act would become known to the party whose name he had used, to be able to redeem the forged bill. No one would be injured, himself benefited, and appearances kept in the sight of the world. Perhaps man never had more reasonable ground for supposing that none but himself on earth would know the crime he had committed. None, perhaps, ever committed such an offence so free from intention to defraud another. His affec

tions as a father, his zeal as a Christian, had led him into the temptation, and in his own eyes palliated, if not excused the offence. One fact recorded in the history of Scripture ought to have pointed out the sin of the act by which he warded off his present difficulties; and the judgment of God in that case ought to have been sufficient to have prevented the commission of his offence. Sin is sin, though seen only by the eye that sees all things. Sin is sin, and displeasing in the sight of God, before the evil effects that follow it are seen by men. It is a fearful hour when the professor does in the sight of God that which he would tremble to do in the sight of men, or at the thought of its being known to them. Ananias and Sapphira, to appear like others, uttered falsehood. Planim, rather than reveal his embarrassment to a friend, who would on solicitation have written his name on a bill, wrote it himself. He could have avoided payments he made, but that would have embarrassed a cause he was anxious to promote, or have prevented a profitable investment for his children. Many are the facts recorded in history which illustrate the danger of doing evil that good may come. The result of

Planim's narrative adds to their number.

As the time drew near that he required returns to hide his guilt, a vessel was loaded with his goods, ready to depart for a sea-port on the Saturday morning. The bargemen, instead of loosing her from her moorings, spent the day in a public-house. On the Sunday they were not permitted to set out on a voyage. On the Monday the wind and state of the river forbad sailing; a week elapsed before they could now set out. They ended their voyage a few hours too late for the duly forwarding of the goods; and, as a consequence, no remittance was made on their account at the expected time. In the midst of other efforts to meet the bill the fact of its forgery was discovered, and he apprehended. From the first he prepared for the end that awaited him. Forgery was then a crime

punished with death. Strenuous efforts were made to save his life; but he never thought they would succeed, or appeared anxious about any but his eternal concerns. One of the parents of the writer of this narrative frequently visited him in prison. After severe mental anguish, and the manifestation of deep contrition, he obtained hope towards God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he forgave not himself, his last weeks were cheered by hope that God had forgiven him.

I have sometimes thought that had his offence remained a secret to himself, and had none been injured by it, it might have remained an unrepented sin, and he might have had to answer for it at the bar of God, instead of the bar of man, under circumstances that would have barred the exercise of mercy; and that the providences that followed were the merciful dispensations of God to lead him to a due sense of his guilt and to repentance on earth. Thus, while the justice and holiness of God, who cannot endure the sight of evil, especially in his people, was manifested in the exposure and punishment of his sin, his mercy and compassion were magnified in the state of heart and pardon of his guilt, to which those providences led. Let none say he was punished in this world that he might escape in the next. Punishment on earth does not provide for escape in the world to come. Such is not the plan of God's proceedings. Punishment from the hands of man led to repentance towards God, and, we trust, to faith in Jesus Christ; thus to pardon from God. Punishment on earth does not always lead to such results where it does, the offence remains to be accounted for at the bar of God, as though man had not punished the offender.

The moral effects of Planim's end were disastrous to the infant cause with which he was associated. More than thirty years have passed away, but still "Ichabod" may be written over the door of the sanctuary. The effects on his wife and children may be better conceived than described: we will not attempt to portray them. But the history is not closed. The settlement of his affairs did not leave his family in absolute want, or take from his children the prospective benefits he had purchased for them. They were educated in a manner little if at all inferior to what they would have been if their father had lived to provide for them. The son, on attaining his majority, dis

posed of his portion, and with the capital thus raised entered into business. The end of two years saw him a bankrupt, a ruined man. Within a few weeks of the time of the other child (a daughter) becoming legally entitled to her share, she sickened and died. Thus ended the advantages he purchased for his children. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God; mistrusting his providence, endeavouring by sin to prevent

evils we see or secure advantages we desire. That evil we cannot prevent without sin, we should leave for God to order as his wisdom may direct. That good we cannot accomplish but at the sacrifice of conscience, we should forego till it please God to give it us in the way of duty. The Christian may not do evil that good may come. W. D. INGHAM. Herefordshire, July, 1846.

THE PRAYER-MEETING.

MY DEAR FRIEND,-Did you ever attend the prayer-meeting? Perhaps you do not understand its nature and objects. Many persons seem to think, by their absence, that it is confined to the Lord's people, and only intended for their benefit. It is true that only the believer does pray from the heart; but then the brethren in Christ meet not only to ask for spiritual good to rest on themselves, but the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit to descend on the unconverted. Moreover, Christ has promised his special presence in the assembly met for prayer: "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Now, if an earthly monarch were announced to be present at a certain time in a certain place, how anxious you would be to have a seat in his presence; but how much more desirable it is to sit in the assembly of saints, where you may have the enjoyment of Christ's presence and blessing!

But, my dear Christian brother, do you always attend the prayer-meeting? It is the most important service of the Christian church; and every Christian ought, if possible, to be found in his seat on such an occasion. If you would meet the Redeemer, sympathize with your brethren, and enjoy far more extensively the converting influences of the Holy Spirit, never neglect the prayer-meeting. The gatherings for prayer are the thermometer of the church, showing the life and heat it contains. You may generally gauge the amount of spiritual good being done in a congregation by the number of church members at the prayer-meetings.

Oh! brethren, we cannot hope there is much spiritual life in your soul unless you come to the prayer-meeting; and we can have but little hope of sinners unless the Lord's remembrancers meet and put him in mind of his own promises. If all the brethren in Christ attended and delighted in the prayer-meeting, pleaded in the spirit of Daniel, and with the holy wrestling of Jacob, the plenteous rain of heaven would soon descend, gladdening our hearts, converting sinners, and glorifying God.

My fellow believers, ask what is the reason of your absence from the prayer-meeting? Is it sufficient, lawful, or Christian ? Come to it, I beseech you, in the spirit of prayer, with enlarged hearts, liberal minds, and earnest entreaties, pleading the promise of a covenant

THE DEFECTIVE PRAYER-MEETING. MY BELOVED CHRISTIAN FRIENDS,-Many prayer-meetings are very defective and unprofitable. It is no wonder that some persons never come to our social prayer-meetings. The persons who pray are good, holy, and well-meaning people, but then they are not wise in the manner and length of their prayers, and so the season is unimproved and almost useless. We have been at some prayer-meetings where the people are very faulty in this respect, and therefore a word of advice from a praying brother may do some good, if received in the same spirit in which it is given.

1. Many persons' prayers are too long. Mr. Newton used to say, "Many persons in their prayers begin at Genesis and end at Revelation." So there are some who pray a whole system of divinity. Everything pertaining to God and man must be mentioned in every prayer. But this shows such persons want the spirit of prayer, that they might enlarge on some topic, and supplicate with successful earnestness for some special blessing. No prayer offered on these occasions should occupy above seven or eight minutes; while, if there are plenty capable of leading the devotions, five minutes is quite long enough to give variety and profit.

2. Many persons' prayers are too meditative. By this we mean, a great deal uttered at these meetings is not prayer, but the breathings of some pious soul. Prayer is the cry of necessity; but if some persons could read what they utter, it would be found they had mistaken the object of the prayer-meeting. Think, my brethren, God does not need to be informed, but entreated, Ezek. xxxvi. 37. Imitate Jacob, and you will have the blessing you seek.

3. Many persons' prayers are too often alike. We cannot pray too often for spiritual blessings, but we may vary our tone and language. There are some persons who pray as if thought was stereotyped on the mind; you know what is coming without a prayer-book. How much better it would be to pray for some one special blessing with such earnestness as to give variety in manner and language. Try, brethren, and

offer a fresh prayer, the creation of your own mind, upon every occasion.

4. Many persons' prayers are too formal. We want more earnestness in prayer. It is best to think of some special want, and then with faith and earnest entreaty lay our case before God. It cannot then fail of an answer; for Christ has said, “If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you," John xv. 7. July, 1846.

J. M. S.

THE GLORY OF THE IMPERISHABLE. TRULY may one feel with Von Canitz, that if the glory of God's perishable works be so great, what must be the glory of the imperishable! What infinitely more of Him who is the author of both! And if I feel thrilling through me the sense of this outward beauty-innocent, indeed, yet necessarily unconscious-what is the sense one ought to have of moral beauty-of God the Holy Spirit's creation-of humbleness and truth, of self-devotion and love!

Much more beautiful, because made truly after God's image, are the forms and colours of kind and wise and holy thoughts, words, and actions; more truly beautiful is one hour of old Mrs. Price's patient waiting for the Lord's time, and her cheerful and kind interest in us all, than this glorious Valley of the Velinus. For this will pass away, and that will not pass away; but that is not the great point. Believe with Aristotle that this should abide, and that should perish; still there is in moral beauty an inherent excellence, which the natural beauty cannot have; for moral beauty is actually, so to speak, God, and not merely his work. His living and conscious ministers and servants are--it is permitted us to say so-the temples, of which the light is God himself.

It is almost awful to look at the overwhelming beauty around me, and then think of moral evil. It seems as if heaven and hell, instead of being separated by a great gulf from one another, were absolutely on each other's confines, and indeed not far from every one of us. May the sense of moral evil be as strong in me as my delight in external beauty; for in a deep sense of moral evil, more perhaps than in anything else, abides a saving knowledge of God.

It is not so much to admire moral good; that we may do, and yet not be ourselves conformed to it But if we really do abhor that which is evil-not the persons in whom evil resides, but the evil which dwelleth in them, and much more manifestly and certainly to our own knowledge, in our own hearts-this is to have the feeling of God and of Christ, and to have our spirit in sympathy with the Spirit of God.-Dr. Arnold's Journal.

JOHN BUNYAN.

I HAVE left off reading our divines; but if I could find a great man amongst them, I would read him thankfully and earnestly. As it is, I hold John Bunyan to have been a man of incomparably greater genius than any of them, and to have given a far truer and more edifying picture of Christianity. His Pilgrim's Progress seems to be a complete reflection of Scripture, with none of the rubbish of the theologians mixed up with it. Dr. Arnold's biographer, in his note to the above, says, "His admiration of

the Pilgrim's Progress was very great. I cannot trust myself,' he used to say, 'to read the account of Christian going up to the celestial gate, after his passage through the river of death.' And when, in one of the foreign tours of his later years, he had read it through again, after a long interval, 'I have always,' said he, 'been struck by its piety; am now struck equally, or even more, by its profound wisdom."" -Dr. Arnold's Life.

THE TRUE RICHES.

I WAS well acquainted with Mrs. Mitchell, the daughter of Bishop Burnet-a very superior and excellent woman. From her I had the following pleasing fact:-Her father, the Bishop, from his zealous care of his diocese, made it a rule yearly to visit the various parishes of which it was composed; and with the most distinguished regard, such ministers as were eminent for their piety, and most attentive in their care of the souls of the people. One of those had frequently expressed the great importance of well understanding our Lord's meaning of the beatitudes, and of this in particular, "Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth." Many anxious inquiries yet left this gracious minister unsatisfied in his own mind of the just and true explanation of it; and many prayers were added, to prevent any partial view of it or hasty opinion from the learned, favoured by him. In this unresolved state, he took a morning walk some considerable distance from his parish; and observing a habitation more wretched than he had before seen, walked towards it, and to his surprise heard a voice of great and joyous praise. Drawing nearer, he heard it as that of an individual, only he wanted to learn the cause; and looking in at the window, viewed the poor inhabitant in the most wretched state of outward want and poverty that he had ever beheld. She had, on a little stool before her, a piece of black bread and a cup of cold water; and with her eyes and hands lifted up to heaven, as in a rapture of praise, added these words, "What! all this, and Jesus Christ, too? What! all this, and Jesus Christ, too?" It wants not to be added that with the living lesson which this blessed man learnt, he with holy gratitude returned, well understanding who only inherited, in our Lord's sense, the whole earth by possessing him. From a Letter of Lady Huntingdon to a Friend in London.

LOVE YOUR ENEMIES.

A SLAVE in one of the islands of the West Indies, originally from Africa, having been brought under the influence of religious instruction, became singularly valuable to his owner on account of his integrity and general good conduct-so much so, that his master raised him to a situation of some importance in the management of his estate. This owner on one occasion wishing to purchase twenty additional slaves, employed him to make the selection, giving him instructions to choose those who were strong and likely to make good workmen. The man went to the slave-market, and commenced his search. He had not long surveyed the multitudes offered for sale before he fixed his eye intently upon an old and decrepid slave, and told his master that he must be one. The master seemed greatly surprised, and remonstrated against it; the poor

fellow begged that he might be indulged, when the dealer remarked that if they were about to buy twenty, he would give them the old man into the bargain. The purchase was accordingly made, and the slaves were conducted to the plantation of their new master; but upon none did the selector bestow half the attention. he did upon the poor old decrepid African. He took him to his own habitation, and laid him upon his own bed; he fed him at his own table, and gave him drink out of his own cup; when he was cold he carried him into the sunshine, and when he was hot he placed him under the shade of the cocoa-nut trees. Astonished at the attention this confidential slave bestowed upon a fellow-slave, his master interrogated him on the subject. He said, "You could not take so intense an interest in the old man but for some special reason; he is a relation of yours, perhaps your father." "No, massa," answered the poor fellow, "he no my fader." "He is then an elder

brother." "No, massa, he be no my broder." "Then he is an uncle, or some other relation." "No, massa, he be no of my kindred at all, nor even my friend." Then," asked the master, "on what account does he excite your interest?" "He my enemy, massa," replied the slave; "he sold me to the slave-dealer; and my Bible tell me, when my enemy hunger feed him, and when he thirst give him drink, for in so doing I shall heap coals of fire on his head."-Philippo's Jamaica, pp. 366, 367.

A NOBLE REPLY.

"WHAT can Jesus Christ do for you now?" said an inhuman slave-master, when in the act of applying the lacerating whip to an already half-murdered slave. "Him teach me to forgive you, massa," was the reply; and this has been the sentiment of hundreds in Jamaica under similar treatment.-Ibid, page 366.

REV. THOMAS LEWIS.-MORAL AND RELIGIOUS STATE OF ISLINGTON DURING THE LAST FORTY YEARS.

WE purpose, on the present occasion, to fix the attention of our readers on a single spot, for the purpose of illustrating the expansive character of evangelical principles, and the progress of religion in our native country. Islington, about forty years ago, had a population of little more than 10,000 persons. According to the census of 1841, it had increased to 55,720; and it is probable that by this time it is at least 60,000. From the "Retrospect" of the venerable Mr. Lewis we learn that there were then only four places of worship the parish church, Lower-street Chapel, the chapel in Church-street, and Highbury-grove Chapel; that in which Mr. Lewis began his labours forty-four years ago, as Union Chapel, was not erected till 1806. At that time, with the exception of the parochial schools, and a Sunday-school or two belonging to the chapels, no other means of instruction nor any benevolent institution then existed. "In those days," says Mr. Lewis, "this spot, so highly favoured, was involved in the grossest ignorance and wickedness. Shops were kept open and traffic carried on every Lord's day as on other days of the week. On that sacred day thousands, too, were in the habit of flocking from the metropolis to the teagardens in the village, and no pains were taken to dissipate the moral darkness; no effort was put forth to vindicate the honours of the Christian sabbath." Under

these circumstances some pious people, Episcopalian and Congregational, with a view to increase the means of salvation, secured the chapel in Highbury-grove, which for a time was variously supplied, till at length they united in an invitation of Mr. Lewis to the pastoral office, which he accepted. But although he entered on his labours in 1802, he was not ordained till April, 1804, when the Revds. Charles Buck, George Burder, Rowland Hill, and Dr. Nicholl, united in the interesting services. Since that period eleven new "churches," so called, in connection with the Establishment, have been erected. When appeals were made to the inhabitants for aid in this good work, an estimate, as usual, was made of the actual existing provision for the religious instruction of the entire population; but in that estimate, as usual, too, not the slightest notice was taken of the places of worship erected by the Dissenters! Mr. Lewis, in referring to this circumstance, exemplifies somewhat largely his characteristic charity. Charity, in its own place, is good, very good; but there are times when the voice of truth should not be drowned by the trumpets of charity. Perhaps, however, this omission might have been a mere inadvertence on the part of Churchmen. Not so: the Dissenting places were neither few nor mean, nor built in obscure corners. Their number is no less than thirteen, in every one of which the "glorious gospel of the blessed God" is faithfully dispensed! But the dispensers are Nonconformists, and

"If it be asked why we keep without, instead of being found within, the pale of the Establishment, which is open to us as well as others, we answer briefly, without going at large into the question, that we do so from principle-not from caprice, or the love of separation from others who think it right to be found within her pale, and to follow in the train of their forefathers. We ask our fellow-Christians of the Establishment to believe us when we say that we act conscientiously in this matter. We make no breach of church unity, or of political allegiance, in so doing. It is in perfect consistency with both that we claim the right, which is due to all, of thinking for ourselves. In the exercise of this right we consult the Sacred Scriptures, and not human creeds or articles. We believe the Bible, and the Bible alone, to be the religion of Protestants; and searching the oracles of God, which the Bible alone contains, we are brought to the conclusion that NONCONFORMITY IS OUR DUTY. We dare not connect ourselves with a secular church-a church in alliance with the state. We hold that the civil magistrate has no right to impose a religion or to make religious laws. This is the sole prerogative of God. Every secular establishment of religion, whether Popish or Protestant, we conceive to be in direct opposition to the declaration of Christ himself, 'My kingdom is not of this world.' His authority is paramount-to that we bow; and it forbids us to call any man, or set of men, our masters, in things pertaining to God and the interests of our souls. Besides, we take the baptismal service, which plainly makes baptism to be regeneration; the visitation of the sick, which gives the power of absolution to the priest; and the burial service, which consigns all indiscriminately to the grave 'in sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life,' to be unscriptural and mischievous to the spiritual interests of men, and leading to the indulgence of false hopes, and to their crying 'Peace, peace, when there is no peace.' How the doctrines implied in these services of the Church are got over by conscientious men, we know not; but we do know that they are opposed to the views of many who continue to minister at her altars, and who have long desired and sought improvements and alterations in vain. There the evils complained of still remain, and remain in rigid practice, no effort having been made, or allowed to be made, for the relief of a scrupulous conscience, since the time that the Book of Common Prayer was first prepared. For these reasons, and numerous others which we cannot even touch upon at present, we are constrained to abide without the pale of the Establishment. We hope, however,

in thus declaring ourselves, we shall give no offence to any. We beg it to be understood that it is the system, and not the men, of the Establishment, that we condemn. While we claim the privilege of thinking and acting for ourselves, we cheerfully concede the same to others. The man that would coerce his fellowmen for thus thinking for themselves in matters of religion, we regard not only as a violator of every charitable feeling, but as an odious persecutor; and those who descend to the use of sinister and worldly motives to obtain proselytes, or who hold out any temporal inducements to draw individuals away from other communions, or to entice or force their children into their schools, who have been for years under Christian instruction elsewhere, act at least with a meanness which we should be ashamed to imitate. Our motto is, 'Let every one be fully persuaded in his own mind.""

There are few places in which Dissent has exhibited greater harmony, or presented to the world a more inviting aspect than in Islington. The union of the churches is manifested in every practicable way; they have been at peace among themselves, and thus the God of peace has been with them. But while thus united among themselves, between them and the Establishment there is a great and fixed gulf, so that Church and Dissenting ministers, notwithstanding the thoroughly evangelical character of the former, have little more intercourse than men inhabiting different hemispheres.

Islington is the locality of the Church Missionary Institution for the Education of Missionaries, and also of Highbury College, (formerly Hoxton,) which, during a space of about sixty years, has received some four hundred students, of whom about three hundred are living, and occupying different spheres of usefulness and honour at home and abroad. In addition, also, to the National and infant-schools connected with the Establishment, there are two proprietary schools, a commercial school, with a large compliment of Sunday and week-day schools; there are two dispensaries for administering medical and surgical relief to the there poor; is likewise a Literary and Scientific Society, containing a library and museum, in which lectures on various subjects are delivered during various portions of the year; an Auxiliary Bible Society; a District Visiting, Christian Instruction, City Mission, Sailors', Sabbath Observance, Temperance, and Tract Societies. The result is stated by Mr. Lewis as follows:

"Thus has there been for some time an extensive machinery at work in this parish, which has happily effected a great moral and religious improvement in the character of our people. You