fruit, so the Lord must prove his words true. He therefore se lected a peculiar people as depositories of the/records of that knowledge; and he appeared among them, and they proved themselves dead to every knowledge of him, by crucifying him. Fie will, in like manner, put the wild olive to the same test; and the result will be, that he will be now crucified in the spirit! Joanna professes also to have had prophecies given her, shewing how the whole was to be accomplished. Among other things, the Lord said he should visit the surrounding nations with various calamities for fifteen years, as a warning to this land; and that then he should bring about events here which should more clearly manifest the truth of her mission, by judgments and otherwise; so that this should be the happy nation to be 'the first redeemed from its troubles, and be the instrument for awakening the rest of the world to a sense of what is coming upon all, and for destroying the Beast, and those who worship his image! AMERICAN SECTS. Dunkers (or Tunkers) arose about 1721, and formed themselves into a kind of commonwealth, mostly in Pennsylvania. They baptize by immersion, dress like the Dominican friars, never shave head nor beard, have different apartments for the sexes, live chiefly on roots and vegetables, except at their lovefeasts, when they eat only mutton. It is said that no bed is allowed them but in case of sickness; for in their separate cells they have a bench to lie upon, and a block of wood for their pillow. Their principal tenet is the mortification of the body, and they deny the eternity of future punishment. They are commonly called the harmless Dunkers. The Shakers, instituted in 1774, are the followers of Anna Leese, whom they style the Elect Lady, and the Mother of all the Elect. They say she is the woman mentioned in the twelfth chapter of the Revelations; can speak seventy-two tongues, and converses with the dead. Their enthusiasm is vented in jumping, dancing, and violent exertions of the body, which, bringing on shaking, they are termed Shakers. This dancing, they say, denotes their victory over sin. Their most favourite exercise is turning round for an hour or more, which, in their opinion, shews the great power of God. See a curious account of the Shakers in the first volume of the Duke de la Rochefoucault's Travels through America. The New American Sect was formed principally of persons who emigrated from Wales, and among the rest, of the late Rev. M. J., Rees, a man of talent and activity: the following plan containing the articles of their religious constitution, owe its origin chiefly to him. 1. The convention shall be called the Christian Church. 2. It shall never be called by any other name, or be distinguished by the particular tenets of any man or set of men, 3. Jesus Christ is the only head-believers in him the only members and the New Testament the only rule of the fraternity. 4. In mental matters, each member shall enjoy his own sentiments, and freely discuss every subject: but in discipline, a strict conformity with the precepts of Christ, is required. 5. Every distinct society belonging to this association, shall have the same power of admitting its members, electing its officors, and in case of mal-conduct, of impeaching them. 6. Delegates from the different congregaations shall meet from time to time, at an appointed place, to consult the welfare and advancement of the general interest. 7. At every meeting for religious worship, collections shall be made for the poor, and the promulgation of the gospel among the heathens. As to the other sects in the United States, they are much the For an account of them, same as on this side of the Atlantic. the reader may consult More's American Geography, and Winterbotham's History of America. and Millenarians.The Millenarians are those who believe that years; Christ will reign personally on earth for a thousand their name, taken from the Latin, mille, a thousand, has a direct allusion to the duration of this spiritual empire. "The doctrine of the Millennium, or a future paradisaical state of the earth, (says a monthly reviewer) is not of Christian, but of Jewish origin. The tradition is attributed to Elijah, which fixes the duration of this world in its present imperfect condition to six thousand years, and announces the approach of a sabbath of a thousand years of universal peace and plenty, to be ushered in by the glorious advent of the Messiah! This idea may be traced in the Epistle of Barnabas, and in the opinions of Papias, who knew of no written testimony in its behalf. It was adopted by Justin Martyr, by Irenæus, and by a long succession of the fathers, As the theory is animating and consolatory, and, when divested of cabalistic numbers and allegorical decorations, probable even in the eye of philosophy, it will no doubt always retain a number of adherents. But as the Millennium has for these few years past attracted the attention of the public, we shall enter into a short detail of it. Mr. Joseph Mede, Dr. Gill, Bishop Newton, and Mr. Winchester, contend for the personal reign of Christ on earth. To use that prelate's own words, in his Dissertations on the Pro 3 x phecies: "When these great events shall come to pass, of which we collect from the prophecies, this to be the proper order :the Protestant witness shall be greatly exalted, and the 1260 years of their prophesying in sackcloth, and of the tyranny of the beast, shall end together; the conversion and restoration of the Jews succeed; then follows the ruin of the Ottoman empire ; and then the total destruction of Rome and of Antichrist. When these great events, I say, shall come to pass, then shall the kingdom of Christ commence, or the reign of the saints upon earth. So Daniel expressly informs us, that the kingdom of Christ and the saints will be raised upon the ruins of the kingdom of Antichrist, vii. 26, 27. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end and the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. So likewise St. John saith, that upon the final destruction of the beast and the false prophet, Rev. xx.-Satan is bound for a thousand years; and I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them; and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus Christ, and for the word of God; which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image; neither had received his mark upon their foreheads nor in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a THOUSAND years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. It is, I conceive, to these great events the fall of Antichrist, the re-establishment of the Jews, and the beginning of the glorious Millennium, that the three different dates in Daniel, of 1260 years, 1290 years, and 1335 years, are to be referred. And as Daniel saith, xii. 12, Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the 1335 years; so St. John saith, xx. 6, Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection. Blessed and happy indeed will be this period; and it is very observable, that the martyrs and confessors of Jesus, in Papist as well as Pagan times, will be raised to partake of this felicity. Then shall all those gracious promises in the Old Testament be fulfilled of the amplitude and extent, of the peace and prosperity, of the glory and happiness of the church in the latter days. Then, in the full sense of the words, Rev. xi. 15, shall the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever. According to tradition, these thousand years of the reign of Christ and the saints, will be the seventh Millenary of the world: for as God created the world in six days, and rested on the seventh; so the world, it is argued, will continue six thousand years, and the seventh thousand will be the great Sabbatism, or holy rest to the people of God. One day (2 Pet. iii. 8.) being with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. According to tradition too, these thousand years of the reign of Christ and the saints, are the great day of judgment, in the morning or beginning whereof, shall be the coming of Christ in flaming fire, and the particular judgment of Antichrist and the first resurrection; and in the evening or conclusion whereof, shall be the GENERAL RESURRECTION of the dead, small and great; and they shall be judged every man according to their works." This is a just representation of the Millennium, according to the common opinion entertained of it, that Christ will reign personally on earth during the period of one thousand years! But Dr. Whitby, in a Dissertation on the subject; Dr. Priestly, in his Institutes of Religion, and the author of the Illustrations of Prophecy, contend against the literal interpretation of the Millennium, both as to its nature and its duration. On such a topic, however, we cannot suggest our opinions with too great a degree of modesty. THE BIBLE. The common translation of the Bible now in use was made in the time and by the appointment of JAMES THE FIRST. ACcording to Fuller, the list of the translators amounted to fortyseven. This number was arranged under six divisions, and several parcels of the Bible assigned them. Every one of the company was to translate the whole parcel; then they were to compare these together, and when any company had finished their part they were to communicate it to the other companies, so that nothing should pass without general consent. The names of the persons and places where they met together, with the portions of scripture assigned each company, are to be found in Johnson's Historical Account of the several Translations of the Bible. These good and learned men entered on their work in the spring 1607, and three years elapsed before the translation was finished. From the mutability of language, the variation of customs, and the progress of knowledge, several passages in the Bible require to be newly translated, or to be materially corrected. Hence, in the present age, when biblical literature has been assiduously cultivated, different parts of the sacred volume have been transated by able hands. The substituting a new translation of the Bible in the room of the one now in common use, has been much webated. Dr. Knox, in his genious essays, together with others, argues against it; whilst Dr. Newcome, the late Lord Primate of Ireland, the late Dr. Geddes, of the Catholic persuasion, and the late Rev. Gilbert Wakefield, contended strenuously for it. The correction of several passages, however, would deprive Deists of many of their objections, prevent Christians from being misled into some absurd opinions, and be the means of making the scriptures more intelligible, and consequently more beneficial to the world. As an argument for the exercise of a tolerant and universal spirit of Christian liberality, we shall conclude this chapter in the language of a genuine Philanthropist: "Were one religion only to exist a country, probably the people would soon become either indifferent about its tenets, or superstitious in supporting them; and from the history of mankind, were two systems only of religion to prevail, zeal would be perpetually exercised to the destruction of each other; but variety, which divides attention, tends to lessen bigotry and arrest persecution; and hence seems best calculated to promote zeal without intolerance, virtue void of hypocrisy, and the general happiness of the community," BOOKS ON RELIGION. Horne's Brief View of the Necessity and Truth of the Christian Religion, 12mo. an excellent little manual, (sold by Walker in the Strand.) Paley's Evidences, 2 vols. 8vo. Dr. Gregory's Letters on the Evidences, 2 vols. 12mo. Mrs. More's Practical Piety and Christian Morals, 4 vols. 8vo. BOOKS ON RELIGIOUS SECTS, Buck's Theological Dictionary, 2 vols. 8vo. contains not only an account of the various Sects, but also an excellent digest of the most important subjects in Theology and Ecclesiastical History. Evans' Sketch of all Religions, 12mno. Adam's Religious World Displayed, 3 vols. 8vo. CHAP VI BEHAVIOUR AND MANNERS. As all young men, on their first outset in life, are in want of some experienced and friendly hand, to lead them forward, and teach them a knowledge of the world; we think we cannot do the rising generation a greater service than by directing the young man's steps, and teaching him how to make his way, we have already attempted to instruct him in the principles of religion, (for without these he must be most unhappy) and shall now enumerate the principal qualifications necessary to make him well |