each other. Is God the author of confusion; or of peace, of division, or of unity? Are the influences of the Divine Spirit in one case directly repugnant to what they are in another? 7. Lastly, we would not, by any thing that has been said, be supposed to deny or question the doctrine of divine influences upon the human mind. We truly believe, that more ready than earthly parents to give good gifts to their children, is our Heavenly Father to give his holy spirit to them that ask him. We believe that God is continually operating within and around us; that all the powers of nature are under his control and direction. But at the same time, we cannot believe that it is consistent with human virtue, that the moral influences of bis spirit should be irresistible. We are expressly commanded not to grieve, nor to quench his holy spirit. We cannot persuade ourselves, that his gifts are ever arbitrary and wanton, the mere dictates of his caprice, for we look to him as the equal friend of all his creatures, and no respecter of persons. We do not think that they are imparted in a miraculous and supernatural manner, since Jesus himself was not willing to tempt bim to work a miracle even for his deliverance. We do not believe that these influences are sensible and apparent, and to be distinguished from the operations of our own minds, because we are expressly told, that as the wind bloweth where it listeth, thou canst not tell whence it cometh nor whither it goeth, so is every one that is born of the spirit. We cannot think that they are imparted other than in co-operation with our own exertions, since we are required to ask if we would receive, and to seek if we would find. To him that improves the talents committed to him will more be given; and it is only while we work out our own salvation, that we are to expect God will work in us to will and to do of his good pleasure.* It is left with every man's conscience to apply these considerations to himself; to examine his own heart and character, manners, conversation, and life, and thus to ascertain how far he fails in his duty; in what respect his christian attainments are defective; what are the pollutions which cleave to his soul, and what the sins and follies which disgrace his life and character. Knowing these, let him view them in their proper colours, and their inevitable consequences. Let him probe deep, and not spare. Humbling himself before God on account of his sins, let him determine to renounce them; to cut off the offending limb, which he cannot restrain; to Philippians ii. 12, 13. apply to the diseased part the means of cure, which God, the Great Physician, proffers to him. Relying on the divine assistance and illumination, let him determine to assert the dignity of his nature and destination; to break off his follies and crimes; to acquire the purity and integrity which belong to the christian character, and to make the will of God the only rule, the glory of God the great end of his life, and the favour of the ever Blessed the supreme object of his ambition. With the psalmist, let him resolve to wash his hands in innocency, and thus approach the altar of God. While he brings there the offering of penitence, and prayer, and virtuous resolutions, and humble trust, let him remember that God delights to show forgiveness. The sacrifice of a broken and contrite spirit he will not despise; and let him go forth into a world of trial and temptation, with the confident assurance, that no good thing will God withhold from them that walk uprightly. H. MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS. GERMAN THEOLOGY. [At a time when so much is said of German Theology, we are happy to have it in our power to give the following character of it from the Inaugural Discourse of the DEXTER PROFESSOR OF SACRED Literature in Harvard College.] IN Germany, for the last forty or fifty years, the science of theology has been more cultivated than in any other country; though certainly not altogether with the happiest results. Nobody, I trust, will imagine, that I admire the licentious, and, as it seems to me, the most extravagant and untenable speculations of some of the modern German theologians. In reading their works, I find what I cannot but regard as theories and arguments of impalpable inanity; I seem, like Æneas when entering the confines of the dead, to be passing through a region of monstrous shadows, and to be, like him, pursuing a journey, Quale per incertam Lunam, sub luce maligna, Some of these theologians, who have attained a certain degree of celebrity out of their own country, are, I think, little entitled to any kind of respect. To others of them, I should be dis posed to apply the character which Thirlby, in the celebrated dedication of his edition of Justin Martyr, gives of Isaac Vossius, a character which could not be more descriptive of any individual, than it is of a class of writers. "He had great learning, superior genius, and judgment too, which, if not very great, was enough and more than enough for one, who, unless I am entirely deceived, cared but little about discovering the truth upon any subject. He made it his object to seek for and invent new, out of the way, and wonderful opinions in criticism, in philosophy, and in theology. Whether they were true or not, he left to be examined by those who might think themselves interested in the matter."* But this character is far from being applicable to the whole body of modern German theologians. There are many who are not entitled to the praise; and some who are not obnoxious to the censure. Some have executed laborious works of great value; and others have written with much sobriety and good sense, as well as learning and ingenuity. As it respects the mass of those works, with which we can become acquainted only through a knowledge of the German language, their value, without doubt, has been by some considerably overrated; nor would it be safe to recommend the indiscriminate study of them to one apt to estimate the truth of opinions by their novelty. But still the value of many of these works is such, as to render a knowledge of the language very desirable to the theological student, and necessary to a consummate theologian. DEVOTION. "True devotion consists not in the stated performance of certain exercises, of which God is the object, but an habit of mind and feeling, answering to the relations, in which we stand to God, as our creator, benefactor, governor, and judge; a state of the affections, produced by frequent meditation on the attributes and character of the Divine Being, and on the connexion between this Being and ourselves, who are his offspring, and lie altogether at his disposal. In a serious and reflecting mind, devotion is at once a powerful, dignified, and pleasurable *Erant in eo homine multæ literæ, ingenium excellens, judicium etiam, si non maximum, at tautum quantum ei satis superque fuit, qui, nisi omnia me fallunt, quid in quavis re verum esset, leviter curavit perspicere. Satis habuit nova, devia, mirabilia, in critica, in philosophia, in theologia, quærere et cogitare: vera anne falsa essent, id vero aliis exquirendum reliquit, qui sua istuc interesse existimarent." feeling. It cannot rest in a mere casual impulse, or the discharge of a formal duty; it cannot be limited by any boundaries of time or place, but must be an habit of mind, which will accompany us in every circumstance and amidst every occupation. It will go with us where we go, and dwell with us where we dwell.' It is not peculiar to the temple or the closet, but is conversant with the ordinary business of the world. It has its favourite scenes and its appropriate exercises; it loves, at proper seasons, to retire from the view of man, and to indulge in silent, solitary contemplation; but it shrinks not from the theatre of active duty, and while it blends itself with the feelings, which arise from the various occurrences of human life, it suggests a prevailing propriety of deportment; improves the relish of every pleasure, and mitigates the severity of every grief. It presents the Deity constantly to view, and teaches those, in whom its true character is formed, to live, as seeing Him who is invisible." " We are struck with the following sentiment, extracted from a sermon of E. Cogan; and we believe, that the history of the church, fruitful as it has been in dissention and intolerance, will entirely vindicate its truth. "Men grow furious only for error and absurdity. A concern for virtue has never yet shewn itself in deeds of violence; it has never made any inroads on the peace of society; it has never trampled on the rights of conscience, or wielded the sword of persecution. It may have wept in silence at the corruption and depravity of man; it may have prayed and toiled with earnestness to reclaim it; but it has never burst forth into acts of hostility against even the most corrupt and depraved." FEAR OF DEATH. Some of the wisest and best Christians, who have ever lived, have never been able to surmount the fear of death. The thought of quitting all, that they have ever known, of entering upon an untried being, and of appearing in judgment before an boly God, has, at times, filled them with apprehension. This, however, has sometimes been aggravated by constitutional temperament, and not the result merely of philosophical or religious contemplation. It is said of Dr. Johnson, that "he had an awful dread of death.” And there is a very interesting anecdote upon this subject, related of that mighty theologian and most distinguished christian, Bishop Butler. In his last hours, he said to his chaplain, "Though I have endeavoured to avoid sin, and to please God to the utmost of my power, yet from the consciousness of perpetual infirmity, I am still afraid to die." "My lord," said the chaplain, "you forget that Jesus Christ is a Saviour." "True," was the answer; "but how shall I know that He is a Saviour for me?" "My lord, it is written, Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out.'" "True," said the Bishop; "and I am surprised that though I have read that scripture a thousand times, I never felt its value till this moment: and now I die happy. THE BED OF DEATH. [The following remarks, which are represented as spoken by a dying young woman, are, though found in a work of imagination, worthy of serious attention.] "WHEN I am dying, do not let the preachers be about me; let me die in private; death is too solemn a thing for witnesses. They might, perhaps, press me on some points, which I could not then answer clearly; and the failure of my intellect, the natural decline of my strength, might be mistaken for "unsoundness in the faith." They are fond of proposing tests at such a time; it is no time to answer nice questions; one must enjoy their religion then, not define it. If my testimony could be offered up, I would offer it in the presence of the assembled world; but God needs no such witness to his truth. The curtains of a death-bed should be closed; let mine be so, my dearest aunt. Shall I confess the truth to you? I think there is something too public in the printed accounts of the deaths of evangelical persons. I do not wish to be surrounded by preachers and persons calling on me to witness the truth, when I have no longer a breath, to heave in witness of it. Oh, no, there is something too theatrical in that I am * * "The language of man is as the dust of the balance' to me now. Reality, reality is dealing with me. on the verge of the grave; and all the wretched distinctions that have kept men at war for centuries seem to me as nothing. I know that salvation is of grace through faith,' and, knowing that, I am satisfied. Oh, my dear uncle, I am fast approachNew Series-vol. I. 47 |