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whether they are engaged in the great work of their salvation.

But ministers should never cease from their endeavours. One word, seasonably and affectionately spoken, has often been the means of saving a soul from death. Private admonition and advice have been remarkably blessed in former times, and they are so still where they are diligently, tenderly, and prudently used.

ANECDOTES.

MONS. Foscue, one of the farmers-general of the province of Languedoc, by grinding the face of the poor, within his province, had amassed an immense sum of money, which, being known to the government, he was ordered to raise a considerable sum. But not being inclined to comply with this demand, he pleaded extreme poverty. And lest the inhabitants of his province should give information to the contrary, he resolved to hide his treasure in such a manner as to escape the most strict examination. He dug a kind of cave in his wine cellar, so large and deep that he could go down with a ladder ; at the entrance was a door with a spring lock, which, on shutting, would fasten of itself. Lately Mons. Foscue was missing diligent search was made after him every where, but to no purpose; at last his house was sold.

:

The purchaser beginning to rebuild it, discovered a door in the cellar, and going down found Mons. Foscue lying dead on the ground with a candlestick near him; and on searching farther, they found the vast wealth which he had amassed. The purchaser supposed that he went into the cave, and the door by some accident shutting after him, he was out of the call of any person, and perished for want of food. He had ate the candle and gnawed the flesh off both his arms: and thus died this miser, this avaricious wretch, in the midst of his treasure, to the scandal of himself, and to the prejudice of the state.

DIVINITY OF CHRIST.

Two gentlemen were once disputing on the divinity of Christ. One of them, who argued against it, said, "If it were true, it certainly would have been expressed in more clear and unequivocal terms." "Well," said the other, "admitting that you believed it, were authorised to teach it, and allowed to use your own language, how would you express the doctrine to make it indubitable?" "I would say," replied the first," that Jesus Christ is the true God." "You are very happy," rejoined the other, "in the choice of your words; for you have happened to hit upon the very words of inspiration. St. John, speaking of the Son, says, "This is the true God, and eternal life."

We cheerfully comply with the request of a respected friend, to disseminate and preserve the following tender and beautiful lines by the Rev. Samuel Pearce, A.M. Editors. in the pages of the Panoplist.

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IN a sweet spot, which wisdom chose,

Grew an unique and lovely Rose;
A flow'r so fair was seldom borne-
A Rose almost without a thorn.
Each passing stranger stopp'd to view
A plant possessing charms so new.

Sweet flow'r!" each lip was heard to say--
Nor less the owner pleas'd than they :
Rear'd by his hand with constant care,
And planted in his choice parterre,
Of all his garden this the pride,
No flow'r so much admir'd beside.

Nor did the Rose unconscious bloom,
Nor feel ungrateful for the boon;
Oft as her guardian came that way,
Whether at dawn, or eve of day,
Expanded wide-her form unveil'd,
She double fragrance then exhal'd.

As months roll'd on, the spring appear'd,
Its genial rays the Rose matur'd;
Forth from its root a shoot extends
The parent Rose-Tree downward bends,
And, with a joy unknown before,
Contemplates the yet embryo flow'r.

"Offspring most dear, (she fondly said)
Part of myself! beneath my shade,
Safe shalt thou rise, whilst happy I,
Transported with maternal joy,
Shall see thy little buds appear,
Unfold, and bloom in beauty here.
What, though the lily, or jonquil,
Or hyacinth no longer fill

The space around me-all shall be
Abundantly made up in thee.

"What, though my present charms decay,

And passing strangers no more say

Of me, "Sweet Flow'r !" yet thou shalt raise

Thy blooming bead, and gain the praise:

And this reverberated pleasure
Shall be to me a world of treasure.
Cheerful I part with former merit,
That it my darling may inherit.

Haste then the hours which bid thee bloom,
And fill the zephyrs with perfume."

Thus had the Rose-Tree scarcely spoken,
Ere the sweet cup of bliss was broken:
The gard'ner came, and with one stroke,
He from the root the offspring took;
Took from the soil wherein it grew,
And hid it from the parent's view.

Judge ye, who know a mother's cares
For the dear tender babe she bears,
The parent's anguish. Ye alone
Such sad vicissitudes have known.

Decp was the wound; nor slight the pain
Which made the Rose-Tree thus complain:

Dear little darling! art thou gone-
Thy tha tas scarce to thy mother known!

Remov'd so soon! So suddenly

Snatch'd from my fond maternal eye!

What hadst thou done? dear offspring! say,

So early to be snatch'd away!

What! gone forever !-sten na more!
Farever I thy loss deplore.

Ye dews descend, with tears supply
My now forever tearful eye;

Or rather come some naribern blast,
Dislodge my yielding roots in haste.
Whirlwinds arise-my branches tear,
And to some distant region bear

Far from this spot, a wretched mother,
Whose fruit and joys are gone together."

As thus the anguish'd Rose-Tree cry'd,
Her owner near her she espy'd;
Who in these gentle terms reprov'd

A plant, though murm'ring, still belov'd :--
"Cease, beauteous flow'r, these useless cries,
And let my lessons make thee wise.
Art thou not mine? Did not my hand
Transplant thee from the barren sand,
Where once, a mean, unsightly plant,
Expos'd to injury and want,
Unknown, and unadmir'd, I found,
And brought thee to this fertile ground;
With studious art improv'd thy form,
Secur'd thee from th' inclement storm,
And through the seasons of the year,
Made thee my unabating care?
Hast thou not bless'd thy happy lot
In such an owner, such a spot?

But now, because thy shoot I've taken,
Thy best of friends must be forsaken.
Know, flow'r belov'd, e'en this affliction
Shall prove to thee a benediction:
Had I not the young plant remov'd,

(So fondly by thy heart belov'd)

Of me thy heart would scarce have thought,
With gratitude no more be fraught:

Yea, thy own beauty be at stake,
*Surrendet'd for thy offspring's sake.

Nor think, that, hidden from thine eyes,

The infant plant neglected lies-
No, I've another garden, where
In richer soil, and purer air

It's now transplanted, there to shine
In beauties fairer far than thine.
Nor shalt thou always be apart
From the dear darling of thy heart;
For 'tis my purpose thee to bear
In future thne, and plant thee there,
Where thy now absent offset grows,
And blossoms a celestial rose.

Be patient then, till that set hour shall come,
When thou, and thine shall in new beauties bloom:
No more its absence shalt thou then deplore,
Together grow, and ne'er be parted more."

These words to silence hush'd the plaintive Rose,
With deeper blushes redd'ning now she glows,
Submissive bow'd her unrepining head,
Again her wonted, grateful fragrance shed:
Cry'd, "Thou hast taken only what's thine own,
Therefore, thy will, my Lord, not mine, be done."

Review of New Publications.

A Sermon, delivered at New-Boston, N. H. February 26, 1806, at the Ordination of the Rev. E. P. Bradford to the pastoral care of the Presbyterian Church and Society in that place. By Jesse Appleton, Congregational Minister in Hampton, N. H.

THIS is a serious and ingenious discourse. It is well adapted to the occasion, is written in a pure and perspicuous style, and displays such modesty and candour, as are very congenial with the delicate subject of catholocism. The author does not appear "fierce for moderation;" but seems to have aimed at steering a middle course between the extremes of bigotry and latitudidarianism. And had he only kept within these proper bounds, he would have deserved much praise, and given no occasion for the following remarks, which have occurred to some judicious and candid readers.

1. Mr. A. appears to have mistaken the plain and obvious meaning of his text. It is 1 Cor. i. 10. "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind, and in the same judgment." These words Mr. A. allows must enjoin upon the Corinthians either unity of sentiment, or unity of affection. If we regard the mode of expression, we must naturally conclude, that the apostle meant to enjoin unity of sentiment, or to teach the Corinthians to speak, to think, and to judge alike upon religious subjects. And it clearly appears from the following parts of the epistle,

pp 32.

8vo.

that they stood in need of such an exhortation from the apostle Paul, who was their spiritual father, and the master builder in forming them into a church state. For they had fallen from their stedfastness, and run into numerous and dangerous errors. They had erred respecting the divine call of the apostle, respecting church discipline, the duty of marriage, the nature and design of the Lord's Supper, the support of gospel ministers, things offered to idols, spiritual gifts, and even respecting the great doctrine of the general resurrection. Upon this head the apostle reproved them sharply. "I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day, according to the scriptures; and that he was seen of Cephas, and then of the twelve; and last of all he was seen of me also. Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and SO ye believed. Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?” the apostle meant to suit his epistle to the present state of the Corinthians, he could not have addressed them upon a more seasonable and necessary subject, than that of unity of sentiment,

If

from which they had so grossly departed. It is, therefore, most natural to consider his words in the text as referring to their unchristian doctrines, as well as to their unchristian feelings. But admitting Mr. A.'s exposition to be right, and allowing that the apostle did refer solely to unity of affection; then it is queried by what logic Mr. A. could deduce from a passage, which had no respect to controverted points in divinity, this doctrine; "that there may be comfort of love and fellowship of the Spirit among those Christians, whose opinions in divinity do not fully coincide."

2. Whether this doctrine bear any legitimate relation to the text or not, it seems to be too indefinite to require either proof, or even illustration. For no man can be found, of any religious sect or party, who will not readily allow, that "Christians, whose opinions in divinity do not fully coincide, may enjoy comfort of love and fellowship of the Spirit," or sincerely unite in brother ly love. A doctrine or leading sentiment in a public discourse ought to be not only true, but Important.

3. There seems to be no great propriety in the concessions, which Mr. A. makes previously to the proof of his doctrine. They are all very true, but neither necessary nor pertinent. What if Christians may differ as much in meaning, as in words; what if their diversity of opinions may not be matter of indifference; what if some may dif fer essentially from others; what if some may be criminal for imbibing their errors; and what if the nearer any agree in the be

lief of the truth, the more closely they may unite in affection :Supposing all these things to be true, they have no tendency to prepare the way for the illustration or support of the truths in question, and therefore, it is conceived, they ought to be considered as mere protuberances to the discourse.

4. Mr. A.'s mode of reasoning in proof of his doctrine, is both redundant and deficient. His argument derived from the sources of error is redundant; dundant; and his argument, drawn from the conduct of those eminent men he mentions, is deficient, because it does not appear, from any thing he has said, whether they acted right or acted wrong in exercising mutual esteem and affection. But whether he has succeeded or failed in supporting his doctrine, its truth will be universally believed.

5. Mr. A. triumphs without a victory, in his remarks upon the fourteenth of Romans. All the apostle there said goes no further than to prove, that men may differ in non-essential points, and yet be sincere Christians, and exercise mutual love and esteem. This nobody denies. But some have denied, and probably will continue to deny, that the apostle meant to justify any man in the least voluntary error.

6. Mr. A. misrepresents the opinion of those whom he con. siders as opponents. He says, "it has been the opinion of some respectable men, that, should those, who embrace error, actually embrace the truth, they will then know that their present opinion is right, and their former wrong," We are acquainted with none who maintain, that

men always know they are right in opinion, when they are so ; but we believe many justly maintain, that when men are really right in opinion, respecting subjects which admit of certainty, they may then know that they are right. There are many subjects in divinity, which do not admit of certainty; and perhaps, the doctrine of infant baptism, which Mr. A. mentions, may be one. In this, and similar cases, a man may be right in opinion, and never certainly know in this life, that his opinion is entirely agreeable to the word of God. He

may gain so much light as to exclude doubt, which will justify him in maintaining his opinion, and acting upon it. But when a man has erred in respect to a divine truth, which admits of certainty, and afterwards embraces that truth, he may then know that he knows it, and that his former opinion was wrong. This, however, may not be the infallible consequence, because his knowing the truth, and knowing that he knows it, are two very different things, and the former may exist without the latter.

Finally, notwithstanding our confidence in the rectitude of Mr. A.'s intentions, it appears to us to be the general tendency of his discourse to make men believe, that it is more difficult to discover truth and detect error than it really is. It tends to make men feel too easy and unconcerned about their religious errors. It also tends to favour the growing and dangerous notion, that it is of more importance to avoid bigotry than heresy. And it seems calculated to create a belief, that Vol. III. No. 12.

there is no important distinction between real Calvinism, and real Arminianism; which belief may be productive of many hurtful effects.

THE PROVIDENCE

OF GOD ORDERING AND CONDUCTING THE AFFAIRS OF MEN.

A sermon preached in the Independent or Congregational church, Charleston, South Carolina, Sept. 14, 1806. By ISAAC STOCKTON Keith, d. d. One of the pastors of said church. Published by request. W. P. Young. Charleston. pp. 56.

THE length of the title violates the rules of classical taste. The title of a book becomes its name, and like the name of a child, should be such as may be conveniently spoken.

It is doubted, whether it add any thing to the usefulness of a sermon to inform the public, that the publication was earnestly solicited by respectable characters; that the author felt himself constrained to comply.

Better say as Mr. Henry does concerning one of his books; "If I thought it needed an apology, I would not consent to publish it." On the other hand, if a work need no apology, the author should make none. This we think to be the case with the discourse now before us.

It was occasioned by the desolating storm which took place in the Southern States in August, 1806. "My times are in thy hand," is the text. In order to exhibit the leading ideas included Y y y

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