On page 51, Mrs. Darvil says to her little ones, "When. ever any of us are received into heaven, it will not be on account of our own goodness, but for the sake of that dear Saviour who suffered death for all men." The scriptures do not teach this doctrine, but quite the contrary. They always teach us that those who are received into heaven, will be received because they followed Christ, obeyed his gospel, did good, loved the saints, forsook all to be Christ's disciples, &c. It is taught from one end of the Bible to the other; that men are accepted and rewarded of God on account of their goodness, and on account of their goodness alone. Men are often favoured on account of the goodness of others; so the children of Israel were chosen and blessed, not for their own righteousness, but for the righteousness of their forefathers. So the nations have the gospel given to them with all its influences, not on account of their previous goodness, but rather on account of their badness, out of the free and unsolicited favour of God, through Jesus Christ; but after having received the gospel, we are accepted only on account of our goodness, and we are to be received into heaven on account of our perseverance in goodness. It is through Christ that we are accepted, and by Christ, and it will be through Christ, and by Christ, that we shall be received into heaven; but it is on account of our goodness, that we are approved and rewarded from first to last. So it is solely on account of their badness, that wicked men will be disapproved, and shut out of heaven. It is not wise to teach children that they cannot be quite holy, and do all God's will. The scriptures do not teach any such thing; they teach us that we must be quite holy, or else not see God, and of course that we may be quite holy. To be holy is to obey God with the heart, and there is no point in which we cannot obey God if we will; and if we will not, it is not inability, but rebellion. The question on page 62, cannot be answered by children, and need not be answered by any one else. These are what we consider spots on the work, but they are only a trifle compared with the rest of the book. And we would not be understood as if we meant, that the work before us errs more on those points,than other works by religious authors. These errors appear in almost all religious works, and they are as old as Augustine himself. Errors they are, nevertheless, and we must notice them, when they come in our way, though they occur in a work of the most in. teresting and promising character. We notice them here, for this simple and only reason, because we dare not, as the servants of God, pretend to give the character of a work, and only give one-half of its character. We conclude our lengthened notice of this little work, by recommending it to the perusal and study of our readers. It is an excellent explanation and illustration, of one of the most important portions of God's word.

We are sorry to see Mrs. Sherwood's late work, "The Monk of Cimies," advertized with Newspaper recommenda tions; it is one of the vilest productions in the English lan guage. What her "Tales for the young" are we cannot tell, for we have not read them; but if they at all resemble her «Monk," the Lord preserve the young from their influence.

On Monday Evening, the 19th of March, I preached a sermon in the Wesleyan Methodist Association Chapel, Preston, in behalf of the Association Sabbath School. On Tuesday Evening, I attended a social: Tea party, held by the friends of the School, in the Corn Exchange, and addressed the company on the claims of Sabbath School institutions upon the christian public. The same Evening I addressed a numerous company in the Theatre, Preston, on the subject of Temperance.

On Monday, the 26th of March, I attended a Temperance Tea party, and addressed a public meeting at Warrington. Both the Tea party and public meeting were well attended, and the people seemed to be much interested in the spread of the Temperance cause. On Tuesday Evening, March 27th, I lectured on Temperance, in the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, Bolton. The Chapel was much crowded, the meeting was presided over by Mr. Knowles, an influential member of the Methodist Society, and the company were very attentive.

At Warrington I met with a young man from Altringham, who is connected with a religious society which has no creed nor set of rules but the Bible. They first joined Mr. Aitken's society, on the understanding, that Mr. Aitken would have no preacher or church officer in connexion with him but what abstained from all intoxicating drinks; but when Mr. Aitkendeviated from this course, they formed themselves into a separate society. They have none but Tee-totallers in connexion with them. If this society should prosper and extend itself, the ministers and officers in other churches will find it necessary to use their Tee-total members kindly, or else have the pain to see many of them withdrawing from their communion..

I'have often observed the great number of Public house signs, with the names of women on them; and 1 long ago considered this as an indication, that Publicans generally bring themselves to a premature end by drinking. A friend of mine pointed out to me three Alehouses together, as we were walking through Warrington, kept by widows, whose husbands had fallen victims to the poisonous drinks in which they trafficked. Of a dozen publicans with which I have been acquainted, nearly every one has come to an untimely and miserable end. "They that take the sword, shall perish by the sword," said Christ, and it also seems to be his decree that those who will deal out poison to others, shall fall by that poison themselves.

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DAVIS, PRINTER, STALYBRIDGE:

EVANGELICAL REFORMER,

AND YOUNG MAN'S GUIDE.

BY JOSEPH

BARKER.

Published every Saturday.- Price One Penny, or in Monthly

Parts, price Five pence.

No. 18.

SATURDAY, APRIL 28, 1838.

VOL. I.

A COMMON PRAYER.

It is very common for professors of religion to pray, that God would help them so to live, as they will wish they had done when they come to die. It is a proper prayer, but I fear we do not use our endeavours as we ought, to obtain an answer to our prayer. I am afraid that inany who offer up this prayer, seldom inquire in what way they will wish they had lived when they come to die. They have an impression that they will wish they had lived better, that they had been more decided for God, and more diligent in his service, and this is all. They make no inquiries into the particular parts of their con duct; they come to no proper decision as to what particular things they would wish to see in their past life, and what things they would wish not to see.

Hence few, if any, when their last hour draws near, are pleased with the review of the past. They not only see imperfections, but serious faults; they not only have to lament that they have not done enough, but that they have not fairly begun some parts of their work. They have to look on evil tempers, or perhaps habits, which they have thought of reformning for years, yet never reformed; and they have to gaze on blanks which they had thought of filling up with good works, but which they always neglected to perform.

It is my desire that those who read these lines should

arouse themselves, and consider their ways, lest they also should be overtaken with sorrow at the last. And as many of my readers are young, and have the chief part of life perhaps yet before them, I am especially desirous that they should attend to this subject, and give it their most serious and patient consideration.

It may not be possible for us to tell how we shall wish we had acted in every thing when we come to die, but there are some things which we shall all wish we had done, and there are other things which we shall all wish we had left undone.

If I were to be called away this night, I should be sorry that I had wasted so much time when I was younger; that I spent so many hours in parties and in unprofitable company, and that I did not rather spend them in reading and doing good, and in prayer.

I should lament that I had so often trifled with temptation, and harboured vain and unholy thoughts, instead of at once resisting the tempter, and chasing the thoughts of evil out of my mind.

I should wish I had exercised greater charity towards my fellow Christians and towards all my fellow men. I have sometimes spoken in anger, and I have often spoken in bitterness. I have often censured my brethren with severity, and I have spoken freely of their characters and their performances in their absence. I have indulged in hard thoughts and uncharitable feelings of other societies of Christians, and I have spoken and written bitter things of them. All these things I lament, and I should lament them if I were about to die; they are all amongst the things which I wish had never been.

I have often indulged in foolish talking and jesting, in the exercise of childish and unprofitable wit; and these things would not look well in the hour of death.

I have foolishly wasted many pounds of my Maker's money. I have long studied temperance in eating and drinking and dress, and it has long been my pleasure to employ what I have received from God in doing good; but I shall always lament that I formerly consumed so many pounds in the use of tobacco.

I have been very guilty of procrastination I have not been properly idle, but I have busied myself in doing easy and little things, instead of attempting and executing greater. I have written sentences instead of writing sermons; and tracts instead of books. I have spent my hours in reading, when they ought to have been spent in writing; and I have spent the time in writing, that ought to have been spent in visiting the poor and needy, I have followed inclination too much in my labours, and have not been severe enough with my reluctant spirit. And here I see cause for lamentation, and here I must amend, if I would live as I shall wish I had done when I come to die.

I shall wish, when I come to die, that I had not injured a single creature in the universe. The recollection of every unfeeling action, and of every unkind word, will give us pain then. They give us pain now; but in the hour of death they will distress us much more. It will especially afflict us if we should then discover that we have injured our neighbour's soul. It is bad enough to have injured his earthly interests, but it will then appear a thousand times worse to have laid a stumblingblock in the way of his soul. Earthly losses may often be repaired, and when they cannot, the rapid flight of time soon brings the sorrow to a close but the loss of the soul admits of no reparation, and eternity alone can measure the sad results. The worst pang that could afflict my heart in the hour of death, would be to think that I had ruined the soul of a brother. Yes, a stumbled, ruined brother will be an awful spectacle to a dying man; and it will be an awful thing to go to judgment, and to attend the awful inquisition of Jehovah, with the blood of a brother in our skirts.

I can think of no sin greater than that of trifling with the soul of a brother; I can conceive no creature more awfully wretched than the man who shall be found guilty of that offence at the bar of God. I will therefore labour to be clear from the blood of all men. I will

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preach as though I ne'er should preach again, & "And as a dying man to dying men,'