of faith and hope and love are made, and in both there should be the same manifestation of the holiness of God's house. In referring to the examples of the primitive church, we find no such distinction made in the ordinances of divine worship, as is made in the present day. We do not find unbelievers uniting with the church in one or more, but not in all. While it was the duty and privilege of believers to go "every where preaching the word," and while unbelievers were permitted to come in and see all the ordinances attended to by the disciples of Christ, we have not the shadow of evidence that any visible union or fellowship was manifested with them in the worship of God, until they obeyed the gospel and worshipped God in spirit and in truth. And now I beseech my brethren, for whom I pray, that they may be "followers of God as dear children," to consider whether they are keeping the ordinances as they have been delivered to them by the great Head of the church. Let us, dearly beloved, with a remembrance of our infinite obligation to obey the King of Zion, compare our present mode of singing in public worship with his holy word. That word declares that "God is a spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." Now, does not our practice declare, that they may worship him, who will not worship him in 'spirit and in truth? That word declares that the Christian church is built up of "lively stones," to offer up spiritual sacrifices. Does not our practice declare that it is built in part of dead stones, to offer dead sacrifices, even the sacrifices of the wicked, which "are an abomination to the Lord." The Apostle in referring particularly to that worship which the Lord requires in his church, says, "I will sing with the spirit, and with the understanding also." He directs his brethren also to sing with grace in their hearts. But does not our practice say, you may continue to sing with the voice without the spirit, and without grace in your hearts? Jesus Christ says, "Except a man be born of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven," or the gospel church. Does not our practice deny this, and represent those engaging in the holy services, and enjoying the sacred privileges of his kingdom, who have never been born again ? [A continuation of the above, consisting of objections answered, will appear in our next.] CHRISTIAN FIDELITY. A JUDICIOUS, affectionate, and earnest appeal to the conscience will rarely fail of producing a happy effect, even on the minds of the scoffing and profane. I will relate one fact which goes to confirm this. A gentleman from the West, on business in New York, was solicited to lend his aid and care to a lady, who was travelling alone in the stage on the same route with him. Out of respect to the gentle man who made this request in behalf of the lady, he could not decline, though, when he found, by inquiry, that she was the wife of one of the missionaries at our western stations, and on her way thither, he felt a great reluctance in promising his services. He had been a noted opposer of religion, had a most sovereign contempt for all missionary efforts, and for those who would engage in them. He made every shift in his own mind to invent an excuse to refuse taking charge of the lady, but finding none, his sense of honour would not permit him to decline. The lady was amiable, intelligent, and interesting-and, with her missionary spirit, the condition of the heathen, and the means for evangelizing them, was a favourite topic of conversation. The gentleman showed his dislike to the subject by his attempts to reason her out of her enthusiastic notions, as he would call them; but, like many other men who have been engrossed with business, and have thought too little on religion in any form to speak upon it to much purpose, he was soon made to see his own ignorance, and of course his unreasonable prejudice. This at first awakened in him a spirit of inquiry in regard to the heathen, and the measures and success of missionaries. She was prepared to answer his inquiries, and in such a manner too, as to allay his opposing feelings, and leave a favorable impression on his When he inquired into her prospects as a missionary, and her motives for making such a personal sacrifice, she manifested such modesty, and humility, and self-denial, as utterly surprised him. He had supposed, that those who engaged in such service, were either seeking their own aggrandizement, or were far gone with religious frenzy. But he found her acting from enlarged views, an enlightened judgment, and real benevolence. His views of missions, therefore, from what he saw and heard, were entirely changed. The lady was not satisfied with this; she managed her conversation so as to sound him in his general views of religion, and as she had already secured his respect for her intelligence and goodness, he was more careful in exposing his ignorance and opposition. They rode in company for several days, and the lady frequently expressed her gratitude for his kind attentions, with an anxious solicitude for the safety of his soul. She manifested such humility, such sincerity and engagedness, as soon led him to think favourably of religion, and soon after to a conviction that she possessed what he was an entire stranger to; and then to a deep sense of his awful condition, as a sinner. What set home her remarks to his mind with peculiar force, was a conviction similar to that of some one, who, having heard Whitfield preach, observed, that "the only difference between him and other preachers is, that he believes what he says." Her sincerity awakened his mind to consider his danger. His profanity, hostility to the truth, and his heedless and wicked life were brought to mind, by an enlightened and disturbed conscience; and after a season of great distress, he was led to hope in the pardoning blood of Christ. When he came to part with the lady, his feelings were such as can better be imagined than described. He regarded her as the in strument of his conversion; he disclosed the bitterness of his feelings, when he felt compelled to accept of her company, and after making a liberal donation for the benefit of her contemplated mission, and uniting in a fervent prayer for the heathen, he took his leave, adoring that overruling hand of Providence, which had led his ways, and resolving, henceforth, himself to imitate her Christian Fidelity. Rr. POETRY. AFFLICTION'S ANTIDOTE. WHEN Sorrow, with a grasp which knows no mercy, And holds us victims of his dire embrace, Which we most fondly cherished, when we knew To what dear object can we cling? And where, Where Some years have pass'd, since A- was woo'd and won. Four blooming daughters and an infant son Once, at the setting sun, I saw this pair And pious contemplation; bidding vice An air of melancholy threw itself Across her softened features; and a wildness She grasped her partner's arm, as she, in sighs, "If heaven," she cried, "should take thee from the world, Of Him who gives and takes away again. I saw the shroud-the bier-the new-laid sods- I turned away and wept; for thought of orphans Alone, who shed no tears, who murmured not, Ah no; a better refuge is the grave. "Thy hand inflicts the blow, Most Gracious God! The hand which deals them. Here I throw me down Thy promise. Thou art still the widow's God- W. Selected from Dr. PERCIVAL'S Poems. I LAUNCH'D my bark upon a waveless sea- And blue and crimson streamer woo'd the wind! The boundless air was still, the canvass flapp'd Ran wild before the tempest; now it rose The billowy mountain, in the yawning gulph Now headlong plung'd; the shriek was then unheard Amid the vaster tumult; then the night Of storms enwrapp'd me, by the bursting foam, The sparkling fire of ocean, or the flash, The harbinger of thunder, or the pale And baleful meteor of sickly green, |