empire, at home and abroad. Your early insertion will be esteemed a favour.

An ENGLISHMAN and a CHRISTIAN.

"The righteous law of our Creator has not been impressed on our hearts; promulgated in thunder and flame from mount Sinai; illustrated and enforced by the express word, the solemn injunctions of the Son of God himself, to be cast behind the back, or trifled with, with impunity. We may neglect the warnings; forget the denunciations of Divine justice-we may lull our consciences asleep, and say, in our infidel hearts, because judgment is not speedily executed upon the oppressor, God doth not regard.' But the decree has passed the lip

of truth,

"With what measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again."

"And He hath solemnly pronounced-Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away.' Who then, who believes in Divine revelation, who that is convinced that the globe we inhabit is constantly subject to Omniscient inspection;-that all the varied actors in its busy fluctuating scenes, will individually appear at the tribunal of Divine Justice, there to give an account of their stewardship;'-to receive everlastingly according to the deeds done in the body;-who, that really believes these solemn truths, but must tremble at the dreadful individual responsibility which every one of us is incurring, by withholding our utmost exertions for the immediate emancipation of our West Indian slaves?

"The liberty of the slave being his unqualified right, it must of necessity be an unqualified wrong to withhold it. Let this simple obvious inference of common sense and common justice unite all the friends of humanity in one common object-that of a speedy and complete emuncipation.

ད

"If slavery in the British colonies be ever eradicated without violence and bloodshed, it must be through the awakened energy, the constraining force of Christian obligation; through the authority of laws which have been long since promulgated; which are as old as the world; which were impressed upon the very frame and constitution of man, written on fleshy tables of the heart,' by the supreme Lawgiver, before they were written on tables of stone. In the Christian code,their obligations are extended and enforced by considerations the most persuasive and solemn, by which the human mind can be affected. These laws are uncompromising and peremptory. This is their explicit, imperative language Thou shalt not kill.'-Thou shalt not steal-And how are these prohibitions interpreted to the Christian? Thou shalt love thy

neighbour as thyself. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye love one another. Of what kind and of what degree, is the love which constitutes this infallible criterion? It is no other in kind, no other in degree, than that which thou bearest thyself. All things whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye, éven

1

so to them.' Must it not follow then, of necessity, that the Christian, he to whom the name truly belongs, he who would be acknowledged as such on the great day of distinction, of final separation between the sheep and the goats, must take a deeper interest than he has hitherto done in the cause of the enslaved African-must in short, make it his own-keep alive his compassionate sympathy, exert himself in his behalf, with such zeal and perseverance as he would implore for himself, were he to exchange places with the slave.

"Is it not high time to resort to more decisive and effective measures? Is it not high time that Christians, those to whom the name truly belongs, should combine all their efforts should concentrate all the force of their moral and Christian principles in the strenuous use of every means whereby themselves and their country may be soonest purged of this deep pollution? Is it not, most especially, high time for the priests, the ministers of the Lord," to interpose, that this moral plague may be stayed, before this highly favoured land be smitten with a curse, with a worse than Egyptian blindness and obduracy? of which indeed there are alarming symptoms.

"Let the worshippers of Mammon propose a league with this 'enemy of all righteousness, try to modify and accommodate its operations to political interests and state expediency; but let Christian ministers give it no quarter, but like Samuel of old, hew this impious Agag in pieces, which exults as he did, in the confidence that the bitterness of death is over.

“Our modern missionaries, with the timidity, as well as harmlessness of the dove,-restrict themselves by certain laws and prudential resolutions, not to be found in the scriptural directory, not to meddle with the established order of things-not at all to interfere between the master and the slave; to confine themselves wholly to the spiritual concerns of the latter; never attempting to arrest the arm of lawless power, or to restrain its merciless inflictions; to say to the cruel tyrant— it is not lawful for thee' thus to degrade, to oppress, to torture thy fellow-creature-thy brother: never reminding the lordly usurper that it is not lawful for him to make merchandize of human beings, to treat immortal intelligences as brute animals; never warning him that it is at his own peril that he scourges and chains his over-laboured defenceless victims; that he is thereby heaping to himself wrath against the day of wrath;' that he shall have judgment without mercy who hath shewn no mercy;' that the same measure' which he is now meting to the slave, will certainly be meted to him again.' No: the missionary says nothing of all this to the slave holder. No, it would be imprudent, it would be madness to do so; it would utterly defeat the object of his

1 We have just been informed, that the Rev. J. Whitridge of Manchester is now delivering a course of sermons on the doctrine of the Holy Scriptures relative to slavery, inviting the attention of persons of all religious denominations to this important subject,' and adopting for his motto and guide, those words of our Lord"As ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them."

should see twice as much as they say; but, from their conduct, one would suppose that they were born with two tongues and one eye, for those talk the most who have observed the least, and intrude their remarks upon every thing, who have seen into nothing.

JAMES i. 19.

Ἔστω πᾶς ἄνθρωπος ταχυς ἐις τὸ ἀγοῦσαι, βραδυς ἐς τὸ λαλῆσαι. Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak.

No. CLXXIII.

There is one passage in the Scriptures to which all the potentates of Europe seem to have given their unanimous assent and approbation, and to have studied so thoroughly, as to have it quite at their fingers' ends: Luke ii. 1. "There went out a decree, that all the world should be taxed."

No. CXCIV.

Agur said, (Prov. xxx. 8.) "Give me neither poverty nor riches;" and this will ever be the prayer of the wise. Our incomes should be like our shoes; if too small, they will gall and pinch us; but, if too large, they will cause us to stumble and to trip. But wealth, after all, is a relative thing; since he that has little, and wants less, is richer than he that has much, but wants more. True contentment depends not upon what we have, but upon what we would have: a tub was large enough for Diogenes, but a world was too little for Alexander.

No. CCCLXXXVIII.

If the apostle were again to appear on earth, since all the multifarious denominations of Christians would claim him, which would he chuse ? The apostle shall answer, (James i. 27,) Opηokela kabaρu ajaνTOC παρα τω Θεω και πάτρι, αύτη εστιν επισκέπτεσθαι ορφανες και χηρες εν τη θλίψει αυτών, ασπιλον ἑαυτον τηρειν απο το κόσμου. Religion pure and undefiled before God, even the Father, is this, to oversee orphans and widows in their affliction, to preserve himself unspotted from the world.

No. CCCCLI.

Were a plain unlettered man, but endowed with common sense and a certain quantum of observation and of reflection, to read over attentively the four gospels, and the Acts of the gospels, without any note or comment, I hugely doubt whether it would enter into his ears to hear, his eyes to see, or his heart to conceive the purport of many ideas signified by many words ending in ism, which, nevertheless, have cost Christendom, rivers of ink, and oceans of blood.

No. DLXVII.

No men deserve the title of infidels so little as those to whom it has been usually applied; let any of those who renounce Christianity, write fairly down in a book all the absurdities that they believe instead of it, and they will find that it requires more faith to reject Christianity, than to embrace it.

Chorlton Row.

COGITANS.

Biblical Gleanings.

REMARKABLE JEWISH SECT.

THE New Baptist Magazine for April contains a letter from M. Mayers, at Vienna, giving an account of a most remarkable sect of Jewish believers in Poland, called Sabbathians, from their founder, Sabbathia Zewy, and also Soharites, on account of their veneration for the book of Sohar, the principal cabbalistical work, and which they receive as the highest authority and word of revelation, to the prejudice of the Holy Scriptures, which are considered subordinate to the Cabbala, by many of which they are to be explained.

On their settlement in Poland, they declared their total rejection of the Talmud, and published the following confession of faith. They are distinguished for their strict morality and integrity, and only marry among themselves.

1st. "We believe all things commanded by God at all times, as well by positive doctrines as traditions; and we do not only consider ourselves in duty bound to obey all precepts and omit all prohibitions contained in this law, but also to enter minutely into the examination of these doctrines, in order to comprehend the mysteries hidden under the letter. To this end God said to Abraham, I am the Almighty God, walk before me and be thou perfect,' Gen. xvii. 1; and to Moses, 'And now Israel what doth the Lord thy God require of thee,' &c. Deut. x. 12, 13. This proves, that it is our duty to obey the Lord and his precepts and statutes, and to seek to comprehend the truth of his doctrines without any error. Next to this, it becomes us to fear and honour the Lord, according to the words of the Psalmist, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,' Ps. cxi. 10. Yet this alone, the fear and love of the Lord, is not sufficient; we must also acknowledge the power and greatness of God by his works. Therefore David said on his deathbed to bis son, Know thou the God of thy father and serve him,' 1 Chron. xxviii. 9. Upon these words in Samuel, (1 Sam. ii. 30,) Them that honour me, I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed;' the Sohar comments, that it were better for that man not to have been created, who does not comprehend to magnify the name of the Lord, for we are created and put into this world, for no other purpose than to seek to understand the mysteries comprehended in the Divine name.' David says, The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him in truth, Ps. cxlv. 18; upon which the Sohar asks, Can we then call upon God in untruth?' answer, yes: all those who call upon God without knowing him, call upon him in untruth. From the preceding, it is therefore plainly to be seen, that each man is in duty bound to believe in God, and in law, to acknowledge Him, as well as his statutes and justice, and to search deeply into the mysteries of the Thorah . Those whose belief is conformable to this, fulfil the will and commands of God which He has promulged by Moses, and these only, deserve the name of true Israelites. 2nd. "We believe, that the writings of Moses, the prophets, and all earlier teachers, are not to be taken literally, but figuratively; and as containing a secret sense hid under the mere letter. These writings are to be compared to a beautiful woman, who hides her charms under a veil, and expects her admirers to take the trouble of lifting it; which is also the case with the word of God, being hidden under the veil of a figurative sense, which cannot be lifted even with the highest human ingenuity, and greatest degree of wisdom, without the assistance of Divine grace. In other words, the things spoken of in the Thorah, must not be taken literally, according to the mere phraseology, but we must pray for the teaching of the Divine Spirit, to be enabled to discern the kernel which lies hid under the mere shell or husk of the letter. We therefore believe, that it is not sufficient merely to read the words of the prophets, to know the literal meaning, but that it requires Divine aid, in order to understand, in many places, the fundamental of the letter; and thus we find David prays, 'Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law,' Ps. cxix. 18. If king David had been able to understand the word of God by his own enquiries, he would not have thus prayed ; but his supplication was to comprehend the secret, and hidden mysteries

of the Thorah. To this effect are also the words of the Sohar: Woe to the man who asserts that the Thorah is a mere record of historical facts of ancient times, and contains but a narrative of common things; if this were the case, it might also be composed in the present time. But the narratives and subjects contained in the holy writings, are only used as figures for the mysteries deeply hidden under the letter. And whoever considers the primary sense as the principal object of the Scriptures, is guilty of death, and forfeits all claim to a future state. Therefore, says the Psalmist, 'lighten mine eyes,' Ps. xiii. 3; (that is to say, that I might discern the secrets hidden under the letter of the law,) lest I sleep the sleep of death.' In another passage, it is remarked by the Sohar, If the Thorah were only to be taken in a literal sense, why should David say, 'The law of the Lord is perfect, more to be desired than gold, yea, than much fine gold,' Ps. xix. It is therefore undeniable, that great and many mysteries are hidden under the letter of the Thorah, to enquire into which, it is the duty of every one who wishes to become orthodox.

3rd. "We believe, the best and only true interpretation of the Thorah, of all others, to be the Sohar; but that the Rabbis, in the Talmud, have in many places, falsely explained the Holy Scriptures, by many wrong views they have given of the Divine attributes, and contradicting the fundamental doctrine of love to our neighbour. [Here follow numerous quotations from the Talmud to prove this, which I have omitted translating on account of their prolixity.]

4th. We believe in one God, eternal, without beginning or end, the only creator of the universe and all it contains, both visible and invisible; according to the words in the Thorah, 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord,' Deut. vi. 4; and in the Psalms, Thou art great, and doest wondrous things, thou art God alone,' Psalm lxxxvi. 10, that is to say, not like earthly kings who cannot have their commands executed without human means; but God created heaven and earth without the co-operation of any other being, and his Providence alone directs and governs all.

5th. "We believe, that though there is but one God, yet that there are three persons 5 in the deity, which without any separation or distinction from each other, form a perfect unity. This truth is not only contained in the books of Moses, but also in all the writings of the prophets and other parts of the holy Scriptures. It is said in the Sobar, that the Thorah begins with the letter a Beth, which is formed by two horizontal lines and one vertical, that point to the unity of the Three. This belief in a Trinity in unity is founded upon the holy Scriptures, where the doctrine is plainly taught in innumerable instances; as a proof of this, we shall quote a few passages here. It is said by Moses, Gen. i. 2, the Spirit of Elohim, in the plural, moved upon the face of the waters;' were there but one person in the Deity, Moses would have expressed himself thus, the Spirit of Jehovah or El, bx moved; from this it plainly appears, that it was his object at the outset of his writings, to inculcate the doctrine of a Trinity of Parzufim, Persons, in the Deity. He says further, God said, let US make man in OUR image after OUR likeness,' Gen. i. 26, upon which the Sohar comments, "Two there are and One, which makes Three, and these Three are One.' Again it is said, Gen. iii. 22, Jehovah Elohim spoke, behold the man is like one of US.' If there were not three Parzufim (Persons) in the Deity, why does it say Jehovah Elohim, in the plural, Jehovah alone would have sufficed; it was unquestionably thus put to prove the Trinity. It being said the Lord came down to see the city and the tower;' and further, Go, let US go down and there confound their language,' Gen. xi. 5, 7; the question naturally occurs, to whom did Jebovah speak this? He would not have thus familiarly spoken to the angels, who are his ministering servants, to whom he would have addressed himself in the language of command, and not in a way of request; we conclude therefore, that God spoke to his co-equals, the other Parzufim, of the same authority and dignity with himself. We find it further recorded, that three men appeared unto Abraham, Gen. xviii. 2, and yet on seeing them, he said, 'My Lord,' xviii. 3. How can it otherwise be explained, that he should have seen three and only addressed one, if these three were not one. Moses commands the Israelites to take the blood of the paschial lamb, and strike it on the two side posts, and on the upper door