information. They will also learn, that at a very early period many gross corruptions found their way into the church, and among these that of the delusive doctrine of baptismal regeneration. We think that some of the passages, favoring this doctrine, quoted from the fathers by Dr. Stebbing, require to be commented upon, for the purpose of guarding the reader against supposing, that the incautious and improper terms in which the fathers describe the benefits resulting from baptism are in accordance with the teachings of Holy Writ. We are glad to perceive that Dr. Stebbing frequently refers to the Scriptures as the only infallible standard, to which we can appeal, for deciding upon the truth of any doctrine.

THE GENIUS OF THE SABBATH; or, the Nature and Design of the Sabbath as a Divine Institution, and its perpetual obligation upon the Church. 18mo. J. SNOW.

The writer of this little volume regards the Sabbath, as designed, to prefigure the rest of peace and enjoyment obtained by the believing reception of Gospel truth; and a state of glorious rest to be enjoyed in the millenium, which he supposes will be possessed by the church of Christ during the thousand years commencing at the close of six thousand years after the creation of the world. So that after six thousand years of "unrest," he anticipates a Sabbath, or rest, for the church, of one thousand years. From these premises he infers the perpetual obligation to keep holy the Sabbath day.

THE TIME OF THE END PROPHETIC WITNESS. No. 6. March, 1845. WARD AND Co.

This publication advocates the opinions of Mr. J. Wilson concerning the Israelitish origin of the English nation; and also the pre-millenial coming of our Lord, the resurrection of the saints, and their reign over all nations. We believe, that the intention of the projectors and supporters of the work is good, but we cannot acknowledge ourselves convinced of the correctness of the opinions which they support.

THE DEITY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, being the Second Part on the Holy Trinity. By WILLIAM COOKE. 12mo. 24 pp. J. BAKEWELL; and E. PEARSON.

The scriptural evidence in proof of the proper divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ is here presented in a most lucid and convincing manner; the criticisms by which Socinians attempt to evade the force of the texts quoted are ably refuted. As a brief defence of this important article of the Christian faith it is the best we ever read.

THE NATIONAL TEMPERANCE CHRONICLE. 1845. HOULSTON AND STONEMAN.

No. 21. Marcb,

This contains interesting and encouraging accounts of the labors of the Temperance Missionaries employed in London and its vicinity, and a variety of other intelligence well calculated to promote the important object of suppressing the practice of taking intoxicating drinks.

THE CHRISTIAN GRACES; or, the Fruits of the Spirit. A Pastoral Address. By the Rev. THOMAS LEWIS. Royal 18mo. J. SNOW.

We have here a very beautiful exposition of the fruits of the Spirit, "love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. The work is very neatly got up, and is well adapted to interest and profit those who are spiritually-minded.

EVIDENCES OF CHRIST'S RESURRECTION.

1. Consider the nature of the witnesses. Had they been men of opulence and credit in the world, we might have thought, that their reputation gave a run to the fable. Had they been learned and eloquent men, we might have imagined, that the style, in which they told the tale, had soothed the souls of the people into a belief of it. But, for my part, when I consider that the apostles were the lowest of mankind, without reputation to impose on people, without authority to compel, and without riches to reward: when I consider, that they were mean, rough, unlearned men, aud consequently, very unequal to the task of putting a cheat upon others; I cannot conceive, that people of this character could succeed in deceiving the whole church.

2. Consider the number of the witnesses. St. Paul enumerates them, and tells us, that Jesus Christ was seen of Cephas, 1 Cor. xv. 5, &c. This appearance is related by St. Luke, who saith, the Lord is risen indeed and hath appeared to Simon, chap. xxiv. 34. The apostle adds, then he was seen of the twelve: This is related by St. Mark, who saith, he appeared unto the eleven, chap. xvi. 14, it was the same appearance, for the apostles retained the appellation twelve, although, after Judas had been guilty of suicide, they were reduced to eleven. St. Paul adds further, after that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; Jesus Christ promised this appearance to the women, Go into Galilee, and tell my brethren, that they shall see me there, Matt. xxviii. 10. St. Luke tells us, in the first chapter of Acts, that the church consisted of about an hundred and twenty members; this was the church at Jerusalem: but the greatest part of the five hundred, of whom St. Paul speaks, were of Galilee, where Jesus Christ had preached his gospel, and where these converts abode after his resurrection. The apostle subjoins, after that he was seen of James; this appearance is not related by the evangelists but St. Paul knew it by tradition. St. Jerome writes, that in a Hebrew Gospel, attributed to St. Matthew, called the Gospel of the Nazarenes, it was said, Jesus Christ appeared to St. James; that, this apostle having made a vow neither to eat nor drink till Jesus should rise from the dead, the Divine Saviour took bread and broke it, took wine and poured it out, and said to him, eat and drink for the Son of Man is risen from the dead. St. Paul yet adds further, then he was seen of all the apostles; and, last of all, of me also, as of one born out of due time. So numerous were the witnesses of the resurrection of Jesus Christ! from this fact we derive a second argument; for had the witnesses been few, it might have been said, that the base design of deceiving the whole church was formed by one, and propagated by a few more; or that some one had fancied he saw Jesus Christ: but when St. Paul, when the rest of the apostles, when five hundred brethren attest the truth of the fact; what room remains for suspicion and doubt!

3. Observe the facts themselves, which they avow. Had they been metaphysical reasonings, depending on a chain of principles and consequences; had they been periods of chronology, depending on long and difficult calculations; had they been distant events which could only have been known by the relations of others; their reasonings might have been suspected: but they are facts, which are in question, facts, which, the witnesses declared, they had seen with their own eyes at divers places, and at several times. Had they seen Jesus Christ? Had they touched him? Had they sitten at table, and eaten with him? Had they conversed with him? All these are questions of fact: it was impossible they could be deceived in them.

4. Remark the agreement of their evidence. They all unanimously deposed, that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. It is very extraordinary, that a gang

of five hundred impostors, (I speak the language of infidels,) a company, in which there must needs be people of different capacities and tempers, the witty and the dull, the timid and the bold; it is very strange, that such a numerous body as this should maintain an unity of evidence. This, however, is the case of our witnesses. What Christian ever contradicted himself? What Christian ever impeached his accomplices? What Christian ever discovered this pretended imposture?

5. Observe the tribunals, before which they gave evidence, and the innumerable multitude of people by whom their testimony was examined, by Jews and heathen, by philosophers and rabbies, and by an infinite number of people, who went annually to Jerusalem. For, my brethren, providence so ordered these circumstances, that the testimony of the apostles might be unsuspected. Providence continued Jerusalem forty years after the resurrection of our Lord, that all the Jews in the world might examine the evidence concerning it, and obtain authentic proof of the truth of Christianity. I repeat it again, then, the apostles maintained the resurrection of Jesus Christ before Jews, before Pagans, before philosophers, before rabbies, before courtiers, before lawyers, before people expert in examining, and in cross-examining witnesses, in order to lead them into self-contradiction. Had the apostles borne their testimony in consequence of a preconcerted plot between themselves, is it not morally certain that, as they were examined before such different and capable men, some one would have discovered the pretended fraud?

6. Consider the place in which the apostles bore their testimony. Had they published the resurrection of the Saviour of the world in distant countries, beyond mountains and seas, it might have been supposed, that distance of place, rendering it extremely difficult for their hearers to obtain exact information, had facilitated the establishment of the error: but the apostles preached in Jerusalem, in the synagogues, in the pretorium; they unfolded and displayed the banners of their Master's cross, and set up tokens of his victory, on the very spot, on which the infamous instrument of his sufferings had been set up.

7. Observe the time of this testimony. Had the apostles first published this resurrection several years after the epoch, which they assigned for it; unbelief might have availed itself of the delay: but three days after the death of Jesus Christ, they said, he was risen again, and they re-echoed their testimony in a singular manner at Pentecost, when Jerusalem expected the spread of the report, and endeavoured to prevent it; while the eyes of their enemies were yet sparkling with rage and madness; and while Calvary was yet dyed with the blood they had spilt there. Do impostors take such measures? Would not they have waited till the fury of the Jews had been appeased, till judges and public officers, had been changed, and till people had been less attentive to their depositions?

8. Consider, lastly, the motives which induced the apostles to publish the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Survey the face of the world, examine all the impostures, that are practised in society. Falsehood, imposition, treachery, perjury, abound in society. To every different trade and profession some peculiar deceptions belong. However, all mankind have one design in deceiving, they all deceive for their own interest. Their interests are infinitely diversified: but it is interest, however, that always animates all deceivers. There is one interest of pride, another of pleasure, a third of profit. In the case before us the nature of things is subverted, and all our notions of the human heart contradicted. It must be pre-supposed, that, whereas other men generally sacrifice the interest of their salvation to their temporal interest, the apostles, on the contrary, sacrificed their temporal interest without any inducement from the interest of salvation itself. Suppose, they had been craftily led, during the life of Jesus Christ, into the

expectation of some temporal advantages, how came it to pass, that, after they saw their hopes blasted, and themselves threatened with the most rigorous punishments, they did not redeem their lives by confessing the imposture? In general, the more wicked a traitor is, the more he trembles, alters, and confesses, at the approach of death. Having betrayed, for his own interest, the laws of his country, the interests of society, the confidence of his prince, and the credit of religion, he betrays the companions of his imposture, the accomplices of his crimes. Here, on the contrary, the apostles persist in their testimony till death, and sign the truths they have published with the last drops of their blood.

SAURIN.

ENDOWMENT OF POPERY.

In a preceding part of this month's Magazine we have, in one of our reviews, given our opinion on the subject of state-endowments of religion, and therefore should not now again recur to that subject, were there not special and pressing reasons by which we are constrained. To this we are compelled by the announcement made by the first minister of the Crown, of his intention, immediately to bring a Bill into Parliament for the endowment of Maynooth College out of the national funds. That is, in fact, a declaration of his intention to tax all the subjects of this realm for the maintenance and propagation of Popery!

Maynooth College is situate about eleven miles and a half, west by north, from Dublin. Parliamentary leave, and assistance, for its erection were obtained in 1793; it was opened to receive students for the Romish priesthood in 1797; and it contains the means of accommodating about four hundred students. From the time of its establishment annual grants of public money have been made by Parliament for its support. For some time about £6,000 per annum was so granted; then the amount was increased to £8,000, and during the last thirty years it has been augmented to between 9 and £10,000 for each year. The bestowment of these large sums of public money has frequently been opposed in Parliament, when, year by year, the vote for the grant has been proposed. Sir Robert Peel, however, intends, on the 3rd of April, to bring in a Bill to enact, that the sum of £30,000 per annum be secured to Maynooth College, without its being needful to make any future annual application to Parliament.

Objecting, as we do, to the appropriation of the public money for the maintenance of any church or sect, even supposing that we approved of the tenets to be inculcated, we feel our opposition, to the principle, excited to the highest degree, when we contemplate the awful errors which Popery inculcates, and for the propagation of which we are now threatened to be visited with increased taxation, by the proposition, to more than treble the yearly grant; which grant, indeed, ought never to have been made, and the extinction of which ought to be instantly demanded, by the united, and loud-expressed, voice of the nation.

The design of the ministers of the Crown, we believe, is to obtain

favor with the Romish priesthood, to enable them more easily to govern the Irish nation, without granting such other relief as might be righteously afforded, and which ought to be given. It is intended as a cake to Cerberus; and it may, for a short time, if it be allowed to be given, stop the mouths of some of the Romish clergy, and cause them, for a time, to crouch before the Government, by which they are bribed; but speedily larger pecuniary benefits will be demanded; and, we may expect, the Government will soon bring forward a measure for granting state-support to the whole body of the Romish clergy!

What, then, is the duty which the present important crisis devolves upon us? Is it not that, of immediately remonstrating with the ministers of the Crown; or, rather, ought we not, without a moment's delay, prepare and sign petitions to Parliament, praying that the proposed abominable measure may not pass into law? Holding, as we trust our readers generally do, the principle, that civil rulers have no right to tax their subjects to support any form of religion, they can with perfect consistency object to the proposed grant. In the present case regard to the best interests of our country, ought to stimulate to immediate and active exertion, in the use of all constitutional means by which to avert the threatened evil. Patriotic and Christian feeling ought now to be excited, and put forth in vigorous exertions. If we wish to see our country saved from the degradation and oppression, of being compelled to support whatever form of religion, or creed, or superstition, the Government may choose to patronize-if we wish not to have a portion of the property of the rich, and of the hardearnings of the poor of our land, extorted from them, by our rulers, for the extension and support of the awful heresies and dreadful abominations of Popery, we ought, at once, to arouse ourselves to action, and every man should stimulate all whom he can influence, to remonstrate and petition, and, to the last constitutional extremity, to oppose such an appropriation of money obtained by public taxation.

We are glad to find that a very general movement, in opposition to this grant, has already commenced. A public meeting has been held, in Exeter Hall, and others are about to be held, for the purpose of calling forth resistance to the proposed measure. The Deputies of the three denominations of Protestant Dissenters have presented a memorial to Sir Robert Peel, remonstrating against the measure. The Congregational Union Committee has published some admirable resolutions condemnatory of the proposal, and calling upon all the Independent Churches of England and Wales to offer their uncompromising opposition to the establishment, or endowment, in any form or degree, of any religious body, by human legislation.

Under these circumstances, we have communicated by letters with all the members of our Connexional "Committee of Privileges," on the propriety of congregational petitions, opposing the grant, being sent from the respective chapels in our Connexion; and from the replies which we have received, we are happy to be able to announce, that the Committee strongly recommends such petitions be immediately sent from all our congregations. We hope, therefore, that a more vigorous and general effort will now be made, than that which