they want. Nothing is required as price, or even as a qualification or condition, but merely to come to the waters and draw. Yet further, the invitations are to be as pressing as possible. The servants are to compel men to come in; not by severities, but by affectionate intreaties, earnest expostulations, solemn warnings, repeated invitations, and every argument which has a tendency to convince the judgment or persuade the heart. Yea, they are even to represent God himself as BESEECHING, them, by his embassadors, to be reconciled unto him; as commanding all men every where to repent, and believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ. They are to assure them that the Lord Jesus will cast out none that come! but hath engaged his word to give all spiritual blessings to all, without exception, who sincerely ask for them; closing with this solemn declaration, He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not, shall be damned.-Pp. 354, 355. On indifference to the world, our author remarks, It is peculiarly a conversation becoming the Gospel of Christ, when Christians appear satisfied with the sweet pleasures of, communion with God, with the rich inheritance of the children of God, and with the honour and distinction which God has put upon them as such; and show that they have no need to borrow of the world: when, indeed, feeding and feasting on the hidden manna, the bread that cometh down from heaven, the joys unspeakable and glorious! or when hungering and thirsting after these things; they lose their relish for other delights, cheerfully forego them, and keep at a distance from them: when they without reluctance renounce all those vain diversions and amusements in which they formerly indulged: when they turn away their eyes from beholding vanity, and learn to mortify the lust of the eye and the pride of life; and manifest a becoming contempt of those numerous attractive trifles which the heart of vain man wanders after, though they add nothing to his happiness; when they are indifferent about those things which gratify the sensual appetite; when they can cheerfully leave those, who know nothing better, to scramble for preferments, titles, honours, and riches; and, by a disinterested, unambitious conduct, show that they are inwardly willing to be without these things, and neither value themselves nor admire others on account of them; but are determined to keep at a distance from the very suspicion of selfishness with respect to them. View here, again, the example of our blessed Saviour, how he lived, and passed through the world, without either possess ing, enjoying, coveting, or aspiring after any thing in it; but willing to be poor, despised, neglected; to endure hardship and dishonour; to be amongst men as he that serveth; and to leave all that the world calls great and good to the men of the world, who have their portion in this life. And did he in this respect leave us no example that we should follow his steps?Pp. 476-478. It is to be feared that there is much of this religion in the present day. Many religious professors are as mercenary, as selfindulgent, as expensive and vain in their apparel and furniture, as luxurious in their manner of living, and as anxious about these things, as the people of the world. Can we really think that these are the true disciples of Jesus, and of the same religion with primitive Christians? that they have renounced the world, have overcome it, are living above it, do not love it, are crucified to it? In vain will they object, to such admonitions as legal. I am not treating of justification: on that subject I have avowed my sentiments. I am speaking of the evidences of faith, which such persons do not exhibit.-Nor are these "little things." If any think them so, let him remember that hæ nugæ seria ducunt in mala. These are the things which discredit religion, and open the mouths of opposers, and prevent professed Christians from bringing forth fruit. Many will excuse themselves from feeding the hungry, cloth-> ing the naked, or contributing to the support and propagation of the Gospel, because they cannot afford it: who will spend twenty times as much upon needless vanities of dress, furniture, and entertainmentswhich only feed their pride, and expose the carnality of their minds. Is this Christianity? Is this having the law written in our hearts? Is this loving God supremely, and our neighbour as ourselves? Are these trifles? Satan knows they are not, though many of us do not. Will not these things appear, at the day of judgment, stronger evidences against us, than all our talk about doctrines and experiences will for us? Would not Isaiah, and Paul, and Peter, and other apostles, and our Lord himself, have horne testimony against tliem? and shall we then be censured for doing it? Though I am no advocate for monkish austerity, nor for what in the least tends to level the different orders of society, yet I own that the expensiveness of many professors in their dress, table, furniture, and whole style of living, carried to the utmost extent they can afford, if not beyond it; often interfering with the payment of just debts, still more with feeding and clothing the poor; and always in violation of the precept, Be not conformed to this world; makes me ready to conclude, that they have either no love, or very little; and, if they have none, they are nothing, though they spake with the tongues of men and of angels.-Pp. 479-481. : The Household of Faith. A Sermon preached to the English Congregation assembled at Rome, Sunday, 6th April, 1823, for the Benefit of the Primitive Church of the Vaudois or ancient Albigenses, and Waldenses. By the Rev. Lewis Way, A. M. Minister of the Episcopal Protestant Chapel at Nice, in Sardinia. Second Edition, with an Appen dix. London: Hatchard, 1823. It may be noticed, as not the least remarkable ircumstance in the present eventful crisis, as it regards the religious world, that a sermon should be preached by an English clergyman in the very residence of the Pope, on the very steps of the throne of Antichrist, in behalf of a Protestant communion, long since proscribed and anathematized, and regarded with peculiar horror and enmity by every good Catholic, as contaminating the sacred ground of Italy itself. And moreover, that this should be a repetition of sentiments uttered in a chapel, built at Nice by permission of the Sardinian government for the accommodation of English heretics. It is truly a satisfactory reflection, that one consequence of the hostilities in which our country was so long engaged, has been, to place her in such relation to the Roman and Sardinian states, that an English family can now drive its own carriage to a place of worship in the capital of the patrimony of St. Peter-a liberty hitherto considered as too open a recognition of damnable error in such holy precincts--and that our poor valetudinarians, who seek an alleviation of disease on the Piedmontese shore, are no longer debarred the benefit of Protestant instruction, and the consolation of Protestant sacraments. The interest which this discourse is calculated to excite is still further increased by the character of its author. After preaching it at Nice and Rome, and dedicating it from Naples, he set off to Palestine to tread the soil consecrated by the footsteps of the Saviour; discovering no less zeal in an endeavour to persuade the children of Israel to acknowledge that Saviour for their Messiah, than he had evinced boldness in protesting against papal tyranny and superstition in the dominions of that Saviour's pretended Vicar upon Earth. The discourse is from Gal. vi. 9, 10, and is at once historical as well as didactic. The doctrinal part occupies about seven pages; and in the remainder, the preacher endeavours to awaken the feelings of his audience in behalf of the Vaudois, by giving them a succinct account of their persecutions, in the very country and theatre of their sufferings; and which must have had a striking effect, particularly in its first delivery. After shewing the injustice of the charge sometimes brought against the doctrine of justification by faith alone, that it tends to speculation rather than action, from the writings and example of the great Aposthe of the Gentiles, the preacher observes with equal force and tenderness, Christian benevolence, however enlarged and bounteous, is at the same time discriminating and judicious. If it extends to the world which lieth in wickedness, it embraces the church which is chosen in Christ. If we thus judge, that he died for all, because all were dead, and his love constraineth us to love even our enemies for his sake, according to his precept and example, and that man be worse than an infidel who provideth not for his own house; how much more binding is the obligation on the members of Christ, to nourish his mystical body, and to do good in an especial manner to the household of Faith? In many cases our personal feelings may be excited by the sufferings of a nature, and the incidents of a condition common to all; but in this, the distinguishing privileges of our calling, and the peculiar en dowments of a new and exalted character in the scale of being, are put to their appropriate use, and claim a more exclusive exercise. God bestows his common gifts on all alike; his extraordinary graces he reserves in his own hands, and bestows them at will on his people. His mercy is over all his works, but he keeps the believer as the apple of his eye. He causes the sun to shine, and the rain to fall on the evil and on the good; but on them that fear his name, and on them alone, the sun of righteousness arises, and the dews of grace descend! In conformity with this arrangement in the divine economy, the Christian is exhorted to do good unto all, but especially unto them that are of the household of faith. I question, brethren, whether the injunction of the text respecting patient continuance în well doing was ever more signally exemplified, than in the history and conduet of that interesting people, whose condition I am about to recommend to your peculiar notice; and I trust the time is not far distant, when, having sown in tears, they will reap in joy; when, having sown to the spirit, they will, of the spirit, reap life everlasting; when, having never fainted under their great tribulations, they will at length, and in due season, in the appointed time, come forth out of them clothed in the white raiment of the Redeemer's righteousness. As we have therefore this present opportunity, let us not be weary in well doing; but avail ourselves of an occasion to show our especial regard to those of our afflicted brethren in Christ, who have at least an equal, if not a far superior claim with ourselves to the scriptural designation of the household of faith. You are aware that there exists in the province of Pignerol, in the vicinity of Turin, a body of simple and primitive Christians called the Vaudois; but many of you are possibly unacquainted with their peculiar character and pressing necessities, which I shall therefore endeavour to set before you in a summary manner, but with as much particularity as the time and occasion will allow, and conclude by recommending their case to your most charitable consideration. For the sake of order, I propose to distribute the narration under the following arrangement: The antiquity of this Church; This introduction is neat and happy, and distinguished by sound sentiment. The preacher gives a judicious abridgement of the his tory of this religious community, which, in respect of its magnitude and consequence, has gone through We doubt whether the preacher strengthened his appeal by bringing forward, and in some degree, enlarging upon this question of the two witnesses. It was quitting the very strong ground on which he stood, when he pleaded for a people, who had endured thirty persecutions, and remained faithful to the covenant of their God, for an abstract and doubtful interpretation of a particular and obscure prophecy. If it could not have been introduced in the former part of the discourse, it had perhaps better have been omitted altogether, as it might endanger the effect produced by the historical and previous argument. At any rate, it required that the application of the passages in the Revelations and Daniel to the Waldenses and Albigenses should be clear and positive; and that the best commentators should be united in that application. This, however, is far from being the case. Bishop Newton led the way in considering them as an important part of the true and persecuted church of Christ, during a succession of ages of ignorance and barbarism, and has been followed by able theologians down to Milner and Faber. But we must be careful of too close an application of the apocalyptic language, lest we bring suspicion on legitimate conclusion, by attempting to prove too much. For, in the first place, one of the members supposed by the application, the Albigenses, is far from standing on a level with the other. In fact, some historians consider them as differing much in doctrine from the Waldenses, and as only making common cause with them against the papal innovations and encroachments. And, in the second place, allowing them to have been as pure in doctrine as the Waldenses themselves, it remains to be shown, that the transient and partial favour experienced from their government, at a period when that government was in critical circumstances, be sufficient to justify the assertion that " they stand once more on their feet." We are sorry, that when the events of 1813 and 1814 had restored the Sardinian monarch to his dominions, this excellent part of his population, which had deserved so much from his hands, should have received so little. The very day after his restoration, as if impatient to give history one more instance of baseness and ingratitude, to add to the many already on record, this Father of his people annulled all the French laws in their favour, put in force antiquated and oppressive edicts against them, depriving them of every public employment, whatever services they might have rendered the state, or however conspicuous their talents, and simply declaring that their religion was the only cause of this measure. Protestant officers were turned out of his army, and the evangelical pastors ejected from their parishes. And the low state to which they are reduced is attested by this circumstance among others, that a benevolent foreigner, in a private pulpit, is pleading for their relief in the sermon now lying before us. We conclude by quoting our author's observations in the second part of his copious Appendix. Professing for so many centuries the doctrine of Jesus Christ, in all its purity, while elsewhere its sacred principles have been universally darkened by ignorance and perversion, this colony has, so to speak, borne in itself the cradle of Protestantism; and notwithstanding the fanaticism which reigned in the terrible era of persecution, she has never been guilty of those atrocious actions, which so many Christians, falsely so called, have pretended to justify, under the pretext of the good of the church. Can we make a better use of our riches, or our superfluities, than in encouraging the pastors who preach such pure and wholesome doctrine, in founding or improving those institutions which train up youth in the path of virtue, and furnish them with the means of becoming useful and happy members of society? That which would be a burden for one or two persons, becomes trifling on the increase of numbers; and those materials, which in themselves appear insignificant, when brought together, form a sufficiently considerable mass to erect a vast edifice. The smallest assistance will therefore be duly appreciated. Every person of feeling who has visited the enchanting spots in those peaceful vallies, and has remained long enough to appreciate the virtues and patriarchal manners of these exemplary mountaineers, will judge for himself of the truth of this account, and will feel satisfaction in whatever he may have done for their advantage. Pp. 85, 86. The total population of the Piedmontese churches of the Vaudois may be reckoned at about 16,000 or 18,000 souls. There are no Catholics in some communities, and the population varies in others, but is always very inferior in number to the Protestants. RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE. SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE. FROM the Report circulated at the last annual meeting of this Society, we understand that the Society have issued 4038 packets of books to their members, between the audit of 1823 and 1824; consisting of 43,867 Bibles, 59,455 New Testaments and Psalters, 124,395 Common NATIONAL EDUCATION SOCIETY. The thirteenth Anniversary of this Institution took place at the Central School, Baldwin's Gardens, in June; when His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury presided. The meeting was attended by the Archbishop of York, the Bishops of London, Worcester, Lincoln, Oxford, Exeter, and Gloucester; Lords Kenyon, Calthorpe, &c. with many other distinguished members. The Report stated, that the Society is in a highly prosperous state, and enabled to pursue its object with new vigour and efficacy; and the effect of the National System was stated to have been strikingly evinced at the last confirmation, at which the young persons appeared far better prepared than at any preceding. A discussion arose at this meeting, on the subject of juvenile delinquency, too important to be passed over. General Thornton expressed his apprehension, that to the omission of some mode of teaching the children to earn a subsistence after they left the Schools, was to be attributed the deplorable increase of juvenile delinquency; and suggested that half the time of both boys and girls should be occupied in some sort of labour. The President assured the meeting, on the authority of those best qualified to ascertain the fact, as having been professionally enabled to pay the strictest attention to the subject, that the National Schools had not only not contributed to the increase of crime, but had very materially lessened it among those classes which, IRISH COMMISSION. His Majesty has appointed a Commission of five persons to inquire into the state of Education in Ireland, who have arrived in that country, and entered on their important duties by circulating queries directed to the Bishops and Clergy of the Protestant and Catholic churches; likewise to the different School Societies, calling on them to fill up a form of return which embraces every subject of importance connected with the present state of education in Ireland. The queries are fifteen in number, and the answers required are, as Prayer Books, 94,429 other bound books, and 805,380 small tracts. There had been delivered gratuitously 723 Bibles, 820 Tes taments, 1536 Common Prayer Books, 713 bound books, and 6569 small tracts, and a considerable number of religious papers for Sunday Schools. without the education therein afforded them, are usually found to be among the most profligate. The Bishop of Exeter wished to add to this testimony the fact which had been stated, and remained uncontradicted-that not one child EDUCATED in a National School had been brought to justice: it had, indeed, happened, that, in a very few instances, children had been committed, who were said to be from National Schools: bat it had been ascertained, that these children had either been dismissed as incorrigible; or had been so very short a time in the school, as neither to have imbibed the principles there instilled, nor to have cast off the lawless habits which they had acquired before their admission. Lord Calthorpe remarked, that were it not for this Institution, the number of delinquents would be far greater. The Church of England would have been unfaithful to her character, and would have acted inconsistently with the cordial spirit of humanity and Christian zeal which she is wont at all times to display, if she had abstained from using her best endeavours to rescue the rising generation from the dangers to which it is exposed. We may surely anticipate that the children here brought up, will preserve their earliest impressions; and that it will be found that the society enlists into the service of the church the operations of their mature judgment, and that their feelings and habits will contribute essentially to its stability and strength. to the number of schools in each parish; the name of the master or mistress, their religion, age, character, and qualification; where instructed; the number of pupils, their religion, &c.; proportion of children who can read; annual income of master or mistress; description of school-house; association or society with which each school is connected; names and ranks of its Patrons; whether the Bible is used as a class-book; whether the authorised version or the Doway; also the names of the other books read; what impediments the |