening

hand was upon them. And surely, O Lord, I can say, that "in mercy thou hast afflicted me." May all thy dealings with my friends be productive of the like advantages! Amen.

THE tracts published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge have frequently been noticed with just severity by writers who profess a vital and spiritual faith in the Lord Jesus; but, in truth, they never can be too severely dealt with, nor can their mischievous doctrines be too strenuously opposed. The two striking features of these tracts are bigotry and ignorance; and a person who had not taken the trouble to investigate their dark hiding-places of false doctrines, would hardly believe the extent of error which pervades these publications. In turning over the volumes of these tracts, we are struck, at first sight, with the number of editions that some of the worst have gone through; "eighteenth" and "twentieth " shine in the title-pages of tracts or small books which no religious person has ever heard of-which we never see in the hands of the poor, and which, apparently, are unknown to all persons, except a few of the clergy of the establishment, who, probably, receive large bales of them, and either keep them in their depôts untouched, or give them away to their heedless and uninstructed parishioners.

Any further preface on this subject will be unnecessary; a slight notice of some of these tracts will show the sort of trash on which the money of the subscribers to the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge is expended.

of his life as a respectable and religious member of society;-that, for any one to be awakened to a sense of sin, and to call upon God for mercy in Christ Jesus, believing that he can justify the ungodly, and that faith in Christ can remove sin, without any preparation of a godly life and a high degree of morality, is altogether an error; and that, therefore, a deathbed repentance is quite hopeless.

"In the sacred writings we are often admonished that it is not an historical confession, it is not a bare acknowledgment that we have done thus or thus; but it is a penitential confession that shall find acceptance'Whoso confesseth and forsaketh his sins shall find mercy,' Prov. xxviii. 13. A sick and dying man may indeed confess his sins; but how he can be able to forsake his sins, that is, to amend and reform, shall be farther considered. All the promises of God in Jesus Christ are yea and amen;' that is most cestain but then you must also know, promises are conditional, and the performance of them, on God's part, doth suppose certain qualifications and conditions on our part- Having, therefore, these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God,' 2 Cor. vii. 1; intimating that, unless we cleanse ourselves from all filthiness, and do thus perfect holiness, we have no title to these promises."-Page 23.

This is, in truth, the ordinary teaching of the ignorant, who, knowing no divinity but what carnal wisdom can furnish them, do thus deceive and mislead the unwary. The confutation of Dr. Assheton's errors will be here superfluous; he is abundantly confuted by the articles and homilies of his own church, and by the unanimous doctrine of all sound divines; and it is wonderful that persons who read their Bible can fall into such gross mistakes. Let Paul's words conclude this part of the subject: "Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt; but to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the

blessedness of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered." Rom. iv. 4.

Dr. Assheton thus continues his heretical strain-"What CAN A MAN DO WHO IS NOW DYING? When the sentence of death is passed upon him, and his physician has given him over-to talk then of reforming his life, when he now finds he can live no longer, is such an intolerable piece of weakness as in any other instance would be scarce heard with patience."-Page 27. Thus the whole scheme of salvation, according to this teacher, consists in reforming one's manners, and living with sobriety and decency, as a merit to secure God's favour.

The case of the thief's pardon on the cross is of course a great stumbling-block to Dr. Assheton's favourite scheme of justification by works; and, behold, thus does he handle the subject: "It should be proved, first, that this thief was a very wicked man; secondly, that he continued in his sins, and did not repent till the time of his death. But it doth not appear that this thief WAS A VERY WICKED MAN." It is impossible to peruse the doctor's arguments to prove this monstrous absurdity without smiling. His proof is this: That which is called "a thief" ought to be translated " a hired soldier ;" and, for aught we know, he may have had a very honourable meaning. Barabbas, " a notable prisoner," was also called a robber; but he ought to be considered, more properly,

an eminent person of note and quality, head of a party, who, as zealots for their nation and religion, had made a rising against the Romans." Having thus shown that Barabbas was a gentleman of quality, a great patriot, and full of zeal for religion, (page 41) it follows that if he, whose character we ought in reality to pity and admire was called a thief, it is unjust to accuse the thief on the cross of a wicked life, merely because he also was called a thief!!! Thus does Dr. Assheton show to the faithful that the thief was not saved by faith in Jesus, but by the absence of wickedness in his previous life! Or, fearing that this may appear too ridiculous for even the most ignorant, he judiciously adds this query, "How do we know that he did not repent, even long before he died?" (p. 42.) any thing, in short, to get rid of justification by faith.

Dr. Assheton, however, has one merit, which seems to have weighed with the

managers of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge in all their selections that he has taught doctrine diametrically opposite to the articles of the Church of England; for it is evident that a writer who can use such arguments must have been totally ignorant of original sin, which places all of us in a state of damnation in the sight of God, and is as obnoxious to wrath in the most virtuous hermit, unjustified by faith in Christ, as in a robber on the high road. For the benefit of the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge, I quote the 9th article of the Church of England: "Original sin standeth not in the following of Adam, as the Pelagians do vainly talk; but it is the fault or corruption of the nature of every man that naturally is engendered of the offspring of Adam, whereby man is very far gone from original righteousness, and is of his own nature inclined to evil, so that the flesh lusteth always contrary to the Spirit; and therefore, in every person born into the world it deserveth God's wrath and damnation." Apply this to the patriotic hired soldier, who was executed for fighting on the wrong side," and I fear that all Dr. Assheton's heterodox machinery will be hopelessly destroyed; as it has been long ago by Scripture, which, confuting this heresy, teaches that "every mouth is stopped, and all the world is become guilty before God;" and that the Lord's people "are justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus." Rom. iii. 24.

I would further state that in this tract there is no sort of allusion to the opera tion of the Holy Spirit; that the work of conversion and repentance is ascribed entirely to a man's own judgment, will, and power; and that the Holy Ghost is not even named from the beginning to the ending of this truly heathen production.

If heresies, such as are taught in this tract, were confined to the depôts of the society, we should have less cause for regret; but, alas! in how many parishes in England do the clergy sedulously circulate these pernicious doctrines, and so ruin the souls of their parishioners! I have witnessed the sad effect of this dreary divinity, and know some painful cases, where trembling sinners were driven away from the peace of the cross, by being told that they could not possibly have done any thing to merit their pardon, and that it was presumptuous for them to talk of feeling a hope of mercy, by faith in Jesus.

A short Catechism on the Duty of Conforming to the Established Church. By the Right Rev. Thomas Burgess, D.D., Bishop of St. David's. 8th edition.

This tract is conspicuous for its curious logic and its excessive bigotry. Anything more absurd than its reasoning could hardly be found in the writings of ecclesiastics; but it will speak for itself more eloquently than any critic can speak for it.

"Q. From what authority is derived the civil right of publicly exercising the Christian ministry? A. From the laws of the land in which it is professed.

"Q. What is a true church? A. That is a true church in which the word of God is preached, and the sacraments are duly administered, by persons rightly ordained.

"Q. What is a legal church? A. That is a legal church which is established by law.

Q. What do you mean by the Church of England? A. By the Church of England I mean the church of Christ as it is established by the laws of England.

"Q. Is the Church of England a true church? A. Yes: because the word of God is preached in it, and the sacraments are duly administered by persons rightly ordained.

"Q. Is it also a legal church? A. Yes: because it is established by law.

Q. Is it not our duty to conform to the laws of our country? A. Yes St. Paul says, 'Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers.' Rom, xiii. 1. And St. Peter bids us to submit to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake.' 1 Pet. ii. 13.

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Q. Why? A. Because it is a true church, established by law; and because the powers that be are ordained of God.

"Q. Do not the laws require an uniformity of public worship, that is, that there should be only one form of public worship? A. Yes.

"Q. Which is that form of public worship? A. The form of public worship which is set forth in the book of Common Prayer.

Q. How should we endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace? A. By living a peaceable and orderly life, in conformity to the laws, and to the church established by law," &c. &c.

No comment is needed on this Catechism; it speaks for itself.

The Christian's Way to Heaven; or what he must do to be saved. By a Divine of the Church of England. 18th edition. "Next, in order to your salvation, you must be diligent in observing the ordinances which either Christ himself or his holy church

hath instituted, for the furtherance of godliness and true religion; therefore you must be constant in the duty of prayer, as well public as private; you must likewise, on Sundays and holidays, attend the public service of the church; and in the public congregation we may expect our prayers to be sooner heard, when they are joined with the united prayers of so many good people."

It used to be the doctrine of the old divines, that our only hope of acceptance in prayer is in the merits and intercession of the Lord Jesus, by whom, as our High Priest, we can draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith; but, according to "the divine of the Church of England," our hopes are in the united prayers of so many good people; a sort of company of saints, who seem canonized, by this writer, to do something that Christ could not do. Who these good people are, is not stated; they, however, seem to be very numerous, by the phrase

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so many;" and it is to be presumed that they are firm supporters of the church established by law, according to the catechism of Bishop Burgess. The rest of this tract is in the same style; one more quotation will be sufficient. "As one

means of salvation, you must also religiously observe all the feasts and fasts of the church, not only by coming to church on Sundays, fast-days, and holidays, but by dedicating besides some considerable part of them to your religious exercise in private." Perhaps it will be needless to observe, that being justified freely by the grace of God, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, is totally omitted; and that, in the six means of salvation drawn up by this "divine," no sort of mention is made of the peace of God through the teaching of the Holy Ghost,

A Country Clergyman's Advice to his Parishioners, explaining what they are to Believe and Do in order to be Saved. Addressed chiefly to those who are of the Younger sort. A New Edition.

This tract abounds in false doctrine; but I shall confine myself to one extract regarding baptism, which puts the theory adopted by the non-evangelical clergy in almost a ludicrous light, owing to its extravagances.

"Ye are not only members of Christ, but ye are likewise the children of God, a privilege which ye receive in baptism. Now here ye must consider what it is to be a child of God. As God created all mankind, they