soon be called to notice another volume [ world, by a simple act of resignation. But of his discourses. In glancing an eye over it, we find it to exhibit all the peculiarities of the preacher's diction, which we then specified. There is, nevertheless, so much sound doctrine; so much of the savour of the doctrines of divine grace, pervading these Sermons, that, in defiance of their singular phraseology, and of occasional trips in point of statement, we cannot but be thankful for them. The author is certainly a bold and original thinker, and though occasionally too declamatory for us, he is at times eminently successful in exhibiting important truths in a most forcible point of view. Several of these Sermons were delivered in London, before congregations of several thousands at a time, and when we say, their effect in the delivery was powerful and striking, we speak what we know to be true. We shall treat our readers with a few extracts, as we can conveniently find room for them; and we begin by noticing his second Sermon, entitled, "the expulsive power of a new affection,”—a title somewhat quaint and obscure, and which certainly might be very advantageously changed for "the powerful influence of the love of God in overcoming the love of the world." The preacher very justly remarks in the outset, that nothing can be more preposterous, than to attempt to dispossess the human heart of the love of the world, its pleasures, riches and honours, by any process of mere abstract reasoning on the vanity of these things. "The strong man whose dwelling place is there, may be compelled to give way to another occupier; but unless another, stronger than he, has power to dispossess and to succeed him, he will keep his present lodgment inviolable. The heart would revolt against its own emptiness. The moralist who tries such a process of dispossession as this upon the heart, is thwarted at every step by the recoil of its own mechanism." This is the principle which the Doctor states and amplifies in the former part of his Sermon, certainly with a due proportion of repetition; he then proceeds as follows: "The love of the world cannot be expunged by a mere demonstration of the world's worthlessness. But may it not be supplanted by the love of that which is more worthy than itself? The heart cannot be prevailed upon to part with the may not the heart be prevailed upon to admit into its preference another, who shall subordinate the world, and bring it down from its wonted ascendency? If the throne which is placed there, must have an occupier, and the tyrant that now reigns has occupied it wrongfully, he may not leave a bosom which would rather detain him, than be left in desolation. But may he not give way to the lawful sovereign, appearing with every charm that can secure his willing admittance, and taking unto himself his great power to subdue the moral nature of man, and to reign over it? In a word, if the way to disengage the heart from the positive love of one great and ascendant object, is to fasten it in positive love to another, then the former, but by addressing to the mental it is not by exposing the worthlessness of eye the worth and excellence of the latter, that all old things are to be done away, and all things are to become new. "To obliterate all our present affections, by simply expunging them, and so as to leave the seat of them unoccupied, would be to destroy the old character, and to substitute no new character in its place. But when they take their departure upon the ingress of other visitors, when they resign of new affections; when abandoning the their sway to the power and predominance heart to solitude, they merely give place to a successor who turns it into as busy a residence of desire, and interest, and expectation as before-there is nothing in all this to thwart or to overbear any of the laws of our sentient nature-and we see how, in fullest accordance with the mechanism of the heart, a great moral revolution may be made to take place upon it. "This, we trust, will explain the operaeffectual preaching of the Gospel. The tion of that charm which accompanies the love of God, and the love of the world, are two affections, not merely in a state of rivalship, but in a state of enmity-and that so irreconcileable, that they cannot dwell together in the same bosom. We have already affirmed how impossible it were for the heart, by any innate elasticity of its own, to cast the world away from it, and thus to reduce itself to a wilderness. The heart is not so constituted, and the only way to dispossess it of an old affecone. Nothing can exceed the magnitude tion, is by the expulsive power of a new of the required change in a man's cha racter when bidden as he is in the New Testament, to love not the world; no, nor any of the things that are in the worldfor this so comprehends all that is dear to him in existence, as to be equivalent to a command of self-annihilation. But the same revelation which dictates so mighty REVIEW OF DR. CHALMERS'S SERMONS. an obedience, places within our reach as mighty an instrument of obedience. It brings for admittance, to the very door of our heart, an affection which once seated upon its throne, will either subordinate every previous inmate, or bid it away. Beside the world, it places before the eye of the mind, him who made the world, and with this peculiarity, which is all its own, that in the Gospel do we so behold God, as that we may love God. It is there, and there only, where God stands revealed as an object of confidence to sinners-and where our desire after him is not chilled into apathy, by that barrier of human guilt, which intercepts every approach that is not made to him through the appointed Mediator. It is the bringing in of this better hope, whereby we draw nigh unto God-and to live without hope, is to live without God, and if the heart be without God, the world will then have all the ascendancy. It is God apprehended by the believer as God in Christ, who alone can dispost it from this ascendancy. It is when he stands dismantled of the terrors which belong to him as an offended lawgiver, and when we are enabled by faith, which is his own gift, to see his glory in the faith of Jesus Christ, and to hear his beseeching voice, as it protests good-will to men, and entreats the return of all who will to a full pardon, and a gracious acceptance-it is then, that a love paramount to the love of the world, and at length expulsive of it, first arises in the regenerating bosom. It is when released from the spirit of bondage, with which love cannot dwell, and when admitted into the number of God's children, through the faith that is in Christ Jesus, the spirit of adoption is poured upon us it is then that the heart, brought under the mastery of one great and predominant affection, is delivered from the tyranny of its former desires, in the only way in which deliverance is possible. And that faith which is revealed to us from heaven, as indispensable to a sinner's justification in the sight of God, is also the instrument of the greatest of all moral and spiritual achievements on a nature dead to the influence, and beyond the reach of every other application." Again, "It is worthy of being remarked of those men who thus disrelish spiritual Christianity, and, in fact, deem it an impracticable acquirement, how much of a piece their incredulity about the demands of Christianity, and their incredulity about the doctrines of Christianity, are with one another. No wonder that they feel the work of the New Testament to be beyond their strength, so long as they hold the words of the New Testament to be beneath VOL. X. 57 their attention. Neither they nor any one else can dispossess the heart of an old affection, but by the expulsive power of a new one-and, if that new affection be the love of God, neither they nor any one else can be made to entertain it, but on such a representation of the Deity, as shall draw the heart of the sinner towards him. Now it is just their unbelief which screens from the discernment of their minds this representation. They do not see the love of God in sending his Son into the world. They do not see the expression of his tenderness to men, in sparing him not, but giving him up unto the death for us all. They do not see the sufficiency of the atonement, or the sufferings that were endured by him who bore the burden that sinners should have borne. They do not see the blended holiness and compassion of the Godhead, in that he passed by the transgressions of his creatures, yet could not pass them by without an expiation. It is a mystery to them, how a man should pass to the state of godliness from a state of nature-but had they only a believing view of God manifest in the flesh, this would resolve for them the whole mystery of godliness. As it is, they cannot get quit of their old affections, because they are out of sight from all those truths which have influence to raise a new one. They are like the children of Israel in the land of Egypt, when required to make bricks without straw,-they cannot love God, while they want the only food which can aliment this affection in a sinner's bosom-and however great their errors may be both in resisting the demands of the Gospel as impracticable, and in rejecting the doctrines of the Gospel as inadmissible, yet there is not a spiritual man (and it is the prerogative of him who is spiritual to judge all men) who will not perceive that there is a consistency in these errors." We take our leave of the volume for the present month with the following paragraph, which contains a most important sentiment, placed in a luminous point of view:: "The object of the Gospel is both to pacify the sinner's conscience, and to purify his heart; and it is of importance to observe, that what mars the one of these objects, mars the other also. The best way of casting out an impure affection is to admit a pure one; and by the love of what is good, to expel the love of what is evil. Thus it is, that the freer the Gospel, the more sanctifying is the Gospel; and the more it is received as a doctrine of grace, the more will it be felt as a doctrine according to godliness. This is one of the secrets of the Christian life, that the more a man holds of God as a pensioner, the I greater is the payment of the service that the mercy of God-salvation on such a he renders back again. On the tenure of footing is not more indispensable to the "Do this and live," a spirit of fearfulness deliverance of our persons from the hand is sure to enter; and the jealousies of a of justice, than it is to the deliverance of legal bargain chase away all confidence our hearts from the chill and the weight of from the intercourse between God and ungodliness. Retain a single shred or man; and the creature striving to be fragment of legality with the Gospel, and square and even with his Creator, is, in you raise a topic of distrust between man fact, pursuing all the while his own sel- and God. You take away from the power fishness, instead of God's glory; and with of the Gospel to melt and to conciliate. all the conformities which he labours to For this purpose, the freer it is, the better accomplish, the soul of obedience is not it is. That very peculiarity which so many there, the mind is not subject to the law dread as the germ of antinomianism, is, in of God, nor indeed under such an economy fact, the germ of a new spirit, and a new ever can be. It is only when, as in the inclination against it. Along with the Gospel, acceptance is bestowed as a pre-light of a free Gospel, does there enter the sent, without money and without price, love of the Gospel, which, in proportion that the security which man feels in God as you impair the freeness, you are sure to is placed beyond the reach of disturbance chase away. And never does the sinner or, that he can repose in him, as one find within himself so mighty a moral friend reposes, in another-or, that any transformation, as when under the belief liberal and generous understanding can be that he is saved by grace, he feels conestablished betwixt them-the one party strained thereby to offer his heart a derejoicing over the other to do him good-voted thing, and to deny ungodliness." the other finding that the truest gladness of his heart lies in the impulse of a gratitude, by which it is awakened to the charms of a new moral existence. Salvation by grace-salvation by free grace salvation not of works, but according to These, unquestionably, are correct and important sentiments, and we rejoice to see them so boldly avowed by this able advocate. We hope to resume our notice of the volume next month. Religious and Literary Entelligence. BRITISH AND FOREIGN SCHOOL 1 on you to join with me in rendering thanks SOCIETY. Extracts from the Correspondence. SOUTH AMERICA. From Mr. Thomson, dated Lima, May 26, 1823. giving unto Him, who comforteth those that are cast down, and who hath turned my darkness into light. Blessed be his name! the prospects of something being done here brighten daily, and I hope yet to communicate to you something gladdening from the land of the Incas. We have at length got our School fairly begun, and under very favorable auspices. A considerable time has now' elapsed since I last wrote to you. I confess I have acted wrong in delaying so long; but II know that yourself and the Committee of the British and Foreign School Society are ready to forgive. The truth is, I have had no heart to write to you-I have had nothing encouraging to communicate, and I am never fond of being a messenger of evil tidings. I have been bandied about these many months, without being able to make any progress in those highly important affairs in which you feel so deeply interested. I have been more than once on the eve of leaving this part of South America, but one little encouragement or other called me back just as I was going to embark, and flattered me into a belief that all would go on well. I shall not detain you with a long list of grievances, but pass at once to the more pleasing task of calling formerly mentioned to you, that the Governor had given us, for our School, the college belonging to the Dominican friars. The whole of the edifice is at our disposal, for school objects. We have fitted up, for our present school-room, a large apartment, formerly the college dining-room, which will contain 300 children. The number of children actually attending is upwards of 100. We intend to increase it gradually rather than rapidly, as we might do, were we inclined. The experience I have had has taught me the necessity of this. It is an easy matter to tell what the System is, and to say, things are to be managed in such and such a way; but the great difficulty consists in reducing it to practice, in training the children to method. BRITISH AND FOREIGN SCHOOL SOCIETY. The Congress and the Government are decidedly in favour of education. Their object is not merely the education of the few, but the education of the many, namely, of every individual in Peru. The attention of the Congress is at present engaged in drawing up a constitution for the nation. One of the articles already sanctioned is, that no person can be a citizen of Peru, unless he can read and write. From the consideration, however, of the neglect in promoting education in this country, these literary qualifications are not to be exacted until the year 1840. Time is thus given for every individual to qualify himself in these matters; and the anxious desire of the Congress is, I am fully persuaded, to carry forward education with all possible rapidity, You are aware, I suppose, that the inhabitants of Peru do not all speak the Spanish language. The descendants of the ancient Peruvians are very numerous, and most of them speak the language of their ancestors. In some parts of the country they have assumed the manners and the language of their conquerors and oppressors; their ancient tongue is their only medium of communication. I have long had my eye on this part of the population of the country. I have at length obtained a fair prospect of being able to plant schools among them, and also to hand to them the Word of God in their native tongue. An officer belonging to a regiment called the Peruvian Legion, and who thoroughly understands the Quichua language, has taken a great liking to our system, and is extremely desirous of benefitting his countrymen by communicating instruction to them. He is at present attending our school for this purpose, and I entertain a pleasing hope regarding the future results of his operations. I have got acquainted also with another gentleman who speaks the Peruvian language, and who also feels deeply interested in the present and future welfare of this people. This individual is at present engaged in translating a portion of the New Testament into this ancient tongue. As soon as one of the Gospels is translated and thoroughly revised, we intend to get it printed with all speed, and to put it into immediate cir culation. The types and the lessons came to hand all safe about two months ago. All the articles mentioned in your last letter came to hand in due time, and I shall notice them more particularly in my next. I beg you to express to your Committee my sincere respect and gratitude for the very obliging manner in which they came forward in aid of education in South America. I remain, dear Sir, yours sincerely, 59 self and the British and Foreign School Society, of which you are a member, wil feel an interest. Mr. Lunn, of Montreal, did me the honour of calling upon me a month past, and encouraged me to become instrumental in establishing a School upon the Lancasterian System, he himself having succeeded, under God's Providence, in establishing the same at Montreal, which is now in a very thriving state, and of which his Excellency the Earl of Dalhousie, the Governor of Canada, has lately become a Patron. I accordingly have collected a sum of seventy-two pounds, and forty-seven Annual Subscribers, of every Christian denomination, have become members upon my list. We held a very respectable meeting on the 9th instant, on which occasion B. Treman, Esq. Magistrate, was elected Treasurer, and myself (an Officer of Royal Engineers), Secretary of the Society; and it was resolved, that I should communicate on the first opportunity to your Society our proceedings, and I should much more rejoice to do so if they were of a more shining nature. Our efforts meet with opposition, but humbly trusting that the establishment will be to God's glory, in furnishing means towards spreading his kingdom amidst the rising generation, we hope we shall not faint, nor be weary in well doing. We particularly request you will do us the favour of forwarding, without delay, that advice which you are so well qualified to give to our infant establishment. We shall also be grateful to your Society for some copies of their Reports, and for a supply of books requisite for the instruction of our youth, which we will take the first opportunity of paying for. We hope very shortly to communicate to Your obedient and humble Servant, MADEIRA. who was sent to London for the purpose of Mr. Alex. Cunha, a native of Madeira, fully initiating himself in the knowledge and practice of the British System, returned to that Island on the 17th of October last. The first attempt to introduce the System into Madeira was carried into effect in 1819, by a benevolent individual, who established a School for about 100 boys. The success which attended this Gentleman's exertions, stimulated a few Ladies to unite for the purpose of opening a School for girls, which was shortly afterwards accomplished. As, however, the expenses of the Schools were defrayed by a very few inCANADA. dividuals, it became necessary to interest From Lieut. West, of Quebec, dated Sept. 17, 1823. the inhabitants of the Island in the object, SIR, and accordingly a Public Meeting was I take the liberty of addressing you convened, a Committee was formed, and a upon a subject in which I know that your-code of Regulations agreed to for the future government of the Institution. The suc-sonally, when passing through England, cess of these measures was such, as to encourage the Committee to erect a new building, capable of containing upwards of 300 children; and in order that the British System might be introduced with the greatest advantage, the Committee of the British and Foreign School Society invited the Committee of Madeira to send a suitable person to their Central Establishment for instruction; and it is hoped, now that Mr. Cunha has returned properly qualified for the undertaking, that the System will be firmly established in that Island. MORAVIAN MISSIONS TO THE on their way to and from their respective stations. The inconveniencies and difficulties, which naturally arose out of the circumstances of the war, were obviated, as far as possible, by the indulgence of our benevolent Government, ever ready to afford facility to the means adopted, for the spiritual and temporal benefit of the nations under its dominion. No material interruption therefore took place; and we cannot help remarking, with gratitude to our Heavenly Father, that by his gracious providence, our correspondence with the various Missions of the Brethren's Church, from which so much comfort and encouragementare derived, both at home and abroad, was maintained and preserved, amidst all It is now some time since we called the test, and the frequent changes thereby the vicissitudes of a long protracted conattention of our readers to the Missions of produced. More especially are we called the Church of the United Brethren, estab- upon to quote, with heartfelt thankfulness, lished among the Heathen; and we regret the uninterrupted communications we have the fact, because the Institution is entitled had with our Mission on the coast of to a far different treatment at our hands. Labrador, now for upwards of fifty years, Not only has it a right to claim the honour notwithstanding all the dangers to which of being the parent institution, the mother our little vessel has been exposed, from of all our Missions, but it stands pre-floating ice, from sunken rocks, and, during eminently distinguished from all with have thus been enabled from year to year, the war, from the enemy's cruisers. We which we are acquainted, by the unostento report to our friends the progress of tatious manner in which "it pursues the that interesting Mission, by the insertion noiseless tenour of its course." In the of letters from the three settlements. The present instance we were reminded of its colony of the Cape of Good Hope having claims upon us, solely by the circumstance remained in possession of the English, our of one of the numbers of their "Periodical communications from that quarter have Accounts" finding its way to our table. been frequent. On examining its contents, we were pleased to find an Address to the Friends of the Mission, from the pen of Mr. La Trobe, their respectable Secretary, briefly sketching the History of the Mission, and the success with which, by the divine blessing, it has been crowned. We shall extract a paragraph or two, hoping it may be useful in stirring up the attention of our friends to it, and stimulating their exertions in its favour. "By the publication of the Periodical Accounts, it was not our design to give a connected History of each Mission, but merely to communicate to our friends, extracts from such letters, reports and diaries, as might arrive from time to time from our different stations. The extraordinary events of the late war became, through the providence of God, the means of bringing us into more immediate correspondence with some of our Missions, from which we had heretofore, as at present, received reports alone through foreign channels. The Colonies of Surinam, the Cape of Good Hope, the Danish West India Islands, and Greenland, were in succession, and for a season, placed under British sovereignty, and the Missionaries were under the necessity of applying to our Society for what they wanted. To us it afforded the sincerest pleasure, thus to become acquainted with many worthy servants of God, both by correspondence and per The very great increase of expence connected with the maintenance of that denently and exclusively engaged in the partment in our church, which is permabusiness of Missions, together with the decrease of means, consequent upon the war, would indeed have been not only appalling but ruinous, had not God in mercy raised up many friends, (chiefly by the perusal of the Periodical Accounts) who having learnt to esteem the Missions of the Brethren as a work of God, felt themselves called upon to step in for our relief. By their generous aid the Directors and Managers of these institutions have been enabled to maintain their ground, and to persevere, in unshaken dependence upon their Almighty Helper, in the prosecution of a work, committed now for nearly a century to a part of the church of Christ, in itself very weak and insufficient, but highly and undeservedly favoured, as an instrument for the promotion of his glory. Of this, the simple narratives inserted in the Periodical Accounts afford ample proof. But while we gratefully acknowledge the bounty of individuals, we cannot forget how largely we are indebted to the various Associations formed in London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, ard other places, in aid of our Missions; not by the influence or at the solicitation of the Brethren, but by the love and power of God alone, operating on the hearts of his willing people. Without the liberal support of these unlooked for Auxiliaries, we must indeed |