as the effect of his forgiveness were temporal, consisting in the restoration of public or family prosperity; whereas by Jesus Christ they extend to the future immortal life which he was specially sent to reveal and confirm. So that the doctrine of repentance, as taught by Christ, comes to our minds with a personal interest which none but a disciple of Christ can feel.

Now we find that the coming of Christ was announced by his forerunner, John the Baptist, with the preaching of repentance (Mark i. 2): "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand:" and Jesus himself began his public ministry by reading the Prophecy of Isaiah (Ixi. 1): "The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord." (Luke iv. 18, 19.) And at the close of his ministry he says, "Thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead, that repentance and remission of sins might be preached unto all nations in his name." (Luke xxiv. 47.) Accordingly we find it, all through the Acts and Epistles, made known, "that through this man is preached the remission of sins." (Acts xiii. 38.)

Thus came Jesus, preaching the gospel, or good tidings, of pardon to those who repented and believed in him; that he was sent, not to condemn the world, but to save it, by calling it to repentance; to invite sinners, who were enemies to God by wicked works, to become reconciled to Him by a new and better life. And as under the Law (of Moses) there was a mercy-seat, or propitiatory, from which the Jewish people received answers of peace, so Jesus is represented as a mercy-seat, or propitiation, for the whole world, to publish peace on earth, by declaring the good-will of God to men; particularly to preach the forgiveness of sins, to promise the favour and blessing of God to those who sincerely sought it, and to invite all men to come to and trust in him. And all those who did thus come he assured of his authority, received from God, to reward them with eternal life in a future happy world; while he threatened to call to a severe account all wilful and obstinate sinners, particularly all hypocrites and faithless persons.

This was the great truth which he came for the special

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purpose of revealing to mankind. On this account he is said to have brought life and immortality to light," (2 Tim. 1: 10,) to be the resurrection and the life," (John xi. 25,) and to be "the author of eternal salvation to all them that obey him." (Heb. v. 9.)

Such, my young friends, are the important doctrines of the New Testament. So truly important, indeed, are they, that they justly claim a more close and careful examination. The next Section, therefore, of your Catechism is, with great propriety, devoted to this most desirable object; and I trust, my young friends, that you will, not without interest, accompany nie in studying what it says of the person, character, and doctrines of the Lord Jesus Christ.May the blessing of God accompany every well-meant effort to make such subjects familiar to young minds!

SIR, Loughborough, Oct. 9, 1828. I was surprised to see in the excellent Lectures on a Catechism in a Sunday-school, with which the readers of the Reformer have lately been favoured by my highly repected relative, the following statement,- "That salvation generally, and especially in the New Testament, signifies deliverance from the consequences of sin, namely, misery and death and future punishment." This statement appears to me extremely erroneous, and to contain indeed that mistaken view of the nature of the blessings conferred upon us through Christ, which principally gives currency to the notions too generally entertained, of Christ having made satisfaction to God for the sins of the elect. The very foundation of this doctrine is removed, if it be carefully observed, that salvation, redemption, and other similar phrases, in the New Testament, do not mean so much deliverance from the consequences of sin, as deliverance from sin itself. This is very clear in Titus ii. 11-14: "For the grace of God, that bringeth salvation to all men, hath appeared, teaching us that we should deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and that we should live soberly, and righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the mighty God, and of our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all ini

VOL. XIV.

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quity, and purify us to himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." This very plain passage has long appeared to me to furnish a complete explanation of these terms, and a full refutation of the erroneous and immoral doctrines which have been founded on a misconception of them. It shews that salvation consists in being taught to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly; and that we are redeemed, not from punishment, but from iniquity. This, which seems to me to be the scriptural view of redemption, entirely takes away all ground for the doctrine of satisfaction. While Christ is regarded as having redeemed us from punishment, we may fancy that this is done by some mysterious influence in his death, as giving satisfaction to what is strangely termed Divine justice. But when, in conformity to the passage of scripture which I have just quoted, we regard him as having redeemed us, not from punishment, but from iniquity, we see clearly that the meaning of this must be, delivering us from sin, by furnishing us with the means of being made better. Jesus has redeemed us from iniquity, because by his holy precepts, by his excellent example, and especially by the certain proof of a future state of retribution, given us by his death and resurrection, we are furnished with the best means of being delivered from sin. This clearly shews, that it is only those who make use of these means, and are made better by them, who are redeemed from iniquity by Christ. And this shews the necessity of studying the Scriptures, in order that we may know what is the nature of the salvation or redemption which they offer us, and of carefully applying them to our own conduct, in order that we may ourselves become partakers of the blessings promised to those who are thus redeemed from iniquity. The author of these lectures will excuse my remarking on this, which appears to me a very erroneous statement, as it arose from my fear lest injury should be done to the cause of morality, by such a statement being introduced among so many excellent precepts, and receiving the sanction of one, whose writings are generally so correct, and whose zeal for the cause of Christian truth and virtue is so well known, and is respected by none more than by

T. C. HOLLAND.

REBECCA PARTING WITH JACOB.

BY MISS EMILY TAYLOR.

[From the "Forget Me Not," one of the elegant and beautifully illustrated Annuals for 1829.]

My youngest born, my pride of heart, thou must, thou must away;
Thy brother's wrathful hand is raised, and here thou canst not stay.
Oh, I have deeply sinned for thee! the chastisement be mine;
And I will bear it all, my son ! the blessing shall be thine.

What matter though my childless years in grief and pain pass on?
Thou wilt be safe from danger's hour, my own, my darling son!
And, like the fountain sending forth a sweet and murmuring sound,
Thy pleasant voice will come to me, from some far distant ground.
Go, bear thy mother's blessing back to those from whom she came;
My kinsmen's hearts will leap with joy to hear Rebecca's name.
Say to them, Haran's shaded well, and flocks that near it stray,
Come to me in my midnight dreams as fresh as yesterday.

Speed on-and when thy nimble feet have brought thee to the place,
And when thou stand'st, an exiled one, before my brother's face,
Tell him thou bear'st thy mother's soul, and therefore wilt not twine
Around the savage olive-tree a strong and noble vine.

Ask if, of all thy kinsman's house, no maiden bright there be,
Of lofty soul, with heart to seek thy father's God with thee.
And, if there be, Oh! say to her, "Rebecca left her all,
The Father of the faithful spake, and she obeyed the call."

The angel of the covenant protect thee, precious child!
Defend thee from the covered snare, direct thee in the wild!
Oh! I shall weep in darkness oft, to think thy houseless head
Must pillow on the stony ground or seek the foxes' bed.

But glory, breaking on the gloom, my grief to joy shall turn;
Proud mother of a favoured race, ah ! wherefore shouldst thou mourn?
Go then, fulfil Jehovah's word, the blessing is for thee,
And joy, and pride, and thankfulness, beloved son! for me.

In our last number (pp. 436-441) we inserted under this head a letter published in "The Bristol Mirror," and signed "A Christian."* This letter was replied to by "A Presbyter of the Church of England," which called

* This letter has been published separately, under the title of " A Unitarian's View of Christian Faith," price 2d. or 1s. 6d. per dozen.

forth a rejoinder by "A Christian." We lay both before our readers, as they appeared in the above paper on the 4th and 11th of October.

SIR,

To the Editor of the Bristol Mirror.

Bristol, Sept. 26, 1828. I feel assured that you will kindly indulge me by inserting the following brief remarks upon a letter which appeared in your Paper of the 13th inst., signed "A Christian"!! It did not come to my hands until yesterday, which will account for these observations being sent to you at so late a period.

In the first place, I candidly confess that I am one of those persons of the present day who are anxiously looking into the state of things in the world-endeavouring to "discern the signs of the times." And I cannot but conclude, from what I observe, that the day is fast approaching, and not very far off, in the which the many-headed monster, Antichrist, shall be revealed! openly! visibly manifested! I certainly, also, rank Unitarianism (more properly speaking, Socinianism) among the number of the heads of that monster which the Lord shall " consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming," 2 Thess. ii. 8. Why do I judge so harshly? Why entertain a sentiment so illiberal and uncharitable? Even because the beloved disciple, he that leaned on Jesu's bosom, hath taught me to think and believe it to be so! Hath he not emphatically put the question in 2d of 1 Ep., "Who is a liar, but he that denieth Jesus is the Christ? He is Antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son-whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father." These, I assert, fearlessly and confidently assert, that the Unitarians, as they call themselves, eminently come under the title of the Liar" and the "Antichrist" of St. John! I need not go further than to the letter of "A Christian"! The most specious I have yet seen from the pen of an Unitarian-so specious, as almost to deceive the very elect! Still therein THE LIE is manifest-the cloven foot is too visible ! Does he not deny Jesus to be THE CHRIST? Does he not deny the Son? How so he will ask-this shall be proved. He speaks, indeed, largely, about his " REVERENCING Christ Jesus as his Master and Teacher! his Saviour! his Sovereign! and his