66 says the writer of the same pamphlet, in the introduction, wishing to reclaim the lands and civilize the inhabitants of Ulster, encouraged his countrymen to settle there. Those who did so, he protected in the observance of the forms of their religious worship. Their mode of swearing was the same as that practised in Scotland. In a subsequent reign, the Presbyterians were required by law to conform to the Episcopal mode of worship. Those who submitted to this requisition, complied with the manner of swearing at that time usual in England. At the memorable era of the Revolution, when toleration was granted to Presbyterians, some of them, in their civil transactions, reverted to the manner of swearing used in Scotland, and some did not. But all denominations of Presbyterians, in their church courts, adhere to the ancient mode of swearing, and never make a practice of presenting a book when administering an oath." To conclude, I have thus shown, that swearing with an uplifted hand is the most ancient practice on record—that it is of divine appointment-that it is scriptural, sanctioned by the command and honoured by the example of the Supreme Being -that it is more impressive and solemn than kissing a bookand that the practice is approved by the pious and the learned in every age. If, then, the practice for which we contend possess these characteristics, and be the common law of the land, no law nor statute being against it, we hope that every administrator of oaths will lay aside his primer, bearing the sign of the cross, and administer oaths in the scriptural form. It is neither consistent nor becoming to see a Protestant or Presbyterian administering oaths on a book marked with the sign of the cross. But should administrators persist in this idolatrous and Popish practice, we sincerely trust that Protestants and Presbyterians of every denomination will reject the cross-marked primer with abhorrence, not from a disrespect to lawful authority, or indifference to the execution of justice, but from a regard to the divine command and the religious feelings of their own minds. Lake Cottage, Portglenone, 2 JAMES SMYTH. STUDY OF THE BIBLE. (From Abbott's Young Christian.) "THERE should be a distinction made between the manner of reading the Bible on the Sabbath and during the bustle of the week. The two objects to be accomplished and the method of accomplishing them I shall describe. "1. On the Sabbath, the Bible should be studied. Every person, old or young, ignorant or learned, should devote a portion of time every Sabbath, to the study of the Scriptures, in the more strict and proper sense of that term. But to shew precisely what I mean by this weekly study of the Bible, I will describe a particular case. A young man with only such opportunities as are possessed by all, resolves to take his course. He selects the epistle to the Ephesians for his first subject. He obtains such books and helps as he finds in his own family, or as he can obtain from a religious friend, or procure from a Sabbath School library. It is not too much to suppose that he will have a sacred Atlas, some Commentary, and probably a Bible Dictionary. He should also have pen, ink, and paper, and thus provided, he sits down, Sabbath morning, to his work. He raises a short but heartfelt prayer to God that he will assist and bless him, and then commences his inquiries. "The Epistle to the Ephesians I have supposed to be his subject. He sees that the first question evidently is, 'who were the Ephesians?' He finds the city of Ephesus upon the map-and from the preface to the Epistle, contained in the commentary, or from any other source to which he can have access, he learns what sort of a city it was,-what was the character of the inhabitants, and if possible, what condition the city was in at the time this letter was written. He next inquires in regard to the writer of this letter, or Epistle as it is called. It was Paul; and what did Paul know of the Ephesians? had he ever been there? or was he writing to strangers? To settle these points, so evidently important to a correct understanding of the letter, he examines the Acts of the Apostles, which contains Paul's life, to learn whether Paul went there; if so, what happened while he was there. He finds that many interesting incidents occurred during Paul's visits, and his curiosity is excited to know whether these things will be alluded to in the letter. He next endeavours to ascertain where Paul was when he wrote the letter; and after having thus ascertained every thing relating to the circumstances of the case, he is prepared to come to the Epistle itself, and enter with spirit and interest into an examination of its contents. "He first glances his eye cursorily through the chapters of the book, that he may take in at once a general view of its object and design-perhaps he makes out brief list of the topics discussed, and thus has a distinct general idea of the whole, before he enters into a minute examination of the parts. This minute examination he comes to at last-though perhaps the time devoted to the study for two or three Sabbaths is spent in the preparatory inquiries. If it is so, it is time well spent ; for by it, he is now prepared to enter with interest into the very soul and spirit of the letter. While he was ignorant of those points, his knowledge of the Epistle itself must have been very vague and superficial. Suppose I were now to introduce into this book a letter, and should begin at once, without saying by whom the letter was written, or to whom it was addressed, it would be preposterous. If I wished to excite your interest, I should describe particularly the parties,-and the circumstances which produced the letter originally. And yet, how many christians there are who could not tell whether Paul's letter to the Ephesians was written before or after he went there, or where Titus was when Paul wrote to him, and for what special purpose he wrote. "Take another case. The father or mother whom Providence has placed at the head of a family, contrive to close their worldly business at an early hour on Saturday evening, and gather around the table, at their fireside, all those who are committed to their charge. They choose some subject for examination,-real, thorough examination. Perhaps it is the rebuilding of Jerusalem after the captivity. The various books calculated to assist their inquiries are distributed among the members of the group. The reference Bible is given to one-the Concordance to another -Scott, or Doddridge, or Henry, to the third-the Bible Dictionary to the fourth, and then, when all are seated, and the Divine blessing has been asked upon their labours, the father asks them all to turn to any part of the Scriptures which gives information upon the subject. They. examine first, the accout of the destruction of the city when the Jews were carried captive, that they may know in what condition it was proba bly found on their return. They search in several books for an account of the first movements in Babylon of those who were desirous of returnexamine the plans they formed-compare one account with another;— every question which occurs is asked, and the information which it seeks for obtained. The two expeditions of Ezra and Nehemiah examined the object of each and the connexion between them. Under the control of a judicious parent, even secular history might' be occasionally referred to, to throw light upon the subject. We may properly avail ourselves of any helps of this kind, so far as their tendency is really to throw light upon the sacred volume. The children of the family soon take a strong interest in the study,—their inquiries are encouraged their curiosity is awakened,-they regard it a pleasure, not a task. Instead of the evening of Saturday, the afternoon or the evening of the Sabbath, if more convenient, may be used; and if the children are members of a Sabbath School, their next lesson may be the subject. Those accustomed to the use of the pen will derive great advantage from writing, each evening, notes or abstracts, expressing in a concise and simple style the new knowledge they have acquired; and every difficulty should be noted, that it may be presented at some convenient opportunity to some' other Christian student, to the superintendent of the Sabbath School, or to a minister of the Gospel. * are "This method of studying the Scriptures, which I have thus attempted to describe, and which I might illustrate by supposing many other cases, is not intended for one class alone. Not for the ignorant peculiarlynor for the wise. Not for the rich-nor for the poor; but for all. The solitary widow, in her lonely cottage among the distant mountains, with nothing but her simple Bible in her hand, by the light of her evening fire, may pursue this course of comparing Scripture with Scripture—and, entering into the spirit of sacred story-throwing herself back to ancient times, and thus preparing herself to grasp more completely and feel more vividly the moral lessons which the Bible is mainly intended to teach. And the most cultivated scholar may pursue this course, in his quiet study, surrounded by all the helps to a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures which learning can produce or wealth obtain." S SPIRIT OF MODERN UNITARIAN CONTROVERSY, THERE are several methods, any one of which may be adopted in defending a particular system of doctrines or received series of opinions; to classify these, and to consider the superior advantages which one may possess over another, is not the object of the present paper. Much may depend upon the subject of controversy itself, something upon the particular constitutional character and tone of the mind engaged in it, and not a little upon the current opinions of society at the time of its agitation. It must be lamented by every lover of truth, that so frequently the worst passions of human nature are liable to be roused into action by controversies respecting the doctrines of revelation. A certain degree of zeal, and even of enthusiasm, is absolutely necessary to every man in the advocacy of those doctrines which he considers to be based upon the explicit declarations of the word of God; he cannot truly appreciate their importance without manifesting a feeling of intense earnestness in their defence and advancement; but however difficult it may be to analyze our own emotions, so as to effect it, we should ever endeavour to draw a line of demarcation between devotedness to our cause and the bitterness of personal hostility towards its opponents. It is alone by such conduct as this that we will be enabled to advance the cause of evangelical truth, and to check the progress of error. Personalities, unless in very peculiar circumstances, are never justifiable; they engender a prejudice against the cause in which they are used, and they steel the mind of the person against whom they are directed, so as to make it insensible to evidence, and morally incapable of conviction. But where they are required to bring an opponent to a proper knowledge of himself, perhaps they may be occasionally not only justifiable, but also desirable. The unsparing use of personalities by Unitarian controversialists of late years, has been most scandalous and abominable: whenever they mention a Trinitarian who is an honest and uncompromising advocate of what he is convinced in his conscience to be the truth, that is accompanied either with some direct personal attack, or is coupled with some sly insinuation, each having à like malignant tendency to blacken and to defame his character. We have always been led to consider this as a sure index of an untenable system. Even the public prints over which the Unitarians have either an immediate or an in direct control, in general, instead of attempting to expose or to refute opinions, descend to the mean vulgarity of personal abuse. The righteous cause of truth can never stand in need of such unhallowed weapons of offence. If there be persecution in the land, this is the most vile species of it; but as the Almighty makes the wrath of man to praise him, so, under his providence, in our own day have we seen this very con duct, however reprehensible it may be in itself, contributing its influence, though intended to produce quite a contrary effect, to the overthrow of that error which it was expected to sup port, and to the advancement and triumph of that evangelical truth and vital godliness, of which it was foolishly supposed capable of effecting the overthrow. Equally worthy of condemnation with this unsparing use of personalities, is that spirit of liberalism, as it is frequently denominated that worthless indifference to the importance of any fundamental truth-that cringing meanness of soul-that unprincipled want of integrity which leads some men to profess a friendship for every system of opinions, thereby degrading themselves in the estimation of those very individuals whose favour they thus attempt to purchase at the expense of integrity and truth, and making honest men regard them as traitors, unworthy of confidence and undeserving of esteem. Little of this worthless sycophancy has, of late years, been manifested by the opponents of Calvinism; they have, indeed, made a loud and trumpet-tongued profession of charity, but it has been extended to their own party; they have lauded themselves for their exclusive liberality, but it has always been converted into the rancour of bitterness when directed towards those who honestly and conscientiously differed from them. All are hypocrites, or bigots, or persecutors, or wild enthusiasts, who agree not with them;"they are the people, and wisdom will die with them." But it is rather with opi nions we have to deal than with persons, and we might, with out much injury to the cause of truth, leave Unitarians to their own happy, flattering dreams of superior intelligence and oracular wisdom. Against those doctrines advocated in this periodical, many objections have been advanced, not certainly possessed of much weight or intrinsic excellence in themselves, but deriving all their importance from the self-sufficient tone of arrogance with which they are propounded. We have frequently thought that a brief review of these might be de sirable, for the purpose of disabusing the public mind, and showing the sandy foundation upon which the boasted temple |